Chapter 2 : Bad Tidings

Chapter 2 : Bad Tidings

(Here's the beginning of the whole story. Everything that Harry ever witnessed started from the date below)

[ March 18, 2021~ Time: 6:45pm]

Harry is sitting on a sofa chair in the sitting room, chatting online with his friends on the Telegram while his sister and mum are watching Tv comfortably. Suddenly, someone knocks two times on their door. "Jules check who's knocking," said Harry hilariously. She persists but when the mother of the house insisted that she did so, she had no other option than to check it out.

"Dad!, good evening", she exclaims as she welcomes her dad inside. He was a dark, plump, tall and an handsome looking young man in his early forties. He was looking so pale and sad that day. His attitude made them realize that everything was not okay and indeed, everything wasn't okay.

"Dad, is everything okay," echoed Harry and sister. He nods his head sideways as he sits on one of the unoccupied couch. He then narrates the sad news to his family. He started with just four words, leaving his family in suspense.

"She kicked the bucket,"

"What??" Jules replies.

"Darling, i don't understand you, who kicked the bucket?," said Bexley anxiously. He stammers as tears rolls down from his eyeball, "my mum ..., she died last night," he exhales and continues, "she shouldn't have died now (sniffles), i promised.....I promised to bring her abroad (he starts crying) i promised". Bexley moves closer to him and takes him into her arms.

"It's okay", she says repeatedly as she consoles him. Everywhere becomes quite for a while.

Harry and Jules are left confused because they both didn't know who their father was talking about neither did they know what else to say. Both of them had never been to their father's land before except during their childhood, of which he couldn't recall anymore. They both turn around and looks at each other, exhales as they gradually stands up and departs to their various rooms. Alas, Harry breathes heavily and mutters, "so goes the life cycle". He was unaware of the consequences of his grandma's death.

One funny thing about Harry was that since he became a teenager, he began to look down on himself and his race. His ignorance made him wish that he was a white too. He always kept the company of them and whenever his dad mentioned about going home, he'd be the first to protest. He believed that he was a British by birth which wasn't a lie though but refused to accept the fact that he was also a Nigerian. Well, it wasn't all his fault for thinking in that manner. He was born in Greenwich, London. He was natured there and had lived one quarter of his life there as he'd always describe it. The remaining hours of that day seemed interminable. Both Harry and his younger sister Jules, gave their parents their space. Neither of them took dinner. They both stayed together, grieving. The crying also didn't let Harry focus on anything. Normally, he would have gone out to meet Ben since they were close by but Ben had been out of town for some days. If only he had the courage to ask them if she was the first grandma to die, he thought.

Truly, music was the only solution to situations like this, but Harry wasn't much of a music fan. Later that day, around 11:54pm, Harry just couldn't sleep. So many thoughts were running in and out of his mind so he decided to go clear his head in the sitting room. They all lived together in a bungalow but Harry's room was closer to his parent's than his sister. After moving a few steps forward, he heard his dad and mum's voice, discussing something seriously. Out of curiosity, he reversed from the direction that he was heading to and quickly crawled to his parent's room door, to eavesdrop. The door wasn't closed so he hear everything transpiring inside. He heard his dad saying, "she didn't even see her granddaughter." Harry didn't understand what they were talking about but guessed that they both were still mourning their loss so he turned around to move but strangely hears his dad's final sentence clearly.

"We should be present at her funeral," he mutters.

"So dad and mum are going on a long break?" He soliloquies.

Suddenly, his mum utters are own sentence, "we must return to Nigeria with the kids."

This one sounded like an hammer being struck on nail. He asks himself, "What do they mean?".

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