The day Chief Obiora was buried, the house became something else.  

For Mark, it was not just the absence of a father, it was the absence of life itself. The warmth that once existed, the security he felt, the quiet assurances that tomorrow would be fine—all of it vanished like smoke in the wind.  

And Madam Eno changed in ways that made the walls feel colder, the house smaller.  

At first, she pretended nothing was wrong.  

For weeks after the funeral, she went about her routines as if Chief Obiora was still alive. She cooked meals, arranged furniture, even sat in the living room staring at nothing. But her silence wasn’t grief—it was calculation.  

Mark was too young to understand that something was shifting beneath the surface. He just knew that whenever he spoke, Madam Eno barely looked at him. Whenever he walked into the room, she did not acknowledge him.  

Then, one day, she did. It was the first morning Mark woke up feeling hungry. Before, his father had always ensured he had breakfast. But today, no plate was waiting for him at the table. No food was set aside.  

So, he did what a child would do—he asked.  

"Can I have breakfast?"  

Madam Eno turned slowly from where she was standing near the stove. She looked at him as though seeing him for the first time in weeks. Her eyes scanned him up and down.

“You want to eat?” she said, her voice flat.  

Mark nodded.  

She placed a plate on the table, but it was empty.  

“You will eat when I am done eating,” she said.  

She sat down and began eating slowly, deliberately, taking her time with each bite. Mark stood by the corner, waiting, watching the way her hands moved, and the way she swallowed.  

When she was finished, she pushed the plate away, wiped her mouth, and rose from the chair.  

"You can eat whatever is left," she said, walking out of the kitchen.  

Mark approached the table. There was barely anything left only scraps of food and a few crumbs. He stared at the plate, feeling sad.

And in that moment, he understood. He was not her child.  

Out of the hunger he was feeling, he ate scraps and crumbs and drank enough water. One of the workers, Sarah, saw Mark eating Madam Eno’s leftover, she felt pity for him and whispered Mark’s name.

Mark heard his name and quietly went to meet Sarah, she took him to the worker’s quarters and fed him with enough food. She made him promise not to say anything to Madam Eno because she had threatened to fire anyone who disobeys her.