The angle
Shila was the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Saint. She had two sisters, Nana and Mary. Nana was the first child, while Mary was the youngest.
From the day Shila was born, she had always been the happiest child in the family. She had a cheerful smile and was always ready to help others.
One Monday morning, Shila got herself ready for school.
“Mummy! Mummy! I’m ready! Where are you?” Shila called as she searched for her mother.
“Dear, I’m here. Come inside your daddy’s room,” her mother replied.
Shila rushed in.
“Did you do your homework?” her mother asked.
“Yes, Mom,” Shila answered.
“Okay, dear. You can start going now.”
“Mother, aren’t you going to give me a goodbye hug?” Shila asked softly.
Her mother looked at her and smiled faintly.
“Start going. You can see that I’m busy. Let me get your sister ready. Your daddy will drop her off.”
Shila looked at the socks her mother was preparing for Mary.
“Okay, Mom,” she said with a smile before heading to school.
When Shila returned home from school that afternoon, she looked exhausted and dizzy. She sat behind their house, trying to do her homework.
“Shila! Shila!” her mother called.
“Yes, Mom. I’m trying to do my homework,” Shila answered weakly.
Her mother walked over, ignoring the tiredness on Shila’s face.
“Didn’t you hear me calling you?”
Before Shila could explain herself, her mother slapped her.
“No, Mom, I wasn’t ignoring you. I was just tired.”
“You are tired? What did you do today? Tell me! What have you done for me? Am I not your mother? Can’t I send you on errands?”
“Mummy, I’m sorry. What do you want me to do?” Shila asked.
“Go and wash your sister’s school uniform, and wash yours too.”
“Okay, Mummy,” Shila replied.
A few minutes later, her mother called again.
“Shila, are you done with the clothes?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to finish my homework.”
“Book this, book that! You just came back from school. Aren’t you tired of reading? Go and wash these plates. Make sure you wash your sister’s lunchbox too.”
“Okay, Mom,” Shila replied quietly.
The next day, Shila woke up late because her mother had not woken her. She rushed to the bathroom, got ready quickly, and hurried to school.
By the time she arrived, Miss Nelly, her class teacher, was already in class.
“Shila, why are you late today?” Miss Nelly asked.
“I’m sorry, Miss. I feel sick, and I woke up late.”
“Okay. Submit your homework.”
At that moment, Shila remembered she had not finished it the previous day. Tears filled her eyes.
“What happened?” Miss Nelly asked.
Shila was too nervous to explain.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t do your homework.”
“I forgot it,” Shila whispered.
“You forgot? That’s laziness.”
Miss Nelly punished her for being careless.
Shila knew she wasn’t lazy, but she also knew her teacher would never believe her.
As she walked home alone after school, Shila thought sadly:
I don’t know if my mummy loves me or hates me. I’m the only one who walks to school. Nana rides the school bus, and Daddy drives Mary every day. Mother says Nana’s school is far, and Mary is still little. But I’m only two years older than Mary. What makes me so different?
When she got home, Shila tried to explain what had happened.
“Mummy, do you know I got beaten today?”
“What did you do? Did you fight someone?” her mother asked aggressively.
Shila began trembling.
“No, Mummy. I didn’t fight anyone. It’s because you didn’t allow me to finish my homework yesterday.”
“When did I stop you from doing your homework?”
Shila lowered her head.
“Yes, Mom. It’s all my fault. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“Go and take off that uniform and come back here.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“Are you crying?”
“No, Mother.”
“Did I beat you?”
“No, Mother.”
“You better not cry, because if you do, I’ll give you a real reason to cry.”
Shila rushed to her room, removed her uniform, and cried alone for fifteen minutes.
Chapter 2
After crying, Shila slowly came out to meet her mother.
“Mother, is there anything I can do for you?”
“Yes, of course. Take that bucket and go fetch some water. Make sure you come back quickly to help me prepare lunch.”
Her mother pointed to a new green bucket.
Shila obeyed.
On her way back, she accidentally hit her leg against a stone and fell. The bucket broke instantly.
Shila cried out in pain. Her leg was bleeding.
“Oh no! I broke the bucket! My mummy will kill me today! Why me?” she sobbed.
Terrified of going home, Shila sat there for nearly an hour, crying and staring at the broken pieces, hoping somehow to fix them.
A young man passing by noticed her.
“Young girl, why are you sitting here crying? Go home.”
“I can’t go home,” Shila replied.
“Why?”
“I broke my mummy’s new bucket. She will never spare me. I’m just a spoiler.”
“No, you are not,” the young man said kindly. “It was a mistake. Anyone could make one. Go home and tell your mother what happened.”
“You don’t know my mom,” Shila cried. “She will think I did it on purpose.”
The young man sighed.
“I can’t leave you here. Your leg is bleeding. I’ll take you home myself and plead for you.”
After much hesitation, Shila agreed.
When they arrived, her mother rushed outside.
“What happened?”
The young man explained everything.
“She accidentally fell and broke the bucket. She was too scared to come home.”
“Oh my God, Shila, my baby! Are you hurt?”
Shila stared in shock as her mother suddenly acted caring.
“Thank you, young man. What is your name?”
“My name is Eric. Please, Madam, don’t beat her.”
“I won’t touch her,” her mother promised.
Eric waved goodbye and left.
As soon as he was gone, her mother’s expression changed.
“What did you tell that young man?” she demanded angrily.
“Mummy…”
“You told him I am wicked? You told him I beat you? Have I ever laid my hand on you?”
Shila froze in fear.
“Kneel there and face the wall!”
“Mummy, please! I’m sorry!”
“You broke my new bucket! Do you know how hard I worked to buy it? Why do you always ruin my property? Why can’t I send you on a simple errand?”
Shila knelt silently, tears rolling down her cheeks, realizing once again that kindness from her mother only existed when others were watching.
