My Promo-Mentors Writing Challenge"-News of My Dad's Death in the Sea

My memorable experience!

My memorable experience took place in the month of April 2002 in Adadia village, Uruan local government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

Then I was 9 years of age, still in my primary 4.
My father was a fisherman who do go for fishing every Thursday and returns every Monday being our market day, to sell his fishes.

My mother was a trader of food stuffs.

One fateful Monday morning, my 3 siblings, I and my grandma were preparing to leave the house, grandma was to take food to our mom who was in the hospital with her one week old baby, my siblings and I were preparing to go to school, when some visitors entered our compound. As usual, we thought they were coming to congratulate us for our new baby, not knowing that a wild wind had blown our Iroko away. They came in, some with their hands on their heads, some with mourning faces. We asked what has happened? Only with tear to break the horrific news of our dad's death in the sea.

Upon hearing my grandma fainted, what did a boy of 9 years know? I was only watching like a drama with my little siblings. After they managed to get my grandma resuscitated. She held us in her arms, weeping till we had no option than to join her to weep even though we didn't understand what it meant by "dad is death".

How would our mom react to this kind of news, after awaiting her hubby to return and pay her hospital bills and take her and the little baby home?

Grandma had to plead with the nurses and doctors in the hospital to strictly warn visitors not to mention our dad's death to mom. After hiding the sad news from mom for a week with some coverup stories of her husband's decision to stay back at waterside to fish more for more money, she couldn't bear again than to stop eating, pressurizing grandma to tell her what has happened to her husband. Our grandma called in the nurses, then let out the cat from the bag. There was mourning in Rhama. My mom wept without consolation, no one could console her for over a week, refusing to eat and sleep. Because of too much thinking, hypertension got hold of my mom. What a world. Are we to lose both mom and dad at the same time? Our little baby who should be breastfed, was taken away from mom and was nursed by our aunt, taking can-milk she shouldn't take at that tender age of 3 weeks. Eating solid foods when can-milk finishes and no money to buy immediately.

Just within a month, our joy had completely been cut off.
Our dad in the mortuary, our mom could not recognize us anymore, our little baby eating solid foods, no more school, hunger as never before.

However, as God would have it, after a few weeks, our mom started recovering, asking for her baby, though with tears still running down her cheeks.

We had to depend on our farm lands for food. However we could prepare what we harvested, that's what we'd eat, no matter the taste, No one to assist us, our grandma was running around to get money for our mom's hospital bills to be paid for her to return home.

By the special grace of God, everything was settled and mom was brought home and and our little baby.

Moreover, during our dad's burial, a kind hearted man, Chief Effiong Inyang promised to take care of our nursery/primary education, that's how we continued in nursery school, else we would have changed to government primary school.

To cut the story short, we were introduced to hawking of sachet water, just to assist our mom meet our demands every market day, till God opened more ways for us.

Our then little baby is now in Senior secondary one, my immediately brother and sister are done with secondary school, awaiting opportunities to start higher institution. Personally, I'm in my final level in the university of Uyo, studying electrical/Electronic engineering.
Our mom is married to another man and our grandma is still alive, though due to old age.

This is better heard or read of, than experienced.
Thank God for us now!

Thank you @futurethinker and @promo-mentors for this contest.