We were nine girls in the family,with
no brother amongst us,so many laughed at my parents for being unable to give birth to a male child.His friends would advise him to chase my mum home and marry a new wife.They said that we girls were use#ls

But the love my dad had for my mum was so strong that he did not
listen to what any of his friends and relatives were saying.Because of how deeply he loved my mum and
us,his children,rumours began to circulate that he was under charms.

They said many nasty things about
my mum."she is a wit#ch and is
manipulating her husband."some said.while others accused her of using char#ms to hold my dad.They even accused her of being
the reason why my dad was no longer progressing like before and was now a mechanic.

Because of the absence of a male child in the family,our wicked relatives began to attack my parents from all angles.We were nine grown-up ladies all ready for marriage,but
yet no one showed any interest in us.It was always one story or the other.

I could remember the day my immediate elder sister came back looking so excited.We asked and she told us that she had finally found a husband.None of us believed her words.We thought she
was joking with us,but the following day,a Prado Jeep drove into our compound to our shock.A man came down from the car and greeted us all as we happily offered
him a seat.

He immediately went straight to the
point."I have come to collect the list so that I can pay her bride price and
take her back to America.Our eyes
were wide open as we thought that
it was all a dream.He left that day
only to return few days later when
the list was ready.We fixed the date
for the traditional wedding and everyone all agreed to the date.

But after he left that day,we never saw him again.His number was not
reachable and even when my sister
visited his place,the security guards
had to throw her out of the house like she was a nobody.She returned
home in tears crying and rolling on
the ground in Pains."Who is doing this to us?"My dad asked."Look at
this man ,so responsible and kind.
He could have been a huge blessing to this family,but look at how it ended?"We all were devastated as
we wondered when all these would
end.

Most of my sisters had reached their
Forties and yet they were still in the
house not doing anything tangible with their lives.It was not that they
weren't beautiful,they would win the
beauty contest if it were to be held
in my village because they were the
most beautiful.Yet,not even a single
one out of them is married.It reached a stage where I could no longer bear the pain any longer.

My dad was just a mechanic while
my mum was a petty trader,but they
were still the ones feeding us at such age which was unacceptable to me.I knew that Something needed to be done.I knew that this was not ordinary at all.For nine beautiful girls
to be at home doing nothing without a husband coming to ask for them is
not a good thing at all.No one would
ever wish for such.

I was still in secondary school when all these things were happening,so
on one fateful morning,I was on my way to school when I ran into our neighbor,I loved her so much because of how close she was with
my mum.She was always in the house and my mum never hides any secret from her.

She gave me bread and akara which
I happily collected from her before
putting it inside my bag.I waved at her as I continued my journey to school.I was just chilling by the corner waiting for the bell to ring so
I could bring out the bread and akara and start enjoying myself when I
saw a cripple coming my way.He was a new comer in my school and was in a higher class than I was then

I saw him crawling towards me and
I quicky looked away."please,am hungry,can you give me something
to eat?"he pleaded.I was moved with
pity for him.So,I brought out my transport money and handed it over
to him."This money is for my transport.Since I have giving it to you,I have no other option but to trek
home after dismissal."

"Why give me your transport money?"he asked."Because,I feel your pain and do not want to see you suffer like this"I replied."Can I see the bread and akara in your bag?"he asked and I startled in shock."Like how did you know that there is something like that in my bag?"I asked anxiously."Can I have it..."he asked again and then I reluctantly handed the bread over to him"

"You were supposed to d## this
night if you had eaten this akara and
bread."He said as I stood up in shock ,my eyes wide open."A lady gave this to you right?A fat dark Lady, a neighbor that your mum loves so much right?"he asked and
I nodded my head still overwhelmed with fear."

There is a part two of this story.it's so emotional that I had to keep it separate.But if you want to read the
second part,
Please follow me on

Richard Chidawah
for the next part,let me know in the comment section and I will drop it immediately.


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