Ochanya {Completed}

TWO👑

I felt a cold touch and my eyes opened. I saw my father, he sat on the bed beside me as he saw me awakening.

"Papa, Good  morning" I greeted and he smiled, he held my hand up and stared at it.

"Just look at your hands, dark and pretty" he said and rolled my eyes inwardly, he's only trying to make me smile.

"Look here Ochanya, you are a Queen, you are beautiful and your skin color is one in a million, I know your siblings taunt you for being dark but don't let that weigh you down, you are just like my mother and she's a beautiful woman that produced me"

"Papa, why am I different? Papa, do you think I'm a bastard?" I asked and he shook his head.

"No you are not, you are my daughter, my queen, my pride" he said and pulled me in for a hug, I just love my father a lot.

"I just wish Mama loves me like you do"I muttered but he heard cos he chuckled.

"Ochanya" he called.

"Papa" I answered

"Your mother loves you more than I do, she's just not showing it" he said and I sighed, I wonder when she'll start showing me she loves me the way she loves my siblings.

"Okay papa" I replied, he patted my back and left my room.

***

After having my bath, I dressed up, I can't be late for choir rehearsal, I searched for my favorite black scarf.

"Rita!" I rolled my eyes, only one person calls me that, my mother.

I took my scarf and rushed towards her.

"Yes mama"

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Today is Saturday, I'm going for rehearsal" I replied.

"Okay, give Paul's mother this money on your way back from rehearsal," she said and I counted the money. As I counted, I noticed that a thousand naira is torn

"It's N10,000 Mama and this one thousand has torn" I said and she nodded

"I know, it can still be spent, Keep it well and don't misplace it" she warned and I nodded. I left and on my way out, I put it in the band of my wrapper. I carried my bible and my jotter and left the house.

I sang on my way to church, then suddenly a huge snake fell from the tree in front of me, it's very big and I kept contemplating if it's a python or a snake. It hissed at me, jerking me back to reality and made it way towards me, it crawled towards me, my eyes widened in fear and I took to my heel, I ran as my leg could carry me along the bush path, my right foot collided with a tree branch and I fell flat on my chest but I didn't relent, I stood in a swift and continued to run.

Something persuaded me to stop, I'm in the neighborhood already and I think it would have gone back, I look behind me and realized I've only been running with nothing chasing me. I heaved a sigh of relief and started moving forward, I decided to follow another route, I don't want to come across the snake again.

God!

I stopped with a halt. Something isn't right. I touched the band of my wrapper.

It's gone!

The N10,000 my mother told me to give to Paul's mother is gone, I'm so dead.

It must have fallen when I was running from the snake now I have to go through that path in search for it, I hope no one has passed there yet. I sluggishly turned and walked towards the path, my body crings at the slightest form of sound as I stayed alert.