Echoes Episode 7

Toju knew Mofe was a great guy. He was responsible, hardworking and very much focused. At 29, he had managed to start his own IT Company which was doing so well. He was highly respected and the teachers in her school always sang his praise, ordinarily, but for the circumstances surrounding her, she knew Mofe was a good catch. Although she had given him a ‘no’, the past 2 weeks without hearing from him has given her enough time to think things through; she liked him a lot and would certainly want to start a new phase of her life with him. She couldn’t remain buried in her past; she couldn’t let it keep her down. But if she was going to go down this lane, he had to know the truth. Ire was her everything, the only companion she has had in the past 2 years and whoever she was going to accept into her life had to accept him too.

            “Mama Ire one fine fine bobo dey find you o”

The last person she had wanted to inform her about Mofe’s presence was Mrs Akpan because that would then mean the entire house will know that a man came to see her. That is why she had sat on a stool in front of the compound since morning waiting for him. But of course, Mofe chose to come just at the time she went in to lay sleeping Ire on the bed.

            “Okay Mrs Akpan, I dey come”

She opened her door to see Mofe, he looked so handsome.

            “Hi Mofe, come in”

            “Hi Toju, been a while. You look good.”

            “Oh thanks. Care for a drink?”

            “No Toju, I’m just fine”

“Okay then, let’s go straight to the reason I called you here. I like you Mofe, I really do and I would love to start a relationship with you”

            “Okay…”

            “Please don’t say a word until I’m done, I really need to let this out”

            “Okay. I mean, yea I won’t”

            “I… I…Ire is my son”

            “What!!! But you’re so young and and…”

            “You said you wouldn’t say a word until I’m done, please just listen to me”

            “Okay”

Toju then started from when she met Shola in the hospital, how they started dating and how he eventually raped her. He told him how she ran away from home as she could not face the shame and how she has single-handedly brought up her son. She made him realise that was the reason she had said ‘no’ the first time because she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell him or of how he would react to the news.

“Wow! This is a whole lot! What kind of man would take a girl against her own will? What kind of person will be so irresponsible as to rape and abandon a girl? Where is this guy now? How come he doesn’t partake in caring for Ire?”

“Mofe, I haven’t heard from him since the time I discovered I was pregnant and he suggested I aborted the baby. He doesn’t know where I am nor if Ire is alive and kicking”

All through the drive down here, Mofe had thought of so many things but this; rape? He didn’t know what exactly to do. At that moment he just wanted to pull her close to himself and hug her. She had gone through so much alone. Now more than ever, he wanted to be a part of her life. But then, what would Maami say about him coming home with a 20 year old girl who already had a son?

            “Come here Toju, I’m so sorry you had to go through so much”

She felt so safe wrapped up in his embrace. The tears she hadn’t cried for 2 years started flowing freely. She felt like she had finally found someone to rely on, she was actually drained and tired of being strong. She needed to be weak and she was so glad there was someone who would be a strength for her.

            “I wasn’t so sure of it until now Toju, but I love you”

She could only cry more

            “Thank you so much Mofe, thank you”

“So once again Toju, if you would have me, I would love to start a beautiful relationship with you; one I hope will someday soon lead to marriage.

The tears wouldn’t stop.

She got up to freshen up after 2 hours of weeping and talking. Mofe had insisted that she had to start thinking of returning home and also going in search of the culprit. He told her that with immediate effect, they had to find him and let him handle his responsibility. He wished they could still report him to the authorities but it’s been two years, everyone would wonder why she was just reporting the case.

Ire had woken up and when Toju saw the look Mofe gave him, she knew he would come to love Ire and for that, her heart leaped for joy.

The ringing of Mofe’s phone interrupted the precious moment.

            “Hello Shola, how far?”

“Fine o bros. where were you going to that you just rushed out of the house like that now?”

            “Don’t mind me jor, I had a meeting with bae”

“Ehn ehn, na wa o, that’s why you now forgot to go with my laptop abi? Sebi I told you I needed you to help me install that team viewer and those other stuffs you were talking about.”

“Oh, I’m sorry aburo, it totally skipped my mind. Don’t worry, I will be coming to see mumsi in 2 weeks’ time, I will pick it up then”    

“That’s not possible jor. Have you forgotten I told you I will be moving to Surulere this coming week?

“Oh, that’s true. But that would even make it easier now. You can just stop by at my place one of these days to drop it abi because you are your oga’s right hand man heading his Lagos office now, you cannot make time for that?”

“I will come o bros, will let you know the day I will be coming.”

“Okay aburo, later now”

“Yea, bye.”

“I’m sorry dear. Shola is such a pest.”

“Aren’t all younger ones so?”

“I’m sure you will get to meet him soon especially now that he is leaving that Mumsi’s village for the city”

“Can’t wait. But I’m sure he’s not as handsome or brilliant as you are”

“Hmmm, handsome well, I think I beat him in that regard because while he took all of our dad’s looks, I stole our pretty mum’s. But for brilliance, that boy is exceptionally brilliant o. He finished from a whole OAU with a first class”

“Well, that doesn’t make him exceptionally brilliant. There are some departments that are not filled with sadists in OAU and in those departments; we can still find first class students.”

“Well, I don’t know sha, he finished from Biochemistry, I don’t know if that one is a difficult or simple department, all I know is the boy is an efiwe.

… and slowly but surely, it clicked.

“Errm, your brother is Shola and he finished from Biochemistry department in OAU?”

            “Yes Toju, why?”

The strange look that had suddenly clouded Toju’s face confused him. She was starting to shake too.

            “Please, does that mean he is Adewole too? Olushola Adewole?

“Of course Toju, he is my brother. Same father, same mother so he is certainly Adewole. For Christ sake what is it Toju you are scaring the living daylight out of me."

She suddenly had a splitting headache; it felt like her head would fall off her neck. She became dizzy, her tongue suddenly tasted bitter.

            “Mofe, Olushola Adewole is Ire’s…

She didn't finish her sentence before she fell to the ground and fainted!

                                                  **********

The nurse held on to the baby’s head while Bryan wheeled her into the labour room. The consultant was still not in the room by the time they got in. He didn’t bother waiting for the negligent nurses to go get the even more negligent doctor, he ran to get him himself. By the time the doctor got in, the baby’s shoulder was already out.

            “Please stay outside Mr. Bryan, you can’t be in here”

“You have since lost the right to tell me what to do in this hospital. I will damn well stay wherever I please!”

He was angry and uncontrollably so.

“My son let us wait outside as we pray together. God has started his work over your wife, He will surely finish it.”

Bryan burst into tears.

He saw his Aisha struggling to push their baby out with the little strength left in her. He hated himself for everything; he wouldn’t have minded adopting a child instead of putting his Aisha through all he did. Aisha’s mother managed to drag him out. He saw his father sweating profusely, that fear still in his eyes. He felt so comforted when he gave him a hug.

“Your name is Ozoemena, meaning evil will not happen the second time. Your wife will deliver safely and she and her baby will leave here hale and healthy.”

            “Daddy, nothing can happen to Aisha. Please dad, make sure nothing happens to her.

He sat on the bare floor of the reception now. He was so scared.

            “I promise you Bryan, everything will be fine. God will take control.

Aisha was fighting real hard. The baby eventually came out but then she was having difficulty breathing. The doctor and nurses rushed to do all they could to stabilize her breathing.

No one was attending to her now, they were all focused on trying to revive her baby; she felt so weak and wouldn’t have minded one of those pain killers. But her leg felt much better, the nurses hadn’t been wrong after all, it was just because of her pregnancy. She wanted to see her Bryan. She tried talking to one of the nurses to call him in but then realized she couldn’t.

She remembered their wedding night, how happy Bryan had been. First because she was finally going to be his Mrs and secondly because they would finally get to consummate their relationship. They had chosen to remain celibate until their wedding night and as tempting as it had been for them every once in a while, they had succeeded in keeping themselves. She believed it was one of the reasons God blessed them with a child immediately, He was proud of them!

She saw the nurses clean up her Ifunanya, which meant she was fine. She heaved a sigh of relief then. The doctor came to her just as another nurse had come to clean her up. She tried to move, but realized she couldn’t. She couldn’t talk too however much she tried. She saw the worried look on the doctor’s face, something was certainly wrong.

In her mind she asked: what is it doctor? What is wrong?

Just then, her Bryan barged in. she looked at him, she had never seen him like that. He looked like a baby that needed his mother. She wanted to hug and kiss him. To let him know that she and Ifunanya had made it, to tell him she loved him and was grateful for their bundle of gift.

“Mr Bryan, You need to give us a few more minute just to clean your wife up. Everything is fine now”

He saw his wife but they wouldn’t let him hug her. But knowing that both she and the baby were fine was all he needed. He allowed his father take him out. It was over; the painful scare was all over.

Aisha realized she was getting weaker and weaker. The doctor was now barking out urgent orders, something was really wrong. She started feeling choked, like the windows were shut and there was no air. She tried telling them to open the windows as she was feeling suffocated but again, her voice wouldn’t let her.

How come you all are not feeling uncomfortable?

Why haven’t you noticed there is no air in here?

Common, open the windows!

She screamed at the top of her voice but she was the only one who could hear.

Flashes of her dear husband clouded her mind. She looked at her baby one last time, she wished they would just stop running about and let her hold her Ifunaya. The thought of her baby put a wide smile on her face; she was leaving her Bryan in good hand.

That wide smile, the one she had from just thinking about her 2 ‘babies’ was what remained on Aisha’s face even as she breathed her last.

            “We tried all we could Mr. Bryan, but your wife didn’t make it”

He saw Aisha’s mum rolling on the floor; his father had come to hold him but then he saw his world shattering right before his eyes, he couldn’t just stand there watching it crumble, he had to do something.

At that moment, he forcefully jerked his hand off his father’s and ran like he had never run before. He had to go home.

He had to go get Aisha her paracetamol.