THE OLD WOMAN'S STORY

the old woman story

THE OLD WOMAN’S STORY

She was called a witch because she was wretched, but she was a millionaire who couldn’t discover her wealth since she couldn’t read.

By Promise Ikpe

Witch! Witch!! Witch!!! You could hear the people in the area where she lives calling her.
Every woman would warn their children never to run errands for her or go near her.

The fear these parents put in their children made these children call her a witch whenever she is walking by and they don’t stop there, they run away from her and they stone her just for fun while they shout Witch! Witch!! Witch!!!

Most of the children calling her names were between the ages of 7 to 17 years old; Very young children whose parents have biased their minds against this old woman.

But there was a girl who wouldn’t mind what everyone was saying about this old woman, she would secretly go to this old woman and help her with her errands.

Her name is Angela.

Angela had just completed her senior secondary exams; she is waiting on God to help her parents with the money needed for her to further her education.

She is tall and fair in complexion, very intelligent, and always came in the first position in the class.

She did so well in her O-Level examination

Everyone knows her as the 'kind beauty’.

At first, she does hide herself so that the people living within the neighborhood won’t stigmatize her because everyone has been made to believe that this old woman is a witch, if not, she won’t be abandoned by her children, relations, and God.

They believe she is suffering because she is a witch who has killed her husband and children, that was why her other relations abandoned her so they avoided her and wish her death.

This erroneous ideology they spread about her in the neighborhood made everyone to be biased about her without giving her any benefit of the doubt.

This old woman lived in an abandoned building, where whenever it rains, the corner she stays would be flooded.

While others were praying for rain, mama doesn’t want it because it meant that she’ll be beaten by that rain and worse of all, if it rains at night, she won’t be able to find where to sleep till dawn because the floor would be wet.

Sometimes, she sleeps under a tree, other times; she sleeps at the community market square when the market is closed.

While facing all these, this old woman is always cheerful; she doesn’t allow the stoning and name-calling from the children to affect her mood. If she walks into any throng of children calling her names and stoning her, she’ll turn away.

However, Angela would always show up with food, her mother’s used clothes, and blankets.

She would run errands for her in secret, always help this old woman and keep her company.

One day, she noticed that ‘mama’ as she calls her would always be quick to lift a particular waterproof bag that's she suspects contains a letter by the shape of it whenever the rain falls or she was relocating to another place to lay her head any time flood compromises or those children jeopardize where she was sleeping so she asked her.

‘mama’ what is in that waterproof bag you are always carrying around, always putting in your armpit or tying on the edge of your wrapper and never losing sight of it.

‘mama’ responded that it was the only thing that reminds her of her son.

Mama went ahead to tell her how someone brought the envelope and said it was from her son who traveled abroad, and it’s been years she hasn’t set eyes on him and doesn’t know whether he is alive or not.