Pestilence at nineteen

Two

November 30 , 2019.Nigeria.

Outside the veranda was thirteen year old Nissis , the young lad had been staring at the fields, trying to divide his attention from the sin taking place inside their one room apartment or better still, trying to make something off the scenery. He could hear his mother moan with extreme pleasure , he could hear her beg to be freed but the monster wasn't just done yet , he pinned her to the ground and began his unending ribaldrous jokes...unable to put up with the whole picturesque, Nissis storms in to save his mother from the grip of sex maniac.
"Leave my mother alone Kadiri !" he shouted at the top of his voice , he knew he had ruined his life and his mother's by uttering such words but he felt he had to intervene nonetheless . Kadiri got them the one room apartment just so he could lay his poor mother who had to do what she did for him to attend college - each time she told him to go outside when he visited he felt hurt , he had always been hurt as a child but this type was somewhat recurrent, and for a boy of his age he had seen much of it , what made it worse was that Kadiri was a Policeman , an officer of the law! he knew he had messed up and would pay dearly , but he was prepared for the worst.
"Sewa did you hear this rattling scoundrel ? is that how you behave after all the food I have given you? don't worry I am going to beat those words back into your mouth" he stands up stark naked and reaches for his belt.
"Kadiri no! please I beg of you , he is only a child" said his mother holding the sturdy man in his arms.
"Get off me gold digger! " he pushes her aside and scourges Nissis with the belt , which lands on his face and sends him to the cupboard , this sends a random disperse of culinary materials to the floor. He receives few smacks of the belt while on the floor and he couldn't help but shout "Maaaaa!" the painful scars the belt left as it thwacked his buttock made him doubt his existence. After he was done , Kadiri wore his clothes back on and muttered something inaudible to the crying mother and child. The look in his eye was one of a drenched rat and his uniform gave him the wildest of looks.
"Be gone before I get back - both of you! " he snapped , slamming the door behind him. Mrs Sewa watched him leave through the window frame , that went her only hope of survival and shelter - tears flowed steadily from her eyes.
"Am sorry Ma..." Nissis knew he had acted foolishly and it had cost them everything they had. He hated to see his mother like this "Ma !" he tried to gain her attention , but she was oblivious of her immediate surrounding as thoughts of survival flooded her mind. He walked towards her gingerly and uttered again , this time slowly
"Am sorry Ma" , a look at her son gave Sewa a renewed hope
"Nissis , you will go to college - it doesn't matter how many odd jobs I pick " she held him close to her for what seemed like a hour.

* * *

"That was the last of it? "
"Yes Ma " retorted Nissis as he held a bag containing his clothes . They had packed their belongings in silence as both were too weak to talk to each other.
"Where do we go now Ma?" he asked
"I don't know son , but I intend getting some job anon " . As they walked for some umpteenth time en route the Benin side walks , Sewa recumbented , the journey had sprawled her out hunger and thirst was clinging fast. Unable to help the whole situation , Nissis sat looking inadequate and crestfallen.
"Ma , are you hungry?"
"Yes my child , my feet aches each time I take a step, for it seems I would die..."
"No Ma , you won't..." quickly , he gets up and heads towards the busy market place , he planned to beg the buyers and sellers for money or food to feed his mother , he had watched other children do it from the yard and he didn't see any compunction. The first person he approached was a sneerer , he complained of how unkempt his hair was and why he looked so wild , this made Nissis realize how unfastidious he had been this few days : he was very neat even with his few clothes , but the events of the day had made him pay less attention to himself of late. As he thought about this , there came a splash of mud to his face which sent him to a gutter adjacent , the car sped on without a halt , and it seemed like he would cry.
" How could one boy be full of such misfortune?" laughed the sneerer , Nissis had gotten up now , he was uncertain of what step to take next that he found himself running , running away from people and everyone , everything seemed to work against him , the machinations of life didn't stop for once to consider the fact that he was juvenile - for one thing he knew ... he ran , he never stopped , he never looked back...