ANNETTE (Fiction)

Shortly after Mr Paulinus left the principal’s office with his daughter, Annette, they both walked into the lobby, where they stood briefly. They were both seen chatting and frequently smiling. Vanessa was looking keenly at them, through the transparent glass wall. Mr Paulinus leaned over and gave Annette a light hug. Then, he fiddled with her hair as he seemed to be rounding off with his affectionate talk which was making her nod frequently. He finally patted her on the back and they waved at each other. She galloped out of the lobby and headed towards the gazebo, where she and her friend, Vanessa, had sat since the 40-minute break started. By the time she returned to sit beside Vanessa, it was still 30 minutes to the end of the break.

“Who was that?” Vanessa asked, as Annette still had a broad smile stuck to her seraphic face.
“Obviously, my dad.” She said with an exaggerated sense of pride.
“Really? But you bear no resemblance whatsoever to him.” Vanessa sneered.
“So? Oh… He’s ugly?” She shrugged, smiling mildly.
“I never said that.”

“Anyway… Others say that.” Annette flailed her left to capture the ‘others’ she meant. Vanessa had got used to her animated gesticulations during conversations. “Some students had once said that to my face,” Annette continued. “In my three years of being in this school, I have received so many taunts from students, often brazenly and often silently, about how ugly my dad looks.

Vanessa coughed to admit her guilt.

“To the world,” she said and quickly let her two hands rest gently on her chest to emphasize the deep affection she bore for her father, “my dad is poor and ugly; he has an uneven set of browned teeth and a distorted face. Sadly, that is all what the blind and narrow-minded world can see. For me, I see beyond that. I see a man who fathered this pretty teenaged girl seated before you; this poor girl that got a scholarship to school in this very expensive school meant for the children of the super-rich; this stunning girl who won the Caveland School’s beauty pageant at two different times; this brave and brainy young lady topping her class of brilliant students; this beautiful babe who just got sworn in as the head girl of this great school. And that’s not all -”

“But it’s enough for me!” Vanessa cut in. “Your arrogance stinks! You need not openly flaunt your achievements to spite the less achieving.” Vanessa said mischievously.

“Anyway, if you have got it, flaunt it. Once my father’s name is mentioned in any attack on me, I fire back, to prove to the ignorant world, my poor father’s worth, through what I am worth. His pocket is poor and his face is ugly but his heart is wealthy.”

“It’s okay. I ‘m sorry. I never meant it that way. I was simply curious because you both don’t look alike.”

Annette smiled. “You see that man… that dark-faced, ugly looking man… he is my dad and I’m proud to say that.”

“But how did all the blackness on his face get there?”

“My mum and I gave him,” She said and chuckled.

“Would you please be serious, Anne?”

Annette clasped her hands like someone about to start a telling tale. “Our house was on fire. Mum and I were trapped in the building, sleeping. I was just 2 years old. My dad got home shortly after the fire had started and while everybody was afraid to brave the flame, he did. He saved us both but he got severely burnt.”

“Hmm… That’s heroism,” Vanessa admitted.

“Yeah. And he has shown it in different ways.” She waved her right hand to suggest the ‘different’

They both went silent; Annette ordering her thoughts, preparing to talk about another of her father’s acts of heroism; Vanessa trying to calm
some nagging emotions. Tears had welled up on Vanessa’s face but Annette hadn’t noticed.

“My dad had never been blessed in looks but his heart, which those not close to him can’t see, is filled with gold. He gave up his schooling to be able to train my orphaned mum in the university. He did loads of odd jobs to ensure my mum got quality education. And my mum – a precious soul. She never stops talking about what a hero my dad has been. So, I say again, when the world sees an ugly man, I see a handsome man at heart. He - ” She stopped short, as she sensed the gentle sobs coming from Vanessa.

“Vanessa!” She tilted her head sideways to see Vanessa’s face. “What happened? You are crying.” She threw her hands around Vanessa’s shoulders and cuddled her. “Did I hurt you with my words?”

Vanessa shook her head.

“Tell me what happened, please.” Annette entreated. Even the curious expression on her face couldn’t conceal the smile seemingly cemented perpetually on her face.

“Annette, I don’t know why I just can’t be like you.” Vanessa muttered, amidst sobbing.

“Be like me? Why would you want to be like me?”

“Anne, you are different in every way. Everybody is your friend – those that hate you, those that taunt you. How do you do that? I am so unlike
you. I discriminate. I look down on the poor. I make jest of people with disability. I mocked your dad… And… And… I lied…” The tears now streamed down her face.

“Vanessa, please, stop crying.” She caressed Vanessa’s back, to help her ease off her pains.

“Anne, I lied about my parents.”

“Really? How? I mean… Why?”

“My both parents are poor and uneducated. They live in Kumasi. The rich couple I live with are not my parents. I lied about that. I had always wished that such very educated and very rich couple were my biological parents. The couple have been childless all their lives and my father was their driver. I am the last of my father’s seven children. My father pitied the couple and offered to allow them foster me. He shared the same surname with them – Fernando. That’s why it’s difficult to tell that I am not related to them. I have lived with them for 10 years, since I was 6…” She stopped for breath. Annette sighed, still rubbing Vanessa’s back, as though that would ease the confession.

“Anne, I have always hated my parents for being poor and being uneducated. I feel anger towards them whenever they come visiting. I wished they were better than they are. But you… I have always adored you, though I taunt and insult you a lot. That’s because you have a lot more than I have: beauty, intelligence, charisma, love, empathy… Your achievements have always made me feel less worthy of myself. I have always felt worthless. There had been times I had wished you dead… I am really sorry for everything.” Her face was now soiled with tears.
Annette had listened keenly to Vanessa’s words and had smiled all through.

“I’m very sorry for everything, Anne. The way you talked about your dad has given me a new orientation. I have never treasured mine the way you treasure and idolize yours. I grew up seeing lots of glitz and glamour displayed by celebrities on TV and that always gave me the idea that poverty is a curse. Living with my foster parents, I have seen so much wealth and the so much power that wealth can wield that I detest poverty and detest my poor parents.”

“Vanessa,” Anne started, still smiling. “To start with, the glitz we see on TV is a scam! It’s an exaggerated reality. My mum says these, every time. Then, away from that, the world can be cruel and judgmental but we must never let them define who we are. Every individual is unique in their own ways. See, we must learn to appreciate and value what and who we are and what and who we have. The world will never stop being judgmental and we must never stop letting them see that we value what we have.”

“Thank you, Annette,” Vanessa forced a smile.

“Let me tell you two short stories, Vanessa.”

“Okay.” Vanessa wiped her tears with her hands; the back and the palm.

“My mum is currently jobless. That’s because she lost her job some three months ago. She had that last job just for 5 months before she quit it.”

“Why?”

“My mum is very intelligent and she was one of the ten highest paid workers among the 67 staff members in that company. On joining the company, she found out that the environment was very toxic, especially for intelligent women. According to her, many of the men there, especially those in the top echelon, despise having women ranked as high as or higher than they are. Then, at some point, she found out that two of her colleagues, both men and both of whom were very trusted and always elaborately praised by their boss, were conspiring to swindle the boss. When the men found out that my mum had got wind of their plan, they started threatening her. Then, she tried to intelligently let the boss know about the danger but she said the boss was too trusting to believe her. So, she resigned. She resigned, not because she’s cowardly but because she values her sanity and her dignity.”

Vanessa sighed. “That’s hard!”

“Now, the second story is about a weird couple, the blind Mr Arnold and his ‘fat’ wife, Mrs Amanda. Mrs Amanda is my mum’s friend and I adore her so much, especially because of her great intelligence and her bravery. She and her husband are wonderful testimonies to the need for people to value themselves. The few times I have sat with her, she has told me so much about herself and her blind husband,” she paused to wave back at some junior students walking past them and waving at her. They were some of the many junior students she had been mentoring.

“So,” she continued, “Mrs Amanda grew up battling with some eating disorder, which led to her body growing out of proportion. So, she was shy, introverted and avoided people as much as she could. She hated herself and a few times, suicidal thoughts haunted her. But her grandmother transformed her and helped her change her orientation. The grandmother would engage her in series of exercise, which they would do together. She would personally take her to have sessions with doctors and therapists and she would continually tell her ‘See, the problem is really not and has never been your body but how you think about your body.’ She would also tell her, ‘Your body is an incredible vehicle that, if you let it, will help you connect with your inner strength, power, vitality, beauty and confidence.’ Then, she would ask her to always say, ‘Thank you, dear body, for all that you do for me. I am so sorry for all the horrible things I have said to you. Henceforth, I resolve to treating you with love and kindness because I see now that you have never been broken. You, my dear body, are and always have been enough.’

Vanessa was convulsing with laughter at how adeptly Annette mimicked Mrs Amanda. “That’s really touching,“ she said, “and you… you are something else.”

“So, Mrs Amanda gradually became confident, as she started coming to terms with the reality of her ‘fatness’. She later underwent some surgeries to lessen the fat. Then, for twenty years now, she has been preaching selflove and confidence. According to her, most of the self-esteem issues that women experience revolve around how they view their body. Her stature has improved tremendously now and she has inspired so many women, and men too.”

“So, what about the blind husband?”

“Yes, Mr Arnold. The first day I saw him, I didn’t immediately know he’s blind. He told me he was born with what he called Retinoblastoma, a kind of cancer that affects the retinas. So, by the time he was 13 months old, he had both of his eyes removed in a lifesaving surgery. According to him, what is unique about him is his ability to see the world around him using a technique called echolocation.”

“’Echo’ what? What does that mean?” Vanessa interrupted.

“He explained it to me. He said it’s a technique which involves generating a sound – like a click of the tongue - then listening to the echoes of sound that bounce off the surrounding objects, and that allows him imagine what the world around him looks like. Mr Arnold is 45years now and he has used that technique for 30 years. He told me he has trained other blind people to use that technique through his non-profit charity organization. At the age of 15, he stopped allowing anyone to guide him or help him, and he stopped using his cane to guide himself as he walked, because he wanted to be independent. He chose to use that perfected click and echolocation.”

“Wow! That is inspiring! They are a weird couple, indeed!”

“Yes, they are.”

“Thank you so much, Annette, for changing my orientation about the need to value ourselves and value others around us.” Vanessa held out her arms and gave Annette a hug. “You don’t know what you have done in my life today. Thank you so much.”

Annette smiled as usually broadly.

Just then, the distant buzzer sounded to announce the end of the break. The two friends got up immediately and walked, hands clasped, towards the blocks of classroom standing majestically some distance away.