Amina placed their father’s paper in the middle of the table, surrounded by the rent ledger, the SACCO statement and the preliminary plot agreement. Everyone sat on one side of the room except Juma, who took the chair nearest the door.
There were only a few words on the paper, but each person read them differently.
**LET THE RENT SUPPORT A PAYMENT SCHEDULE; DO NOT SELL PROPERTY IN FEAR.**
“Father wrote this knowing the debt existed,” Neema said.
“But he didn’t leave us a schedule with amounts,” Halima replied.
Amina opened the rent ledger. Its pages were filled with tenants’ names, payment dates, repairs and pencil marks. Some entries were in Father’s hand, others in Amina’s. On the back page was an account of six months.
“The rent from the four houses wasn’t the same every month,” Amina said. “One tenant was late, there was a pipe repair, and we lost one month to the roof.”
Juma leaned closer.
“That’s why I said the rent wasn’t enough.”
“It wasn’t enough to pay everything at once,” Amina said. “But it might have been enough for a schedule.”
Juma opened the SACCO file.
“This is the old balance, not the current one.”
“We will compare them.”
Neema took a pen and divided a sheet into three parts: rental income, necessary expenses and debt payments.
Mama Rehema sat in Father’s chair, holding her rosary. She said nothing for a long time. Then she placed the rosary in her lap.
“Mzee Mhando told me about the debt before he died,” she said.
Juma raised his head.
“You told her?”
“He said the rent could help. He said Juma would look after the shop, Amina would look after the accounts, Neema would look after health matters, and Halima would follow up with the tenants.”
Amina turned to her.
“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”
“I thought the children already knew.”
Juma clenched his hands.
“Father never told me he had told you.”
“He said he didn’t want to frighten everyone while he was in hospital.”
Halima tapped the ledger.
“Is that why he wrote four letters?”
Mama Rehema shook her head.
“He said each child would have a responsibility, but he hadn’t completed a written agreement. He told me the ‘only son’ would not be the manager of everything just because he was a son.”
The room went quiet.
Juma looked at Mama Rehema for a long moment.
“You heard him say that?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I thought you would talk to your sisters.”
Juma laughed bitterly.
“You all thought someone else would talk.”
Amina did not stop him. She knew that was partly true.
They began entering the figures on a new sheet. The verified rental income was enough to make a first payment, but not enough to clear the entire balance before the SACCO deadline.
“What do we do about the gap?” Neema asked.
Amina turned to the shop statement.
“There is non-essential stock the shop bought before the season. It could be sold without closing the business.”
Juma frowned.
“That is seed for next season.”
“What part will be needed in two weeks, and what part could be sold?”
“If we sell it badly, we lose profit.”
“And if we sell the plot in a rush, we lose a core asset.”
Juma studied the list. He did not answer at once.
Halima took out copies of the shop receipts.
“These three small pumps haven’t been used. There are also sacks of seed that won’t be planted yet.”
“A customer may need them later,” Juma said.
“The debt needs money now,” Neema replied.
Mama Rehema spoke quietly. “Your father didn’t say no property could be touched. He said the children should not sell in fear.”
Amina wrote a proposal:
**TWO MONTHS OF RENT + SALE OF NON-ESSENTIAL STOCK + JUMA’S VERIFIED PAYMENTS.**
Beneath it she added:
**THE PLOT REMAINS ON HOLD UNTIL THERE ARE NEW VALUATIONS AND A DECISION BY EVERYONE.**
Juma read the line.
“This could pay part, not all.”
“Then we will know the gap,” Amina said. “When the gap has a number, we can discuss it.”
“And if the SACCO refuses?”
“We will ask for instalments.”
“You said their deadline was short.”
“And you said you had stood in front of them. Now we will stand there together.”
Juma opened his phone, searched for Mr. Kaseke’s message, then opened another message from the SACCO. He had hidden it beneath a shop notice.
Amina saw it.
“What does it say?”
Juma put the phone on the table.
**A BALANCE STATEMENT AND PAYMENT PLAN ARE REQUIRED BY FRIDAY AT SIX. AFTER THAT, SECURITY PROCEDURES WILL BEGIN.**
Halima counted on her fingers.
“Today is Tuesday.”
“Yes,” Juma said.
“You told us we had two days,” Neema said. “But this gives us until Friday.”
“I said time was short.”
“You made it sound as if it had to happen tomorrow morning because you wanted us to answer Kaseke quickly,” Amina said.
Juma lowered his eyes.
“I knew if we took too long, you would reject everything.”
“And now we know you had more days to make a plan,” Halima said.
Amina did not want to use the difference to humiliate him. She opened the rent ledger again.
“We won’t waste the days we have. Tomorrow morning we will get two plot valuations. At midday we will take a first plan to the SACCO. In the evening we will confirm which stock can be sold.”
Juma looked at her.
“And if the estimates show the plot has the greatest value?”
“It still will not be sold without a decision by everyone.”
“And if there is no other way?”
“Then we will discuss it openly, not through a secret agreement.”
Mama Rehema stood. She opened Father’s desk drawer, took out a small key and a paper folded in four.
“I found this on the day of the funeral,” she said. “I didn’t know whether it mattered.”
Amina unfolded it. It was a list of tenants’ names and phone numbers. In the margin Father had written:
**MAMA REHEMA MUST NOT LET ONE PERSON MANAGE THE RENT.**
Neema drew in her breath.
“He knew exactly.”
Juma read the line. His face showed no anger. He looked like a man reading an old picture of himself from the inside.
“Father told me that if I held the keys, people would respect me,” he said.
“He gave you keys so you could do the work,” Amina replied. “Not so everyone else would be kept uninformed.”
Juma sat down again.
“Then we will set up a temporary account.”
Amina looked at him.
“For all four of us?”
“For all four. But don’t close the shop over every decision or make every choice take a three-hour meeting.”
“We will divide responsibilities,” Amina said. “You manage the shop. Neema verifies health and debt payments. Halima follows up with tenants. I keep the ledger and send a weekly report.”
“And Mama Rehema?” Neema asked.
“She gets a copy as the family witness.”
Mama Rehema shook her head.
“I don’t want to be a stamp on something the children haven’t read.”
Juma took out his phone.
“We will open the temporary account tomorrow.”
Amina wrote the decision on a sheet. Everyone read it before signing. Juma signed beneath the last line.
**NO RENT, DEPOSIT OR DEBT PAYMENT WILL BE TRANSFERRED WITHOUT INFORMING ALL FOUR CHILDREN.**
Halima closed Kaseke’s agreement file.
“Rashid will not be sent again.”
“Yes,” Amina said. “We will get new estimates from two people who are not connected to the family.”
Juma said, “I will contact one of them.”
Amina looked at him.
“We will all contact them.”
Juma hesitated, then agreed.
When night came, Amina saved copies of the first plan to everyone’s phones. She thought the day had given them room to breathe, but another SACCO message arrived.
This one was shorter:
**BEFORE FRIDAY AT SIX, WE MUST SEE A FIRST PAYMENT. NOT A PROMISE OF A PLAN.**
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