heard madam and her husband whispering in
hush tone.
“Give it to me harder,” madam whispered
breathing heavily.
My heart skipped some beats as I thought
madam was in distress but I kept calm and
listened further.
The squeaking sound of their bed increased
and madam’s voice filtered once again into
my room.
“Ouusss…mmm…ahhh,” she moaned.
At that point I knew what was happening.
Madam and her husband were at it again
and another baby could soon be on the way.
Some minutes later madam’s husband
started groaning aloud and everywhere went
quiet afterwards.
“Darling you’re so wonderful,” my madam
said.
“And you too my queen,” the husband
responded and let out a short laugh.
I didn’t know when I slept off and by the
time I woke up it was morning.
I got up immediately and went to do my
morning function.
Within one hour I was through so I sat on
the mortar in the kitchen waiting for my
madam to wake up.
Part of the warning madam gave me was
that for no reason whatsoever was I to sit
on the padded seats in the sitting room.
“If you feel like sitting down,” she instructed.
“Sit on top of the mortar in the kitchen and
never in the sitting room.”
For no reason whatsoever was I to touch
the remote controller in the sitting room no
to talk of putting on the television.
The dining room was also out of my bounds
so I ate in the kitchen and on top of my
mortar.
Madam woke up very late that morning
around 11am and came and inspected
everywhere but saw nothing to complain
about yet she wasn’t satisfied.
“Who put on the toilet light?” She asked
frowning her face.
“I don’t know ma,” I replied.
A very hard knock landed on my head and I
shouted in pain and ran towards the toilet to
off the light.
Then she went back into her room.
“Darling I suggest you take it easy with that
young girl,” I overheard my madam’s
husband admonishing her.
“That girl can be very annoying,” my madam
replied. “Can you imagine that she hasn’t
scrubbed the toilet uptill now,” she added,
which was a very big lie.
“Just be patient with her,” my madam’s
husband insisted. “I believe she will learn,”
he added.
“I hope so,” my madam responded.
I felt very bad.
The toilet my madam lied that I didn’t scrub
was actually the first thing I scrubbed that
morning.
Why my madam was being so wicked to me
was what I couldn’t explain. I was doing all
my best to please this madam of mine yet it
seemed like all my best wasn’t good
enough.
I swallowed hard and let the annoyance
pass.
By noon, madam ordered me to prepare and
escort her to the market.
Her husband stayed behind with the baby
and waited for us to come back.
We boarded a bus and madam sat down
while I continued standing.
A passenger alighted at the seventh bus-
stop and left a free seat which out of
exhaustion I decided to sit.
Madam’s hard blow on my thigh sent me to
my feet in no time.
“Who gave you the permission to sit down?”
She fumed ogling at me. “Will your dead
father pay for the seat or your wretched poor
mother in the village?” She asked still
staring at me ferociously.
Her words hurt me as much as the blow on
my thigh but I endured.
“Madam please take it easy,” one man
sitting behind us pleaded. “She will learn
with time.”
My madam kept mute and didn’t utter any
word in reply.
When we got to the market, Madam bought
everything we went to buy and I carried
them on my head till we got to the house.
“Wash those vegetables and cut them,” my
madam instructed. “Cos I’ll cook soup this
evening.”
With tiredness and exhaustion I set to work
immediately.
Within 30minutes I was through with the
vegetables. Then I proceeded to cut the okro
as well.
When I finished, I was very tired so I went
into my small room to rest for a while…