The Hidden Billions

Days felt like weeks, weeks felt like months, and those many months felt like eternity of waiting. She was waiting to see them day and night but there was no sign of anything . She was aware of that terrible feeling each morning. The feeling when she wakes up and realise that is what life was going to be. She sobbed and cried but only the walls listened to her. Judith hoped that everything that happened to her was just a dream, she wished it was a joke and this joke was not real but the more she wished it was not real the more reality made her wander hopelessly around the house. She shook her head and then shouted, ' Mummy, ' but no one answered. After a while she shouted, ' Daaaddie,' but her father's voice was not heard. Judith asked her uncle every time after breakfast, after she has stopped crying, ' where is mum ? Where is dad?' 'Please eat your food. Your mum and dad travelled.' Judith understood and started eating her food but in the middle of eating her food she stopped and asked again , ' Uncle, when are mum and dad coming back? I want them to buy me a doll.' At this, Uncle Joe stepped aside at the corner of the door and wiped off his tears. He then came back on the table and sat down his face smiling, ‘Listen Judith, when people go to heaven they don't come back. Ok? ' Judith shrugged her shoulders, 'Oh, but i want my mum and my dad back. I want them to bring my doll. Please uncle, tell them to come back.' When Judith grew up she came to understand that her parents died in a car crash, the car went into a truck, head on collision. She only survived because she stayed home with the house maid while her parents went to see her grandfather at the hospital. When her parents were alive Judith was too young to know that they were very rich. Now she grew up she was always told her father was a business man. Uncle Joe took Judith to places where her parents had businesses. She reached a famous town with rich suburbs in the low density areas, uncle Joe wanted to show her where her father used to live, ' You see that, that is Makwacha Bank, that is Makwacha Grain and Cotton factories, that is Makwacha Mining and Oil Drilling Company, all this is named after your father Gabriel Makwacha who used to own them.' Uncle Joe told Judith that her father was very rich such that any worker or relation to him would just go to any shop and mention his name, 'Makwacha !' that is only one had to do then the shopkeeper would allow you to take anything you can want. When Judith reached secondary school she decided to ask her uncle, ' you say my father was very rich, you have shown me all those buildings and factories he owned so why are we living in poverty, you cannot even afford a car.' Uncle Joe did not like this question, 'Your father said no one should touch his wealth so I didn’t touch it and I have nothing to do with eat.' Judith was not convinced with the response, she began to suspect something fishy. Even though Uncle Joe had no much money he was able to pay fees for Judith until she finished her university. But when Judith finished her university she was very aware her father was rich and she started investigations why she inherited nothing. She accused Uncle Joe, ' I suspect you are hiding information, please tell me my dad left something.' Uncle Joe shook his head. One day Uncle Joe was sick and he had few hours to die. He called Judith to sit closer to where he slept and whispered, ' do you remember all those factories and building which belonged to your father?' 'Yes,' Judith said. Uncle Joe held her hand, ' They still belong to your father.' Judith got angry, ' Why you didn’t take care of my father's businesses? You have let me grow in poverty while my father left billions.' Uncle Joe smiled, ' Listen Judith, only when you have seen poverty, that’s when you can take care of riches. I and your father grew up in rags, shared a torn blanket and I promised him when he was alive that whatever happened to him I would never have to let you grow up as a spoiled child. Am glad now you saw poverty, you can understand what life is and you are mature enough to understand the meaning of money and life in poverty.' Uncle Joe gave Judith all documents and deeds and cheque book, ' I am very happy today because all these years I have fulfilled a promise that I would squander none of my brother's billions until you take over his empire. I can now die.' He closed his eyes and breathed his last breath with a long smile streched across his lips. Lesson: Dont spoil your children with material life , remember where you came from and teach your children ways to understand that poverty is real and anyone can be poor if wealth is not taken care of and if lessons from poverty are notb learnt.