husband to attend to, no early morning kitchen work..she could wake up anytime she chose to, do her chores anytime she wished and eat whatever she liked- the truth was she hardly cooked, thanks to her mother's eatery. The only thing she missed about her husband was his presence, his massages and the love he showed her else...
She dropped the empty plate she was eating from, feeling to lazy to walk over to sink to wash her stew stained fingers- she resolved to licking her fingers clean.
"Hmmm, good to be alone." she chuckled to herself as she let out a loud belch.
She remained in the same position for minutes without any effort to get up, she was enjoying the whole 'thing', if Tunji was around he'd be screaming at her to go wash herself or something.
A loud knock nearly made her jump, the babies she was carrying fluttered around.
"cos I'm startled doesn't mean you should jump too." She smacked her bulging tummy
"Who knows maybe your father is back, so you should reserve your movements" she continued rising with difficulty.
"I'm coming already." she shouted as the knockings continued.
She silently prayed it wasn't Tunji, she wouldn't want him kicking into a 'hot bath tub' thereby disrupting her newly found 'freedom'.
"Open the door jor, I'm hungry already." a familiar male voice shouted back in reply.
"Dapo?" she whispered to herself as she unbolted the door.
"the last person I expected to see." she cried as she hugged her brother.
"Iya Ibeji Eka roo, se dada lewa?" Dapo postrated mockingly.
"Postrate properly jare!" Kemi laughed.
"Call Tunji to do that for you." Dapo laughed letting her take his bag.
"Tunji travelled o" she announced.
"I know, I called him." Dapo noted.
"So to what do I owe this early morning visit?"
"To that baby you're carrying." Dapo teased.
"I was given few weeks leave, wanted to go home, but decided to come over here...how about that?"
"so nice and I'm happy o...provided you won't be a pain." Kemi eyed him.
"Pain abi? Okay lemme start going to my fathers house." Dapo frowned.
"Haba nah....I was just joking o." Kemi held his hands.
"So what did you cook?"
"I just ate the leftover eba I had yesternight."
"Oluwa mi! Kemi? You? Left over food?" Dapo gaped at her bewildered.
"Ehn ehn! Blame it on your nieces and nephews." Kemi defended.
"eeyyah...sorry o, hope they are kicking properly?" Dapo teased as he followed his siter to the guest room.
"have you heard from Sasha of recent?" Kemi dropped the question
"Why do you ask about her?" Dapo stopped surprised at the change of topic.
"He phone line aint going through, I need her around before next week." Kemi continued.
"I guess she should be fine."
"ehen sister mi, hope you have enough 'kpomo and shaki' in your stew, cos thats what I feel like eating o" Dapo added tactically changing the subject, the stern warning he got from his father was enough to keep his lips sealed.
Kemi laughed quitely" Oju kokoro"
"that my name" Dapo laughed with her.
*********
"do you have to prove to the world that you are arrogant and s.tupid" Jide screamed at the boy who was fiddling with the TV remote.
"What do you want me to do now?" Kenny asked eyes still fixed on the TV.
"Go back and apologise to them, you need to see the 'sorry' scene you caused over there, your aunt is crying, your mum too." Jide shouted some more.
"Maybe you should lower your voice. I have a headache already" Kenny said in a calm voice.
"don't you know somethings are better left unsaid? Do you have to open their already healing wounds?" Jide continued
"their wounds is even healing? Mine is still fresh and Cassie just poured salt on it"
"Need I remind you that Sasha is Cassie's sister."
"Sasha's my cousin I know, but more of a sister. I needed a sibling to play with cos I'm an only child, and she needed a playmate as her family hated her...and yeswe found solace in each other." Kenny replied placing the remote and the centre table.
"The only person I feel sorry for is my own self, cos you all don't care. Even her father who's with her over there is just acting up, so the world won't start shouting that his child died after he impregnated another woman...my opinion though"
"Kenny mind your mouth." Jide scolded.
"I'm sorry dad, lets just face the truth" Kenny concluded picking up the Tv remote once more.
Jide exhaled helplessly.
"Kenny I'd be waiting in the car"
"I'm going nowhere dad." came the reply.
"Ken..."
"Okay...lets go, but i'm not apologising to Cassie o." Kenny pulled a defeated look.
"We shall see about that." Jide replied.
we found solace in each other." Kenny replied placing the remote and the centre table.
"The only person I feel sorry for is my own self, cos you all don't care. Even her father who's with her over there is just acting up, so the world won't start shouting that his child died after he impregnated another woman...my opinion though"
"Kenny mind your mouth." Jide scolded.
"I'm sorry dad, lets just face the truth" Kenny concluded picking up the Tv remote once more.
Jide exhaled helplessly.
"Kenny I'd be waiting in the car"
"I'm going nowhere dad." came the reply.
"Ken..."
"Okay...lets go, but i'm not apologising to Cassie o." Kenny pulled a defeated look.
"We shall see about that." Jide replied.
Sasha pushed her last slice of apple into her already filled mouth. Fear clearly written on her face, the macho man with a full beard standing close to her was not helping matters.
It was the 'Main-day', a day to detrmine if she's fit medically after spending close to a week with different doctors asking her questions and the normal routine of fixing some machine wires to her body parts.
Dr Krishna had told her earlier, that her last exercise would determine if she would be allowed to see her family. Her family? She couldn't wait.
"eat up fast." the man jolted her.
"Ye..yes." Sasha kept the bowl she was holding.
The man simply nodded fixing some charts on the wall.
Sasha watched him, her heart beating furiously against her chest, she just hoped she won't say anything that would make Dr Krishna confine her into that room for yet another week.
"Have you seen an elephant before?" the man asked picking up a notebook.
Sasha hesitated, she wanted to be sure.
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
"Can you point at it?" the man gestured towards the numerous charts on the wall.
Sasha walked weakly from her bed to the charts, she pointed at it, praying she did the right thing.
The man nodded, scribbling down some notes. He looked up only give her a hard stare, Sasha's knees trembled under her weight, what was she going to do to prove to these people that her memory was intact.
"Maybe you shouldn't ask me that, cos I know all the animals in that chart." she tried her best not to stutter.
"Hmm, do you know what your father looks like?"
"My father? That a dumb question!" Sasha sat back on the bed.
"Eerrrm...sorry..I meant to say I do." she quickly apologised as the man gave 'the look'
"Descibe him." the man continued to scribble on his note.
Sasha sighed loudly, the man was truly trying her patience, all those questions just to prove she isn't suffering from memory loss?
"My father...he is tall...he should be dark too..."she paused to make a mental note.
"Maybe if you stop staring at me, I'd be able to answer your questions correctly." she added.
The man nodded looking away.
"Don't you have a name? You don't know how to smile?" she continued.
"My name is Karpov." He replied.
He asked her some more questions, which she either replied politely or she added some sarcasm.
"You didn't ask if I know how to sing?" she asked mockingly as he started to remove the charts.
"Whats your favourite colour?" he asked ignoring her question.
"Green." she quipped.
He stopped moving, he gave her a suprise stare.
"Why the look?"
"Green? Thats quite odd." the man noted picking his books and other things.
Sasha held her breathe.
"Dr Krishna would be here in a jiffy, have a nice day." he walked briskly out of the room.
Sasha remained in her position even after Dr Krishna walked in.
"Hope it went well?" He asked with concern. He had become close to her over the days, she had told him all she could remember about herself, and he had told her all he learnt from her father.
"Do you think I'm odd? Like...my choices are odd?" she blurted out.
"No, why do you ask?"
"That bearded man said its odd for me to love green." she sulked.
"Don't mind that, its just a comment." the doctor assured her.
"so are you gonna tell me now." he sat on chair beside her.
"Tell you what?"
"About the nail, the nail found in your vomit." He spoke in a calm voice, he wanted to know everything.
"I think I swallowed it by mistake." she looked down.
"Did you tell your parents after you swallowed it?"
Sasha stole a glance at him, he wanted to extract the truth from her. She peered at her palms as memories came flooding back.
She was just a liitle girl of five then, she was alone in her new bedroom which was given her; after Cassandra threw her out of the room they both shared.
She developed interest in the silvery metal and pulled it off the wall, she played with it and it ended in her mouth.
She ran to her parents room in tears after she swallowed the nail, her mother sent her out of the room calling her a naughty girl not bothering to listen to her story. With tears she ran to her older siblings but they won't listen to her 'story'
She had spent the night weeping in fear of what might happen to her.
The next morning she tried to tell her mother once more as she dressed her for school,
"Shut up! Parrot! I need to feed Kola." her mother hushed her thinking she was a noise maker.
Her little innocent mind didn't give up, she told her father as he drove them to school.
"what did you say you swallowed?" her father asked
"Iron." she replied timidly not knowing the name of the object she swallowed.
"Funny girl, how can you swallow a pressing iron?" Her laughed thinking she was hallucinating.
"I swear daddy." she swore.
"don't you ever swear again, okay? If you need ice-cream and chocolates; just say it, stop beating about the bush." her father scolded her.
She wept sore as she didn't know which other way to express the fear that had gripped her heart.
Since then she had lived in a world of frequent stomach pains, she never told anyone for the fear of being scolded. And it has landed her on a hospital bed not in her own country but in another continent.
"Petite ma'am?" Dr Krishna cut into her thoughts, he'd been talking to her.
"I didn't tell my parents." she lied.
Dr Krishna observed her closely, he knew she was hiding alot of things. He felt sorry for the girl, she always turned pale each time her family's discussed.
"Were you ever abused...like emotionally?" he asked holding her eyes.
"No." she shook her head.
"You're not telling me the truth"
"I swear... I..." Sasha started.
"You never swear when telling the truth Miss." Krishna cut in gently.
"I'm not telling lies." Sasha frowned.
"You should tell the truth now, we want to make sure you're sound before leaving the walls of this hospital." He tried again.
Sasha looked away, she'd never trust him. The few people she had loved and given her trust all kicked her into the mud, not again in her life would she try such.
"some things are better left unsaid." she said firmly.
"Okay, I'll leave now." He rose to his feet disappointed, he really wanted to help, he made up his mind to ask her father.
"your father would be here by 5pm...I hope you'd recognise him."
he said gently.
"I hope so." she smiled faintly.
"If you remember anything, anything atall, just call my attention. Remember I'm a friend" He wanted her to trust him.
"Thank you" she gave him a weak smile.
She exhaled sharply as she watched the door close, she wasn't sure she'd like to see her father anytime soon, what if she didn't recognise him? She just hoped her memory won't fail her.
TBC AT 3PM.
