My Stubbornness Saved my Mother

Tales of my Father - Part 3

Among the 9 surviving siblings, I am the only one different. Or I think so. I love adventure. I would rather go to school, go to other places or just daydream, than help my father fish or help mama in the household chore, or plant corn.

We lived in a small town. My parents were poor and uneducated. All they know is that, you only have to be good to survive. Education, for them, is useless, if you have no food on the table. My father's meager income is not enough to feed all of us. I didn’t even know if they had dreams for us.

I strived hard just to be able to go to school. I really wanted to learn, athough I must admit that I also wanted to escape away from the farm or the sea. I was absent half the number of school days in a year. But the teachers understood my situation. And I did not disappoint them by having above average grades.

And since I wanted adventure, I dreamt of going to the big city. I heard neighbors talk about the big city and I was so amazed. I had a big dream, and I waited for that opportunity of catching a glimpse of that city.

One day my mother told us that she’ll go to the city for a while. My poor father got a job at the foundry located in the city. “This is now my chance” I thought to myself.

On the morning of her departure, I hid her slippers. She looked for it but could not find it. I was nearby pretending, and humming music created by my mind. Then I said to her “Ma, I’ll go with you to the city”

“No, no you can’t. You better stay here and watch over your younger brothers.”

“Ma, please.”

“Now, go away! I’m in a hurry. Have you seen my slippers?”

“Ma please.”

“Now don’t be stubborn. You stay here.”

“Ma please.”

“I said you stay here. Don’t be stubborn, or I’ll spank you till I see blood. Now, where’s my slipper?”

“Would you bring me to the city if I find your slippers?” I let out a naughty grin.

But mama got angry the more. She chased me with a broomstick. I ran away from the house but she kept on chasing me until the only bus to the city that day passed by. Her fury continued after missing her bus. She was able to catch up with me and almost beat me to death. It was the first time I remembered myself crying that hard.

I only wanted to go to the city with mama. But I got bruises instead. An hour later, we heard sad news from our neighbors. The bus mama missed jumped over a cliff a few kilometers away from our house, leaving more than half of the passengers dead.

She was silent when she heard the news, and I stopped crying. My stubbornness saved my mother.

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Part 1
Part 2