Chapter 1
Nana was the 10th child out of 11 children from her mother's side. Her mother had 8 boys and 3 girls; Nana was the 2nd girl. Nana and her family lived in a rural area called Ntongo.
Nana was loved by all her siblings; she was such a jolly child. Everyone around her loved her. She smiled all the time, even when life seemed to be hard. Almost all villagers knew who she was because of her happy character and the big beautiful smile she had.
Nana's mother was a farmer during the daytime and a bartender during the evenings. She loved her children so much. Through farming and selling alcohol, she managed to take care of her children.
Nana's mother's 11 children were from the 3 marriages she had. Her first marriage was when she was 18 years old. She had 3 sons in her first marriage, 3 sons and a daughter in her second marriage, and in her last marriage, she had 2 sons and 2 daughters. All her marriages were informal, not church marriages.
None of her three husbands helped her out with her children. She decided to build her house on her father's land and raised her 11 children there. Nana's father was a businessman who happened to have lots of money; unfortunately, he never cared about the children from his first informal marriage. When he found a beautiful young lady, he abandoned Nana's mother with her children and got married. Nana's mother had to work hard to look after her 11 children.
Her children used to help her on the farm during holidays and on weekends. Most of her older sons dropped out of school due to an inability to pay school fees. They started fending for themselves and also helping their mother on the farm. They also started giving Nana's mother some grandchildren.
Nana was very talkative, and she hated to see the sadness in her mother's eyes. She would sing or recite poems for her mother in an attempt to put a smile on her mother's face. She loved to play with her friends; she would roam around the whole village playing with them. Nana loved school a lot, although sometimes she had to miss school due to an inability to pay school fees.
One Saturday morning, Nana's father paid them a visit; he brought lots of goodies to his former wife and her children. He apologized for not taking care of his children, and he promised to change that by taking them back to school. His 2 sons from Nana's mother had already dropped out of school, and Nana's little sister was born with disabilities so she never went to school.
He, therefore, told Nana's mother that he would take Nana to his home in the capital so that she could go to a good school. It was not an easy decision for Nana's mother to make, but she did know that Nana loved school and it would do her good to go to a good school. Nana's mother agreed to let Nana go with her father.
Nana was extremely happy to be able to go with her father and to go to school again. That afternoon, Nana packed her bags and bid farewell to everybody around the village. She told them how her father had come to pick her up and take her to a town school since he lived in the capital. The excitement on her face was so obvious, although she felt a bit sad to leave all her friends, siblings, and her mother behind.
Nana left with her father that evening. She kept on looking outside the car window, and she saw a new world. She saw beautiful houses, cars, and many more good things. She also kept her father entertained with her tales of her village.
The journey was quite long, and she couldn't help but sleep in the car. She was woken up by her father's hoot at the gate of his house. A young boy, almost Nana's age, opened the gate. She grabbed her bag and jumped out of the car. Her father parked the car inside the garage. She was amazed at the house; it was huge and beautiful compared to her mother's house.
They arrived home when it was a bit dark. Her father's children ran towards him to welcome him back from his journey. They hugged him and shook hands with him. To her surprise, no one came towards her or helped her with her luggage.
Nana stood there with her luggage in her hands, looking lost as she witnessed her siblings embracing her father. She finally looked around the lounge, grabbed a mat, and she sat down. After a few minutes passed, her stepmother came out of the kitchen. She welcomed back her husband, greeted him, and said, "Thank God, you finally brought us a maid."
Nana was amazed by her stepmother's words, but fortunately, Nana's father interrupted by introducing Nana to everyone in the house. He said, "This is Nana. She is my third child from my first wife. As you know, I have four children from my first wife: Jake, Bobby, Nana, and Tina." This introduction didn't go well with the stepmother and her children.