Chapter 3: Life After Death

It was still the day of my father's funeral. We had just come home from the church cemetery where my father was buried. We were in our family home, in my dad's hometown, sitting in the family room. Mom was still silent, although I suspected that she was hanging on just a haywire, ready to trip off. My two uncles were there as was my aunt, all from my father's side. My grandma, an old woman who has seen better times was seated on the main couch, where my grandfather used to sit while he was alive. That seat was sacred.

"It is a good thing that we are all gathered here, now. I think this would be as good a time as any for us to discuss this issue." Uncle Jim said, after clearing his throat. I looked around the room, and I saw my uncle, Charlie and Aunt Susan nodding there head like lizards. Mom's was just staring off into the space with her head propped on her right hand. This was not good.

"It is a very sad thing that our brother, Robert is dead. We all know that his death was untimely and the circumstances surrounding his death have not been fully explained to us." Uncle Jim continued. "Robby was a wealthy man who left many estates. We his family have met and concluded that his estates be shared among his living siblings, that's us." Mom's head snapped from her hand. "What do you mean, sharing his estates among his surviving siblings, Jimmy?" "You heard him alright, Elizabeth. His estates have to be shared among his surviving siblings." It was Aunt Susan. From the tone of her voice, I could only suspect that my only aunt carried a grudge against my mother.

"Don't mind me asking but what becomes of us, Roberts legal family after you might have shared his estates." Mom asked the gathered brood of vipers. "You can do anything you want, Elizabeth. If you don't want to go empty handed, you can marry one of us his surviving male siblings. Since Jim here is happily married, that leaves only me." Uncle Charlie explained.

Mom's head snapped and her eyes bulged. From all indications, this was a shock to my mother as it was to me. "What?" Mom screamed at the group. " ... It will be over my dead body. Nobody is going to lay hands on my husband's property and nobody is going to lay any hand on me or my son. Anybody that dares try to do that shall look for his loins. Foolish people." With that said, mom stood up like a female warrior, starred hard at them, turned to me and said; "Let's go EJ." We left to my uncle, I guess it was Uncle Jim saying; "You are going to pay for walking away from us."

Mom broke into tears when we got to our room. "How could they do this to us Eeej? How could they be this heartless?" I went over to mom's sobbing figure and hugged her to me. It seemed to be all that I was capable of doing nowadays. It was still unbelievable! Just five days after my father's demise, my own father's siblings were plotting to take over my father's estates, even when his bone has not yet touched the ground. It was plain heartless. "Rob, where are you?" Mom continued to sob, looking up to heaven. "Why did you have to die now? You know that I can't handle them on my own. Oh God, where are you?" The sobs were becoming uncontrollable. I was silent. What could I have said other than to hold her to myself?

Finally after hours of countless tears shed, mom was able to control herself. We puttered around the room doing nothing. She refused to let me out of her sight. I wasn't complaining.

The fight for my dad's estates became a heated affair. Though it may be strange, but that was how we saw it. My mother was reported to the elders of my father's family. You would think that old men who are supposed to be custodians of our traditions and customs would call my uncles to order, but it wasn't so. I suspected that they were bribed. Mom was practically ordered to relinquish every estate of my father's in her possession. They neither cared nor thought about what will become of my mother and I after my uncles might have seized my father's estates. Welcome to my world!

Mom was a fighter, a tigress that will go to any length to ensure that my future was secured. She would hear none of that. She screamed fire and brimstone on anyone that would come near my father's property. To the outside world, she was strong, confident and unflinching. But I could tell that the whole thing was getting to her. I'd wake up in the night to the sound of her sobbing, silently asking my father or God why she had to go through what she was going through. I was helpless. How could I not be? I'd just lost my father and now, the one person in my life was in pains. And I couldn't do anything.

I was always by my mother's side. I did everything I could to ensure that she understood that I was there for her. I might have been eight by then but I had been raised to be a responsible, sensitive and caring boy. Besides, I couldn't quite shake the last thing dad said to me, that I should take care of my mother, that I was all she had at least for the time being. I already felt like I had betrayed my father and my only redemption were to carter for my mom like no one had ever done before. But I didn't know how.

My uncles saw that going through elders was never going to work on my mother; they took the battle for my father's property to another level. They went to court. It was a family problem that could have been settled within the family, but my uncles would hear none of that. I remember the day that a letter summoning my mom to court arrived at our home. It was a sunny Wednesday, 12 days after my dad's death. We were in the family room, watching the television, when the doorbell rang. Mom looked at me in a manner that asked; 'are you expecting anybody?' I shook my head in the negative. Mom went to open the door.

"William's residence?" the mailman asked. Mom nodded. "Please sign here," he said. Mom signed whatever it was that she was asked to sign. He gave mom an envelope and left. Back in the family room, mom opened the envelope and started reading.