Campaign of calumny

Mom arrived a while later after the policemen and the lawyer et al had left, she was so strong not to have broken down at the sight of her house put under lock and key and her belongings and kids all outside staring dejectedly into space. She assessed our whole belongings and asked if nothing was missing or broken, we shook our heads affirming nothing was missing, Hamz then asked what we were going to do next,

 "Where do we move to Mom?"


He asked, none of us chastised Mom for getting into a deal with the devil in the first place as read in WHEN TROUBLE BREWS rather we were all about what next to do. Shockingly, while the whole TSUNAMI went down, not many neighbors came out, probably because a lot were at work at the time when it happened but what could anyone do other than sympathise and go back to their homes. We stood by our mountain of belongings as I silently prayed in my mind for rain not to fall! Mom went to the house, going in through the back door which the court messenger and the rest of the gang hadn't noticed  as the front door was locked up with a huge padlock, she reclined against the wall, fighting back tears as she saw the huge padlock on the door into our own house, she fetched her phone and made several calls and soon, a huge pick up van came but before it arrived, we had started sorting out things we needed and burnt things we didn't need again to make our load a lot easier thus, downsize our load to only the very things we still need. So when the van came, we loaded it and moved to an empty house somewhere within our area but quite far from the neighbors we've always known...I don't know how Mom did it but I didn't question her either...not at that time plus I needed a place to lay my head for the night before we figure our what next line of action to take.

We arrived at the house which was put up for rent but clearly needs a lot of renovation to be in proper order as the place looked rather torn with cracks on the wall all over and looking so unkept, it was around 6:30pm at this time, the surrounding of the house was overtaken by thick and overgrown weeds with insects and flies buzzing around, looking for human bodies to feast on as I instinctively rubbed my body in sheer horror of what probably lies awaits it that night, yet we couldn't complain as I dug my hand into a big nylon bag full of household items and brought out a led torchlight with a powerful beam that illuminated our way as we trudged on into the main house. Karl who was ahead of us all turned back to face me then collected the torch from me as he arrived at the rickety door and was about to push it open when Mom stopped him in his tracks and asked that he say "Salam alaikum" before pushing it open which he did and the old, massive door creaked aloud as it went ajar,

 "Clearly, no one has lived here for a long while, jinns and spirits usually overtake empty houses so if you're going in into an uninhabited home, you say "salam alaikum" to wad off the spirits and jinns"

Mom said as she walked on behind us into the house as I immediately invoked the pronouncement with a shudder...not when jinns and spirits are involved.  Karl and Hamz went out to fix the water meter to get us water as QT climbed some old wooden bench he found lying on the floor to reach the bundle of wires by the electrical meter to fix the light, connecting some wires together although illegal but electricity is not a luxury but a necessity, we needed it while I went into the kitchen to set up our gas cooker and fix some dinner making sure to first clean the whole dusty place and make it at least averagely conducive for cooking in light of our emergency. We didn't off load our bags to set up in the house as Mom told us while having dinner that this was just a temporary measure and the house, an empty one was given to her by a friend to stay for a few days. I was so downcast and sad, Mom turned to Karl and apologized for all he's had to witness and asked if she could source money for his flight abroad as the next couple of weeks could be tougher but Karl said wherever we are is home and he wasn't leaving,

"...More so, I've been in the army, in excruciating conditions, lived in squalor for homes...trust me Mom, I know pain"

I smiled and gave his hand a tender squeeze whilst Hamz angrily gobbled up his meal, clearly pissed by the whole situation and what this portends for his street cred. By the time we were ready to sleep, QT, Hamz, Karl and I pulled up our beds from our belongings and set up in the sitting room of the house for QT, Hamz and Karl while a second bed was put in one of the rooms for Mom and I...LOL! I know how this looks but only I could console Mom if she cries hence the boys needed me with her. Although we were squatting temporarily in an empty house, the kitchen haphazardly set up, water and electricity hurriedly fixed, most of the house dusty from years of lack of use but our immediate space swept for our comfort with a large bed for the boys in the sitting room to act as guards and Mom and I in one of the bedrooms with huge cobwebs dangling over our heads, hot meal in our tummies and our blankets covering us, we fell asleep, yet thankful for small blessings.

By morning, I showered and reported to work to formally take a leave of absence for a few days to sort family emergencies and only confided in a few close friends the exact reason for my leave, everyone wore sad faces and wished me well as I tried to put up a strong face whilst strutting out of the office building on my way home. On the other side of town, the boys and Mom had jumped into the car and drove to the high court of justice to ascertain how it was possible for us not to be present in court yet a verdict was given without the judge hearing our side of the story. She met with the court clerk who tried to bully my Mom into silence by shouting at her for missing court dates, from the way he was acting, it seemed like he had being settled by Alhaji but nonetheless, Mom was livid and not one to take such things lying low, she shouted right back and demanded to be treated right as he is a public officer and as a citizen, it was her right to demand his services, Karl and QT also lent in their voices and seeing that they weren't no pushovers, they were promptly allowed to see the judge who presided over the issue but this was after the court clerk had ransacked files upon files to get our case file.

The judge, a lady calmly explained what had happened as Mom voiced her concerns that Alhaji might have paid some people to impersonate us in court and acting on a script, get to loose the case to him. The judge explained how the court sent us summons after summons via our "lawyer" after the cases at her former court where she presides got transferred to the new one she's in and how the lawyer to Alhaji including Alhaji himself had gone to great lengths to smear our name and make us seem the guilty ones trying to hold on to the house. Mom made some calls to friends and family members right there and true to her thoughts, Alhaji had gone to tell lies to all that it was our fault as everyone chided her on the matter, with tears in her eyes, Mom was adviced on what next to do to bring the case back to court and get a fat check in damages, so they thanked her and left. Back home, we all gathered at the dining having dinner when Mom's sister Hubaida walked into our humble new abode and quite condescendingly assessed our new home and after hypocritically condoning with us on our situation then unashamedly asked for financial support from Mom to support her kids with transport fare to and from school!

WHAT?

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