Chapter 5 - Wicked stepsister

The taxi driver arrived at the vast black gate of the Emerson Housing Estate. The security men didn't allow him entry, and Olima paid for her ride before she nervously alighted from the car.

Once Olima got out, she ran speedily through the estate gate, heading back home.

The estate security men, who were standing there and searching the cars and motorcycles driving in and out of the estate, stared at Olima and wondered what was chasing her.

They knew that was how she ran home every time.

"Isn't that Mr. Leo's daughter? She's a gorgeous young lady now, always running about without caring about her tempting looks," one of the four estate security men said.

"You better get your eyes off her; you cannot have her!" the others warned.

Olima arrived home at the gate of her late father's mansion. She banged on the huge black gate loudly, calling out to Nathan. "Mr. Nathan! Please, come and open the gate."

Nathaniel hastily rose from his chair and rushed to the gate to pull it open.

"Why are you banging on the gate like that?" he questioned Olima.

“I'm sorry, sir," Olima smiled faintly, a nervous blush on her face. "Please open the gate quickly; I don't want my stepmother to discipline me."

Nathan quickly moved aside as he almost got lost admiring Olima's full chest. He made way for her to enter, shifting his large body from the entrance of the smaller gate.

Meanwhile, Olima sprinted toward the house. She entered and saw Mia seated on the couch, still watching television.

Mia met Olima's gaze and replied, "Welcome back."

Olima looked away from Mia without responding, as she saw it was almost 8:30 PM.

"Oh no!" She gasped and hurried into the kitchen to prepare dinner. She knew that her stepmother would soon return to check whether she was done cooking.

Taking out all the vegetable ingredients she had purchased from the local market, Olima washed the green leaves first. Setting up her chopping board, she hastily cut the leaves into smaller pieces.

She brought out the dried stockfish from the black polythene bag. She removed the rubber band used on the stockfish and soaked it in a bowl of water.

Finally, Olima brought out the cow meat she had purchased and set it on the table. She cut it into smaller pieces and proceeded to wash it in a bowl of clean water. She continued washing the meat thoroughly before putting it in a pot and adding her ingredients. As she resumed cooking the delicious soup, the aroma wafted through the air and into her nostrils.

Olima was sweaty as she hurriedly added vegetables, turning and tasting the soup as the clock ticked away.

Hearing the sound of the kitchen door sliding open, Olima jumped in fright. She looked at the door and saw Mia enter the kitchen.

The aroma of the delicious soup had drawn Mia in. Mia strolled up to the soup pot Olima was stirring and stood by it.

“What took you so long to arrive home on time? I'm very hungry,” Mia cried, looking at the soup hungrily. She wanted her mother to discipline Olima for making her starve.

"I'm almost done," Olima replied, stirring the pot once more. She took the spoon and placed a few drops on her palm to taste it.

Satisfied with the taste, she offered the spoon to Mia, asking her to open her palm and taste it too.

"Here, taste it quickly and see if the salt is enough," Olima said, though she didn't like salt. She knew her stepmother would complain if the soup lacked salt.

Mia opened her palm, and Olima added a few drops of soup onto it. "How is it?" Olima asked, watching Mia lick the soup off her right palm.

Mia frowned and replied, "The soup lacks salt."

"What?" Olima's brows furrowed once more as she knew that the soup was fine as it was. She offered the big spoon to Mia's right hand again and said, “Please taste again to be sure. The soup is okay like this. Too much salt isn't good."

Mia licked the delicious soup and lied, "It lacks salt!" She yelled at Olima, using her hand to grab the salt container.

Mia unlocked the salt and poured too much into the soup.

"Mia!!" Olima screamed in horror.

Just then, the kitchen door slid open, and Mrs. Gina entered, wearing a white nightdress and black slippers. She frowned upon seeing her daughter in the kitchen.

"What's going on here?" she asked, looking at Olima irritably.

Olima quickly turned off the gas cooker and replied, "Nothing, Ma. I am almost done cooking."

"Hmm. It's almost 10 PM. Don't you know that eating late-night food isn't good for one's health?" Mrs. Gina questioned, looking at Olima angrily, while Mia walked over to meet her.

"Mom, I am hungry," Mia said, hugging her mother sadly.

Mrs. Gina's anger softened, and she told her daughter, "Just go and sit down at the dining chair first; Olima will soon be done."

"Okay, Mom," Mia replied, letting go of her mother. She looked back at Olima and shouted, “Olima, please be fast.”

"Okay, Mia," Olima responded sadly, knowing that Mia had ruined the soup.

"Do that semolina quickly and don't keep us waiting," Mrs. Gina warned before she exited the kitchen to join her daughter at the dining table.

*****

Olima breathed out in relief after seeing that her stepmother and stepsister had left the kitchen. She sighed and hurriedly prepared the semolina.

Once she was done cooking, she turned off the gas, sweating profusely as she had to hurry.

Immediately, she served the semolina into smaller flat plates first, then proceeded to dish out the soup before arranging it on a white plastic tray.

Olima then carried the tray to the dining table and served her stepmother and stepsister. She positioned their meals and went to get them bowls of water to wash their hands.

"Let me wash my hands first," Mia said excitedly, even as she was happy after condemning the soup.

Olima walked up to serve Mia the bowl of water to wash her hands before she served her stepmother.

As Mrs. Gina washed her hands, Olima asked her, "Ma, do you need anything else?"

Mrs. Gina looked at the table and said, "No, go and eat your meal."

Mia sat in her usual dining chair across from her mother, and Olima turned to leave the dining room to return to the kitchen and serve her own meal.

However, Mia screamed, "Mom....!"

"What's wrong, Mia?" Mrs. Gina questioned, looking at her daughter's face angrily.

Mia spat out the soup into her bowl and said, "The soup is very bitter, Mom."

Mrs. Gina frowned, while Olima paused and looked at them in sorrow.

Seeing that she had washed her hands, Mrs. Gina dipped her thumb into the soup and tasted it. However, her brows furrowed, and she spat it out too before immediately rising from her chair.

"Olima, what's the meaning of this nonsense that you just cooked?" Mrs. Gina questioned as she moved away from her seat.

Olima took a few steps backward and tried to explain, “Ma, I…"

Mrs. Gina moved quickly to catch Olima and yelled, “You what? Didn't you taste this soup at all?"

"I did, Ma… Mia added more salt to the soup."

[SLAP!] Mrs. Gina slapped Olima hard across her face and asked, "Mia did what? Did Mia help you prepare the soup? Weren't you the one alone in the kitchen when I asked you to cook it?"

"Ma, I finished cooking it before Mia ruined it," Olima tried to explain again, but her stepmother slapped her very hard across the cheek and started beating her.

"You good-for-nothing girl! I clothe you and feed you, and you want to poison my daughter and me after killing your own parents! Nathan!" Mrs. Gina called for the security as she was already fed up with Olima and didn't want to see her again.

"Yes, Madam!" Nathan swiftly rushed back into the house. As the vicinity was silent, he wondered why Mrs. Gina screamed out his name like that.

Seeing the tension in the living room, Nathan stood helplessly, wondering what Olima had done.

Mrs. Gina looked at him and ordered, "Throw this witch out of my house. I don't want to see her here again. If you let her in, you will lose your job. Take her outside immediately."

Olima fell to her knees and started begging her stepmother. "Please, Ma. I didn't ruin the soup; believe me."

Mrs. Gina moved over to meet Olima and slapped her so hard that it almost sent her head spinning.

"Shut up! And get out! I don't want to see you again before I kill you myself. Nathan, get rid of her now!" Mrs. Gina ordered, and Nathan swung into action, leading Olima out of the living room. He grasped her left hand and dragged her out, even as she cried, struggling to break free and pleading with him not to send her away.

Mrs. Gina smiled, knowing that the mansion was now hers. She knew it was late and that the estate security men could complain, but she didn't care. She didn't want to see Olima's face again, as it reminded her of her late best friend.

Mrs. Gina already suspected that Mia had ruined the soup, but she saw it as a perfect opportunity to get rid of Olima. So she left the house to find out if Nathan had sent Olima away as she instructed him to do.

Meanwhile, Mia rose from her chair and rushed outside to find out if Olima had left the mansion.