A sad epic short story packed with humor and suspense
LIFE
AS A
BUTTERFLY
AUSTIN I. WILLS
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, or transmitted in any form, without written permission from the writer, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the writer.
The events, characters and firms depicted in this story are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual firms is purely coincidental and unintentional.
In memory of my late grandma
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 ...
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Sitting on the wings of time
Chapter 10
We all have our fates
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Elizabeth
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Loneliness is now like an entity
Epilogue: Leo
Chapter 1
I was bored as I rested my head on the window of my sister’s car looking at the outside wondering what surprise my sister had installed for me for my birthday. The drive was long and the skies were dark, the streets were noisy and glowing with street lights.
“Where we the go self?”- I finally asked my sister who was handling the wheels
“Almost there”- she said with a smile on her face. She made a left turn and then we found ourselves at her house.
“Wait, isn’t this your house? Why are we back here?”- I asked
“Because this is where the surprise is”- Elizabeth said back to me and drove her car into her compound after her gateman opened the gates
“I’m getting sleepy let’s get this over with”- I said
“Get ready because this will explode your mind”- Elizabeth said releasing herself from her seatbelts quickly
“The only thing that will make my mind explode is when I see Jesus in that house”- I said then my sister laughed a little.
We got out of the car and entered the house. Inside the house was suddenly designed with colored party lights and loud music but the room was dark and no one was in.
“What da hell Lizzy? How is all this here?”- I said surprised
“Three, two…”- Elizabeth started counting with a loud and excited voice- “One”
“Surprise!!!”- Group of people from out of nowhere yelled.
I held my chest; they almost scared the shit out of me
“Congratulations!!”- My sister’s best friend, Stella yelled at me holding a bottle of champagne
“Elizabeth, can we talk for a sec?”- I said to my sister
“Has your mind exploded yet?”- Elizabeth asked then we walked behind
“Elizabeth this is just too much, come on”- I whispered to Elizabeth.
It was to say the truth. Just because it’s my birthday doesn’t mean I’m the first man to go to space
“It’s your birthday silly”- Elizabeth said whispering back
“I’m not the first person celebrating a birthday party na”
“This? This isn’t even a party; I was planning of hosting your birthday party on a boat or something then I remembered that you don’t like big things like that so I decided to do it small”
“You call this small? I mean who are all this people?”
“My friends, I would have invited your friends but I remembered that you don’t have any friends”- Elizabeth said with a whisper
“Elizabeth I’m not good with people and you know that, you should have made it a two people party at least”
“Shhh sis, just be in the moment okay? Smile, come on smile”
“Okay” – I said and faked a smiled
“There you go”
“Hey!!!”- Elizabeth friend Stella yelled then I and Elizabeth moved our heads behind simultaneously to look at her- “Are you two going to stand there talking to each other or are you going to host this god damn party?”
“Elizabeth”- I said shifting my gaze back to my sister
“Who knows, you might make a friend this night”
“No! I don’t do well with people”- I said then she held my hand and we walked towards the people
Unlike me, Elizabeth was the party kind of person. The surprising thing about her was that she wasn’t like other girls, she never wore herself a skirt, never wore makeup, never plaited her hair and never had a boyfriend. Her preferred style of dressing was a black suit even in a hot afternoon and she colored her hair yellow. That same night I found myself sitting down on a long white sofa alone watching Elizabeth party like there was no tomorrow. I was beginning to wonder whose birthday party it actually was, clearly it looked like hers.
“Can I have a seat?”- A tall dark-haired man wearing a neatly ironed suit suddenly appeared in front of me.
“Uhm… sure”- I said then cleared my throat and moved a little for him to sit down
“It’s a nice party!!”- He said to me almost yelling because of the loud music but I was silent looking forward at Elizabeth- “I’m Frank by the way!!”
“Glory”- I said still looking forward
“Happy birthday Glory”- he said then I moved my head to my left to look at him
“Thanks Frank”
“Why are you so down? You should be at the dance floor having fun, like your sister over there!!”- Frank said then I moved my head to look at Elizabeth, she looked like she was having a lot of fun as she kept dancing wildly with her friends
“It’s just that I’m not used to having this large amount of people!” – I said
“What?!! I couldn’t hear you over the loud music!!!”- Frank said loudly
“I said I’m not used to parties and stuff!!!”- I said looking at Frank
“Would you like to dance?!!!”
“What?!!”- I yelled
“I said would you like to dance?!!”
“No, I’m good!!!”- I said
“What about a drink?!!!”
“Thank you but I just want to be left alone right now!!!”- I said shifting my gaze back to Elizabeth
“Come on you are the birthday girl!!”- He said then stood up and left to get us a drink.
Chapter 2
Two months has passed now after the birthday party and I found myself in my university class listening to the French lecturer teaching. After the class was over, I boarded a drive home.
“Elizabeth?”- I said after entering the house- “Hello? Is anyone home?”
I got into my room and threw my bag on my bed like some kind of waste then I lied down on the bed and started looking at the ceiling as if waiting for something exciting to happen. I was very exhausted and hungry. Just looking at the ceiling for minutes started making me nausea so I got up and quickly moved to my bathroom and started puking in my toilet. After I was done, I rose myself, turned backwards and caught Elizabeth’s spying eyes. She stood by the door resting her shoulder on the wall.
“Jesus!! Lizzy you scared me to death”- I said holding my chest
“Have you noticed?”- Elizabeth asked
“Noticed what?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“What are you saying? Can we not have a conversation in my bathroom please”- I said
“So, you haven’t noticed?”- Elizabeth asked then I folded my hands
“I’m really lost”- I said
“You are pregnant Glory”- Elizabeth said then we were silent for a while
“Very funny, one little vomit and I’m officially pregnant, it doesn’t work that way”- I said excusing myself out of the bathroom to my bedroom
“This vomit of yours have been going on for the past two months”
“It’s fever or something”
“That’s bullshit and you know that”- Elizabeth said then I laughed a little and stopped laughing when I noticed the seriousness in her eyes- “I deh joke for your eye?”
“There’s no way I can be pregnant, I haven’t had sex in my life”
“You better not be, if eventually you are, I will be the first person to kill you and then leave your corpse for mother to devour”- Elizabeth said then I laughed
“You can’t be serious”- I said
“Just try me first, better go to a clinic and get yourself drugs and hope it cures whatever is happening to you”
“It will”
“I wonder how you even got fever self”
“Stress, school stress”
“Are you the first person to go to school? That your story no clear”- Elizabeth said leaving my room
A month later I realized I was getting sicker and sicker, I kept puking away my lungs. The clinics never said anything reasonable, they kept saying I was having fever and the drugs they prescribed sure wasn’t helping either. I realized what was happening to me, I realized my sister was right. But how? My mind was so confused. Sometimes I tried to find an excuse for what was going on and every time I looked at my sister’s eyes it was as if she was trying to say “What about now? Do you believe me now?”
“Who’s there?”- Elizabeth asked after I knocked twice on her door
“It’s me”- I said
“Come in nah”- She said then I did, her room was dark and she was laying down on her bed pressing her phone- “Abeg on the light for wall”
I moved to where the switch was and put on the lights.
“Hey”- I said to her
“You deh hungry ni?”- Elizabeth asked
“No, I’m not hungry… it’s just that I’m scared”
“Scared… Of what?”- Elizabeth asked
“I’m scared that…”- I was saying
“You are pregnant Glory…”- Elizabeth interrupted- “You are, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Come on talk to me, how you take do am? Who give you this thing?”
“I don’t know”- I said then there was a brief silence between us.
“Speak to me na, I’m your sister, remember?”
“I’m serious, I don’t know”- I said
“Glory-Glory-Glory. Now-now wey you enter uni way everybody deh happy, you don go collect forbidden fruit. The thing way the pain me now be say you no know which tree you pluck the fruit”
“I’m very confused right now Lizzy, you have to believe me”
“I’m confused too Glory”
“Okay”- I said scratching my left hand- “I need your help”
“How? Should I call mother?”
“No!! don’t call mother”- I said
“Why?”
“Remember when we were little, when you were in secondary school and mother suspected you were pregnant? Mom first gave you a hell of a beating then she threatened to drive you away”
“But she didn’t because I wasn’t pregnant”
“Exactly but in my case I’m really pregnant”- I said then we grew silent for some seconds
“I’m still calling mother”- Elizabeth finally said standing up from her bed tapping her phone
“Wait! What do you want to tell her? It’s a terrible idea, for now. How do you want her to process it? You want to tell her that kind of news this late? One thing is for sure Lizzy I’m not the only one that will feel the heat”- I said, Elizabeth eyes were unblinking for some seconds then finally she blinked and said
“Yeah, you are right but sooner or later she has to know”- Elizabeth said then I nodded
Suddenly her phone started ringing
“Your phone”- I said
“Yeah”- Elizabeth said “It’s mom calling”
As soon as I heard “It’s mom calling” from the mouth of Elizabeth, my heart almost burst open my chest to take some fresh air.
“Mom?”- I said with a scared voice then Elizabeth nodded and answered her phone
“Hello? Elizabeth-Elizabeth”- Mom was saying at the other end of the phone
“Hello mummy”- Elizabeth responded trying to sound natural.
“How are you doing eh?”- Mum asked
“Fine… fine”
“How is work?”
“Work is fine”- Elizabeth answered quickly
“How is Glory?”
I swallowed and caught my sister’s eyes
“She’s fine”
“Give her the phone, is she there?”
“Uhmm… yes she is”- Elizabeth said and handed me the phone quickly
“Hello”- I said to the phone
“Hello my baby, how are you?” - My mom said
“I’m… I’m fine”- I said awkwardly
“Are you sure, your voice sounds like you are sick”
“I’m not sick”- I said quickly
“Okay, I just want to hear my daughters voice before I go to sleep”
“That’s good”- I said praying silently in my heart she ends the call soon
“Guess what?”
“Wha- What?”
“Two weeks from now I’m coming over”
“No!! mom”- I said
“Any problem with that?”- Mom asked
“Yes! I mean no, no”
“Don’t worry, I will bring that soup you like”
“Thank you”- I said pretending to care
“Love you”- Mom said
“Love you too”- I said this time even more scared
“Goodnight”
“Goodnight” I said then the call hanged up- “Now what are we going to do?”
“What can we do? There’s no way we can slow the baby’s development in your womb, abi you want to abort the child?”- Elizabeth asked
“God forbid, that’s also like risking my life”- I said
“We need to find out who did this to you, I mean where were you? Which club did you…?”
“I don’t do clubs and you know that”- I interrupted
“Which guy did you hook up with?”
“No guy I remember”
“When last did you go to a party?”- Elizabeth said then I started thinking
“It’s your party”
“My party?”- Elizabeth asked with a confused look
“Yes, the one you made as a surprise for me”- I said
“That can’t be possible, my eyes were on you throughout that day, how did a guy open your skirt without me noticing?”- Elizabeth said
“That was the last party or should I say the only party I’ve attended; it has to be there.”
We were silent for a while then Elizabeth finally said
“Ehmm Glory… I think it’s time for bed, I need to rest my head because right now, my head won explode, e de overheat, so… goodnight”
“Yeah, goodnight”- I said
I started walking to the door and stopped to look at her covering a blanket. It was impossible for me to sleep that night, my heart won’t stop beating, my head won’t stop talking. I became scared, scared with the realization that I was going to be a mother soon, I was scared with the realization that something is growing inside of me and lastly, I was scared that my mother would hate me forever, for having a child that belonged to the winds.
Chapter 3
“Eat up”- Elizabeth said to me as we sat on the dining table. I was just by myself staring at my meal
“You don’t believe me, do you?”- I asked and flickered my eyes up to look at her
“About what?”- Elizabeth said cleaning her mouth with a napkin
“You know what I mean”
“I don’t”- Elizabeth said, I could tell she was lying
“Do you believe me when I say I don’t know who the father of this child is?”- I asked and stared at her for a while unblinking
“The truth is, I don’t know what to think, I don’t know what to make of this, I don’t know how I can help you. How can you tell me you don’t know who the father is and you expect me to believe you?”- Elizabeth asked and found my eyes
“Elizabeth I’m saying the truth; I don’t know”
“It doesn’t solve anything Glory, you can say I don’t know anyhow you want. I am not on your side on this one and I don’t know what to say to mother when she enters this house next week”
“Let’s not tell her when she gets here”- I said
“No, I can’t do that. I won’t hide anything; I am going to let her know”
“We can hide it from her until we figure out something else to do”- I said then Elizabeth sighed loudly
“Glory are you okay? Can you hear yourself? Okay let’s agree that we won’t tell mother that you are pregnant, we don’t know when next she will see us. Imagine the next time she meets us, she finds you with a child, hmm?”
“I just think…”- I was saying
“There’s nothing to think about Glory, we are not post-ponding it, we are going to feel the heat now instead of feeling it later”- Elizabeth said and leaned forward to look at me even closer
“I don’t know what to do, I’m really confused, all this just feels so unreal, what’s going on?”- I said with a crying voice then Elizabeth placed her hand on the back of my quivering right hand
“Hey, I know you are scared”- Elizabeth said
“Mom is going to kill me!! she’s going to kill us, especially me”- I said and found myself wrestling with my breath.
“Breathe”- Elizabeth said then I gave a loud breath- “Good”
“I went to a clinic today and they confirmed I am really pregnant”- I said removing my glasses, we were silent for a while, our appetites suddenly disappeared.
“Do you have the results with you?”- Elizabeth finally asked
“I think I have one of them with me”- I said searching my pockets, finally I removed a small envelope and handed it to Elizabeth, she took it from me and gave me a long look.
“Is this all of the results?”- Elizabeth asked
“No, I have the others in my room”- I said then we found ourselves silent for a while.
“Hmm”- Elizabeth finally said opening the envelope, finally she took the result paper and started reading it- “You really are pregnant Glory”
“Yeah, that’s the sad part”- I said
“Maybe all this is just one big misunderstanding”- Elizabeth said dropping the result paper and the envelope down on the dining table
“No, the results clearly prove it isn’t”
“This question I’m about to ask you Glory might make you feel uncomfortable but there’s nothing to be ashamed about. Have you been seeing your periods lately?”- Elizabeth asked then I moved my head to signify ‘No’- “Do you know what’s going to happen Glory?”
“No, I don’t, what?”- I asked with a sad voice
“When mother comes here next week, we are going to show her the results and after that we are going to figure out who got you pregnant”
“Okay”- I said nodding then we were silent for a while
“What are you hiding?”- Elizabeth finally asked
“Hiding where?”- I asked
“Glory I want to help you but you need to tell me who is responsible for this”
“I’m not hiding anything”
“Were you raped by someone and threatened not to expose his identity?”
“No”- I said
“Did you sleep with one of your lecturers to increase your grades in school?”
“Seriously?”- I asked raising my left eye brow
“I’m just curious”
“I’m trying to fix the puzzle but a piece of the puzzle is missing”- I said then met her eyes- “A memory in my mind is missing”
“This is huge, this is really huge Glory and it’s getting even more complicated. I want to believe you Glory but you have to start looking for the other pieces of the puzzle before mom gets here”- Elizabeth said then she stood up from where she sat and walked away.
Chapter 4
As days went by, I stopped going to school because school became very irrelevant in a time like that. I felt like I was in a dream or something.
I wore myself a white gown while Elizabeth wore herself a black suit, she had her serious face on as we stood, not actually doing anything but waiting for the door in front of us to open and review mother. I looked at Elizabeth one more time, this time she crossed her hands and her face could tell she was thinking a million things at the same time. I guess she was trying to prepare herself for what mom will say to her, I know mother well, there’s no way she’s not putting Elizabeth into this. Elizabeth and mother have had a record of quarrels before that time and mom hated her party life, she even thought it was a bad idea for me to stay with her, saying she wouldn’t be a good influence on me and there we stood awaiting what will soon be a total disaster.
“Knock knock”- Mother said knocking on the door
“It’s open”- Elizabeth said then mother opened the door. She wore a head tie that matched her wrappers and she held a brown bag that was too legit for someone her age- “You do know the doorbell works fine, right?”
“I’m used to knocking”- Mother said and smiled at the both of us, a wide and motherly smile that almost reached her ears, soon that smile will change into a roar, like a lion waiting patiently to devour its prey. That’s how easily my mom emotions changes, like a click of a button.
“You have doorbells at your house mother”- Elizabeth said
“Are you going to keep talking about doorbells or are you two going to give me a big hug?”- Mom said then we hugged her
“How was your trip?”- I finally spoke with a smile on my face
“Omo the way road bad eh, na God o”- Mother said with pidgin and helped herself on a long sofa- “So Glory how is school?”
I caught Elizabeth’s eyes as soon as mother asked me that question
“School… School is fine”- I said then mother smiled again, she was clearly excited to meet her daughters.
“I think you two will help me bring things out of the car or should I leave that for your gateman?”
“Yes, he will do that”- Elizabeth said
“See how two of una just fresh”- Mother said then we gave a short laugh
Thirty minutes later we found ourselves at the dining table eating.
“How is Shola?”- Elizabeth asked breaking the silence
“You still remember Shola? She’s fine… She’s getting married soon”
“Wow congrats to her”- Elizabeth said
“Why are you not eating?”- Mother said to me
“Hmm? Oh… it’s just that I ate a lot before you came”- I said and took my first spoon
“Elizabeth don de spoil you with food abi?”- Mother said then Elizabeth laughed a little- “So Elizabeth when last did you call Shola?”
“I don’t know; it has been forever now”
“She’s inviting you to her wedding and I will make sure both of you attend that wedding”- Mother said then I and Elizabeth shared a look.
I loved seeing mom this way and if I had the power, I would make her happy for the rest of her life but for some reason I felt sad, sad that she didn’t know yet, sad because all that laughter will soon be replaced with a frown. That night we watched TV together, like one happy family. The thing about mother was, don’t let her age fool you, she maybe sixty-nine but her punch was still young. Clearly, she was the mother of Elizabeth but I was the different specimen. Unlike my sister, I was the shy type, even back then in my secondary school. It wasn’t like I wasn’t smart; I was but somehow, I found it hard to look at people’s eyes.
One week was the period mother was staying, it was in the afternoon when she parked all her bags to leave. I was beginning to contemplate if I should tell her, I didn’t want to until Elizabeth brought it up.
“Mother, there’s something we have to tell you”
“Okay, I’m listening”- Mother said sitting on a couch in front of us
“Actually, there’s something Glory has to tell you”
“Okay, what is it?”- Mom asked with a confused look
“Don’t get mad mom, I can’t tell you not to get mad because I’m sure you are definitely going to kill somebody after hearing this”- Elizabeth said
“Um…. Mom… uh…” – I found myself wrestling with words
“Is it that bad?”- Mother asked
“Yes, it is”- I said trying to control my quivering right hand, it happens anytime I’m really scared and I guess my mom noticed. Her eyes looked calm but piercing, every time she gives you that look it means she’s thinking ahead of you, a look that seemed as if she was scanning everything in your mind.
“You are pregnant, aren’t you? Because if maybe you failed a test, it wouldn’t be this hard for you to tell me. So… to who are you pregnant for?”- Mother said crossing her legs.
I was silent for a while because the next part would be ridiculous.
“I’m speaking to you Glory!!!”- Mother said almost bringing the roof down, this made me shook with fear. Her face still looked calm but she was dangerous at that moment, I could see the beast inside her waking up.
“I don’t know”- I said then let those words move across the room, Elizabeth slapped her face while mother kept looking at me then she shift’s her gaze to Elizabeth. I swallowed, the scariest part was her facial expression, it was so hard to tell if she was angry or not. Mother suddenly started laughing, it started from a small chuckle and exploded into a full-grown laughter. I and Elizabeth shared a look and looked at mother simultaneously
“You two almost got me there”- Mother said laughing then she stopped after looking at our faces- “Ah! Glory”
“Ma”- I answered then we were silent for a while.
“How!!… How old is the pregnancy?”- Mother finally asked
“Two months”- I answered
“Do you have the test results at least?”- Mother asked
“Yes… it’s… it’s here”- I said picking the results from my side with my shaking hands.
“Come”- Mother said to me smiling
“Ma?”- I asked
“Come give it to me”- Mother said.
I looked at Elizabeth, I knew something was wrong, Elizabeth eyes already showed a mixture of pity and anger, she was disappointed, I mean who wouldn’t? I stood up from the couch I was sitting still looking at Elizabeth then I walked forward closer to mother and stopped at a safe distance.
“Closer na, or you don’t want to give me the results again?”- Mother said then I walked closer to her, she stood up to look me straight in the eyes and from out of nowhere she landed me a slap to my face. The truth was I expected a punch instead, I closed my eyes to allow the tears flow down my cheeks.
“What have you brought upon yourself child? Why do you choose to bring such shame upon this family? Smart girl like you Glory, I didn’t train you girls like this!!! How?!! Where?!! To whom?!!”
“I don’t know”- I said looking downwards
“How Glory?!!!”
“I don’t know”- I said then we were silent for a while- “I’m really sorry, I’m sorry, I wouldn’t intentionally choose to make you angry, I wouldn’t intentionally choose to bring shame upon this family, I will never choose to bring you sadness”- I said with my crying voice and cleaned my wet cheeks- “Never”
“Oh!! no wonder you haven’t been going to school since I came eh!! So, you have been mingling with all those whores in the university”- Mother said angrily
“No, I hav…”- I was saying
“You lied to me that your school is suffering strike!!!”- Mother said
“I didn’t completely lie; my school is suffering from strike”- I said with my sobbing voice.
“That isn’t even the problem, what I can’t understand is the reason why you are hiding the father’s identity, why are you hiding the father’s identity? How can you look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t know? Don’t worry when I’m done with you Glory, you will start talking”- Mother said and raised her hand to deliver another slap. I closed my eyes waiting for the pain that never came, I opened my eyes to see Elizabeth holding her hand.
“That’s enough mother”- Elizabeth said, mother was shocked- “She’s telling the truth, it isn’t her fault, but mine. So, if you should blame anyone, blame me”
Elizabeth said and released mothers’ hand, her face looked confused and so was mine.
“She’s innocent, she must have been drugged or something and it is my fault. I took her to a party to celebrate her birthday but…”- Elizabeth was saying then mother interrupted her with a slap. Mother looked straight into her eyes and gave her another slap.
“From now on, I’m a barren widow!! Yes!! I have no business with the both of you from today!!!”
“Mom!!!”- Elizabeth yelled
“Don’t… don’t”- Mother said then a tear escaped her left eye- “Don’t say anything, because I know how I suffered to bring you two up. Elizabeth you were supposed to be a big sister, life isn’t all about parties, you are young and rich, why do you want to ruin your future? If you do not consider your future, then why ruin the future of your sister? Look at your sister for God’s sake, are you happy? I’m disappointed with the both of you. I’m serious, never try to call me, don’t even send me anything, I don’t need your gifts and money, maybe you have a mother somewhere, who knows? - Mother said and left the house with her bags, slamming the door on the both of us.
Chapter 5
Every time I looked at my tummy at the damn mirror, I hated myself and sometimes I wished to die so that all what was happening will come to a sudden halt but I know it wouldn’t end, it would only spark something worse. After mother left, I and Elizabeth became distant. It was like she was the one feeling the heat more than I was, she looked even more depressed than I was and she stopped going to parties.
“Elizabeth”- I said knocking at her door, she didn’t say anything so I knocked again but still no reply. I got worried and opened the door to see her drinking a bottle of Vodka, her room stank of it.
“What do you want?”- she said with a breaking voice as she kept looking at the outside through her window
“Mom just need some time away from us, drinking? Seriously?”- I said
“Are you a child Glory?! - Elizabeth said walking quickly to where I stood- “Don’t you get it? You don’t have a mother, mom? She’s gone”
“That’s not true, mom would never leave us”- I said then Elizabeth placed her hands on my shoulders
“You are eighteen! Think like eighteen years old for Christ sake!! She’s gone, like really gone, thanks to you”
I moved backwards away from her hands and said
“Get your hands off me, don’t make this seem like it’s my fault”
“Oh! so who’s fault is it? Huh? I took you to a party to have fun, not to get hooked up!!”
“You said it yourself, I was drugged!!”- I said
“We don’t know that, we don’t know. You are just a spoiled girl and I shouldn’t have taken you in”- Elizabeth said and met my offended eyes.
Those words really hurt me, like placing my hands on a hot coal, I hated my sister for saying that
“You know what?!! I’m going to leave your fucking house…!!” – I was saying
“Do not use the F word on me!!”
“I’m going to leave all this for you because clearly you don’t want me around anymore and I’m going to go out there and wish I die, die so that you will be happy!!!”- I said and allowed those words to sink in- “I want that my seventeen years old sister back again, she may not be rich but she wasn’t an asshole like her twenty-three years older self”- I said and left her room, slamming the door to her face. I went down the stairs and left the house to where she parked her car. I entered the car to find the keys still in the ignition, so I turned it on.
“Where do you think you are going?”- Elizabeth said running out of the house
“Anywhere that doesn’t have you!!”- I yelled angrily
“You can’t even drive, hold on”- Elizabeth said and ran back to the house.
I reversed the car and moved the car forward to the gate. I came out of the car, opened the gate and drove out without locking it. I didn’t know where I was driving to, I didn’t know anything. I just wanted to be far away from everyone, I just wanted to breathe. I cried, driving to a destination unknown.
The next day when the skies have brightened. I woke up to see five boys around the age of seventeen or eighteen standing close to the car window.
“Omoh nah small girl o”- One of the boy’s said
“See car abeg, see car way small girl like this deh drive”- Another one said
“Can I help you?”- I said arranging my glasses
“Yes”- A taller bare-chested boy among them said holding a ball on his left hand
“How can I help you?”- I asked
“You seem lost mam”- The taller boy said
“I’m not lost thank you”- I replied quickly hoping they leave me alone
“If you are not lost then you shouldn’t have parked your car on our football field”
“Uhh…”- I was saying taking a look at my surrounding from the car
“You are not from this area, are you?”
“I’m sorry, I will just drive away”- I said starting the car
“You need directions maybe?” - The taller boy asked me
“Yeah please”- I said then he chuckled
I followed him, driving the car slowly to his footsteps then finally he stopped walking
“Okay you can see the road now. Where are you driving too?”
“I don’t know really”- I said
“If that’s the case I think you should watch the game”
“What game?”
“Football”
“No, thanks”- I said
“I insist, come on you wouldn’t say no to a bare-chested random boy you found in a football field today”- He said then I laughed a little
“That’s the exact reason why I shouldn’t follow you to watch the football game”- I said then he smiled
“I’m playing today, come on”- He said but I hesitated- “What’s taking you so long?”
“Nothing”- I said, opened the door and came out. He looked at my baby bump for a while and caught my eyes, I looked downwards from his eyes. I noticed him smile then I cleared my throat
“Is it okay to hold your hand or will your husband kill me?”
“Don’t worry you are safe and there’s no need for you to hold my hand, I am very capable of walking”- I said
“Phew for a second there, I thought I will have to hold your hand”- He said then I laughed again, this time hard.
“What’s your name?”- I asked
“They call me Leonardo but I prefer to be called Leo. What about you?”
“Glory, Glory”- I said
“Nice to meet you Glory”
“Nice to meet you too Leo”- I said
I followed him to the field, the match has started and the field was getting crowded by people who was supporting a team of their choice. I followed Leo to his bench, there we met his Coach
“Leonardo, which hole you commot from? They won roast us for this game”- Leo’s Coach said
“I’m sorry sir”- Leo said
“And who be this?”- The Coach asked after meeting my eyes
“My… she’s my cousin, I go carry her from park. I want make she sit down for bench with me”- Leo said then the coach shared a look at the both of us before saying.
“You go carry her from park without shirt?”
“Uhm… yes, nah this park way the for road side”- Leo said then the Coach looked at us even more intensely this time and finally he said
“Okay but deh prepare, I go soon remove person put you”
“Okay sir”- Leo said then I followed him past the Coach to where his team mates were seated, he shook hands with all of them and sat on an empty spot- “Come sit down here, you sabi speak pidgin?”
“Yeah”- I said sitting next to him by his right. We sat silently while Leo wore his team’s jersey
“Look nah thunder go fire you, pass that ball to the right, nah mumu you be because I say pass am to the right you deh pass am to the right true-true”- Leo’s coach yelled at his team some distance in front of us
“Is he always like that?”- I asked Leo
“No, he’s far worse than that. We are lucky he isn’t fighting someone”- Leo said then I chuckled
“He does that?”
“Yeah and If you are lucky you will get to see him fight someone in the field today”
And before Leo could finish his sentence, I moved my head to see his Coach entering the field, cursing the referee with Yoruba language.
“Where are you from Glory?”
“Huh?”
“Where are you from?”- Leo repeated
“Umm… Earth?”- I said then Leo gave a short laugh
“No not that”
“Oh, you meant like my state of origin?”
“Yeah that sort of thing”- Leo said
“Oya Leonardo come enter match”- Leo’s coach said to him walking out of the field
“That’s me”- Leo said standing up quickly- “Watch me score a hat trick”
“Liar”- I said
“I’m really good, just watch me”- He said and walked to his coach
“Hi”- I heard someone voice by my left
“Hi”- I said back
“Sorry but you be Leonardo babe?”- A fair full haired boy said to me, sweating with his jersey on
“Uhh…no?”- I said
“Okay”- he said and started taking off his boots
To say the truth, I didn’t watch that game, I mean my eyes were looking at the field but my mind, my consciousness was in another dimension. I was thinking about what happened the day before, my mind kept reminding me that I can’t be a normal girl anymore. I wished the universe didn’t hate me so much. I was sitting on that bench looking at the field and at the same time at another world, a world only found in your mind.
“Hey”- Leo said to me dragging me back to my reality.
“Is the game over already?”- I asked surprised to see the empty field
“Yeah like fifty minutes ago, everyone has gone home”- Leonardo said taking off his jersey
“I was distracted”- I said
“Always something that causes distraction, what’s yours?”
“Long story, what time is it?”
“One”- Leo said putting his boots in a bag pack
“I’m sorry but how did the game go?”
“We lost, even after scoring a hat trick, it’s nice knowing you didn’t watch me lose”- Leo said backing his bag- “I guess this is goodbye, Glory”
“Yeah later”- I said then he started walking away. I was moving to my car when I heard Leo said
“It was nice meeting you”
I stopped walking and turned backwards to see Leo jogging away. I entered the car, looked at my wrist watch to see the time was ‘one thirty pm’ then I started the car and moved my head to my right to see Leo standing close to the car window
“Are you following me now?”- I asked then he chuckled
“No”
“Then why are you still here?”- I asked
“My mom is having her birthday today and I’m inviting you to the party”- Leo said
“Thank you but I’m sorry, I don’t know you”
“That’s a shame, you don’t have to worry we have a spare room for visitors and don’t worry my mom won’t mind at all”
“Look Leo it was nice meeting you but I don’t know you, I can’t just follow a random person to his house, who knows if you are a serial killer or a pedophile?”
“A pedo what?”
“I’m sorry but…” – I was saying
“From the look of things Glory, you are still going to sleep in this field again tonight”- Leo said
“No, that’s not completely true”- I said
“Spoiler alert, this place is the headquarters for the cultists in this region, this is where they do their meeting”
“And how do you know that?”- I asked
“Everyone around here knows that. Technically you have no choice, unless you have somewhere else to drive too”
“I do have somewhere else to drive to, thank you”- I said
“Okay sorry to bother you about it but I will advise you not to sleep at this place again tonight”- Leo said and started leaving
“Wait!”- I called then he stopped walking- “Where’s your place?”
He curved a smile and said
“It’s not far really, just a street away”
“Hop on”- I said then he moved to the right door of the front seat
“You are quite the fun type miss Glory”- Leo said fastening his seat belt
“All set?”- I asked
“Wait, one more question Glory”
“Okay fine, what is it?”
“Are you a runaway?”
“No! what makes you think that?”- I asked
“All this makes me think that”
“Well it’s a long story”
“Okay, I’m listening”- Leo said
“Didn’t you say here is a dangerous spot?”
“Yes, but at nights”- Leo said then we were silent for a while. I started the car then he said- “One more thing Glory, I’m not a serial killer or a pedophile”
“That’s what a serial killer or a pedophile would say”- I said then he bursts into laughter
I reversed the car and drove the car according to Leo’s direction. After driving for minutes, I was beginning to get suspicious of Leo
“I thought you said your house is just a street away”- I asked Leo
“I know if I said it was a forty minutes’ drive you wouldn’t agree to follow me”- Leo said
“You know I can still stop the car and make you get out right?”- I asked
“But look at you still driving, why is that?”
“Who knows maybe I’m looking for the best place to park the car and make you get out”- I said then Leo chuckled
“Abeg o, oya sorry, I should have told you my house is a forty minutes’ drive. Don’t worry I will buy you fuel”- Leo said then I laughed
“Now I know your plans, you are using me as a free drive to your home”
“Not really”- Leo said
“I don’t understand; do you always leave your house to train at that field?”
“No, it’s because we have a match there that’s why”- Leo said then the worst happened. In front of us was this long line of cars lining up because of traffic
“Leo I’ve tried for you; I think it’s time for you to get down and use the money you are supposed to buy fuel for my car to pick a ride to your house”
“There’s no need for that, my street is just behind that filling station”- Leo said then we waited for the road to become free. I drove the car and entered Leo’s street, by now the skies were getting dark. We stopped at Leo’s house; it was the oddest house in the whole neighborhood. Unlike every other house in that area, only Leo’s house was suffering blackout.
“Are you sure this is the place?”- I asked after stopping the car
“Yeah it is”- Leo said and came out of the car quickly- “Looks like a haunted house, right? Don’t worry there’s no ghosts in there”
I un-winded the car window and said
“Well goodnight”
“Come on”- He said laughing then I put off the car and came out- “Please don’t be scared of me”
“That’s what a pedophile will say”- I said
“What is it with you and pedophiles? Do I look like a pedophile? I should be around your age”-Leo said then I followed him to his door, he opened the door and said- “I’m coming, just wait here for me”
Leo left me standing outside to freeze to death, it was cold, so cold that I shielded myself with my hands and after waiting for Leo for about five minutes he finally appeared and opened the door
“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, please come in”- Leo said
I entered his house; the house was lighted with candles and there was this old lady backing us sitting down on a worn-out couch looking at a hunch back TV that was clearly off.
“Please meet my mom”- Leo said behind me locking the doors with multiple locks
“Good evening”- I greeted getting cautious of my surrounding.
“You must be Leo’s friend, how are you?”- The old lady said with a voice that echoed across the room, I wondered why she didn’t even care to look at who came in.
“I told her about your birthday party”-Leo said to his mother before I could reply her
“It’s very sweet of her to come”
The house smelt old, like that old smell that shows an old homo-sapient is present. There were different pictures on the wall and I was too far away to see them properly
“Please right this way”- Leo said showing me the way with his hand
“Make her feel special and comfy, it’s my birthday party”- The old lady said still backing us, I wonder what she meant by “make her feel special and comfy”. I followed Leo to the backyard and saw two wooden chairs under a big umbrella shade, with a table placed at the center. He took a lighter and lighted a candle that rested on the table.
“Please have a seat”- Leo said to me then I sat- “you look cold”
“Yeah, kind of cold”- I said
“I will get us something to eat and something to make you warm”
The backyard was dark like hell and the crickets ruled that place. I thought for sure the cold would kill me when suddenly I heard Leo’s voice behind me
“You do eat rice, right?”- Leo said suddenly wearing a sweater and held a tray of food. After walking to my direction, he dropped the tray on the table, took off the sweater and wore it on me
“Much better?”
“Yeah thanks”- I said
I know I should be scared but why do I feel safe around Leo? It was almost like I knew him. The way he talked made me forget I had any troubles to worry about
“So, this party is really weird”- I said then we stayed silent for a while
“What is your definition of a party Glory? Loud music maybe?”
“Yeah? What is a party without loud music?”- I said
“A party is not a party until you think it’s a party, all parties start from the mind”- Leo said opening our plates- “almost everything starts from the mind, I don’t know if that makes sense”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“You just did”- Leo said and smiled
“Why didn’t your mother care to look at me?”- I asked
“How can you look at that which you cannot see?”- Leo said then we were silent for a while
“I’m sorry”- I finally said
“It’s okay, she has been blind since the day I knew her as my mother”
We were silent again just listening to the crickets sing
“Don’t you feel cold?”- I asked
“You call this cold? Our skin is used to this type of temperature?” – Leo said then I took my first spoon, it wasn’t bad but it was a little bit spicy so I took a sip of water and said
“My body reacts to cold badly, even the smallest amount of cold can make my teethes start grinding”- I said then Leo chuckled- “I actually grew up in a rough neighborhood like this one”
“Interesting”- Leo said
“Somehow found myself at a better one. My sister, she’s the reason why our lives changed”- I said then we grew silent
“I don’t see any ring”- Leo said out of the blue
“Excuse me?”
“I mean on your finger”
“Oh, I’m… I’m not married”- I said
“I understand”- Leo said then I gave a short laugh
“I don’t think so, even I don’t understand”
“What is there not to understand?”- Leo asked
“You know you have a way of pushing the conversation forward”
“After spending all my time asking girls out, I realized I developed a special ability to communicate”- Leo said then I chuckled
“You are funny”
“The saddest part was after all my time spent learning how to speak to girls, not one, not even one agreed to go out with me”
“Why is that?”- I asked
“I don’t know because girls are the most complicated thing in the universe”- Leo said then I smiled- “Come on, speak to me”- he said leaning forward- “What is there not to understand?”
I was silent, I couldn’t just spill everything about my life to a complete stranger.
“I don’t… I rather not talk about it”- I said then he leaned backwards, took a long sip of his glass of water and said
“You know the person I always wanted to be like was my father. If my father was a profession, I would have been him. The reason for that was the way he treated my mom, he loved her even with her disability. They made me to understand that life is actually simple, we are the ones who need to learn how to make it less complicated. When he died, my life got a lot worst- Leo said then I chuckled- “You may wonder why I’m so nice to you or why I’m always full of humor, I’m nice to you because that’s just the way I am and the truth is, my life wasn’t always like this, until one morning, I woke up and abracadabra, your life sucks. The universe is an asshole, I’m sorry for that language but it’s true and sometimes the only way to get things out of your chest is to tell someone, telling someone what worries you, what makes you sad can sometimes make you feel better. I feel better already telling you this, miss Glory”- Leo said and smiled at me, we were silent for a while then I said
“I’m a runaway”
“I figured”- Leo said then we gave a short laugh
“And that car belongs to my sister”
“Why did you run away in the first place?”
“Because I got pregnant and now everybody hates me”
“What about the man?”
“Man, there’s no man”- I said and looked at Leo, he was about putting a spoon of rice into his mouth then he stopped- “There’s no man”
“You don’t know?”- Leo asked then I nodded- “Wow”- Leo said taking a glass of water
“I went to a party with my sister, I think I got drugged by someone, some months later I found out I’m pregnant. My mom and sister now hate me and that’s the reason why we are sitting here”
“That must be messed up, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s like a memory of mine is missing, I can’t remember what happened”- I said and flickered my eyes to look at him. We got silent again, allowing ourselves to hear the crickets
“I don’t know what to say”- Leo said
“It’s okay”- I said. Leo’s eyes kept looking at me, it looked empathetic and I hated it when people looked at me that way.
“You now understand my reasons for saying the universe is an asshole”- Leo said
I couldn’t eat anymore, I found myself playing with the food on the table and soon started sobbing, I cleaned my cheeks quickly. Leo just sat looking at me, not really saying or doing anything.
“I just don’t know where to go, I just don’t know what to do with my life right now”- I said sobbing, not minding if he was watching.
“I think it’s time to get in, it’s cold outside”- Leo said finally and stood up taking the trays from the table. I followed him into his house and to a door, which I suspected was the visitor’s room.
“Here we are. It’s not a room for a queen but I hope you like it”
“It’s just one night, it’s nothing to be worried about”- I said entering into the dark room. Leo followed me inside with a lantern and placed it down on a table. The room was small, and the bed was arranged perfectly.
“Well make yourself comfortable”- Leo said and started heading to the door
“Leo”- I called then he stopped walking and turned backwards- “You are a very good listener”
He immediately curved a smile
“Goodnight”- Leo said to me and left the room, closing the door at my face
“Good night”- I said to no one in particular then I sighed out loudly, climbed the bed and covered myself with the blanket. I kept looking at the ceiling, wondering where next I will go with this fetus in my womb.
Chapter 6
The sunlight from the window woke me up the next day. I stood up quickly after hearing voices behind the door, I walked to the door, opened it slightly to see Leo helping his blind mom to the living room.
“Almost there”- He said to his mother and caught my spying eyes. I ducked my head back into the room and went to look at the window
“Can I come in?”- Leo asked by the door
“Yeah”- I said and turned backwards to see Leo entering with a tray of food
“Sorry but it’s rice again”
“I’m not really the selective type, I eat anything you give me”- I said then Leo chuckled.
“So how did your night go?”- Leo asked and placed the tray on the floor
“It wasn’t that bad”- I said then Leo nodded
“Would you like to take a bath before you leave?”- Leo asked
“No, I’m okay”- I said
“Are you sure?”- Leo asked then I nodded
“Yeah, I’m sure”- I said
Some minutes later I found myself in the car driving. Inside the car with me was Leo, he asked me to drop him at a football field close to his house, he wore his jersey and had his backpack.
“So, what’s next for you?”- Leo asked after I stopped the car
“Anything the universe brings- I said
“The question is, are you prepared for what the universe will bring?”- Leo asked. What he said made me speechless. He opened the car door and left
“This is my number”- Leo said handling me a white paper- “Just incase”
“Just in case of what?”- I asked
“Anything. You do have a phone, right?”
“Yeah”- I said
“I guess this is really good bye”- Leo said then started walking away
“Hey”- I called then he turned backwards- “It was nice meeting you”
“Yeah, see you some other time.”- Leo said and left to meet his team mates
I started the car and took a look at the white paper Leo gave me. On it was written the words “In case the universe pisses you off, you can always call the Centre for complains, if that’s really a thing” and below was his phone number. I smiled, turned to my right to see him at a distance training.
Chapter 7
I read a story once called “the wanderer”. It was about a woman who was banished from her village because she was believed to be the reason why the village was under a curse, she wandered from place to place and finally died under a mango tree, but before she died, she cried all her agonies out. And after she passed away that same mango tree, she died under started crying exactly the way she did. I reminded myself of that woman, the wandering woman, who didn’t have a place to lay her head. I reminded myself of that woman who was rejected and hated by everyone.
I kept driving to nowhere in particular, sometimes I would just stop the car and scream out loud, loud for the universe to hear. I kept driving until my stomach kept reminding me that I have to feed myself and someone in there. I was lost, like real lost, I was so far away from my sister’s home that there was no way back, I didn’t have a phone with me and I came to a realization that I made a mistake by running away.
“Come on!”- I said angrily parking the car. I tried starting the car but it refused to start, I tried again but to no avail. I screamed loudly and out of anger started hitting the horn, when I had enough, I placed my head on the wheels wondering the worst thing that could happen next.
Suddenly a car parked by my side, I moved my head to my left to look at who it was and saw my sister in a black car together with her driver, the driver was the one handling the wheels while my sister was sitting by his left. My eyes immediately caught with my sister’s, she was wearing a hood and black sunglasses. Elizabeth opened her door and walked closer to my door, bent down and said the unexpected.
“Are you hungry?”
We found ourselves sitting down on the car trunk, we haven’t moved from the place I parked the car.
“I’m very happy nothing happened to you”- Elizabeth said eating some biscuits
“How did you find me?”- I asked
“That’s easy, I just tracked the car”- Elizabeth said- “So, where did you learn how to drive?”
“I know how car works, so it wasn’t really hard”- I said
“I failed my driving test five times”- Elizabeth said then we gave a short laugh and stayed silent for a while, the air blowing my hair off my shoulders.
“I’m sorry for using the F word on you”- I said and moved my head to look at her
“It’s okay, I was being a jerk, I deserved it. I’m sorry for my behavior”- Elizabeth said then I breathed out loudly - “It’s time I told you a secret of mine Glory, a secret I haven’t even told my friends”
“Okay”- I said
“I’m not who you think I am Glory, I’m a very bad person, I’m a murderer”
“Why are you saying that?”
“I’ve taken a precious life of a human being before, a very little human. I never gave it a chance to grow, to fall in love, a chance to be loved”- Elizabeth said then we shared a long look
“Elizabeth what are you saying?”
“Remember when I was still in secondary school? the truth is I really got pregnant, I got scared when mother threatened to disown me so… so… I…. I aborted the child that was growing inside of me. Anytime I saw you like this I just get reminded of myself back then, I don’t want you to be like me, to make the same mistake I did. I just want you to be a better version of me, be better than me. I’m really sorry for getting you into this”
I stared at Elizabeth for a while unsure of what to say
“Why are you telling me this now?”- I asked
“There was no reason to tell you before”- Elizabeth said- “Look Glory, we are going to be fine, you are going to be a mother, that’s very beautiful”
We found ourselves silent for a while then I said
“Can I tell you something?”- I asked with my wet right cheek
“Sure”
“I don’t… I don’t think I want to be a mother”- I said and looked at her eyes
“Hey don’t say that, I’m with you, no matter what. I don’t mind taking the child wherever I go, even when I’m going to the toilet”- Elizabeth said then I gave a weak laugh- “it’s not your fault, it’s not the end of the world, you are going to have a baby”- Elizabeth said then cleaned her wet cheeks and smiled- “Come here”
We hugged each other standing, that was exactly what I needed, a hug. Her body felt surprisingly soft and comfy
“Can we be besties again?”- Elizabeth asked then I laughed a little and released her from the hug
“Yeah”
“Mr. Samuel?”- Elizabeth said to her driver who was waiting for her all this time
“Yes ma”- He responded
“Find a way to get this car fueled and after you are done take it back home, okay?”
“Okay ma”
“Is there a way you can do that?”- Elizabeth asked
“Of course, I will pay some boys to help me push it to the nearest filling station”- he said
“Okay, thank you”- Elizabeth said to her driver then he nodded- “So Glory, it seems like we are going on a trip”
“On a trip? To where?”
“A friend’s house, you will love it there”- Elizabeth said
On our way to her so-called friend’s house, Elizabeth kept playing Juice Wrld songs and sang out loud to make me feel better and I had to fake a smile for her countless of times to make her think I’m okay.
It was exactly ten o’clock when we reached our destination. It was a house; a very beautiful house and you could see the Lagos Ikoyi bridge from a distance. The house was close to a river which made it even more beautiful at night.
“Glory I was thinking maybe you will start going for checkups, it isn’t too healthy for you and the baby if you don’t, I know you of all people should understand”- Elizabeth said to me unfastening her seat belt, I nodded at her, to signify “okay”
We came out of the car and walked to the house with our bags. Inside the house looked very luxurious and artistic. Sitting on a long couch watching a long plasma TV was Elizabeth friend, Stella.
“Stella!”- Elizabeth called
“Oh hey”- Stella said after turning backwards
“Hi”- I greeted
“Hi”- Stella said with a strange smile
“Glory sit down”- Elizabeth said to me
“Yeah please help yourself with a seat”- Stella said then I sat next to Elizabeth who was crossing her legs, the couch we sat on was directly facing that of Stella
“So tired”- Elizabeth exclaimed
“Watin you won chop?”- Stella asked with pidgin
“Anything abeg”- Elizabeth answered
“Glory what about you?”- Stella asked me
“Hmm? I’m not hun…”- I was saying
“She will have Fufu with Okra soup”- Elizabeth interrupted me then Stella gave a short laugh and yelled the name of her Maid. The maid came swiftly to the room and Stella instructed her exactly what to bring
“So, Elizabeth how is work?”- Stella said finally after the food was served by her maid
“Work… that is funny”- Elizabeth said washing her hands to eat the food in front of her
“Okay, how is your company going?”
“Will you stop asking me all these questions? I know what you did”
“What did I do?”- Stella asked with a curious look
“Why did you steal my idea?”
“I never stole your idea Elizabeth. It was my own creative dress design and I sold it and guess what? The people loved it”- Stella said smiling, what was it with her smiles for Christ sake?
“I clap for you, thief”- Elizabeth said literally clapping
“Well I wouldn’t have stolen your idea if you haven’t stolen mine”- Stella confessed with a shrug
“Aha!!! I knew it, so to pay back you stole mine”
“What can I say? Win-win”- Stella said sipping a wine from a glass
“Glory watin happen? Chop na”- Elizabeth said to me, I was about to say something but Elizabeth interrupted- “No even make me vex, I no won hear anything like I’m not hungry, chop make you and your pikin get something for belle”
A knock on my door woke me up the next morning. I opened the door to see Elizabeth looking shiny with her suit on, she held a briefcase with her left hand and wore herself a smile.
“Good morning”- I said cleaning my eyes with the back of my right hand
“I’m heading to work okay? Anything you want or need just ask Stella, Okay?”- Elizabeth said then I nodded- “And before I forget, this is your phone”- she said removing my phone from her right pocket- “Make sure you put it on so that we can be in touch”
“Okay”- I said and collected the phone, Elizabeth started leaving when I called her- “Lizzy”
She stopped walking and turned backwards to look at me
“Any news from mother?”
“No”- Elizabeth said- “I guess I’m your mum now”
“Have a great day today”- I said and smiled at her
“Thanks”- she said walking away quickly, her boots making noises as she left
Stella’s house was too comfortable, so comfortable that I remembered Leo, Leo’s house wasn’t that comfortable but it was fun. I tried calling him but his phone was off. After Elizabeth came back that night, she came with some baby clothes, food and everything else that a baby and a pregnant woman would need. I think she was being too fast; I mean I was just four months pregnant. Was that being too fast?
“I decided to buy you some baby clothes, for now the gender of the baby is yet unknown so I decided to just buy girls clothes because I believe strongly that you will deliver a girl child”- Elizabeth said showing me what she bought. I sat on the bed with my feet touching the floor and my hands supporting my jaw. I didn’t know what to say to her, I just sat looking at her. The more I saw those items she bought, the more I realized I wasn’t ready to be a mom, it was a strange experience.
“Hello? Glory? Are you there?”
“Hmm? Yeah”- I said snapping back to my reality
“Don’t you like it? You look like you don’t like it”
“No, they are perfect, I was just short of words… thank you”- I said and faked a smiled for her
“I got you a hospital membership card, you will have to start going for checkups”
Everything felt like it was going so fast, who was with the god damn remote controlling my life? I don’t think the person remembered he left my life on fast forward.
“Okay”- I said and nodded. Elizabeth took out her phone from her pocket and left my room, leaving me alone. I picked one of the baby items from the floor and looked at it for a while, sighed out loudly and dropped it back down.
Chapter 8
The cold air was touching my skin, the wind blowing against my hair. I used my hand to rub my tummy that was now bigger and wore a hood and a black nose mask. In front of me was the Lagos Ikoyi bridge at a distance.
I want to ask you a question dear reader, have you ever tried doing something or when you are doing something, have your mind suddenly shifted from what you were doing and immediately started thinking about your life problems? Maybe yes or maybe no but during that point of my life everything I do made my brain remember my life problems. Whether I was in the bathroom, living room, wherever I was, my mind would just shift and it would just start talking.
The more I looked at the distant water in front of me, it seemed like it was calling me, calling me not to swim in it but to die in it. I wondered how many people that water has called and they obeyed the voice.
“Hi”- A feminine voice said by my right-hand side, I moved my head to look at who it was and found Stella. I didn’t give her a reply, I just kept looking forward - “Beautiful view huh?”
“Yeah”- I answered after taking my nose mask off then we were silent
“Every egg can be cracked”- Stella finally said looking forward. I moved my head to look at her, confused at what she just said then I looked forward not knowing how to respond to whatever she said- “Can I ask you a question?”
“You just did”- I said
“Right. Can you be frank with me?”
“I will try, what is it?”
“Are you engaged or something?”- Stella asked but I was silent
“Why do you wish to know?”- I finally asked
“I’m just trying to clarify things.”- Stella said then we grew silent- “How old are you? Sixteen? Seventeen?”
“I’m Eighteen”- I said looking at her eyes
“You look like a child to be frank; you look sixteen”
“What do you want?” – I asked
“You have been awfully introverted since the day you came to my house”
“I’m always like that”- I said quickly
“You behave like something is bothering you”- Stella said then I sighed out loudly- “And I believe I know exactly what’s bothering you”
“Yeah? And what do you think is bothering me?”
“I know how you are feeling, trying to understand how your life suddenly changed like a snap of a finger. How did all this happen? You ask yourself and what’s the future going to be like?”
“Yeah, yeah” – I said
“I want to ask you another question, I’m sorry if I’m intruding your solitude but do you wish to be a mother?”
I moved my head to look at her
“What has Elizabeth told you?”- I asked
“Elizabeth didn’t tell me anything, the truth is you are the one that told me everything I needed to know”
“This is my first time actually having a conversation with you Stella so how is that possible?”- I said
“You told me everything I needed to know, not verbally but by the way you are behaving. Sometimes, I feel like you deserve someone to be keeping an eye on you because you behave like you can harm yourself. Always sighing, always inside”
“A lot has been happening and…”
“I know; Elizabeth did mention your mom”
“I knew it; Elizabeth has been telling you things”
“Yeah, maybe. If you had the power of reversing all this, would you do it?”
“To be frank, yes”- I said
“Why?”- Stella asked
“I’m not ready for this, all this is scary”
“What if I tell you I can help you and everything would go back to normal”- Stella said and moved her head to look at me
“How?”- I asked
“Do you wish to get rid of whatever is growing inside you?”
“What do you mean by get rid?”- I asked then Stella gave me a long look
“We can just end this conversation here, are you sure you wish me to continue?”
“You are the one that said you could help me”- I said
“Now listen very closely and I would not like your sister to know we ever had this conversation, okay? Let all this just be between you and me”
“Okay”- I said nodding
“I know someone…- Stella started- “He’s a professional, he has the power of making you go back to normal”
“You are playing with words”- I said
“He has the power of stopping whatever is growing inside of you”
“I know where you are going with this, you are advising me to abort the child? Yes?”
“I am advising you to take action and get your old life back, it will be like all this never happened”- Stella said
“I would never forgive myself if…”
“How do you know that? From the look of things Glory, you will never forgive yourself if you decide to push that baby out alive”- Stella interrupted
“This professional you speak about…”- I was saying
“Now you are talking, there’s this syringe that he’s going to inject you with, the fluid in the syringe will move quickly to your womb and kill the fetus. The interesting thing is the next day you will have an abnormal labour and when you go to a hospital to deliver the child…”
“You deliver it dead… Successfully fooling everyone that it died during labour”
“Exactly but that isn’t the best part, the best part is you get your old life back and all this you are facing will become a thing of the past, trust me”
“This is too much Stella; I don’t know what to say”- I said
“You don’t have to give me a reply now, just think about it and if you don’t want to, please forget we ever had this conversation”- Stella said and started walking away
I was shocked as I watched Stella walk away and my head was beginning to ache again then I breathed out loudly and turned my attention back to the bridge in front of me.
Two days later I and Elizabeth went to a hospital for medical check-up and after we were done, Elizabeth decided to drive us back to Stella’s house. A lot of thoughts flooded my mind as Elizabeth was driving her car. I just kept thinking about Stella’s offer. I placed my head on her car window looking at the outside then I gave a loud sigh.
“Are you okay?”- Elizabeth asked with a worried voice
“Yeah”- I said and moved my head to look at her
“What’s going on?”
“Where?”- I asked
“With you”
“Oh! nothing is going on”- I said with a smile on my face that wasn’t real.
“Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything, right?”
“Nothing is wrong, I just need to think”- I said and placed my head back on the window. I could feel Elizabeth looking at me as she drove silently. Suddenly I noticed she was parking her car.
“Why are we stopping?”- I asked
“Get down from the car”- She said unfastening her seat belt hurriedly. I followed her out of the car and asked.
“What’s happening?”
“Drive”- Elizabeth said to me
“Why?”- I asked not really wanting to
“Will you stop talking and just drive?”- Elizabeth said then I went over to the driver’s seat.
“I still don’t know why I’m doing this”- I said
“Well…”- Elizabeth started as she entered the car, she sat next to me and continued- “It will make you focused, you are distracted by so many voices in your head, you need to silence them. You just need to hold the steering wheels of your life and just look forward, look forward Glory”- Elizabeth said then I started the car and looked forward- “And also don’t be the reason why I die today”
I gave a short laugh and started driving
“I’m serious though”- Elizabeth said again
The imagination of myself having a child was disturbing, it was so disturbing that it kept me awake at nights. I seriously didn’t want to be a mom; I didn’t want a child. I tried calling mother but she never answered her calls, I wanted, I wanted to hear her voice, maybe tell her how sorry I was and how I failed her as a child but… but she never answered the calls and the voices in my head kept talking, they kept giving me reasons why I should meet Stella.
“Don’t you want to be normal again?”- A voice in my head said
“I do”- I answered
“Then what are you waiting for?”
I opened my door slowly and walked to Stella’s door
“Open”- I heard Stella say after I knocked on her door then I opened the door slowly and immediately caught her eyes. She was sitting on her bed tapping her phone, her hair looked like a mess and she wore her pajamas. As soon as she saw me, she smiled.
“Oh you”- Stella said still smiling, it was like her face was glued to a smiling face and I knew immediately she knew the reason why I was there.
Chapter 9
We were off, I and Stella to the doctor she said could help me. I was beginning to get scared even though Stella told me a million times not to be. She kept telling me stories of people who the doctor has helped to flush the fetus away from their wombs. The way she used that word ‘flush’ was as if that fetus is some kind of poop, like something who’s fate is to be thrown away. I was beginning to wonder how many times she has gone to ‘flush’ something out of her because from the look of things, I could tell she had flushed a lot of things out. She told me of a peculiar story of a woman who was nine months pregnant and went to the doctor to abort her child.
If you are wondering how a nine months’ pregnant woman can successfully abort her child, without any one suspecting is simple. One, the doctor’s job is to inject her a chemical, this chemical will move straight to her womb to kill the child. The child remains dead until the next day, that’s when the woman begins to have an abnormal labour, everyone around her will know she’s having an abnormal labour but they wouldn’t know what she did. After she gives birth to the child, she wouldn’t expect that child to be alive and she will successfully fool everyone that the baby died during child birth, that simple. It would have been a lot easier if the woman aborted the child earlier, that way she wouldn’t have to go through labour.
It was sad though that Elizabeth didn’t have a clue of what I was about to do, she was beginning to get enthusiastic that I was going to have a child. I still wonder at times if Stella was being a good friend helping me. I placed my head on the car window beginning to feel nausea, the place was taking a long time to reach. I closed my eyes and the first person I saw was Elizabeth. I don’t think she knew she was being lied to when Stella told her she was taking me to the park to get some fresh air. I opened my eyes again and saw Stella speaking to her phone. The world was turning around and I was getting dizzy, so dizzy that Stella was turning into a blur, her voice gradually became faint as if someone was turning the volume down.
Sitting on the wings of time
“Remembering a past event that is painful, is like opening a wound that is healing”- Austin wills
Chapter 10
An alarm woke my sixteen years old self up. I stretched my hands looking for my glasses desperately, suddenly I touched it and wore it on, stood up and put off the alarm. I walked to the bathroom already brushing my teethes, took my bath and looked at my teethes at the mirror a little more to be sure it was shiny. After I wore my uniforms on, I combed my hair and wore myself a little make up.
“Good morning”- I said to mother, who sat on the dining table eating, struggling with a bone.
“Morning”- she replied then I sat in front of her, opened my plates to see rice sprinkled with stew and a meat at the side. I took my spoon getting ready to devour what’s in front of me then mom cleared her throat and said
“Don’t take a spoon without praying”
After I was done eating, I backed my bag and went out of the house to board a tricycle, the tricycle took me to my school, that hell called Rose Senior Secondary School. When I got into my class, I saw three boys discussing something about football.
“Did you see the kind of goal Messi missed against Juventus? If it was Messi of before, he will first tremble all the opponents plus all his team mates before scoring the goal”- A boy among the three boys said.
“What kind of lie is that?”- Samson, my best friend or should I say my only friend said. He was among the boys
I walked to where my seat was then I sat down and rested my head on the table, the weather was cold and I was wondering how the boys close to the window couldn’t feel it. I raised my head up to see Samsons huge eyes looking at me. He sat in front of me wearing a long smile.
“Jesus Christ!! Samson”- I said, he almost scared me to death.
“Didn’t mean to startle you”- Samson said
“Will you stop doing that?”
“Doing what?”- Samson asked
“Coming to people at unexpected moments then you just stare at them waiting patiently for them to notice you and when they do, they get a heart attack”- I said then Samson chuckled.
“I don’t do that”- Samson said
“You do and it’s creepy”- I said then Samson chuckled.
As we were still speaking, a girl called Stephanie together with her girlfriends walked past us giving a long hiss as she walked by. Stephanie was the first person I knew that can hate someone for no reason.
“Some people are just ridiculous”- I said
“So, what about your mother?”- Samson asked
“I think you are banned from coming over to my house after spoiling our TV”
“I was trying to repair it”
“Repair is very different from destroying”- I said then we gave a short laugh.
“I thought you are so smart; why didn’t you repair it yourself?”
“If I do, my mother would expect me to repair everything that spoils in the house, she won’t have to call an engineer anymore”
“I know your mom, she can’t just ban me, I’ve noticed she likes me very much”- Samson said
I know Samson, he’s the only person I know that has a way with everything, including people’s heart. He was right, my mother did like him, she liked him so much that she allowed him to do a sleep over at my place from time to time. Samson became a brother figure in my life, I guess he was more like a son figure to my mom too. I and Samson friendship dates back to when we were in nursery school, he was the only friend I’ve had since then.
After school was done for the day, I and Samson were walking back home laughing at silly jokes both of us made.
“When are you going to ask Stephanie out?”- I asked Samson
“I don’t like Stephanie”
“You are such a liar; I see the puppy dog eyes you make at her”- I said
“Puppy what eyes?”
“Puppy dog eyes”- I said then we were silent for a while
“Do you think she would say yes if I ask her out?”
“Aha!! Busted”- I said smiling
“What?”- Samson asked
“You do like her say the truth”
“No, I never said that”- Samson said
“Well from the look of it, I think she likes you too”
“And how do you know that?”- Samson asked
“I’m a girl Samson, we know everything”- I said then Samson laughed a little. We were silent again just listening to the noise our feet made- “I think she hates me though”
“I don’t think she hates you”- Samson said then I stopped walking and gave him a long look- “Okay maybe she hates you a little”
“A little? I think if that girl has the power of removing one thing from this world, she wouldn’t hesitate to remove me”
“But why though?”- Samson was saying then I moved my head backwards and saw Stephanie walking to our direction. I was surprised to see her walking, normally her driver picks her up after school.
“Stephanie is coming our way, ask her out”- I said to Samson
“No”
“Oh, hey Stephanie”- I said to Stephanie as soon as she was in front of us
“Please don’t”- Samson whispered
“Samson has something to say to you”- I said and hurriedly walked away, leaving the both of them standing there.
That night I buried my head on my books. I lighted the candles to see properly and had “Finding Ife” by Johnny Drilles playing on my phone. I read all through that night preparing myself for an upcoming exam. I read so much that I didn’t even know when I fell asleep.
The next day I woke up to find myself sleeping on the floor. The candle was off but it didn’t burn completely. I knew immediately that my mom was there because I was covered with a blanket and also because of the candle.
“Glory! Hey!!”- I heard someone yelling behind me. I turned backwards and saw Samson literally running to my direction.
“Hey, what’s up? You look like you won a lottery”
“Guess what?”- Samson asked hysterically
“You know how bad I am at guesses”- I said pretending not to know the answer.
“She said yes, she said yes”- Samson said with a smile that reached his ears.
“I told you she likes you too”
“I think you should be some kind of mind reader or better, a psychologist”- Samson said then I chuckled
“No thanks. I’m very happy for you Samson”- I said and moved my head to see his smiling face. We grew silent as we kept walking to our class.
“I wonder the guy you have a crush on”- Samson finally said
“Relationships aren’t my thing son”- I said
“You want to know what I think? I think someday you will have that ‘love’ feeling”
“Never”- I said
“Never say never cupcakes”- Samson said suddenly standing in front of me. I breathed out loudly and said
“Look I can’t love okay?”
“You claim you can’t love and yet you love your mom, your sister and me, your best friend in the world”
“You know what I mean Samson”- I said folding my hands.
“What kind of guys do you like?”- Samson asked
“None? Can we keep walking? We are going to be late”
“I’m serious what kind of guys do you like?”
“Okay, I would like a guy who’s smart like Albert Einstein, happy now?”
“What? That old fart?”
“Yeah”- I said laughing
“That’s like child abuse Glory”- Samson said then I slapped my forehead
“I don’t mean a guy who is old like Einstein, I was referring to what he has upstairs”- I said as we started walking again
“Oh, you mean a guy that is smart like him?”- Samson asked
“Yeah something like that”
“Well, you always have me”
“You? You struggle an IQ with a chicken Samson”- I said then Samson gave a hard laugh
“Low blow, that sounded like an insult”
“Maybe that’s because it is an insult”- I said and walked past him, he followed from behind and said.
“You are a rude kid, I hope you know that, right?”- Samson said but I said nothing
“I also like guys with moustache”- I finally said then Samson touches his face
“Ouch, another low blow”- Samson said then I laughed
“I wasn’t referring to you silly”
“Are you lying?”
“Yes”- I said and entered into our class before Samson.
When it was time for break, I found myself eating at the cafeteria alone, normally Samson would sit in front of me, today he wasn’t, he was sitting with Stephanie. I was happy that Samson was happy, happy with that devil of a girl called Stephanie.
A week passed without speaking to Samson, we spoke only when he came to my house to visit me, in school it was really tough seeing him to talk to, why? Because he was always with that girl. It even became a usual thing for me to walk home alone.
It was on a Tuesday morning when I saw Stephanie together with her friends standing on a shade at a distance, they were gossiping something as usual and as soon as I walked past them, I heard Stephanie say
“Here goes the asshole”
I turned backwards and walked to where they stood
“Excuse me?”- I said to Stephanie with an angry voice
“Who call this one? Who’s talking to this ugly thing? Just look at you and look at us, can you find your class among us? Flap away from my sight jare”- Stephanie said.
“Yeah you are right, I don’t see my class here. What I see are bunch of cowards”- I said then noticed Stephanie’s facial expression changed.
“What did you say?”- Stephanie asked this time with an angry voice, she walked closer to me and when I thought she was going to strike me, she just smiled- “I don’t have time for people like you, I can’t even stand your odor.”
“Tell me what your problem is Stephanie”- I said
“Me? Problem? I have no problem girl; my life is a heaven on earth”
“Why have you been acting like a jerk to me?”
“Sometimes I wish I can just step on you like a cockroach, since the day you left your poverty stinky school to this school, my grades have been going down”
“Oh, now it’s my fault your grades are going down?”- I said with a very angry voice- “If you are so smart like they think you are then try getting your grades back, you asshole!!”
Stephanie was about to say something when Samson suddenly appeared from nowhere and said
“And that’s enough Stephanie”
Stephanie was silent for a while giving I and Samson a bad look then she hissed and walked away with her friends.
“What’s going on Glory?”- Samson asked me
“Go and ask your girlfriend”- I said walking away from him.
I wasn’t jealous of course but I needed him to be close to me, after all he was my best friend.
The time was five in the evening when mother decided to plait my hair. I sat on a stool while she sat on a white plastic chair.
“I haven’t been seeing Samson lately”- My mother said as she was plaiting my hair.
“I see him in school”- I said then we were silent for a while.
“When I was young like you my hair use to be long like yours”- Mother said and chuckled. I sat quietly just looking at the dark sky.
“I miss daddy. I wish he was here”- I finally said and sniffled
Mother stopped plaiting my hair for a while and finally said
“I miss your father too”- Mother said and continued plaiting my head. We were silent for a while then I started sobbing- “Are you okay?”
“No”- I said sobbing a little
“So, what is the problem… Turn”- Mother said then I turned backwards to look at her eyes.
“Am I ugly?”- I asked with my wet cheeks.
“No, why did you ask?”- Mother said
“Do I smell?”- I asked then mother placed her right hand on my left cheek
“Why are you asking me all this your questions?”
“My classmates told me I’m ugly and I stink”
“You are not ugly and you do not stink, you hear me? Don’t mind all those your classmates, you know rich children, their parents no teach them manners” – Mother said then I nodded- “If not for Elizabeth, I no know how I for train you for school, your own job na to focus on your book, no mind anybody. You see that school, you must go am for me, you hear?”
“Yes ma”- I said cleaning my cheeks
“Don’t worry yourself, everything go better soon”
When my father was alive, he loved music and when he was younger, he used to play the piano for his church. He loved music so much that he got himself a piano and every night he would play it for me anytime he comes back from work. After he died, it was like a part of me died with him and anytime I saw that piano in the living room, it looked like the piano was begging someone to play it. Mother stopped playing the piano after my father died but I kept playing it, to remind myself of him. Playing the piano helped to say the truth, it helped cure me of my sadness, of my pains.
Two days later was Thursday; I was sitting down in class alone (of course) reading a book and when I dropped the book down from my face, I met Samson’s eyes.
“Leave my sight”- I said and covered my eyes back with the book.
“Good morning” - Samson said to me.
“Go away. Maybe stay a hundred mile away”- I said pretending to be reading.
“You know my seat is literally in front of yours, right?”- Samson asked but I was silent- “What are you even reading? Hmm?”
“You are distracting me”- I said
“How to be invincible”- Samson said reading the front cover- “Are you sure about that cupcakes?”
I dropped the book down to look at his face and said.
“Number one I’m not cupcakes and two haven’t you noticed how I suddenly became popular overnight?”
“No?”- Samson said
“Don’t you know what’s trending all over Facebook?”
“I don’t know, what?”- Samson asked.
“You haven’t watched the video of your girlfriend spilling milk all over my head?”
“When did she…?”- Samson was saying
“Yesterday Samson, yesterday”- I said interrupting him from completing his sentence.
“I wasn’t at school yesterday”- Samson said then I was silent- “Glory!”
“What?!”- I said
“I want to ask you a question”
“Google the answer”- I said then Samson laughed.
“Will you drop that book from your face for a sec?”- Samson said then took the book from my hands quickly. I took another book from my lap and used it to cover my face.
“How to be invincible volume two”- Samson said reading the front cover- “You are relentless”
“Ok what do you want to talk about?”- I said after dropping the book on my table to look at Samson’s face.
“Nothing actually”- Samson said with a shrug.
“You devil child”- I said then Samson laughed
“Devils child? Seriously? I’m more like the devil’s grandpa”
“I’m going outside”- I said because of the way some of my classmates were looking at me, some laughing silently. I stood up arranging my books in my backpack.
“Why?”- Samson asked
“If you want to talk, I will be outside, the eyes are getting ridiculous”- I said and started heading for the door. I was so desperate to head outside that I didn’t see what I stumbled upon. I fell, head first to the ground. I couldn’t move, my body suddenly became stiff like a corpse. My eyes were opened but I couldn’t shut it close, the only thing I could do with my eyes was to move it around and my head felt like a volcano which was about to erupt.
“Glory Glory”- Samson said and turned me around for me to see his face, he held me on his laps and said- “Don’t just stand there, get help!!!”
“Is she dead?”- I heard Stephanie asked
“I saw what you did Stephanie!!!”
“I didn’t do anything”
“I never knew you were such a monster”- Samson said then I was gradually losing my breath- “Glory stay with me”- Samson said tapping my cheeks- “Oh my God she’s bleeding”
“Is she okay?”- Stephanie asked with a worried voice trying to get close.
“Stay away from her!! And also, I’m breaking up with you Stephanie”
“You can’t do that”
“Don’t ever speak to me. Hold on Glory, just wait, I will be back”- Samson said and left for the outside, leaving me on the floor. The world was spinning like a wormhole then I closed my eyes. I don’t know how long I was laying there but I guess for minutes and when I finally opened my eyes, I found the class empty. There was this loud sound I kept hearing in my head like someone whistling loudly, my head ached with pain, ached really bad. I stood up and staggered to where my seat was and sat down then I looked round and breathed out loudly. In front of me, on my table was my book. I touched my head and looked at my hand to see it bloody. In fact, my face was bathed in blood, I took my book from the table and started reading it. Some seconds later Samson bursts into the class with the school’s nurse, my other classmates were behind them. I caught Stephanie eyes by the door, she looked scared and her cheeks were soaked with tears. I don’t know why but I smiled, I just smiled.
“Are you okay?”- The nurse asked me, dropping her first aid box quickly on my table.
“No”- I said shaking my head. All my classmates looked surprised; their face looked like I just woke up from the dead.
“Can you stand?”- The Nurse asked
“What?”
“Can you stand?”
“I don’t know”- I said, not really hearing myself. My eyes were fixed at Samson.
I went home early that day with Samson and found myself laying down on my bed next to him, one side of my head was covered with a small bandage. We were silent just staring at my rooms ceiling.
“I’m surprised”- Samson finally said
“Hmm?”- I said and moved my head to look at his face, he was looking up at the ceiling- “Surprised by what?”
“I don’t know… I thought you won’t make it. You looked very stiff, I was scared, scared that I would have to go on with my reality without you”- Samson said and met my eyes. I shifted my gaze from his face to look at the ceiling.
“I don’t know what I will do if I lost you, even though you are pathetic at times”- I said then we gave a short laugh
“Said by the queen of a pathetic universe”- Samson said then I smiled- “You are so pathetic at times that I think you deserve a crown or something”
“You are an asshole”- I said and moved my head to look at his smiling face.
“You are a friend to an asshole, what does that make you?”- Samson asked then I moved my head to look at the ceiling and said.
“Anything I want”- I said and smiled at Samson
After that incident I and Samson never left each other, we were back, the good old friends. The students in my school started hating Stephanie for what she did, they didn’t find it funny. After that incident, Stephanie even wrote me a letter, telling me how sorry she was for what she did. I also wrote her something of my own, I wrote the word “it’s okay” on a white piece of paper and sneaked it into her backpack.
“What’s your favorite Johnny Drilles song?”- I asked Samson who was sitting next to me on a metallic bench somewhere in the school.
“I’m not a fan of Johnny Drilles music”- Samson said with his earpiece on
“What? I thought you loved that guy”
“Nope, I’m just forced to listen to his songs anytime I’m around you, like how you are playing it right now”- Samson said then I paused the music on my phone.
“So, what genre of music do you like or rather who’s’ music do you like?”
“Juice Wrld”- Samson said.
“Who the hell is that?”- I asked.
“Never heard of him? What a shame”
“Can you play one of his songs for me, the name does sound familiar”- I said then Samson started tapping his phone, he removed his earpiece and gave it to me.
“This is my favorite, wishing well by Juice Wrld”- Samson said then I inserted the earpiece into my right ear.
“Break is over”- I said after hearing the school bell.
“School is just like prison, look we wear uniforms, just like prisoners and we follow the commands of a bell”- Samson said standing up from the metal bench we sat
Dear reader. What’s the saddest day of your life? Is it a Monday? a Tuesday? Or is it every day? Do you want to know what mine is? The saddest day of my life was on a Friday, I can still remember that day vividly. I can remember I and Samson walking home after school closed for the day. I had Samson earpiece on listening to Juice Wrld songs.
“Excuse me for a sec”- Samson said to me
“Where are you going?”- I asked
“I want to get us popcorns, she makes the best popcorns”- Samson said referring to a woman who sold popcorn under a mango shade.
“Okay. I will be waiting for you at the other side of the road”- I said to Samson
“Cool”- He said walking quickly to meet the woman who sold popcorn
I stopped walking, looked to my left and then to my right. When I saw the coast was clear. I entered the road, still with Samson’s earpiece on. The next thing I heard was Samson’s voice, he shouted my name behind me and when I turned backwards to see him, someone pushed me to the other side of the road. I started hearing people shouting behind me, commotion everywhere. I got up from the ground and turned backwards wondering what happened, my ankles were bruised and when I turned backwards, I saw someone on the floor, shaking rapidly. I didn’t want to believe it was who I was seeing until I saw his bag and two popcorns somewhere at the road. I dropped my bag and immediately I ran to the road, cheeks beaming with tears, I ran to the road not minding If I get hit by a truck or a car. I ran to him and knelt close to him, I took him and placed him on my laps and finally he stopped shaking but his eyes were still opened.
“Samson-Samson stay with me”- I said tapping his cheeks- “Samson, come on”
I screamed and cried aloud, I looked at my hands to find it stained with the blood of my best friend and the siren of an ambulance was gradually getting closer and closer.
“Somebody help! Somebody help me!!”- I cried.
We all have our fates
Youth must with time decay…
Beauty must fade away…
The truth is a fixed star…
GERALD GRIFFIN (1803-1840)
Chapter 11
“Glory, Glory, Glory”
I opened my eyes to hear Stella calling my name, her car has stopped.
“What happened?”- I asked
“You fell asleep. We are here come on”- Stella said to me and started unfastening her seat belt. I came outside and was wondering where the place was.
“Wear this”- Stella said offering me a nose mask.
“Why?”- I asked
“Come on, wear it, you will need it”
I took it from her and wore it on then she held my right hand as we started walking forward. We looked conspicuous as we passed from one compound to another, the people there seemed to know Stella, they occasionally kept greeting her
“I grew up here, this is where I was born, almost half of my life was spent here”- Stella said to me, that explained a lot.
The place we were looked very rough and untidy, the street smelled of poverty, from the gambling, to the smoking, the malnutrition children, everywhere spelt poverty.
“Follow me”- Stella said as if I had a choice. We made a left turn and met a man, a tall slim man who wore a black jean and a black cap.
“Excussez moi”- Stella said to him with French and they chatted with each other using French
“He said the doctor is around”- Stella said back to me
“Bonjour”- The man said to me
“Bonjour”- I said back with French
“Tu parler francias?”- Stella asked me
“Yeah”- I said with a nod
“Par ici”- Stella said then I followed her to a building, it was nothing like I imagined. The building was small with sewage around it, sitting on the corridor of the building were pregnant women. I started having a bad feeling about the place immediately.
“And why did you stop?”- Stella asked me.
“Is this it?”- I asked, hoping it wasn’t.
“Do not let the outward appearance fool you, they are really good”- Stella said but that didn’t make me feel okay- “Come on”- she said again, so I followed her into the building. As soon as I entered the building a bad stench passed my nose mask straight into my nose, the air in there was bad. There was this small room in particular by my right-hand side which had nine women, three were pregnant women in labor and the rest six women I suspected to be nurses, they were supporting the pregnant women in their delivery. I just kept looking at that room, the room didn’t even have a door, it was just covered by a transparent curtain.
“Glory this is the Doctor, Doctor Donald’s”- Stella said then I shifted my eyes away from the room to the man who suddenly stood in front of me, he didn’t look like a doctor, he wasn’t wearing his uniform but he did have a stethoscope on his neck. My mind was beginning to bring an idea for me to run but another voice was telling me to stay.
“Remember why you are here”- The voice said
“Doctor Donald this is the girl I was speaking to you about; she needs your help desperately”-
“Please let’s have this conversation in my office”- The man said then we followed him to a room which wasn’t an office. In the room was this patient bed by the right-hand side, a table and an office chair close to the window, anatomy diagrams on the walls, different medical equipment’s and machines, including a shelf full of drugs.
“Please seat”- He said to us then we sat on the bed while he sat on his office chair. The doctor looked like he was around his early forties; he was an averaged size man with tribal marks on his cheeks.
“So, who is she to you?”- The doctor asked Stella.
“She’s my friend’s sister”- Stella said after taking off her nose mask, the doctor nodded and said
“How are you?”- He asked me with a smiling face
“I’m good”- I said
“You can take the mask off now”- Stella whispered to me then I took the mask off
“And how old are you?”- The doctor asked
“Eighteen”- I said then he nodded repeatedly
“So…”- He started and exhaled loudly- “Let’s get to business, shall we? I know we all know why you are here; I know you know you aren’t here to get treated of typhoid fever and if that’s why you are here then I think Stella you brought her to the wrong place”
“She’s aware”- Stella said with assurance.
“If that’s the case, please be at peace, there’s nothing to be scared about, I’ve never lost a single patient before and guess what? I’ve been in this business for the past twenty years of my life, twenty years of no lost, isn’t that impressive?”
I still couldn’t believe he told me to be at peace, I could tell he figured out that I was feeling very vulnerable at that moment, everything about that place made me unbalanced, everything. I still kept thinking, kept wondering what happened to the babies after those pregnant women delivered them safely.
“Excuse me for a second”- The doctor said
“Okay”- Stella replied then he left the room, leaving I and Stella alone
“What happens to the babies around here?”- I finally asked Stella
“It’s not our business”- Stella said
“From the look of things Stella, this place isn’t an approved hospital, so what happens to the babies around here?”- I asked with a low voice.
“Since you really want to know, after the women delivers, their children get sold to the highest bidder”- Stella answered
“This place is fishy Stella; why haven’t the government or someone shut this place down?”
“That’s not really our business Glory. We do what we came here for and we get away, after you are injected, we will leave here immediately”
I was stunned, I couldn’t even speak for some seconds, so this place is a human trafficking centre? – I asked myself then my mind took me to the kind of environment the so-called hospital was situated. Why won’t the mother’s sell their babies? They have to feed themselves too and I guessed the price of babies must be high. They sold their babies to silence their hungry stomachs and I’m sure after the babies were sold, they will be completely cut off from their biological mothers. The biological mothers wouldn’t know what happened to their babies after they are sold, some of them don’t even know who they sell them to. But all that didn’t concern the mothers, their hungry stomachs didn’t give them time to think.
I was about saying something to Stella when the doctor got in and asked
“Before I start the procedure, I will like to know how old is the pregnancy?”
“How old is the pregnancy?”- Stella asked me.
“Five, five months”- I said then Stella got up from the bed
“Straighten yourself”- The doctor said to me then I straightened myself on the bed. He took his stethoscope and placed it on my bare stomach- “Yep the baby is very much alive”
“Why do I have to lie down?”- I asked
“After I inject you, you might become very dizzy, so you are going to take a short nap. When you wake up the chemicals would have done what there are supposed to do”- The doctor said and left me to start working on the syringe.
I just kept looking at the ceiling. “Do you really want to do this?”- I asked myself- If you end this child’s life wouldn’t that make you more of a sinner than the mothers who sold their children? At least sometimes they get lucky and their babies ends up in good hands but here you are about to kill that child in your womb”
“Do this”- A voice in my head said- “Come on be strong, after today everything will be fine and you will look back at today and wonder what you were so scared about”
I shifted my eyes from the ceiling to the doctor who was still working on the syringe then I closed my eyes for a sec and went back to the time Samson died. I could see myself shouting for help, even though I knew he was gone. If Samson saved my life, why shouldn’t I save this innocent fetus life? Why should I end its life now when I can give it a chance to be loved, to love, to have friends, to be human?
“Don’t be silly”- The voice in my head said again- “Don’t you think this child will be much happier if it never was born? Just think about it, why allow it to die later in its life when it can die now? Now when it hasn’t loved anyone, when no one knows it, to love it. Why allow it to say later in its life ‘why was I born?’ don’t you ask yourself that question? Don’t you regret your very existence Glory? Why make it regret too? I mean the child doesn’t even have a dad to begin with, just get rid of it”
“Okay, I’m ready”- The doctor said tapping a syringe.
“I want to use the bathroom”- I said
The doctor shared a look with Stella and said
“Okay, you can just use the bathroom outside”- The doctor said and smiled, a smiled that quickly vanished. I stood up and started heading to the door when the doctor said- “And please be quick about it”
“Okay”- I said awkwardly and left. When I got outside, I moved quickly to the backyard and took a loud sigh. It was like I was getting short of breath and I kept breathing like I ran a race. My heart became sad, too sad that I found myself crying, why was I crying, I had no idea.
“Glory, what’s wrong?”- I heard Stella soft voice behind me, I turned backwards to look at her face and said.
“I don’t want to be a murderer”- I said and cleaned the tears off my cheeks quickly
“This won’t make you a murderer Glory”- Stella said slapping her forehead
“I want to leave this place”
“Calm down, I know how you are feeling”
“Calm down? How can I be calm Stella? I mean where is this place? You brought me to a place where they traffic babies and you want me to be calm? Isn’t that red flag enough for me not to be calm?”- I said then we were silent for a while.
“You know what? You are right… of course, you have every right to feel this way and the truth is I can relate with what you are feeling. I’ve been on your shoes before and I’m going to advice you not to let your emotions stop you from doing this”
“Okay what about I say I don’t want to do this anymore?”
“Glory, I saw in your eyes how much you really wanted to get rid of the child. Come on, let’s get back in and as soon as we are done we will go home”- Stella said trying to get close to me then I took off running, she followed me not because she wanted to force me to do it but because I didn’t know where I was going.
“What are you doing Glory? Where are you going?!!”- Stella yelled behind me. I ran surprisingly quicker than her to the roadside- “Wait!!!”
Stella shouted behind me then I stopped running- “Okay!! can I please take you home? We don’t have to do this anymore, okay? I mean where do you think you are running to? Why are you running?”
As she was still speaking a bus suddenly stopped in front of me
“Madam you de go?”- The bus conductor asked me
“Glory for the sake of God, do not enter that bus, I can take you home”
I turned backwards to look at Stella, she was breathing like she just ran a marathon. I cleaned the tears from my cheeks and said
“I’m sorry”- I entered into the bus then I heard Stella yelled
“Stop the car!!”
“Na wa o madam”- Someone in the car said then the bus took off. I turned to look at the back window to see Stella chasing the bus, she got tired and just gave up running.
“Is anything the problem young girl?”- An old lady who sat next to me asked with a worried voice
“No”- I said cleaning my cheeks again
“But you are crying”
“I’m fine, it’s nothing”- I said and sniffled
“I know I should be minding my business but I just want to let you know, it will be ok, okay?”- She said then I nodded
“Yeah, thank you”- I said cleaning my cheeks
The bus kept moving, sometimes it would stop and a passenger would go out, slowly the bus was becoming empty. The old lady next to me was the last to leave the bus.
“My daughter take care eh”- she said leaving the bus
“See you”- I said to her then she gave a wave to me and walked away to board a motorcycle.
“Madam na you be the last person, where you de go self? – The driver of the bus asked me with a little hint of anger in his voice
“Just drop me at Ikorodu”- I said
“Na two k be that o; from that place way I carry you to Ikorodu”
“I will pay”- I said
“I no want story when we reach o”
“No worries”- I said and checked my pocket, I had some change left with me. I took out my phone and called Elizabeth
“Hello”- Elizabeth said after answering the call
“Can you pick me at Ikorodu roundabout?”
“Why? What are you doing at Ikorodu?”
“I will explain everything to you, just pick me there”- I said
“You better have a reasonable explanation”- Elizabeth said then hanged up the call
The drive was a little bit long and bumpy. The reason why I suggested Ikorodu was because my sister’s company was situated there. I placed my head on the bus window to look at the outside. The driver on the other hand kept cursing other drivers with Igbo language even though he was clearly at fault most of the times. The same way the bus got empty was the same way the bus got crowded again.
“We don reach o, small madam”- The bus conductor said referring to me. I got down from the bus then gave the conductor his money.
I turned backwards and found Elizabeth with her black suit and black sunglasses; she folded her hands as she rested her back on her car.
“Where’s Stella?”- Elizabeth asked without moving her position. I didn’t say anything, I just walked closer to her and gave her a hug
“Okay am I missing something?”
“I choose not to be a murderer Elizabeth”- I said
“What?”- Elizabeth said then I released her from the hug- “What are you talking about?”
“I will tell you everything in the car”- I said then we entered the car.
I narrated everything to her, not leaving a single stone unturned, I told her how bad I didn’t want to be a mom, I told her about Stella, I told her everything and after narrating all that to her, she didn’t say a word, she was silent and finally gave a loud sigh, put on her black glasses and drove the car to the road.
We drove silently to Stella’s house and when we got there, the time clocked 8:30pm. Elizabeth got out of the car and said to me
“Wait for me here, okay?”
She walked firmly into Stella’s house and some minutes later I found her walking out with our bags and luggage pushing it to the car. Stella stood by the door, she looked like someone who words has stabbed the heart, she didn’t do anything, she just stood by the door with her arms folded. Elizabeth opened the car trunk and placed our belongings in it, she moved to Stella’s house again and brought out the baby items she bought for me and started heading to her car.
“Elizabeth wait!!! What are you doing?”- Stella said by the door. Elizabeth stopped walking and turned backwards to look at Stella- “I’m sorry okay? I was… I was just trying to help!!”
“Help?! You call taking my sister to abort her child help?!!”- Elizabeth said angrily
“It’s logical for you to get mad, I know…”- Stella was saying
“Just stay away from me, I just need some space from you, do not text me, do not call me. Just… Just stay away”
“Are you now ending our friendship, just like that?”- Stella said
“Fuck your friendship!!!… Fuck you!!!, do you even have a clue of what you tried to do?”
“I didn’t try to do anything; I was just trying to help her!!”
“Keep your help to yourself!!”- Elizabeth said walking back to her car
“She was in pains Elizabeth”- Stella said then Elizabeth stopped walking- “She needed help”
Elizabeth stood for some seconds and finally walked to the car trunk and placed the baby items in it, she entered the car and wore her dark shades
“Elizabeth!!!”- Stella yelled again then our car drove out of her compound.
We were on the road again; the drive was silent and the atmosphere was intense. Elizabeth didn’t even look at me or spoke to me once, she just fixed her eyes on the road and kept tuning the radio to different channels from time to time. Suddenly she stopped changing the channel and the radio started talking.
“People of L.A.G how una dey? How de hustle de go? I no need to tell una how the country don hot now and the more the country the hot the more man temperature the rise. But make una no worry una boy de here for una, I get this song way I won use calm una body, this song na one small boy like that sing am o but e no sing am alone e don go join one oyinbo woman way her name na Selena Gomez. This song na another banger for all of una way una temperature de high, make una use this one calm down. The name of this song na calm down because I want make una calm down, you see what I did there? Enjoy this one by REMA feature SELENA titled ‘Calm down’”- After the radio presenter stopped talking then the music started.
Elizabeth was still silent of course but I knew her ears were very active. After driving for a while Elizabeth finally stopped the car and said.
“I’m getting us something to eat”
She came out of the car and left to a small shop. Suddenly Elizabeth phone started ringing, she left it on her seat. I took a look at it to see that it was Stella calling. It rang for a minute then finally Elizabeth came out of the shop holding two big polythene bags and walked to where her car was parked and handed me the polythene bags.
“I don’t think we are heading home now, it’s very late, I think we will find somewhere safe to sleep”- Elizabeth said to me and took her phone, put it on and hissed immediately- “I got us rice and swallow, enough to fill our bellies”
She started the car again and drove it to a school’s compound.
“Where’s this place? Is it safe here?”- I asked
“Yeah”- Elizabeth said
“And how do you know that?”
“Because someone I know lives in this school compound, can you stop asking me questions right now?”- Elizabeth said then I handed her one of the polythene bags.
After we finished eating, we found ourselves at the back seat. Elizabeth rested her head on my shoulder as we listened to a song playing at her car radio titled “Peace of Mind” by Rema. I moved my head to look at the car window then I met the moon, the moon was full and bright.
According to myths, if you look at the moon and make a wish, it will come true. I moved my head back to look at Elizabeth, who was sleeping innocently on my shoulder then I closed my eyes and made a silent wish for everything to be okay.
Chapter 12
The next day when I woke up, I couldn’t find Elizabeth in the car with me, she was outside speaking to a woman. After they finished talking, the woman started walking away while Elizabeth went to sit on the car’s bonnet. I cleaned my eyes, opened the door and walked to meet Elizabeth.
“Good morning”- I said to Elizabeth
“Your hair looks like a road kill”- Elizabeth said then I gave a short laugh and sat next to her.
“How did your night go?”- Elizabeth asked me but I didn’t give her a reply. We were silent allowing the cold wind to hit our skin.
“Who were you speaking with?”- I finally asked
“The owner of this school, her house is just behind the school and her husband used to be my classmate back then in my secondary school”- Elizabeth said then we found ourselves silent again- “Hungry?”
“Why do you keep asking me that question?”
“Because I’m beginning to get hungry”- Elizabeth said
“You do eat a lot Elizabeth”- I said then she laughed a little. We found ourselves silent again.
“Okay Glory, let’s talk”- Elizabeth finally said.
“What should we talk about?”- I said and met her eyes.
“About yesterday, let’s talk about yesterday”- Elizabeth said allowing those words to move across. I breathed out loudly and positioned my eyes forward- “Why don’t you want to be a mom?”
“I never imagine myself with children”- I said
“Why? You don’t like kids?”- Elizabeth asked
“Something like that, it’s not like I hate children or anything… I just don’t want them”- I said
“Then why didn’t you do it? Why didn’t you got rid of the child?”
“It had life”- I said
“All healthy fetus has life Glory”
“I know but… I… I… I just couldn’t do it; I couldn’t do it”- I said this time looking at Elizabeth eyes- “I felt like it will make me a murderer if I do”
“To some people it won’t make you a killer while to others, it would. I believe life begins the time when the sperms and the ovary fuse together, but many people believe life begins as soon as the fetus is born, so if you choose to harm it when it was still in your womb then you won’t be regarded as a murderer. I think that mindset is wrong, I believe the time when a girl aborts her baby is the time when she gets her hands dirty. One thing people fail to realize is that when the child is still in its mother’s womb, it still has life, it’s alive. The truth is I’m proud of you that you didn’t take the child’s life. I’m happy you didn’t make the same mistake I did”- Elizabeth said then we were silent again.
“Have you ever fallen in love before Glory?”- Elizabeth asked
“No, I don’t get it”- I said
“Get what?”
“Love, I just don’t think it’s my thing”- I said
“You don’t think loving someone is your thing?”- Elizabeth asked
“No, I don’t think… okay let me put it this way, I can’t imagine myself having a relationship with a boy, I can’t imagine myself hugging or kissing a boy”
“Don’t tell me you are a lesbian Glory”
“I’m not into any kind of relationship”
“What about Samson?”- Elizabeth asked looking at my eyes
“Yeah Samson, I still miss him, every time, every day”
“Yeah I miss him too”- Elizabeth said
“After he died, I’ve tried my best to forget him but he won’t just get out of my mind. He just keeps playing over and over again”- I said then we were silent
“I thought when you two grew up, you know, you would eventually get married”- Elizabeth said laughing a little but I wasn’t smiling.
Suddenly I felt something on the back of my left hand, it was a butterfly, a butterfly with many colors. I placed my hand so still, so that it doesn’t fly away.
“What’s your favorite animal?”- Elizabeth asked me
“Let’s see, if I’m to choose, I will pick wolf”
“Why?”- Elizabeth asked
“I don’t know, I just like them, I like dogs too. What’s yours?”
“It may sound silly but my favorite animal is actually a butterfly”
“Why?”- I asked
“I think butterflies are one of the most beautiful and free-spirited creature natures has to offer”- Elizabeth said then the butterfly flew away from my hand- “you know you remind me of a butterfly”
“How?”
“You are the most beautiful and free-spirited person there is, you are a butterfly”- Elizabeth said then I smiled
“You should hear how silly that sounds”- I said then we chuckled simultaneously- “What happens now?”
I asked then we were silent for a while
“I should be the one to ask you that question, what happens now?”- Elizabeth said
“I don’t know if I will be able to handle what I see but I’m here to try”
“Try what?”- Elizabeth asked
I sniffled and looked forward away from Elizabeth eyes.
“To be a mother”- I said
“It’s not that bad, you see”- Elizabeth said
Chapter 13
Four months later and I was nine months pregnant. I grew very sick and my stomach looked like it will soon explode. The pain, the pain was something, I don’t know why the world was like that, why must everything in the universe be painful? It was like the pain was a way the universe uses to teach all women a lesson, as if telling them “After all this pain, let me see how you will get yourself pregnant again” I wondered why some women still get themselves pregnant again. I know everyone should feel pain when pregnant but mine felt unique, as in “uniquely painful”.
I found myself in my room whimpering on my bed and sweating intensely. My stomach was hurting, a pain that was far more intense than the other days. Elizabeth suddenly appeared in my room and found me on my bed moving in pain.
“Is it happening? Is this it?”
“I think this is it”- I said with a breaking voice.
“Come on”- Elizabeth said and supported me from my bed and out of the house to her car- “Easy, don’t worry it will be all over soon”
Elizabeth started her car while I whimper at the backseat. When we got to the hospital, I was assisted by some Nurses to the labor room.
“Is she going to be okay?”- I heard Elizabeth voice in the room, her voice sounded scared.
“Please you need to excuse us”- The doctor said then I closed my eyes.
The next morning, I woke up to see Elizabeth sleeping on a couch next to my bed. She looked exhausted like someone who was sleep deprived. I moved my eyes to look at my right hand and found it connected to a drip then I looked at myself, my clothes changed to a patient gown.
“Elizabeth”- I said with a sick voice- “Lizzy”
This time she moved a little and when I thought she was going to wake up, she continued sleeping.
“Elizabeth”- I said again then she woke up, cleaned her eyes and gave a loud yawn.
“Glory thank goodness you are awake”- Elizabeth said with a sleepy voice- “I really thought yesterday was the day but from the look of things, that was an abnormal labour, the doctor insist you stay in the hospital for a while, he believes any day from now you might actually give birth”
I raised myself and sat on the bed with my feet touching the ground.
“You look hideous”- Elizabeth said then I smiled- “How are you feeling?”
“Sick?”- I said with my alien voice
“You will be fine don’t worry”
“I just want this to get out of me as soon as possible”- I said then Elizabeth chuckled.
“I’m not going to lie but you look like you swallowed a huge ball or something”
“Who knows what you gave me to eat”- I said
“Speaking of food, I brought you yam pepper soup, just in case you are hungry”
“I am very hungry to say the truth; I feel like I can eat anything right now”
“Let me help you with it” - Elizabeth said then she picked a flask from the ground close to my bed and handed it over to me. I opened the flask and said.
“This smells delicious, thank you”
“So, Glory have you thought about a name maybe? You should have thought about a name to give your child, right?”
“Uhh… no”- I said shaking my head
“You are about to have a child and you don’t have a name to give it”
“Have any recommendations?”- I said taking my first spoon of the food
“Yeah, since it’s going to be a girl, I think the perfect name should be Sophia, what do you think?”
“Not bad but what about it ends up being a male?”
“Alex”
Chapter 14
It was two days later and there was still no labour, instead I grew sicker. I told Elizabeth to text mother and tell her to come meet me. I wished she was there with me.
The clock on the wall read 5:40pm and the room was a little bit dark. I rested my back on the wall and sighed heavily. I cleaned the tear that escaped my right cheek quickly then I picked up my phone and dialed Leo’s number, it rang for some seconds and finally he answered.
“Hello”- Leo said at the other side of his phone
“Hello”- I said and sniffled
“Uhm… who’s this?”
“Is this the Centre for complains? I want to complain about the universe”- I said and started sobbing
“Glory? Glory what’s wrong? Are you crying?”- Leo said- “Where are you right now?”
“In a hospital”- I said
“The name”
“Blue Gate hospital”
“Hey Glory, it’s fine, okay?”- Leo said then the call hanged up. I placed my phone down on my bed and moved my eyes to see Elizabeth who was still sleeping on the couch.
After a while Elizabeth finally woke up and started heading to the door
“Wait”- I said before she left, she turned backwards and said
“Yeah? You need to go to the bathroom again?”
“No. where are you going to?”- I said
“Outside?”- Elizabeth said
“Can I come with you?”- I asked
“No, you are weak, the doctor said you need to rest”
“I hate laying down here all day, please… please, I want to breathe”- I said then we shared a look for a while.
“Fine”- Elizabeth said then walked up to me and supported me from my bed.
I was supported by Elizabeth to the outside then we stopped at a metal bench and sat on it. The time on my phone read 6:00pm and at a distance I could see the sun gradually going down. We sat silently watching nurses, doctors and other kinds of people walking past us haphazardly.
“I owe you an apology Elizabeth”- I finally said
“For what?”
“For making our lives this way”
“You didn’t do anything.”- Elizabeth said then we were silent for a while
“Elizabeth can I ask you a question?”- I finally asked
“Sure”
“Do I look nuts? Am I running nuts?”- I asked
“What’s your reason for asking?”
“I can’t remember; I still can’t remember what happened. It looks like I woke up and suddenly found myself pregnant but I know it doesn’t work that way”- I said and met her eyes- “I feel like this whole life is a lie, like I’m in some kind of coma somewhere and I try, I try to fix the puzzles, to find the missing memory but all what I see is this endless void of nothingness”
I said shuddering and rubbing my stomach.
“You are not crazy”- Elizabeth said with a comforting voice.
“Yeah? Then why do I keep hearing voices in my head”
“What does the voices say?”- Elizabeth asked then I looked forward away from her eyes and sniffled
“Elizabeth… I need help, can you help me?”- I asked and met her eyes. A tear immediately escaped my right eye- “Can you help me bring back my sanity? Can you help me to live”?
“Stop crying Glory, you cry too much… look you are making me cry. Nothing is wrong with you; you are not going crazy… We will figure this out, we will figure life out, we will be fine”- Elizabeth said and cleaned her eyes
I sighed out loudly and smacked my lips
“I wish mother was here…Without her, I want to die”
Elizabeth gave me a long look then I moved my eyes away from hers to look forward at the distant sun. We were silent for a while and I could still feel Elizabeth eyes looking at me
"I believe you”- Elizabeth finally said
“What?”
“I believe you”- Elizabeth repeated
“Why?”- I asked
“Or shouldn’t I?”- Elizabeth asked then we gave each other a long look.
“Do you know that when the sun dies, it is reborn somewhere else?”- I finally asked, this time looking at the sun some distance away.
“Do you know stars don’t shine; they burn?”- Elizabeth said then my eyes caught some children playing at a distance. There was this boy in particular wearing a red shirt and black khakis, he looked like he should be around the age of five or six. The little boy wanted to play football with the other kids but they kept passing the ball to themselves.
My mind immediately went to when I was sixteen. I was sitting on a plastic chair with Samson by my right, he was drinking a can of malt from a straw loudly. The time was eight and we were just looking at the stars.
“Do you think the universe is finite?”- Samson finally asked me
“No”- I replied shaking my head- “I think the universe is infinite, an infinity that goes on and on without an end”
“Doesn’t that scare you?”
“Why should it?”- I asked and met Samson’s eyes.
“We might be alone in this infinite universe”
“I don’t think we are”- I said
“Shouldn’t that scare you more?”- Samson asked
“No, why?”
“Aliens?”- Samson asked then I gave a short laugh
“If aliens exist then it either means they don’t know about our existence like how we don’t know about them”
“We just have to wait until they find us and maybe alienate us”- Samson said
“Not until we find them first”- I said then Samson smiled and said
“Yeah not until we find them first”
We were silent for a while just looking at the heavenly bodies above our heads.
“Dear universe, why are you so big and yet so small?”- Samson finally said
“I don’t understand”- I said
“It’s so big but what we know about it is so small, that’s if we truly know anything about it”- Samson said then we were silent again, he looked at me then I smiled and looked upwards at the stars.
I snapped back to my reality to find myself sitting with Elizabeth
“Pass for me na”- I heard the little boy said at a distance then I stood up and began walking forward
“Where are you going?”- Elizabeth asked behind me but I didn’t say anything- “Come sit down Glory”
I walked slowly forward and finally met the boy.
“Hey”- I said to the sad lad- “What’s wrong?”
“They no won pass the ball for me”- He said with pidgin
“You want to play?”- I asked then the boy nodded- “Can we play?”
“Play watin? You no hold ball na”
“Well I can get us a ball, just me and you, it will be fun”- I said
“Okay”- the young boy said still with a sad face.
Behind us was a man who had different kind of balls on a table, from basketball, to volleyball, you name it and from the look of things I knew where those kids got their ball from. I walked to the man and got a soccer ball from the table then I moved my head to look at Elizabeth who was still sitting down, just looking at me from a distance. I walked back to the boy and said.
“Here we go”
His face suddenly beamed like the child that he is. I dropped the ball down and kicked it to him, he smiled and kicked the ball back to me.
“What’s your name?”- I asked
“Kelvin”- he said and kicked the ball over to me
“Kelvin what are you doing here?”
“My mama, she no well”- Kelvin said
“Watin de do her?”- I asked this time with Pidgin
“The doctor talk sa na canter nai de do her”- Kelvin said then I chuckled softly
“You mean cancer?”- I said kicking the ball over to him.
“Na watin de do your belle?”
“Oh! I won born pikin”- I said then he smiled
“Na boy abi na girl?”
“I never know yet”- I said
“Don’t worry na twins you go born”- The boy said then I laughed a little and said
“Amen o”
I passed the ball over to him then he kicked it back, he looked like he was enjoying his play, not minding if it was getting dark. I wondered what type of cancer Kelvin’s mother was passing through, I realized that even though Kelvin possessed a child’s body, he was an adult inside. I realized he has been passing through a lot, a lot of things that children his age wasn’t passing through. I felt really sad that I will have to end the play.
“Kelvin”- I said
“Ma?”- He said then I kicked the ball over to him, he passed it
“Kelvin e be like sa you go go meet your mama, you hear?”- I said this time not kicking the ball back to him
“Pass the ball one last time”- he said then I kicked the ball for him, he joggled with the ball and finally passed it back to me
“Wow, that’s impressive”- I said
“I wan de play ball when I grow up”- He said and smiled childishly
“Bye”- I said waving at him
“Bye”- He said and started running away. I smiled, kicking the ball to the place I collected it because picking something from the floor when you are pregnant, felt like rocket science. I walked slowly to meet Elizabeth who was still sitting down.
“Who was the kid?”- Elizabeth asked
“A friend, a friend I just made today”- I said then Elizabeth stood up and supported me back to my ward. Immediately I felt a sharp pain from my stomach, I shouted. This time I knew truly it was time.
“Glory are you okay?”
“Elizabeth it’s happening”-
“Somebody help!! My sister is in labour!!”
The next thing I remember was I was laying down sweating terribly, it was like something was trying really bad to come out of me. I shouted and pushed.
“Okay now push!”- The doctor said. I squeezed my face in pain and I kept breathing heavily and loudly- “The head is out keep pushing”
I grabbed Elizabeth hand tightly, she was standing by my right-hand side wearing gloves and a nose mask, her body was covered like the doctor and the nurses. I guess the way I held her hand tightly began to hurt her but I know she knew how much pain I was going through.
“You can do this”- Elizabeth whispered to me then I pushed with all my strength and shouted out loud for the universe to hear me. After that I heard a cry, a baby cry.
“It’s a boy”- A nurse said to me but the pain didn’t stop, it was like another being was trying to get out. I screamed even more loudly this time and grabbed Elizabeth tightly
“She’s having another”- I heard a male nurse said
“Twins Glory, twins. Come on you got this”- I heard Elizabeth said to me
I felt like I was fading, I felt like the more I pushed, the more something inside of me died. I used whatever strength I had left to push out the fetus and after it was out, I could hear it cry. My eyes were closed when I heard a nurse said
“It’s a girl”
“You did it”- Elizabeth said but I was fading, I was fading into a darkness.
Chapter 15
Darkness was all I could see, was that heaven? But I thought, isn’t heaven a place of light? I started hearing the sound of something bipping. I opened my eyes slowly but no one was in the room then I moved my eyes across the room and met the window, the air coming in was making the curtains dance. It was peaceful, just watching the curtains move. I moved my head quickly to the door and found Elizabeth standing with a smile on her face.
“Hi”- Elizabeth said with a wave and a smile, she wore a black turtleneck shirt, black jean and black pair of shoes.
“Hey”- I managed to say with my weak voice
“Good morning- Elizabeth said this time with a smile that reached her ears- “Mummy twins”
I managed to give a smile
“Dash me the girl carry de boy”- Elizabeth said
I gave a weak laugh this time and said
“Where are they?”
“Oh, you mean the twins?”
Elizabeth said and walked to a small baby bed close to my hospital bed and brought out the first child.
“This one is the girl, are you sure you are strong enough to hold her”
“I am”- I said arranging my glasses. I stretched my hand for Elizabeth then I received the baby
“Isn’t she cute?”- Elizabeth said
I smiled as I looked into her round eyes, she looked very beautiful- “Can I have the other one?”
“I won’t allow you hold the both of them”- Elizabeth said and took the girl from me and placed her back on her bed. She took the other child from the bed and said
“How I de see dis boy e go stubborn well well like e mother, see how e de chew hand”
“Funny”- I said with my weak voice then Elizabeth gave him to me, she took her phone and started taking pictures of us.
Suddenly someone knocked on the door.
“Yes? Who’s there?”- Elizabeth asked then the door opened to review a nurse.
“Good morning”- The nurse said to Elizabeth
“Good morning”- Elizabeth said back to her
“There’s a boy looking for miss Glory”
“A boy? Are you expecting any boy Glory?”- Elizabeth asked and met my eyes
“He’s a friend”- I said to the nurse
“Okay, I will just tell him to come in. Congratulations by the way”- The nurse said
“Thank you”- Elizabeth muttered then the nurse left
I couldn’t keep my eyes off the child on my hands, he looked so beautiful. I didn’t know if I should be happy, I didn’t know if I was allowed to be happy and the more, I looked at them, the sadder I become, but one thing I didn’t regret was the fact that I decided to spare their lives.
“Since when do you have a friend that’s a boy?”- Elizabeth asked me
The door opened then I flickered my eyes up to see Leo, Leo paused at the door as if in total disbelief, I smiled widely at him and said.
“Are you going to stand there or are you going to say hi?”- I said
“I’m sorry, hi”- Leo said then cleared his throat- “I’m just shocked and happy at the same time”
He walked to the room with his green leather jacket and white shoes
“Hi” Elizabeth said with a smile on her face
“Hi”- Leo said back with a wave
“I never knew Glory had a friend”- Elizabeth said
“You must be her sister”- Leo said walking to me
“Yeah I am”- Elizabeth said and met my eyes- “Wait how do you know that?”
“You two look identical”- Leo said
“Yeah I’m her sister”
There was something strange about Elizabeth smile, her face still couldn’t believe I had a friend.
“Fine girl”- Leo said after collecting the child from my hands. Elizabeth stood up from the bed I was laying on and helped herself on the couch.
“Actually, that one is a boy”- Elizabeth said
“In that case, fine boy”- Leo said and sat next to Elizabeth
“I’m sorry but how long have you two known each other?”- Elizabeth asked
“Umm…”- Leo started and looked at me- “Not long”
“I will be back, excuse me”- Elizabeth said after her phone started ringing. She stood up and went out of the room leaving I and Leo alone with the infants. We were silent for a while
“You have a nice sister”- Leo finally said
“She’s just very surprised I have a friend”- I said then Leo chuckled. We grew silent again
“You were crying over the phone”
“Yeah”- I said with my sick voice- “Wait, what about your mom?”
“She’s good, she’s good. My Aunt came over, so everything is taken care of”- Leo said then we were silent again- “I think it’s time I let you free Leo Junior”- He said and stood up
“I saw what you did there”- I said then Leo gave a short laugh
“Should I give him back to you or…?”
“Please just place him back on his bed”- I said then Leo dropped the baby down on his bed- “Thank you”
“You sound sick Glory”
“I don’t feel okay, Leo”
“You will be fine”- Leo said and helped himself on the coach- “Well… I have good news and bad news”
“What’s the bad news?”- I asked
“Twins means double the headache, trust me when I say you won’t sleep well at nights”- Leo said then I gave a weak laugh.
“What’s the good news?”
“The good news is you are going to be fine by God’s grace”- Leo said taking his phone from his right pocket then started playing a song, a song by Juice Wrld titled ‘wishing well’
“That song”- I said
“What?”- Leo said pausing the song- “Did you say something?”
“That song”- I said
“You like it?”- Leo asked then I was silent for a while before I said
“That song was my best friend favorite song in the world”
“Yeah? What happened to him?”
“He… He died”- I said and sighed
“I’m sorry, that must have really hurt you”- Leo said
“Yeah”- I said nodding- “It still does”
“The song is my favorite too”- Leo said- “I guess your friend had a great taste for music”
I smiled weakly and said
“Thank you for coming, I’m very glad you are here. I need company right now”
“Well you called the center for complains, we are here at your service”- Leo said then I smiled a little.
“Who’s we?”- I asked then the door immediately opened to review Elizabeth- “Long call huh?”- I asked Elizabeth
“Yeah”- She said and sat next to Leo. We were silent for a while then Leo’s watch started ringing.
“I think it’s time for me to go”
“So soon?”- Elizabeth asked
“Thank you for coming Leo”
“I will be here tomorrow”- Leo said and left for the door. As soon as he left the room, one of the babies started crying. Elizabeth stood up immediately and walked to their bed, she took the one crying and said.
“Na food this one want like this o”
She petted him for a while trying to make him stop crying but it was to no avail
“Bring him”- I said then she placed him on my arms. I took out my right breast from my bra and inserted it in the baby’s mouth, he immediately grabbed it and began sucking. I squeezed my face in pain.
“Sorry, don’t worry you will get used to it”- Elizabeth said then I smiled
“This is so weird”- I said still smiling looking at the child on my arms
“Knock- knock”- Someone said by the door
“Leo?”- I called but no one replied
“I will go check it out, who is it? Come in”- Elizabeth said then the door opened to review mother. Elizabeth stood up quickly as if she just saw a ghost. Mother dropped her green hand bag that matched her Ankara down on the floor slowly. I found my heart racing as mother kept looking at me and Elizabeth
“Come hug me please”- Mother said then Elizabeth quickly hugged her, mother laughed a little.
“Thank you for coming”- Elizabeth said and released the hug, she cleaned the tear that escaped her left cheek and smiled. I started crying also, how bad I wanted her, I started crying like a child that wanted a toy. She walked to me and cleaned the tears on my cheeks. I kept staring into those mother eyes of hers then she gave a smile and said
“It’s okay”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry”- I found myself saying
“I’m sorry too”- she said then she moved her eyes to the baby on my arms.
“She’s beautiful, like you”- Mother said then I smiled
“It’s a he actually”- I said crying and laughing at the same time.
“Oh”- mother said- “A son?”
“Yeah”- I said nodding, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, she stretched her hands and took him from me
“I’m your mama little one”- mother said helping herself on the bed
“There’s another one mother”- Elizabeth said walking to the baby bed
“Another one?”- Mother asked
“Yeah”- Elizabeth said as she continuously kept cleaning her cheeks
Mother moved her head to look at me. I nodded then she shifts her gaze to the baby on Elizabeth hands, she suddenly became short of words and was silent for a while as if unsure of what to say.
“Only this one boy on my hands have given me great joy, there’s another? Twins?”- Mother said then she started crying which made all of us cry. Mother kept crying and at the same time sniffling, it was like she was crying all what was bothering her out and when she stopped crying, she looked at my eyes and said- “I’m sorry”
“It’s okay”- I said
“Mom we are the ones that are sorry”- Elizabeth said
“No, I want to also apologize”
“Mother, how did you know we are here?”- I asked
“Elizabeth texted me the address”- Mother said then Elizabeth helped herself on the couch still holding the child.
It was like someone suddenly turned on the lights in my life. I was happy, even Elizabeth suddenly looked cheerful, her face bloomed with happiness, Mother too was happy but I could tell she wanted to still ask “Do you now know who the father is?” I know she knew I didn’t have an answer to that question. The question didn’t even matter anymore but still I wished I knew. I wished I knew the homo-sapient who those children belonged to, I wondered if the father was like me, oblivious to what we did. I thought about the children’s future, I wondered about the lie I would have to tell them for the rest of their life until they grow up and begin to ask questions, what will I do then? Will I ever be okay seeing my kids living with this lie in their heads? I will have to forever be a mom, even though the thought scared the shit out of me. I promised, I promised to try my best though to be a good mom, to be the best mom the world has ever seen.
Chapter 16
I opened my eyes slowly to see Leo by my right sitting down on the couch, my body felt really weak that day and my eyes were too heavy to be left open. My breathing was hard and hot, I didn’t know what was happening to me and the doctors have been describing pills for me to take but I wasn’t getting any better
“Long sleep”- Leo said sitting on the couch.
“How long have you been sitting down there?”- I asked with that alien voice of mine.
“Since twelve”- Leo responded
“What’s the time now?”- I asked
“The time is…”- Leo started looking at his watch- “Three fifty”
We were silent for a while then I said
“Where’s everyone?”
“You mean your mom and sister? Well your sister said something about going to her company and your mother went to get you something to eat outside”
“Leo”- I managed to say
“Yeah?”
“I’m fading”
“What do you mean by fading?”
“I’m…”- I started but I was interrupted by mother who opened the door and walked towards me.
“How was your sleep?”- Mother asked me as she placed what she bought on the floor. I didn’t give a reply, I was breathing, breathing any air left that could make me last longer. Mom looked at me curiously, her eyes just browsing my body. I couldn’t help but to cry, I was angry, angry that mother would be sad again. I wished I could help her to keep the little happiness she had left but instead of helping her keep her happiness, I was about to take it away from her, away from everyone I cared for.
“Glory, why are you crying? What’s happening to you?”- Mother asked and held my right hand tightly, so tight that it began to hurt, I guess she didn’t know that, it was as if she was trying to squeeze me back to reality but my reality was about to change, I was about to take off the virtual reality goggles I have been wearing all this time of my life. Sometimes that was how I imagined the world, like an augmented reality and someday we will all have to take the goggles off.
I noticed Leo stood up and sat at my leg area watching as my mom cry. I wanted to clean those wet cheeks of hers, I never wanted to be the reason for her pain. The greatest joy of a mother is when they get to look at their child’s face for the first time, that feeling, that feeling is everything but the greatest pain a mother can face is when she sees that child go away from her hands, forever.
“Mother”- I managed to say. I couldn’t even feel my arms
“Glory, my sweet little Glory”- Mom said crying
“I love you”- I said
“Yeah…”- Mother said cleaning her eyes- “I love you too”
Suddenly the door opened to review Elizabeth, she wore herself a hood and had her backpack on.
“What’s going on?”- Elizabeth asked by the door
“Your sister…”- Mother was trying to say and broke into tears. Elizabeth rushed to me and started blabbing out words.
“Glory, nothing is going to happen to you, everything is going to be okay. Glory don’t go”
I looked at her eyes for a while and said
“When the sun dies, it will be reborn somewhere else”
“No star is dying today, stop saying that. Glory if you leave me, I will never be okay, I will never forgive myself”- Elizabeth said, this time a tear escaped her eyes.
“I’m going to call the doctor”- Mother said and went for the door hurriedly
“Leo”- I called
“Yeah, I’m right here”- Leo said and found my eyes.
“I guess you are about to lose one of your clients”- I said then he gave a short laugh.
“Yeah…”- he started cleaning his wet cheeks- “You were one of our bests”
I smiled and said
“I guess there’s no need for me to complain about the universe anymore”
“Yeah because you become the universe itself. The same thing we complain about”- Leo said then I waited a while to say
“Exactly, I become the universe”
Elizabeth was still crying, crying badly that she already started looking like a mess, looking at her cry made me cry. That was the part I hated, the pain I leave in the hearts of those I loved. I wished for them to live a life and forget about me; my life was already running out but they still got more years ahead.
“Elizabeth”- I started then she raised her head up for me to see her wet face
“Glory, fight, fight for mother and me, fight for your kids and lastly, fight for yourself”
“I wish I could but someone took my boxing gloves”- I said with my alien voice
“Just know this, you won, no matter what”- Elizabeth said then the world began to spin like a worm hole.
“Elizabeth”- I said fighting back to my reality
“I’m right here”
“Do something for me”
“Anything”
“I want you to call my daughter Infinity because I want her to know that her capabilities are endless”
“I will. I love you forever”- I heard Elizabeth said- “Don’t worry sis, I will meet you soon”
“We will all meet you soon”- I heard Leo said- “Don’t be scared, this is the fate we all share. Just know this isn’t the end, this is the start of something new”
“Na here my pikin de”- Mother said crying as she burst open the door but the wormhole kept spinning, taking me along with it and soon I embraced the darkness.
I know you may begin to ask yourself “if she died then how is she telling her story?” well, I’m not, I’m not even real for Christ sake, not anymore. I am something constructed by the mind, I am a construct, I am like a voice you hear in your head, you can hear me speak but not physically. I AM ALIVE and DEAD, I am EVERYWHERE and NOWHERE. I AM THE UNIVERSE. flesh we were, the universe we become. My wish though is for everyone I love to live a life, it’s for my kids to be okay.
Dear you with my voice ringing in your mind, I will tell you one thing “you are loved and everything is going to be fine”.
The darkness is all we ever knew
Lone and forgotten
Through a long sleeping,
In the heart of age
A child woke weeping…
The darkness thickened
Upon him creeping,
In the heart of age
A child lay weeping
- GEORGE RUSSEL WILLIAMS (A.E)
(1867-1935)
ELIZABETH
I held my sister’s right hand when she said her last words and went to the other side. I cried bitterly, I cried, together with everyone else in the room. Glory’s friend Leo looked strong but I just kept looking at him, I knew it hurt, which made me to ask even more how long the two has known each other. My mom went nuts that day, she cried crawling on the floor like a child.
It has been two months now after my sister died, everything about the world I lived seemed different, seemed strange. Sometimes I would just stand on a bridge and look at a river, it helped to say the truth, even though every time it made me cry. I can still see Glory in her casket looking so stiff, that wasn’t the Glory I know, that wasn’t my baby sister in there. My sister was very much alive, smart and every time I keep having that feeling that it was my fault.
I sat down on my couch looking at some pictures of Glory. I looked intensely at one of her secondary school pictures, it was a picture she took with Samson, her best friend. They both crossed each other’s shoulders and kept smiling at the camera. I cleaned a tear off my cheeks and tried swallowing.
“I’m sorry sis”- I said and started crying a little. I dropped the box and stood up when my eyes caught one of my security cameras on the wall. I decided to walk closer to the camera and looked at it for a while. Wait has this been here the whole time? - I asked myself
“Elizabeth!!!”- I heard mother yell then I moved my head to my right to look at her face- “I have been calling you, I need your help with the kids”
“Mom… I think I know who made Glory pregnant”
“What?”- Mom said with a confused look
The time was six in the evening when mother started bathing the twins, she bathed each one at a time as she sat on a stool. I stood by the door with my hands folded and with my shoulder and head rested on the wall watching, watching mother bath the kids while they cry.
“Alex you sabi shout o”- Mother said throwing him to the air and then catching him. I laughed a little then my smile slowly drained.
“Good night little ones”- I said to the twins as they slept innocently on their bed.
“Let me make their food, just in case they wake up in the night”- Mother said about to leave then I grabbed her hand and said
“Mom… you are doing great”
“You are doing great too”- Mother said cleaning the tears off my cheeks then we hugged each other.
When the time clocked 10:00 pm, I went straight to my CCTV room and put on the lights. I operated the computer and went back to the day of the party. The video of what happened that day started playing, I could see myself talking with Stella and some of my other friends. I looked for Glory and found her sitting on one of my Sofa’s alone, she was alone for a while, she looked nervous and shy then suddenly a tall figure with a suit appeared to her, they started talking. I zoomed the video to recognize the face but he was still standing, finally he sat down next to her. HOLY SHIT!!!
Chapter 17
I stopped my car and came out from it. I had a black suit with black sunglasses on and moved to a bungalow in front of me then I knocked on the door.
“Who’s there?”- A masculine voice said inside and as soon as he opened the door, I delivered a punch to his face which made him fall down.
“Jesus!!!”- He said touching his bloody mouth. I raised him up and placed him hard on the wall for him to see my eyes- “What da fuck, Elizabeth?”
“You asshole”- I said holding his shirt tightly.
“I can’t breathe… I can’t breathe”- He was trying to say then I released his cloth, he fell immediately and started breathing out loudly.
“You are such a worthless, good for nothing, coward of a man Frank”- I said
“What did I do?”- Frank said trying to control his breath. I found a chair and sat on it looking at Frank who was still sitting on the floor with his injured mouth.
“Do you have vodka?”- I asked but he was silent, looking at me with so much anger and hate. I removed my glasses to show him his anger couldn’t be compared with mine – “You might be wondering why I’m not so nice to you today Frank”
“How dare you come to my house and start acting like some kind of God? You deh jones? How dare you give me a punch?”
“Frank na you de jones”- I said
“Watin I do?”
I looked at him for a while then I laughed a little
“All this time, all this time, I never knew it was this goddamn bare-chested man on the floor”
“I’m still lost; I want to understand why you blow me for mouth? “- Frank said and placed his back on the wall
“Na why you do am?”
“Do watin?”
“Why you drug my sister?”
“What are you saying?”- Frank said with an angry voice
“My sister died and it’s all your fault?”
“How is it my fault?... Fuck you Elizabeth walking in here and accusing me of something I have no knowledge about!!”
“I shouldn’t have invited you to that party”- I said
“The girl make me bleed fa”- He said touching his lips
“I’m speaking to you”- I said.
“I refuse to listen!!! Get out of my house, you are drunk and insane!!”- He said standing up angrily- “Get out of my house!!”
I stood up and walked closer to him, he walked backwards a little then I took out my phone from my pocket and played a video for him to watch.
“Do you know who this is?”- I asked
“Why are you showing me a sex tape”
“That’s you riding my sister!”
“No! what do you want me to make of this?”
“Look closer, that isn’t photoshop, that is you”
“Take your phone and get out from my house!!!”- He said angrily
“Don’t touch me”- I warned but he wouldn’t listen, he grabbed my right hand trying to push me away then I held him and slammed him on a glass table, his body shattering it. I bent down to see his face; he was bleeding more this time.
“I know we are friends Frank but you really pissed off”- I said
“I don’t remember; I swear”- Frank said in pain.
“I know, you both were very intoxicated, so… this is what is going to happen… look here”- I said and showed him a picture on my phone, a picture of Glory’s babies sleeping peacefully
“Those are babies”- Frank said
“Your babies”- I corrected- “You are a God damn father Frank, I don’t know why you choose to make this so hard for yourself, just look at you”
“Did you just say I made all this hard? You literally punched me in the face the moment you saw me”
“Well Frank, what I want from you is this, I want you to co-operate, I want you to take care of your god damn kids okay?”
“Yeah”- he said nodding
“I understand how you are feeling but I’m saying the truth, you know how close we are, I wouldn’t just bring this on you”
“My whole-body aches badly”- Frank said
“Here come on”- I said stretching my hands for him, he took it then stood up and staggered to sit down on a chair. He took a cigarette from his left pocket and a lighter from his other pocket, he lighted the cigar and poured out the smoke.
“This is hard to process”- He said
“This is part of your reality now Frank and also my Mom doesn’t like men that smoke”- I said and started walking away, moving across the broken pieces of glass on the floor.
I don’t know why I and Glory never got to remember about the security cameras in my house. I totally forgot I had cameras in my house. If Glory got a chance to know who got her pregnant, will she still be cool with him? Frank was a stranger, a complete stranger I invited to her birthday party, he was the CFO of my company. I liked Frank though and that was why I invited him to the party, he was very hardworking and far older than Glory.
After watching the video of what happened that day, I still blamed myself because I didn’t put an eye on her, I was so distracted and didn’t know when both of them left the living room. I was also drunk that day and I fell asleep, in fact everybody I invited to that party ended up being drunk. When I woke up from the ground, I found Glory sleeping on the couch with others sleeping on the floor, including Frank. So, I never suspected they did anything.
Chapter 17
I sat looking at Glory’s tomb in front of me and shielded myself because of the cold.
“Hi”- I heard a voice say to me then I moved my head to the left to see Glory’s friend Leo, he held flowers on his hand and wore himself a black sweater with black jeans.
“Hi”- I said
He moved closer to me and sat next to me. We sat silently as if waiting for the other person to start the conversation.
“How long? How long has it been without her?”- Leo finally asked breaking the silence.
“Too long”- I said and started sobbing softly, I didn’t care if he was watching- “I feel like she’s gone because of me, there’s this huge load on my chest that won’t go away”
“Can I ask you a question?”- Leo said then I flickered my wet eyes for him to see- “what do you think Glory will say if she’s sitting next to you? She would want you to know that it isn’t your fault. I also want to tell you that, things happen, somethings are just uncontrollable and unpredictable, in this case it’s not your fault”
I watched the young lad said to me
“Do you come here often?”- I asked.
“Yeah, I come to drop some flowers”- Leo said
“That explains the flowers, I almost mistook her tomb for another”- I said then he laughed a little and said
“How are you coping?”
“Not so good”- I said then we sat silently for a while
“I have to catch up with my mom”- Leo said standing up
“Yeah, sure”- I said
“See you sometimes?”- Leo asked and placed the flowers on Glory’s tomb.
“I’ve been meaning to ask; how did you and Glory meet each other? How long have you two known each other?”- I asked
“Well I first met her at a football field, she was in a car that I later realize was your car, we even had dinner at my place that day, we spoke and the truth is, she was the most interesting person I’ve ever met”- Leo said.
“Yeah, that’s my baby sister”- I said and sniffled
“Are you going to be okay?”
“I don’t know”- I said shaking my head from left to right as if signifying a no
“I have to go”
“Yeah”- I said cleaning my cheeks.
“Yeah”-He said and was about to walk away before I said
“Can I at least give you a drive?”
“No, thank you”- he said and started walking away
I watched as he walked away then I turned forward to look at Glory’s tomb once more. I stood up and as I was about to leave, my eyes met a book on the chair I sat, I moved closer to it, I guess Leo forgot it, I took it and began to glance through the pages, it was his diary.
I sat on a small chair playing my piano and singing at the same time. Apart from reading books, the second-best thing Glory loved was playing the piano. I hated music, in fact I had a music room so that I won’t use it but Glory loved the music room, she would stay here for hours, just tapping the keys of the piano melodiously. Playing the piano makes me remember her, that room was like her territory.
As soon as I stopped singing, mother started clapping.
“That was beautiful”- Mom said then I chuckled.
“I didn’t see you there”- I said
“I never knew you could play the piano”- Mother said
“Well…I decided to learn something new. Glory loved the piano; did you know that?”
“Yeah, I do”- Mom said
“She would make my ears bleed with it; she was very good at it though”- I said tapping the piano keys.
“Glory was good at a lot of things Elizabeth”- Mother said then I moved my eyes to look at her.
“Yeah she was”- I said then we were silent for a while
“You look like you have something bothering you… Are you okay?”- Mom asked by the door.
“Yeah I am”- I said nodding and sobbing at the same time.
I cleaned my eyes quickly and sniffled.
“You hungry?”- Mother asked then I laughed a little, I remembered when I use to be the one to ask Glory that question.
“No”- I said shaking my head.
“You want to starve yourself to death now?”- Mom asked then we were silent for some seconds.
“How do you do it mom?”- I finally asked
“The eguisi soup? You just…”- Mom was saying
“No, not that”- I interrupted
“Then what is it?”
“To start all over? How do you do it? I don’t know how”- I said then mother walked to me and sat on a chair next to me. We looked at each other eyes for a while then finally she gave a short smile and said.
“Why start all over when you can still hold on to some pieces, the goal isn’t to start all over because starting over is one of the hardest things to do Elizabeth, it takes a lot of work. The goal is to live, the goal is to forever remember those we lost, the goal is to live this life with their memory in our heads”
“Yeah and how do you do that?”- I said cleaning my cheeks
“Well… when your father passed away from the car accident, I thought for sure I would die from sadness”
“How did you get yourself up or how are you holding yourself right now?”
“I don’t know really… we expect pain to die away with time but sometimes it doesn’t. You just need to learn how to live with that pain forever stamped to your heart”- Mother said then she smiled at me which made me sobbed even more- “Can I ask you a question Elizabeth?”
“Yeah, yeah you can”- I said sobbing
“How did you move on after your father died?”
“I didn’t, I just learned how to live with the pain”- I said
“Exactly”- Mother said then we were silent for a while- “When I was young, your father would play me the piano, his artistic nature was one of the things I loved most about him”
“I know”- I said trying to stop myself from sobbing.
“Yeah, I used to play the piano too when I was younger”- Mother said
“I didn’t know that”
“Who do you think taught Glory how to play?”- Mother said and started playing the piano, she was good.
“We haven’t been so close during these past few years, you and Glory understood each other”- I said while mother kept playing the piano.
A tear escaped mother’s left eyes after she stopped playing the piano.
“Can we fix that?”- Mother asked looking at me then I nodded
Loneliness is now like an entity
Last night we saw the stars arise,
But clouds soon dimmed the ether blue;
And when we sought each other’s eyes
Tears dimmed them too!
- GEORGE DARLEY (1795-1846)
EPILOGUE:
LEO
I sat watching a football match, my eyes were watching but my mind wasn’t. I started remembering the little time I spent with Glory, I remembered watching her die at the hospital. That was the first time I watched anyone die.
“Leo, Leo, I de call your name since, you don deaf?”- I moved my head to my left to see my coach walking to my direction- “Come joor, make I put you for this match”
“Sorry”- I said standing up quickly
“Go and score for us”- My coach said to me after patting my shoulder twice- “Bukola oya come out from that field, referee no vex but I won substitute that werey”
After the match was over, I backed my bag and started heading home. I don’t know why but my head wouldn’t shut up, everywhere I went, every girl I saw. My mind would immediately start picturing Glory. I knew her for such a short time but it felt like eternity, like I have always known her.
I knocked on my house door twice to be sure mother was still in the living room.
“Yes?”- I heard her old sweet voice say inside then I opened the door and found her sitting down on the couch.
“Sorry I stayed this long, you must be starving, I will get you something to eat right away”- I said walking away to the kitchen then my mom stopped me by saying
“Leo?”
I turned backwards and said
“Yes?”
“Do you remember my birthday party?”
“Yeah, what about it?”- I said
“You brought a friend that day”- She said then I breathed out heavily
“I did, yeah”
“She never came back after that day”- My mother said
“She travelled”- I said
“To where?”- My mom asked then I felt this huge lump in my throat
“To a far place, I don’t think she’s coming back mother”- I said and waited for a while before leaving to the kitchen.
After helping my mother to her room to sleep, I stood by my mother’s door
“Goodnight Leo”- she said with a sleepy voice
“Good night”- I said and closed the door slowly. I went straight to my room and lied down on my bed, I sighed out loudly and closed my eyes hoping I fall asleep when suddenly a message beeped into my phone. I refused to check what it was until another message beeped into my phone; I stretched my hands tirelessly to where my phone was then took it to have a look at it.
“Dear Leo, I just want to tell you thank you for being there when my sister needed you the most, I realized that you meant something special to her, so I decided to give you a little token to show how grateful I am. Do have a great day, young sir Leo”
After reading this message, I quickly checked the other one, I cleaned my eyes to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating again.
“Five million-naira, holy shit!!!”- I stood up hysterically and laughed- “What da hell?”
I found myself laughing then I stopped laughing when the thought of Glory dawned on me. I sat down on my bed and typed a message back to the strange number which I knew belonged to Miss Elizabeth.
“Thank you, this means a lot to me but I am confused, how did you get my account details?”
After typing it, I sent it to her and immediately another message entered my phone as if she was waiting for me to send her a message.
“You left your diary on the chair we sat the last time we saw each other, use that money to take care of yourself and your mom, I think Glory would want you to have that”
I stared at the message for a while not sure of what to type next. I dropped the phone down on my bed next to me gently then I supported my jaw with my hands and sighed
Suddenly another message beeped into my phone. I took it and saw pictures of babies, which I suspected belonged to Glory, the twins looked bigger and beneath the picture was a message
“The kids want to tell you thank you also”
Finally, she sent another photo, a photo of a man holding Glory’s twins, smiling at the camera. Beneath the photo were the words
“And also, we found their dad”
I smiled and later found myself laughing, my heart was still sad of course and sometimes I could feel her presence. I know that feeling would fade away with time, that strong feeling I get that feels like she’s sitting next to me. It was nice at least that they found the man responsible for the kids but I was still confused how Miss Elizabeth did it, or was Glory hiding the man intentionally? Maybe not, maybe truly something happened that made her forget. I brushed my hair backwards with my hand then another message entered my phone, this time it was a picture of Glory, smiling widely at the camera. I cleaned the tear that escaped my right eye and said
“You are the universe now; I guess you now hold all the answers to every unanswered question. Rest in peace, my friend”
Special thanks
I would like to use this opportunity to thank myself for being disciplined enough to finish this story. I also want to thank all those who helped me in the proofreading and editing of this book.
Author’s words
Dear reader, I know the end of this story might make a lot of you sad but isn’t that the reality of life? I wish I could write the story in a different way and if I do, the voices in my head would not let me be. For this is Glory’s fate.
I however, do not want the message that I’m trying to pass in this story to get misinterpreted, I don’t want it to get twisted. I wrote this story because of the high rate of abortions in my country, Nigeria. I wrote this story to try and communicate to you the reader that life begins immediately when the sperms and the ovary eggs fuse together and if you decide to harm that life then you have in fact committed murder. I also wrote this story to communicate the trauma some young pregnant girls go through and the reason why they face this trauma isn’t even because of themselves but because of the people around them. We should learn to make such girls or women feel okay, feel normal, feel human.
During my days of research, I have come to realize that too many abortions actually kills the womb, what that means is that, the more abortion one does, the more she stabs her womb with a knife. It is also dangerous because it may lead to the death of both the mother and the child.
I will also like to confess that the way I described in this book how a pregnant woman gets rid of her pregnancy even though the Fetus has grown to a certain age where it is almost impossible to abort is just a work of fiction. I mentioned about a syringe that when injected into the mother’s flesh releases a harmful chemical that kills the child but nothing happens to the mother until the day when she delivers her child dead. I am not too sure if this syringe exists in real life.
I want you to understand that because Glory died doesn’t mean the message was turned upside down, I want you to know this, Glory died as a hero.
About the Author
Austin Williams is a talented writer specializing in the captivating genres of teen fiction, tragedy, science fiction and other genres. With a unique blend of imagination and emotional depth, Austin crafts compelling stories that resonate with readers of all ages.
Drawing inspiration from the complexities of adolescence, Austin delves into the lives of young protagonists, exploring their triumphs, struggles, and personal growth. Through nuanced storytelling, Austin tackles thought-provoking themes that resonate with teenagers and young adults, touching upon issues such as identity, love, loss, and the pursuit of truth.
Austin's writing is characterized by a masterful command of language, creating evocative scenes and compelling dialogue that keep readers engrossed from beginning to end. With each story, Austin strives to entertain, inspire, and challenge readers to question the world around them.
When not immersed in the world of writing, Austin enjoys exploring nature, seeking inspiration in the beauty of the outdoors. Austin also has a deep appreciation for science, often delving into the latest discoveries and theories that fuel his imagination.
To discover more about Austin and to stay updated on his latest works, visit his Facebook profile: Facebook@ Austin wills or you can send him an SMS on 08142912734.
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