The nice smell of my room kept me asleep I didn't want to wake up especially after the previous night when we slept so late, everyone in that house was still sleeping even after the 10 o'clock happy sun knocked on the side walls of our bricked house. I was still very sleepy but when looking at me, my face was wearing a happy smile that of a born lamb.
The previous night, our home was so full of celebrations after the news hit us right with surprise that my father Mr Nicole ng'endu had been promoted to a seat of a CEO in Timber cement limited, how could we not celebrate, my father had worked so hard to meet that criteria, since when he was a handman who carried bags of cement to the trucks to be transported, to the position of a foreman, who made sure that the task of loading trucks was done imminently without a waste.
One night I had my father and my mother discussing in their room which was squarely next to mine, " my husband you have been in the position of a foreman for a maximum of ten years, and you have done a great job for that company everyone can a test to that," that was my mother Rachel, her voice which lacked fear all the time made our family so strong, " now your CEO is retiring and now the position is being announced vacant for application why don't you try?" The room was at least quiet before I could hear my father's voice grinning in a way I felt he was not sure with what my mother was saying.
"My wife I know you want the best for me,,,,, but check it on the fact side, I am just a foreman, and there are others who are going to apply for that position, some of them are from the HR desks, some of them are the company's accountants, one of them is the COO the one next to the CEO, now how do you expect me to win there," his voice raised and lowered in pitch as it sent an energy full of fear which showed how much my father foresaw the impossibility in what he was about to do.
"I know my husband, but you are a friend to the CEO Mr Richards, that is a strike of hope there, another thing you have the papers just like those people you have mentioned,, the difference is the position of placement at the workplace, but you are very eligible to apply for this, please don't let this opportunity pass you my dear," my mother strong words of motivation felt so encouraging her words made everything feel so easier than the way they may have looked, and for sure I can tell you that my father was so very convinced. "My husband,, look at our life," she continued,"for a very long time we have hoped for a better life, a life where we can pay for our bills without any strains, a life where we can support our children's education by paying their fees without any delays, a life where we can be respected in the community, this is our chance at that remember you told me you will buy for me an SUV," my father looked at my mother as she spoke those words and smiled broadly feeling no regrets marrying such a wonderful and wise woman."I will take it," "yes!!!" I jumped in excitement in my bed,"whaaaat!!" My mother exclaimed quite quietly, "Mathayo why are you still up by this time of the night,,,, and were you eavesdropping on our conversation?" "come on stop calling him Mathayo,,,,"my father warned my mother mischievously, "thank you papa," "Sleep!!" Both their voice roared through my room walls like a blow of thunder.
My father dearly applied for the position of a CEo in the company and verily it was a tough course, especially for my father, oh how I wish I could tell you what he went through during that period, one of the things was the person who sucked the pressure from his probox car tires and the one who threw rotten eggs on his windscreen as he was leaving work one dusk and the one who covered the flow to his little office with slippery lube, and the one who stole the company's CCTVs and planted it on my father's trunk, and the one.... okay it was lot, some of which made my father consider quitting, but my mother was there to support him in every way possible for him not to quit.
And the day came and he was chosen for the position of the Timber cement limited CEo. When we got the news; me, my mother and my other four siblings, we prepared for a feast to celebrate, we couldn't wait for my father to get home, we were ready to celebrate without him because he was traveling back and he was to get home in the morning we couldn't wait that long, that night we called every friend we had to celebrate with us and people indeed came, our house was so full to the outside that we could barely breathe with our noses, and the music was so loud that we couldn't hear with our ears and the party lights were made so deem that we could barely see with our eyes, and the food was so delicious that we could barely talk with our mouths. 'It was one hell of a party' as words on the streets goes. "Cheers to Mr Nicole ng'endu the new CEo of Timber cement limited!!!." My elder sister winnie,,,shouted in the mist of all that noise and music.
It was already 10 o'clock in the morning and the blankets on me still felt cozy and warm, I countinued covering it all over my face,,,as my heart warmed with excitement and beautiful emotions, I thought of how my college life was going to be so great with all of that money in my pocket oh my goodness I was going to roll like big boys in the whole college, streets in Heighlway town was going to here my name.
My imaginations were cut off, with one big hell of silence, why was the house so silent, did everyone went on black out even my mother,,, who always woke up so early to start preparing breakfast, and when she did that she could make noise all over the house that we could not sleep again, that day it was so different I couldn't figure out what was really happening that day, maybe I had to put my mind at rest because truly people were so tired after pouring ourselves out the previous night. I woke up and went to stand Infront of my glass window, I opened the window as I watched the hens feed their chicks I felt even good for the chicken. As I continued to look at the bright light outside my phone rang, I took it and answered without looking who had called, "hello," I said as I looked up in the sky still in fantasy, "your father is dead!" The voice in my phone said without hesitation. Those ambiguous evil words, moved me from my steps, "whaaaaat!!" I exclaimed wheely still not sure if what I heard was correct, "who is this please, and where did you hear all of that rumors," "I am just a stranger here my mother instructed me to call you and tell you, we are here on Omorohimo road please if you can make it on time before they take him to mortuary."
My limbs grew so weak, my heartbeat could not sustain transportation of oxygen in my whole body, it was growing so slow by each second, I felt so dizzy and I couldn't see. What I heard was not true, I tried to convince myself but the atmosphere already smelt the angel of death passing, how could the world do this to us. When I got to the scene, far from a distance I saw my family all in the same accord with me my two sisters couldn't even stand, as I neared the place where they stood I felt so cold, all of them looked at me as I approached, the only thing I saw was them despite of the crowd that was dispersed everywhere, I stood next to my mother as I raised my head to look at the cold body of my father that was covered in a white sheet, with a hole through his head, I needed no explanation to what happened to him.
All our dreams had been shut down just in a spur of a moment, I couldn't imagine how the universe could turn it's back on us like this, the reason why my mother later on said that I couldn't join college again, something that I had looked eagerly upon. AND THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF MY STORY.