CHAPTER 116:POLYGAMOUS

Mish left with her aunt Lydia for upcountry. It's almost one week when they left. Aunt Lydia was still unmarried so she was still living in her parents' house,Mish's grandparents. Although Mish's grandparents were already deceased before even she was born. Atleast their was family album that contained all the pictures for remembrance that had good memories.

Mish was relaxing on the chair as she flipped through the album. "Mum was so beautiful when she was a teenager, l think that's why dad married her" she chuckled.

"And you took after her Mish you are beautiful" her aunt Lydia responded.

Aunt Lydia poured her coffee as she sat to the chair adjacent to hers.

"You will have other time to look at that album Mish, you should take the coffee so that we visit the family graveyard to deposit my sister's cremains." She said while sipping her own coffee.

Mish put the album aside then joined her aunty in taking the coffee. Aunt Lydia was looking at her disdainfully then, "Mish l am so sorry to ask you this but l just want to know" Lydia said while rubbing her palms together like some who is feeling cold at that moment.

"Yes what is it?" Mish asked her anxiously.

"It's about my sister Mish, you know she was my only sister. Although we were not so close because of the personal issues but Mish why did you decide to cremate her body?"

Mish placed the coffee back to the table, leaned back in her seat then crossed her arms then stared at her aunt. Lydia was expecting an answer from her but with the look of things, Mish was not ready to answer her.She decided to ask her in a simpler way.

"Did my sister tell you to cremate her body, that she didn't want to be buried?"

"Aunt l know why you are asking me that," she sighed then said. "No, it was not her wish, it was my wish. I had my own personal reason aunt,l know you think l was hiding evidence by deciding to cremate her body. But that was not the reason" Mish said.

'How would l have allowed her to attend her burial ceremony yet she was the reason why my mum took her own life.' Mish thought.

"I would like to know that reason but it's fine if you are not ready to share it with me. Will you ever regret your decision? " Aunt Lydia asked.

"I have no room for that,Aunt. It's about time we embrace cremation with that we will save many trees that are used in making coffins."

"When did you start being an environmentalists? Are you the reincarnation of Professor Wangari Maathai?"

"Hahaa, l won't mind if l was? I think it's time we leave for the graveyard." Mish said while standing up.

She took the cremains then they left together for the graveyard.

When Mish approached her dad wanting go upcountry with her Aunt, she had asked him if it was okay with him. She wanted to bury her mother's cremains in maternal graveyard.

This was her second visit coming upcountry, the first time she was five years old so probably she doesn't remember many things. She always wished that her grandparents were alive. She wanted to feel how it's like to have them around. With their wise advises and folktales.

Atleast now she is visiting their graves and also she will be having a reason to visit them. Now that she was going to bury her mother's cremains there. She had no time to doubt her decision of burying her mother in famy graveyard.

'Atleast mum will enjoy the company of grandpa and grandma, the time she didn't get to spend with them when still alive' she thought as she opened the graveyard gate.

"This place looks scary!" She said to her aunt.

"Yeah l know you are not used to it, but I think it's because l have not been cleaning it for the past three weeks l guess,l am sorry Mish" she apologized.

"We can clean them atleast before you tell me the family tree, that's if time allows"

They picked the broom and started sweeping away the dry leaves that have fallen on top of graves. Lydia started wiping some of them that dust have covered.

"So Mish here is your great grandfather's grave, that's my grandfather........" Lydia told her the family tree, from her great grandfather,great grandmother grandfather to her grandmother.

"Woow that's so interesting, you mean my great-grandfather was a polygamous. So it means we have other extended uncles and aunts?"

"Yes, men are naturally polygamous and about other relatives they migrated to Uganda so l don't think they really recognize us now it have been long"

"Naturally polygamous? What do you mean by that?" Mish asked.

"No man is faithful Mish, every man at sometime cheat to his wife or have a mistress"

"That's why you are not married yet, because you think your husband will cheat on you or have a mistress,but my dad was a Faithful man" she said.

"Are you sure?....oh never mind l am being paranoid right now" Lydia said.

What Mish didn't know was that, there was a time her mother found the condom in her father's trouser pocket. She was afraid to tell her because she knew how her daughter will react, she didn't want to break her family apart.

Elizabeth called her sister Lydia and told her the whole truth and what was going on in her marriage. Although Mish investigated about her dad, she never found out the truth. She had concluded that maybe her father was being frustrated about the company and death of his only brother.

Ever since, lydia started to despise men, she was afraid to date or even think about marriage. She then concluded that men are naturally polygamous.

They finished cleaning and went ahead to dug a small grave beside her grandmother's grave then buried the cremains.

"Rest in Peace Mum" Mish murmured to herself then left.