SprinNG
  • Publications
    • Anthologies >
      • ETB Anthology
      • AEAnthology
      • WAD Anthology
      • CBS Anthology
      • 2020 Why I Write
      • 2019 Why I Write
    • Interviews
    • Book Reviews
  • Submit
    • Submit to Us
    • Nigerian Writers Database
  • Fellowship
    • Writing Fellowship
    • Advancement Fellowship
  • Contests
    • Monthly Bookstore Gift-card
    • Annual Poetry Contest
    • SWAP >
      • SWAP 2022 Winners
      • SWAP 2021 Winner
      • SWAP 2020 Winner
  • SprinNG Lit
  • Services
    • Resume/CV Editing Services
    • Cover Letter Editing
    • Bio/Personal Statement Editing
  • Donate
  • About
    • Annual Report
    • Quicklinks

The Breaking

1/10/2021

4 Comments

 
By Maryam Sa’eed Otuh
Picture
Today, mother whispered, “I am tired” with her head resting on her pillow, her right arm flung carelessly across the bed as she stared at the bland patterns on the white-painted ceilings.

She didn’t complain about the brown patches forming on the areas where it leaked. Or about the cobwebs we failed to clean yesterday. 

Father came home angry. He grumbled about his tasteless food and yelled for clean water to wash his hands. 
Then, he stormed out, ignoring mother’s tears as they fell on the cold untiled floor, on her old blue wrapper, and in her palms. 

She tried to hold them in; she squeezed her eyes shut, breathed in deeply. But her eyes had become weak. The tears fell heavily, leaking from the sides and then all over. They were pouring, like our roof, during the rainy season.  

You haven’t changed, mother, Tobi said. You’re still sweet and kind. And you love us a lot.

She smiled and patted his 10-year-old head. She knows better than to believe the words of a boy yearning for the warmth of a mother.

He touched where she patted and laughed. I wonder if he remembers that I removed two more lice from his hair this morning.             
                                                                                                      
Sadness has many homes, and mother housed it without demanding rent like Uncle Tunji when he lost his only son. Or, like Ngozi, who lives in the uncompleted building at the end of the street and would stop in front of our house, sending curses our way after drinking too much ogogoro.   

Father did not come home that night, he would be gone for a while, and mother would cry, leaving us to prepare the yam porridge we would eat for supper.
4 Comments
Maryann pam
1/10/2021 04:55:18 pm

It's a sad yet beautiful story, it also saddens me how women are being neglected by their husbands after giving them beautiful kids. Is good we appreciate our mothers because they're doing so much for the family and the community. The most beautiful thing about mothers is that they can still smile even in difficult moment. I like how the writer portray the woman, as a stronger vessel and not the weaker vessel as men sees them.

Reply
Adeoye Favour Isaiah
2/10/2021 11:21:52 am

The Breaking is an astounding metaphor to begin with, and Maryam tells the story of a typical 'African Family Story' so vividly. It reveals the strength of the typical African woman and the ill treatment she is subjected to by her husband. It is so heartbreaking, how fathers, African fathers most especially could be so mean, egoistic and insensitive to the heart of the matter and the matter of the heart. They treat women, their children likewise like like scumbags. The breaking calls for a paradigm shift and a more liberal fatherhood, especially in Africa, with all due respect to the fathers.

Reply
Umechukwu Chikwuo I.
15/10/2021 04:16:15 pm

The tireless efforts of a mother.

This story ellucidates the difference between a mother's attitude and that of a father in a family set up. Notwithstanding what the situation may look like, a mother endures and doesn't complain much. She could look tattered inorder to care for her children. While a father complains of every little mismanagement at home.
This story is an advice to mothers who would want to make a good family.

Reply
Elizabeth Ide
30/10/2021 09:35:34 pm

Touching lines. I can only say they're true.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    The SprinNG 2023 Brochure

    SprinNG Quicklinks
    About SprinNG
    Contests
    Anthologies
    Interviews
    Book Reviews
    Nigerian Writers Database
    Recommended Literary Sites
    Writers Fellowship

      Subscribe to SprinNG Newsletters
    Subscribe

    For inquiries regarding publications email: 
    contact@SprinNG.org 
    ​and we will respond to you within 48hrs.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE SPRINNG 2023 BROCHURE

Copyright @SprinNG 2023
​

  • Publications
    • Anthologies >
      • ETB Anthology
      • AEAnthology
      • WAD Anthology
      • CBS Anthology
      • 2020 Why I Write
      • 2019 Why I Write
    • Interviews
    • Book Reviews
  • Submit
    • Submit to Us
    • Nigerian Writers Database
  • Fellowship
    • Writing Fellowship
    • Advancement Fellowship
  • Contests
    • Monthly Bookstore Gift-card
    • Annual Poetry Contest
    • SWAP >
      • SWAP 2022 Winners
      • SWAP 2021 Winner
      • SWAP 2020 Winner
  • SprinNG Lit
  • Services
    • Resume/CV Editing Services
    • Cover Letter Editing
    • Bio/Personal Statement Editing
  • Donate
  • About
    • Annual Report
    • Quicklinks