Zachariah was really unhappy on his birthday.

He had cried the whole morning. His heart was filled with pain. He had never been so miserable in his life.

Zachariah was twelve years old, and he was an orphan. He had lived in the Zongo Orphanage all his life. Mistress Ohenewaa, the Keeper of the Orphanage, always took great delight in telling Zachariah how he had been born.

“Stop your snivelling, you wimpy little fool.” she would scream at Zachariah with droplets of spittle flying from her mouth. “It’s no one’s fault that you were born on the twenty-ninth day of February. Why, it was a dreary day, I remember so well, with the rains hammering this building and the thunders smashing the skies.

The door of the orphanage flew open, and as I was going to close it, in stumbled the dirtiest, saddest little woman I ever laid eyes on. Her belly was fit to burst. She was pregnant. We carried her to the dining room and laid her on the table. Old cranky Mr. Boateng was the keeper then. She gave birth to you right there on the dining table. On the twenty-ninth of February, can you believe that?

The only leap-year child we’ve ever been cursed with in this orphanage. Mr. Boateng asked where she came from, but the only word she ever uttered was Zachariah. Poor soul, she passed on five days later without another word, and here you remained. And Mr. Boateng said your name will be Zachariah, and so it has been.”

Everybody called him Zac now.

Read the full episodes with the links below.

Episode 1:

https://klevermagg.com/2024/04/22/zak-29-episode-1/

Episode 2

https://klevermagg.com/2024/04/23/zac-29-episode-2/

Episode 3

https://klevermagg.com/2024/04/24/zac-29-episode-3/

Episode 4

https://klevermagg.com/2024/04/25/zac-29-episode-4/

Episode 5

https://klevermagg.com/2024/04/26/zac-29-episode-5/

Episode 6

https://klevermagg.com/2024/04/30/zac-29-episode-6/

Episode 7

https://klevermagg.com/2024/05/01/zac-29-episode-7/