An hour later Winnie was fast asleep in her bed. She had taken a sedative to help her get through the night.

Phumi sat by her mom’s bed and watched her sleep. She couldn’t get over how quickly everything had changed in their lives. She hated her father more than ever. He was such a hypocrite, a liar and a cheat. She fervently hoped that he never experienced another moment of peace in his life.

Edna would not be easy to put up with. She was hard and domineering. Phumi knew all about her from her sister Lena who was forever telling tales about her. She’d once told Phumi that Edna didn’t care who she slept with as long as she got paid for it. More often than not, she had two or three boyfriends at the same time. Now her father, supposedly a pillar of the community, a church-going man, had fallen for a woman like that. She shook her head at his foolishness. Virgin indeed! Why did some of these older men behave in such a fashion? They got rid of wives on a whim and took up with women young enough to be their daughters and in some cases their granddaughters. Were they really so vain that they thought these women fell for their looks and charms. All they wanted was their money – and then spent it lavishly.

Phumi knew with certainty that she would never forgive her father. She was thankful for her bursary, but she knew she would need money for other expenses. Something in Phumi changed that night. She would never be the same person ever again. Little did she know then how drastically her life was about to change even further.

In the morning, Phumi climbed into bed next to her mom. She wanted to be with her when she woke up.

***

Tell us: Do you think it’s hard having a sibling like Edna? Why/Why not?