Short Story: All in One Child by Jennifer Amadi

Growing up, I could pass for everyone’s child and at the same time, no one’s child. Being born out of wedlock was the bedrock of this reality. Looking back, I would say my life started out like the stories told in Nigerian home videos of an unwanted pregnancy produced by two unsettled young lovers; while the male suggested it should be aborted, the female insisted that she would keep it. From this I realised that people like me, even before we ever knew what surviving was, we were born survivors. Though I got broken at some point, my voice gradually became a whisper and fear crippled the best of me but I always seem to make it pass the next day.

I would say my sense of resilience wasn’t an intentional act, rather it was one subconsciously built as circumstances unfolded. With my first stepmother, I learned strength and self-control in the most awkward ways. Hardly did a day pass without being served some doses of beating that were accompanied by an endless list of name-calling.

My second stepmother arrived with subtle signs of hope which vanished as the years went by. She revealed some hidden colours of selfishness and greed which were even unknown to her. And with her, I learned humility and contentment; speaking and laughing only when permitted to and never too demanding or complaining about things.

While my father’s siblings stayed at one end to question the wrong choices their brother made when it came to women, they would choose him over me any day because he was their breadwinner. Like strangers, my father and I remained with deep wounds in our souls.
As faulty as this foundation was which sometimes had the ability to shake my entire existence, I never collapsed.




















About the Writer

Jennifer Chioma Amadi, is a storyteller and writer who is constantly inspired by the stories of random people, places and events. She sees storytelling as an indispensable means of preserving history and creating the future. Asides being a content developer for a business consulting firm, she is a blogger and loves to share most of her short stories on jenomanook.com. When she is not writing, she is either relishing the lyrics of her favorite songs or engaging in quality conversations.