OBIANUJU
©️ Princess Juliet
Episode 26
*
Healing
*
OBIANUJU
*
*
Now I know why you always told me to be strong.you know that one day I would nee-d the strength to bear your loss.
Despite your pain, you still showed us love. Despite your silent tears , your love was always with your children and losing you is one of the de-epest sorrow a heart can know.
But your goodness, your caring and your wisdom will live on like a legacy of love that will always be with me ……
*
Untold hours have pas-sed, and I was still in my mum’s room.
I sat there on the be-d , patting Chichi to sleep,thinking how unreal everything seemed
My mum is dead!she is dead! she is really dead!
Haaaah!who will listen to me now? who will advice me when I am broken? who will I confide in when I am down?
I f0rç£d myself not too cry so as not to make Chichi cry again!
Speaking of which, I shifted my gaze to her and found her staring at me
Like seriously , I expected her to be dozing by now!
“Hey!” I smiled lightly
She returned the smile and looked towards the door
“where is Chidi?”she spoke in a croaky whispers
“He should be in his ….I paused when i remember he shares a room with my mum
I shrugged . “he would be somewhere in the house scattering just like he always do”
“She chuckled lightly. “The baby boy got no worries”
“And see who is talking, aren’t you also a baby? I asked tea-singly
“A baby!”she furrowed her eyebrow in a light frown. “no sis, I am a thirteen years old adult”
I rolled my eyes, but smiled inwardly at her funny words.
I was glad she was breaking out of her shell!!
She continued. “but Uju, do you think daddy will marry the fat woman?”
I let my b©dy go limp as I was a bit taken aback by the question
Marry the fat woman! In this house! nofu-cking way , he will have to disown me first!
“No baby, that won’t happen”. I as-sured her as I pla-yed with her hair
“Daddy won’t do that , he loves us so much”
She scoffed. “Love us! If he really love us as you said , why then did he cheat on mummy?”the sound in her voice was a mixture of anger , disgust and grief
Why did he cheat of mum? I asked myself as I was confused
“erm that erm that is because…..
“he is stupid”. she bu-tted in
“Haa! Chichi! that is too harsh , how can you call your father a stupid man?”
“he is not my father”. she retorted in a huff and I sighed de-eply
“he is your father and there is nothing…. I st©pped mid- s£ntence when i heard a loud noise that sounded like a pained-filled yell
“Where did that come from?” I thought and said aloud
“I think It is from daddy room?” Chichi answered,a worried look on her face
Dad’s room! what could be happening!
Hastily, I got off the be-d and made for the door; then looked back at Chichi
“Don’t follow me”. I warned and with that , I ran out of the room , throu-gh the long pas-sage to my Dad’s room….
Entering, I stood rooted to the sp©t
My dad and my eldest brother, Uchenna were engaged a heated argument , their loud voices literally tearing down the room
Uchenna! when did he arrive?? I wondered
“And what is this suppose to mean?”Uchenna thun-dered . “hen! tell me ,why in the world would you bring another woman into this house?”
“Hmm! ask him oooo”. Arinze bu-tted in and I looked in his direction
He was leaning against the wall, right beside Obiora whose eyes had a distant faraway look, like a sailor staring out to sea
Interesting! I really can’t wait to see the end of this!
Uchenna continued. “for Christ sake , you are meant to be mourning your wife and not laying idle on be-d with this ugly vulture
“What!”the fat fool who was now seated on the chair skrie-ked. “how dare you call me a vulture!
Uchenna scoffed , moving closer to her
“say a word more and I swear you will regret it”
“Regret kwa! she stood up in a huff,adjusting her clothes for a fight when a hand sl@pped her from behind.
I gaped in surprise, it was my —Dad
“How dare you disrespect my son!” he roared, shooting daggers at the fat fool , Angela
“Henry!”she held her cheeks , her eyes wi-de-ned in shock as she stared at my dad. “did you just sl@p me?”
Eyaa! It shock her!
“Yes I did , and I will do it again if you don’t leave this room right now “.My dad retorted in a huff
“Henry!”her voice was ba-rely audible
“Leave Angela”.my dad stood on his words. “I nee-d to talk to my children”…
Embarras-sed, she reached for her bag which was on the be-d and ran out of the room, crying…
A tiny smile pla-yed at the corners of myl-ips and I nodded in satisfaction
That serves her right!!
“wait! wait! wait! wait”. Uchenna gestured with his hands as he continued. “do you think s£nding her out of the room will change a thing? no dad,it won’t change the fact that you disrespected my mother”
My dad shook his head abjectly. “I didn’t disrespect her , I was only trying to give you kids a new mother”
“New mother!” we all g@sped audibly in shock
“Yes!”he nodded . “Your mum had been battling cancer even before Chidi was born and I was always there for her. I did everything a man ought to do for his woman , I bought her expensive things, took her on vacations and was re-ady to tour the world with her, but not until last year when the cancer got to its last stage”. he paused for a moment to stare at us before he continued
“I got scared and kept on thinking of how to take care of you kids when she is finally gone”
“and boom! a saucy fat woman becomes the solution”. Obiora bu-tted in, his expression a fifty-fifty mixture of pain and anger. “see dad, it is best to keep your bull$h!t story to yourself because whatever you say won’t right your wrongs”
My dad anger faltered in an instant and sorrow filled his face
“what then do you expect me to do? you kids nee-ded a motherly figure,most especially Chidi , Chichi and Obian……….
“I can take care of myself”. I screamed before he could spell out my name
He scoffed. “I didn’t ask for your opinion young woman”.
“and I don’t nee-d your permission to do a thing”. I fired back at him
A flush of anger spre-ad across his face and that was it , he bec@m£ a mad man again!
“how dare you talk back at me”.he yelled , charging towards me but Uchenna was quic-k to st©p him
“It is alright”. he sighed. “Arguing won’t solve anything, we nee-d to look for a solution to this mess”
“Solution! hun! and what will that be?” I asked, seething with rage
“Are you gonna let this man have his way?”
“No”. Uchenna shook his head slightly. “I called grandma this morning and she agreed to live here with us”
Better! I smiled inwardly
” and also , she will be arriving here tomorrow with a few relatives , Mum’s burial will hold next week”
“Next week! My dad repeated with disbelief written all over his face. “No way! that can’t be possible!
“and why can’t it be sir”. I drawled
He looked at me with anger filled-eyes
this man mean me no be small!
“Stay out of this matter , it has nothing to do with a little kid like you”
“Little kid! I laughed bitterly. “no dad! I am the first daughter of this house and I have every right to contribute to everything being discussed here”
“Okay oooo! shameless first daughter”. he mumbled the latter p@rt but I heard him clearly
I huffed . did he just call me shameless??
“at least I am not as shameless as you”. I blurted out ,eying him coldly
If this man knows how I despise him right now hen, he would avoid me!!
“You fool”. he thun-dered. “do you think you are above the age of beating?”
Beating kwa! did he just say beating!
“then beat me now”. I moved closer to him. “ehen!beat me , or wait do you think I am scared of you?”
“Uju!”Arinze called,moving towards me but Uchenna st©pped him with his thick
voice
“Let her be!”
That is my big brother for you ,he loves to hear people speak out the truth and now I am going to tell this annoying father of mine a p@rt-truth about me..
I stood , staring boldly at my dad as he searched throu-gh my gaze
” as you know , no one has ever struck this face of mine, well! not until yesterday when a man foolishly did and do you know what happened to him? I sm-irked evilly. “a bullet went straight into his skull”
The room went quiet in an instant
“Are..you…trying …to …threaten me?” my dad picked his words
“No”. I shook my head slightly. “I am only telling you to think and act straight. My mum burial is gonna hold Next week and if you don’t like the idea, kindly take a walk”
“It is not like we even nee-d him”. Obiora ch!pped in and yes he was right ,we don’t nee-d him, he can go to hell for all we care”
For a moment, the old man looked confused and then he replaced it with a light smile
“you kids seem to have forgotten that I own this house”
“No, this house belongs to me”. Uchenna retorted , and my dad looked in his direction
“You signed it in my name, remember?”
“erm I did erm I know”. My dad stuttered his response
Uchenna continued. “The other buildings too are in my sibling names, so don’t think of doing anything stupid or else………………
“we will kick you out of your house”. I completed and began walking to the entrance
“where are you going?” Uchenna calmly asked
“my b©yfri£nd”. I merely said and walked out of the room
“b©yfri£nd! did you hear that?” I heard my dad loud screams
Na wa ooo! did he want to scream down the whole house!
Heaving a de-ep sigh, I climbe-d down the straight stairs into the sitting room and met four women crying loudly . Among them was —-Faith mother.
The anger in me exploded in full f0rç£ and I found myself marching towards her
“Mama Faith”. I called as she turned her head in my direction
“Eew! Ada!”she looked at me with apprehension and pity. “how are you?”
I scoffed silently. Is she really asking me that?
“I am not fine”. I replied bluntly and she appeared to be taken aback by my blunt response
“how will I be fine when your ungrateful daughter conspired to gang R@p£d me”. I huffed and that was it, the women st©pped wailing and began whispering
“Tufiakwa!” one of them spat at Faith mum. “Your daughter is a devil incarnate”
“Devil incarnate kwa! no ooo, she is worst than that”. I stated . “So do me a favour and call her to leave my room before I …….::
“plea-se my pikin”. Faith mum cut in , tears welling in her eyes. “no s£nd am out , she no get where to go , I go talk to am , na your elder sister….:
My heart churn in pain as I listen to the woman plea-s but what can I do? nothing, Faith can’t stay with me any longer and that is final….
without saying a word, I turned around and ran out of the house to the big compound where I saw Demilade
He was seated on a low bench,Chidi on his l@ps and they were whispering and laughing like age mates
So Chidi has been with him all this while!
I walked slowly to them as I listened to the sound of my heart beat , it was beating so fast, threatening to explode out of my che-st .
I was scared , I was hurt , i was pained , I wanted to escape from reality………..
“Uju!” Chidi squealed interrupting my thoughts and only then did I realise I was standing in front of them
“Chidi”. I quic-kly composed myself. “how are you?”
He jumped down Demi’s l@ps and rushed to hvg me
“I miss you so much”
I pu-ll-ed out of the hvg and bent to a squat
“I miss you too baby”
His smile wi-de-ned to a sm-irk . “Is that why you are crying?”
“Crying! Me!no ooo, I am not crying”
“Why then is your face so red?”
“erm actually that is erm because……….,
“You are crying”. he completed, staring intently into my face
Phew! how will I handle this smart boy!
Smiling , I brushed his girly hair off his face
“You should go inside”
“No”.he frowned. “I want to stay with brother Demi”
“Brother!” I raised my head to look at Demi
“how did you do it?
He merely shrugged and averted his eyes from me as he looked down at his phone
Oh right! I bet he bribe-d him because the Chidi I know doesn’t have “brother , sister or Aunty” in his dictionary , he calls everyone by name.
I shifted my attention back to Chidi to see him staring at me with puppy eyes
“plea-se na, let me stay with him”
I laughed lightly and ruffled his hair.
“Fine!” I agreed. “but that will be when I am done talking with him”
“Yaaaay”. he screamed excitedly and then faced Demi
“Talk to her fast oooo”
“I will”. Demi nodded , smiling lightly
“And don’t forget the spider man toy”. he reminded and ran off, hopping and skipping as he went
spider man toy! hun! so that is what the bribe is all about!
I followed him with my eyes till he entered the house and then I faced Demi who was watching me silently
“How are you feeling now?” he asked calmly
“Bad”. I answered truthfully
He stood up and pu-ll-ed me closer to him such that I could hear the sissing in-draw of his breathe
“Do you nee-d me to do any thing?”
“Let’s take a stroll”. I said in whispers
“Stroll! he glanced down at his phone . “hope it won’t take long cos I will soon be on my way”
I sh0t him a surprise look. “Are you planning on leaving me here alone”
“you should know I would never leave……..
“then stay here with me”. I cut him off . “stay here till my mum burial next week pleaaasee”. I begged
He scoffed . “do you even know what you saying?”
“Yes!” I insisted. “I also stayed in your family house for two days, remember?”
“Simply because you are a woman”. he half yelled. “I am a man for crying out loud and I can’t possibly stay in your house”
“plea-se Demi”. I pleaded with him not to go”. “don’t leave me here all alone, I wouldn’t be able to cope with all this”
“fine! fine! fine!”. he exhaled de-eply. “Is there an h0tel around here?”
I frowned . “You want to lodge in an h0tel?”
“hum!hum!”. he nodded . “that is the only way out”
“Alright”. I sighed softly.
it is at least better than him going back to school
“but you will spend the night here ooooo”
“Whatever”. he muttered. “can we take the stroll now? I also nee-d to straighten my leg
“Sure”. I agreed and held out my hands to him
He reached for it , clasping it ti-ghtly and together we walked throu-gh the gate , down the untarred road to my mum’s quiet sp©t, a big river……
*
*
Ademilade
*
*
The river was wi-de and de-ep with clear and transparent water. It was so quiet and calming that one could hear the birds singing and cricket chirping.
I stood there at the river bank ,my right hand tucked in my pocket , staring in awe at the canoes moving throu-gh the water
“Wow! this is beautiful”. I remarked loudly
“Of course it is”. Obianuju who was standing beside me agreed. “My mum do come here whenever she feels down and she sometimes do bring me along”
“Oh!”I exclaimed breathlessly as I shifted all of my attention to her
The sun was glowing in her face, ma-king her look like a goddess …..or wait a minute!
Is she from the marine world? my heart skipped a beat. Is that why she brou-ght me here? I shuddered at the thought and decided to ask her about it!
“Do you believe in marine spirit?” I started
“Mammy water! she nodded. “I believe in it an hundred percent”
Ahh! this one that she is so sure!hmm! let me still ask!
“Are you one of them?”
she chuckled lightly and began dabbling her feet in the water
“Do I look like one?”
Is she really asking me that?
“Yes”. I replied . “you are beautiful just like them”
Her blus-h rose and she hit my shoulders pla-yfully
“Go away jor! you talking as if you have seen one before?
“Of course I have, and she is right beside me”. I mumbled the latter p@rt
She continued. “My mum said staring at the water kind of heal the spirit
“And how is that possible?”I retorted , gazing back at the water
“Well! she shrugged lightly, let’s me try it first!
Try what!
with my eyes wi-de-ned in shock, I watched her waddle into the water and then she st©pped at a shallow end, holding her hands next to her mouth as she screamed
“I love you mum”
Her voice echoed loudly around us and she jumped excitedly, cl@pping her hands
Did it heal her spirit? I wanted to try it too!
rolling up my trou-ser legs to knee length , I slowly waddled into the water, careful not to fall
“Do you want to try it also?” she asked , turning her head to face me
I nodded
“Good! take a de-ep breathe first”. She instructed and when I did , I screamed loudly
“I love you Obianuju’s mum”
She giggled and held her hands next to her mouth
“I love you Demilade’s mum”. She screamed again
I froze for a second and then smiled and hvgged her from behind
“I love you obianuju”. I whispered into her ears
We stayed like that for some minutes, staring at the water and then she asked
“how was your mum like?”
“My mum!” I grinned from ear to ear
To tell the truth, I don’t like talking about my mum with anyone but with her ,it was different
“hmmmmh!she is beautiful just like your mum and also caring like your mum”
“Awwww! you must be missing her”
“Sure!” I nodded my head slowly
“what about your step-mum?”She probe-d on
Step mum! that witch! why must she bring her into this conversation!
“I don’t know”. I simply answered
“Han!han! It is not fair na, that woman only wants to be a mother to you”
I scoffed silently. what does she know?
She continued. “She told me herself, she is worried about you and even exchanged numbers with me”
I heard a loud ban-g in my head. “She did what? I retorted , trying to sound calm
“She exchanged numbers with me”. she replied, wanting to look back at me but I held her firmly
I didn’t want her seeing the anger in my eyes!
“Did she call you?” my voice was so cold
“No, but I called her”
“what! was the only thing I could say as I was so shocked
She called the witch , and didn’t tell me about it unbelievable!
“Yes I called her”. she repeated . “erm actually it was on that day, erm the day Dave initiation you”
And that was it , the curiosity in me increa-sed and I turned her around , ma-king her face me
“what happened after that? what did she say?”i asked in a rush
she looked troubled , and hesitated a moment before answering
“She asked for Dave number”
“Dave number!” I repeated in disbelief “. why?”
“she said she wanted to deal with him but since I didn’t have it , I gave her Tobi’s number”
I gritted my teeth in anger .Is the witch trying to monitor me? If yes , why?fu-ck! I really nee-d to inform my dad about this!
“Alright!” I simply said and wra-pped my hands around her
She went limp on my che-st and began to sob
What is it again?
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked in between tears
“No baby”. I replied softly, “but don’t ever hide anything from me again”
“I won’t”. she promised and hvgged me back ti-ght, it felt so right….
*
*
Oluwatobiloba
*
The church was full of life and energy as its whole members were dancing and singing along to a praise song led by a fat short lady on white and black ….
I sat in the window seat of back row, my eyes darting back and forth the choristers stand as I searched for Obianuju but she no where in sight, she wasn’t even in Church…
han! han!but Funmi told me she will be singing today na! oh God! does this mean I just wasted my precious time!
Chai! Funmi must pay for deceiving me!
Speaking of which, I shifted my attention to her , she was literally throwing her b©dy up as she danced like a mad woman
Like seriously! Is this what this church is all about? dancing dancing dancing!
Just then a fat man on black suit climbe-d up the podium and the church bec@m£ quiet in an instant!
“uhm ! uhm! The man cleared his throat. “It is time to receive the word of God!
Word of God ke!
Hastily, I stood up, pushed my way forward and stormed out of the church in a huff
what a boring way to start a new week!
Opening my car door , I was about climbing in when I heard my name. I turned in the direction to see Funmi running towards me
Oh right! I knew she would come!
“Tobi!” She called again , breathing ha-rd .”What is wrong? why are you leaving so early? did someone offend you?”
I scoffed . “why the hell did you lie to me?” I fired at her . “you told me yourself that Obianuju will be singing today right? so why didn’t I see her”
“Uju! Is she the reason why you are here?”her voice was levelled
“before nko! why else would I be here? to sing and dance”. I said sardonically. “why did you even invite me her in the first place?”
“to see your face”. she half yelled and I bec@m£ a bit calm as I was a bit taken aback by her response
what is she trying to say??
“I know Uju is the only one you listen to and and that was why I made use of her name to get to you”. she explained,traces of sadness in her voice .
The feelings of guilt l@yheavy on me and I sighed softly
“but still, that doesn’t mean you should lie to me”
“I didn’t lie to you”. She retorted. “Obianuju was meant to sing in the choir today but I don’t know why she is not in church. I have tried calling her but she is not picking up!
“Oh! maybe she haven’t fully recovered from yesterday happenings” I mumbled to myself
“hen! what did you say?” Funmi asked
“I said you should greet her for me when she finally picks up”. I lied
“hmmm!okay oooo”. she exhaled de-eply. “even her roommate sef , I have not seen that one since yesterday afternoon”
“a dark curvy girl ba?”I asked to be sure and she nodded
“do you know her?”
“I have seen her before”. I simply answered and climbe-d into the driver seat
“You should go in , your pastor have started preaching”
“Okay!”. She smiled shyly . “when will I see you again?”
“I will call you”. I told her
She frowned, shaking her head slightly
“that was what you said the last time but you never called for once , I was the one who was doing the calling”
“Don’t worry, I will call you this time around”. I as-sured her.
I just wanted to get out of this place as fast as possible!
“Okay!” She merely said and rushed into the building!
My phone suddenly rang and I took it out of my pocket to check out the caller and noticed it was Dave
Dave! I tingled in fear,why is he calling?
I received the call and held the phone to my ear
“Good morning”. I greeted first
“Is Demi with you?” he asked , ignoring my greeting
“No”. I replied . “Is anything wrong?”
“I have been calling his number since morning but he refused to pick up”
“Oh! may be he is still slee-ping”. I made an excuse for Demi
He scoffed . “slee-ping?”
“erm yes erm you ……
” You and Demi should come over to my house right now”. he said and ended the phone call
I hissed loudly. crazy fool! why is he upset? or is he thirsty for blood again?
quic-kly, I scrolled throu-gh my phone for Demi’s number and when I saw it, I cli-cked on it and dialled it
He picked up on the first right
Is this not the person Dave said is not picking up ?
“hello Tobi” . he greeted first
“Guy! awfar”. I responded. “where you dey? Dave don dey para oooooo”
There was a pause and then he said
“I am at the river side with my girlfriend”
I laughed long and ha-rd . “we-tin una go do for there? una wan baff ni”
“No, we went to look at the water”. the tone of his voice was strained , like he had been crying
“You alright??”
“Yes!”he replied . “just feeling a little bit down”
I scoffed . “don’t dare lie to me Demi! you have been crying right?”
There was a pause again and then he sighed
“Yes!”
I bec@m£ alarmed. “what happened? Is everything okay? Obianuju nko, is she alrig……
“She lost her mother”. he cut in and I froze on the sp©t
“Lost her mother! when did that happen?” I managed to ask
“Yesterday morning, I am even at her home right now”
“home! as in pretty queen’s villa?”
“No, her father’s house”
“Oh!i exclaimed softly. “how is she feeling now?”
“fine”
“Can I talk to her?”
“No, she doesn’t nee-d disturbance”
Despite my gloomy mood, I was f0rç£d to smile
Demi! the overprotective b©yfri£nd..well! I wasn’t surprised, I will also do the same if the pretty girl was mine!
“Alright say me hello to her”. I said
“Okay bro I will do…….ehen! lest I forget, did any strange number call you?”
“Strange number!” I repeated, clearly confused
“Yes , a strange woman”
“woman! woman! no I don’t …….I paused mid-s£ntence when I remember the call on that fateful day
“Yes! yes! a woman called me and asked to speak with Dave”
“Bingo! that is the one, what did you tell her?” he voice sounded so boyish and eager
“Nothing, Dave was beside him so I gave the phone to him”
“do you have any idea about what they discussed?”, he probe-d on
“No”. I answered truthfully
“Alright”. he said and ended the phone call
What is wrong with him? I wondered as I tucked the phone back into my pocket , Did he also know the woman?”
with a heavy heart, I started the car and slowly drove out of the bu-mpy compound, up the tarred road as I headed to Dave’s hostel……
I just hope and pray Obianuju gets over this in time!
*
At last! after a fifteen minutes drive , I got to Dave’s hostel
I drove throu-gh the hvge gate and parked out in front of his ap@rtment, right beside him car; then I alighted from the car and walked up to the front porch.
The door was slightly open so I pushed it wi-de and walked in to see the whole member of the gang in the sitting room , Demi excluded …..
“Where is Demi!”Dave who seated in one of the small cushions thun-dered
“he won’t be able to come today”
“Why?”his eyes glowed with anger
I hesitated a moment ,should I tell him or not? I decided to tell him!
“his girlfriend lost her mum and he nee-ds to be with her”
he sprang up to his feet in an instant . “Obianuju! Is she alright?” his face held a worrisome expression
“You alright?” Prince who was seated on the centre table smoking , asked
“erm yes erm I am alright , I erm was just worried about Demi”. he stuttered in ra-pid succession
Kewe , Bola and I exchanged puzzled look
What is wrong with him? I thought within
He cleared his throat and began talking
“I called you all here to decide the fate of the two b**ches who tried to hurt obianuju, too bad Demi isn’t here . So guys , what do you think, should we kill them or not?”
“Let’s waste their lives”. Prince suggested
Fool! that is the only thing he knows how to do!
“No that is not fair”. Tony objected. “we alre-ady killed the men and burnt their bodies beyond recognition so I think we should just punish the ladies”
What! they burnt the dead bodies! I shook my head in disgust. Oh God! help me plea-se
“Fine!” Dave nodded in agreement. “what punishment do you suggest we give them?”
“Simple! make we do them the same thing they wan do the innocent girl”. Prince responded, grinning like an idiot
“You mean r@p£”. Dave asked to be sure and prince nodded
“Okay! the girls are in the room , you guys are free to do anything with them”
Prince and Tony jumped up to their feet and rushed into the room , acting like they were being pursued
Shuuu! Na so the thing hook them!
“Han! Han! what about the rest of you , aren’t you interested?” Dave asked, his gaze fixed on Kewe
“No thanks, I am in my period”. Kewe replied Jokingly
Dave laughed lightly. “and what about you?”he shifted his gaze to Bola
“I am not in the mood”. Bola simply answered
“And what about you?” I threw the question back to him
he slowly shifted his gaze to me and smiled
“someone special to me lost a family member so I want to mourn with her”
Someone special! is he talking about Obianuju! he must be overly crazy!
“Do you have her number?” he suddenly asked
“No” I lied
If he wants her number , he should get it from her!!!
*
*
Susanna
*
My heart was throbbing in my ears, loud and irregular , but I ba-rely heard it , for my mind was clouded with fear ..
Faith and I had been locked up in a room since yesterday and I was sofu-cking scared!
What will happen to now? will I get killed!
I shuddered at the thought and began to cry silently
Oh God! what kind of wahala did I put myself into? why did I even listen to the ugly witch?
Speaking of which , I looked in her direction and saw beating her che-st in grief
Oh! so she can cry!
“Ekwensu(devil)” I cursed at her and she turned her head sideways to me
“Ahhh! Susanna, this one that you have been calling me devil since morning, me I don’t like it ooooo”
“Are you not a devil?” I fired at her
“You nko, are you also not a devil?”she fired back at me and that was it , I sma-cked her ha-rd across her face
“Eeewo!” She screamed and was about retaliating when the door flew open and two boys rushed in
One was tall and hefty while the second one was tall and lanky , they were among the group of boys who followed Demi to the club yesterday.
How did Demi come across this rou-gh looking guys? I wondered
“Tony! which one you go take first?”I heard the hefty one whisper to the lanky one ……
Ahh! are they planning to r@p£ us??
“plea-se , Don’t r@p£ me sir”. I pleaded for myself alone as I do not care what happen to the ugly face , she can go to hell for all I care
“It is prince”. the hefty boy said , smiling sheepishly as he moved closer to me
I swallowed ha-rd . “plea-se prince don’t r@p£ me”
“I won’t hurt you if you co-operate just like your friend”. he promised
My friend! I shifted my attention to Faith and my Jaws dropped
She was pu-lling off her clothes in a s£dûçt!veway and not only that, her hand was resting on the lanky boy di-ck
Is she a prostitute?
Yay! Chimo! Susanna, see what you have done to yourself? how am I going to get out of this mess?
“l@ydown”. the guy , Prince instructed
“No”. I shook my head vigorously and what followed next was a heavy punch on my face
My b©dy went stiff from the b!ow, my blood racing
“I said l@ydown flat”. he barked and this time around, I did without any complaint
“Good girl!” he remarked as he rolled up my go-wn and r!pp£doff my p@n-ts
“No oooo” I screamed loudly, trying to sit up in the be-d but he held me down with his heavy legs , quic-kly unbuckle his trou-ser and brou-ght out the biggest di-ck I have ever seen in my life
I g@sped audibly in shock. Is this a di-ck or a snake?”
He entered into me without warning, stretching me open and wi-de
I started crying and sat up as he rammed himself into me. I pleaded with him to st©p . he was hurting me so bad.
My b©dy felt numb as he kept on thrû-sting himself ha-rd inside me , I couldn’t take it any longer, my head was spinning, eyes dilating ,mouth quavering
with a loud cry , I fell back on the be-d and went out like a light
*
*
Ademilade
*
It was alre-ady evening and the sun was setting
I sat on the sand, holding obianuju in my arms as we watched the sun set
It felt like everything paused for a moment and colours were flying in the sky just to paint the world. The rays seems so friendly, I couldn’t feel it yet it glared hope, a hope for a better tomorrow
“Do you think my mum is watching us?” Obianuju suddenly asked , speaking with a full mouth
I sm-irked down at her. “Chew up thor0ûghly before you talk.
I only used that as an excuse to avoid her question, Is her mum watching us? I asked myself the same question
“Is this one food”.she hissed loudly and took a big bite of the sausage roll
Herl-ips gleamed with frosting as she slowly chewed
“mmmph”, she said , and swallowed . “do you still want to eat more?”
“No thanks, I politely declined. “I am filled up”
she chuckled lightly. “water nko?” She held up the half-filled bottle of water for me to see . “we can get more from the hawkers if this isn’t enough”
“do you have a tank inside your stomach?” I asked sardonically. “you have successfully consumed six bottled water
“Is it my fault?”she retorted with a frown. “Are you not the one buying everything for me?”
“that is because you…. I trailed off when I heard my phone ring and I snatched it out of Obianuju hand to check out the caller and saw the name Rinzy flashing on the screen
“It is your brother”. I told her as I received it
“Awfar! Demi, where are you guys na? It is alre-ady getting late”. Rinzy said in a rush
“we are on our way”. I simply replied
“Alright don’t be long”
“we won’t”
He continued. “ehen! and lest I forget, you will be slee-ping in Obiora’s room , is that okay by you?”
“Sure” I muttered softly and ended the phone call
I really hated the idea of slee-ping over but what can i do? my pretty girlfriend here wants it but it is gonna be just one night”
“baby! It is time to go home”. I told obianuju
She frowned, shaking her head
“Oh oooo! I don’t want to go to that house”
“neither do i, but it is alre-ady getting late and we got no other option”
I f0rç£d myself up and reached down and pu-ll-ed her up
“So which direction are we taking?” I asked, looking towards the jumbled looking paths in front of us
“Right!” She answered
Taking her hands into mine, we walked up the scary looking road to her house….
*
By the time we arrived at the house , it was dark
The gate was still wi-de open as the entire yard was filled with people
“Jeez! are they all gonna sleep here?” I thought aloud
Obianuju shrugged. “they are members of our church so they can sleep wherever they like”
“Ada! Ada!” some of them called as we walked past them and obianuju waved , smiling lightly at them
She is very good in concealing her true emotions !
“You are Ada?” I asked and she nodded slowly
“It means first daughter”
“First daughter”. I mumbled as we climbe-d up the balcony into the sitting room where we met a fat man———-Obianuju’s father
I grew quiet all of a sudden and stared blankly at the man as he stared back at me
“And you are?”he asked, his gaze not leaving my face for once
“My b©yfri£nd”. obianuju replied and her dad scoffed
“I wasn’t talking to you young lady”
“But dad I … she tried to say but her dad cut her off.
“Go to your room”
She shook her head negatively , about to object but I quic-kly whispered to her
“Listen to your father, I will be fine”
“Really!” her searching gaze ran over my face
I nodded slowly
“Alright!” She sighed and ran up the staircase
Now I am all alone with this angry looking man!
“So you are the one my daughter now listens to “. he jeered
I stood on the same sp©t, without ma-king an attempt to move
“you are also the one who bought her a car and took her vir-ginity?”
I smiled inwardly, is this what the angry face is all about?
“I am talking to you , can’t you talk?” he barked
he wants me to talk , fine, I will talk!
“Yes I was the one who took her vir-ginity”. I answered truthfully
He sprang up to his feet in an instant
“You devilish soul”
I nodded my head slowly. “I might be a devilish soul but at least I know the value of your daughter”
His chin wavered and his oldl-ips ti-ght£ñ over his mouth and he fell back to the sofa, he got my point.
For a moment, I stared at him contemplating if I should continue or not and I decided to continue
“I met your wife some few days back and she really is a nice woman”
“You met my wife?” he retorted in surprise.
I nodded
He was quiet for some seconds and then he sighed
“you are right, my wife was a nice woman”
Like seriously! did that word just come out from his mouth?”
“she was also caring, prayerful , dill…. he st©pped mid – s£ntence when we heard a throat clearing sound
quic-kly, I turned in the direction and saw Obiora on the stairs , leaning against the railings
“Obiora!” I called , smiling
“It is alre-ady getting late , Let’s go to the room”. he said, facing me
“room! but your dad is still talking to me na?” I queried
“Don’t worry, you can go in and sleep”. the
man calmly
“Sir?” I wanted to be sure I heard right
“I said you can go in and sleep”. he repeated with a de-ep sigh
obviously,he was in de-ep thoughts!
“Alright sir”. I turned away from him and began walking across the room, hesitated , and then st©pped , facing him
“you should ask your kids for forgiveness,it will relieve you”. I said in whispers and with that , I ran up the stairs to Obiora who had a curious look on his face
“what were you two discussing about?”
“Your sister”. I replied
“Oh!” he exclaimed softly and led the way to a first room by the left , his room.
Entering, i leaned against the wall as my eyes wandered around the room
It was big and spacious just like a typical boys room
He chuckled lightly. “don’t mind the spider man wall paper oooo, Chidi pleaded with me to put it up here”
That tiny boy and spider man!
“It is nice”. I remarked and walked over to a small table, placing my car keys ,wallet and phone on it . “where is the bathroom plea-se?”
“It is over there”. he pointed to the only door in the room
“Thanks!” I muttered and climbe-d up a block pavement into the sparkling clean bathroom….
pu-lling off my clothes , I folded it neatly and put it by the window side ; then I stepped into the bath-tub, had a quic-k shower, turned my brief inside out , wore it and returned to the room
“It is freezing cold , you should put on this”. Obiora said as he handed me a thick blue pyjamas
“I haven’t worn it before”. he quic-kly added
I looked down at the pyjamas and yes, it was still new.
I sh0t him a grateful look and hurriedly changed into it!
He continued. “What should I get for you?”
“Nothing”. I coll@psed on the be-d . “I am alre-ady filled up”
“hmmmm! and what did you eat?junks”
“Well! I shrugged lightly , something like that”
An awkward silence for more than ten minutes occurs , then he la-id on the be-d and sighed
“Thanks for talking to my dad”
I sh0t him a surprise look. “You heard our conversation?”
“hum! hum!” he nodded . “I was sitting on the staircase”
Oh right!
The door suddenly creaked opened and Obianuju walked in , holding a big teddy bear
“Can I sleep here plea-se?” She asked with a tiny voice
Obiora and I exchanged puzzled look
“And what happened to your room?” her brother snapped at her
“It is empty”. she squee-zed her face in a little frown. “Chichi and Chidi are in Uchenna ‘s room, hovering over him”
“Then go and Join them”. Obiora drawled
“No, it is you I want to stay with”
“Me”. he sm-irked. “or Demi?”
She nodded slowly. “It is Demi I want to stay with”
Ahhhh! this girl should not put me into trouble oooo!
“Alright ooo , Demi’s wife , sha come and sleep”
that was all she nee-ded , she tossed the teddy bear aside and literally flung herself on me
I stared at Obiora in surprise, how in God’s name will he agree to something like this?
“Does your father have a gun?” I wanted to be sure I was safe
Obiora chuckled. “You scared he will show up here right?”
Bingo! how did he know?
“You don’t nee-d to , my dad doesn’t even know the colour of my room”
meaning he doesn’t come in here , that is a bit fair!
but still , I shifted my b©dy a bit to create space for Obianuju
“l@yhere”. I tapped the be-d and when she did , I made her l@yher head on my che-st
She is just too stubborn! what kind of girl prefers to sleep with her b©yfri£ndin her father’s house?Is this the reason she asked me to stay over? to get myself lynched? unbelievable!
“Ade!” She called softly
“Yes!” I answered without looking at her, my gaze was fixed on the beam ceiling
“You want to marry me??”she asked with the same soft voice
Marriage! It has never crossed my mind for once . But if that will make me own her forever then I would love to marry her!
“Yes!” I nodded
“okay! actually erm I want one of our kids to bear my mum name”
“Ahem! Ahem!” Obiora faked a cough. “why not marry him now”
I was f0rç£d to laugh, “st©p jor”. I hit him pla-yfully and then faced “my baby”
“Is that what you want?”
“Yes!”
“Alright so be it”. I agreed and held her close to me with my eyes closed….
Water is always a support or a healing thing ap@rt from , you know, love or peace of mind ……
*
*
TBC