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SHE lost her sister, Allison, to an abusive lover, who almost took her life, too, during a vicious knife attack, but Nicola King says if she could have but one wish fulfilled this Christmas, it would have been to have her sister present to share in the joyous season. The Guyana Chronicle paid Nicola an impromptu visit on Christmas Day at her Goedverwagting home on the East Coast Demerara to find out how she’d been spending the season thus far.
She seemed happy to see us, and expressed surprise that we’d remembered her. She said she misses Allison a whole lot, since during this time of year, she would bring over Christmas goodies from her home from one block away.
That had been a tradition with the sisters for many years now, since she, Nicola, was in the habit of being late with her Christmas preparations, while Allison, for some reason or the other, would usually finish hers almost one week before Christmas Day.
She also recalled that her sister was the family hairstylist for all those special occasions when you needed a good hairdo, particularly the Old Year’s Night church services and other outings.
King said before Allison was brutally murdered by her partner on October 12 last, they had earlier sat and discussed what they would wear this Christmas, including on Old Year’s Night, and that the hairdo was very much a part of that exchange.
Asked how she has been coping since her near-fatal attack, the woman said it was only recently that she’d been able to take off the cast from her left hand which had sustained severe injuries during the confrontation.
Nicola said that against the doctor’s advice, she has been trying to do a few things around the home, but she is not allowed to put any pressure on her hand. Her eldest daughter being just 15, she feels the workload is a tremendous burden on the child, and wishes she could do more to help her.
She said she had to decide to get up and assist to make things lighter for her daughter. According to her, she occasionally forgets not to pressure her left hand, and would sometimes strain it unknowingly.
She expressed concern for the children her sister left behind, twin boys, whom she said are now beginning to come to terms with the tragedy and are recovering from the shocking ordeal. King said that all of the children affected by the tragedy had performed well below their normal capabilities in school during the Christmas term, but the teachers assured relatives this was normal, because of the trauma they had been through. She said the family has been reassured that there would be some amount of recovery in the children’s grades at future examinations.
Nicola said that while everyone else seems to be slowly coming to terms with the reality of the situation, her mother is apparently undergoing some hardship in that respect. She said her mother has been taking on the situation so much, that she has now reduced in size, and has become somewhat withdrawn from the family since October 12.
After committing the gruesome act, the killer had been on the run, but he has since been captured and handed over to the police. He is presently before the courts, facing charges of both murder and attempted murder.
She seemed happy to see us, and expressed surprise that we’d remembered her. She said she misses Allison a whole lot, since during this time of year, she would bring over Christmas goodies from her home from one block away.
That had been a tradition with the sisters for many years now, since she, Nicola, was in the habit of being late with her Christmas preparations, while Allison, for some reason or the other, would usually finish hers almost one week before Christmas Day.
She also recalled that her sister was the family hairstylist for all those special occasions when you needed a good hairdo, particularly the Old Year’s Night church services and other outings.
King said before Allison was brutally murdered by her partner on October 12 last, they had earlier sat and discussed what they would wear this Christmas, including on Old Year’s Night, and that the hairdo was very much a part of that exchange.
Asked how she has been coping since her near-fatal attack, the woman said it was only recently that she’d been able to take off the cast from her left hand which had sustained severe injuries during the confrontation.
Nicola said that against the doctor’s advice, she has been trying to do a few things around the home, but she is not allowed to put any pressure on her hand. Her eldest daughter being just 15, she feels the workload is a tremendous burden on the child, and wishes she could do more to help her.
She said she had to decide to get up and assist to make things lighter for her daughter. According to her, she occasionally forgets not to pressure her left hand, and would sometimes strain it unknowingly.
She expressed concern for the children her sister left behind, twin boys, whom she said are now beginning to come to terms with the tragedy and are recovering from the shocking ordeal. King said that all of the children affected by the tragedy had performed well below their normal capabilities in school during the Christmas term, but the teachers assured relatives this was normal, because of the trauma they had been through. She said the family has been reassured that there would be some amount of recovery in the children’s grades at future examinations.
Nicola said that while everyone else seems to be slowly coming to terms with the reality of the situation, her mother is apparently undergoing some hardship in that respect. She said her mother has been taking on the situation so much, that she has now reduced in size, and has become somewhat withdrawn from the family since October 12.
After committing the gruesome act, the killer had been on the run, but he has since been captured and handed over to the police. He is presently before the courts, facing charges of both murder and attempted murder.
