UNOMA BECOMES A HAWKER
After the burial of a Unoma's mother, her uncles decided to send her brothers to various places to becomes apprentices.
Unoma who was only eight years was sent to live with her aunt at Enugu. Aunty ijeoma was the younger sister to Unoma's father. She was living with her husband and children at Railway Quarters near Artisan Market.
Unoma's aunt turned her into a slave instead if treatment her like a member of the family. She felt that nobody could speak for Unoma or come to rescue her and as such she should accept whatever ill-treatment she was given.
Unoma worker from morning till night everyday without any rest. Nobody pitied her or tried to help her. After all, she was just an orphan. It was only Auty Ijeoma's husband who pitied her and scolded his with for maltreatment her. However, because he was not around in the house most of the time, Unoma's condition did not change much.
Unoma usually woke up by 5:00 am, everyday to warm the food left over from the previous day. Then she would boil water for tea and for bathing. After that she would sweep the whole house except the room where Aunty's Ijeoma and husband normally slept. Then she would sweep the compound and then rush to fetch water from a borehole some poles away from their house.
After fetching some jerrycans of water she would then have her bath and clean the bathroom. She would have her breakfast and then leave for school.
Aunty's Ijeoma usually gave Unoma big jerrycans to fetch water. Everything Unoma fetched water people would look at her and shake their heads with pity. One day, Unoma was coming home with jerrycans of water. A group of secondary school boys and girls saw her and started questioning her.
"This small girl who gave you this big jerrycans to carry?" One boy asked. Unoma did not reply but continued her journey.
"See how her neck is looking like that of a spider, bent under the weight of her jerrycans." One girl remarked.
"This girl, you'll not grow tall, tell you aunty's to give you a jerrycans suitable for your age," another girl remarked. Despite all this, Unoma did nor say anything, she only quickened her footsteps and hurried home.
She did not tell Aunty's Ijeoma anything because she knew that she would beat her If she say so. There was another day Unoma was fetching water and two women saw her and sighed in pity.
"Imagine this small girl carrying this bih jerrycan," one of them said.
"TO think that a fellow woman who entered the labour room and give birth had the mind to do this to another woman's child". "Oh it is very bad and wicked if her. "The other woman said.
"My sister, slave trade has stopped but slavery continues in many forms these days. Nothing will make me to send out any of my children to be a househelp. Instead I will drink garri with palm kernels with them," the first woman said.
"Yes, I agree with you. These wicked women have made it difficult for kind women who need the service of maids to get one," the other woman replied. They looked pitifully at Unoma and shook their heads sadly as there was nothing they could do to help her.
After her primary six, Unoma did very well in the Common Entrance Examination but her aunt and the husband had no money to send her to secondary school.
They were battling to pay the school fees of their five children and as such they had no money to spare for Unoma. With good management and some sacrifice here and there they could have been able to afford Unoma's school fees but they were not ready to make the necessary sacrifices.
As a result Unoma became a HAWKER while her mate went to school.
Unoma wondered why her cousins Udoka, Ikenna, Uchenna, Chioma and Obiora did not do any work at all in their house. They either read their books or watched the television or films. They would also play games or read novels, comics and magazines. Things were so bad that they would not bother to remove the plates which they used inesting from the dinning table. They wore clothes and left them for Unoma who was only eleven years old to wash.
The food given to Unoma was nothing to write home about. It was so small that even a cat would feel insulted to be given such food. Aunty Ijeoma however fed her week whenever her husband was around. Ijeaoma endured all these injustices in silence.
Unoma was given groundnuts, oranges, garden eggs, green vegetables in fact anything that came out in its season to sell. She also sold sachets of pure water during the dry season.
One day Unoma was given oranges worth one hundred and fifty naira to sell. She sold oranges worth ninety naira. By the time night came and she wanted to go home Umona checked her money and noticed that fifty naira was missing. She searched and searched for it, going back to all the places she touched that day but she couldn't find the money.
She started crying and cried until she reached home.
"Mummy, mummy, I sold oranges worth ninety naira but I dot know how fifty naira got missing, " Uoma explained to her aunt.
"Idiot, who is your mother? May thunder strike you down. If you want this house to contain the two of us better produce the money or else....."
"Please aunty, I don't know how the money got lost, I only..."
"Oho, so I'm housing and feeding a thief. Look, money doesn't grow on tree, you have to work hard so that we can get enough money to send you to learn how to sew. After that you will need money to buy sewing machine and you are here telling me that you lost fifty naira."
"Aunty, please I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time," Unoma pleaded with tears.
"Well, you will forfeit your dinner. This will teach you to be more carefully next time." Aunty Ijeoma pronounced her verdict.
As Unoma went to keep the oranges in the kitchen, she saw the mocking faces of her cousins and wondered why they hated her so much.
The following day Unoma was back at her hawking business.
"Buy orange, buy sweet oranges, sweet like Fanta," she shouted as she walked along the streets. Many people bought oranges from her. Some did so out of pity because they wondered why she was not in school but hawking at that time of the day.
Unoma nearly finished selling all her oranges. She was very careful that day not to lose her money.
However, as she was coming back with excitement she fell into gutter and her tray was dented while she remaining oranges fell inside the gutter.
Unoma quickly got up and without checking if she had any Injury rushed to collect the oranges. Her aunty would flog if she told her any story. She carefully picked the oranges and cleaned them breathing a sign of relief as none was missing.
When she reached home. She proudly counted the one hundred and fifty naira and gave the money to her aunt.
"My precious tray, this stupid goat has spoilt it," Aunty Ijeoma shouted as she noticed the decent on her tray. Instead of praising Unoma that Only ten naira worth of oranges 🍊 remained unsold she started beating Unoma because of her damaged tray. Unoma who had a nasty bruise on her knee dared not show it to her.