The girl who did not know that her mother was dead

When Lempi was born her mother didn’t survive the delivery and Lempi was brought up by her mother’s sister. She was never told that this was not her biological mother and therefore she thought so. After a few years she moved to another sister. This sister thought Lempi had been told who was her biological mother and didn’t bother to talk about it. Everybody knew and assumed Lempi also knew. One day when Lempi was 13 years old one of her friends overheard a discussion between a neighbour and another woman:

(In Oshiwambo)
- …who is that girl?
- Oh, Lempi. She is staying with a sister of her mother because her mother passed away long ago.

The girl who didn’t know about Lempi’s biological mother, and missed out the words …long ago, assumed that the sister who had first brought up Lempi had died. She told a friend who told a friend who told Lempi. Lempi was devastated and couldn’t stop crying. She cried and cried and nobody knew why. They took her to the doctor and there she managed to explain that she cried because her mother had died. Confusion was total. They asked her who had told her that and so the talked to all the friends and finally the old neighbour meme. The old meme couldn’t understand what she had said but when she remembered the conversation they all realized Lempi didn’t know the fate of her biological mother. This was how Lempi got to know who her mother was.

Lempi is the secretary on the school and a good friend of mine. She is getting married in December.