It wasn't easy trying to go about life like everything is okay. To be strong for everyone. Not show you are still hurting. 'I still can't believe she's gone' thought Dr Mwangala Nyambe as she looked at her niece Ezme, the only living survivor of a car accident that took away her best friend, her best friend's husband and her daughter.
She sat at her niece's bed side and quietly cried.
It was 2 months ago when the accident happened on their way back from shopping for Christmas groceries in Toronto.
It was snowing and the car tires lost traction due to the roads being frozen. The accident was only discovered the next day by the council members who came to salt the roads. Her daughter's body and some parts of her friend's husbands went missing under the snow.
The rescue team and police are still searching. Ezme, only just got out of ICU today.
Everyone else seemed to die on impact. It was a miracle she even survived.
This has been a trying time for Mwangala and Luciano, her husband. Mwangala, Chipo and Mutinta had been best friends since university, as they all studied at the SGIS. Mwangala studied medicine, Chipo studied Law and Mutinta studied Business Administration and got a masters in it.
From being a trio to just being a duo has been dif f i cult on both ladies. They, with their respective husband and children, had intended to fly in the following week for Christmas but instead its now a funeral.
They had transported the couple's bodies to Zambia for the funeral but came back to watch over Ezme as they couldn't move her whilst in critical condition.
This has also been tough on Cassie as she has lost one friend she'd known her whole life, whilst the other was in critical condition. A traumatic experience no 5 years old child should ever have to go through.
Her Aunt Chipo was like a mum to her, Uncle Davies like a dad and 'she' was like a sister. Cassie couldn't even bring herself to think her name because it hurt so much.
It still felt like a lie at times. Like one of those moments when you just haven't seen each other in a while. 'She' didn't feel gone, gone.
Mwangala had to get leave off work just to properly watch and take care of Ezme and Mrs.
Sikanyika understood as she had watched as the three girls grew close. Chipo and Davies had both worked for SGIS. She knew and understood that it must be very hard for Mwangala to lose both her best friend and child. A mothers pain wasn't like any other.
Luciano was also finding it hard because he had always dotted on his daughter, got her everything she wanted and needed. Spoiled her rotten but she was gone, just like that and all he could do was stay strong for both himself and his wife. He couldn't let himself get so lost in grieving because he knew his usually strong wife needed him the most at this moment.
Weeks went by and Ezme got discharged. Finding out she was now an orphan was a hard pill to swallow. She could fi nally travel and so they went back to her home. Aunt Mwangala helped her pack the things she wanted to carry and put the remaining things in storage.
Mwangala arranged for some people to rent the house instead of selling just so Ezme still had a piece of her parents.
Mwangala and Chipo were now Ezme's legal guardians as decided by her late parents. Both ladies decided it best she lived with Mwangala as they were both grieving and it would help them all heal. As a result, Mwangala and Lucian adopted Ezme.
Ezme moved in with them in Sterling town, where most workers of SGIS lived with their families.
It is a fully functional town with a shopping mall, a hospital and a day school for the local kids. Mwangala being the on-campus doctor was kept busy with be it sports injuries or fl us.
Whenever the accident was too serious to be delt with in school, an ambulance is available to take the student to the Sterling hospital where a full team of doctors can attend to him/her.
This works well and the town is able to thrive on its own. Luciano Orsini, Luc as Mwangala calls him, is an Italian business man who started from the streets and built himself up under the guidance of his mentor, who he considered a father, Dante Leopardi. A business tycoon who owned a franchise of hotels and was involved in real estate. Luc under his guidance has been able to amass his own fortune and make a name for himself.
He invests in real estate and had been working on a project here in Zambia when he'd fi rst met Mwangala. Their family, though small, was doing well for itself. Most people in the town don't know this. They assume that he, just like his wife, works for SGIS and neither he nor his wife, corrects them.
It wasn't easy getting used to the new environment as she was born and raised in Canada with occasional visits to Zambia.
Her parents weren't that close to their families. After their death, according to traditional property distribution, the said relatives tried to take all of her parents' property and distribute all the money and properties among themselves but luckily enough her parents had left a will which stated Ezme was their sole heir.
One of Davies' sisters plans of gaining her brothers money through the loophole of taking in Ezme was ruined when the said will declared Mutinta and Mwangala her guardians.
This pissed off both families. They tried to contest the will on the grounds that both ladies aren't related to the child but lost as this decision was final and absolute.
Ezme was enrolled to the Sterling Primary School, the locals school. She tried to make a few friends but the traumatic experience had left her withdrawn towards most people except her new parents, aunt, uncle and best friend.
She went there until grade 5 when Mutinta decided Cassie will be enrolling for grade 6 at SGIS and thought it would be a great idea if Ezme went there too.
Ezme loved the idea of being able to see Cassie everyday but the idea of being surrounded by the snobby children there was discouraging.
Because Sterling town is an extension of SGIS the pupils are allowed to venture into it with permission.
As a result, it has been a hanging out spot for the students when they want to go out.
Some of the students have a superiority complex towards the locals and whenever they would go into town, they would cause trouble for the Sterling school goers.
Ezme, after constant pressure, finally agreed to go to SGIS but not as a boarder. She decided she'll be going with Mwangala every morning. Even though Cassie would have preferred having her in school all the time, she accepted her decision.
Before Ezme knew it, it was her fi rst day of sixth grade. Her mum woke her up at 6 am as her class starts at 8. When Ezme walked into class, everyone looked up at her wondering who she was or who her parents might be and she felt out of place. Cassie stood up and screamed her name excitedly before running to hug her.
This caught everyone's attention as she was among the richest heirs in the class so for her to have such a reaction to someone, it meant that person must be important. Nandi and Reta looked at her with unconcealed curiosity too. Cassie dragged Ezme to her roommates and introduced her to them.
"This is my Best friend Ezme… Ezme these are my roommates Nandi and Reta," she said excitedly. Nandi, Reta and Ezme all greeted each other before settling down as Miss Kachinga had walked in.
Just after she called the register, a knock was heard at the door. "Come in!" she exclaimed.
The door opened and two boys walked in. Nandi and Reta both looked at each other as they realised that the reason they came to this school in the first place, was finally here.