Sleepless Nights 2

I woke up from sleep suddenly and followed the sounds to the sitting room.

I was now a senior student at a boarding school so I wasn’t always home to deal with the noise. I thought I’d prayed enough for these things to pass so I was surprised to find that mama still had sleepless nights from Daddy’s unhealthy disturbances. As I approached, I wondered if God didn’t hear my prayers and why these issues were still here.

“Ada! Ada!! Ada!!!” I heard him beckon me between laughter and heavy heaves, “Please come o, your mother wants to kill me.”

Wait, did I perceive him laughing? Really these late night disturbances are fun to him? I see.

I walked past him without saying a word to him. Okay, I greeted him. But I wondered how he managed to get away whole if mama actually made a move at him.

“Mama what happened?”, I asked as I sat beside her. I would believe her own narrative more. She never told a story to justify herself nor did she try to make up her part of the story. At least from my perspective.

“He wouldn’t let me get some rest”, she began. “I’ve pleaded with him and I have to be at work in the morning so I raised this stool to hit his head. God saved him he went away”, she finished.

I sat smiling at her. Here was my heroine. She finally took action after all these years. I gave her a hug and told her it’s alright. She had peace, a well-deserved peace.

Years later, I asked daddy why he gave mama so much trouble.

“I didn’t know how better to handle issues. Beating your wife is a convenient part of African marriage, I did what I knew best to do,” he responded.

I don’t agree with him on the subject of African marriage, but how does that change the past? We’re moving ahead into better times and we’d teach our sons right.

DIARY OF A CHURCH GIRL