?MMESOMA’S
DILEMMA?
Chapter 5
I am starving!
The way it is looking now ehn, is like hunger will kill me before my mother does, abi is this all part of her game plan? Does she wasn’t to drive me crazy with hunger so I would just give in and agree to the marriage. Damn! Would she make me trade my freedom for food? Nah, I would not even do it, I am not Esau.
Oh maybe I would. My stomach hurts and I think I am losing my mind . I have not had anything to eat since 5 p.m. last night when I ate the food Ezinne brou-ght for me and slept off immediately only to wake up in the middle of the night, hungry. Thankfully there were some snacks in my drawer which of course I ate, well that was at 3 a.m. and now it was 2 p.m. and there was literally no way on earth that I would be going downstairs to get food because I am sure my mother was on patrol in the kitchen.
Ezinne was supposed to bring me some food but mommy had sent her and Dozie on an errand with the driver at least that was what the text she sent two hours ago said, and right now she was offline and not picking her calls.
My life o, who in my village did I offend?!
Okay, I know it is like I am over-reacting; it is not as if my mom said I should remain in my room, but from experience I know that it would be best if I did just that, at least until she calmed down, now the problem was I did not know if she was calm.
Although since they returned from their hangout with the Shittu’s last night, my parents have not acted as though they had a child who had pulled the stunts of all stunts, there were no yells or even death threats. In fact apart from my mother calling for Ezinne and Dozie, I had ba-rely heard their voices on this wonderful Saturday and I found that really terrifying like where they not yelling, had they forgotten me so soon?
I think I am losing my mind o.
Whatever magic the Shittu’s had performed had better be effective enough to help me survive going downstairs into the danger zone because that is exactly what I was going to do.
“Mother Mary, please do not let my mother catch me”, I prayed to myself as I tiptoed downstairs, making sure to be extra careful
. Being on the lookout for w-et tiles and watching eyes.
. I made it into the kitchen safely and would you believe it but my mother was there, tasting from a pot of Egusi soup, I could feel and hear my stomach rumble, I also hoped she did not hear it too. Her back was to me so I had to be careful and quickly get some cereals which I knew would be lying around, but of course, I have terrible luck and I completely forgot about an important set of eyes – Dubem’s.
See ehn, it is so easy to forget that there is an extra kid in the house, especially when you are at school a lot and he does not make so much noise. Dubem is a cute and jovial boy who somehow manages to make little or no noise when he puts his mind to it, like now.
“Aunty Meso, why are you walking like that?” he asked and it was his question that made my mother turn around in shock and made me to trip and hit my bu-tt on the floor. Blood of Jesus ooo! That hurts!
“Na wa o!” my mother hissed as she clapped her palms together. I just sat there, cringing in embarra-ssment refusing to look at either her or my brother, who I am sure was very confused.
“See her moving like a thief in her own father’s house. Chai! What kind of foolishness has possessed you? Where did you get this kind of stubbornness from ehn, where do you get these foolish ideas from too? Anyhow sha, you can stop hiding now and come out and eat if hunger is worrying you or kukuma stay in your room and die of hunger, my own is that on Monday you have to go to a hospital because you have to take an overall medical test before you decide that you also have bre-ast cancer and leukemia. Anuofia!” she ended her speech with a hiss and turned back to her pot of soup which I really wanted to eat from.
I wasted no time though, I stood up and just packed a pack of Golden Morn, A plate, spoon and water, I knew she had offered an olive branch, at least my mother’s version of one, but now was a time to eat and just rest while I update Ezinne and Dara with what had just happened and we could plan a next step. Thankfully, we knew this Medical test would be coming and I knew that I would be getting a clean bill of health.
I entered my room, set everything down on my table and locked the door. When I had set up my meal and my laptop, I unlocked my phone and unlocked my Whatsapp, believe me there is no such thing as too much security in this house o. I went to the group chat we had set up and sent in this update.
Me: There is gist o! So, I ran into mommy and though it was very scary I am still alive and I have a Medical Test on Monday.
I watched Empire and ate Golden Morn while I waited for their response. I felt really good after eating and my mom was not going to kill me, Alleluia!
I am excited for what is going to happen next, because knowing my family and my planning committee, I know it will be hot and I am ready for the worst.
But what is the worst?
? MMESOMA’S
DILEMMA ?
Chapter 6
I love reading my novels and when they are Wattpad books with werewolves and Lycans then I do not like distractions of any sort. I was happily lying on my bed reading Catching Genesis , one of my favorite Wattpad books when my phone began to ring, filling up the entire screen with a strange foreign number and the options of picking the call or rejecting it, I wanted to reject the call but my curiosity is one-kind and it won.
“Hello”, I said when I picked.
“Sommie, I heard you are about to become a wife, what do you say about this?” the caller asked and I sat up immediately squealing.
“Lanre, you this foolish boy, come and rescue me from this wahala na?”
“Rescue you ke, was it not you that said you are a strong independent African woman who needs no man?” he asked, laughing audibly and I laughed too.
“Abegi, the way things are looking now ehn, someone should just come and kidnap me so I can have a totally legit reason to get out of this”, I said, slumping on the bed.
“Awwwn baby girl, sorry, but you know Afam Chibueze is not a bad husband choice o”, he said and I could imagine him sm-irking, I rolled my eyes.
“Whatever, I would be fine, if however all plans fail then get ready to kidnap me, do not even complain”, I said in a serious voice. He laughed in response; this boy thinks I am joking sha.
“Okay madam, I have heard
. Needed to hear your voice and let you hear mine, because I know you miss me. This is my new number, text me on Whatsapp and for the love of God, check you Instagram”,
“Okay baby girl, let us talk later”, he said and I hung up, as I always did.
I really missed Lanre Shittu, he was my closest and in a way only, male friend and my favorite fli-rt partner. He had left to do a top-up in Electrical Engineering at Boston some months back and I know he would not be back anytime soon, especially considering that he wants to get his Masters abroad and even start working there..
My phone buzzed and paused my daydreaming, I had a new Whatsapp message.
About time!
I saved his number and opened Whatsapp, I have a number of unread messages but I only attend to the important ones first, I cannot come and stress myself biko.
I know, that is rude, but I am a bad texter and some people send weird messages.
Dara : Okay, this Medical test thing is definitely not unexpected so we are all good na.
Me : I know ba, hopefully nothing dramatic happens.
Ezinne : Abegi, knowing mummy, she has something super dramatic lined up for that day.
Me : But I am going to school that week, she cannot possibly do much na. plus I hate hospitals so much.
Ezinne : Says who? She can have the Chibueze’s at the hospital for the test
Dara : Jesus! But that would cause a scene o.
Me : Biko, mummy is no stranger to drama. Ezinne is right, what are we going to do? The Chibueze’s should not come o, it will just give that Mrs.
. Chibueze enough to use to vex me.
Dara : Chai and my family cannot come o.
Me: Ezinne, talk to mummy na, maybe you and Dozie can convince her that we should run this one like every other medical checkup we have ever had before the HIV affair.
Ezinne: Okay o, I will try my best. Let me go and talk to her now.
Me: So you guys are back?
Ezinne: Yes, mummy used Dozie and I do run errands today, I just want to sleep sef. I am coming, let me talk to her first.
Me: Okay
Dara: Alright b.
I waited for Ezinne to respond and I was sure that with the help of Dozie, they would find a way to convince mum that the Chibueze’s did not have to be there, my sister and my mother always fought but they un-derstood each other very well and that amazing un-derstanding was about to be used in our favor.
At least I hope it would be o.
Ezinne : So mummy says that she un-derstands where we are coming from and she wants to keep all these as straightforward as possible. So it would just be our small family of 6 and we would all be getting medical check-ups. God I hate hospitals.
Dara : Yay!
Me: Thank God!
Dara : I know ba.
I am distracted from the message I am typing by the sound of our gate opening and a car driving in. I pause to listen but cannot make out anything; I just hope it is not the Chibueze’s sha, because their wahala ehn.
Me: Babes, I cannot wait to go back to school. Final Year is going to be lit asf especially with this new drama. Our darling Tobe has no idea what we have planned for him o. Lmao!
Ezinne : Meso, stop laughing now, the Arsenal is here and things are about to get really messy. The Chibueze’s will not be at the hospital but grandma and our aunties would be there. Also, get ready to leave your room Dozie is coming to pick you up.
Blood of Jesus! What is the worst that could possibly happen right now?
Wait. What? How?!
I knew she was coming, but this was fast. Only God knows what her plans are for me.
Someone knocked on my door, startling me, I knew it would be Dozie, here to pick me up and deliver me to my doom.
“Open up sis, it is me”, he said and with trembling hands and a fast beating heart, I opened up. His face was expressionless, the headphones hung around his ne-ck, there was no noise from downstairs, everything seemed so calm, in fact if Ezinne had not given me a heads up I would have believed all was well.
Dozie took one look at me and realized that I already knew what’s up.
“I told you this would happen, I just did not think it would happen so soon”, he sounded worried.
“I am scared, are all of them here?” I asked in a hushed whisper.
“Yes . Uncle Paul just took their boxes to the visitors rooms”, he explained and my heart sunk lower. If Uncle Paul, grandma’s full-time driver carried boxes upstairs, then they were not leaving anytime soon.
I am dead.
“Let us go, be calm, don’t let them see your fear, Ezinne and I got you”, he said and waited for me to keep my phone in the room and lock the door, my heart managed to beat fas-ter with each step we took to the parlor.
“Finally she is here. Meso my daughter, did you miss me?” Grandma asked when she saw us.
. My parents were seated together and to the left of my grandma and were making an effort not to look at me; my aunts sat to grandma’s right and were staring at me, I could tell they were scheming on how to frustrate my life.
“So, what is this I hear about you suddenly becoming HIV positive just when we are about to finalize your wedding plans?” she asks.
Don’t let her see your fear.
“I am sure you are not deaf Mmesoma, give me an answer. Why are you trying to ruin this?” she asked.
I still did not respond, I did not know what to say.
. This was a super tricky situation, I was not about to give her any ideas on my plans.
“Mmesoma, you better speak up if you don’t want me to slap you!” aunty Kainene said and I winced.
She had slapped me once, many years back, but I still remembered how it felt, I still remembered hearing siren sounds and seeing stars, and I definitely did not want a repeat performance o.
“Welcome grandma, welcome aunty Kainene, welcome aunty Somebi, I hope your trip was not stressful”, I said calmly as I took a cautious step backwards.
“Our trip was fine, now answer my question”, she replied.
“I do not have a particular reason for my action”, I said, making sure to maintain eye contact with her, I was trying to seem bold and I was failing miserably.
“Ehen, so you just really want to disgrace our family? You are a spoiled and ungrateful child, you have an amazing husband, who has been groomed to take good care of you and you intend to reject him?” she asked.
Then she laughed, it was a humourless and mocking laugh. Dear God, I don’t want to go throu-ghthis interrogation, please send her away already.
“Mmesoma, you are my granddaughter and so long you remain a member of this family, you need to always be responsible and stop being selfish”, she chided, then paused to drink some water.
“Do you think if you reject this proposal, someone else would marry you? no one would marry a girl cut off from her family, no one, no matter how modern they claim to be”, she said with a mocking smile.
“I do not want to marry Afam. I am not even ready for marriage yet, this is being for-ced down my throat!” I screamed.
Everyone in the parlor gasped, apart from her, she looked shocked, but only for a moment, because soon she was smiling and standing up.
“Well then, you better start removing all thoughts of going back to school by next week except of course you accept that you are Mrs. Afam Chibueze”
Tbc….