Ifeoma did not know what she felt after hearing Nonso’s words. She wanted to lunge at him and tear him to pieces but she was too weak. He was responsible for her loss and he was not sorry. She wanted to kill him if she could but all she could do was break down and sob uncontrollably at her helplessness.
As she cried, she felt her whole strength sap out of her and the room began to swirl before her eyes before she fainted into the lady’s waiting arms.
She struggled to put Ify on the bed and did not bother to ask for Nonso’s help because she was scared of what he would do to her in the process. She had seen how pleased he was when they found out she had miscarried her baby.
He walked past her to the balcony and looked down at the not-so-busy road lost in thought.
“Hey” he heard Sandra’s voice beside him and turned to her. “You really have to –”
“I don’t want to hear it again” he warned as she gave a sigh of resignation. She wanted him to call a doctor to attend to Ifeoma.
“You should go to bed, Sandy” he said and walked inside.
*****
ENUGU, 2003
“Onyinyechi” Mrs. Nwodo shouted but received no reply. She called two more times before entering Onyi’s room to see her kneeling down. “Onyinyechi Nwodo, I am very sure that you are not praying” she said but Onyi remained on her knees.
With a knowing look, her mother shuffled her feet and closed the door to Onyi’s room. Onyi immediately jumped up with a smile thinking her mum was out and turned to see her mother staring at her with arms akimbo.
“Err…mama, I just finished praying”
“Really? Tell me, what did you pray for?”
“Good sales” that was all that ever came to her mind.
“I was calling you, did you hear me when I called?” her mother asked as Onyi frowned.
“Mama, I don’t want to go there. He returned last week and I don’t want to go near that house until he leaves. Please mama, you know he spends only three weeks before leaving; I’ll go there in two weeks or if it’s really urgent, I can help you call Odinaka; he’ll gladly go”
While she spoke, her mother just folded her hands and gaped at her lips that moved non-stop. “Doesn’t your mouth ever hurt you? You are such a chatter box. I only asked if you heard me when I called and you’re talking about…” she paused to think and opened her hands in confusion. “What were you even talking about?”
“Err…I…you want me to get pumpkin leaves from Mr. Okeke’s farm” she grudgingly said.
“And you want to do that in the next two weeks? You are so smart my daughter. Now take that basket from the store and get the leaves as well as some oranges and tangerines; and for the umpteenth time, that is not Mr. Okeke’s farm. It’s our own but there’s no fence to demarcate the two”
“Mama, please I read somewhere that when a lady is on, she should not be involved in strenous activities”
“You are the laziest girl in the whole Awkunanaw; go now.”
“Bye” she said and left the house taking the basket as well as the wheel barrow from the shed.
She hated going there when he was around and she really hoped he would not see her when she would be busy at the farm. Not that she was shy, but he always taunted her. The last time she had seen him, she had slapped him in front of his family and friends because he commented on how she served the food with the garri on the left and soup on the right. That had been a year ago and he always came home every four months.
She arrived at the farm soon enough. It was just a stone throw from their house and she hoped she would get everything on time before any of the Okekes would see her. The moment she bent down, she heard “Onyi” and almost winced.
“Dimma, how are you?” She asked as she stood up to greet her.
“If your mother had not sent you to get vegetables, you wouldn’t care to know I am, would you?”
“It’s not like that” she paused. “You know how things are; you should have come to my house since you know how I avoid your house like a plague every three weeks in four months” she said defensively as her friend laughed and hugged her.
“Onyi, you’ll never change” she said.
The rivalry had existed between Onyi and her cousin, who had lived with them ever since he lost his parents in a car accident, for years. Dimma thought it was when they set eyes on each other; she was just five and he was ten but they were on each other’s necks and it had continued until they grew. The two families had learnt to ignore the both of them when their usual arguments and quarrels began
“Anyway, what are you getting today; I’ll help you”
“Oranges, tangerines and ugu leaves” she replied. “I need to take them to the market tomorrow”
“Well, I’ll help you with the leaves, you go ahead with your tree climbing” she offered as Onyi smiled.
“As if I will climb the tree”
“Don’t tell me you plan on hitting the oranges”
“Okay. I won’t tell you” she said with a smile and ran off with the basket in her hand.
With a long stick in her hand, she began hitting the ripe oranges. She was sure she had hit up to twenty oranges when she heard a clap. She did not need a soothsayer to tell her who it was.
“A round of applause for the most hardworking girl in Nigeria” he said as she turned to him and scoffed. “Are you going to hit me with a stick this time?” he asked with arms akimbo as she took in a deep breath and began to pick the oranges on the floor.
He gasped knowingly. “Is this real, a miracle? The chatterbox of Awkunanaw has nothing to say; awesome!”
“Brother” as Dimma fondly called him. “Please, leave her alone. Isn’t it enough that she avoids the house whenever you are around?” at that moment, Onyi picked up the stick and started hitting the oranges again.
“That’s because I’m the only one who tells her the truth” he remarked as she stopped what she was doing and stood still. A smile of victory appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“You know what?” She began angrily. “People pray for officers to be safe but I pray…no offence Dimma, but I always pray that you –”
“Stop it, don’t say such things” Dimma corrected immediately as her cousin smiled.
“She’s probably too lazy to remember that such things are not meant to be said” he turned to her “at least I’m always in your prayers” he remarked with a chuckle.
“Have I ever told you I hate you?” she asked angrily as he laughed harder and turned to his 20-year old cousin who was frowning at him.
“Yes, you have” he paused “…and don’t ever forget that the feeling is mutual” he added and turned back to Dimma. “I’m going for a stroll, I’ll be back in the evening” he told her and left turning back to wink at Onyi.
“Argh!” she exclaimed and threw the stick on the floor. “I hate your cousin”
“I know” Dimma said with a knowing look.
*****
As Onyi was dividing the pumpkin leaves and preparing them for sales, her mother came in and stared at her. “Onyi, how do you feel doing this every day?”
“Mama, it’s so tiring. Whenever I come back, either my head or waist or one other part of my body always hurts. And all those people that like shouting at customers to come and buy things, I always have to shout louder than them so that I can sell and I always end up having a headache and a cracked voice. Also, sometimes that our faulty wheelbarrow keeps making me bump into stones and sometimes when the oranges or whatever is left falls out, I have to pick them all up and that adds to my waist pain. Sometimes, I also feel like having siesta but I can’t if not, they’ll steal some thing and I also –”
“It’s okay!”
“Ah ah, you asked me how I feel”
“Yes…not what you go through everyday” she corrected as Onyi made a face. “Besides, all I meant to ask was how you feel going to the market to sell when you see your fellow students and classmates buying from you” she explained as Onyi’s facial expression changed but her face lit up immediately.
“Mama, it’s nobody’s fault that I’m here. Don’t worry. When there is enough for us, then we’ll be able to squeeze out money for school. As for now, I don’t really feel bad when I see them…I mean, they have to study very hard to get to my own IQ level” she said as her mother nodded dryly. She knew her daughter would soon start gibbering again. “You know I’m very intelligent…more than most of my classmates so I’m happy for them. When they get to their second year then maybe, their brain would be as advanced as mine” she concluded her speech that seemed never-ending to her mother.
“Okay” she replied quickly and continued. “I’ll do anything I can to make you go to school and be successful” she said with so much passion as Onyi nodded with a smile and her mother left.
*****
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