Yellow Tales of a Nigerian Housemaid (completed)

Chapter Twenty Six

From my waist down to my toes went numb instantly. My heart wrenched in so much pain that I could no longer cry. I looked up to behold my aunt, her eyes bloodshot in anger. She held up the rake, ready for another hit, but the quick intervention of aunt Oby stopped her. Her younger sister immediately grabbed hold of the rake and began to struggling for its possession.

"Why would you do that Agnes? How could you use an iron rake on her?" She was baffled. "Iron rake Agnes! what were you thinking?" She screamed, a pang of fear and worry enveloping her words.
"Do you think you'll go free easily if anything happens to her?" She asked, staring at someone she couldn't believe was her sister.

"And who cares?" Aunt Agnes retorted. "At least I'll eventually go free right?" She boasted.

"Jesus Christ!" Aunt Oby shouted, dragging the rake from her sister's hands and flinging it towards the gate in anger. She bent over to me and slowly held up my hands. I raised my face to see hers and I could feel a silent apology written all over her face.

She tried helping me up but my legs refused to move, they were numb and lifeless. Aunt Oby looked up at me in fear and suddenly let out a muffled scream, a scream that showed she was petrified.

"Agnes come oo, this girl is crippled!" She screamed trying in futility to make me walk.

"Don't mind her, she's pretending. Let her get crippled nah" Aunt Agnes replied, unconcerned. Aunt Oby shot her a painful look before looking down to me again.

"Can you feel your legs yet?" She asked fearfully and I shook my head, raising her fears the more. She grabbed hold of my legs and began massaging it. They were numb, so numb that I couldn't feel her hands. They felt like a frozen wave, like an external part of me. I couldn't feel my legs neither could I move them.

Aunt Agnes ignored us and walked over to the rake, gently picking it up. She held it over her shoulder and gallantly walked towards us.

Aunt Oby stared at her in confusion, her head not able to wrap around her sister's insensitive actions.

"What are you still doing with that rake?" Aunt Oby asked. Aunt Agnes smiled, her shoulder raised high like that of a king.

"If she doesn't get up from there right now, I'll help her up!" She barked. "I'll flog her with this rake until she stops that pretence and go back to her chores" She threatened.

The look on aunt Oby's face depicted that of surprise. She hadn't ever seen her sister in that form before.

"Agnes? Because of common candy? And you don't even care that this girl can't move!" She shouted, anger and disdain registered in her tone.

"It's not about the candy Oby, it's about my room! She dared step into my room!" She said angrily. "Ask her! What else did she do? Sit on my bed? On my couch? Chatted with my husband? Polluted my room with her stench? Tell me what else?" She barked.

Aunt Oby shook her head in despair. She looked down at me pitifully and caressed my hands in love.

The numbness began to ease off slowly. For a start, I began to feel immense pain around my waist. Each movement made me feel more pains than before. I didn't want to cry anymore, so I endured them. I would blink severally whenever I felt the painful surge and would hope it'd stop instantly.

Aunt Oby held my hand, trying to help me up. I tried to stand but my heels felt like a moist foam was placed underneath it, my two legs felt afloat.

Aunt Oby saw how difficult it was for me and supported me with her shoulder. I clung to it and began limping to the room.

Aunt Agnes laughed in mockery.

"I thought you said she was crippled, how come she's now walking?" She asked sarcastically and began laughing again. She choked in her laughter and coughed profusely.