A BETRAYING ACCUSATION

Personally, nothing feels more painful than being accused, or so I believe. You can now imagine how painful it will be to hear a loved one do that. The incident I will share with you today is not just a case of me being accused; it involve a loved one, which is probably why the memory remains fresh in my head, even after I have let go. Letting go was not easy, by the way. It took me sometime (probably months) to move on, and I still recall crying in secret because of the pain it caused.

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Before moving to the City of Port Harcourt to live with my parents, I first lived in my home town with three of my aunties. As far as I can remember, they are the ones that brought me up. My parents only come back with my other siblings every festive period (Easter and Christmas). My aunties were wonderful, and the love they showed me will never be forgotten. Being the one who provided for my financial needs, Aunty Nkoli was, without a doubt, my favorite. As a civil servant and businesswoman, Aunty Nkoli was quite well-to-do and the breadwinner of the house.

On this particular day, Aunty Nkoli had gone to work when a family friend visited. Aunty Fide asked me to fetch the last can of Aunty Nkoli's juice, which was in my care. Since she was the one who asked, I had no issue. All it would have taken was for her to explain what happened to Aunty Nkoli when she got back from work. To date, I still can not put my finger on why she acted differently.

On getting back home, Aunty Nkoli called me to the sitting room, accusing me of giving her drink to the family friend without asking for permission. She went on to scold me, alongside Aunty Fide, who had actually asked me to get the drink. I was confused, and the whole incident looked like a movie to me. With the sadness in my face, I listened to all they had to say before walking away. I guess it did not even occur to them that I had not apologized. I eventually burst into tears upon reaching my room, but they never noticed as they went on discussing my actions and how I had started imbibing new, ill behaviors.

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I was only a 7 year old boy, but I was really hurt and Aunty Fide knew it. My attitude towards her eventually changed; while I was free around Aunty Nkoli and Aunty Bena, I kind of started to avoid her. When I got home from school, I no longer wanted to discuss things with her. Since she was always at home, I kind of started preferring to be alone in my room rather than having conversations with her. It came to a point where I only greeted her and answered her questions when necessary. Although it was obvious that something was amiss, I simply affirmed that nothing was wrong each time I was asked by my other aunties who are not aware of what transpired.

When it came to the point where she needed to apologize, her ego would not let her speak words of apology, but she kind of showed it. Even though I was a child, I saw what she was doing, and it kind of helped. Aunty Fide, who is now late, was a retired teacher whose pension could barely sustain her, yet she went on to get me quite an expensive gift. Though I was angry, that kind of stopped our malice. After all, I was just a child. There have been many cases of people accusing me, but I see this as the most heartbreaking. I guess I healed fast because I was just a child😊.