Rose got out of the guest room and went to her room. She knew her dad would pass by to see her. She had to be quick so she wouldn’t miss the opportunity.
Rose got to the room as fast as she could. Fortunately for her, her dad had not yet gone to her room. She waited patiently for him. “Knock… Knock! Are you there, dear?” Rose’s father asked. “Yes daddy, I am inside.” Rose answered. Her father opened the door and went to sit beside her on the bed.
“How was your day daddy?” Rose asked. “My day was good. I went to the harbor to clear some goods, but it all went well.” Rose’s father retorted. “What about you my dear? How was work today? He asked immediately after answering Rose. “Humph!! I nearly had an accident today dad.” Rose said. “What!!!! What happened my dear? Are you hurt?” Rose’s father asked with anguish in his voice. “Don’t worry daddy, nothing happened. I nearly knocked a girl down with my car in the morning, but managed to swerve her by just an inch.” Rose explained further. “Oh, dear!! I thank God that nothing happened.” Rose’s father said breathing out a sigh of relief.
“But dad, there is a problem.” Rose broached the subject with caution. She didn’t want to start her explanation on a bad note. “What is the problem, dear? Is it the police!!!?” He asked with an alarmed tone. “No daddy, not the police.” Rose retorted.
Before Rose could speak any further, her mom entered the room. She heard her husband entering the house, but did not know where he passed. She also wanted to discuss something with him and went searching for him. She was glad she found him in Rose’s room.
“Oh honey, Rose nearly knocked down a young girl while going to work today.” Rose father immediately said when he saw his wife enter through the door. “What!!! So where is the girl now?” She asked Rose.
Rose didn’t know what to say. Her plans had backfired and didn’t know what to do at that moment. Her parents were anxiously staring at her waiting for an answer to their question. If she lied about the where about of Araba that meant she couldn’t come up again with the subject. If she told the truth, her mom may object it anyway. None of the two suggestions looked good. “Humph!! What should I do now?” She asked herself silently. “It is better to tell the truth than to lie. Let me tell them the whole story. After all, there is nothing more I can do to better the situation.” Rose said silently, and she thought of the best way to go about things.
“Mom… Dad, after the incident, I went over to the young girl and realized she was traumatized. I was surprised at what she did earlier by walking into my lane. I got to know that she wasn’t herself when I spoke to her initially. I got interested and asked her some questions. I asked her why she walked in the middle of the road lost in thoughts. She explained she was an orphan who escaped from her wicked aunt in the village to look for her father’s friend at Dansoman. But, unfortunately for her, she couldn’t remember the location of the person and was also robbed by thieves on the first day of her arrival. She got rescued by a lady named Dorothy. Dorothy initially proved to be very helpful, but later wanted to lure her into prostitution. She rejected the idea and escaped from her claws too. She was thinking of her next line of action when she lost focus and drifted into my lane. As I speak now, she has nowhere to go, so I brought her here to stay with us until she locates her father’s friend.” Rose explained.
Her parents sat down quietly and listened to every word she said. “Rose you don’t really know this girl that much. Perhaps, she is lying to you. There is a lot of bad people in the world today that you don’t know whom to trust. I really like your compassionate spirit, but I can’t allow this girl to stay here with us. Not that I don’t want to help her, but I can’t trust someone I barely know. I have a lot of valuables in this house.” Rose’s father said.
Rose was shattered by the response her dad gave. She had thought her dad would understand her. She was very heartbroken. If her dad had given her such a response, then what would her mom say? She wouldn’t stick around to hear it from the horse’s own mouth.
Her mom hadn’t spoken and was still silent. Rose’s father was waiting for her to second his decision. Suddenly, they saw tears streaming down her cheeks. She then broke into uncontrollable tears. Both Rose and her father were confused. Rose didn’t understand why her stoic mother would cry like that. In fact, she had never seen her cry before.
“Honey, what is the problem? Why are you crying? Please tell me.” Rose’s father implored. She was really not comfortable with what was going on. She wanted to know why her wife was crying.
“I have kept this part of me a secret because I wanted no one to find out. But, this girl’s story has reminded me of my roots. It has reminded me of where I was years ago. I also lost my mother when I was young. I had three brothers looking up to me as their elder sister to fend for them. I did everything in my power to cater for them. The more I tried, the more I failed. I really encountered hardship during that trying period of my life. Someone would ask, where was my father? My father was an addict drunkard. She went to marry a second wife after the death of my mother. When the second wife saw how phlegmatic my father was, she took control of the house. She maltreated us and denied us food.
I was forced to drop out of school. Some of my relatives came to adopt two of my brothers to help relieve the situation. I was left with my younger brother whom I loved very much. Unknowingly, my step mother ransacked my father’s room and run away with her booty. That was where my father’s drinking problem became chronic. He drank till his death some few months after the incident. I had to do everything and anything to cater for my beloved brother. I couldn’t carry the burden alone because I was earning pennies from the streets every day. I had none other alternative than to include my brother in my hawking business, but something unfortunate happened. My brother was knocked down by a car and died instantly. Nothing could console me. I felt responsible for leading my brother to his death. It was then I ran to Accra.
God being so good, I encountered my godmother who took me to school and made me what I am today.” Rose’s mother explained as she continued to cry.
They were all amazed. Rose had known her mom since childhood, but had never heard of this aspect of her life. It was her father that was much perplexed. She also didn’t know that about his wife after twenty-five years of marriage.
Rose’s mother agreed to let Araba stay in the house. Her father couldn’t refuse her decision because of the story she narrated. They asked Rose where Araba was. It was then she revealed she was in the guest room.
To be continued….
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