Never Had Christmas √

CHAPTER 13

December 22

The sunset as evening approaches, I still haven't seen Annette, I started blaming myself, regretting forever making this decision, how much pain I've been through for the past few days, I wonder how my parent might be feeling especially my mum, if only I could see Annette I would have stopped this crazy mindset and just accept the fact that there would be no Christmas celebration in my family, what am I going to tell Annette parents, will they ever believe me, after all, that they've done for me, all I could do was cause them pain, the thought of all this made my heartaches.

"It's late already, I'm going home," Walter said. "Are you coming along with me, I mean my parents are away so I live with my uncle, just down this street."

"No thanks, I'll be fine," I replied, there was no way I'm going to follow a total stranger to his house, it's too risky, despite all that had happened today I've had enough.

"Are you sure, I don't think it safe with you staying out here all by yourself and you know you are not in a good condition to walk," he said but I assured him that I would be fine, as I watched him walk down the street I realize that I can't stay here alone by myself and I can't follow him to his house?

I sat there all alone in the dark for what feels like forever and then suddenly I fell asleep, I was woken up with a cold shiver as I noticed that snow had been falling and I was almost covered in snow. I manage to stand up from the chair as I stared at an empty street with Christmas lights, decorations, and other stuff I didn't bother to look at.

With so much cold I began to lose sensation and was dying slowly, my body couldn't take it anymore and the next I dropped to the ground.

"Shirley, wake up, Shirley!" I heard a voice shouting as I felt my body being pulled up from the ground.

"Annette is that you," I mumbled before I went unconscious.

By the time I woke up I was surrounded by racks of beeping machines, fearsome arrays of monitors as I manage to raise my head from the bed I saw my mum sitting with my Grandma.

"Look she's awake," Mrs. Victoria said. They both rushed to me with my mum leading.

"Are you alright now, how are you feeling now, I'm sorry Shirley, I didn't mean to leave you and your sister," mum said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

I couldn't say anything even though I felt like saying something I was too weak to talk I put my head down on the pillow and tears rolled down from the side of my eyes.

"Don't cry my baby, please I know you've been through a lot trying to bring back the joy of Christmas to our family," my mum said wiping up the tears from my eyes.

"Shirley you'll be fine and we will all celebrate this Christmas together," Mrs. Victoria assured me.

And I smiled. "Annette, where is she?" I mumbled slowly.

"Your friend is fine, we took her back to her family," Mrs. Victoria said.

"How long have I been here?"

"Two days."

After I returned from the hospital everything was not the way I expected it to be, my Grandma was not still staying with us and things still feel the same way, my dad wasn't aware that I have found his long lost mother and I was determined to tell him and set things right, so I decided to ask my mum a lot of questions concerning my grandmother.

It was amazingly good because my absence already brought mum back home, I waited until she came into my room to check on me that was when I started the interrogation.

She brought breakfast for me that morning to feed me, I was lying down on the bed and I refuse to eat.

"Mum I want to know what happened between dad and his mother," I said. But she refuses to tell me it was nothing but I was not convinced.

"Mum, when I first saw dad's mum she denied that she don't know him," I said. "There must be a reason why she did that, mum I want to know."

"Eat your food," she said ignoring my question, but I wasn't ready to give up yet.

"Mum, please tell me I won't eat if you don't tell me."

"Okay, I'll tell you but first eat your food," she said and I took a bite out of the bread she gave me.

"It was December 25th, 2003," she began. "I and your dad just got married and I was already pregnant for you, before that day, your dad's mother came home to celebrate Christmas with us, but she didn't come alone, she came with your uncle and his fiancé, it was supposed to be a family Christmas celebration, until when your uncle finance started misbehaving she hate your grandma so much that she tried to kill her when I discovered it, I told your dad and he didn't do anything about it, on Christmas eve there was a fight between your dad and his brother, your grandma tried to settle it and the next thing we saw your dad threw a knife but accidentally it hit your grandma on her arm and there was blood at once, that was when last saw her for the past twelve years, we looked for her everywhere but couldn't find her.

"But mum, the photo said she was missing on the 25th December 2005?" I stood up from the bed slowly.

"Yes, your dad concluded that your grandma is missing on that date, that picture we took with your grandma just when we first told your grandma about the wedding that was a picture from sixteen years ago."

My mum stood up from the bed and toward the door from the way she suddenly left the room, I knew she didn't tell me the truth about all that had happened.