SERIES::THE MISSING KEY (EPISODE 18) THE FINAL EPISODE

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"3:00pm"
It was time for lunch. The whole
house was famished, and even
though mum had asked Ada to
wait unto her call before coming
to eat, Ada had decided to come
down and help. Dad was obviously not being very useful in the kitchen; he was just distracting mum. Both were trying all afternoon to reason
out what happened to the key. It
was really surprising to them.
In no time John and I joined them. The kitchen became filled up. Everybody wanted to feel the new vibe in the house. It was just warm. I was no longer afraid of telling dad and mum that I was with the key. There was something in their faces that calmed me for the mean time.
Soon, lunch was ready.

It was strange having everybody
on the table, eating together!!
Dad was all smiles. He looked
more handsome in his mood.
“Let us pray,” Dad said after the
food had been served. “Linda,
pray for us.” Somehow, I just
knew dad would call me.
“Thank you, father in heaven,
for this meal. Thank
you for today and using the
lost key to bring us all together.
Dear Lord, we ask that you
sustain this new atmosphere of love
you have bestowed unto us.
We also ask you for forgiveness
of our sins in the past. Forgive
me specially for being responsible for the lost key. I believe
that if you forgive me, my
parents will also
find it in their heart
to forgive.
Thank father for
answering my
prayers,”
Everybody chorused,
“Amen”.
I didn’t open my
eyes immediately, but I
could feel pairs of eyes
staring at me.
Then I opened my
eyes and
looked straight at
dad.
He was smiling.
“Why did you take
the key?” He
gently asked, he
wasn’t going to
allow this spoil his
mood.
“It was a mistake
dad; I
mistakenly put it in
my school
bag last night
before going to
bed. I was feeling
so sleepy that
I didn’t know when
or how I did
it” I said, with
genuine remorse.
“But why didn’t you
say
anything about it
since
morning?” mum
asked, she was
really surprised that
of all her
kids, I was the one
in
possession of the
missing key.
“I was scared mum.
It was
already too late
when I realized
that it was with
me.Moreover i
was afraid of what
dad would
do to me '' I
answered.
“It’s alright, you
don’t need to
be afraid of me
again, do you
understand?” Dad
said, with the
smile still on his
face. I guess he
was amused by the
fact that I
had included the
issue in my
prayers. “Alright
then, give the
key to me.”
I looked at Ada,
who was at first
concerned that I
had rattled
myself out despite
promising
me that she would
take the
blame.
“I have it with me,”
she said as
she brought it out
of her
pocket.
“You knew about
this too?” Mum
asked.
“Yes mum, she told
me not
quite long ago.”
Can we now eat our
meal? I am
starving,” Dad said.
It was wonderful
having the
family come
together and eat.
Even though the
eating session
was some what
awkward, but it
sure looked like
something we
would get used to
as long as it
was done more
often.
After meal dad said,
“I want to
apologize for not
being there for
you all in times past.
I promise
to be a better dad
as from
today.” I can’t
explain how
warm and
comforting it was
hearing those
words from him.
He looked like a
changed man.
“Let’s all try and
ensure we
have dinner
together more
often. I want you all
to feel free
with me. We are
one family and
we must act like
one. Am I
understood?”
“Yes dad,” we all
chorused,
looking at each
other
amusingly.
“Finally, every
Sunday will be
our family day out.
We will eat
outside and visit
exotic places in
town. But for today,
we can also
take some time out.
So I want
you to decide where
you would
like to visit this
evening. Go get
dressed up, because
I will be
taking you to any
place of your
choice.
We all smiled and
giggled
excitedly as we
dispersed from
the sitting room.
Ada helped
mum pack the
plates while I
and John rushed into
our rooms
to dress up.
The lost key had
turned around
to be a good thing
after all.
***
"The next day'
Dad got to the
office, He was
ready to resign.He
knew he
would easily get
another job
with his
credentials.But to
his
suprise,he was
allowed to state
his working
conditions in order
to make time for
his
family,because of
how useful he
was to the
company.
Mr. Ikedi's family
turned a new
leaf.
*********
THE END!!!
The Missing Key has
opened the missing
Family.
Thanks for
following the
story.We hope you
all learnt
from it.
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