My family and I lived in a private residential area in a quiet part of my country.We kept to ourselves and did not really go out of their way to  socialize or fraternize.It think it is a normal thing in society for people to make up stories about things they do not know about (and that was exactly what people set out to do).My family did not seem to need from anyone,so there was nothing anyone could about that could be true.so,the people in this private residential area started making up stories about us.the fact that my father never seemed to be around

One day,coming back from town we were told by our neighbours that a very scuffy looking fellow was seen lurking around our house.we were alarmed and talked to the estate security to increase security around our house.they did not agree saying that it was only our neighbours that seemed to see this scruffy fellow.but we all knew that the real reason why they did not increase the security around our house was that we never went for their residents association meetings.the reason my parents did not go was that all they ever seemed to do was argue and theynever really got anything done.after their refusal,we installed more security lights around the house and made sure all the the doors were locked at all times.ithink this was wrong because we were like isolating ourselves more.

During this time,we started hearing things people were saying about my family.things that were so ridiculous,we dismissed them as untrue.some of them were that we hid money in fridges and food warmers in our house.i was too young then comprehend what this all meant.after a while my mother had a change of employement and decided that we were move somewhere else.my father was not in the country during this time so all the decisions were for my mother to make.we started themoving process,boxing things and rearranging things in the house.everything was going nicely,and after a while we presence of the scruffy man faded from our minds.

On this fateful night I woke up from my sleep to screams of “thief, thief!!!”.as I woke up I saw a shadow jump from the balcony of the room I slept in with my mother down to the ground.i was still groggy with sleep and did not comprehend what was happening.after a while I heard my sisters telling my mother sorry over and over again.hearing this,the sleep cleared from my eyes immediately and I went over to where my sisters and my mother were.it was then I looked on the ground and saw a pool of blood.i followed the steady drip of the blood and saw that my mothers right hand had been sliced almost clean through.

After my mum had been taken to the hospital and she was stabilized,I heard the full account of what happened from my sisters.the scruffy man we were warned about was the one that came a-visiting.when he entered the first question he asked was “where is the money”.he further clarified himself and said “the money in all the coolers”.when my mother told him that she did not keep money in the house and she could take him on a scenic tour of the house to verify this,he got annoyed and took a swing at my elder sister.my mother used her ahnd to take the blow,saving my sisters life and getting almost all her fingers cut in the process.

Looking back now,I realized that all those rimors and untrue things that we said about us that caused that attack.rumors are just attempts by ignorant people to malign the image of people and also to cover up their own ignorance.but then,I do not really blame them because if my family was not so insular and isolated,the rumors would not have had a chance to grow…