Just like a story.

I remember it all, just like it was yesterday. Daddy, he has always been a mystery to me even till today although the difference is today he's no longer with us, Amy pauses there and picked up the half-filled glass of water that was before her, after taking a few sips she let out a huge breathe, " let's continue "she said more to herself than to anyone else, Daddy was a mystery I loved, he was always busy, he was a traveler, most of my memories of him are filled with him hugging us goodbye and leaving the house dragging a big black bag beside him, we are five in number, I'm number two, she laughs a bit as if thinking on what she just said was humorous, we were happy, not necessarily rich, my father made sure we had all we ever wanted and so we were all comfortable, we felt loved each of us in different ways but loved anyway, my father knew how to come down to each of us and all of us, I remember one day, my sister was playing with a neighbouring friend of ours, he was almost twice her size yet she was scoring points against him, so my dad started calling her Deborah, he was praising her and you could see the effect of the praise cause my sister doubled her efforts and was laughing like she's just being infected with a laughing gas, all through that day, my sister kept telling all who had ears to hear that she was Deborah, a strong and fearless woman who lead many men to war, and flexing her little muscles as she did so as if to prove a point, everyone including mom started calling her Deborah, I began to feel jealous, I remember asking myself, what about me, didn't I have a name, if my dad could give my sister a name, what about me or did he love my sister more than he loved me, however in my usual style I didn't say anything I just smiled and laughed with the rest of the family, as the Deborah's joke was going on, the next day I was outside playing, my sister was also outside playing, and Dad was sitting at a corner of the yard watching us, we got tired of playing at some point and ran to his arms, he smiled and had us sit with him, then he said, my Deborah and my Queen Esther, I looked up at his face and you could see the joy that was radiating from my heart, on my face, Amy smiled, her eyes distant, I was Queen Esther after all, even I had a name, he loved me too, that was my thought then, it was silly but then it was my thought. Mom prepared a kind of vegetable soup for dinner and I didn't like it, none of us did, although Dad and Mom seemed to be enjoying it, Mommy was shouting at the top of her voice and threatening, she was saying something to Dad about him spoiling and over-pampering us, later Dad stepped out and came back with a bunch of roasted meat, we all wanted some, Dad said we could have them, but we'll have to eat our meals first, within seconds we were done and my elder sister even began to lick on her plate to the amusement of everyone, initially mom was complaining about how Dad was recklessly spending the little money they had, she ended up eating most of the roasted meat, Amy huffed, mom has always been so funny, I guess I couldn't understand her, I'm not sure I understand her till this day. My little sister and I were age-mates, so we did almost everything together, including going to the same schools, Mom would take us to school and drop us off, before going to work, and everyday at the school gate while Mom was dropping us off, my sister her name is Linda, she would throw such a tantrum, the teachers would have to drag her into the school compound, me on the other hand, I'll just walk gently into school on my own accord, I used to wonder then why my sister always insisted on throwing a tantrum and embarrassing herself, I hated awkward and embarrassing moments, so you could imagine my embarrassment when I defecated on my body, I was intent on hiding it until I got home, but unfortunately or fortunately, the smell of the faeces gave me out, on getting home, Mom was so furious, she kept saying even Linda wouldn't do this, you think you are still a baby. Dad didn't know about it though, he had travelled some days ago, a part of me was happy he wasn't around, at least he won't know about it, so he won't be so disappointed, that day I buried my head on my pillow, I hated myself for this, I didn't ever want to go to school again, however the next day at school my sister's tantrums didn't seem so embarrassing anymore, and it seemed everyone had forgotten about everything that happened, so I just went with the flow. I wasn't bad in my academic performance, but I was not so good either, I was on the average side, I like being on the average side, I felt being on the average side would take a lot of attention away from you, i didn't really care for the attention, it was better to stay unnoticed or so I thought. My siblings, they all were bright, they always came out amongst the best three in their classes, Dad was always so glad when he saw such high scores, I almost always came home with the poorest scores, whether it was a test or an examination. Class 6, was so remarkable however, I remember my tutor then, although I can't seem to remember her name, Amy said, rubbing her fingers against her head with a little frown on her face, as though that would help her recall the name of the tutor, she was advanced in age, Amy continued, showing by the many faint lines on her face, she would always point me out in class to answer one question or the other, a part of me hated her, but another part of me always wondered how she noticed me, however maybe I wanted to be noticed after all, Amy giggled, because I remember my attitude began to change, I started putting more efforts in my academic and participating in several extra-curricular activities, I joined the music group, although I think she was the one who nominated me to be a member of the music group, I really don't remember much of the details, but I know a part of me wanted to make my teacher happy, I wanted to show her that I was a smart student after all. And I did, at the end of that term's work, I came out with a brilliant result to the amazement of Mom and Dad, I could see that Dad was proud of me, I was genuinely happy.

Then came the holidays...