"You must tell me who put that bastard in you." Mr. Felix roared at Dami that she almost shrinked on the concrete floor where she knelt like an innocent lamb waiting to be slaughtered. "Honey, let's be easy on her." Beatrice tried to persuade her husband. "Be easy on who? Eh? Be easy on who?" Mr. Felix roared again, this time, facing his wife. "Was she easy on me when she brought a bastard to my house?" He asked again, pointing to Dami's stomach. "Darling, I understand. But..." Beatrice tried to calm him. "Talk to her. Talk to her." He emphasized "She had better confess to you because by the time I come back this evening, and she is yet to disclose the father of this bastard, hell would be let loose in this house." He warned as he stormed out of the house. Beatrice was left with her daughter and she tried to get words out of her mouth. "Damilola, who is responsible for this pregnancy?" Beatrice asked, pulling her daughter closer. "Mummy, I don't know." She said, as fresh tears walked on the path created by previous ones. "Dami, tell me the truth so that I will know how to talk to your father" Beatrice persuaded further. And, that was the whole truth. She didn't know who impregnated her. Or, how will she know when different guys took turns on her? How will they not take turns on her when she was putting on a dress that covered only a few percent of her body? How will they not take turns on her when she was drunk? And, how will she not be drunk when she went to a night party without her parents' consent? Why will any parent even give their consent for teenager to attend an all night birthday party? Dami did not know the gravity of what happened to her at the birthday party until she started feeling weak and tired after about 3 weeks of the party. She vomitted often, and slept alot in the class. The pregnancy test proved positive, after her parents took to the counselor's advice. Dami was lucky enough to finish her S.S. 3 exam few months before her delivery period, and she ran away from home just when her father's pressure was too much for her to bear. Nobody knew where she ran to, not even her mother. They searched and searched, but to no avail.
Her parents just finished eating dinner one night when they saw a feminine figure approaching from the dark side of the gate, which was darker because NEPA did not count their house worthy enough to have light, the same way they refuse to light up the entire country, except for those parts where the rich men live. Beatrice and her husband focused on the figure that approached from the gate like a madman gazes at the air. Beatrice was the first to identify her daughter, after 6 years of not setting her eyes on her, and she said softly "Damilola". Felix got up from where he sat, surprised and amazed. Damilola approached gently the very way a prodigal daughter should. Her hands behind her, and her head bowed, but lifted occasionally to see the reaction on her parents' face. She had vowed to leave the house and never to come back again, if her father should still act harsh to her after the years that passed. That night, her father did not act harsh. Instead, he carried her on his fragile legs as her mother smiled without limit, as joy filled her heart. She was served and also questioned about why she ran away from the house. She simply looked at her father to mean he was the reason she ran away. Her father apologized, and so did she. "So, what about the baby?" Her mother asked. "He died few days after I gave birth to him" Dami lied. "He?" Her father asked, impressed by the gender. Silence filled the air for some seconds before her father said, "welcome home my daughter". After that night, they never talked about the child, and Dami never told them she abandoned him in front of an orphanage home just few hours before she boarded a bus back to them that very day. So also, she didn't know that the boy was accepted by the orphanage after questioning him. She also did not know that the boy felt so heart broken to be abandoned by his own mother. Little did she know that the boy made several attempts to find her with her picture he had with him since she abandoned him. After he left the orphanage home at the age of 17, he became a drug dealer, and it was when he went shopping one day he saw her with two kids. He didn't recognize her at first, because a lot had changed about her. But, Her voice did not change, neither did the mark on her face change. He traced her to her house that day, and since that day, he started planning and working towards making her pay for her actions.
"Move." The second policeman shouted. "I'm sure she didn't tell you she once had a child?" Uncle T said smiling. "Did she also tell you she once slept with me?" He asked again, smiling heavily. The policemen were caught in the emotions in the air that they absentmindedly left Uncle T to continue talking. "Oh! You didn't know she also lied that she was robbed of the #50,000 you gave her some time ago?" He added. "Well, as for your kids, I did not harm them, and I will never harm them because they are my step-siblings. I only wanted her to past through hell while on earth for abandoning me in an orphanage home, and for making my life miserable by her careless decision" He said again. "Move my friend" One of the policemen said, as if realizing the implication what Uncle T was saying. They lead him into their pick-up, as oceans of tears raced down Dami's cheek. She could still remember the very day she abandoned him. The memories were still fresh in her head, eventhough she tried to deny them. She tried going back to the orphanage home to look for him after many years, but the matrons had no information about him, and she concluded he was dead. She was sorry for her decision, but there was no opportunity for her to tell him that. "I'm sorry" She mumbled out, as tears and mucus took over her face. Jude stood still like a statue, unsure of what to do or say. "Taye! Kehinde! Come here" Jude eventually said, embracing his children, as he looked at his wife like a complete stranger he never knew, and would never want to know anymore.
>>>>>>>EPILOGUE<<<<<<<<<
One thing is very certain in life. The evil that men do, no longer live after them. Rather, it lives with them. A lot of us shy away from our ugly past. We keep it in a very distant place, and we refuse to visit it forever. But, "if Mohammed does not go to the mountain, the mountain will go to Mohammed" so goes a saying. And, the very time we least expect, this past shows up its ugly head, and it definitely would have been empowered over the period of time we left it unvisited. Although, I am not saying we should wallow in our past mistakes, rather, let's embrace the lessons in them and forge ahead gallantly. Similarly, we should desist from lies and secrecy in our relationships/marriage. No matter how good that guy or lady can be, if he/she doesn't accept you and your past, then he/she does not deserve your present nor future. So, let's be open to those that matter to us because sin thrives more in secrecy.
::::::::::::THE END::::::::::
Before you ask yourself if the story has ended, let me quickly say that the story has not ended. The remaining part of the story is what you make of it. So, if you were Jude or Dami, what would you do at that point? I know there are a handful of lessons we have been able to learn from this story, and it would be my delight to know that we all would make immediate adjustments where necessary. If any of us needs who to speak with on any situation bothering your mind, kindly message me via Facebook (Ofmat Austus Nwanne) or via Whatsapp (+2348072970850). All glory be to God for being the source of my inspiration, and for being the golden pen with which this story is written. Great thanks to you the readers too for being patient even when the suspense seems to be killing. You can be sure I'll come your way again with yet another amazing story. I remain myself, Austus Ofmat Nwanne.
It is good to share. So, take your time to share Daily Diet with your friends and loved ones. I'm sure you don't want them to miss out of the fun and lessons. For whatsapp users, you can create a broadcast list to enable you easily share Daily Diet with your contact. If you need help on how to create a broadcast list, message me so that I can put you through. And, if you don't want to create a broadcast list, you can simply give your friends my number to message me on Whatsapp, and I will add them to my broadcast list. For those who would also like to receive Daily Diet via Whatsapp, simple send a Whatsapp message to my number @ +2348072970850. Did you know there are over 20 of these wonderful stories? Did you know that there are over 50 wonderful articles that you need to read? Well, get them all for free on my blog www.tyobstacle.blogspot.com
ENJOY !!!
---------
OFMAT AUSTUS NWANNE
Inspirational Speaker/Media Consultant,
Swift24 Multimedia Services.
0 comments:
Post a Comment