The Father She Hid

*CHAPTER 1* A Stranger In His Own House. "If a man remains careless with his spending, he shall remain poor and lack always," Nathan muttered to himself as he trekked home from his junction. The POS shop had drained him. He got to his apartment, a bedsitter with a small bed, a reading table and chair, and wardrobe squeezed into the corner. He pushed his door open, fell on the bed with his shoes still on. His dark skin looked pale, sunburnt from sitting by that junction all day. His phone rang. Mama. "Nath, when will I see you? Your school has vacated. Amanda, our church member's daughter, came home and even attended church on Sunday..." "Ehn Mama, she has nothing doing," Nathan cut in. "She's a girl. Everything is provided for her. Not like me." "Stop saying that. God will provide. There is work on the farm. That's where I get money to send you to school. Biko, come home on time." Nathan's jaw tightened. "I have a POS shop I opened last month. Who will run it? Besides, you have Victor, David and Ella. They are the ones who get the biggest share whenever anything is shared." Silence. Then his mother sighed and ended the call. Nathan stared at the ceiling, the fan turning slowly. His parents separated when he was six. He was never allowed to know his father. His mother remarried, and her new husband was kind to his own children (Victor, David, Ella ) but to Nathan, he was a stranger in his own house. And his mother watched it all and said nothing. "I should come back so you and your husband can turn me to a slave again?" he whispered. "Sometimes I wonder if you even birthed me, or you just picked me from somewhere."