‘Til Christmas

The good things of life are not evenly distributed. This, Mrs. Tana was very much aware of. Unlike their neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver who had been having very tough times, Mr. and Mrs. Tana had recorded the best year of their marriage so far. Not only did the good Lord bless her husband with a better job, she also got double promotion at work. They completed the building in the village and also the one in the city. In addition, the couple bought two brand new cars. It seemed for them ‘everything na double double’ indeed.

Although the relationship between the two families could not be described as anything cordial, they were conscious of what was happening in their lives. The fence that separated them did not stop any secret. The other day, Mrs.  Tana heard an angry creditor demanding settlement of a loan Mr. Oliver had used to pay his wife’s hospital bills. Mrs. Tana got to know that Mrs. Oliver was diabetic and that Mr. Oliver was managing to sustain his family on a part time contract job. Overcome with empathy, Mrs Tana realised that life had not been fair and decided to talk her husband into helping their neighbours. Then, she remembered how ‘poor and proud’ Mrs. Oliver had been. “Anyone expecting help should be humble enough to get it”, she thought to herself. Eventually, she talked her husband into helping the neighbours but they agreed to present cash and food items to Mr. and Mrs. Oliver at Christmas since Christmas was only a month away. And at Christmas, their bonuses at work will be more than sufficient to offer reasonable gifts.

On Christmas Eve, Mrs. Tana felt it was necessary to approach their neighbours first in solidarity before transporting the gifts. She knocked on their old rusty gate but got no response. Another neighbor hinted that he had seen Mr. Oliver the day before taking their three kids out in their rickety car. Not until Christmas evening did the neighbourhood decide to force its way into Mr. Oliver’s compound when an offensive odour was perceived. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver had committed suicide together!

That year, Mr. and Mrs.Tana learnt a very hard and important lesson of life – Don’t wait until Christmas before lending a helping hand!