Not Finished. Two

Our Mother was our everything, she was the foundation of the family but somehow she got sick and never recovered. She died of Cancer and that tore the family apart because our Father married a new wife, she was three years younger than me and she was stubborn.

Rita got into an argument with Charity my elder sister, you know she was wrong but our Father supported his wife instead of his daughter. That night was the last night Charity spent in our family house. She left and broke her relationship with our Father.

I understood our Father so I never bothered to condemn his action but inside my heart, he was wrong, we are all family and taking sides when it comes to family brings division instead of unity. He knew that I wasn’t happy but he didn’t bother, after all majority of my mates have their own families and homes.

What am I still doing in my Father’s house? Taking all the nonsense Rita had in stock for me. I got into an argument with her because I used the water she fetched but I saw nothing bad in doing that, after all I always fetched the water she used.

-Get out of my house. My Father told me

I left the house the same way Charity left. Pastor Abram could not provide me a place to stay and none of my friends was there for me. I ended up in the street, my new life was hard but I needed to survive. I slept under the bridge, made couple of new friends who are all homeless and one of them was Jide.

We became very close friends and he told me about Moses the bus owner. Meeting Moses gave me the opportunity to have a job. I became his conductor. It didn’t take long after I joined him and the next calamity struck, he knocked down and killed a pregnant woman.

How can I testify against him?

He was careless, it was his fault because if he wasn’t on the phone, he would have seen the woman but he wasn’t paying attention. I couldn’t tell the Judge this but when it became my only way to escape jail term, I opened up.

“Obstructing Justice is an offense punishable by one year imprisonment. Withholding or hiding evidence that would foster investigation and help the court is another offense punishable by jail term.” The Investigating officer made all these clear to me.

I had no other option but to tell the court was happened. I have been to jail before and don’t want to go back again so I told the court the truth and nothing but the truth. The truth was supposed to help me but it fucked me up.

Moses was sentenced and I lost my job because his bus was impounded. I couldn’t go back to my Father’s house, I needed to make it. I remembered Prince, a very good friend when I was in the secondary school so I went to him to help me, all I needed was money to set up a small business, he was a good man, a philanthropist but he refused to help me. Well it became obvious that God had forgotten me.

I began drinking to forget my pains, my heart was broken, my life was shattered and my existence as human was meaningless. Prince had it all, we were mates from junior class to when I was expelled from school and my Father always used him as an example each time he wanted to talk about my failures.

Prince had sound education- Anthony is a drop out

Prince got a job paying Five hundred thousand naira- Antony could not find anything.

Prince went to official meetings- Antony went to funerals.

Prince got promoted- Antony is a bus conductor.

Prince invested in shares- Antony hardly buy a loaf of bread.

Prince is a role model- Anthony is an outcast