Ade was slipping her science book into her schoolbag when mama screamed. Two sharp cracks splintered the air. She had heard the sound of coming storm- still unknown to her- which had perhaps already done the damage. A cry of a man echoed through the solid walls, around the house, which sounded unfamiliar to Ade; she had never -in her life- heard her father cry. This was alone enough of an evidence to alarm her of the situation. Dumbfounded, her schoolbag dropped as her hand unconsciously loosened.

With numbed body and her heart thudding against her chest, she raced to the veranda, pushing past her brother, Neo, in the doorway whose body was wooden with fright.

Silence. It seemed as if time had stopped and everything stood still in its place until Ade whispered miserably, “Mama”, with her chapped lips, as her eyes blackened with mascara.

Tears pooled in her eyes, like a gentle ocean resembling her bleeding heart. Her heart froze and her stomach turned icy as she found herself to be a victim of this tragedy. A...

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