A Prayer And A Dollar – Episode 2

02

Miso managed to heat up some water for her mother and helped her to the bathroom, she noticed that the stench was a body odor that her mother was moving with but still she decided she wasn’t going to make any assumptions.

After getting her comfortable in the house and making her some light porridge, she decided to go to the market where her mother owned a stand.

‘I will be going to the market, please make sure you check on mum from time and again.’ She told her brother Sau

She started off for chawama market where the stand was and along the way she kept admiring the beautiful houses that people had built, she had a dream that one day she would own a house like this and each time she kept telling herself that she would do everything in her power to make it happen.

‘Good morning Miso.’ Bana George who was her mother’s neighbor greeted ‘I am okay thank you.’ She responded

She straight away went to the place that her mother kept her merchandise and lucky enough they still had some fresh vegetables and tomatoes from the previous day meaning she didn’t have to go to Bwana Howard’s farm to buy some. ‘Why hasn’t your mother come today?’ she asked

Miso really wanted to tell her to mind her business but because society expected her to respect her elders even when they didn’t act like it so she decided to respond.

‘I just decided to help her out today.’

She must have noticed the tone of her voice so throughout the day she didn’t utter another word to her. She was very lucky because she managed to sell everything at the end of the day and she knew that her mother would be proud because she had been complaining that business had been slow the past couple of days.

After putting back the empty baskets where they kept them in the night, she decided to buy some kapenta that she would cook for the night and got the vegetables that she had kept for home.

On her way home she kept thinking of what Sau had said and now more than ever she too wanted to make something out of her life because she couldn’t imagine a life without her brother.

She had just gotten into the road that led to her place when it started raining, she looked at the distance to her place and so decided to just walk because she would still got soaked anyway.

The sound of a car made her move away from the road, she noticed that it had stopped just a distance from where she was and this made her turn to check if someone else was coming.

‘Young lady jump in.’ the man said after pulling down his window

She didn’t need to hear him say another word because she was sure it was Josphat the minister, Bwana Howard’s son.

‘I am fine.’ She said as the water continued to pour on her ‘You don’t want to get sick now, do you?’ he asked

She shrugged her shoulders and decided to jump in.

Josphat immediately switched on the aircon and the vehicle started getting warm. ‘I am Josphat by the way.’

‘You have told me that a million times.’ She said

She saw him smile from the corner of her eye and right there and then she just wanted to snatch the smile from his face.

‘I am shocked you know my name.’

‘Who doesn’t know the Kapinda’s in our compound.’ She responded looking the other side

‘Well I wish you knew me by the things I have done and not by my father’s last name.’

‘Unless you tell me you are not a Kapinda because only then can we stop referring you to your father.’

He laughed.

‘What’s funny?’

‘You are more intelligent than you think you are Misozi.’

‘And how do you know my name?’ she asked this time looking at him ‘Who doesn’t know the Bandas?’

She chuckled and he smiled.

The rest of the drive was quiet as he could tell that she wasn’t comfortable being in his vehicle, he came to a stop just a few houses from her place.

‘Will I ever see you again?’

‘You will unless I die today.’ She told him holding the door but he locked it

‘Of course you know what I mean.’

‘No I don’t and I need to get home and start cooking, as you can see I am the one with the relish here.’ She said showing him the wet plastic bags

‘I am sorry about your mother by the way, I really wish I could help. I know cancer is something that people rarely heal from.’ He said

For a moment she thought she had heard the wrong thing.

‘Excuse me?’ she asked

‘Oh my word you didn’t know? I am sorry but your father came to dad for help and that is how I knew about it.’

‘And I am guessing the bwana turned him down right?’ she asked with hurt registered in her voice

‘Misosi I am not my father.’ He tried to say but the evil dagger she shot him was enough to silence him

‘You have his blood running through you.’ She said

He was defeated and he felt bad that she had to learn about her mother’s illness like that and much worse from him.

When Miso got out of the car, she couldn’t help but allow the tears that she had blinking back to fall. She was not dump and she knew too well what cancer was and what it could do to the body. Her worst fear was that her family didn’t have enough money to take her for an operation.

By the time she was getting to the house, the rains had stopped. Sau was waiting by the door for her when she got there.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked

She just broke down in his arms as she allowed the tears to fall, her worst fear was that her mother was probably dying and she was going to be there not able to do anything about it.

When she was done, he asked her to go and change into some dry clothes because she would catch a cold.

He immediately started preparing supper and told her to get some rest because he could feel that whatever made her breakdown was huge.

‘You didn’t have to.’ She said when he came to call her to eat. ‘Don’t worry, she will be fine.’ He said catching her off guard ‘How did you?’ she didn’t finish her sentence

‘There a lot of things that one learns by keeping quiet and observing.’ He said She smiled realizing just how blessed she was to have him.

They were all having dinner together when Mr. Banda’s phone rang, it was unlike him to receive phone calls in the night.

‘Hello.’ He said

‘Prepare your wife tomorrow by 7hrs, we will be going to the hospital to have her checked.’ The voice on the other end of the line said

He put his plate down and smiled weakly at his wife.

‘Papa who was it?’ Mabvu asked

‘The Minister, he says he will be taking your mother to be checked.’ Sau eyed Miso suspiciously.

‘What have you done?’ he asked her when they were about to sleep ‘Nothing.’ She said rushing to her room

#A_PRAYER_AND_A_DOLLAR