Hey, not me!

Chapter Twenty-eight: Crazy Relatives.

Who ever said family was the best thing someone could have? Definitely not me. I was fuming at this point. I was covered in soot from head to toe and I swear every time I moved I felt soil inside my clothes. I had been on the verge of tears since morning when my aunt decided that I was on manual labour duty. She didn't care that everyone else doing the murky work was in their teens and of the male species.

I did not mind doing the hard work, or working alongside guys. What I minded was that I somehow ended up doing the dirtiest most disgusting parts of the work. Was it really necessary that I clean the chimney on this specific day? And did I really need to ferry so many a sackful of soil just to even out the earthen floor of the communal kitchen?

I was just about to sit down and grab a glass of water for my parched throat when Emelda showed up. She had purposeful strides as she made her way to me. I wanted to run but after spending the past two hours working tediously, I was out of breath. So I just sat there helplessly and watched as she advanced towards me like a mad bull. I knew in that moment that I hated my aunt with all of my heart. And I didn't care that that was a sin.

"Are you done yet?" She questioned angrily.

"Yes," I answered simply.

"Did you compress the soil and spread it evenly in the kitchen?" She probed further.

"I did," I replied.

"Good. Go take a shower and get that lovely friend of yours from your uncles place." She instructed.

"Okay," I agreed.

"And Aisha?" She interrupted as I walked away.

"Yes?" I prompted.

"You are very strong. I admire that about you," she said. It caught me completely off guard. That was the nicest thing my aunt had ever said to me. I was certain that she wasn't talking about me doing some physical work either. She meant something else, something deeper.

"Thank you," I said gratefully and a genuine smile broke on my face.

"A beautiful girl like you would have so many suitors. I will never understand why you don't want to marry but I know that if you ever changed your mind, you would find an amazing man. I wish my own daughters were nearly as beautiful and intelligent as you are. Your mother is so proud of you and I have always been a little resentful of that," she confessed.

"Aunt Emelda..." I trailed of for a lack of something appropriate to say.

"Look, you don't have to say anything. I know I have always been the crazy aunt who was always too hard on you. Maybe I did all that because I knew you could handle it. You were always so dreadfully stubborn. I can easily make a grown man cry but never you. Even as a five year old, you were insolent enough to call me a mean old woman. I hated you since," she laughed at this memory that I couldn't recall.

"I called you that?" I asked in horror.

"Oh yes you did. But I should have never held a silly grudge all this while," she explained.

"Why are you telling me this?" I couldn't help asking.

"Your mother threatened to cut me off if I did not stop being awful to you," she admitted.

"She did? And you listened?" I asked in surprise.

"I was just as surprised as you are. I could always get away with anything with your mother but not this one apparently. And I wouldn't want to lose my only sister and best friend in the world," she replied.

"So, we are friends now?" I questioned a little hopefully.

"Hell, no!" She exclaimed. "But I shall endeavour to try to be nicer to you." And with that she walked away leaving me a whole lot confused. I do not think I had ever seen this slightly less prickly side of my aunt. I would have to thank my mother for speaking up on my behalf. I was still salty, though, that my aunt had waited until I was covered in sand and soot to deliver her truce. Maybe this was her one last jab at me.

"What happened to you?" Sheila's squeal startled me out of my thoughts. Uh-oh. They weren't meant to see me like this. They would never respect me again.

"Why do you look like you fell down a coal mine?" Gina's amusement was laced in her question. If I didn't like her so much I would have strangled her. "Wait, did your evil aunt already strike? And here we thought we would come early and save you from her."

"Well, you are too late. And she is not evil anymore," I clarified.

"Why? What happened?" Sheila asked in confusion.

"It is a long story. I will tell you later. She is waiting for you in her house for now. I shall go take a shower because I have soil in places that soil shouldn't be," I explained briefly.

"Can I come with you? I don't want to be stuck answering boring questions about myself. And your mom is much nicer than your aunt," Gina offered.

"Sure. Sheila and Titus can entertain my aunt while you and I hide at my mom's house," I concurred.

And with that Gina and I ditched my best friend and her fiance. It was their fault that I was stuck here after all. They should be the ones to hang out with my crazy aunt who was not so crazy after all. I, on the other hand, would enjoy as quiet a mother daughter bonding time as I could. It would be an added bonus to have Gina along. She already felt like the elder sister I never heard. It didn't hurt either that she had a devious sense of humour and a wicked hunger for pranks. I could use a distraction and planning a prank would be a nice way to recover from my bad morning.