Echoes... Episode 2

 

 

Ire’s tears jolted her from sleep. He has been crying excessively recently. She had taken him to the hospital and the doctors couldn’t really find anything wrong, but he wouldn’t stop crying. She didn’t know what to do anymore.

            “Mama Ire, answer that boy now”

Mrs Akpan was the woman living in the first room of their 15 room face-me- I –nod–you apartment. Despite her room being the first, she always seemed to know what was going on in all the other rooms. She was known as the trouble maker and warrior of the house, everyone knew her and always did their best to stay clear of her. In fact, the kids had a song for her;

            “Everyday na wahala, everyday na palava”

“ Everyday na argumenti, every nighti fight”

” The person wey dey cause am”

“ Hin name na Mrs Akpan”

“ Mrs Akpan na the trouble maker wey dey for our yard”

She would find sticks and stones and make to run after them. Of course, with their tiny swift legs and might that only kids possessed, she never caught them.

            “I am answering him already”

            “Okay o. if he continues crying, bring him to my room let me give him one of the mixtures my mother brought for me from the village. It even works faster than any medicine and works for all kinds of sicknesses”.

            “Thank you Mrs Akpan, he will be fine”

            “Okay o. you know, as a young mother, you need to learn that you cannot fold your hands and watch your child die, you know people are evil”

            “God forbid! My son will not die. Thank you ehn, he will be fine”

            “Okay o, but hope you know…”

            “He will be fine o Mrs Akpan, thank you”

That was the issue with Mrs Akpan, she never got tired. She had so many other things on her mind today and Mrs Akpan was the last of them. Ire couldn’t afford to fall sick now; she needed him to be healthy. She had to work; she had to get money because she was fast running out of provisions.

 Toju never imagined this kind of life for herself. In her wildest imagination –despite her very creative and wild mind- she never for once taught that at 18 she would be out of school and singlehandedly raising a child. She had grown up as the apple of her father’s eyes.  She was among those young girls privileged to have a wealthy and doting father. Although a disciplinarian, her father had a weakness and it was her. She knew this early enough and even from her nurseries had made up her mind to always do him proud. She was always among the best in her class back then in Command, and although double promotions were not allowed in her school, she was encouraged to write her common entrance examination in primary 4 and at the age of 10, she was already in Junior Secondary School where she continued exceling. Throughout her secondary school, the name Toju was a household name. Everyone knew and loved her. This was because despite how rich her parents were, she still maintained a level of humility and it won her so much respect and admiration. She also represented her school in several competitions, most of which she won. Despite the chain of wealth they controlled, her father had managed to instil responsibility and independence in her and this shaped her into a strong and opinionated young woman. By age 16, she was already in the University. Despite her many options, she had chosen to school in OAU mainly because of the plenty legendary stories she heard about the school. Plus, she had an independent mind and somewhat felt a private school might be choking for her.

Now, she was out of school, her father had no idea where she was and despite how mad and disappointed in her he was, she knew he would be moving heavens and hell in search of her right now. But rather than face him, or face the world, she would flee and clean up her mess in her own way.

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            “Bryan, we cannot go ahead with picking a date without hearing from your dad, it’s not possible”!

            “Babes, please let’s just go ahead. Dad is fine with whatever date we choose”.

            “I really don’t get you anymore Bryan. You’ve been acting so funny. You know how involved dad has been in this and you know he would want to know about choosing dates so what is wrong with you?

How was he going to explain to Aisha that the 3 months he gave his father had elapsed and he was about making his marriage decisions on his own since his father had refused to bend? Although he told him that he would attend the wedding, he has made it clear that he doesn’t want to be a part of it. Aisha doesn’t know it but it was the main reason he opted for a small and quiet wedding. He had had 3 more conversations about this issue with his dad since the last one, but nothing has changed, Dad hasn’t moved his grounds at all.

            “Honey, please don’t make an issue where there is none. I know dad and I know he is fine with whatever decisions we make.

            “Okay Bryan, its fine. Tomorrow, I will go see dad myself and I will ask him what he thinks about our date, hope I’m allowed to do that sir?

Aisha was getting angry and he knew she had every right to. She had so much respect for his dad and his approval meant a lot to her. He had managed to deprive her of the regular big ceremony attached to weddings in their tradition. She lied to her parents that she and Bryan have decided to do a very small and simple wedding. They struggled with this because she was their only girl but then, she won their approval eventually. It’s not like she wanted a big wedding herself, she liked things simple, but then she wouldn’t have minded something quite elaborate just for her parents. She was their only girl and she knew they would love it. But she loved Bryan. If he strongly wanted a small wedding, she was ready to please him; the important thing was to finally become his wife. However, she needed to hear from his dad. She recognised and respected the bond between Bryan and his dad. All they had was each other, they were best of friends, they loved each other beyond words and she knew it.

            “Fine, there’s something I have to tell you”

            “Oh okay”

He did not want to tell her, he knew it would break her heart. But at this point, it was better she heard from him than from his dad.

            “Errmm , Dad has some reservations”

            “Reservations?”

            “Yes baby. Dad doesn’t want us getting married”

            “What!!! I don’t understand”

            “Baby, I love you more than life itself. You mean the world to me and nothing and no one will come in between us.

            “Why doesn’t dad want me? What did I do wrong?

Bryan couldn’t stand the tears that had begun streaming down her cheeks. He knew this would happen and that is why he had hidden it from her all these months. He didn’t want her to go through this pain she was now going through

            “Baby, it doesn’t change anything. I cannot live my life without you. Common, I can’t even stay 2 days without seeing you. Dad doesn’t hate you; in fact he tells me how much he loves you. He simply said he feels uneasy about us getting married. And you know, I’m all dad has got for so many years, I’m sure that is why he feels this way”

Bryan’s explanation wasn’t enough. The way Mr Chike always welcomed and took care of her whenever she went to see him was a complete contrast to what Bryan was saying. She had to see him.

            “I need to see him.”

            “Baby you don’t have to. Please baby, stop crying”

He held her and tried to stop her flowing tears.

“I will take care of this”

“Don’t deprive me of this Bryan, I need to see him. I need to beg him not to take the one thing that keeps me breathing away from me. I need to beg him to please give us his blessings. I need to let him know that I intend to care for you and cherish you every day of my life. Without you, I don’t know what my life will look like. Please honey, give me the chance to prove my love for you and win the blessings of your father”

This time, even Bryan couldn’t hold his own tears. At that moment, he hated his dad.

            “Okay babe, we will go together. We will go talk to dad together. But I need you to know that whatever comes out of our talk, I am not going back on my decision to spend the rest of my life with you. I choose you, now and forever, I choose you.”

It felt like the whole world was crumbling right before her eyes. The first day Bryan took her home to see his dad, she had been extremely nervous. She knew how much Bryan loved his dad. He was his father and mother at the same time. He told his dad everything so much so that she had sometimes felt a pang of jealousy towards him. As soon as he came to meet them in the sitting room that day, she had immediately gone down on both knees like she always did to elderly people and this gave her the chance to keep looking downwards so she wouldn’t have to look him in the face. He had given her a magical smile and asked her for a hug. That sealed it for her. Ever since that time, he had been nothing but caring, loving and very welcoming towards her. But then, knowing what she knows now, she began to put two and two together. There had been times when she had called him, he hadn’t picked up and still didn’t make to return her calls. There had been times when he had turned down her visit claiming he was busy when Bryan had already told her earlier that he was going to be available. She had always dismissed any thoughts that might have crawled in then since the love and care he showed at other times greatly outweighed them. Now, she is realizing that the man who holds the centre to Bryan’s heart is the very person who will stand as hindrance to their marriage.

    “It wouldn’t happen, hell no! No one will take Bryan away from me, not even his father”! She thought.