Being My Father's Son

I was the only son of my father, General Babatunde. The only boy amongst five girls, much was expected of me.

My father is late now, but still the sound of his name, sends the same amount of chills down my spine as it did when I was five.

I was the last child of my father, my mother didn't live to give me that special care that was attached to a last born. I was rather treated like I was the first. I wasn't allowed to cry wasn't allowed to sit by myself, wasn't allowed to sing. I wasn't even allowed to play with other kids. I never had a stable mind.

From school I was driven straight home by my father's driver David. David unlike my father was kind. At least he lets me get ice-cream after school but of course I had to finish it before getting home.

My sisters on the other hand were trained as soldiers. I remember when I was five, Ngozi my third sister (she was named after my mother) single handedly fought a dog trying to hurt me. I still got the beating of my life because according to my father, I was a man and so I was to protect my sister not the other way around.

I wasn't allowed to call my father "dad, daddy or any other names little kids call their fathers. I was only permitted to call him General. My father was a respectable man, feared dearly even by his own platoon.

My sisters were kind to me. Whenever I cried, they would take me inside and my father would roar like a wild beast saying I needed the special drilling to be a man. Esther our eldest tried to defend me in front of my father thrice!, the third one was the last. She was taken to the barracks and was drilled for insulting a general. those marks remained but Esther was a strong woman who walked in the footsteps of my father, She was already a sergeant .

I stopped crying from the day Esther returned home and Tolu the nurse in our midst had to tend to her wounds. Tolu had that special mothers care in her. She reminded my father of mom. How i wish I met her. My mother.

I was told she was the only one able to calm my father whenever the beast in him arose. She would hold him and sing to him. I guess maybe that's why my father hates me. Maybe he blamed me for her death. Now there is no one to calm him down and he's going to unleash the beast upon us.

I still can't keep my head clear. I needed to complete this task. My father is dead and being my father's son, I was expected to follow his footsteps but I became a shadow of evil. I had all my father's characteristics, including his brutality and I used it to serve my country . I got into the SDS (Special Death Squad). We were trained to kill ,to kill in the most horrible way you could think of. We tortured till death. My father would be proud of me I said to myself anytime I took a life. But today he wouldn't. I went for an unassigned mission.

I now kill for satisfaction. This would be my first, I had perfectly picked out my victim. Male, about 6ft tall, with a slim build. He was so timid, always getting bullied by his colleagues. I was going to put him out of his misery, he didn't deserve to live in this wicked world. This world is for only the strong that can resist the heat.

I traced him from his office, walking by his shadow I was swift just as my father taught me to be. I was about to take him down when I heard a soft voice calling my victims' name "Josh, Josh, excuse me Mr Josh, can I walk with you to the train station, it's dark and I think I would be safe with you.

It was my sister Ruth. Ruthy as I called her, had my mother's angelic voice, that even when she talked, people thought she was signing. I became weak. I loved my sisters. Ruthy always took me inside and sang to me whenever father was done using me as his training bag. She would sing while Tolu treated my wounds. My sisters were my hero, they were the only humanity I had left in me. Lucky Josh, Ruthy just saved his life but only for today as I'm not allowed to kill in front of my sisters, that's rule number 1. Rule number two, "always complete the mission ".

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. That's the end of part 1, part 2 will be coming in by next week. Don't forget to drop a comment.