The Nostalgia Diaries

Saving Grace

"Make yourself at home. This is your house. Don't act like a stranger here" Cathay said as she took Aisha into her house.

Aisha still didn't feel at home. Deep down, she still felt like a stranger towards her mother. Maybe it was because she wasn't Ma Kesem or because Cathay was white.

Cathay noticed the look on Aisha's face as she stood with her in the big parlour. She wondered how Aisha would react when she sees the rest of the house.

Aisha gazed at the big chandelier in the parlour. She spun around happily like a little girl pretending to be a princess "This isn't just a house. Its a million dollar mansion" She said to herself.

"Aisha?" Cathay called. When Aisha walked up to her she smiled at her brightly. She looked no less different than Hadeza except for her smart sense of dressing which Hadeza never had. At least she wasn't wearing a leather suit with a mask on her face, she thought "Give yourself a tour round the house. I'll be in my room, changing up. If you're hungry. Ask the maids to make you something to eat. If you're pressed. There's a restroom upstairs"

Aisha was nodding her head with a big grin on her face as her mother talked.

"Don't get lost" Cathay concluded and stroked the long curl of Aisha's hair that hung in front of her forehead to the back of her ear. She left for the stairs, leaving Aisha alone in the parlour.

Aisha exhaled deeply. All she wanted to do was to look at the pictures of Hadeza when she was young and if possible, pictures of her father. As Aisha went around the house, she noticed there wasn't a picture of her mother with her father hanging any where on the wall. All she saw were pictures of Hadeza and Cathay, including some relatives.

"Wow" Aisha muttered as she was surprised at the portrait she saw of Hadeza when she was a kid. She removed the picture from the frame and turned the back. On the back was written in a crooked handwriting. 'First day in middle school. 12' .Aisha chuckled and exhaled. Hadeza looked way more different than she did when she was twelve years old. She thought Hadeza should have been born a boy because she almost looked like one. The last room she entered was Hadeza's bedroom. Everything was in order. The room was tidy and some of the furniture's were covered with a cloth. She gazed at the trophies arranged on the desk close to the window. She guessed Hadeza must have loved football more than anything else.

Aisha opened Hadeza's wardrobe and some of her clothes fell on the floor but she didn't bother herself to pick any of them. What caught her attention was the piano at the corner of the room. She wondered why Hadeza had a piano. She walked to it and unveiled it with her hand in a single move. She sat on the stool and stared at the white and black keys with a pale look.

"You played the piano" Aisha said. Hadeza didn't look like someone who played the piano. She saw a small note in between the piano keys. She picked it and read.

To Zee,
Do whatever is best for you. Not for me. Not for your mom or your family but for you. Because at the end, who's there? You.
Your Piano Teacher,
Chioma

Aisha suddenly remembered a lady she had met some years ago when she first came to the states. The lady had introduced herself as Chioma and she had mistaken her for Hadeza. Aisha realized the lady was Hadeza's piano teacher. She kind of felt guilty for Chioma's death. It was sad and heart-breaking. She remembered how her death was published on the front page of the morning paper as a 'Beautiful Suicide'.

"Aisha" Cathay said as she entered Hadeza's room. She cat walked while holding a glass of wine and sat on Hadeza's bed. She had changed from her office wear which was a three piece suit to an over-sized light sweater wearing a pair of ankle socks on her legs. She didn't wear anything to cover her slim legs despite the cold in the room.