CHAPTER 1
She looked at the mirror and a grief-stricken reflection stared back at her. Her parents had just been buried and with no one to take care of her in Nigeria, Child Services had to move her to her aunt, Kamille who lives in Paris.
Aunt Kamille, her father's twin sister is her only surviving blood relative. Today, she would join her in the Capital of France.
As she tied her braided hair into a neat ponytail, the feeling of everything she knew slowly crumbling around her settles in.
I don't want to leave my Nigeria to go to a place I barely know.
She'd been to Paris several times, but never without her parents. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would be living in the big, beautiful city with a woman she only has a very faint memory of.
Living in Paris will be fun. And besides mummy and daddy are in a better place….
"Yes, they are," a voice said softly behind her.
Anna looked behind and saw Mrs. Mary, the chef. The only woman left who could guess her thoughts. She was a nice old lady who cared about everyone and everything. Anna loved Mrs. Mary so much she called her Nana.
"Nana," Anna called running quickly to her warm embrace. "I don't want to leave you."
"I don't want to leave you either, but this is for the best. I'm an old lady, darling and I can't provide much. If you stay with your aunt, she will and can provide anything for you," Nana sniffs.
"Nana, I just want to be with you. I don't need to go to school. And if you are too old to provide for us how are you ever going to provide for yourself?" Anna questioned amidst tears.
"Nonsense, you can't stop schooling just because you want to be with me. I will be staying at an old people's home." Nana said.
Anna shook her head, partly in surrender.
"What was that?" a puzzled Nana asked.
"What was what?" Anna replied, unsure of what she was talking about.
"That look."
"What look?"
"Anna, don't get cocky..."
"Fine," Anna cut in. "I just can't believe that you want to stay in an old people's home right here in Nigeria…."
"What's your point?"
"My point is that old people's home in Nigeria is not ever in the best condition and you know you deserve the best."
"Well, I will be comfortable as long as I have a roof over my head."
Anna raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, a poor, old roof, infested with lots of pests. The so-called helpers in your new "home" will lie to you that they are keeping your money meanwhile they are spending it on themselves and their families. The government won't even bother with inspections or support."
Nana laughed "Anna, you are just something special. I'm going to be living in a much better condition than that. Your parents already paid for everything in a really good private retirement home before they left so I will be fine."
Anna looked at her pitifully with tears in her eyes. For a minute, there was a resigning silence.
Nana broke the silence. "I love you Anna, the little daughter I never had."
"I love you more Nana." They embraced each other, saying nothing, just soaking in the warmth.
Suddenly a middle-aged man Anna has never seen before walked into the room.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Anna lashed out at the stranger.
"Anastasia that is not the way to speak to an adult or any person at that. This is the good man that will drop you off at the airport." Nana scolded.
"Dropping off? So I'm leaving Nigeria, My friends, my social life, my pets, everything, including you?"
"Sweetie it's for the best." Nana turned to the man and asked, "is the car ready?"
The man gave a quick nod then left the room.
"Nana, can you see me off?" Anna asks with a big lump in her throat.
"Of course, dear."
Anna packed the last of her things and carried them down the stairs.
**************************
Anna looked at all the boxes placed all around the house. The boxes were the property of everyone who worked inside the house- the maids, the nanny with the funny accent, the driver from Togo, the gardeners, and the many others who ran sundry errands without being domestic staff. Anna had already memorized all their names and had said goodbye to each of them the previous day.
"Nana, may I run to the backyard to say goodbye …."
"I thought you already did that yesterday?"
"I did but I want one more glimpse before I leave," she whimpered.
"Okay but be quick, the man is waiting for you."
Anna ran towards the sliding door which led out to the backyard. Her family's paradise on earth. The whole place looked like something out of a fairy tale.
I am going to miss all of these. The picnics Mum and Dad threw for special family occasions. Oh God, why did my parents die?
Anna saw Oluchi- one of the maids- cleaning her shoes and ran up to her. Oluchi was excited as she saw Anna, "Ammer how you dey?"
Anna had a hard time understanding Oluchi's Pidgin English. Sometimes, she couldn't help but laugh at her way of speaking. But it wasn't Oluchi's fault she couldn't speak English properly. She hadn't gone to school. She'd come from a family who could not afford to pay for her education.
"I'm fine and it's A-n-n-a." Anna giggled.
"Abeg sorry oh. You know I no dey speak una Inglesh."
Anna patted her on the shoulder, "Everyone is really packing?"
"Yes o! Na so we see am."
"What's going to happen to all the cars?"
"Ammer good things oh! By the time you travel go abroad. You go be rich like, eh wetin dey call am sef, Oh Dangote."
"How will I be rich like Dangote?" Anna loved the way Oluchi always made her smile. She was such a funny character. She missed her already.
"You go be richer oh! Car agent goes come and sell all those big big car una parents get and bank account go turn green."
Anna paused for some minutes trying to figure out what Oluchi had just said. "Okay, that is nice."
"I hope you go enjoy your stay for abroad." Oluchi said as she hugged her.
"Maybe, it's just that I will miss everyone."
"But you na strong pikin...."
"Thanks, I'm going to miss you."
Oluchi squeezed her face, clearly baffled. "As if I understand wetin you just speaked….but I will write it down and put it on my digital phone, I wan learn Inglesh."
Anna laughed- maybe for the first time since the day began.
"Can you please tell everyone in this house I said goodbye?"
"That one no be work na."
CHAPTER 2
"Remember to call me as soon as you get to Paris," Nana said to Anna.
"Of course, Nana, I will call you every single day. But if I forget, I will call you a hundred times the next day. I will even write letters."
Nana smiled at Anna and quickly gave her a tight hug.
"Nana, I don't want to leave you," Anna said with a weak voice.
"You have said that a hundred times and I have told you each time that it's for good, you must go."
Anna bent her head.
"It's time to go, I don't have all day you know." It was the driver speaking.
"Yes, you do. You're just a driver and we are paying you so you have no right to complain. Anna snapped.
"Anna! Would you stop that?" Nana scolded. "Apologise immediately."
"But he is being mean and we are not paying him to display this nonsense attitude."
"Just apologize. You don't want to leave Nigeria on your last day with such nasty behavior."
"Fine. I'm sorry for being rude."
The man threw Anna a dirty look and hopped into the car.
"Well, I think he hates me now. He might try to kidnap me or worse." Anna whispered to Nana.
"Just ignore, don't waste your time with ignorant people like that."
Anna brushed her blue floral short dress and jumped into the front seat.
"Take good care of yourself." Nana was waving.
"I will," Anna replied with a huge lump in her throat. The car had started moving.
Take deep breaths. Anna whispered to herself.
The driver cleared his throat, "I'm sure you'll be fine."
"What?" Anna asked, quickly cleaning her tears.
"I mean you're going to Paris. I heard it is a great place so I'm sure you'll have an amazing time and you can always call your grandma if you feel lonely."
Anna smiled through the tears. The rude driver wasn't so nasty after all. She nodded her head as she stared out the window.
How bad can Paris be?
CHAPTER 3
The flight to Paris was amazing. Anna's seatmate was a nice old woman who claimed she was a duchess and told fanatical stories. Some of the air hostesses were friendly and served food and drinks during the 6-hour non-stop flight.
Anna was quite nervous as she walked into the lounge at Charles De Gaulle International Airport Paris as she kept thinking about her late parents. Even the entire place looked very strange, everything was so foreign and French. All the signs were in French but everywhere around her she could hear different languages being spoken.
As she moved to claim her luggage and clear with immigration, her mind began to relax as she allowed herself to cherish the beauty and sophistication she saw around the airport and which unbelievably welcomes more than 100,000 passengers every day.
I think this is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Anna gasped as she soaked in everything. She saw three ladies who looked like they were ready to walk the runway. To the right was a group of people dressed in suits ready to take on the business world. To her left were over half a dozen dogs dressed in pink tutus. And straight ahead was her new life.
Welcome to Paris.
A man in his mid-forties holding a card caught Anna's eye. The card read, "Madame Anna Azuka." He wore a black tuxedo, black suit pants, and a pair of black shoes. A mustache around his nose made him look regal.
Anna walked up to him, "um …Good day or Bonjour, are you the one that was sent by my aunt?"
"Are you Madame Anna Azuka?" He asked in a French accent which was rather comforting,
"You speak English...." Anna asked
Yay!
The man nodded his head.
"I'm Anna Osinachi Azuka, not Madame Anna Azuka," Anna corrected as she pointed at the placard.
"What's the difference, mademoiselle?" The man asked squinting his eyes.
'Well, you see "Madame" is normally referred to old ladies" she answered.
The man gave her a friendly smile.
"Are you the driver sent by my aunt?"
'No, I'm your next-door neighbor" he answered then chuckled at his joke.
Anna gave a smile to make the situation less awkward.
"Yes, I am the one sent by Madame Kamille, your aunt." He replied as he wiped a tear from his eyes.
It wasn't that funny, Anna thought to herself.
Three men who stood behind the driver came over to help with the luggage. There were eight heavy bags to move and thankfully, the men would be more than capable.
The airport was hectic- passengers rushing in and out, boarding their flights, queuing, making calls, reading the papers, and barking at whoever they got an issue with, buying some food or coffee. The place was so noisy one couldn't even hear their thoughts.
As Anna stood still watching, a man, his wife, and two children walked casually past them with their heavy luggage. Her eyes grew a bit heavy with tears.
Her family, she recalled, would always travel abroad every holiday to different countries, she had never traveled without her parents- not until now.
And never as an orphan.
"As-tu déjà été à Paris?"
Anna looked at the driver with a puzzled expression on her face, "huh?"
The driver, somewhat confused asked, "Madame Anna you didn't answer my question."
"That's because I had no idea what you just said," Anna giggled.
"Madame Anna, do you not understand French?" The driver asked.
"Can you please stop calling me Madame? I'm still eleven years old and it's making me feel like a rich old woman. And yeah, I don't understand French very much. I was horrible at French in school." Anna replied, not sure if it was something to be proud of.
To be honest, Anna had always hated French because of her snobby French teacher. She was from the Ivory Coast and according to her- from a royal family. Yet she behaved like a barbarian with neither class nor grace in her conduct.
"I'm sorry Miss….but you are of French descendants."
"No, I'm not. I'm actually from Nigeria."
"But you are related to Madame Kamille, isn't it?" He asked, a little curious.
"Oh yeah. She is my father's twin sister and was born here but my grandparents are from Nigeria. She lived there for some time before she moved to France for only God knows what." Anna paused, "Hey, you haven't told me your name."
"My name is Langlois," he says as if he had been expecting the question.
"Funny name, what does it mean?" Anna raised an eyebrow.
"If you want to know my name, then you're in for a long story," he replied.
Anna clapped, "I love stories, please tell me everything."
**********************************
The black Limousine pulled up outside an imposing black gate. He honked three times. The gates swung wide open. There stood a beautiful white house. Several giant pillars shaped as angels supported the building on all sides. A beautiful towering fountain stood at the center of the compound. Everything- from the stylish design of the imposing building to the sophisticated roofing, the water fountain at the center of the compound, the carefully mowed lawn- were statements in architectural majesty.
"Is this my aunt's house?" Anna asked in bewilderment glancing at the hedge maze garden to the right of the mansion. "Oh my gosh. It's like a Disney Castle."
Monsieur Langlois laughed and said, "it may be. Your aunt is a very rich and powerful woman."
This is now my new home. A lovely mansion.
"Come to think of it I don't even know my aunt's occupation. Monsieur Langlois if I may ask, what is her job?"
Langlois pondered for a while before speaking, "My dear as much as I wish to answer your question, I can't," he said.
"Why not? Haven't you asked her?"
"Oui Mademoiselle. Countless times but she threatened to sack me from this job the last time I had that conversation with her. Nobody wants to lose a job that pays well remember."
"Quite strange." Anna found it hard to believe that a man as intelligent as Langlois was comfortable working for an employer whose source of income he is ignorant of.
The front yard was beautifully decorated with a stone pathway leading up to the oak doors. Anna tried to make a mental comparison between the giant structure in front of her with her parents' twin duplex in Abuja, but she quickly dismissed the thought. There was no need thinking about her old life.
A beautiful young woman opened the door. She wore an elegant rose blouse with a blue palazzo and white flat shoes. She had a dazzling smile. Her aunt Kamille!
Aunt Kamille held her arms out to welcome Anna with a gracious embrace, "Mon petite Angie, veins et donne votre tante une gros etriente."
Even though Anna had no idea what her aunt had just said, she was so happy to be welcomed by a loving relative who would now care and support her education in one of the biggest cities in the world.
"Aunt, I miss you so much." Anna pressed her slender body to her aunt's with tears of joy in her eyes.
"Of course, you do, I was your favorite rich aunt," she giggled.
That was one thing Anna remembered and loved the most about Aunt Kamille, she was always positive and optimistic no matter how hard things got. After Kamille finally managed to squeeze herself out of Anna's tight embrace, she motioned Langlois to take Anna's luggage inside.
"Where is Monique?" Anna asked as she walked into the huge drawing room. The ceilings were so high like the sky outside. In the middle was a massive crystal chandelier. It was a ball of diamonds that shone bright.
"Well, Monique is at her ballet class," Kamille answered. "She will be here soon though. Let's sit down my angel. Tell me about your flight, did you enjoy your long trip?"
"It was fun; I sat next to a duchess who told me a lot of impressive stories. She said she loved Nigeria," Anna answered happily as she collapsed on the majestic black couch. It seemed to swallow her. And it smelt like cotton candy.
"That's nice. Did she tell you her name?"
Anna tried to remember but she couldn't. "She did but I have forgotten, I fell asleep after a few hours maybe that's why I can't remember'
"Alright sweetie, feel at home, I told the cook to prepare something special for your arrival. Monique would join us soon."
Monique was Kamille's daughter, her only child. She used to be very lively and sweet until a few years ago.
Anna kept wondering where the old Monique everybody knew and loved so well had disappeared to. Curiously, nobody, not even her mother seemed to know where or why.
Anna got hurt by Monique's new cold- hearted attitude. They were childhood best friends. They would play together, fight together, and get into loads of trouble together. They even solved a few mysteries like the mystery of the missing cat or who ate the last ice-cream in the fridge. Anna's dad was always guilty for every crime.
"Do you like the place?" Kamille asked.
"Like? Aunt Kamille this place is so amazing. I love it." Anna said. The interior décor of the entire place was priceless.
"Well in that case mon petite Ange, you are going to collapse if you see your bedroom," Kamille said.
"Aunty Kamille, I have a question. What does "Mon petite Ange" mean?"
Her aunt let out a peal of loud laughter, "Looks like someone's going to need a French tutor soon. Anyways, it means, my Little Angel."
"Thank you, Aunt Kamille."
"You aren't going to keep on calling me Aunt Kamille or Aunty every time, right? Honey, I'm sorry to bring this up but your stay here is going to be a very long one," Kamille put her hand on Anna's shoulders to gauge her reaction.
Anna raised her face to meet her aunt's brown eyes. "Well, I was planning to. But if I can't call you aunt, what should I call you? I can't call you Kamille. In Nigeria, it is considered disrespectful to call an adult by the first name, and in school, you would be severely punished." Anna grimaced. "The more I think about it, the more I realize that school punished a lot."
"For a nine-year-old girl, you talk a lot," Kamille said smiling. "How about you just call me mum?"
Anna was surprised, mum? She wasn't even bothered that her aunt thought she was nine years.
"Mum? A-are you s-sure Aunt Kamille?."
Her aunt nods her head gazing hopefully at Anna.
How could she call her mum when she had just recently lost hers? It would be like replacing her real mom and Anna would never want to that in any situation. But on the other hand, her aunt had been so welcoming and accepting of Anna. Wouldn't it be rude if Anna had said no?
"I'm okay calling you, Aunt"
"But I'm not." Kamille folded her arms as a frown pierced through her face.
Anna had a mental cringe. She didn't want to say yes but she couldn't say no either so instead, Anna walked up to her Aunt to give her a warm bear hug
The hug lasted for more than a few seconds.
Anna raised her head from where she was.
"By the way, I'm eleven years old not nine".
CHAPTER 4
"Are you ready to see your new room?" Kamille asked with an excited voice.
"Yesss!!." Anna squealed, jumping up a bit.
Kamille turned the doorknob and pushed the door wide open to reveal Anna's room.
Anna gasped as she entered the enormous room. She didn't know what to feel. Happy, excited, shocked, surprised, or stunned? All she knew was that she was going to love her aunt even more than she already did before she came to Paris.
The room looked like something out of a princess story- something unimaginable, something magnificent, something out of this world. The room was painted white with rubies aligned on the walls to spell the name, Anna. Diamonds patterned all over the ceiling that comes to the middle to meet a gold crystal chandelier. The bed was a magenta-colored waterbed that when jumped on could take you to the ceiling...maybe not that far but it could take you high. But all those priceless things weren't what made Anna tear up. The portraits and collages up on the walls did exactly that. These collages and portraits weren't as priceless and expensive as every other thing in the room but what made it special was the thought put into it. First of all, there was a collage of Anna with her mother out on their farm planting some Ugu leaf, there was also a beautifully painted portrait of her family eating egusi soup together on the dining table, Anna had stained her evening dress trying to suck out everything in the Pomo. Then again, there was a lovely portrait of her dad and mom wearing traditional attires. Anna's mother Mrs. Amarachi Azuka was wearing a satin lace that was fitted around her body, with a special wrapper that was tied around her waist. A light purple gele that added a twist to her pale nude pink attire with a pink short handbag and nude shoes to top off the traditional Igbo appeal. Her makeup gave her a royal appearance.
Anna's mother was a makeup artist- the director of her brand- Model Infinity- which was an international modeling agency so she was doing well financially.
Anna's father, Mr. Obiora Azuka in the photograph wore an asiago (traditional attire for the Igbos) which was the same color as his wife's blouse, and a perfect red cap to match. Mr. Obiora was a movie director and filmmaker. He had helped make some of the best-known Nollywood movies, so yeah, he was also financially stable.
Anna couldn't utter a word from her mouth as she kept starring across the room. She hadn't even been here for an hour and yet her aunt seemed to have lined up endless surprises for her.
"Do you like it?" Kamille asked, fiddling with her fingers.
"I love it," Anna said showing all her teeth.
Then Kamille's phone started ringing. Kamille glanced at the caller I.D and frowned.
"Bianca needs me at work," she said to herself.
"Bianca? " Anna curiously asked, "What a really pretty name though."
"It's an Italian name." Kamille answered, "Well I better be going. If you need anything, Langlois will assist you."
"Um, excuse me before you go."
Kamille turned her head to look at Anna, "Yes honey."
"Do I have a wardrobe, like where I keep my clothes?"
"I know what a wardrobe is, silly." Aunt Kamille grinned. "And of course, you have one."
"Really? Where is it, please?" Anna asked.
"The room next to this room."
"The room? My wardrobe is a room?"
"It is a walk-in closet; don't you like that?"
"Um...duh, of course, I like that, it's just I never had a walk-in closet. Oh my gosh! That's so freaking cool! The ones I've seen are normally inside the bedroom and smaller but mine is a whole room". Anna explained with so much enthusiasm.
"I thought your parents were rich?" Aunt Kamille asked, a bit concerned.
"Oh they were but they liked living normal. They were attracted to the humble life….not like Nigerian politicians." Anna said with a smile.
Aunt Kamille laughed as she walked off. Anna's arrival was perfect.
CHAPTER 5
Guess who was on the big sofa in the expansive living room with a bowl of popcorn, watching a movie on Netflix? It had been an hour since her aunt left and two since she arrived. Suddenly, she heard the fancy doorbell ring, so she ran towards the hallway to answer- as she would back at home in Nigeria.
"Anna, what are you about to do?" A voice said behind her.
Anna looked back to see Monsieur Langlois.
I was about to open the door," she answered.
"Why? I'm right here or are you trying to take away my job?" Monsieur Langlois asked with a poker face.
"Oh no, no, I'm not. I just thought you might be busy and needed my help besides it's a common fact when the bell is rung you react. And I'm not used to having a butler." Anna gushed.
"Well, get used to living with a butler now." Monsieur Langlois smiled as he walked past Anna to open the gigantic door.
Monsieur Langlois opened the door to a beautiful young lady in her early teens; she tied up her hair into a tight bun that showed her beautiful face. She had very light makeup but you could still see her natural beauty, she wore a black leotard and white tights and pale pink ballet shoes, she carried a purple duffel bag. Before she could even enter the house, Anna had already jumped on her.
"Monique!"
Monique squeezed herself out of Anna's uncomfortable hug.
"Qui est-ce et pourquoi m'attaque-t-elle?" Monique screamed looking distraught.
All Anna could utter from her mouth was "Huh?"
Monsieur Langlois leaned in to tell Anna the meaning of what Monique just said.
She doesn't know me? Anna wondered. But we spent so much time together.
"Madame, this is your cousin Anna, Madame Kamille told you she will come to stay after the… Uhm, incident." Monsieur Langlois answered.
Monique sashayed inside the house, "So she is the Andy…. the little child that will stay with us?"
"It's Anna," Anna corrected.
Monique glared at Anna. "I don't care. I don't appreciate your coming here. Don't you have a relative that lives in Algeria or something?" Monique added with an unpleasant look on her face.
Anna wasn't pleased with what Monique had just said. Her face was heating up and she was ready to say what was on my mind.S
"First, I don't come from Algeria; it's Nigeria. Secondly don't you think if I had a relative of some sort in Nigeria, I wouldn't have come all the way. For someone so pretty, you're not very smart or---... never mind."
"Non, finish what you were about to say. Let's see how rude you can get… Peuimporte, as much as I would love to stay here and fight with an orphan, I have other things I'd rather waste my time doing."
Monique rolled her eyes leaving a damaged Anna behind.
Orphan?
That was harsh, but sadly she wasn't wrong. Both her parents were dead, she knew. But now Monique brought it up, the feeling of being all alone crept in.
She was an Orphan
As tears rolled down from Anna's eyes, she mumbled, "Is this how she normally is to everyone around her? So, mean, arrogant and vile?"
Monsieur Langlois threw a hand on Anna's shoulder, "No, Anna, don't let what she said to get to you."
Anna nodded, sadly. It already did.