THE SINS OF OUR FATHERS.

 

Miranda was an only child of a rich family. Her parents ensured that she had the best education could offer. She was not only beautiful but also intelligent. Money does not buy friends but it gets you a better class of enemies, so, Miranda knew no friends. She was called ‘the rich girl’ with so much contempt that sometimes she wished to disassociate herself from her wealthy background. To accomplish this, she refused to be dropped at and picked up from school, instead, she walked all the way to their posh house. But no matter how much she tried to show her schoolmates that she was not made of money, her attempts failed short. With time, though, she stopped craving for their company for there was Frank. They were in the same class but he did not ostracize her as others did. To say the least, he protected her from the sharp tongues of the schoolmates and made sure that she never missed company. 

One event really endeared Frank to her, and which she remembered vividly, was when she fell sick while at school. No one came to her rescue as she collapsed in the school’s basketball pitch but Frank, who was on the other side, was drawn to the din that was coming from the field. He carried her to a shade, administered first aid and looked after her until she regained consciousness then he took her home. That was when he was introduced to her parents.

They both excelled in their fourth form examinations and graduated from Moi University with Honors in Law. Upon their graduation though, distance and time separated them as each went to different cities for their pupilage. Miranda to Kisumu while Frank went to Mombasa. They never lost contact of one another for they had grown closer much as they were far. As their careers separated them, so it brought them back because they both came to practice Law in Nairobi. In Nairobi, they lived their lives and struggled to establish themselves in life.

Miranda was made of sterner stuff ambition wise. She was disciplined in both her career and life, so, it was with less doubt that within a short period she had accomplished much to her satisfaction. Back at her home, she was the envy of both males and females. Every parent used her as a yardstick to their children. She was a symbol of hard work and achievement. Apparently, all those who separated themselves from her now scrambled for her attention. Miranda had found a niche of her own at thirty years.

At the helm of her life, tragedy struck. Life was not always a smooth sail as she soon came to discover. She was up and about early that day because she had a lot to do but just as she was about to drive away to her office, her phone started ringing. It was a call that shattered her day and her life. The caller, unidentified, commanded her to drive to her rural home and see what surprise they had for her. Were it not for the gruffness of that voice and the fear it caused in her heart, she would not have gone. But she trusted her instinct and her it told her to go. There was something wrong. She immediately reversed and headed home.

When she reached, nothing prepared her for the shock she received. Her neighbours did not want to meet her inquisitive eyes. With trepidation, she went in the house and to her parents’ bedroom all the while calling their names. She was held by strong arms just before she collapsed in a heap. Before her, her parents lay in a pool of blood, stabbed and mutilated. What had been done to her old parents was beyond human explanation.

Her parents had been robbed and murdered, she was told. No one had heard any commotion from the compound but in the morning, they thought their house was unusually quiet. They grew suspicious and wanted to know what was amiss. Were they sick? Did they need any help? Instead, they stumbled upon their bodies. But they denied ever calling her for they were still in shock. Miranda wondered who it was that had called her. She sensed foul play. Life had dealt her with a hard blow. She needed to be strong in order to bury her parents. Frank was there with her, protecting her as usual. He felt the pain she felt. Immediately after the burial, they drove back to the city to another chapter of her life without her parents to lean back to. She needed so much strength.

Frank left her at her gate as he headed to his house. With heavy slow steps she trudged up the stairs and to her apartment. She needed not open the door. It was already wide open and an empty house met her. If Frank had not gone so far or had he not been do tired, he would have heard the scream that tore the young night. Before Miranda were these words

“SOON YOU’LL FOLLOW YOUR PARENTS.” The words were splashed in red paint on her wall. She heard no more. She felt no more. She woke up to find herself in a hospital bed. She felt so much pain but she could not remember what had happened. But it all tumbled back once she raised her eyes and saw the red letter engravings on the hospital door. Miranda gave a low moan that alerted the person who sat beside her. It was Frank. One look at him and she broke into a sob. Frank held her in his arms knowing too well that she was weary.

Apparently, frank had not reached his house when he received a call from an unknown person telling him that his girlfriend was in danger. How the person came to know his number he did not ask but he immediately went back to Miranda’s house. He found her unconscious and took her to the hospital but he did not fail to see the red paint nor the note attached on the door. He wondered how he was going to show it to her for that would add to her sorrow. He toyed with the idea of confiscating the note and let her tackle the message on the wall. In the end, however, he decided to show her so that she knew what she happening. So, it was that after a week of rest and recovery for Miranda that he brought up the subject again. It was then that he gave her the note. It was neatly written but unsigned:

We have come back to avenge our blood. Time has come for us to take what belongs to us after what your parents did. Curses follow up to the fourth generation; you are only the second. Expect more. Do not dare expose us lest we strike with fury. The pain and torture that your parents caused our parents we’ve done to them too. The pain that we underwent due to their deaths, you will also undergo. Until you pay in full price the sins of your parents.

Miranda was left wondering what her parents had done. Just what kind of parents were they? Did it have to do with the wealth? What blood had they shed? Unfortunately, she had no answers to these questions. One thing she knew though was that her hands were full for she had to find out the saga behind it. Before ‘they’ could strike again. She would go to her paternal and maternal home until she came up with the truth and the culprits brought to book. The vicious circle had just started.

By Nashilluh Kabindio