Just One Careless Move

“You know you have to join your brother at the quarry, right?”

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“But Mama?” Jayden mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His little voice was barely a whisper, drowning in the early morning cold.

He was only six years old, yet he already knew what it meant to be tired. Not the kind of tired that came from playing too much, but the one that dug deep into your bones, gotten from carrying more than you were made to bear.

Mama didn’t even wait for a reply. She tied her scarf tightly around her head and stepped out. She was off to work as a housekeeper on the outskirts of the village. Sometimes, she didn’t even return for days.

The only warmth Jayden had was Darlington, his older brother whom he nicknamed Darl.
Though he was just fifteen, Darl had somehow learned to be a father, a mother and a friend.
At the quarry, they carried heavy stones into carts with their little hands that had now become raw and blistered from labor that didn’t care about their childhood.

That evening, at the setting of the sun, Jayden stared at two kids walking past in neat uniforms, playing with each other, while returning from school.

“Darl,” he whispered, “are we ever going to be like Joe and Christi?”

Darl didn’t look up. He just continued rinsing his hands in the muddy stream. “Jayden, I have told you countless times not to fix your eyes on those kids.”

“But… they go to school and they are free to play. I just want to go back to school Darl.” His small voice cracked.
“I really miss my best friend Jake... and I also miss Dad.”
“They have a father who stayed. And a mother who didn’t mess their life up.”

At the thought of their father, Darl’s hands froze.

In the time before, their lives were so golden. You could say, they were born with silver spoons in their mouth.
Their father, who was a wealthy businessman in Anambra State, built his empire through the supply of building materials.
He was most times away; Dubai today, China tomorrow. But he was never absent from the most important parts of his children’s lives.
Birthday parties were always celebrated in grand styles. He made sure to pay their school fees on time. They lacked nothing. Absolutely nothing. Laughter always filled the walls of their duplex in Awka.

Their names used to be Obinna and Chikamso. But their mom, Victoria, insisted on changing them to Darlington and Jayden because it sounded like something that would “match the class of their schoolmates.”
Their father vehemently disapproved, but as always, Victoria got her way.

Then came that cursed day. The beginning of their woes.
While their father was on one of his many trips, Victoria went out with her classy friends.
While they were so engrossed in their chatter about the latest car each of their husbands got for them, a man approached their table looking so exotic, confident and charming.
He wanted to speak with Victoria and surprisingly, she entertained him.
Then slowly and slowly, one drink became dinner. Then dinner became weekends. And soon, he began visiting the house when the kids were fast asleep.

Except that, Darlington wasn’t always asleep.
He saw it all. The secret kisses, the whispered goodbyes.
Even at the age of ten, he knew that something was going wrong. He wanted to tell his father, but he didn’t want to be the reason their home shattered. Oh, he didn’t want to become like Sally, whose father left her and her mother. He saw how distant she had been in class lately and he dreaded that experience to the latter.

Then, one day, two weeks after their father’s return from Turkey.
“We’re going for a family reunion,” he announced. “Get dressed everyone.”

The gathering was filled with familiar faces ranging from aunts, cousins and distant relatives. All those she met at her wedding and had seen in family gatherings.
But this time, there was an overly familiar face.
Victoria froze when she saw him again.

Fred, her lover.

Only that now, he wasn’t a stranger anymore.
He was her husband’s nephew.

Fred had just returned from studying in Germany and was excited to meet extended family, well not until he saw her. They exchanged one stunned glance before he walked away in strong panic.

The secret unraveled so fast. Fred who was so shaken and ashamed, confessed everything to his mother. The family was shocked and intensely horrified.

Victoria was disgraced.
Her husband didn’t just ask her to leave, he threw her and the children out.

“I don’t even know if they’re mine,” he shouted in rage, slamming the door shut forever.

And just like that, they went from affluence to nothingness.

Now, they had to live in a cramped room near the quarry. Mama scrubbed floors to feed her boys. Darl and Jayden worked shifts at the quarry. Food was now a luxury and school, now a dream.

That night, Jayden curled beside his brother, with his tears soaking the corner of his pillow.
“Darl?” he asked softly.
“Hmm?”

“Why did Daddy leave us?”

Darl didn’t answer at first. He didn’t know how to explain betrayal to a child who still believed in superheroes. So, instead, he pulled Jayden close and rocked him gently.

“There may have been a time when things were working Jay,” he whispered, “but don’t worry. I’ll never let you end up badly. No matter what it takes.”

Jayden sniffled, looking at his brother with starry eyes. “Promise?”

“I promise.”