The Pretender

The rumors started a few months after my father was buried. We didn't know how the lies started or who had started them; all we knew was that my family had become the topic of discussion in my street. This new development was surprising to us because my mother didn't associate much, as she wasn't home most of the time. She was always busy with her shop in the other part of town.

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We had a cordial relationship with people who lived around us, but the people we were really close to were our neighbors. They were like our second family; our doors were always open to welcome them, and they did the same for us. My siblings and I took their children like our blood, and the bond between us was strong. We were always together, helped each other out with chores and schoolwork, and even had sleepovers. In fact, our mothers called each other “Sister.”

My mother suspected that whoever started the vile rumors was someone who knew her well. The rumors were that she had killed her husband and that her elder sister, whose husband died from surgery complications, had also killed her husband. They also whispered when we walked past that our family was plagued by some evil forces. We believed whoever was doing it knew both my parents's families very well because my mother's elder sister visited us once every year from another state, and the whole street definitely didn't know her husband was late.

At first my mother thought it was my father's relatives who, for some reason, changed from good to evil after my father's death. She felt they were just trying to spoil her name and chose to ignore it. It went on for weeks until my mother had a surprise visitor. It was the sister of the man supposed to marry her younger sister, Ifeoma, who lived with us. I still remember the look on my mother's face after the lady left.

“Aunty, what is it? What did Aunty Tochi say?” I remember Ifeoma asking. My mother was just staring into space, her eyes shimmering with tears.

“Mummy, what is it? Are you feeling sick?” I asked her, already panicking. At the sound of my voice, she smiled and assured me she was fine.

“The only problem is that Tochi said their family is thinking of cancelling the marriage between Ifeoma and her brother Alex,” my mother replied, looking at her sister, who was staring open-mouthed with shock.

“But why?!” Ifeoma wailed, while the rest of us tried to console her, looking surprised ourselves.

“Whoever is spreading these lies went as far as going to tell Tochi not to let her brother marry Ifeoma. She said the person told her that her only brother would die after a few years and that's what happens in our family,” my mother replied.

“And she believed? Has she forgotten about your other sisters who have been happily married for years now? Besides, Aunty Philo's husband died at an old age! What is going on here?” Ifeoma asked, looking puzzled.

“I don't know, but what I know is that enough is enough. I'm going to fish out whoever is behind this. I'll talk to Tochi later, don't worry.” My mother responded.

“People are wicked; they don't even care that what they're saying are lies. All these women are just adding more salt and pepper to make the gist sweet,” my sister said, hissing and walking away in anger.

The issue really bothered my mom, and she even called our neighbor to talk about it. After my mom narrated what had happened, Sister jumped up in anger, shouting. The noise made us run into the sitting room, and we found her vibrating,

“People are wicked! People are evil! Whoever is behind this, making a poor widow who lost her husband unexpectedly shed tears, that person will not go unpunished. Infact, oh Lord, if I get those behind this!...”

She consoled my mother and asked Ifeoma not to worry, that she would also talk to Tochi. She encouraged my mother to be calm and put everything to the Lord in prayer. My mother agreed, but even as she bade Sister good night, she knew she had to find out who was behind the rumors. So in the following weeks she started talking to people and asking questions.

All the people my mom asked didn't know the source of the information they'd been given until one fateful day when she decided to visit a neighbor who was always quiet and always by herself; she rarely interacted with people, and people tended to overlook her. This woman liked my mom, though, and would always pressure her to visit when she had time. After the visit, my mom came back with news.

“It's a lie!” My siblings and I screamed in shock.

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“Too much of being alone has turned that woman's brain,” Ifeoma said, and we all burst out laughing.

“Wait, Mummy, are you sure you heard well?? She said it was Sister who started the rumors?” I asked for the umpteenth time just to be sure.

“This child, I'm not deaf, and if you ask again, I'll slap you,” my mother replied, getting tired of answering my questions.

“Sorry, Ma, it's just that I can't believe it,” I replied, trying to control my laughter.

We refused to believe what we had heard until my mother asked Tochi to come to our place for a discussion. This time when Aunty Tochi repeated that it was Sister that had indeed spread the rumors among her friends and Aunty Tochi's friends had passed the rumors down to Tochi, we weren't laughing. We all felt really hurt and disappointed; this was a woman we took as our mother. A woman who called our mother her sister.

From what Aunty Tochi told us, Sister had even come to her with the same story and thereafter offered her daughter, who was the same age as Ifeoma, as a suitable wife for Alex. Sister also claimed Ifeoma wasn't well trained and that my mother didn't know how to raise children. It turned out that Sister had been a wolf in sheep's clothing all the while, causing havoc with people's names in the street, while acting nice and Godfearing in their presence.

Afterward my mother confronted Sister together with Aunty Tochi, and as expected Sister kept on telling different tales, and tried to talk her way out of the situation. After that day, the bond between Sister and my mother was broken. As God would have it, word spread around the street that the earlier rumors about my family were false, and my mother's name was cleared. Also, Ifeoma's wedding plans were revived, and Sister was even invited to the wedding.