Sierra Leonean author Alieu Bundu has published his novel, Silver Lining : The Saga of an Orphan . He shared an excerpt with Poda-Poda Stories.
In war-torn Sierra Leone, an orphan is plunged into a tumultuous world of chaos, danger, deceit and abuse. Silver Lining is a story about family, love, loss, separation, war, friendship, faith, hope, courage and forgiveness.
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“Have you done what I ordered you to do?” Aunt Mariatu asked as she placed the basket down. Her body was covered with a light sheen of sweat.
“No Aunty, but I…”
Aunt Mariatu shot Alimu a spiteful look that rendered him mute. He felt a sense of dread.
“What! You dared defy my authority, right? You wait, I go show you say are bad pass orbado!”
She grabbed a bucket of water that perched nearby and poured its content over Alimu.
He gasped, bounded onto his feet and looked at Aunt Mariatu with an open mouth and horror-stricken eyes.
“Yes, you merited that for being stubborn! Just wait, I’m going to beat the devil of stubbornness out of you!”
Aunt Mariatu dashed into the house and returned with a thick, long cane she called “Bamboo Bone”, which she started using on Alimu four days after his father returned.
“Now, lie down let me deal with you!” she roared, her eyes glowed of fierce anger.
Alimu didn’t move; he just stood like a pillar, looking at his aunt as an eruption of anger coursed through him.
His action flared up the overwhelming rage that was boiling in his aunt’s guts like a fire somebody had just thrown a five gallon of petrol at, because she raised the cane and started to hit him on different parts of his body. Searing pains stung Alimu on the parts of his body the cane landed like a hook; he covered his face with his hands to protect it and his eyes.
After unleashing Bamboo Bone for over twenty-five times, Aunt Mariatu stopped and said at the top of her voice in Krio, “Yes, are miss you! This is just one part of the punishment you will undergo! You want to grow wings in this house because I let you go to school! From now on, you will never go to that school again! Once I get into the house, I will take your uniforms and lock them in my room!”
“Aunty, please don’t stop me from going to school,” Alimu whined. His voice cracked.
“No way!” She grabbed Alimu’s backpack that was lying on the porch and dashed for the entrance door. Once she banged it behind her, Alimu, whose body felt as though it was swathed with acid, lowered his feet onto the floor as tears gushed out of his eyes. A while later, the door opened with a crash and Aunt Mariatu sauntered out. She was holding Alimu’s school uniforms and backpack.
“To show you that I was serious when I told you that I wouldn’t let you go to school again, I’m going to burn your uniforms and your school bag. If I keep them, you’ll hope that I will change my mind and send you to school again someday. But burning them means you will never go to school again,” Aunt Mariatu said, glowering.
Her words struck Alimu’s heart like a hammer. “Aunty, I beg you in God’s name, don’t do that!” His words were lined with grief like the cry of a woman whose beloved child was massacred by a car in front of her.
Aunt Mariatu didn’t pay heed to his words. She walked out of the porch and dropped the uniforms and the bag on the ground. Once they thudded on it, she poured kerosene on them and set them on fire. As flames of orange and blue meandered skywards as the fire consumed Alimu’s school bag and uniforms, he felt like a hostage who had just been informed that the person that was to pay his ransom had died in an accident.
You can get the book here: Silver Lining: The Saga of an Orphan
Alieu Bundu is a writer and a singer from Sierra Leone. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. His stories have been published in Lolwe and Nice Story. He was the runner-up for April 2014 Africa Book Club Short Reads Competition, and he was also nominated for the 2016 Writivism Short Story Competition for his short story, Bintiya, now titled Miremba.