I was sitting in the living room watching my favorite TV series. Uncle David drove into our compound; it was surprising to me. Uncle David is always busy at work and only has free time on weekends; seeing him on a Monday afternoon was shocking, to say the least.
It was about 4 p.m., and the sun had started sleeping. Our house was filled with members of our extended family. I began to wonder what was going on. I went into Mom's room and asked her what was going on, and she informed me that we were going to have a family meeting. I became curious. "What could be the problem?" I asked her. She looked at me and said "When we get to the meeting, you will know what the problem is". Well, it might be that someone has a party, and maybe it's an emergency family meeting," I thought.
Uncle John walked into the room and grabbed me by the neck. I was shocked, and my eyes felt like they would come out of their socket. Everyone rushed to get him off my neck. And all I could remember was a hard punch landing on my face. Everywhere became dark, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself on the floor. An Ice pack was placed on my head; I was still dazed from the punch. At that moment, I thought Uncle John was a heavyweight boxer in his past life.
The meeting started, and I was asked to stand up. "What have I done?" I questioned myself. Uncle David began to speak: "Why did you tell an 8-year-old kid that her mother abandoned her and ran away?" I began to scan my memory to remember when I had made such a statement and to whom. I replied "I never said such a thing". Uncle John shouted "You liar, I will make sure you regret your actions". I began to wonder how I had caused such a storm.
Uncle John is my Father's youngest sibling; he is loved and cherished by his older siblings. They still refer to him as the "baby of the house" They take anything that involves Uncle John very seriously. I wasn't surprised when everyone had to leave their busy schedules and come for the meeting.
Fred My 8-year-old cousin was asked to come and repeat what I had told him. Fred is a smart kid. He is one of the best pupils in his class. The young boy came in and said "Brother said my mom abandoned me and ran away". I was surprised at this because I tried to remember when this incident took place but could not figure it out. I asked Fred, "When did I say this?" He answered When you and Uncle Richard were talking in the living room on Saturday".
Oh, I remember now; I wasn't talking to you, Fred; how did you hear that?" Fred replied "I was standing by the door and I heard you say it". "Please everyone, I'm so sorry. My friend asked me about Fred's Mother and said he had never seen her, so I told him what happened. I was not aware that Fred was listening to our conversation".
I felt disappointed in myself for not being extra careful. Fred had been crying since he heard that his mom had left. So his Dad thought I was the one who told him about it. Even if I was the one, it was not intentional. I apologized to everyone, and thank God they all understood me. My Dad spoke for the first time and said "Be careful when you have kids in the house".
I was happy the storm had passed. We had dinner and watched a Basketball game together. But I was still feeling the aftermath of the punch.
