*THOAC WEEKLY COMPETITION WINNER�*
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TOPIC:FAMILY
GENRE:FICTION/SHORT
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*I DON'T KNOW*

It was a day like any other day, except today was different, after the hectic classes and the perpetual cramming, I got second position. I knew that meant death for me, as my father had threatened me severally, saying he would disown me and kill me after. My dad sent me to school after the incessant begging from my mother and him repeatedly saying, "she will pack to her husband's house the moment she grows breasts"
He eventually agreed and had the phrase "if you're not the best, you're not worth the rest" engraved into my brain tissues.
This was my coat of armor, I wore it day and night as I studied, I barely ate; I had turned to skin and bones before my mother's eyes.
All this only to have my right stolen from me because I couldn't afford to bribe the teachers like Rhoda, Chief Okoro's daughter.
Getting home, I had already accepted my fate, my dad was outside our two bed roomed bungalow, I silently handed him the result.
He said nothing, just walked in, brought out a whip with my mother directly in tow, started whipping me, all around the house, to the rooms, till I couldn't run anymore, all the while my mother was screaming for mercy. He kept beating me, I saw black spots, I was going unconscious, when it suddenly stopped, my mother had pushed my father and his head hit the bed frame, he was bleeding!, and he wasn't moving.
My mother immediately took action, she told me to start up a fire, burning our refuse at the backyard, I dragged my weak and aching body to the backyard, poured petrol and started a fire. She dragged his body into the fire, our neighbors weren't around, they had gone to the city for easter, and it was quite a common practice burning our refuse.
We stood side by side, watching as his body burnt, wondering what we had done.
My older brother came back from the farm in the evening all smiles, chatting on about how he got extra money, because the madam liked him, but I was too preoccupied with numbness of mind and the pain I felt all over. Suddenly, my brother stopped and asked us;
"Where's Papa, I haven't seen him since I got back."
I was too shocked to say anything, but my mum replied on time saying;
"I don't know, he hasn't gotten back from the farm yet"
© *Nikemi*
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