Yellow Tales of a Nigerian Housemaid (completed)

Chapter Six

The main idea of the letter wasn't to implicate her in terms of keeping a sexual relationship with another man, its main idea was to ensure her husband finds out she doesn't write them herself.

And my idea worked.

All I could remember afterwards was Mama sitting on my head, her big buttocks enveloping every part of it. I struggled so hard to breathe as she kept repeating the question "Why did you do it?".

Uncle Ugonna was back and kept blaming aunt Agnes for giving me such a task, he insisted she should have waited for him.

Aunty on her own was in tears, she cried profusely with mucus dripping freely from her nose. Her bulging eye balls were as red as fire and her heart, beating rhythmically above her chest. She has lost the strength to beat me and therefore looked on helplessly as I struggled to catch some breaths under Mama's hold.

Gradually, I felt my lungs contracting and shutting down painfully as it's continuously starved of air. For a second I thought I was going to die! I could hear aunt Oby's distant voice begging Mama to kill me, screaming for her big buttocks to press my head harder on the rough concrete floor.

My heartbeat increased geometrically, pounding heavily beneath my chest. The more scared I was to die, the more I heard it throb, like the galloping of a fierce horse. But slowly, it began to wane. I suddenly became hot with my body feeling on fire. It felt as though my flesh was being torn. I understood what was happening, I was slowly dying.

At this moment, all I desired was to see my dad's face, just one last time. To ask him why I was hated and tell him how much I craved for his love, for the love of a family. To help ease my pain, I began imagining who my late mum was, how she looked like and the beauty of meeting her! I imagined how glad she'd be to see me and how happily she would welcome me in the world beyond, pamper me like a princess and promise never to leave my side.

At this point I became calm, I was no more afraid to die. If not for anything, for at least my pains would die with me. I'd be happy forever and would never be tormented again.

But in a flash, I felt a cold splash on my face. I jerked up and for a second was lost without an idea of what had happened.
Uncle Ugonna drew a now fully conscious me aside and began questioning me.

"Why did you do that? Why write such a letter?".

I was mute.

"I'm very sure you don't understand the gravity of what you've done! Her husband is so angry right now and has cancelled his trip, he is no longer interested in the house being rented".

On hearing this I was glad, but I wasn't ready for the next thing he said.

"Their wedding is also off, or atleast has been put on hold!"

"Wedding? Was there going to be a wedding?" I asked incoherently and he nodded.

"It was supposed to be in five weeks time, and in a very low key. This wedding is your aunt's only chance of joining her husband, and this was simply why it was kept secret from all. It was supposed to be just between both families, no visitors."

"But he shouldn't have cancelled the wedding because of this little issue" I cried.

I was hurt, I felt bad. This wasn't who I was, I was a better person than she will ever be. Uncle Ugonna saw the remorse in my eyes and explained further.

"He isn't angry because of the letter, of course it could pass off as a mistake. He is only angry that she compelled you to write it. He believes you are so young to be exposed to such sexual language. He also feels bad that your aunt had been fooling him for a while now with great letters which where edited and rewritten by me. She confessed to him. He isn't happy at all, in fact you have committed the greatest atrocity against this family." He said.