Melody looked around, surveying the dumpster that was her home. Stomping angrily, she marched upstairs to her children's room.
"Miriam! Jane! Open this door this instant" She said, knocking on the door heavily.
" Mum, you're back?" the two twins asked surprisingly as they opened the door.
Melody was a nurse and usually came home in the evening at around 8pm. The twins were already used to this routine and, as such, weren't expecting their mum to come home this early.
"Well, I had an early shift and decided to come back home and see what my girls are up to" Melody answered, the children tapping her feet rhythmically on the ground.
" Oh! " The twins replied in unison.
Miriam and Jane were identical twins and the only children Melody had. She was a single mother and did everything she could do within her power to ensure her two twins lived a happy and comfortable life. Their father had died in a fatal accident a long time ago. So the twins grew up not fully knowing their father. They were only ever used to their mother's presence, who was most times always busy working, trying to make ends meet. However, seeing her children's lifestyle now, she was afraid she had failed in raising them. She realized that maybe she had been spending too much time working, she had indirectly neglected her children.
"Miriam, Jane, why is the house like this?" She asked.
The twins looked dumbfoundedly at their mother. Not seeing what she was talking about.
"What's wrong with the house" they asked innocently, absolutely ignorant of what the mother was talking about.
Taking a deep breath, Melody gestured for them to come downstairs to the living room.
"Can't you see anything wrong with this place" she asked them again.
" Oh you mean all these, we'll clean up later" Jane said, dismissing it.
" How can you girls live like this" Melody asked expasratingly, her patience wearing thin.
" Mum please, can you not make a big deal of everything? We promise we'll clean up later", Miriam answered this time.
" I'm making a big deal of this?" The mother asked angrily.
" The whole house looks like a dumpster, your clothes and belongings are scattered all over the house. The kitchen is a mess, the dirty dishes are still in the sink, snacks and drinks are scattered all over the dining table, and you say I'm making a big deal out of it " Melody barked angrily at her children, whatever patience she had was long gone. She was now in her full parent boss mode.
" Now both of you! Clean up this mess before I finish my bath or no dinner for both of you this night." Melody said in a firm tone.
"One more thing, hand me your phones, you won't get them back until you both learn how to keep things in order in this house" she said as she headed upstairs to her room to freshen up.
Grumpily, the two twins reluctantly started cleaning up the house to avoid being on their mother's bad side.
Later that night, Melody sat still in their living room, pondering over her children's wayward ways. Maybe I made a mistake in raising them, she thought. If only George, her husband, was still alive. The feeling of sadness slowly crept in. She missed her husband so much. Sighing deeply, she stood up from the couch, heading to her room with a strong resolve to train her children the right way this time around.
The next morning, Melody woke to the sound of her two twins quarreling and arguing. Sighing deeply, she headed downstairs in the direction of the noise.
"Why do you just have to be a scoundrel every time?"
She heard Miriam say spitefully to Jane.
"You're the scoundrel" Jane fired back at her.
From the sound of the voices, they were having a heated argument which neither of them were willing to back down.
"What's going on here" Melody's voice boomed, startling them in the process.
"Mum, Jane won't quit annoying me" Miriam spoke first.
" Not when you called me a scoundrel", Jane answered.
"That's because you are."
"Enough! Stop the name-callings both of you", Melody said sharply, cutting them off.
" It's early in the morning, and you are both at it again."
" You know what, go sit in the living room. I would like to discuss it with both of you," Melody said.
Training two teenage twins wasn't an easy task at all. Melody was beginning to see that now, especially as they were in the prime of their adolescence.
" Girls, you aren't children anymore? can't we have some peace and quietness in this house?" Melody started off.
" I'm trying my best here but you girls are making it difficult for me." She continued, explaining to them the errors in their ways.
When the twins saw the pain and distress in their mothers eyes, they realized they weren't the best of daughters. Feeling remorseful, they apologized to their mother, promising her they would turn a new leaf from that day onwards.
