It took longer than usual for Susan's school bus to arrive.
"It's almost 6 p.m.; have you reached out to the driver?" Paul asked his wife, Margaret.
"We spoke a few minutes ago, and the driver told me that they were held by traffic due to the gubernatorial election campaign of the PLP party," Margaret responded.
"They can continue to do their madness, but they should spear my daughter out of any stress," Paul murmured and hissed.
The doorbell rang, and Paul went open it in anticipation to welcome Susan.
"I think Susan is back," said Paul, who was moving towards the door to open it.
"I doubt if she is the one. The bus was held far away when I spoke with the driver."
Paul opened the door and met their water supplier who had come to supply them 10 jerricans of water. Paul opened the door for him to take the jerricans in one after the other to pour their contents into a water storage container in the kitchen.
He was pouring the last one when Susan arrived. Her eyes were red. Her white blouse, which had changed to almost brown, rested on her weak shoulders. Paul had gone to his room to pick up a pen. The call of "Daddy" from Susan announced her arrival.
"My baby girl. You have finally come. I missed you," Paul responded from his room.
"I miss you too, Daddy,"
"My queen," Margaret called from the kitchen. "Today must have been a stressful day for you."
"It is, mom." Susan tried to suppress the yawning that was making her response inaudible.
She dropped her bag and went to the kitchen to meet her mom.
"The water vendor is waiting." Paul, with his pen in his hand, informed his wife from the living room.
Margaret quickly gave Susan the money for the water to deliver to the vendor.
The day was getting dark, and reading was becoming difficult for Paul. He couldn't pick the information he wanted to pick from the daily that he was reading. He folded the newspaper and dropped his pen on the diary on the table. He went to the generator house behind the building to put on the power generator. He found the tank empty of fuel.
"This woman must have used this generator to watch movies earlier today. The fuel left in it yesterday was surely going to sustain us for a few hours this night," he complained as he went back inside, disappointed.
"I thought you were trying to put on the power generator," said Margaret, who was finding it difficult to set the dining table.
"You should know why the generator isn't coming up," Paul, who was standing beside the dining table, responded.
"Dear, the fuel left in that tank couldn't power the generator for an hour. I used it for less than 30 minutes in the afternoon before it went off."
After a few seconds of silence, Paul picked up his fuel container and went out to get gasoline from a nearby fueling station. He returned on time and put on the power generator set.
A family dinner followed immediately.
"Daddy, my day was hell today," Susan began.
"I learned that your bus was caught up in the PLP gubernatorial election campaign. How was it? Paul asked.
"It was beyond the campaign, Daddy. Our bus broke down earlier, and it took the driver almost an hour to invite a vulcanizer to fix the tire. I could hear the vulcanizer blaming the bad road for the problem. It was a few minutes after we took off from that point that we met the campaign train of PLP."
"You met them on the extended part of the bad road, I guess," Margaret cuts as she lets out a loud laugh.
"Yes mom. I saw them with banners with different inscriptions. One says that we should vote PLP for a better tomorrow for us and the coming generations."
"Don't mind them. For the past twenty years, it has remained the same story. If you want to be happy, keep your thoughts off our politicians," Paul cuts in.
"Are they not managing our resources? Why should we keep our thoughts off them?" Susan queried.
Paul picked up his glass of water and drank it before narrating his experience to Susan. "I think you said earlier that the vulcanizer that fixed the tire of your school bus blamed it on the bad road. Am I right?"
Susan nodded in affirmation.
"From there, you met a campaign train where the candidate was promising a better tomorrow if elected. That has been my promise since I was born. When I was a child, the water system in this town was working. At least, you are sure of getting water in your home four to five days a week. Today, the water system is not working. Twenty years ago, electricity supply was better, but today, the power distribution companies give us darkness in return for an exorbitant monthly bill."
"Are you aware...?" Paul asked with his attention on Susan.
"... of what, Daddy?" She responded to him.
"Are you aware that the PLP has been the ruling party for the last twenty years? They have been making the same promises.
"They promise tomorrow, and by tomorrow, they extend the promise to tomorrow."
"Will tomorrow ever come?" Susan interrupted her father with a question.
"Tomorrow will only come if we collectively prepare for it to come," Margaret responded.
"What do you mean, mom?"
"The people you saw gathered at the campaign were there not for the purpose of listening to the policy direction of the candidate but to benefit from monetary rewards that would be extended to them by the party for coming to the campaign. Politicians take loans to sponsor these campaigns and money sharing, and when they win the election, they have to pay back the loans at the expense of people-oriented projects like fixing bad roads, providing potable water, and providing electricity. Whenever we change such an attitude, we can be sure of catching up with 'tomorrow.'"
Susan was listening to her mom with close attention.
"My generation needs to correct this. Tomorrow has to be made better than today. I want to grow and tell my children about a less developed past. Tomorrow will be better."
Paul was very pleased with the words coming out of his daughter.
"That's great, my baby girl. You have the support of your dad."
Susan kicked off the campaign by advising people to desist from selling their votes or political support for immediate benefits. Rather, they should support a leader based on what he or she has to offer when elected into office.
She was optimistic that her generation would see a better tomorrow.