Patricia met a lot of interesting people in her short few years on this earth. She could not say that she was blessed stay with a perfectly calm and stable childhood; she had her share of bullies.
None of them beats the people she had the pleasure of meeting after her Father’s passing. When her father started out the first rental, he had the idea of the tenants they would love to have living in their building. It’s a semi urban area (where the rental was to be built); still undergoing development, but the area is a home to the working middle income.
The four families moved in come January 2012, each one occupying one unit within the building. Time passed, the families grew and moved out, and new ones came in. Only two remained from the first families that moved in.
Lydia came is as a single lady, a licensed pharmacist looking for an affordable working space as well as accommodation.
So cunning, she wormed her way into everyone’s hearts, including the landlord. Pity is a wonderful way to garner sympathy, though, it too can get old. It took a month, and Lydia kicked out one of the last two families that had remained with their family.
It is stated that one should never antagonize people with even the smallest amount of power. She became lord of the manor, raising the rent price without the Landlord’s knowledge, charging extravagantly for expired medicine. She even went as far as barging her way into every tenant unit; privacy was not a word that could be applied to her.
The Landlord passed away suddenly, and Lydia took that to be an opportunity to amass the last that she could with her power trip. She then disappeared into the middle of the night. Traditionally, in many African cultures, money is given to the bereaved family, collected from the people in the society and who held the departed close to their hearts…we’ll get to that part in a bit.
Whatever is done in the dark shall come to light. Lydia’s misdeeds came pouring out after her departure. From amassing a large amount of wealth, to stealing from the very Landlord who had pity on her when she had nothing to start with, even the money given for the Landlord’s family after his passing.
Enshrouded in humanity lies a thin layer of cruelty; it varies from person to person, but all the same. William Golding said that all children are born evil. There is light and darkness in all people, but the extent of each varies with the character of each person.
