Stronger Than Pain

Chapter One

"You should have a talk with your daughter!" Aunty Tee said, walking into the sitting room. I was trotting behind her, my slippers making dull noises as it hit my heels.

"And why is that?" Mum asked, glancing briefly at her before lowering her eyes again to the laptop resting comfortably on her laps. She was sitting on the brown sofa which rests below the open window. The curtains were tied in a knot to let in air.

"What's this with her flying above the sky?" My aunt asked stopping beside mum, her hands flying above her head as she angrily mimicked the movement of an airplane. "How can she ever think of being a pilot for God's sake?" She was screaming now.

Mum was puzzled. She lifted her eyes from her laptop and stared intently at my aunt. She obviously couldn't understand why Aunty Tee was so angry.

"Tekilah, I don't understand you. What's wrong if she wants to be a pilot?" Mum asked politely.

Aunty Tee turned sharply at her, her resentment growing fierier. "She's only but a girl!" Came her cold response before walking out of the sitting room. I locked eyes with mum as aunt Tee's footsteps echoed through the passageway. Seconds later, we heard the door slammed after her. Mum stared hard at me, ending it with a weak smile. She bent over her laptop, continuing with her typing.

I wasn't happy at the way my mum was being treated, most especially the way aunt Tee addresses her about all the irrelevant issues springing up at home, which shouldn't in anyway be her problem.

The only voice which rings constantly in the house was that of aunt Tee, either shouting at my mistakes or my mum's 'faults', which she never forgets to point out. I was tired of seeing my mum hurt, watching her countenance change with pain every second.

I walked over to her and laid my tiny hands on her shoulder. I was sure she needed comfort and that was the only way I know best to comfort her, just like always. My tiny hands and shoulder have become her comfort zone since aunt Tee came around. Even though I was fourteen, I still understand everything though no one seemed to notice, not even my mum.

But just then, like a tiger awoken from its slumber, mum jerked up from the sofa, throwing my hand off her shoulder. Her laptop slipped off her laps, crashing on the tiled floor as she made her way angrily to aunty Tee's room. I trotted behind, my heart bubbling with joy. Mum tapped gently on her door.

Then another tap.

"Yes" Aunty Tee answered from inside.

"I want to have a talk with you, can I come in?" Mum was polite.

"Uhm" Aunty Tee sounded reluctant.

Mum opened the door and walked in, she looked back and motioned at me to go back to the sitting room. I made to leave and she slammed the door shut. I stopped and turned to the doorway, I wanted to hear whatever mum was going to say. I know she understands she needs a witness lest they turn everything around against her, but it was as if she was done and had damned the consequences.

"Tekilah" Mum began. "Adaoma is my daughter and your niece. I want to so much believe that what you said earlier was because you were looking out for her, for her wellbeing, but I guess we both know better. Please, I do not appreciate your tone and language whenever you talk to me, especially in the presence of my children. What's wrong with Ada being a pilot....

"Everything is wrong with it!" Aunty Tee interrupted. "Yes everything. Just like I said earlier, she is just a girl. Girls are not meant to ride planes, forget this stupid civilization. There are jobs nature has originally designed for men and women, Pilots are meant to be men" She screamed. "Can a woman absorb perfectly the shock of a crash possibility? Even the bible calls us the weaker vessel, so? Don't try to change it!"