Ifunanya Judith

THE PRICE OF A MOTHER'S SACRIFICE
Chapter One
"Mummy, I am tired."

Mama Adaeze looked up from the pot she was stirring.

"Tired of what?"

Adaeze dropped her school bag on the old wooden chair.

"Everything."

Her mother smiled.

"You are only seventeen. What have you seen that is making you tired of everything?"
"Mummy, you don't understand."

"I don't understand?"

Adaeze shook her head.

"I am the only girl in my class that is still using that old phone."

Mama Adaeze looked at the phone on the table.

It was an old phone with a cracked screen.

"So?"

"So?" Adaeze repeated. "Everybody is using good phones. Even Chisom that came to this town only last year has an iPhone."

Her mother turned back to the food.
"Does the phone in your hand stop you from going to school?"
"No."

"Does it stop you from reading?"
"No."
"Then use it."

Adaeze sighed.
"Mummy, everything with you is always about managing."

Her mother stopped stirring.

For a few seconds, she said nothing.

Then she quietly replied,

"Because I know what happens when you don't manage."

Adaeze looked at her.

"What do you mean?"
"Nothing."

"Mummy..."
"I said nothing."

Before Adaeze could ask another question, someone knocked on the door.

Knock. Knock.

Mama Adaeze quickly wiped her hands on her wrapper.

"Who is that?"

"It's me."
Adaeze recognized the voice.

"Mrs. Ebere?"
The door opened.

Mrs. Ebere entered carrying a small nylon bag.
"Good evening."

"Good evening," Mama Adaeze replied.

Mrs. Ebere looked at Adaeze.

"Ah, Adaeze. You have grown so big."
Adaeze smiled politely.
"Good evening, ma."

Mrs. Ebere sat down.
"I came to tell your mother something."
Adaeze stood up.

"I'll go inside."
She picked up her phone and walked away.
But before she reached the room, she heard Mrs. Ebere lower her voice.

"Has she been asking questions?"
Adaeze stopped.
Her mother answered quietly.
"No."

"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Mrs. Ebere sighed.
"Good. Because if she finds out what happened that year..."

Adaeze's heart skipped.

"What happened that year?"
The two women suddenly became silent.

Adaeze slowly turned around.
Her mother was staring directly at her.

For the first time in her life, Adaeze saw something strange in her mother's eyes.

Fear.
"What happened?" she asked.
Her mother stood up.

"Adaeze, go to your room."
"But Mummy"
"Go!"

Adaeze had never heard her mother speak to her that way.

She walked away slowly.
But one question remained in her mind.

What happened that year?

A woman entered a shop and bought something very small.

The next day, she came back and said, “I’m the woman you helped yesterday.”

The shopkeeper smiled and welcomed her again.

But this time, she came with three other people.

She said, “I told them about you. You treated me well.”

Lesson:Sometimes, the way you treat one person can bring you many opportunities.

ADA THE FISH SELLER — EPISODE 2: THE MESSAGE
Ada stared at the man.
“My father? But my father has been missing for seven years. How can you possibly know him?”
The man reached into his pocket and brought out a small, old envelope.

“Your father gave me this many years ago. He told me that if I ever found you, I should give it to you.”

Ada's hands began to shake as she collected the envelope.

She opened it slowly.
Inside was a short handwritten note.

“Ada, if you are reading this, it means I could not return home. But there is something you must know about the day I disappeared.”

Ada read the first line again.
Then she noticed something strange.
The handwriting stopped halfway through the message

“Where is the rest?” Ada asked.

The man looked at her and said,
“Your father didn't finish the letter.”
“Why?”
The man lowered his voice.

“Because somebody caught him writing it.”
Ada looked frightened.

“Who?”
Before the man could answer, someone suddenly shouted from behind them,
“Ada! Don't listen to that man!”

Ada turned around.
It was someone she knew very well.
To be continued…

ADA THE FISH SELLER — EPISODE 1: THE STRANGE CUSTOMER
Ada was a young fish seller in a small Nigerian village. Every morning, she went to the market before sunrise to sell the fish her mother bought from the fishermen.

One morning, just as Ada was arranging her fish, a strange-looking man walked to her table.
He looked at the fish for a while and asked,

“How much is this one?”

Ada told him the price.

The man brought out his money, but instead of paying her, he quietly asked,

“Are you Ada?”

Ada became confused.
“Yes, but how do you know my name?”

The man looked around to make sure nobody was listening.

Then he leaned closer and whispered,

“Your father asked me to find you.”

Ada's heart stopped.
Her father had been missing for seven years.

And nobody in the village knew where he was.
To be continued…