<h2>I Became Her Father</h2>
When our parents died, my sister Mercy was only 9 years old. I was 19.
Our relatives took everything. They took the land. They took the cows. They took the iron sheets from our father's house. They left us with nothing except each other.
I moved with Mercy to a single room in Kisii Town. I became a boda rider in the day and a watchman at night. I did not go to college. I did not have a girlfriend. I did not have a life. My life was Mercy.
I paid her school fees from class 4 to Form 4. I bought her uniform. I bought her books. I went to parents meetings and sat where our father was supposed to sit. Teachers called me Baba Mercy. I was proud of that name.
She passed KCSE and got a scholarship to Nairobi. I cried that day. I told myself my sacrifice was finally worth it.
<h2>She Changed In Nairobi</h2>
In Nairobi, Mercy changed.
At first she called me every day. Then every week. Then once a month. Then she stopped picking my calls.
When I sent her money, she would say thank you in a short text. When I asked how she was, she would say I am busy.
Last December, I borrowed Ksh 15,000 and travelled to Nairobi to surprise her for Christmas. I had not seen her in 8 months. I bought her favourite food. I carried a new dress for her.
I found her house. I knocked. She opened the door and looked at me like I was a stranger.
Her friends were inside. They were laughing and drinking. She told them, This is just a man from my village. I do not know him well.
Just a man from my village. After 10 years of raising her.
<h2>I Walked Away</h2>
I did not shout. I did not cry there. I put the food and the dress on the floor and walked away.
On the bus back to Kisii, I cried like a child. Not because she hurt me. Because I realised I had raised a person who could forget me so easily.
I still love her. I still pray for her every night. But I have learned one painful lesson in life.
Sometimes the person you sacrifice everything for is the first person to forget your sacrifice.
If you have ever been forgotten by someone you raised, tell me in the comments. I want to know I am not alone.
Chapter 2 coming tomorrow - Follow me so you don't miss it