The ambience in Mophee’s house was somber – all family members were facing down in shame none neither talking nor laughing, as Mr Mophee said, “I’m the man of this house! No one, absolutely no one would convince me…I drank this whiskey to ease my pain – I always felt when I’m in this house”
Then many years pass by – the mother of the house, Yolanda was a very strong woman. Couple of years later their expectation was almost being answered she developed some morning sickness; her face became full and she vomited regularly. When she consulted a doctor, however, beyond her imagination – she was told very unusual news,
“Congratulation Madam – You are pregnant” said the Doctor.
Yolanda surprisingly said, “What…me!
The Doctor answered, “Yes madam – this is a result”. The doctor gave her a written report.
This was now the Mophee’s good news after so many years… nine months later their long waited period had arrived.
In hospital, Yolanda screamed, “The baby was coming!”
The nurses said, “Okay then…push! – push!” After a while, we heard a cry of a baby in the room.
A father was keen, as he moved up-and-down, curiously about the gender of the baby, “What gender is my baby? He pondered to himself, and then he heard a voice, “It’s a baby boy!” He jump up – his heart beat fast, irrationally…
The baby mother was an African woman while the man she was married to was a coloured person,
He proudly said, “I’m Mophee – man of this house, that’s what I’m no one would tell neither impose anything I don’t want”
Uhm… “I name my son Thunder,” said Mr Mophee.
A cry of a baby was there after they had been married for twelve years. However, it did not make sense to Yolanda why Mophee had named their son Thunder…
Yolanda protested furiously said, “You better think twice about it like really T.H.U.N.D.E.R! –“It doesn’t sound good to me”
Mr Mophee contested angrily said, “You are the one who told me that according to your tradition the father was the one that should name a child – now I gave him a name, THUNDER, but you still complained. You should at least be happy that I respected your tradition.”
Yolanda argued and said, “But that doesn’t mean that you should gave him cursed name,”
Mophee continued and said, “What name, am I supposed to give him? Oh! You want me to give him those African names,” – “you want me to name him Okweyemi? What does Okweyemi mean; it is just a cruel African name. I will not give my son – that God forsaken name end of the story – never in my life to allow that to happen. My word is final – no debate about this, p…lease (COUGHING)…please!”
He waived his hand and leaves the house –
… “I regret the day I met him,” Yolanda thought to herself, “my marriage is cursed there is never a happy time in it; I thought with this gift of a baby boy I would be happy with my husband.” She cried.
According to Yolanda’s customs, it is a disgrace for a woman to, be chased out of marriage, to be divorced as it was belief that would bring bad luck and disgrace in her entire family. She was no longer sure that she loved her husband as she tried all womanly possible effort to make him happy – however Mophee was neither satisfied with anything.
She even cooked his best meal but he would not say any word to show appreciation – He silently ate without any utterance, like “You know what I like my wife, or the food is delicious” –
Instead, Mr Mophee complained and said, “There’s too much salt and pepper in this food.” or “Why did you not measure the salt? The food tasted like you had added a cup of salt on it.”
Yolanda would be saddened – her eyes filled with tears as she thought to herself, “What wrong had I committed – for my husband not had anything positive to say or see for my good deeds.”
Good God Yolanda needed a better husband, when Mophee was away she had a chance to speak to her ancestors, begging for peace and happiness in her marriage. However, it seemed like her ancestors gave her the opposite of peace and happiness.
Yolanda pondered, “My husband had never cheated even when we were in our twenties. Now the pains are getting worse because is harassing our son, Thunder, who is eight years old and me.”
When Mr Mophee and Yolanda got married, he vowed to love, care and respect his wife. Be a provider to his wife in their lives, but now all the words vowed are easily be forgotten, everything had turned to darkness of sorrow.
Thunder had noticed that his father was very abusive to his mother and had little caring for their well-being in the family.
Because Mophee had stopped supporting them, he took all the money earned at the end of the month to taverns and bars to booze it – then that alcohol that gave him power to shout and be abusive to his son and wife every day.
One day Thunder asked, “Mama why can’t we go back home and live with your parents?”
Yolanda did not answer; instead, as she thought about the mishap in her family she decided to open a small business that would enable to feed herself and her son. She started a business of selling beans that she planted in their garden.
Yolanda confidently said, “I don’t want my son to go to bed with an empty stomach”
The business was doing well until her husband interfered…
Mophee said in a drunken gesture wavering tone, “I promised you…if…if you keep o…o…on selling what my soil produced you would die…one…by…one –”
Yolanda boldly said, “You had never planted anything in the garden – and now you had the gut to threaten us,”
– Life was so upside down. Then entered their son angrily
Thunder protested against the threat from his father and said, “If you can try to kill such – you would die first that I promise,”
Thunder was tired to saw her mother been treated like this, for the first time he had protested on what his father,
Then the father pretended not heard what Thunder said. Unable to pronounce words correctly because he was very drunk. He said, “Who wanted to kill? – You li – little baby?”
Thunder responded angrily demonstrating with hands, “I would kill you with my two hands.”
Yolanda was shocked in a way she did not even know what to say, because she had never talked to her husband like the one Thunder did in that moment. Then –
She calmly said to Thunder, “It is okay Son; I think it’s time for you to go to bed. I believed your father had a long day today so he also needed some rest.”
She took him with her hands to his room.
Mophee followed them and said, “Who are you to tell, that you’ll kill me? – Young man, go to sleep before I blew your head into pieces.”
Thunder wanted to react back to his father. Yolanda grabbed and said to him, “Thunder that’s okay go to bed!” then pushed their son in the room, closed the door; went straight to their bedroom – saddened with the happenings in the house…She was pissed off.
In the room, their son was in furious mood when Mophee “the father” entered the room, took a chair and sat down; Thunder stood up on his bed, and went straight to his father. In harsh aggressive tone and points his father right in the middle of his eyes with his left hand.
Thunder violently talking to his dad –
Thunder claimed and said, “The day I would kill you – you would be sorrier than sorry.”
Mophee finished his vodka. He had drunk three bottles of vodka that day.
Thunder continued and said, “I would strike your throat with a knife like a thunder I’m, you would regret the day you met my mother, and the day I was born. You would also had greater regret why you named me – THUNDER”
Mophee screamed! In addition, said, “Don’t you, had toys to play? Now get away from me!”
In their bedroom, Yolanda been interrupted in her sobbed crying mood. She went back in a room where father and son were arguing. Suddenly, Mophee tried to grasp Thunder, however he was too drunk to stand up; and then he felt down and raised his head and hand up looking for someone to help him stand again.
Yolanda entered the room hurryingly grabs her husband’s hand and said, “Stop it! Why do you want to bring shame beyond this shame you gave us every day?”
Thunder confidently said to her mother, “Leave him alone Mom, his days are numbered – death was hunting him next time he would tap his shoulder in fire and it would crush him to ashes.” Then moved out of his room –
The next morning Mophee went off the house without telling anyone, where he went or gone to; that day he never returned home – he went missing for two whole weeks.
By then life at home was great without him. For the first time ever Yolanda and Thunder had jokes and exchange riddles. Wow, it was the kind of life they dreamed-off, full of joy, laughter, love and happiness.
They continued selling their beans and the business was going well. It was winter; people buy beans to cook up some soup that would keep warm their bodies.
Then suddenly in the evening just before Thunder went to bed.
(KNOCK IN THE DOOR IN THE FRONT DOOR)
Yolanda went to open the door. Then Mophee entered with a gun at hand.
Yolanda screamed! Shaking, raising her hands and said, “Please! Don’t do this!”
When Thunder saw that he grab the knife and came on his back. Mophee was furious looking staright to Yolanda…then just before he pulled the trigger, Thunder stepped him with two strikes at the back – he felt down and looked upwards. Mophee pulled the trigger but the bullet went straight up the roof. They all SCREAMED!
Yolanda sobbed at the corner not even looking at what her son has done.
Thunder boldly said, “You are the one who cursed me at birth; named me Thunder, now I released the curse on you.”
Mophee was down her back oozed blood…he breathed with immersed pain pleaded for helped – nevertheless they wrapped him with a cloth but he…
–END–
