The walls of the house spun as Uche spun around playfully in a circle with her hands spread out.

"Uche, did you see my red koikoi shoe?" Adaeze asked her daughter who was still spinning around.

"No, mummy!" Uche said and continued spinning. 

"Come on, will you stop that nonsense?" Adaeze shouted and the child stopped spinning but she stepped on herself and fell on the floor, and there was a bloody stain on the carpet.

"You see that you don't use to hear word?" Adaeze said and walked towards the child who was crying.

A tooth lay beside the blood on the carpet.

"This girl!" Adaeze shouted.

She took the child to the bathroom in the tiny hallway that led to two rooms. After rinsing off the blood and examining the teeth, she dialled her husband's number but there was no ring.

There was someone banging at the door.

Adaeze quickly rushed out of the bathroom.

"Who is that this hot?" Adaeze shouted before peeping through the window with iron bars and glass partitions supported by iron rims.

"Adaeze, it's your husband…"

The door flew open and Magdalene was standing opposite Adaeze whose red lipstick matched the fiery pit in her eyes.

"What happened?" 

"He had an accident and the car hit a tree and burnt. They said the brakes were bad. A girl jumped out of the car but he couldn't, his seatbelt was stuck and something pierced his leg. It's trailer that caused this thing… I'm sorry my friend. He has left this world," Magdalene said sympathetically.

Adaeze stood frozen at her doorstep. She tried to speak but no words came. Her breath grew shaky and she just stared at Magdalene.

"My condolences," Magdalene said and a single tear fell from Adaeze's eyes.

A part of her died. 

"Which girl was in the car?" Adaeze managed to ask but it came out as a stutter.

"A student. He was helping her home. Luckily, she had only a few bruises," Magdalene replied, antsy.

Adaeze smiled as more tears rolled down her eyes.

"Mummy, will my teeth grow back?" Uche asked and slid her tongue into the empty space.

"Yes," Adaeze said without looking at the child.

"I saw your red koikoi shoe in my room. It was inside a fancy box. And there was a card," Uche said as she watched her mother who was staring past Magdalene.

"Go inside first. Your mummy–"

"Let me see the box," Adaeze said as if she had just heard what the child said.

Uche went to her room and brought a red box decorated with shiny ribbons.

Her eyes scanned the paper and more tears flooded her made-up face.

"What happened, mummy?" Uche asked, concerned and antsy.

"A lot," Adaeze said and clutched her chest, "your daddy threw away my old shoes and got me new ones for valentine. I'm coming back, don't leave this house."

Adaeze and Magdalene hurried off and Uche kept staring at her mother's fancy koikoi shoe.