The Bringers of the Dawn

Chapter 1: Breaking the News

"Joanna, I already told you that at 23, you should be in a very serious relationship, and looking forward to settling down within the next year."

"Joanna, you are growing older, you will not always be pretty. At some point, the men will stop knocking at your door."

"Joanna, stop thinking that the money you are receiving is too little, if you start chasing big cars and jobs which pay hundreds of thousands, and thinking like a man, you will end up without one."

These were the types of rants that had become part of Joanna's life. If she didn't love her mom so deeply, she would detest her for her incessant onslaught on her status as a single person, ticking biological clocks, and all the related cow dung.

She walked out of the living room and went to catch some fresh air. She had come home after an intense week of working as a medical writer for a health blog. Mommy dearest also had an issue with the fact that she spent her entire day in the house, with her laptop, working on some online job.

"You have to get out there, Joanna, and take a real job. You will meet wonderful Doctors at your work station. Doctors always marry nurses like you."

Mommy dearest did not know that her daughter was making more than five times what she would ordinarily make as a nurse with her online job as a health writer. What is the use of a job if it will not pay the bills? She wondered for the hundredth time. She was comfortable telecommuting. Last month mommy had been complaining that sitting idle all day would lead to weight gain, and the modern-day man did not like an obese female. She took up a step aerobics class at the local gym. Why do I always give in to her? She wondered for the millionth time.

She drew in the fresh countryside air. It was good to be home despite the noise and the panic that it created in her. She was waiting for an opportune moment to inform her parents that she was processing her passport and needed copies of their ID. She knew that the mother of all arguments would ensue if she told them that she wanted to leave the country and live abroad for the next eight months.

Joanna walked out of their gate and onto the village path. She wanted to take a thirty-minute walk and cool off. She wondered why her mother always insisted on settling for less. She was not sure that all African mothers believed that a successful woman was too intimidating and therefore, unmarriageable. She wondered why it was okay to shelf her dreams and play second fiddle to someone busy pursuing his.

Joanna, submission means making sacrifices; some dreams can never match the happiness that comes from bringing up a family and seeing them succeed. Look at me, am I not happy? Her mother would argue.

No, you're not, mother; if you were happy, you would let me dream. Happy people celebrate their children's dreams and successes. She would formulate the response in her mind, but she was never confident enough to tell it to her mother.

She considered her situation right now. The previous December, a girl they had schooled with at the University had told her that she had gotten a job in France and that the company was still hiring. She had raised the issue with her mother, but she had been shot down.

"Now you think because you learned a little French in High School, you are an expert in living abroad, eh... for all you know, they could be tricking you into a toilet scrubbing job."

"My God, you're an impossible mom" The sentence had left her mouth before she had time to check herself.

"Watch your tongue young lady, one day you will thank me for protecting you from your self-destructive and overambitious self."

She had let the chance go and watched another of her schoolmates take the job instead. It seemed like destiny was calling her to France because now, six months later, another nurse working in the same company had received a PhD. Scholarship and was leaving for the US in the next month. She had been considered first when the administration learned of the imminent vacancy.

I am doing this. I do not care if I have to lie and get disowned, but I need to do this. Joanna thought as she walked.

What remained in this village for her anyway? Didn't her mommy see that all the young people Joanna had attended primary school with had left for the bigger towns? Why was mom always insisting that she should take up a job at the local dispensary? Her brother was now a CEO of a South African Company in Durban, why was that okay? She loved helping people, and she had always taken part in charity drives to treat people. She was known as Daktari, which means Doctor by the locals. But she couldn't quite imagine renting a small house at the shopping centre, working at the clinic and living in the village where she was born for the rest of her life. The thought made her want to stab herself in the face a million times.

She was now past the primary school that she had attended. Her friends always asked her how she had managed to pass from such a school when they saw the name on her certificate. It looked older than she remembered. The roof was rustier. The current headteacher had at least tried to erect pillars to support some of the parts of the roof that looked like they were too tired and would give up any minute and 'sit down' as her brother humorously called the collapsing of buildings.

She turned around and headed back home. She would have to lie. She would have to tell them that she needed their IDs because she had gotten a government job and was required to submit some Biodata for registration, Aux grands maux, les grands remèdes. Desperate situations called for desperate measures.

She waited until her Dad was home before she went to join them at the dinner table. She greeted her Dad respectfully and sat down on the other side of the table.

"How is the online job going, Jojo?" he asked.

"Good."

"Wonderful, with the advent of technology, telecommuting will be the order of the day. Keep at it. They say that the next Tech billionaire will come from the creation of artificial intelligence gadgets." He stated happily. Joanna watched her mother's face contort in disgust.

"Dad, I took a government job." She replied.

"Really, okay..." he hesitated.

"In Marsabit County, it is a safe environment, and the pay is good." She tried to keep a straight face as she created the tale. "I have been asked to report as soon as possible, and they need copies of my birth certificate and your IDs for registration and insurance." She finished, hoping she was convincing. Her mother was clapping.

"Wow, I am happy, Jojo. I was worried that you would keep dragging that online joke for another year, but I see you are growing up." She finished. Joanna smiled uneasily. The rest of the dinner went on smoothly.

Joanna was relieved when she went to bed. She had successfully lied for the first time in her life. But looking at the circumstances surrounding her, did she have any choice?