LEGACY OF A GOLDEN WOMAN
Chapter 2
Hi Mama
By Helen Eno Obareki
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♦️Hi Mama,
♦️I know it’s been a while since I wrote you a letter. I remember how much you cherished them when I was younger. I bet if I checked your bedside drawers or the cupboards in your office, I’d find some of them tucked away for safekeeping.
His Excellency, Governor Umo Eno and first daughter, Mrs Helen Eno-Obareki
♦️Mummy, this feels so surreal. It’s like a dream. I don’t know if I’ll ever come to terms with the fact that you’re physically gone, forever—at least not in this lifetime.
Just before I drift off to sleep at night, I often think that I’ll wake up in the morning and realize that the past few weeks have been one horrible nightmare.
♦️But alas, Mom, every day the reality hits again, and I feel like I’m suffocating under the weight of this loss. Still, I wipe my tears, lift my chin, hold my shoulders high, and take comfort in the fulfilled life you lived. I know you wouldn’t approve of me being so downcast or driven to despair.
♦️It breaks my heart that all you had in mind for the women and children of our state couldn’t be fully realized the way you would have liked. But you have my assurance, Mom—I will carry on your legacy and make sure I interpret your dreams in a way that would make you smile down in approval.
♦️I miss you so much, Mom. You were everything to me: my mother, my friend, my counselor, my therapist, my teacher, my doctor, my chef, my role model, and my mentor. I’ll do my best to excel in my new role—not only as the “big sister,” but now as “Mummy” too.
This is hard, Mom! I know we’ll meet again, but for now, rest in the bosom of the Lord and continue to watch over us as a guardian angel.
♦️I love you now and always will.
♦️Your Daughter,
♦️Heleno.
✅️Helen Eno Obareki is the first daughter of Governor Umo Eno and the First Lady Designate.