Day 1967: 5 Minute Freewrite || The Longest Day In A Preteen's Life

This 5 Minute Freewrite prompt reminds me of a story my mother told me once when I was a young girl. I'd complained of taking care of my sibling for a few hours. It was a touching story that revealed the struggle parents go through to make their children happy in my country.

My mother was a young preteen tasked with caring for three siblings for a whole day, pending when her mother (mama) returned from the farm. Her parents were farmers but her father had travelled to another state in search of greener pastures.

Very early in the morning, mama packed her farming tools, woke my mother up and told her to prepare breakfast and look after her siblings because she would be gone the whole day.

My mother took care of her siblings and they played for the better part of the day. As the sun began to set, they became quiet, wondering when mama would return from the farm.

Her siblings pestered her with questions over and over again. "When will mother return?" She recalled that her younger siblings had gloomy faces and were upset. As the eldest, she reassured them that their mother would be back soon.

My mother climbed onto a big tree planted in the front of their house to get a good view of the road that led to the hills where mama usually came through. There was no sign of sight of mama. She became worried too.

^Source

She debated within herself whether to leave her younger ones and go in search of their mother. But she thought of the many miles she would trek before getting to their farm and realised the futility of it. It would get dark soon and she might get lost. What if she and mama missed each other along the way? Mama would be worried if she arrived home and her eldest daughter was not there.

So my mother waited instead and her siblings huddled around her. They looked forlorn, like orphans.

It was slowly getting dark….

Then mama appeared right in front of the house with a big bag filled with some food harvested from the farm to last them for a few weeks!

My mother had never been happier to see her mama.

Thanks for reading.