Alice sat in front of the brown mahogany wood table. There was a small heap of old files at the right end of the table, and an old-looking wireless telephone. The interior decoration of the room was purely antique. Most of the paintings were colored in black and white.

Alice stared at the brown envelope in her hand. The mailman had just dropped it off some minutes ago. An address was written on the envelope, but it seemed somewhat strange to her.

She carefully tore off the seal and brought the paper out. She made the sign of the cross, then opened the paper.

"You have to pay back what your father owed my father", she read out slowly. The sentence made no sense to her.

Before his death, her father was a local coffee shop owner. Although things did not really go smoothly for them, he never borrowed from anyone. There were times he'd talk about taking a loan to boost his business, but he never really actualized his plans.

"He took a loan of three hundred thousand dollars from my father's company, to pay back in three years time", the next sentence read.

"What?! Three hundred thousand dollars? Why on earth would my father do such? To think that he never told anyone", Alice exclaimed loudly.

"The agreement as drafted between them is contained in the envelope. Do well to go through it and send a reply immediately", the last sentence read.

Alice quickly reached out for the envelope and took out the contract paper. At the bottom right side of the page was her father's name, and his signature!

She sank back in the chair. Her monthly salary was barely enough to take care of her needs and that of her younger siblings, and her bedridden mother. She had to work extra hours at a restaurant to support her family.

Alice took a second look at the contract paper. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her name in the contract.

"If by any chance I am unable to pay back the loan within the stipulated time, my daughter, Alice Edwards, would have to take up the payment".

Alice was flabbergasted. Her father plainly offered her to these people in exchange for the money he had borrowed from them.

She looked at the old wall clock, it was twenty minutes past twelve o'clock. She closed at two everyday, but today seemed different. She replaced the letter and the contract in the envelope, and put it in her bag.

She picked up her bag and left her office, locking the door behind her. She needed to rush home to inform her poor mother about the disheartening news. The woman wouldn't be happy to hear it, but she just had to.

Walking out of the compound gate, the street was more quiet than normal. It was hard to see a cab or a car pass by.

Her house was a bit far from her workplace, but she had to walk back home, else there would be no food for them to eat. Their only means of survival was the coffee shop their late father ran, but Alice had to sell it when her mother's health deteriorated.

Several thoughts ran through her mind as she walked down the street. The month was just halfway through, and she had run out of money. Her younger siblings had stopped going to school because she couldn't afford to keep paying their fees after their mother became seriously sick.

As she walked into the compound, she could hear the voices of the children playing.

"Anty Alice", they called out to her. After their parents, she was said to be the next oldest in the house. The children respected her, and she would buy them sweets sometimes.

Alice climbed the broken stairs to get to their flat on the third floor. She quietly knocked at the door, and her sister opened it almost immediately.

"Anty Alice, you came back early today", the girl said in a low voice.

Her name was Samantha. She was ten years younger than Alice and called her "anty" because of the age difference between them.

"Yes", she smiled at the girl, trying to hide her emotions. "Where's Dave?"

"He's sleeping, as usual", she answered and walked into the room.

Alice took a short glance at their mini sitting room. It had only two couches and a small wooden table at the centre. The television was there, but it served no purpose. There was a small book shelf behind the door where some of their important documents were kept.

She quietly headed for her room. Her mother was on the bed as always, a small table containing her essentials beside the bed.

"Mum", Alice pulled a stool to her side.

"Alice, you're home so early. Is there any problem?", the woman asked, trying to sit up.

Despite the fact that she could only struggle to sit and was always on her bed, the woman was able to keep track of the time her daughter returned from work. Whenever she heard the sound of cars and school buses on the street, then she knew the day was over.

"There's no problem", Alice sighed. She thought of how best to break the news to her mother, but she couldn't figure out how to do that. It would only worsen her condition, she thought.

The silence in the room seemed unusual to the woman, and she realized something was wrong.

"Have you been crying all day?", the woman asked with so much concern in her voice.

"No mother, I wouldn't do that", she managed to put up a smile.

"Why did you return home earlier than usual?", she asked her.

"There was nothing for me to do", she answered, her head down.

"Alice, whatever the problem is, you can share it with me", the woman reached out for her hand and held her tight.

Alice thought for a while, then she mustered courage to talk to her mother about the loan "Mum, did father ever take a loan from any one?"

The woman glared at her, then nodded her head negatively."None that I know of. You know how much your father despised borrowing. Why do you ask?"

She handed the envelope to her mother. "Here, someone brought this to me at the office. It's from a company I guess. They claim that father had borrowed some money from them".

The woman looked at the envelope in her hand. Her husband was a diligent man, borrowing was something he would never do. "Are you certain about this?"

"His signature is in the agreement. You won't believe that he used me as a collateral ligament", Alice spoke with so much pain in her voice.

"Don't talk like that. Father loved you so much, he wouldn't do such!", her mother reprimanded her.

A drop of tear rolled down her face. They all loved their father so much, she was his favorite child. She never believed he would let her down just like that.

"How much is the money?", her mother asked calmly.

Alice looked up. How could she tell her it was three hundred thousand dollars? It would break her. After all, she sold the coffee shop for only ten thousand dollars.

"I'm afraid mother, it's three hundred thousand dollars", Alice cried out.

"Three hundred thousand? What did he need such money for? How do we repay these people?", the woman lamented.

Alice felt sorry for her mother. She was not prepared to receive such news, not now, not ever.