Contest: Tell your story #25| The words that brought about dented memories.

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The story I am about to share is a very hurtful one, one that’s so hard to talk about, and I have avoided every conversation that has to do with February 14, 2024. Seeing this contest about sharing our story, I felt a bit skeptical and withdrawn to share but at second thought I felt sharing would help others learn a lesson just like I and every other person in this story. Alright, let’s do this.

It happened one blessed Sunday morning, a morning that felt like it came with a lot of happiness as the day was to unfold, I had left my house to head to the salon, as I was to go for a family meet-up with Nneye, we have been family friends, more like cousin all these years. We were all to meet up after church service. I placed a call across to Nneye as I heard his elder sister screaming and shouting at her first daughter Kini, so my friend's 12-year niece had woken up like every other sweet happy soul, Kini trying to be playful with her mum, mistakenly spilled her mum's body ointment, which led to a scream and angry spoken words, sis Nneka pulled off her church dress, she wasn’t joining them for the church that morning, at this point Esse the help had to take the 3 siblings to church. Kini pleaded with her mum but she pushed her off and yelled at her to leave, her room and not come back, as everyone kept on telling her to calm down.

Life is truly unpredictable, the difference between now and the next minutes is like a thin thread, passed through a needle. It was around 11:28 am when I got another call from Nneye, asking me to rush to the church junction, without hesitant, I did as I was told, on getting there I saw nothing, I was upset wondering why he would prank me like that knowing I was at the salon, but realized that everywhere was quiet and the road was scanty. I beckoned on a security man and asked him if anything happened due to a call. He said an accident occurred a few moments ago, that a little girl was about to cross the road with a lady and two other siblings, when a fast-moving Keke threw her off the road unto a massive stone where her head landed, on hearing this I felt bad for the victim. It kept on ringing through my angry mind. As I went back I kept calling Nneye and he was not picking up, I was so angry, common how could he play around like that?

Time had thick to 5:00 pm and I was so upset that Nneye was supposed to pick me up for our hang-out. Unknown to me the occurrence that has taken over the order of the day. Suddenly my phone rang, and the news that followed, led to a crumbling heart, my walls felt crumbling, and my head felt expanded, it can not be Kini!!, God no it was injustice, come on she went to church that day, going to see God, and came out from the church to end up in the hospital in a Coma, then it dawned on me that Kini was the little girl the security had to me about, I gave out a loud wail.

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At the hospital the doctors said they needed to run a major operation on her, that her brain was bleeding inside according to the test, and they needed us to speak to her to wake up, so they could carry out the operation, they said she needed to help them to help her, but it was difficult because kini was in a coma.

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You know I always held on to the truth that God answers all prayers, we called Him, we pleaded, we praised him, even in the situation, pleading for Him to save Kini, but no that very morning, never to be forgotten, February 14, 2024, Death came knocking at the door, and the little one left the world, left us. Kini's mum went crazy, she had instant flashes of the early morning incident and everything she said to Kini, and all she kept muting was "Please come home, come back, come into my room, don't beg me anymore, scatter my room, stand up from the bed Kini, lets us go home, please I didn't mean those words, I truly need you home! Nneye on the other hand who called Kini his favorite girl always, was devasted, he became a shadow of himself, I fell ill, from crying, my princess, always happy and playful, the keke man was in prison as Kini's mum screamed vengeance on him as the police constantly brought him to the house to plead. Everything crumbled, as Kini went from the house to the Mortuary, and never came back home again.

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For everything that happens in life, there is always a lesson to be learned, both the good and the bad, words hold the keys to many things, with words God created the words, and words are powerful, Kini's mum learned the hard way, I picked the lesson up immediately, so did everyone else, mothers, sisters, women out there, we need to be careful with what we say to people, including our children, scold with love, when they come pleading be open-armed to them and be careful not to cross boundaries with words when scolding. Forgiveness is as important, as self-forgiveness, till today Kini's mum is down, unable to forgive herself.

It has been hours, sitting to write this and crying my heart out as memories flash again, I am happy to finally let it out amid my lovely ladies, and thank you for following through with my story.

I would like to invite @ngozi996 and @hyacinthfavour