The Custodian of Master House (short story)
By David Aoloch Bion
She had been a servile servant for six years at house of medical doctor in city. Her servility and trustworthiness won her the title, The Custodian 0f Master’s House. She is a very beautiful, black and steadily tall girl. She has long smooth arms, excellent face, neat nose, exciting eyes and mellow mouth. She was hardworking young woman who served both her master and mistress in good will and good faith. Her master is human medicine doctor at university teaching hospital. Her mistress is a teacher at secondary school.
On the first day she arrived at master’s house, she was given household task on salary of 1 piaster per day that is per month she is paid 3 pounds. /She was from oil rich southern region, but so poor as many young of her generation from that region are, so she took up her job happily and willingly. She would wake up at 5 o’clock in the morning to boil tea, prepared breakfast for master and mistress who left for work at 8 o’clock. In the first month, the mistress put her under probation. One day she sent her to buy meat, sugar and wheat flour, she gave her 21/2 pound. She was testing her but she her didn’t know that . Actual money for buying those three items was 11/2 pound. She bought the food items, she returned 1 pound to her mistress .
“What is this 1 pound for?” asked the mistress softly with gravity of craftiness.
“It is the money that remained when I bought things in the market” she said sincerely without discovering the scope of probation she was under from mistress .
“I think there is prices fall in market, if there is no slump, that money will not buy two times meal” the mistress said ‘’ keep that money ‘’she added.
The house servant put the 1 pound coins in old wallet given to her by the mistress . In another occasion, the mistress left money on drawer in her room and she locked the drawer. When she came. She found the drawer locked and money on it at time she was sweeping and mopping the room, she took the money on drawer and hid it under mistress ”s mattress. In the evening, the mistress returned from work, she didn’t find the money where she left it. She never asked for the money. On the other hand, she had forgotten to inform her about the money. At the end of the month, when the mistress wanted to pay her salary, she recalled the money she left on the drawer some weeks ago, she asked the servant about the money.
“On 11 March 1972, I left 4 pounds on the drawer. When I came back in the evening I never found that money. I left it here. You are the custodian of the house, weren’t you?”
“O yes! Mama I really forgot it completely. I found the money . I put it under the mattress” she said and she held up the mattress and picked the money out. ‘’ Mama forgive me for making that stupid mistake’’ she begged her mistress as she gave her the money. As mistress was, a magnanimous being she told her to take it lightly. She praised her as a good Southerner she ever met. She said that she had employed 18 house girls and none was as honest as her . She said those house girls stole her money, jewels and utensils. She said that she would trust her with all her properties in the house. She said she would never fear again.
She advised her that if she loves her job and the money she had to be uncovetous, religious and fearful. She suggested that since she was in alone in the city, she would not pay her monthly but rather would keep her money with her until the day she would like to go to her home, and then she would have given her money since she had nothing to do with the money in city. The servant accepted her mistress’s kind genuine suggestion. She went on discharging the household duties as a house girl for six years without asking any money because when her mistress went to the market to buy Ramadan festival clothes and New Year festival clothes for her family, she bought clothes for her too. She treated her as relatives not as a house girl.
In August 1978, she went to the Church in Yusif suburb, at the mass she met her niece who had just come from home in the South . They hugged in great joy because they had never met for six years.
“Where are you staying?”the Niece asked
“ in Omumdurman”
“Whose house?”
“Do we have relative here in city? Aren’t we? So I just stay where it suits me or I am comfortable. So I stay in one of northern man house. I have a hard work in his house” she explained.
“Let me go and see that home” the Niece said.
They came together to the house. At the house she went and introduced her niece to her mistress . the mistress nodded and she said it was fine that one of your relatives had visited .. The Niece converse with her, she told her many stories about home village until 7:00pm and she she left for where she stayed.
On the following Sunday, they met again in the church , the niece told her nephew , who is the house servant that they should go home in South together in Christmas, she told her that her parents were worried about her overstay in city for six year in the North . Nephew agreed with her niece and she told her that she would prepare herself and they would go back home to South together that Christmas.
In the evening, she came to her mistress, she bowed down before ,she told her she would like to celebrate Christmas in south with her parent and that she humbly need her money for six years. The mistress accepted her request and she told her that she would inform her husband then. That evening the mistress informed her husband about their servant ’s money. She told her that husband their servant wanted to go to her home and that she needed all her money for six years. Doctor vehemently inveighed against servant ’s money and it payment. He calculated the money for six years he found that it was 216 pounds. He sighed said that he had no such amount of money. He told his wife that she should let her go home and return and then he could pay her.
The mistress was deeply troubled by decision her husband on her servant because she had been obsequious to the whole family. it was shameful on her side to let her go without money so she start to persuade her husband, she said it would appear evil and infidel on our family to let her go without any money.
“I don’t have 216 pounds, if you have then pay it” the husband said reluctantly.
It was approaching the end of the year, so mistress said that same evening she would go to select and prepare examination for the pupils. She told her husband that she would spend the week at the teachers’ quarters at the school. In the morning the mistress left for the school.
The housegirl remained at home with husband and her four year old son. The housegirl had been son ’s babysitter when he was a baby. So he had known her so well. So he used to sleep with son even if when his mother was around, she slept with her . On the following night that the mistress was sleeping at school, Her husband woke up at night, he took a knife, he opened the door of the room where house girl and his son were sleeping and he switched on the light. He seized the house girl and sat on her chest, pinned down her hands with his knees.
“Baba, baba leave me” she cried aloud. “Baba baba I am your daughter ”she cried again. “Baba baba, leave my life”
The house girl howled and whined at the top of her voice, her cry of mercy was never heard by the husband . Instead he cut her throat with long knife.
“Oh I am dead baba, you kill me baba” she screamed slowly and she died.
His son was awaken when he was killing the servant but feared and pretended as though he was sleeping but watched his father ferocious act in secret. The husband sliced the housegirl in into pieces and dumped her into toilet. The day broke, the husband left for work via his brother home, he told his nephew to come and stay at his home with his son When his nephew asked him about , the house girl, he told him that she left for the south that morning. His nephew came to his home. He didn’t know what happened.
At 11 o’clock in the morning, someone knocked at the gate. The son rushed to the gate and he opened. It was the house girl ’s niece whom they were preparing to go back home in the south together.
“How are you the angel of God?” , she greeted son
. “Fine”
“Is my niece in the house?”
“No my father killed her last night” the son said it childishly unexpectedly.
“Ah” she wondered.
“Yes, I am not lying, my father killed her with a knife” the son asserted while putting an imaginary knife across his throat
. “He put her in the toilet, come and see” the son said.
The niece was shocked and broke down in sorrowful tears.
“Mooo ooo ooo Mooo oooo” she wailed . The nephew heard someone wailing at gate he came out of the house.
“Why are you crying? the nephew asked.
“My niece is killed by her master ”. he cried
The neighbors just gathered, some southerners gathered too. The police was called in. the master was a formidable person in city, the police feared to arrest him that day. He was arrested four days when one of the southern politicians involved directly in the matter. He was charged with homicide. He was tried and sentenced to death but because of the existing racial discrimination between the southerners and the northerners, the death penalty was not carried out. Until this murderer was reportedly escaped from prison under dubious circumstances.
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