Reminiscence, melancholia and nostalgic memories flooded Mary's mind as she was sitting next to the fire in the small shelter which was used as a fire place. She sat quietly in deep thoughts while shedding a drop of warm salty water down her cheek. Yes, she was crying. She was crying for love. She was crying for mother's love. Her mother passed away when she was still a toddler.
She grew up without knowing her mother. The blink memories of a beautiful woman who used to toss her up and down with a great smile would creep in her mind. She was very young when her mother had fallen sick. She vaguely remembered when she was sitting next to her while she was in deep pain. Her tongue turned black and they said it was a black fever. Few days after she never saw her. Her father whispered in her ears while she was asleep."Your mother is in heaven", he said with a soft voice and then gave her a dry peck on the cheek and then he was off to work.
Her father, a man of noble character and a stern voice was working hard in the remote firms to make sure she was well taken care of. He was hardly at home as his job was a demanding one. Young Chelsea who was a neighbour's relative used to look after her. Chelsea was so sweet and she would sing her a lullaby until she fell asleep. They would play until her father came home late from work. He would make fire and prepared roosterkoeke( some char-grilled bread). He would serve them with peanut butter and honey and a cup of creamy filter coffee and warm milk and honey for her. Chelsea would kiss her goodbye when it was time to leave. She and her father would go to bed early for he would wake up early the following morning. Then Chelsea would pick her up for creche.
Things went on like that until one day her father came home with an announcement that would change their lives forever. " Mary, your mother will come here to live with us as of tomorrow", he said with his stern voice. Mary hopped with excitement when she thought of the word 'mother'. That blink of memories came to her mind again. "Mother", she said smiling to her dad. "Yes, your mother is going to leave with us". She spent the whole night thinking about the mother who was coming. She woke up early as usual to prepare for school. She was in primary school now and she was right years old. All these she was living with her father and Chelsea who helped to babysit her.
In the afternoon, she came back from school and a smell of tasty stew welcomed them. She and Chelsea entered the house walking hand in hand. They heard voices from afar. That day the house was not quiet anymore. They entered and headed straight to the kitchen. There she was. A big stout dark skinned woman with a crop of thick hair. She looked at them one by one from head to toe. There was a bit of awkwardness for a moment. Then suddenly, her father came in. "Mary! This is Florence, er-r your mother", her father said with his sharp voice. Mary looked down shyly as the woman came closer to her. " Hellow Mary", she said grinning and then looked at Chelsea. "And who is this?" She asked with a low voice. "I'm Chelsea", replied Chelsea with her sharp voice. "She has been helping me to look after Mary. Chelsea was sixteen and she was bright and mind too. She and Mary were more like sisters though Chelsea played a part of being a mother figure to Mary. She had been taking good care of her since she was a toddler. From her Mary tasted something that was closer to mother's love.
She never knew things would change since that day. Florence was not a kind of a woman who would be closer to a little girl who was not get own. She barely smiled and her commands were intimidating from the very onset. Mary felt a bit of uneasiness when she was around her. But what could she say, she was told that Florence was her mother and she had to live with that.
Few months down the line it was clear that Mary and Florence were never related in the first place. Florence had her own two daughters who were a bit older that Mary. They were her pride and joy. She made sure her children got all they wanted but Mary. It was stated clear that if Mary wanted something, she should approach her new mother not her father. Her father agreed to that for peace's sake. Mary's new sisters outshone her in all the ways. She became a withdrawn kid with trust issues. She did not know who to trust anymore. Her father was always absent at home owing to his demanding job and had to work more extra hours because he had a new family. Sometimes he would come home when Mary and her step sisters had already went to bed and when they woke he would be already gone. Mary would drag herself to the kitchen looking for leftovers and if she was lucky enough she would get a slice of bread and a scrap of vegetable soup. There was no need to beg for more because she was going to be scolded for being an ungrateful brat.
She became thinner by the day and the clothes her father bought her were no longer fitting her. She was told to give them to her new sisters. Sometimes she would wish Chelsea was there to fend for her as she usually did when other children were bullying her. Chelsea had long gone to her real family since she was a neighbour's relative. She and Chelsea had a lot in common. They both never saw their mothers. Fortunately for Chelsea, she was taken by her aunt from her mother's side to take care of her. She wished she had left with her. They only saw each other on holidays when Chelsea visited her other family who were Mary's nextdoor neighbours. After holidays they would part ways and carry on with their lives.
Mary continued to live with her unloving family and her never present father. She was now a teenager and she had already started high school. Her step sisters were behind her in grades as they were not as brilliant as her and that did not sit well with her stepmom. She tried by all means to block her from attending classes everyday. She would pretend as if she was ill and made Mary to do all the household chores. Mary would clean the house and cook for her and her daughters. When they came back from school she was made to clean after them. She would go and fetch water before she prepared for supper while they were doing their homework. Sometimes she would their homeworks as well.Her father would come home late, had supper, bathed and went straight to bed. The next morning he would be off to work. Mary would work hard to catch up on her school work. Sometimes she missed class tests but that did not stop her to pass her grades. When it was her last year a
The following year Mary registered to finish her high school. She attended the evening classes. After work she had to rush to the classes. This meant that she was over working herself more than before. She did not even have time to look after herself. She was a beautiful young woman anyway. Her slim figured body made her looked stunning even if she wore simple clothes. She would plait her hair and still looked stunning.She carried on with work and studies until it was time to write her final exams. She studied during the night while she was exhausted. Finally, she finished her studies and it was time for December holidays. She went to spend Christmas with her family. She carried on being the skivvy to her stepsisters. They would party all the weekends and she was supposed to cook and clean for them. She was used to that and there was no time to complain. No one would be on her side anyway.Then January came and it was the time t
The summer holidays came and everyone was in the festive mood. She packed her bags to join her annoying family for Christmas. She knew that the would suck her to bleed money. She had no where else to go because she had no one. Her heart was aching and she left her employer's place to join the villains who were called her family.She tried to collect herself and join the spirit of festivity just like anyone else. She was looking beautiful though she had not much clothes to wear. She made preparations for them to have decent meals during Christmas. She used up all her savings to try to make her home a warm place to stay.The stepmom and her daughters would dine on the table laughing while she was serving them. They would not even talk to her except when they want money to enjoy themselves. She would sit in the shelter thinking about her future.One day while she was preparing breakfast for her stepmom and sisters, she hear
Mary was in front of the mirror preparing herself for the dinner she was invited to, at the palace. She opened the closet and chose a beautiful dress that her employer's daughter gave her as a Christmas present. It was still smelling fresh as it came from the box. She applied a little bit perfume and put it on. It was a tight dress covered with a long lace that reached ankles. Its colour was cream and gold. She wore the high heeled shoes that matched the golden colour of the dress and plaited her long hair and it nicely at the back. She dabbed her face with the make up Chelsea gave her and it perfectly matched her even toned skin, making her look like the princess doll. She turned around in front of the mirror and was satisfied with the way she looked. She sighed for a moment and looked around clutching her fists with nervousness. A car hooted outside and she rushed off to peek through the window. It came to halt in front of the gate and she came out.The
A week later the prince threw a special bunquet for their engagement. It was a fairy tale affair that was dignified by the presence of all royal families and friends. And the community was there to honour the prince and future princess as they would embark on a new journey as a matrimonial couple. Other royal couples from the surrounding towns brought them expensive gifts and showered them with their blessings.Everyone was in a jovial mood and the festivity went on as if it was the day the prince was put on the throne. The prince and his future wife were the centre of attention. They wore new outfits that were specifically designed for them by the royal fashion designer. Mary wore a sophisticated gown with an embroidery of expensive stones. Her hair and makeup were done by the professional beautician who was hired specially for her by the prince. She was starting to live the life of royalty now. After her new look was done, she looked like Cinderella after he
Mary's step mother was bitter than she used to be. The fact that her child was dead did not sit well with her and she was trying by all means to make things difficult for Mary. She always threw tentrums without any cause and that made Mary to feel like it was her fault that her step sister was dead. She felt like packing her bags and leave that hell of a house.One day her step mother asked her to deliver a parcel to her relative who was living in a near by town. She was ordered to handle the parcel with care and make sure it did not open. And her step mother promised to blow the daylights out of her, should she open or damage the parcel box. So, it was only her step mother who knew what was in that box. There was also a letter that accompanied it.She woke up early in the morning and set on foot. She did not even have a taxi fare. It was hot that day and the thick clouds appeared from the north indicating that there would be thunderstor
Mary did not come back home until it was late that day. The following day came and still she did not show up. Her step mother seemed not to be bothered by this as used to be when things did no go as she wished, instead she carried on with household chores as if nothing had happened. Even her daughter was surprised by her mother's calmness, since she knew her for her strong will when it came to things done her own way. For her it was her way or no way. Her daughter finally asked about Mary and she was told that Mary had defied the orders by not coming home when she had sent her to their relative. Although it was not like Mary to rebel against her step mother's instructions, her step sister decided to lay the matter to rest for peace's sake until Mary returned home.A week later later their relative sent them a message that Mary did not arrive at her house the day she was sent to deliver a parcel. People started to be concerned but her st
The prince's search team made sure they left no stone unturned to find Mary. They entered house to house and even the abandoned buildings. But the more they searched the lesser the hopes of finding her Alive became. They asked even the young children who were playing in the streets for leads to no avail. The prince became anxious and he made all the efforts to beef up the team with more security, incase Mary was in danger. Even the soldiers and law enforcement officers were there to monitor the search campaign.Mary's step mother had already spread the speculations that Mary had eloped with another man. She did this to divert the attention of the prince so that he could lose interest in marrying her. Instead of being diverted, the prince was more determined to find his fiancee. There was something that told him there was more to Mary's disappearance than people were assuming. He had the terrible dream before Mary disappeared. He and Mary were in a boat they we