ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Amanda sat in her little kitchen with tears streaming down her cheeks, she did her best to muffle the sounds of her heart wrenching sobs lest her little minions as she liked to call them will come tumbling into the already cramped kitchen, she sat quietly in the kitchen amidst the empty pots and the dirty dishes piled up in the little sink positioned at the end of the narrow kitchen

She felt drained down to the core of her existence, from the the piled up dishes to the empty pots staring back at her, she couldn't help but feel tired

She lived in a room and parlor self contain with her husband Pius and their two children Chigozie and Adanna who are five and two year old respectively, her current state was brought about by the dire financial situation of her little family

Staring at the empty pots and the lack of food plus her morning sickness that didn't let her do much in terms of house chores as she was currently three months pregnant with their third child she couldn't help but silently break down in tears that gloomy Saturday morning, her husband had gone out earlier with his tricycle to see how much he could make before noon so they could finally get something to eat

It was already eleven AM and she still hadn't heard anything from him which was quite unusual as he always called at least every two hours to check on her and the kids

Things weren't always this hard, infact there was a time they had a car and lived in a comfortable two bedroom apartment, life just happened to them when Pius was duped of a huge sum of money that left his shop where he sold electrical appliances closed and plunging them to huge debts, they had to sell the remains of what was left of the shop, since they ran the business together they both became jobless, they had been together for a total of ten years and married for seven years now, all they had they pulled together to start up the business which has now failed, all this happened a year ago and since then their lives had taken a downward spiral 

With family and friends turning their backs to them and no one to run to, they just had to figure out ways to stand on their feet again, after clearing a majority of their debts, Pius was able to negotiate for a tricycle which he had since been using to work with a portion of his daily earnings to be given back to Mr Nkem which he bought it from, till he is able to pay off the entire amount 

That morning, Amanda just sat in that little kitchen tired, frustrated and confused, there was nobody she could ask for help, the few people she thought she knew, always made a pass at her despite the fact that she was a married woman, sitting there lost in her thoughts she didn't hear the chatter from her children in the living room, untill the kitchen door slowly creaked open, she sat up startled, she was about grab one of the empty pots before she recognized the figure standing before her through the haze of fresh tears gathering in her eyes again 

It was her husband Pius, he slowly let himself into the already cramped kitchen and closed the door behind him, one look at the state of his wife and the kitchen was enough to shatter his already broken heart into a million more pieces, his once radiant and beautiful wife was gradually becoming a shadow of herself and there was nothing he could do about it, except things where to magically get restored in their lives again

It broke his heart to see her like that, so he did the best thing that came to mind, he slowly approached her and gathered her in his arms, feeling that familiar warmth Amanda couldn't help but completely breakdown once again in tears, Pius slowly patted her back as he continuously told her that everything was going to be okay, he was doing his best to hold back his own tears because he knew just how much life had dealth with them within the last one year, but one thing that has always kept him going was the strong devotion and the unwavering love his wife had for him

Amanda sat there sobbing quietly into her husband's chest, his shirt was already soaked with her tears but he didn't mind, in that moment she suddenly felt a deep sense of peace because she knew that she was not alone, she had a man who loved her, and two beautiful and intelligent children with another one on the way, it was stupid to suddenly feel that sense of joy, but for some reason sobbing in her husband's cool embrace in that cramped up kitchen, she steeled her resolve, everything happening is just a phase and they will overcome it

They built that business from nothing to something, if they did it before they could surely do it again, the sun will shine on them once again and this gloomy days are going to be over soon enough 

Pulling out from the embrace she looked up to her husband and smiled, Pius understanding that she had overcome that giving up moment also smiled down to her and said don't you dare give up again, we have God on our side and we are going to rise from this I promise, to which she replied I know with a teary smile she went on to say, I know God is there but the process is just hard sometimes and there are days you just don't know how to go on

Pius only smiled and said that is why you have me, we can always fight side by side to make it better, oya come to the parlor and eat, I got us rice from mama Ada because I know you can't cook in this your state, he kissed her on the forehead as he whispered playfully, I know it is hunger that is doing you nothing else as he wiped her tears 

Amanda smiled because no matter how hard things got, she had the gift of life, family and good man that is doing his best to see them happy, as Pius led her to the living room she couldn't help but think that she was one lucky woman to have him in her life, she just knew that with him this chapter of their lives will be history soon enough 

Writer's details:Abdulrahman Sakina

Location status:Federal University Of Lokoja