The Beauty of Life

THE BEAUTY OF LIFE

Fatima was just four years old when her father was killed in a road accident. He had been travelling home from his office in the Great city of Dakar, the Capital city of Senegal. Fatima had been robbed of a Father who loved her to bits and brought her presents every day after work. His car was hit by a truck that was avoiding the herd of cows crossing the road and collided with his car killing him on the spot.

Fatima’s Mother after a few years re married another man and was now the 2nd wife of a renowned businessman called Edi John. Life was different. Even though Fatima was still young when the mother remarried, she always felt alienated in what she called her new home. The other children belonging to Mr John did not like her very much because of the compliments she receives from strangers  rather strange beauty. She was just eight years but had an outstanding look about her. She walked in a calm and confident way and was doing very well in school. Outside of home, she was an angel to anyone who met her but at home, it was a different thing. She was made to do most of the house work, clean all the rooms and even tidy after her step brother and step sisters. Her mother was powerless to help as she was the 2nd wife to Mr John and the first wife of Mr John had a bigger say on what goes on in the house.

At the age of seventeen, Fatima graduated from school with outstanding results. The news of her results spread through the town like wild fire, her story was placed on the local newspaper a copy of which a traveller bought to accompany him on a long journey to the United States of America. As destiny placed it, the traveller forgot his paper in a taxi from the Airport in the US. A few minutes later, another stranger entered the taxi and found what looked like a foreign newspaper and decided to read it. This was the beginning of a new life for Fatima.

With her mother weeping tears of joy, Fatima departed to further her studies in the US. Her dream of being a doctor was beginning to materialise. She was being sponsored to study medicine by a brain surgeon called Mr Clemmings. Mr Clemmings was the head of the New York Brain Medical facility who by accident read about her story on the only copy of a newspaper that was printed in Dakar, bought by a traveller to kill time while on a long flight to the US and forgot in a taxi. He had travelled all the way to Dakar in Africa to see for himself things that were written about Fatima. He was 56 years of age and had three sons, one of which was also a qualified Brain surgeon.

Fatima missed her mum but was one determined young lady. She was determined to be the best in her class again and would one day give her mother the good and free life she wanted. Her mother had suffered in silence being the 2nd wife of Mr John. She had endured isolation, being mocked for not being able to have another child and was eventually driven away by Mr John and his first wife. She now lived with her aging parents in a village fifty miles from the capital Dakar.

After eight years of hard study, Fatima was now a qualified doctor. She missed her mum and was excited about her trip to visit her in Senegal. She had bought her lots of gifts and clothes and also had a secret gift she had already arranged for her mother. This secret gift was as a thank you for everything her mother had done for her while she was growing up.