The Tonic

By Miss Destiny lhuoma Oparah

The book The Tonic is about the story of a young girl, Rosabell, and her family. Rosabell lost her mother, Catherina, to death when she was a teenager. It wasnt just the fact that she had to grow up without a mum but the fact that the very last conversation, advice, and counsel which her mother, Catherina, gave to her on her dying bed became the tonic, which infused into her the need and vitality to be able wade through lifes difficulties and to assail through the hurdles of life until she became a grown-up.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Jun 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514464373

Miss Destiny lhuoma Oparah

Miss Destiny lhuoma Oparah is a graduate of the prestigious University of Lagos , AKOKA , Nigeria., where she studied English Language education and graduated with a second class honours degree. She also studied at the University of Science and technology Portharcourt where she obtained a masters degree in educational administration. Here in the United Kingdom , Destiny lhuoma Oparah studied at the prestigious University of Cambridge where she gained a qualification to teach literacy and Esol to post sixteen students. She is a current student of the University of Plymouth, where she is studying Law(LLB).She is a teacher , a novelist , and prolific writer and the Managing Director of OptimaltrainingUK.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

ROSABELL

Rosabell lived in a small town of Cambridgeshire with her father and her two other siblings. Her mother has just passed a couple of months ago, and it's been a bit of a blow to the entire family.

Rosabell, being the first of the three siblings, had been thrown into the position of a mother at just barely eighteen years of age. It had been hard for her father, who himself was tired and sick. It was very difficult for the other siblings who were much younger to understand the absence of their mother, and they kept asking Rosabell for explanation. She was tired and have ran out of ideas. Once, she told them that their mum, Catherina, had gone to the grocery store, and her little siblings had stood at the door with expectancy in their eyes from morning to dusk and didn't touch their lunch nor dinner waiting for the return of their mum; but she didn't come home, and they had cried to sleep that day.

On another occasion, Rosabell had to take them out to the shops, and they kept asking if their mother was lost in the crowd with them peering into the face of every adult female in the hope that one of the women in the crowd would scream out their names, but that did not happen. Benice and Sheri had to return from the shops disappointed.

It had been too much for Rosabell to bear. So much so that at school, she had always been lost in her own thoughts wondering what life will be for her if she would ever be young again, for suddenly she felt so old.

Her father was fondly called Daddy Dee by every person they know, even their late mum, who was a small frail woman. The death of his wife had been a big blow to him, and indeed, he does not think that he will ever get over it. He was very close to her, and his children now are the only thing that was making sense in his existence.

Their neighbours have been very supportive and caring since the demise of his wife. They baked, cooked, and delivered food to the children of their late friend and neighbour Catherina. They took turns to visit the home and to encourage Daddy Dee and his kids. They tried daily to draw him out of himself so that his pain will be eased, but nothing that they ever did eased the pain in his heart.

Rosabell, despite these challenges, still was able to keep her head above water. She was a good girl, and she wished that her father could get over the death of her mother, so that everyone can be happy for there was this cloud of gloom and doom hanging over their house like a wet blanket.

Daddy Dee had a terrible blow at the death of his wife, which was unexpected. Although Catherina had been very poorly months before her death, Daddy Dee had not expected her to die, not with the assurances of the doctor that her worsened condition was due to the weather and that it would blow over. It only got worse as she grew so weak and feeble till the very end of her life.

This memory haunted Daddy Dee because he did all that he could to alleviate her suffering during the time of her illness, but he believed that he didn't do enough. That perhaps if he had been a little more attentive, being a little more loving and caring, perhaps she would not have died.

These have been his thoughts, and despite all that his neighbours had told him to stop blaming himself, he couldn't help it. He just kept worrying and going down memory lane.

He had actually confessed to his children that it was his fault that their mother died, but the first daughter, Rosabell, had understood that it was his grief that made him say so and just kept praying in her heart that her father would get over his grief. She couldn't bear the thought of anything bad happening to her father on account of her late mother's death. She can barely think of anything terrible happening to her only remaining parent. With this thought in her heart, she drifted off to a troubled sleep.

CHAPTER TWO

THE FUNERAL

It was a rainy day and very gloomy. The day daddy Dee chose to bury the love of his life, Catherina.

Catherina was such a lovely and sweet lady who barely spoke above a whisper. She had such an angelic voice that everyone said she was simply an angel living amongst men.

'Good things never last long!' were the words that echoed on the day of Catherina's funeral. The little neighbourhood church that they attended was filled up with all their neighbours who heard about the sudden death of Catherina.

Catherina and her children, Rosabell, Bernice, and Sheri, are very well known in the community church, which she attended during her lifetime; and every member of the church wanted to be there to pay her the last respect.

The inside of the church was well-decorated in pink, and white flowers adorned it. The truth was that it looked as though it was a wedding rather than a funeral. At least Bernice and Sheri thought so, but Rosabell and the others knew better.

As the crowd thronged the funeral venue, the soft-playing funeral songs played. The atmosphere was eerie and scary. The casket bearing the remains of Catherina was placed at the centre of the church and was opened.

All over the building, everyone wore black gown or black suit with black hats and scarves---it was a very gloomy atmosphere. Rosabell was beside herself with grief, as she stared at the casket of her late mother. Tears cascaded down her cheeks. Daddy Dee couldn't contain himself; he was red-faced and tearful. He wished that he could take away the grief of Rosabell, but because he couldn't, he was saddened the more by it. He was happy that the other two of his