Luke 8:17 (KJV) For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
"Mama Sandra is not here?" Esther questioned the girl at the door.
The girl rolled her eyes and stared up at Ester "You think I would be standing here wasting my time if my mom was here?"
Esther watched her incredulously not sure what to say. "Ohhh ok." She nodded her head slowly "I guess that is a no to my question then. Mama Sandra is not here?"
The girls brow raised a millimetre as she folded her arms " Only an idiot wouldnt have understood that" she stated
Esthers eyes widened taken aback by the statement " Ohhh ok... guess we're both lucky that there's no idiots here right." She chuckled akwardly
The girl sighed deeply " Really? You really can't see any idiots here. Or is it that you have a sight disorder or something. Cause it really feels like I'm staring at an idiot right now."
Esther stared at Grace dumbfounded. Her brows furrowing " Mmm. That's .... That's interesting" she tilted her head to the side and looked up at the girl her teeth scraping against her lips."how old are you exactly?" Esther sized the girl that stood confidently in front of her skeptically. In Esther's eyes, this girl seemed at least 10 years old
The girl rolled her eyes "Are you a reporter or something?"
"No." Esther slowly shook her head unsure where the question had come from
"Then it's none of your business" The girl stepped back and shut the door in Esther's face
Esther bit her lips her eyes squinted in bafflement. She rolled her eyes surprised at what was becoming of the next generation.
She turned away and closed the zip of her jacket. Digging her hands in her pockets as they felt close to frozen.
She scurried home on the hopes that she wouldn't freeze to death.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEt9LN3iIFS
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She had woken up pretty late that morning however Emmanuel was nowhere to be found. She had always considered him a nomad; never at one place.
But she wondered where he had gone, she also wondered whether they were still friends but after the argument they had gotten into; she doubted it.
She cherished her friendship with Emmaunel he was a rare friend and she knew if she lost him she wouldn't be able to find another.
As the sight of her home came to view her pace slowed down. She didn't even know if her mom had returned. She couldn't possibly stay in that house alone.What if those men came back and did something despicable to her. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought.
Even as fear overwhelmed her accompanied by the trepidation of what might happen. Her feet kept on moving against her own will as if with a mind of their own. She found herself a feet away from the front door.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5GQSGvXel
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With a heavy breath she reached out and pushed the door open.
Her eyes widening as they landed on a woman hunched over picking up shards of glass and placing them in a big black plastic bag.
"Mommy?"
Her mother's head snapped towards her "Where are you coming from!" Her mother snapped
"I-I went somewhere. I couldn't stay here" Esther stated
"Where?!" Her mother insisted. Her eyes throwing daggers at Esther's agitated frame.
"I..." She cleared her throat "I went..." She stopped and turned to her mother. Unsure of what to say. Her mother would surely kill her if she found out that she had slept at Emmanuels place "I ...I " Esther gasped as a thought landed in her mind "I should be asking you the same question. I waited for you for hours and you hadn't showed. How could you think that it was normal leaving your children alone during the night especially in this dangerous community."
Her mother's face softened as she sighed "I'm sorry I shouldn't have left you alone"
"Where did you go" Ester enquired
Her mother's eyes shone with mischief "I'll tell you where I went after you tell me where you went" she stated29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbL3icbD6SY
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Esther stiffened and bit her lips. Her mother nodded: satisfied with herself. " Come, help me clean this mess"
Esther shifted uncomfortably biting her lips,the traumatizing sight she had witnessed the day before flashing before her eyes."I rather not" she muttered softly, but the glare her mother gave her forced her to submit. She walked begrudgingly towards her mother, hunched over and began picking up the shards of glass that scattered the floor, careful not to scar herself.
Esther could feel the tension in the air as an uncomfortable silence enveloped them.
Esther sighed annoyed with herself and her inability to keep her mouth shut. She turned to her mother who had picked the broom and had started sweeping "You're unnaturally calm about this." Her mother stopped sweeping for a second and raised her lazy eyes at Esther.
"What do you mean?" She asked calmly as she swayed back and forth, sweeping gracefully. Not bothered at all regardless of Esther's obvious discomfort.
"Nobody...Nobody in their right senses would walk into their home and find their once spotless home turned into a war zone and still act as calm as you're acting."
Her mother's brow rose as her head remained down concentrating with her task "So you're trying to say that I am not in my right senses."
"No!" Esther snapped in aggravation. She couldn't understand why her mother was acting as if there was nothing wrong. "I know you know what is going on. And I demand you tell me. Don't I derserve to know? You can't keep me in the dark forever. It's not right. Who were those people and what did they want from us? Why did they destroy our home? What did you do? Please.I need to know for the sake of my sanity I swear I'm losing it. I'm going insane." Esther rambled on as her eyes widened.
Her mother sighed "Esther. You need to calm down. You need to stop stressing yourself out so much. That's not a good way to live life. You'll end up dead by the time you reach 30 if you continue on like that" her mother stated, her attention solely on the task of sweeping the floors.
Esther closed her eyes. She wasn't getting anywhere with this conversation "ok" she muttered in defeat and continued fixing what could be fixed.
Esthers heart broke as she threw plastic of food that had been destroyed.
Another silence befell them as they both soaked themselves into the task of fixing their home each one in their own drowning thoughts.
&&&_&&&
"Isreal. Thomas. Gabriella. Come and eat!" Esther called as she placed bowls of porridge on the table. There was a scarcity of food since everything had been destroyed by those mysterious men. So Esther knew she had to pay attention to how much they are. It wouldn't be long till all of the food would run out. As the kids ran into the dining area. Esther reached out for Thomas and squeezed him tightly, giving him kisses all over his face, tickling him in the process. He giggled hysterically as he tried getting away from her. Esther gripped him and gave him a great big hug. "I love you so much." She whispered into his ears with a little smile playing on her lips.
He wrapped his little arms around her neck "I love you too." He whispered back still giggling like a crazy person. Her heart warmed and she finally released him from her hold.
"Finish eating then we can all play together" she announced as they all squealed in joy
********
"Tell her to leave me alone. I hadn't even done anything to her. What does she want from me." Naomi complained as she whispered into the phone, her eyes roaming the perimeter making sure Esther wasn't anywhere near by. "She had come here and destroyed my home. Do you know how traumatised my children were. She wrote a message for me in blood on the wall. Please. Speak to her. I don't want any problem. Please. I'm begging you. Ok... Tonight? What am I going to be doing there tonight. Isn't your whole family there. I had been there the whole day today but you want me to return?... Weren't my services enough?...29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlRfxKknjq
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Ok if you say so. But I can't come tonight and since you've said that you won't be there the whole day. I need to pack so I can only make it by tomorrow morning. Is that ok?... Ok thanks see you tomorrow then..."
"Mommy?..." Esthers voice caused Naomi to freeze in her spot. Slowly Naomi turned around and stared at Esthers inquisitive self staring back at her. Naomi surpressed a groan as she witnessed Esther's mouth tremble at the urge to start blabbering questions
Naomi quickly composed herself and turned her attention back on the phone "...Goodbye Mrs Ann. I love you. Have a good night" she stated 29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkoMxjWeRX
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She hung up and looked up at Esther "You're not asleep?"
Esther shook her head as she bit her lips "No"
Naomi stared at her daughter for a second expecting Esther to burst out with questions. 'any second now' Naomi thought to herself but when the questions didn't come she sighed in relief. "Well I'm going to bed." She said as she turned to leave...
"Who was on the phone?" Esther asked
Naomi groaned internally but nevertheless turned to Esther with a forced smile plastered on her face "What?"
"Uhhm. Wh-who were you talking to"
"Mrs Ann" Naomi said simply as she walked out and into the room
"Oh ok." Esther mumbled to herself.
She followed her mom into the room, confused as she saw her mom packing. Before she bothered herself asking questions Naomi beat her to it. 29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10lvC2wKf1
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"Mrs Ann says she wants me to go and housekeep her house"
Ester nodded slowly "But why are you packing?"
Naomi sighed deeply "She has gone on a vacation with her family and she wants me to take care of her house I don't know when I'll be coming back and that's why I'm packing. Is that enough information for you Mrs detective " Esther nodded her head in approval but deep down she didn't believe a word that came out her mother's mouth.
"But... You can't just leave us all alone here. How do you expect me to take care of them all on my own?"
Her mom turned to her, annoyance sprawled out on her face "You're old enough. You can take care of yourself as well as your siblings. I'll send you money during the week so that you can buy some groceries. I won't even be that long gone. Maybe a day or two..." She shrugged nonchalantly.
Esther stood silently for several seconds staring at the woman that bore her. She didn't even know who she was anymore.
With a defeated sigh she stepped into bed.
However,during the night when Esther obeyed the call of nature. Upon re-entering the room, with her mother sleeping soundly on the bed. Esther spotted Naomi's phone on the desk.
Curiosity took over her as she tiptoed towards it. She picked it up and immediately went over to her mother's call history. Blood drained from her face as her eyes stayed glued on the recent caller.
Silently she crawled into bed, her heart still beating furiously against her chest. She covered the blanket but she lacked it's warmth for her body was shaking with uncommon shivers. For what her eyes saw made her re-question everything she believed in.
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The last call her mother had was not at all Mrs Ann it was written in bold black letters : ROCKY
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