At the Television Station
They drove to the television station and Sarah met with Barbara Robin, the presenter of a popular family program tagged The Feminine World. Fortunately, they arrived forty minutes ahead of the time, and Barbara took time to take her through the questions, and she answered them correctly. Meanwhile, her husband made his input where necessary and advised on the information about her father that should be made public and ensured that she expunged derogatory remarks about her father from her narration. Likewise, Uju ensured that her makeup was okay. At 1 PM, the program took off.
At Home
Oliver returned from his shopping and walked into the house. Thereafter, Barry instructed, “Oliver, we are going out. Your aunt would be on a live broadcast at 1 PM.”
“Okay sir,” Oliver, who was addled by his speech, responded. Then, Barry continued, “If you must watch the broadcast, ensure that the police have their lunch before then.”
“It is noted, sir.”
Afterward, they left with the unbranded staff bus of the Blue Sea. Although, Oliver did not get what Barry meant by his aunt appearing on a live broadcast by I PM, but he noticed that the children wished to tidy up their work before that time. Then, he attempted to tidy up too. He walked to the kitchen and requested for the food for the police men.
“My son, get those food flasks. Your aunt said we should dish the police meal with them,” Ugo, who was also preparing to watch the live broadcast of her daughter, said when she saw Oliver.
With a sense of importance, he responded, “Okay, mama.”
He hurriedly got the flask and soon, the food was dished, and he took the flasks to the six policemen, who never knew that they were entitled to a meal. They appreciated him happily as if he was the provider of the food.
“Is there anything else that you need?” Oliver inquired.
“Not at all. We are grateful.”
“You are welcome,” he said, and left the guest house. Oliver would have been happier and freer if he would have his lunch alone. While he was walking to the kitchen to get his food, Frank called him back.
“Everybody is eating here, Oliver. Come inside.”
He followed him to Callum’s house and was amazed to meet Fredrick and his children there. Not only that, George and Lillian were there too. For the few hours he had been with the family, he noticed a few things about them, unity and love for one another, which was lacking in his family.
“Have you served the police men?” Fredrick asked the moment he saw him, and he responded in the affirmative.
“Yes sir. I just did.”
“Thank you for that,” he appreciated.
“Thank you, Oliver, for your assistance,” Callum appreciated.
“I am glad to be of help, Sir.”
With the presence of Frank, Oliver blended easily, and they had their lunch happily. Thereafter, they settled down to watch the live broadcast.
In The Television Station
At 1 PM, the presenter began.
“Hello viewers, welcome to this week’s edition of your family program, The Feminine World. Last week, we deliberated on the topic, The Girls Are Unstoppable. Our topic this week is, My Story As a Girl, and My guest today is an embodiment of success. She is a woman who did not allow her childhood to determine her future. She is an educator and a mother. Likewise, she is happily married, and has a wonderful family. She is Mrs. Sarah Owens, the founder of Daughters of Sarah International. A Non-Governmental Organization that supports the girl child and stands against gender discrimination.”
At that moment, the camera focused and zoomed to Sarah's beautiful and smiling face, and the presenter continued, “Mrs. Owen, I’m glad to be your host.”
“Thank you, Barbara, for hosting me, despite the short notice.”
“It is time to listen to the story of my guest. I believe that you would learn a lot from her story. Over to you, Mrs. Owens.”
She narrated her story with an educationist precision and her big sisters, who were watching the program at the reception, were proud of her. The presenter gave her the opportunity to say more, which she did, but, at some point, her voice would crack in despair, but her husband, who insisted on being in the studio with her, encouraged her with his presence. At the end of her narration, the presenter spoke, “Thank you for sharing your story with us. That was a touching story, Mrs. Owen.” Sarah nodded her head in agreement with a smile.
“Tell us, Mrs. Owens, what do we expect during your father’s funeral?”
“Thank you, Barbara. As a memorial to my late father, and an encouragement to fathers who do not believe that the girl child is an asset, my husband and I have decided to empower one hundred girls who are discriminated upon. We are empowering them through the Daughters of Sarah International to the tune of one hundred thousand Naira each.”
“Wow! That is marvelous. I wish that we have more survivals of gender discrimination who would come up and share their stories and encourage the victims. Thank you, Mrs. Owens, for this laudable project.”
“Consider it as nothing, Barbara.”
At last, the presenter gave room for viewers to call in and ask questions or make an input.
Sarah joyously and intelligently answered their questions. Nevertheless, one of the callers stole the show. After introducing herself as Nne, she commended, “Thank you, madam Sarah, for being thoughtful of the girl child.”
“It is my pleasure, Nne,” Sarah responded cheerfully.
“If the society had stood by me, I believe that my life as a child would have been better.”
“Oh! I apologize on behalf of the society, Nne,” Sarah promulgated, then, the caller continued.
“Madam Sarah, I wish to let you know that your father was a nice man.”
Now, Sarah and the presenter exchanged glances. Then, the presenter asked, “I guess that is your opinion. What do you think is good about a man who abandoned his family after causing the death of his child?”
“Thank you, presenter Barbara. You will get to the answer to that question after you listen to my story as a girl.”
“Go on with your story, Nne. We are listening.”
(It was the church’s teachings that sustained me while I wandered far away from God during my days as a street urchin. As a young girl of ten, my topper father had raped me severally and my mother, his fourth wife, out of six had reported him to the community heads and church leaders. The case was always dismissed as a family affair. They often warned my father to desist from drinking a lot and attributed his offense to drunkenness. I later realized that I was not the only child that he abused, but other mothers turned blind eyes just to retain their positions as wives. After my mother and only brother died out of food poison, I was left on my own. Their deaths were attributed to my father, who wanted to pay her back for constantly vilifying him. To my chagrin, even though it was not a secret, no action was taken against him, not even by the police. Now that my mother and little brother were out of the way, I realized that he spared my life because I was useful to him as a sex toy. Then, I remembered my Sunday School Classes.