When Two Elephants Fight

Part 2- The displacement

As days passed l spend most of my time either studying or burying my head in a book. I didn't want to have time to think about my sad reality or wonder what will happen next or when will my father show up again to cause another scandal.
On the other hand my mother was glowing and she had gained some weight. I guess it was due to the positive changes in lifestyle that the maintenance money brought and the satisfaction she was getting from getting  back at my father. Everytime she won a court battle against my father, she would be singing and dancing like she had won the lotto or something. The whole thing was not only about making him take responsibility but also settling old scores. With my mother glowing like that, men started looking at her very differently. I didnt like the way they looked at her though, nor did l like the attention she was getting from men. As l was still comprehending on how to deal with the men who were showing unnecessary interest in my mom l discovered something worse. My mother was already dating our school caretaker! I couldn't believe it! Why our school caretaker of all people? No never mind who it was, why dating after what she went through with my father? I was angry at her for that. I was also scared l might lose her. It has always been me and her since day one but with the caretaker in the picture l might not be her priority anymore. Only thinking about this made my mind go crazy.

I was always against my mother's relationship with the caretaker despite the fact that he was a good man and he liked me a lot. He used to buy me some buns and freezits during break time and sometimes buy me bread to take home. Even when he knew my mother wasn't home he would just buy the bread for me alone. Mr Khosa knew about my mother's second home, which was the court of course and he didn't have any problem with it. Sometimes he even took my mother to the busstop whenever she goe to Mutare for a court case.
I always deliver every gift l received from Mr Khosa except for his messages. If he sends a message to my mother that he wants her to visit him at his home I would just make sure the message never reached it's destination. Sometimes he would also give me letters which my mother never received of course. I always got rid of them after reading them. I read every letter and clenched my teeth whenever he mentioned the word love to my mother worse when he talks of touching her. I couldn't imagine any man near my mother and wanted to make sure Mr Khosa would just leave her alone.

The news of my mother's dating reached my father. Till now I don't even know how but it somehow happened. I just woke up one day to his husky voice fighting with my mother outside. I got up and went out to enquire what was happening that was when l heard the shock of my life. My father had surrendered the ownership of our home to the village headman. The place where we were living was under my father's name so apparently he had come to revoke that place. The headman was said to have already agreed and my father had to make sure that we left that place the very same day. I pretended like l didnt see him and started preparing to go to church. Actually I wanted to go to church and present our situation to the church elders so that hopefully they can make prayers to avert the catastrophe that was about to befall us.
At church my issue was at the center of every prayer session. Everyone was praying for God to intervene so that my father wont go as far as throwing us out. I felt better after going to church because everyone encouraged me not to lose heart and that God is in control.
I went back home feeling very hopeful. After all there was no way God would have allowed us to be left homeless. At the church they said evil shall not thrive over good. I thought it cannot happen that he left us and then be allowed to continue making our lives miserable like that.
I got home and couldn't fathom what l saw. All our belongings were outside the hut and my father was busy tearing down the hut. He was ripping up every pole on the roof and throwing the thatch down. I was shocked, or should l say l felt defeated? I thought the prayerd could help but noo, God had his plans different from ours. I didn't want to cry, not in his presence. I didn't want to give him that satisfaction. My mother was standing on the side busy cheering my father on. I guess that was aimed at pissing him off because the more she cheered the more violent he got with the poles and thatch.
"Ohhh you are here?" That was him when he turned back to look at me. "Uhmmm", I replied indifferently. I was very angry at him. Infact I was àngry about everything. I was angry at him for taking the last thing that we had, for wanting us to be homeless and l also angry at God for not answering my prayers though it was such notice.
I was about to bend down to pick some of our stuff and place them with the rest of our things when my father grabbed my hand and whisked me off. "Where are we going at this hour?, I asked angrily. "You talk too much just like your mother", he replied arrogantly.
The sun had gone down nd the time was approaching past seven p.m. I followed him while grumbling noisily. We walked like that throughout the way till we reached the headman's place. I wasn't even sure why l was taken there or what was my father's intentions. The headman summoned me to sit down and I did. " Did you finish the job?",  the headman asked. "Yes I did and I made sure they won't even spend the night there", my father replied triumphantly. He sounded like someone who was coming back from saving a nation. "Good that you did because that place belongs to me now, I need to put it out for others to live as soon as possible", that was the headman complimenting my father for a job well done. They started speaking in low voices that l couldn't hear and next thing was the headman addressing me. " You should go with your father now. Look you don't have anywhere else to live amd your mother will go to live with her new man what about you? The man will never accept you so you have no option. If you go with your father you will go to a better school and have bread and butter everyday. You can take a lunchbox with bread and jam and juice for breaktime everyday. You will have lots of good food and you will never have to travel so far to get to school because you will be living in the teachers' quarters. All this sounded tempting but there was no way in hell that I would have agreed to leave my mother and follow this man. That was the same man eo embarrassed me infront of the headmaster, the same man l was so sure wont think teice before burning me alive, the same man who was more angry about me causing problems in his family than caring about my feelings. Another thing was the look on my mother's face when we left. She looked so helpless but was trying very hard to hide it bu cheering on my father. And she was scared I might leave with him. She was also scared that the court wont rule in her favour since she has a boyfriend.
I heaved a heavy sigh of relief and said, "I am not going to leave my mother, stop wasting your time and return me where you took me". I was very cross at both the headman and my father. How can an old man like that and a whole headman, someone who should be protecting the people conspire with my father to do such a thing to us. I couldn't even talk much because of anger. I wanted to tear them both apart and scream so loud that l hated them with passion.
Since l refused to comply with their orders my punishment was to return home alone. It was around 8p.m and the place was really scary. We lived near the mountains and there were rumours of hyenas roaming around the place at night devouring stray goats. Both my father and the headman knew about these rumours and that was why they gave me such a punishment. That was what l got for being so insolent, according to them.
I went ack home alone. I was too angry to ecen bother about the hyenas. I vowed to make my father pay for taking a roof over our heads. I was considering possible ways to make him pay. I thought of studying to be a headteacher and be th headmistress at the school that he teaches. I will be giving him grief everyday till he quits. Or becoming a doctor and then refuse to attend to him when he visits my hospital on his deathbed. Watching him die felt satisfying enough. I reached home without even realising it and my mother was so happy to see me. We then asked our neighbors to look after our things whilst we go find somewhere to live. There was no time to think about sleeping and we noone wanted to offer us a place to sleep as the headman was involved. Noone wanted to be in the headman's wrong side. We walked all the way to Mr Khosa's place in pitch darkness. I couldn't believe I was going to his place considering how much l was disapproving of him. It was not like l had any other option and I just buried my indifference and hoped for the best.
We arrived at his place very late and he was surprised to see us. When he heared what happened, he took my mother in his arms and patted her back while assuring her that all will be well. He was even calling her by her first name! For a moment l almost forgot about our troubles and wanted to jump at them to separate them. And how dare he calls my mother with her first name! I didn't want to worsen things but l wasnt happy with Mr Khosa either. I just kept quiet for the sake of peace. We spent the night there and following night he arranged for our things to be transported to his place and that's how we moved in with my mother's boyfriend.