MRS. UNMARRIED

Oya na lets see [hr] [b] LINK TO AVAILABLE EPISODES [/b] scroll down for episode 1 and 2a •[url=https://www.coolval.com/forumsss/topic/mrs-unmarried/page/2/ ][b]Episode 2b[/b][/url] •[url=https://www.coolval.com/forumsss/topic/mrs-unmarried/page/3/ ][b]Episode 3[/b][/url] •[url=https://www.coolval.com/forumsss/topic/mrs-unmarried/page/4/ ][b]Episode 4[/b][/url] •[url=https://www.coolval.com/forumsss/topic/mrs-unmarried/page/5/ ][b]Episode 5[/b][/url] •[url=https://www.coolval.com/forumsss/topic/mrs-unmarried/page/5/ ][b]Episode 5[/b][/url] •[url=https://www.coolval.com/forumsss/topic/mrs-unmarried/page/6/ ][b]Episode 6[/b][/url] •[url=https://www.coolval.com/forumsss/topic/mrs-unmarried/page/7/ ][b]Episode 7[/b][/url]

This is dedicated to all the victim of domestic violence and abuse. Enjoy the ride with me......

Chapter 1 Ezinne gasped as she looked down at her creamy dark skin, the beads of sweat that had formed on her chest and face had turned into torrents and were now pouring down her body, soaking the Ankara she draped around herself. The wrapper was clammy enough to send any normal human being outside to allow herself some fresh air outside the burning heat in her kitchen but not Ezinne, she had gotten so accustomed to suffering that little reliefs such as that felt like too much luxury. The chicken pepper soup on the kerosene stove was fast boiling and she could see the steam bubbling away, causing the lid of the pot to rise and fall like a heavily sleeping soldier. Its aroma blended well with the yam and plantain porridge she was cooking on the second stove and hunger gnawed at her now empty stomach. Other than her rumbling stomach nothing around her seemed to have any life or meaning. She was completely numb to her emotions and confusion was the order of her day. How many times had she asked herself this morning what she was doing wrong? Or whether there was something she could do to make her marriage work? Yet there was no answer, all she could hear was the silence, well at least there was the noise of the children playing in the compound but in her heart there was an ice-cold silence. Yesterday night had gone all wrong; she had been lying on the bed with her chest to the bed when her husband came in. She had waited silently, hoping that he would pretend like she didn’t exist but no, he grabbed her already short thick hair, yanked her out of the bed, and flung her roughly to one side of the room. Gladly she crumpled herself into one corner and hid her face so as not to look at him, barely managing to keep the tears at bay. Within 10 minutes he was out of his work clothes, she could almost feel him as he moved from one end of the room to the other, putting aside his clothes and shoes. She held her breath when she felt him stare in her direction. Her head was securely hidden between her knees yet she could feel the hate oozing from him. Despite the heat dredging the oxygen out of her kitchen, Ezinne shuddered as she coasted between the present and the memory of her sorely horrible yesterday night. She was transported back to that moment when she felt him walk toward her, heard him toss his belt and heard as his belt hit the tiles. She wasn’t sure if she was crumpled besides the wardrobe or by the table but from the position she was sitting she hoped it was the table or at least closer to the table than to the wardrobe. Ezinne prayed it was the table so she wouldn’t be sitting in his way. She dared not raise her head otherwise that could provoke him even more. She prayed and waited, but could prayer save her from all of this? She wondered beneath her now pounding heart, certain that God had abandoned her; her own father had so why wouldn’t God do the same? After all she had disappointed and disobeyed them both. She tried to think of what her late mother would have advised, of course, with regards to God the answer came quickly she heard her mother’s voice in her own head as she admonished her to pray unceasingly. How about with regards to my husband? She asked silently, instead of a response guilt tugged at her conscience. ‘Is he your husband?’ Came the subtle yet loud response in form of a question. But we got married in a church , she argued. ‘ Under whose authority did you follow him to the altar? ’ Came the next question. She stifled a groan. The discussion between Jesus and the Samaritan woman came flooding her mind. Subconsciously Ezinne opened the pot of porridge, her mind was still lost in the events of yesterday night only to be jolted back to the present as the heat from the lid caused her to drop the lid abruptly. She winced in pain because the heat scalded the fingers on her right hand. The yam looked like they were soft and ready to be eaten so she picked up the wooden cooking spoon and gave it a firm stir being careful to ensure that the remaining water mixed soberly with the broken pieces of the yam, as well as the plantain, mostly the plantain until it formed the porridge, she sprinkled the small pieces of Ugu leaves which was already sliced and prepared on the chopping board into the mix and further stirred it before returning the lid over the pot and allowing it to simmer. While she waited her thoughts returned to yesterday night. She sat there communing with her spirit when she felt her husband bend over her, muttering and cursing, he reeked of alcohol, and she knew he was drunk. He pulled her up while cursing her and flung her back to the bed, his broken piece of rag doll. Ezinne shielded her head from hitting the bedpost before scuttling to a sitting position; all her senses were spiked with curiosity, fear, and a little pinch of hatred. She saw him fiddling with his zipper and knew what he wanted; she eased herself into a lying position and started taking off her clothes. He was going to have his way with her anyway so no point fighting or resisting him and getting punched first. Within a few minutes he was on top of her getting his pleasure, no preambles. When he was done he rolled off her to his side of the bed and in a few seconds he was snoring away. She sighed in relief and got up quickly to wash herself of his filth. She already had one child from this broken relationship and couldn’t risk bringing another one into this world. She sighed in despair, why was her own life this messed up? Samantha was happily married with 2 kids, there was not a day she didn’t post a cute picture of her family on Instagram and to think Samantha had rounding up her program in school. Her husband obviously treated her like a queen with so much respect. She took her phone to check the last post by Samantha expecting something new, and true to her thoughts Samantha had just posted a picture of herself and her daughter dressed in the same polo top with a pink inscription and blue jean trousers, on Samantha’s clothes she had the word ‘Ray’s Queen’ imprinted on it while her daughter’s white polo had ‘Ray’s Princess’ on it. She pitied herself all over, hadn’t it been because Samantha had gotten married to a cute young football player that she had been on the edge and in a haste to get married to a young cute guy too and somehow she had disregarded every virtuous requirement her father had told her had to be present in the man she was to take as husband. Who wouldn’t desire marriage so badly after what Samantha told her of how magical and beautiful her own marriage was? Samantha had gone on and on about how the man treated her, how he took care of her and all the muscles and money. Practically he was a die for, if care had not been taken Ezinne would have snatched the man for herself but she feared ‘karma’ so much that she would rather cut her own fingers than date another woman’s husband or boyfriend. She had heard rumors of her father’s younger sister, her aunt, Uchenna who had snatched another woman’s husband and after 5 years of marriage the man suddenly walked away to marry a much younger woman and till today, her aunt never got another man to marry her. Of course it was probably true what some of her friends who dated married men said that her aunt couldn’t remarry because she remained in the village where the stigma stayed with her. That if she had just moved to the city, someone else who knew nothing of the stereotype would have quickly married her for she had still remained beautiful even after the man left her coupled with the fact that she hadn’t had any child with him. But asides from her fear of karma, Ezinne wanted her own man, a man she wouldn’t have to share with another woman nor fight over. So when Chukwuma came along, without prayer or counsel she let herself be swept off her feet. She refused every voice of reasoning including her inner voice. Well why wouldn’t she, he wasn’t exactly a tall man, no, but he was of average height, clean suit, clean shoes, well-combed hair, and that smile that could send any woman dancing in the sky. It was as if she saw the entirety of his teeth when he smiled and it was beautiful. Their meeting was magical and as she had then believed ‘orchestrated by the father of lights himself.’ He was everything she dreamt of, strong, smart, rich, astute, and of course generous. Until now she kept wondering if those things she had seen were ever there or whether they had been in her imagination or if he had covered his evil man so well that she hadn't identified him. She shrugged, perhaps he is just going through a rough time and couldn’t share his troubles with her, but 5 years was a hell of time to still be going through a rough time.

She opened the pot of porridge again, the water had dried and in its place was the thick porridge. She put out the fire in the stove before opening the pot of chicken, the steam which oozed out hit her with its tantalizing aroma that she would have burst into a rhythm and a dance if she was in a beautiful mood. Instead she took out a piece, her tongue longing to have a taste; the hunger had risen beyond endurance level. She would have had a taste had it not been that her husband had strictly warned her never to eat while cooking as that would determine if she was honest or not. Stupid as that sounded she obeyed, or maybe it was just because she didn’t long for it as much as she longed for this chicken. The chicken she had taken out was tender when she cut a tiny piece from a corner. After eyeing the meat for a while she cut a much larger chunk of it and tasted it then chewed on it until she had finished the chunk she cut out. She bit at the other piece just for the satisfaction of disobeying her husband, at least she wasn't exactly eating, it was all part of the process of knowing if the chicken was ready for consumption. There was never a place except from him where she had heard that a woman who ate from the food she was cooking would be dishonest. It was the most absurd superstition she had ever heard and coming from a presumed educated man, it was appalling to her.

Next

Chapter 2 coming right away

Chapter 2a Ezinne gingerly eased the pot off the stove unto the tabletop gas cooker; it had been 3 months since she last used the cooker. The gas in the cylinder was exhausted and she hadn’t gotten the courage to ask her husband for money for a refill, at least he had been kind enough to give her money weekly for food and other household necessities. She sighed and reminded herself that he was going through a rough time. Their travails had begun exactly a year after their wedding when his mother suddenly passed away the night before her delivery. It was strange and scary to her, because she couldn’t understand why his mother would die the night before she put to bed. So while for her it was scary, her husband and his relatives found it unacceptable. As far as they were concerned Ezinne was the witch that took the woman’s life in place of hers’ so that she would not die at childbirth. She had overheard her husband’s younger sister, Osisioma telling her husband that at the hospital and sincerely she didn’t want to believe he would consider it let alone believe it but then everything he did, every word he spoke, every action he projected, every glare at her since she had their child, Chizaram, showed that he believed it just as his sister did. She would have confronted Osisioma but that would only confirm that she was a witch otherwise how could she have heard what they said standing by the door of her ward in the hospital when she was supposedly asleep, but she hadn’t been sleeping. Her body had been tired from the travails of childbirth but her mind had been active, taking in her environment taking pleasure in the fact that those whom she thought were her family and loved her the most were right there with her. Her husband, his sister Osisioma and her husband were there throughout the delivery period despite that they were grieving. So also were Samantha and her husband, as well as her husband’s younger brother Ikechukwu. In the few minutes after she closed her eyes to sleep the clan went out to give her space to sleep leaving behind her husband and his sister who pretended to watch over her before Osisioma spilled out the bitter gall that was burning in her bosom. Ezinne was sure that it was the news of her mother-in-law’s death that had caused her to go into early labour but none of them was any wiser to give that any consideration. The woman had treated her the same way she would treat her own daughter so why would she want her dead; her death had given her the creeps. Her mother-in-law had gone to bed in good health but didn’t find the strength to wake up the next morning. Three months after her death, her mother, Chukwuma’s grandmother passed on as well and that was when Chukwuma lost it completely, it was then that the everyday shouting and insults graduated into everyday slapping, punching, and raping. Now there was no one to help her, hadn’t she gone against her father’s direction not to marry the man rather to finish her education and become the artist she had always loved to be. She strolled to the balcony to take some fresh air, the cool air felt good on her skin. It caressed her. The palm trees hummed silently, she could hear their silent hum despite all the noise in the street adjacent to their building, her fingers longed to paint, it longed for her spatula and colours but it was gloom that filled her heart. She saw Chizaram run across the yard followed closely by Adesanya, the son of a neighbor. Subconsciously her eyes wandered to the front of Adesanya’s house and she could see his father and mother playing chess and laughing.In her mind she could hear the woman’s strong voice, the voice of a woman with confidence. Why wouldn’t she be confident? When her husband carried her like she was an egg. The woman worked in a bank yet had her husband’s loyalty. It reminded her of her father.

2b She smiled sadly, if only she had listened to him. He was one man filled with the Wisdom of Solomon, even after his wife’s death, he remained single, no scandal. It wasn’t that his children would have objected to his taking another wife, he chose to serve God the rest of his days. She didn’t think such men still existed in her generation. Her eyes returned to the couple playing chess, the woman moved a Bishop and laughed throwing her head backwards and punched her husband slightly on his right shoulder, he held her hand on his shoulder with his left hand. It was probably because the man was a pastor that he stayed faithful to his wife, otherwise why else would he love her so much? Maybe she was being sentimental because her relationship with her own husband had gone sour, after all Samantha’s husband was good too. She headed into the house to get a stool, she was definitely going to enjoy this afternoon breeze before her detractor returned. When she walked into the room, a past flashed in her eyes, she saw herself being slammed against the wall beside her box the day she had packed her cloth and threaten to leave. Chukwuma had assured her that day that if she dared it he was going to find her and make her life useless. He reminded her that she was his and he had paid her bride price in full. She heard his voice ring out in uncautioned rage, the last and only words that kept ringing in her mind that day was the name of Jesus. How she managed to survive that day was beyond her, she was sure she would have died had it not been for His name on her lips. Quickly she picked up a piece of paper and a pencil, if she couldn’t paint at lease she could draw. Then strolled to the kitchen to get the stool, unconsciously she massaged the back of her head where he had hit her against the wall and let the tears drop afresh. She chided herself for being so weak, she needed to be strong for her daughter, no child deserved to grow up with so much violence. Chizaram was her own little princess and it didn’t matter whether her father saw her as a princess or not. She had to have a plan, she had no money otherwise leaving would have been easier, a day like this when he wasn’t home she would have taken off. She came out with the chair and dropped it on the floor before adjusting her wrapper. “I should wear proper clothes, it is bad enough that I am being battered from outside. I shouldn’t be battered in my mind too” with that said to herself, she went in to take a shower. She came out of the bathroom with tears running down her cheek, the pain seemed to flow out to the surface as the water poured down her body. If only she could wash it off with her bath. She needed healing and she knew it but where was she going to get it? Definitely not here, her home would be the best choice, somewhere within her she knew that her father would still welcome her with open arms, of course he was disappointed in her but she was sure of his love. She walked up to the mirror, it seemed like ages since she took a good look at herself. Chukwuma made use of the mirror more often than she did. Her naked image stared back at her, a part of her felt ashamed as she stared at herself. This was her in her unguarded moment. The weakling Chukwuma found joy in pummeling. It was no wonder he hated her, she was completely subdued, no light in her eyes, her hair was unkempt and she was very thin. Her usually rounded breast was flattened. She pitied herself, when did she degenerate into this? She merely existed rather than being alive. She dabbed the tears and water off her face, moisturized her skin before putting on a little make-up. It didn’t matter what her husband thought of her, it was what she thought of herself that mattered. She angled her head, where had she heard or read that? She couldn’t quite place it, but she was sure it must have been during one of those marriage seminars she had attended back in school. She walked with a new confidence as she returned to the veranda. She could see Chizaram, the girl had 2 boys playing with her now, Ezinne smiled sadly at the childish innocence, gone were the day she could laugh and smile easily like her world was perfect. Adesanya’s mother looked up at her at that moment, smiled and waved to her, she responded to the woman’s greeting with a bow of her head. The Pastor followed his wife’s line of focus and greeted her too. What was that she saw in his eyes? She was sure it was compassion for her, more like pity. She was sure the entire compound knew that her husband had turned her to his punching bag but none of them had ever come to her rescue. A part of her loathed them, no it wasn’t just loathing, she hated them. It was true that it wasn’t their fault that her husband was destroying everything that she ever was but at the same time it wouldn’t kill them to help her without her asking. It was like the Pastor had read her mind because she saw him talk to his wife and in the next moment she saw them stand up and walk towards her apartment, she wasn’t sure they were coming to her flat until she heard the doorbell. She groaned, not now, why didn’t they come all this while? Why did they have to come at the time she needed some time to herself, some time to plan her non-existent future?

It shall be well.. Truly truly she is Mrs Unmarried.. Cos no jox,peace,love or any form of affection from her husband towards her

so sad

@fb-danieledem thanks for the notification...i was delayed at the porcorn stand

nice write up jeep.it up

people dey take sh.its sha

Nice

I'm sorry for not updating the story but I'll continue it tonight

Chapter 3 Mr. and Mrs. Akinwande stood at her door determined to have a word with Ezinne irrespective of what or who intended to interrupt them. They had lived in the compound for almost a year and within that one year there was hardly any day they saw her move with her husband. The man was almost always out of the house. She lived upstairs adjacent to the building that housed their own flat and they had only heard from discussions among other neighbour’s that Ezinne was her husband’s stress reliever. They understood immediately why she was ever hidden indoors and why whenever she went out, she always had a scarf around her. Ezinne glared at them when she opened the door, it had taken her sometime to respond to the doorbell, and as though they were determined to ruin her moment of aloneness the two stood there, waiting. She snickered when she saw the lady latched on to her man’s arm. Maybe she would have done the same if she were the one at the other side of the door. They were probably expecting to be welcomed with violence after all that was what her home had become-a training ground for boxers – only that in her own case there was only one boxer whose hands were bereft of a boxing glove. Titi Akinwande couldn’t help but notice how pale and weak the other woman looked. Her eyes were bulgy, probably from too much crying. Her neck bones were prominent, almost gorging out from underneath her skin. Mrs. Titi held herself from reaching out to embrace her, pure compassion flowed from her heart as she wondered how much suffering the other woman was enduring and how much of it was her own undoing. Here was a woman who was married yet she was alone. She paused to consider if there was a story there. There had to be something that had gone wrong. Something the woman herself must have missed or caused. Guiltily she cautioned herself, here was a fellow woman who was being violently abused by her husband and she stood face to face with her practically judging her, without even getting to know her first. There was no justification to a man battering his wife. Ezinne led them into their small living room, her gigantic wedding picture occupied one corner of the room, it was a miracle that her husband had not used it as a weapon against her. The wooden center table stood on a brown, leopard skin decorated mat. It blended smoothly with the brown and orange curtains, which decorated the living room. A flower vase sat on the table within it lived a dirty old flower. To the right side of the entrance was the dining area, the chairs were arranged into the table, and clearly it was rarely used. A little shame came upon her as she considered the living room. It had been quite a while since she sat in this room, most of her stay in the house was behind, from the kitchen to the room and then to the back door. There was a film of cobweb hanging at one corner of the ceiling. She redirected her eyes to her visitors. Hopefully the cushion would not be as dusty as the room itself was. How possible that would be was beyond even her. Well they said that hope does not disappoint us so possibly her own hope wouldn’t disappoint her at this point. She watched the couple sit before taking a seat opposite them, her was eyes fixed on the wall behind them. She noticed the way the wife considered her and felt naked. It was like the woman could see through her and she felt the urge to get more clothes on. “How are you ma?” came the voice of Mr. Akinwande. It sounded like he was just trying to fix his voice into the already lost moments. “I am fine, thank you” she replied. It was the appropriate response. What else were they expecting her to say? Was she supposed to spill her guts to these complete strangers? Pastor or no pastor they were humans and sooner than later everyone in the area would know the gory details of what transpires in her house. They would probably use it as illustration when preaching to their congregation. “It seems like you do not have any friends?” Pastor Akinwande asked, it was more of a rhetoric than it was a question yet she answered. “I do sir. I just don’t invite them over, I go to visit them” she lied. Of course she had friends except that somehow she had grown apart from them, or was it that her husband had bad-mouthed every one of them until they started staying away from her? Well her husband had badmouthed and insulted most of them first before they then grew apart. Pastor Akinwande saw through her lies but decided to swallow it, what good will it do if he told her point blank that she was lying to him. Instead he decided to keep the conversation ball rolling; at least she’d welcomed them in. Ezinne got up abruptly like she had only just remembered her manners, “Can I offer you something please?” she offered quietly. The couple immediately declined, but she insisted. Pleading with them to at least take water, in resignation they excused her. Titi knew instinctively that the sudden nicety was to excuse herself, it was clear the woman didn’t want them in her house, at the same time she knew Ezinne deeply needed company and someone to advice as well as comfort her. Ezinne was out of their sight in one minute, once upon a time receiving visitors was a pastime, today it was a labor. Her husband was probably going to strangle her for allowing their neighbours into his house. She prayed he stayed out late today. Which was ever a better option than when he was home. She took a deep breath when she got to the kitchen, all her mojo was lost and even she couldn’t recognize herself. By the time she got back to them with the two bottles of water she had picked for them, they were more relaxed and seemed more comfortable. She would have to replace the bottles of water otherwise that would be the cause of their quarrel for today. They were all smiles when she placed the water on the side table next to them. “So are you ready to talk?” Titi asked without beating around the bush. She had asked her husband to allow her handle the situation and he let her. Ezinne was pulled aback by the confidence and fierceness of the woman’s words. They were direct and gone was that woman who had been hiding behind her husband a few minutes ago. She breathed in and out, taking her time to make herself comfortable on the couch opposite them. “What do you want to talk about ma?” she threw the words back. She had gained her composure if they wanted to play this game she too was. It was a woman-to-woman talk yet her own calmness unnerved her. She couldn’t count herself as a proud person yet she wasn’t going to allow a woman make her feel unworthy of herself. Titi smiled, the woman had a fighting spirit, she probably lost that in her bid to show her husband love and submit to him. He must have overpowered her and subdued the fight in her. “Do you want to have a friend? Or do you want us to become your friends by force?” Ezinne smiled, it was awkward to hear such a question yet it was beautiful to hear someone actually ask her that. “You didn’t come all the way to my house just to be my friend ma” she replied, more than ready to turn the woman’s search light back on her. “My dear, we are here because we want to be here for you. We are here because we want to help you…” “Help me?” she scoffed “No man can help me.” “But God can.” Pastor Akinwande interjected. She shot him a glance like he had just touched her with a piece of naked wire then slowly she recoiled. Titi watched her reactions cautiously as she moved from the defensive fighter to a vicious woman then slowly to a wounded and broken piece of work. How one woman could possess different characteristics in one body was beyond her. Yet it was good to know that there was a piece of work in there waiting to be touched and worked on. “Ok, I will leave you ladies to have a chat. Honey I will be in the house.” He kissed her cheek before getting up. He had fulfilled a part of his mission. The gateway was now open for passage. Ezinne watched them; this was exactly what was missing in her own home. Love. The little things that spiced up every relationship, the love she could see in their eyes, the physical touches, the eye contacts, the words understood without being spoken. If only she had them. Mr. Akinwande left them to themselves, he wasn’t sure of what to expect but he trusted his wife to force words out of the mouth of Mrs. Osondu. She was good at human relations, that was one great thing he had learnt from her and she had helped him through his ministry with getting into the heads of people and somehow they spilled their deepest pain. Titi sat still after her husband closed the door behind him, staring at the woman seated opposite her. Ezinne stared back, lowered her gaze, stared again, frowned, then lowered her gaze unto her fingers as they sat gingerly on her laps. She was battling with the emotions surging up within her. “What do you want?” Ezinne asked suddenly, her trembling voice betraying the tears beneath. “I was going to ask you the same question.” Came Titi’s calm response. “What do you mean? You are in my house staring at me like I stole something from you.” She sniffed. Titi could see the struggle to suppress the tears which was already giving way, yet she maintained her resolved to act aloof until the woman was ready to lean on her. She had studied psychology in school but the condition of the country was what made her work in the bank. Situations like these made her long to return to her profession. Another bout of silence passed between them. “Ma, I am sorry for speaking to you rudely. I have not always been like this. Life happened to me, I guess I am just jealous of you. What you share with your husband is beautiful and I don’t have that.” Titi got up from the cushion where she sat and crossed over to sit beside Ezinne, shrinking the space between them thereby bridging the distance that seemed like a dividing gulf. She embraced her and allowed her weep to her heart’s content. There were no words of comfort to offer for she couldn’t comprehend the enormity of pain that tore at the woman’s heart. Something within her knew that she had just made a new friend. One that she was certain she would nurture until she could stand on her own feet. When her tears were spent, Ezinne looked up into the eyes of the woman who held her and gave her a shoulder to cry. “Thank you so much ma.” “Are you ready to talk to me now?” She asked calmly. Inwardly she thanked the Holy Spirit for making her work so easy. Ezinne swore that she heard the voice of Jesus in the woman’s voice but she didn’t tell her instead she replied like she was talking to Jesus. “I made a mistake and I messed up. I wanted to be like others and I failed to listen to the Holy Spirit.” Titi wiped the tears off Ezinne’s face with her palms and said a short prayer with her, there was no use elongating her guilt. She may be the pastor’s wife, yet she wasn’t the pastor and didn’t intend to step into those shoes. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” she got up and gently helped Ezinne up. There was nothing as pleasant as feeling good by looking good and that was exactly what she intended to do with this young woman who was now looking as old as her mother. Ezinne allowed Titi stir her to her room, she merely pointed the way knowing that the woman hadn’t been in her home before today. It was a little difficult picking out any clothe for Ezinne to wear out; there were no simple yet classy dresses in her entire collection. Most of the clothes she had in her wardrobe were old and the ones she had packed into her box didn’t exactly fit. Eventually she picked a piece of faded blue jean trouser and a purple blouse. For her make-up she had to take her to her own house for she couldn’t find anything short of white powder and lip-gloss in Ezinne’s house. Titi was satisfied just by the smiles she put on Ezinne’s face, and when she was done with the make-up Ezinne was grinning from ear to ear, happy to see the difference and proud of her new look.

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Good work, pastor wife. Next please

Chapter 4 coming right away

Chapter 4 Ezinne and Titi came back to her home at 12 minutes past the hour of 4. Titi had first taken her to a spa to get them a massage before going to a salon to get their hair and nails done and the woman paid for everything without asking her if she had any money or not. After their little time together, Ezinne had loosened up and in place of the angry, dejected woman was a woman hanging on to every bit of life she could get. She felt like she had just been born, like she had just realized that there were people outside her sphere who were alive and living. She saw life beyond her imagination; these were people who were not living to please anyone but themselves and getting fulfillment from what they did. If only she could get something to do, or someone to connect her at least she would make some money and probably earn some respect from her husband. Titi was telling her of a Hollywood movie she had watched with her husband the night before, as they bounded the stairs to her house. She said the movie was titled ‘Beastly’. The excitement in her voice as she told the story of the young proud son of a rich man who crossed path with a witch that taught him the lesson of his life, mirrored the pain in Ezinne’s heart. All through their time together Titi made her laugh, cracked jokes to distract her from her fears and worries, assured her that henceforth there would be miracles. Wasn’t that all she had prayed for? A miracle, some respite from her bondage, some help, some saving. Now here it was being promised and she was filled with doubts. She couldn’t help but smile to herself for her spirit reminded her of the Jewish believers who prayed for Peter’s release and when God answered they didn’t respond with an excitement commensurate with their request. Maybe hers had to do with the fact of being in bondage for so long and getting so used to its form and shape that it was now difficult to adjust to a new way of life. She unlocked her door, a part of her hating the loneliness she would face after Titi would have returned to her home. She was certain the woman wanted to return to her husband, as she didn’t think she had been a good enough company for her. Before turning the door knob she felt a cold fear course through her inside running at the speed of lightening from her chest to the pit of her belly, she paused, took a long and deep breath before opening it. She wasn’t surprised by what she saw, her husband was home with a glass of wine in his hand. Ordinarily it would have surprised her to see him home this early but then the fear that ran through her before she opened the door didn’t mean nothing. She understood now that it was her spirit sending her warning signals of the next blow to her body. She greeted him with her eyes to the ground, he had caught her being happy and that was definitely a sin. She felt Titi’s hand on her back, well at least there was support standing behind. Chukwuma accessed her, his eyes did a quick sweep of her body. Somehow her figure was still intact, he had missed that from all the wrappers, today she looked somewhat like the woman he had married. Yet he would never get past the fact that she was responsible for the death of his mother and grandmother, both her and her child. “So you are now one of those women who warm the Pastor’s bed?” he replied her greeting with a voice laced with fury and disgust. Titi felt like she had been slapped directly, and she was ready to spit her disgust on him but on a second thought she wondered what her husband would do if he was present in the face of this disparaging statement. She realized that her husband being a pastor would refrain from speaking in anger, not that he wasn’t human, but because his listeners would interpret everything he said or did in the wrong light. She thought of what Jesus would have done if he were insulted like this. She remembered two events in the Bible, the first being Jesus replying Pilate’s question and the second was Jesus speaking to those who said he cast out demons by Beelzebub. In both situations Jesus spoke so why wouldn’t she? Titi counted one to five in her head before speaking. “I beg your pardon sir?” She came out from behind Ezinne and saw from the corner of her eyes Ezinne’s eyes begging her not to speak, like she was afraid that even speaking was a sin. She couldn’t believe it, now she understood exactly why this man was trampling on his wife. He cheated on her with other women and still had the guts to accuse her wrongly. The man thought he was god. “I was talking to my wife!” he replied her without so much as a glance, his blazing eyes were fixed on Ezinne. Titi gave a cynical laugh, “You are talking about my husband.” she replied calmly fighting the anger. “Oh I thought he belonged to God not man.” he replied. He was mocking her and his stance dared her to challenge him. How she hated this position and title ‘Pastor’s wife’ the title limited her. She didn’t miss the sarcasm in his voice. This was a man she would ordinarily have given a piece of her mind but she had to be ok with everyone, had to smile even when she wanted to claw out the eyes of some humans, had to bow to greet even people she knew hated her and hated her husband. “I just want you to know sir, you have a beautiful vessel as a wife yet you are misusing this vessel. Remember if you pour poison into your cup, you will drink from that cup and it is only what you pour in that you can drink. The cup cannot purify what you poured in it.” With that she was out and gone. She raced down the stairs not wanting to look back else she returned to that house and messed up her husband’s ministry. Didn’t they say that a coward lived to fight another day? Today was not her day of battle, the man was sure to put himself in her mouth soon and that day she would not only bite but chew him too. No one puts his head in the mouth of the lion and expects to take it back. Ezinne walked briskly into the kitchen. She dropped her bag on the kitchen stool before putting some food in the plastic plate to enable her microwave it, thanks to PHCN, at least there was power even though it was low. Hopefully the voltage would power the microwave. While she stood waiting for the microwave’s alarm to go off she consciously concentrated on the events of the day, how her life had changed within a few hours, early this morning she was in complete despair, hopeless and almost drifting into depression, it was a wonder she had not lost her mind this past year. Her mind flashed back to an allusion made to one Chukwuma who was a smooth talker yet had nothing. The salon hands who obviously had nothing to do kept going on and on about how they would deal with him for playing both of them. When they had been discussing it, she strained her ears and heart hoping that it was not her own Chukwuma, since they hadn’t described him neither had they mentioned the surname. She shook her head in disagreement with her thoughts, her own Chukwuma was not a sweet talker and never said what he couldn’t do. Again her head argued, disputing her heart’s stand, ‘the man sleeps out of the house! Can’t you read between the lines? ’ her head maintained. ‘ He must be sleeping at a friend’s place. He is a decent guy, he just doesn’t love me anymore and I am the reason he doesn’t. ’ her heart contended. She shrugged, at least she had come to terms with the truth, which is that there was no more love in his heart for her, they had only been married for 5 years and for 4 years of the 5 it has been filled with hatred, anger and violence. How long was she going to endure this? She thought of Titi, and smiled at the fondness with which she now thought of her. Ordinarily she would have called her Mrs. Akinwande and here she was calling her by her first name. She wondered how Titi would react to her leaving Chukwuma, the woman was a pastor’s wife and if she hated the idea Ezinne would understand. She was still considering the thought, though it wasn’t a plan yet. Besides, Chukwuma would love that, wasn’t it why he was beating her on a daily basis so that she would leave on her own accord without it looking like he sent her away? She shook her head in disagreement; the last time she had parked her bags to leave he had slammed her against the wall. She didn’t exactly know if he wanted her here or not. It was only because of Chizaram she was still here, the girl was too small to be left without a mother or taken away from her father. She took her phone out of her bag to call her father, hadn’t she tried several times and yet had not let the call ring before dropping it? The guilt of her father’s foresight was judging her more than he probably was, she knew it, yet couldn’t ignore it. Her father hadn’t called her either, at least if he had forgiven her, he would have made efforts to reach out to her. He had called her a couple of times after the wedding and stopped after she had Chizaram. It was as though he realized that she was determined to stay in the marriage and so he let her be. She groaned, she had been angry with him because he never called to check on her when she delivered neither had he come. She didn’t blame him for not coming around but at least he could have called, Chukwuma had assured her that he had called her father to tell him that she had put to bed but he never called her. The microwave alarm rang signaling the end of it’s heating. She took out the food and turned it over into his special plate that he alone used as well as added his own spoon to it before setting it on a tray, carrying it to a side stool and moving the stool towards him. He was sprawled out on the cushion watching a match. She hoped he wasn’t expecting any friends because she really wanted to sleep; her head was aching from the Ghana weaving she had just made. She remembered that she had left Chizaram with Titi’s maid and quickly rushed down to get her. She smiled timidly at Titi, embarrassed at what she had witnessed at her house. “It’s ok dear, I do not blame you for your husband’s actions. He is the author of his words and responsible for them” “Does your husband know?” curiosity got the best of her. “Not yet, but it won’t escape him, believe me” Titi replied with an assurance that she knew who her husband was, he read her like a book and before long she would spill everything that had happened. “You look really pretty, I didn’t know you looked this good. You need to smile more often you know?” Titi changed the topic smoothly. Ezinne smiled in reply, “Thank you ma. God will continue to bless you.” She curtsied before collecting her now sleeping child from the maid standing dutifully behind her boss. They bade each other good night before Ezinne returned to the flat she shared with her husband. As she went she promised herself and her child that she was going to give them a better life. She did not have the money yet, but she made herself a promise to start saving towards her future plans.

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Chapter 5 coming right away

Chapter 5 The alarm on her phone gave Ezinne a jolt that she almost tripped over herself in a bid to shut it from waking the entire neighborhood. She had set it for 4am so as to prepare breakfast early and still leave her enough time to attend service. Her husband was having bean cakes with oats this morning, as he did every Sunday morning and she had to make them at home as was his instruction. She thanked God for hearing her prayers and giving her electricity this morning, otherwise how else would she have managed to blend the beans. She had actually planned to blend it yesterday night unfortunately the light went off while she was washing off its coat. At least she had the beans washed and soaked in water waiting to be blended. Quickly she loaded her blender, enjoying the sound of the machine as it hummed and reduced into pastes every bean seed in it. The door was securely shut just to ensure that the noise of the blender didn’t wake her husband. The bean puree was ready in 10 minutes, quickly she placed her frying pan on the stove and watched the water dry out. She then poured oil in it while stirring in the mortar the quantity she was about to fry and turning in circular motion to make the bean particles rise and stick together, that way the bean puree wouldn’t spatter when it hit the frying pan. She smiled when she remembered the day her mother-in-law gave her ‘the lectures on the proper way to make homemade bean cakes.’ Within 45 minutes food was ready and served, at least her husband wasn’t going to find a reason to prevent her from attending service today. Chizaram was still sleeping peacefully when Ezinne got to her room. Ezinne watched her for a moment as her chest heaved in the rhythm of her breathing. She was grateful; at least she had a child, her own offspring. A feeling of fear settled over her suddenly, how was she going to take care of her child if she left, and would her husband allow her take Chizaram from him? It wasn’t as though he loved the child anyway; Ezinne knew that somewhere in his heart he blamed them both for the death of his mother. She didn’t believe in re-incarnation otherwise she saw a lot of semblance between her late mother-in-law and her daughter. Without waking her up, Ezinne carried Chizaram; the girl stirred, rubbed her eyes, and mumbled a ‘good morning ma’ before settling herself comfortably on her mother’s shoulder. Ezinne kissed her, “good morning dear, did you sleep well?” Chizaram did not reply and Ezinne knew that the hand of sleep was still strong upon her child. She put her down gently when they got to the bathroom. “Chi, wake up. We are going to Adesanya’s church” The girl’s eyes flew open, she rubbed them with the back of her palm, stretching her little body at the same time. A smile lit her face as she squinted up at her mother. “Are we going in their car?” She asked in her innocent little voice. “No dear, I didn’t tell his mummy that we would go with them but I am sure we will find our way there. His mother told me where the church is located, so I am sure we would be fine.” “Ok.” She answered happily and cooperated with her mother in the shower. Ezinne smiled in satisfaction as she bathed her daughter, today there was no fuss or complain about the water being too hot, or the water touching her hair. There was no struggle with the toothbrush, whether or not to brush the top or the down first. Chizaram maintained that she would chose her own cloth and Ezinne allowed her. What was the point? All the girl's dresses were good and she had limited choices anyway. Chizaram picked a pink top and a blue jean and Ezinne patiently wore them for her. She was a little nervous but she was excited too, probably even more excited than her little girl so much that she put her hands into the head hole of the top, then corrected herself by putting her hand in the right hole. Hair brushed, shoes cleaned and cloth in order. Ezinne placed food in front of her child while she ran off to prepare herself and clean the house. She was sure that by the time she was done with the chores and her own preparation her daughter would still be playing with the food and she would have to feed her to finish up but at least she would have put some in her tummy. She seemed less sophisticated than her daughter; thankfully her wardrobe still had some of her old church dresses. How she missed her native wears! She took out a lemon green gown she had sewn 3 months after her wedding, the white petals that adorned the cloth looked old and worn out. She flapped the gown 3 times to be sure there were no roaches on it, then ironed it to take out the rumple. It carried the smell of her wardrobe but there was nothing she could do about it. She put the dress on her body; it was a little tighter than when she had sewn it yet it was manageable. Ezinne had heard of Daystar Christian centre before, it wasn’t exactly strange to her but at the same time she had never visited the church. She heard of it on the radio, television and even saw updates on social media but never really paid attention to what was said about the church or who was its senior pastor. At the time she looked at the wall clock it was some few minutes past 6:30, her daughter was right they should have joined the Pastor and his wife. She was sure they would have left because Titi told her that her family would be in church at 6:00 in preparation for the 1 st service. She shrugged; at least she still had about an hour and 15 minutes before the first service started. Unfortunately she didn’t own a car otherwise her journey would have been beautiful. She took some time putting the Master bedroom in order before heading out. She found a Keke Napep going through CMD road to toll gate and quickly got in with Chizaram. Two other gorgeously yet simple ladies got in the Keke with her. They were chatting away, one was telling her testimony to the other. She was talking of how God had miraculously given her a man whom she loved and admired so much, for her it was a miracle because about a year ago he had been planning to marry another lady while she kept on wishing he would just look at her. Then suddenly the tides turned and the lady left him and somehow they became friends and just yesterday he proposed to her. The way she bounced with excitement caused Ezinne to envy her. She had been excited too about being asked to marry Chukwuma only that now, five years down the line she wished she had said no instead of yes. In her heart, she hoped for the lady’s sake that her joy was worth it, and her patience would be rewarded. As she thought on these words a scripture came to her, she couldn’t remember exactly what verse of the bible but she remembered it was somewhere in the book of Isaiah. “Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagle, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” She wasn’t exactly sure the passage was for her, it seemed more appropriate to the lady who was joyful about being patient, and getting the man God promised her than she who had hurriedly married a man who was now making her entire existence miserable. She turned her gaze to the road and cuddled Chizaram closer to her bosom. Thankfully the strong breeze that whizzed across her face as the Keke zoomed past various cars on the road, but failing to avoid the potholes, succeeded a great deal in drying the tears that had formed within her eyelids. She kept looking out the tricycle enjoying the slapping of the breeze against her face, which was devoid of any make-up. The consciousness hit her, there hadn’t been the need to use any make-up in a long time since the man she would have worn it for wasn’t exactly interested in seeing her face how much more admiring her. They got out of the Keke when they got to toll-gate, the ladies paid the One Hundred Naira fare the man had called without waiting for balance, she quickly dug in her purse and thankfully there was a Two Hundred Naira note in it which she handed over to the already impatient driver. He gave her a balance of One Hundred Naira from the money the two ladies had given him and drove away to load again. She lifted the extremely quiet Chizaram unto her shoulder and hastened her steps to catch up with the ladies who had alighted from the Tricycle a few minutes before she did as they mounted the stairs of the overhead bridge. She groaned inwardly at the height she had to climb with Chizaram slung over her shoulder, at least it was a lot better than attempting to climb the height with her throttling along. “Excuse me! Excuse me?” Ezinne called after them in a timid voice. The ladies, as well as two other passerby strangers turned to her direction. The ladies stopped when they realized that she was calling for their attention. “Erm, Hi. We boarded the same Keke.” She stammered pointing her thumb over her shoulder, behind her. “I heard you ladies talking and I was just wondering if you are going to Daystar?’ “Yes we are going to Daystar” the lady who had told her testimony in the Keke replied her while the other one just stood there accessing her. “Oh ok. Erm… I was wondering if I could tag along? Today is my first day and I don’t know my way there” “Aww, really? You are welcome. Come on let’s go.” The testimony lady answered again. “Hello little one” she smiled at Chizaram, who was staring from her mother to the two strangers, and pulled gently at her chubby cheeks. All she wanted was to tag along but she had wanted to be sure they were going in her direction before following them like a stalker but the lady with the testimony fell into step with her, forcing her friend to also fall in line. “I am Melissa and this is Sewa.” “Nice to meet you ladies.” Ezinne waved at Sewa “Congratulations Melissa on your engagement. Sorry didn’t mean to listen in, the Keke was pretty small.” She smiled embarrassed for eavesdropping. Melissa smiled broadly. “Thank you besides I am sure it will encourage you not to give up that God makes a way even when we can’t see any way.” Ezinne nodded in agreement but she warned herself against telling Melissa what had come to her heart when the lady was telling her testimony. “I am Mrs. Ezinne Osondu, but you can just call me Ezinne.” “So what church have you been attending?” Sewa asked. Ezinne turned her head briefly to look at Sewa, it was the first word to her from the lady, yet Ezinne could not figure out if it was a query or a conversation. Either way she wasn’t about to have that discussion that would lead to more questions and then before she could control it, she would have to start explaining why she hadn’t been attending church and then from there to a discussion about her failed marriage. “Well, I am an Anglican by birth, I was invited by my neighbor, Mrs. Titi Akinwande” “Oh, I know Pastor Akinwande. So he is your neighbor?” “Yes he is.” She replied in an almost singsong voice that amused even her. Clearly she had said that the man was her neighbor and here was the lady asking her the same question again. And so even though she knew it was more of a rhetorical question than it was an actual question something within her told her there was another unspoken word or words beneath the spoken question but did she want to know? She had not mentioned Pastor Akinwande, only his wife yet this young lady noticed only the husband, she refrained herself from much words. There was no point pursuing that line of thought as it would only lead her to a place she wasn’t willing to go. “The man is a good man, and his wife is lucky. I just wish there was a man like him in my generation!” Sewa burst out, her words stinging her own heart. And there it was, the self-pity flowing with words that ran more deeply than the ordinary interpretation of each word placed side by side against each other. “You want to marry a pastor?” Melissa turned to her friend. This was the first time Sewa would say anything about marriage. She had always seemed so content about being single and living alone. She had always acted like she hated all men and Pastors ranked the top on her list. Sewa lifted her nose like she had just smelt a bad egg “Not necessarily. I was just thinking aloud” “Really? That didn’t sound like you were thinking, more like you were caught off guard.” Replied the bemused Melissa. “Geez! Melissa don’t turn this on me. It isn’t wrong for me to appreciate someone that is good. The man is good and I just aired my thoughts.” She replied in her defense and gave Melissa a ‘let me be’ frown. “Come on babe, just glad to know that you have a good book.” Melissa replied and pulled at her friend’s arm, that made Sewa smile and in seconds they were discussing weddings and bridal showers. Ezinne smiled The alarm on her phone gave Ezinne a jolt that she almost tripped over herself in a bid to shut it from waking the entire neighborhood. She had set it for 4am so as to prepare breakfast early and still leave her enough time to attend service. Her husband was having bean cakes with oats this morning, as he did every Sunday morning and she had to make them at home as was his instruction. She thanked God for hearing her prayers and giving her electricity this morning, otherwise how else would she have managed to blend the beans. She had actually planned to blend it yesterday night unfortunately the light went off while she was washing off its coat. At least she had the beans washed and soaked in water waiting to be blended. Quickly she loaded her blender, enjoying the sound of the machine as it hummed and reduced into pastes every bean seed in it. The door was securely shut just to ensure that the noise of the blender didn’t wake her husband. The bean puree was ready in 10 minutes, quickly she placed her frying pan on the stove and watched the water dry out. She then poured oil in it while stirring in the mortar the quantity she was about to fry and turning in circular motion to make the bean particles rise and stick together, that way the bean puree wouldn’t spatter when it hit the frying pan. She smiled when she remembered the day her mother-in-law gave her ‘the lectures on the proper way to make homemade bean cakes.’ Within 45 minutes food was ready and served, at least her husband wasn’t going to find a reason to prevent her from attending service today. Chizaram was still sleeping peacefully when Ezinne got to her room. Ezinne watched her for a moment as her chest heaved in the rhythm of her breathing. She was grateful; at least she had a child, her own offspring. A feeling of fear settled over her suddenly, how was she going to take care of her child if she left, and would her husband allow her take Chizaram from him? It wasn’t as though he loved the child anyway; Ezinne knew that somewhere in his heart he blamed them both for the death of his mother. She didn’t believe in re-incarnation otherwise she saw a lot of semblance between her late mother-in-law and her daughter. Without waking her up, Ezinne carried Chizaram; the girl stirred, rubbed her eyes, and mumbled a ‘good morning ma’ before settling herself comfortably on her mother’s shoulder. Ezinne kissed her, “good morning dear, did you sleep well?” Chizaram did not reply and Ezinne knew that the hand of sleep was still strong upon her child. She put her down gently when they got to the bathroom. “Chi, wake up. We are going to Adesanya’s church” The girl’s eyes flew open, she rubbed them with the back of her palm, stretching her little body at the same time. A smile lit her face as she squinted up at her mother. “Are we going in their car?” She asked in her innocent little voice. “No dear, I didn’t tell his mummy that we would go with them but I am sure we will find our way there. His mother told me where the church is located, so I am sure we would be fine.” “Ok.” She answered happily and cooperated with her mother in the shower. Ezinne smiled in satisfaction as she bathed her daughter, today there was no fuss or complain about the water being too hot, or the water touching her hair. There was no struggle with the toothbrush, whether or not to brush the top or the down first. Chizaram maintained that she would chose her own cloth and Ezinne allowed her. What was the point? All the girl's dresses were good and she had limited choices anyway. Chizaram picked a pink top and a blue jean and Ezinne patiently wore them for her. She was a little nervous but she was excited too, probably even more excited than her little girl so much that she put her hands into the head hole of the top, then corrected herself by putting her hand in the right hole. Hair brushed, shoes cleaned and cloth in order. Ezinne placed food in front of her child while she ran off to prepare herself and clean the house. She was sure that by the time she was done with the chores and her own preparation her daughter would still be playing with the food and she would have to feed her to finish up but at least she would have put some in her tummy. She seemed less sophisticated than her daughter; thankfully her wardrobe still had some of her old church dresses. How she missed her native wears! She took out a lemon green gown she had sewn 3 months after her wedding, the white petals that adorned the cloth looked old and worn out. She flapped the gown 3 times to be sure there were no roaches on it, then ironed it to take out the rumple. It carried the smell of her wardrobe but there was nothing she could do about it. She put the dress on her body; it was a little tighter than when she had sewn it yet it was manageable. Ezinne had heard of Daystar Christian centre before, it wasn’t exactly strange to her but at the same time she had never visited the church. She heard of it on the radio, television and even saw updates on social media but never really paid attention to what was said about the church or who was its senior pastor. At the time she looked at the wall clock it was some few minutes past 6:30, her daughter was right they should have joined the Pastor and his wife. She was sure they would have left because Titi told her that her family would be in church at 6:00 in preparation for the 1 st service. She shrugged; at least she still had about an hour and 15 minutes before the first service started. Unfortunately she didn’t own a car otherwise her journey would have been beautiful. She took some time putting the Master bedroom in order before heading out. She found a Keke Napep going through CMD road to toll gate and quickly got in with Chizaram. Two other gorgeously yet simple ladies got in the Keke with her. They were chatting away, one was telling her testimony to the other. She was talking of how God had miraculously given her a man whom she loved and admired so much, for her it was a miracle because about a year ago he had been planning to marry another lady while she kept on wishing he would just look at her. Then suddenly the tides turned and the lady left him and somehow they became friends and just yesterday he proposed to her. The way she bounced with excitement caused Ezinne to envy her. She had been excited too about being asked to marry Chukwuma only that now, five years down the line she wished she had said no instead of yes. In her heart, she hoped for the lady’s sake that her joy was worth it, and her patience would be rewarded. As she thought on these words a scripture came to her, she couldn’t remember exactly what verse of the bible but she remembered it was somewhere in the book of Isaiah. “Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagle, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” She wasn’t exactly sure the passage was for her, it seemed more appropriate to the lady who was joyful about being patient, and getting the man God promised her than she who had hurriedly married a man who was now making her entire existence miserable. She turned her gaze to the road and cuddled Chizaram closer to her bosom. Thankfully the strong breeze that whizzed across her face as the Keke zoomed past various cars on the road, but failing to avoid the potholes, succeeded a great deal in drying the tears that had formed within her eyelids. She kept looking out the tricycle enjoying the slapping of the breeze against her face, which was devoid of any make-up. The consciousness hit her, there hadn’t been the need to use any make-up in a long time since the man she would have worn it for wasn’t exactly interested in seeing her face how much more admiring her. They got out of the Keke when they got to toll-gate, the ladies paid the One Hundred Naira fare the man had called without waiting for balance, she quickly dug in her purse and thankfully there was a Two Hundred Naira note in it which she handed over to the already impatient driver. He gave her a balance of One Hundred Naira from the money the two ladies had given him and drove away to load again. She lifted the extremely quiet Chizaram unto her shoulder and hastened her steps to catch up with the ladies who had alighted from the Tricycle a few minutes before she did as they mounted the stairs of the overhead bridge. She groaned inwardly at the height she had to climb with Chizaram slung over her shoulder, at least it was a lot better than attempting to climb the height with her throttling along. “Excuse me! Excuse me?” Ezinne called after them in a timid voice. The ladies, as well as two other passerby strangers turned to her direction. The ladies stopped when they realized that she was calling for their attention. “Erm, Hi. We boarded the same Keke.” She stammered pointing her thumb over her shoulder, behind her. “I heard you ladies talking and I was just wondering if you are going to Daystar?’ “Yes we are going to Daystar” the lady who had told her testimony in the Keke replied her while the other one just stood there accessing her. “Oh ok. Erm… I was wondering if I could tag along? Today is my first day and I don’t know my way there” “Aww, really? You are welcome. Come on let’s go.” The testimony lady answered again. “Hello little one” she smiled at Chizaram, who was staring from her mother to the two strangers, and pulled gently at her chubby cheeks. All she wanted was to tag along but she had wanted to be sure they were going in her direction before following them like a stalker but the lady with the testimony fell into step with her, forcing her friend to also fall in line. “I am Melissa and this is Sewa.” “Nice to meet you ladies.” Ezinne waved at Sewa “Congratulations Melissa on your engagement. Sorry didn’t mean to listen in, the Keke was pretty small.” She smiled embarrassed for eavesdropping. Melissa smiled broadly. “Thank you besides I am sure it will encourage you not to give up that God makes a way even when we can’t see any way.” Ezinne nodded in agreement but she warned herself against telling Melissa what had come to her heart when the lady was telling her testimony. “I am Mrs. Ezinne Osondu, but you can just call me Ezinne.” “So what church have you been attending?” Sewa asked. Ezinne turned her head briefly to look at Sewa, it was the first word to her from the lady, yet Ezinne could not figure out if it was a query or a conversation. Either way she wasn’t about to have that discussion that would lead to more questions and then before she could control it, she would have to start explaining why she hadn’t been attending church and then from there to a discussion about her failed marriage. “Well, I am an Anglican by birth, I was invited by my neighbor, Mrs. Titi Akinwande” “Oh, I know Pastor Akinwande. So he is your neighbor?” “Yes he is.” She replied in an almost singsong voice that amused even her. Clearly she had said that the man was her neighbor and here was the lady asking her the same question again. And so even though she knew it was more of a rhetorical question than it was an actual question something within her told her there was another unspoken word or words beneath the spoken question but did she want to know? She had not mentioned Pastor Akinwande, only his wife yet this young lady noticed only the husband, she refrained herself from much words. There was no point pursuing that line of thought as it would only lead her to a place she wasn’t willing to go. “The man is a good man, and his wife is lucky. I just wish there was a man like him in my generation!” Sewa burst out, her words stinging her own heart. And there it was, the self-pity flowing with words that ran more deeply than the ordinary interpretation of each word placed side by side against each other. “You want to marry a pastor?” Melissa turned to her friend. This was the first time Sewa would say anything about marriage. She had always seemed so content about being single and living alone. She had always acted like she hated all men and Pastors ranked the top on her list. Sewa lifted her nose like she had just smelt a bad egg “Not necessarily. I was just thinking aloud” “Really? That didn’t sound like you were thinking, more like you were caught off guard.” Replied the bemused Melissa. “Geez! Melissa don’t turn this on me. It isn’t wrong for me to appreciate someone that is good. The man is good and I just aired my thoughts.” She replied in her defense and gave Melissa a ‘let me be’ frown. “Come on babe, just glad to know that you have a good book.” Melissa replied and pulled at her friend’s arm, that made Sewa smile and in seconds they were discussing weddings and bridal showers. Ezinne smiled in satisfaction, glad to be off the spotlight. satisfaction, glad to be off the spotlight.

Continue!!!

OK o

Why all is delay na??? Abegi continue sha!!

@ Akintunde Joseph please are u abandoning the story? because u are delaying too much

@Expenza please I'm really sorry for not updating the story

I'll do that right away

Chapter 6 coming right up

Chapter 6 The church was extremely big; Ezinne’s eyes sought its end and found it quite alright though it was as far as her eyes could behold. “Oh boy!” She muttered under her breadth. She had never been in a church this large and it was overwhelming. She felt clumsy unfortunately she had lost her newly found friends when she had been told to take her child to the junior Church. The ladies had bid her good bye and she responded with her appreciation before following the usher that led her to the junior church. Now here she was thinking of which way to go. One of the ushers spotted her and directed her to keep moving, at every point there was another usher directing with smiles on their faces. She followed their directions until she was ushered into a row and told where to sit. That was a little unnerving but at least she was comfortable. It wasn’t exactly as she had pictured being in the church. Somewhere in her mind she had positioned herself into a corner where no one would see her but here she was in the midst of all these people, lost in the crowd, lost in faith yet seemingly seen by all around her. The lady who sat next to her was oblivious of her presence, she carried her chin high and Ezinne believed that her thoughts were probably as high as her chin. The service which she later understood was the 2 nd being held this morning, as she had just missed the 1 st was something of an event. Perfection was imputed into everything. The praise and worship team looked heavenly in their matching white and yellow attires. The lady who led the praise session was something out of this world and Ezinne’s heart ached for her school days when the presence of God meant everything to her, her days of innocence and purity in God’s house, where her worship was neither hampered nor impeded by the cares and fears in the world. Like the wise man in Ecclesiastics 12:1 said, “…when the evil days come not nor the years draw nigh….” She was sure that the evil days were strong upon her. The message was taken by Pastor Sam himself, she almost jumped out of her skin when he mounted the stage. This was Pastor Sam Adeyemi live, standing before the congregation. Even though he couldn’t see her amongst all these people she felt like he could. His opening prayer was for the healing of the nations, for the first time in a long time, that prayer made meaning to her. She felt like a nation birthing another nation. The message was centered on the topic ‘The power of Ideas’ and he did a good job in marrying the power in having an idea with the power to birth something new. Ezinne’s Spirit came back alive after the message, the zeal to live was quickened in her, so also did the desire to do exploit. She felt new like a child just born, it was a beautiful feeling, and was as though someone had just injected her with a life that wasn’t previously hers. All her business ideas, which seemed impossible, started to look possible and achievable, and all her limitations faded. The Choir took the stage and sang a song that was unfamiliar to her though it was beautiful. The song was in Yoruba and it was interpreted on the screen, it went ‘Were lo ba mi se, (He did it for me easily e e e, were lo ba mi se, Oun ti mo ro pe ko se se (what I thought would be so difficult) were lo bami se (He did it for me easily)’ She joined the congregation who stood to dance to the beautiful melody being produced by the choir. The choir danced to their own music and so it was only natural to follow suit. She also joined in dropping her offering in the basket that was being passed around. At the end of the choir ministration the congregation was led to read Joshua 1:8. Ezinne left the church joyful, new, and refreshed. It was only then that she realized she had been under the captivity of the devil not her husband. Her husband only became the instrument through which the devil put her below physically whereas spiritually she was already bound over just like that daughter of Abraham in the Bible whom Satan bound over for years before Jesus healed her. She acknowledged now that she needed that soft touch of Jesus. All the way home, Chizaram chattered about the children she met in church, what the children teachers said, what she was taught, what she was given to eat. Her excitement engulfed Ezinne, she told herself that as long as this church filled her spiritually and made her daughter this joyful, she was staying put. She was home in 20 minutes; thankfully Chukwuma was not in the house when they got home. Her head was in the clouds as she took off her church dress after which she organized her daughter’s room in their 3-bedroom apartment. Chizaram was not hungry, all she wanted was to run downstairs to tell her friends all that had happened today in church so Ezinne let her go, but not without reminding her not to go into anybody’s room but to always be in the sitting room and if any adult male told her to sit on his lap she should scream and bite him. That was a bit extreme however she maintained her ground on it, she didn’t want to deprive her child of her childhood freedom at the same time she couldn’t overlook the fact that there were evil people out there who could take advantage of the child’s innocence. Once the door was shut behind her child, she went on her knees right behind the door and wept her heart out. Her prayer went to her maker to deliver her and set her free. She literarily begged for mercy and cried for her child. Divorce was not an option she ordinarily would take but this was too much for her. Her heart battled on her marital status, she wondered if her marriage was recognized in heaven as it had been recognized here. Well it was, wasn’t it? After all the church where they were wedded had blessed their union and Chukwuma had taken the bride price to her father, even though her father had refused to collect it. She was truly living with a man who like Jesus said was not her husband, he was only her daughter’s father. She was spent by the time she got up from the ground, her prayer had been intense, and in her heart she knew that God had heard her. She was no longer judged. ‘Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered’ Ezinne slept for almost 2 hours before getting up to cook, she was in the kitchen when Chukwuma came in. Her heart skipped when she heard the door, he was coming home early these days, it was not until today that she realized that his coming home late and staying out of the house was more pleasant to her than his being home. “Where is that bitch?” He came into the kitchen, his entire being was shouting danger. Ezinne didn’t turn; her hands squeezed hard at the knife she was using to slice the liver, which she had bought on her way home, from church. She waited for him to hit her from behind instead he grabbed her by the hair. The pain from the hair coursed through her and in a blinding moment of pain she swung her right hand at him. Turning to face him as she did. He was gripping her hair so tightly that she was bent over struggling with him. He was yelling at her for leaving the house so early without his permission and prostituting. She hadn’t intended to fight back but her scalp was still hurting from the plait and he was inflicting more pain through the same hair. She fought to release herself from his grip on her hair with her left hand while her right hand slammed into his chest, the knife in her hand was forgotten and it went straight through his rib cage. Her eyes were still shut as she struggled with him groaning in pain, she lost her balance when he left her and hit the fridge. She heard him groan and that was when her eyes flew open. The tears and pain blinded her for a while, when her eyes adjusted, she saw blood everywhere, her hand was bloody then she saw the knife protruding out of his chest. Confusion shook her. “Oh my God! What have I done? No, no, no! Chukwuma! Chukwuma! Please don’t die, please I beg you in the name of God! I didn’t mean to stab you. Oh Jesus!” she cried, her own pain suddenly forgotten. Her bloody hands flew to her head then down her cheek, she went to him, lifted him up then placed him back on the ground, he was struggling to breathe. She flew to the sink to rinse her hand before racing to the room they shared to pick up her handbag and some of her daughter’s clothes and in a few minutes she was running down the stairs. Chizaram was sitting at the end of the stairs when she ran down, without a word, she scooped her unto her shoulder, the girl didn’t understand what was happening and couldn’t say goodbye to her friends. The only word that rang in her head was ‘run’ and that was exactly what she was doing. She got into a bus headed for Jibowu, the dried blood on her face attracted a lot of questions and concerns. She had only washed off the blood on her hands before leaving the house. Most of the questions were met with a blank expression. At Jibowu she boarded a small bus she didn’t have enough money otherwise a luxurious bus would have been her best bet. On the other hand it was a good option at least she would get away from all of these faster. Titi came home in high Spirit, the sermon was uplifting so was the praise and worship. Sundays were ordinarily the best day of the week for her, so asides from church it was the day she rested properly. Good and long siesta and if she was up to it, she visited her siblings or her husband’s siblings or they visited her. Evenings was usually left open for the outings. The thought of Ezinne crossed her mind and with the thought came a giddy feeling that unsettled her. She felt guilty for not checking on her before leaving for church this morning but then they had almost gone late. Somehow the family had woken up late this morning and besides as pastors they were to be in church before service commenced. From the discussion with Ezinne yesterday she had presumed that Ezinne did not have any intention to change church and if she were to attend at all, she would only come for the second or probably third service. During their discussion Ezinne had explained that house chores must be done in the morning otherwise she would get in trouble with her husband, and as much as Titi wanted to badger her into going and ignoring her husband, the submission passage and the pastor’s wife title held her back. She called the maid and went to the kitchen herself, the girl had already plugged the electric kettle so as to boil water they would use for tea. It was their regular Sunday practice to have tea and biscuit while waiting for food since there wasn’t any time to cook in the morning. There was an unsettling feeling tugging at the pit of her stomach, it made it difficult for her to concentrate on anything. Sarah the maid answered her and walked into the kitchen. “Sarah, please make the tea and serve everyone. Then boil the rice, get the stew out of the freezer let it defrost, I am coming back now.” “Yes ma.” Sarah replied and curtsied before heading towards the rice cooker. She went to the study where she was sure her husband would be praising God, he was already praising when she peeped it. He turned to see who it was so she smiled and gesticulated that she was coming. There was no need bothering him, it was just to let him know that she wasn’t going far. She bounded the stairs to the flat Ezinne shared with her husband. It was the first floor and Titi could see that the door was open. Panic gripped her, that door was ever locked or shut, why would it be opened? Not just opened but ajar? Strange as it was she cautioned her heart to keep calm. She told herself that she was just being paranoid and there was no problem. She knocked out of courtesy but there was no answer, so she stepped in gingerly surveying the environment as she did. She called out to Ezinne but there was no answer. Her first thought was to go into the room but on a second thought she moved to the kitchen. Her heart did a triple summersault when she saw the motionless body of Chukwuma on the kitchen floor and she screamed before running back to her house to call her husband. Mr. Akinwande could barely make any sense from what his wife was saying; she was out of breath, panicky and teary when she ran into the study. He felt her fear and knew that something horrible had happened. He tried to get her to talk coherently but the only thing he heard were the words ‘Ezinne’s husband’ and ‘dead’ without waiting to hear the rest of it, he ran off to their flat leaving his wife to decide whether or not to follow him. Titi rushed to her room to get her phone, immediately she picked it, she called their family doctor; he was also a pastor at Daystar. She managed an apology before asking that he came over to the house to check an emergency. She didn’t explain, didn’t have the patience to, in a few minutes she was off to Ezinne’s flat, her husband was bent over Chukwuma when she got there. He was checking for a pulse and for signs of breathing. “Is he alive?” Titi asked her husband with a deep fear of the response she would get. “Yes, but his breathing is very faint. Quick get me pillows; we need to place him in the shock position. I think he is going into shock. He has lost a lot of blood.” “Ok.” She raced into the first bedroom, it was thrown apart like whoever was last in it had been in a hurry to leave. She couldn’t find a big pillow, only two small pillows, this had to be Chizaram’s room. There was no time to examine the room, quickly she raced to the next room, and picked up the first pillow she saw. “Here, are you going to pull the knife out?” She was shaking all over. “No, I don’t want to damage any organ. Quickly call Achike, tell him someone has been stabbed.” “I have called him, he is on his way.” “Did you tell him it is a knife wound? And that it is an emergency?” He asked without looking at her. His mind was focused on lifting Chukwuma’s legs and placing his head gently on the pillow, he was taking extra care not to obstruct the breathing flow. “I told him it was an emergency” “Good, call him again, tell him someone has been stabbed, we need to perform first aid treatment pending his arrival and I need him to guide me through it.” “Yes Honey.” Achike assured her that he was close then taught her husband how to apply pressure on the wound without pulling out the knife. True to his words he was there in a few minutes, by then some of the neighbours had gotten wind of what was going on and were in the house doing their bits to help. Achike came and instructed Mr. Akinwande to clear the kitchen. They didn’t need the stuffiness, he said, besides the man needed some air. He pulled out the knife carefully, applied pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding then performed a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Achike called the hospital. “Get me an ambulance and prepare for an operation.” “There is no need to wait for an ambulance, use my car please.” Akinwande offered. “Sir, the blood might stain your car.” Achike blurted out, however it wasn’t his fear; he feared that if the man died the police would accuse them of killing him. “There is no time to further delay, let’s go!” Another male neighbor assisted them and within a few minutes Chukwuma was carried into Mr. Akinwande’s car for onward transfer to the hospital.

Dis is what happens if u decide to make yourself a molester n an abuser,now see how u r struggling for ur life... I hope dis incident changes u when u get strong again!!!

hmmm? you have been abusing her and now it's ur turn tho it wasn't intentional, I hope you learn ur lesson from this

the man will eventually die,,, I just wish he stays alive for him to know how much he has damaged his wife

Foolish man

Foolish indeed

What happened to Chukwuma? Will Ezinne escape? What will be the repercussions of this action? Let's find out in the next Chapter

Chapter 7 coming right away

Chapter 7 Ezinne paid for the bus ticket from the money she had been saving, her daughter’s ticket was half of hers. She almost burst out in tears when she was told the price for the ticket, because it was almost all the money she had on her. Rather than pay for the both of them she paid for only her seat, she would have to carry Chizaram on her lap throughout the journey. What she had left could barely sustain her daughter and herself for a month. How was she going to survive with her daughter? Panic shook her heart, she was going home to meet her aged father who was not working and who she couldn’t exactly tell how he had been faring all along. She thanked God for Obike and Hanslem, her brothers who had been catering for his finances how else would her aged father have survived. The Sunday afternoon bus was waiting to be filled, and hawkers were scattered all around merchandising their wares. The stares directed towards her were unbearable because she was hoping to disappear, not to be seen and watched. She was sure someone had taken a picture of her, the young guy had placed his phone in an awkward position and she was sure he wasn’t just looking at the phone or reading something on it but was taking a picture of her. She sat Chizaram on the seat in the waiting area, placed her bag on the girl’s lap, and told her to wait for her and not talk to anyone before heading towards the room that had the bathroom sign on the door. She was almost at the door when it occurred to her that someone might ask her daughter some questions and the child would innocently say something that would get her in trouble. With the recent increase in mobbing and mob killings, she was sure that no one would hear her out, let alone reason that she had stabbed her husband in selfdefense. Of course she felt the stab of guilt pierce her heart but the guilt was not enough to feel sorry for the man who had made her life a living hell these past 4 years. She reflected on it as she walked back towards her daughter, 4 years? And it had seemed like an eternity. A part of her longed to call Titi, her new friend but the guilty part said no, how was she going to explain to Titi that she had killed her husband and where would she make that call with all these people itching to know what was happening with her. She pushed the thought aside, trouble for another day. She was supposed to be scared, for a woman who had just stabbed her husband in cold blood, but there was no fear only uncertainty, anyway she hadn’t exactly stabbed him, only defended herself. She collected her handbag from Chizaram and helped her up. “Lets go to the bathroom, you want to ease yourself right?” “Yes.” Chizaram replied in her small voice. “Where are we going mummy?” “We are going to the bathroom dear, that’s what I just told you.” Ezinne replied evasively, surely she understood her daughter’s question but she was avoiding being asked about daddy or why they were leaving him. It would raise more suspicion that was if the people did not already suspect that she was running from him. They probably all knew that she had been in a fight with him and he had injured her, though they may not have suspected that she had stabbed him. She scooped Chizaram unto her shoulder and walked briskly to the bathroom. One look at the mirror she understood the quizzing looks, the blood had dried against her skin but it still showed a drag of finger from her hair to her cheek. “Mummy why is there blood on your face? Did daddy hit you?” Chizaram asked in her innocent voice, her big eyes considering her mother’s face, she hadn’t noticed the blood in all the rush and now that everything was calm her curious nature was beginning to resurface. Ezinne took a long look at her daughter, a form of calmness settled in her heart knowing that her daughter would not be seeing her mother being hit again. Even if Chukwuma survived this somehow she was never returning to him. That line had been crossed and from what she knew of him, he would never come to beg her or make peace. Rather she could predict that he would demand for a return of his all he spent for their wedding seeing that he made all the expenses alone. Well he couldn’t get that back, after all she had slaved for him these past 5 years, even a paid servant would have made much more than he spent. “Sweetheart, just know that from now on we would be fine, no more hitting, no more shouting and no more crying.” Chizaram shook her head like she understood, Ezinne was not sure she did but it gave her some measure of joy that she had a partner and friend in her daughter. The girl had grown more than her age. She smiled to herself, and for the first time in a long time she felt some victory. She got the child, didn’t she? The blood on her face appeared to have a mind of its own like it was set to expose her. It was quite frustrating and an unwelcome herculean task having to rub and massage her face so roughly to get the dried cake of blood off, coupled with flashing images of her husband lying on the kitchen floor, helpless. She stuck on the word helpless; it was a word she didn’t believe existed in Chukwuma’s dictionary, except for today she couldn’t remember him ever being helpless. He was just that man who commanded her to obey, fear him and do all his biddings. “Mum, when are we going home? I am hungry.” “Oh dear.” she groaned, how had she forgotten that her child had to eat, I amsuch a terrible mother , she thought helplessly. What mother forgot to ensure that their child didn’t go hungry? She asked herself. “We would get you something once we get out. What do you want to eat?” “I want gala.” Chizaram responded with a smile, she had seen all those women hawking snacks and it had been a while since she had one of those and since today she was being given the opportunity to make a choice, she grabbed it with both hands. “Done!” Ezinne responded, matching her daughter’s enthusiasm with a genuine smile. The feeling of freedom was completely overwhelming. She could feel the warmth and joy in the pit of her belly. With a final scrub of her palm against her face the blood was off. The ringing of her phone gave her a jolt, almost causing her to fall over. In panic she rummaged her bag searching frantically for the phone, it was difficult to find it with all that cloth she had stuffed in the bag. By the second ring she had located it, the caller ID showed that it was Titi. Did the woman know? Or maybe she had visited and didn’t see her. With shaky hands she picked the phone. “Ezinne!” Mrs. Akinwande yelled, half expecting a hysteric woman at the other end of the conversation. Ezinne had to move the phone some distance away from her ear to reduce the loudness. “Ma.” Ezinne replied fearful, she could practically hear the thumping of her heart in her chest. She glanced at Chizaram certain that the girl could sense her apprehension and being that she was pretty smart, she was careful with her words, there was no need letting her daughter in on her mess. She reduced the call volume of the phone so that she alone could hear what Mrs. Akinwande was saying. “Oh, thank God! Where are you?” the woman was careful, she wasn’t sure it was Ezinne who stabbed her husband -or rather she hoped her suspicion wouldn’t be confirmed- from all indications it had to be Ezinne. Other than the kitchen and rooms every other place was in perfect serenity, the rooms and the kitchen had been the only places thrown in disarray. From the looks of it, she had seen that Ezinne was preparing lunch at the time the incident occurred and with the little she knew of Chukwuma she was certain he had attacked Ezinne and something had let up within her, the tamed demon that had been bidding its time. Who could blame a battered woman for fighting back against her assailant especially when one felt completely hopeless and had her back against the wall? “I am fine ma, thank you for everything…” she started to say. “No, no, Ezinne, this can’t be a goodbye. No you have to say the goodbyes face to face.” Titi cut her short. There was no way she was taking a goodbye over the phone, besides she needed to make sure the other lady was ok and satisfy herself that Ezinne’s actions had nothing to do with anything she said or did yesterday or anything that was said in church today. “I am really sorry ma but I didn’t intend for it to happen.” She fought back the tears cautious of her daughter’s eyes on her. “I just really need to live, to breath again. One of us had to …” she stopped herself from saying the ‘death’ word before her daughter. “And it couldn’t be me, if it was me, who would take care of my daughter? He would bring a new woman within a day and make my daughter’s life miserable. One of us had to live” she turned away from Chizaram and sobbed silently. There was no need pretending, from Titi’s voice she figured that the woman already knew. “Shhh, I understand dear, completely, believe me. I don’t know what it is like to be in your shoes but I need you to be strong, for Chizaram.” “Thank you ma, I hope God will forgive me.” “Ehm, actually we took him to the hospital and the doctors have stabilized him and I think he will survive.” Came the reply at the other end. A silence passed between them, Ezinne didn’t know whether to smile or cry. Whether to be grateful or not, somewhere in her heart she had felt a little relief that he was gone and that she made that happen but the human side of her accused her of so many wrongs, wrongs which she could have avoided had she been patient with God before jumping into this marriage. Well it was too late for regrets now, wasn’t it? “I know you can’t come back but at least let me help you set up yourself, let me help you start afresh. It would be our little secret. Please for the sake of Chizaram.” Titi pleaded, she hadn’t discussed it with her husband and wasn’t sure he would buy the idea, but she was desperate not to let a potentially beautiful soul go to waste. Ezinne nodded like the woman could see her, she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing anymore, the entire front she had put up suddenly broke down and melted away. It was like her tears was the purifier, the woman’s words went deep within her soul beyond all the walls she had laid up these years to keep her heart from feeling. It was the same softness that had made her realize she was still human and led her to fight back without intending to kill yet she had fought carelessly. “Thank you for making me feel like a human again, but I need some time to get back myself, to be me again, to live and breath. I haven’t had me in a while. I am completely broken.” “Sweetheart, I know you are broken but no amount of years and time can fix that, only Jesus can. Please let us give him a chance to heal you and mould your daughter into the beautiful woman God has destined her to be.” Ezinne smiled sadly and turned to look at her daughter who had wandered away, she could see her walking down the hallway through the doorway which she had left open when she stepped out of the bathroom and left her daughter to her conversation. “I, I… will take you up on that please. Please let me talk to you later.” She didn’t hang up before she threw the phone into her bag and raced after her daughter, with one sweep she lifted the tiny legs off the ground unto her shoulders and returned to the bathroom to wash off the tears that had stained her face. The Journey down to the East was smooth, save for the bumps and jumps that came from the pothole ridden road, the never-ending spray of dust and the disturbing smell of fumes, basically that was enough to make any normal person scream ‘discomfort’ but for Ezinne it was alright, so long as there wasn’t any accident she was fine. Mercifully, the driver instructed that they all close their windows and he turned on the Air-conditioner. ‘Love!’ Ezinne screamed in her head, there was no saying the extent of her relief by his kindness. The difference between the opened windows and closed windows only became evident by the closing of the window, now there was no noise and she could concentrate on the thoughts in her head. Chizaram was sleeping soundly on her mother’s laps unperturbed by the issues that bothered her mother or by the chaos in the world. Ezinne envied her, long gone was a time when she had no worries, when all she knew was that her father and mother would take care of everything. Now there was no mother to carry her and her father was probably still too angry with her to be bothered. For the first time since she ran away from her dying husband, she wondered what home would look like and how she would be received. It had been a while since she had spoken to her father and her siblings, well she had been too pre-occupied with her own problems coupled with the fact that she was avoiding confiding in them her tale of woes. Hadn’t they warned her sternly about being married to Chukwuma? Yet against their warning and against good judgment she had chosen the man over them, so it was her cross to bear. But for the journey and the fact that she had just burnt the bridge behind her, she would have gone back, stayed away from her family even longer. She had been giving them some space and some time to come to terms with her decision and it seemed like now that space had turned into a gulf that separated them. How were they going to perceive her? She thought over the excuse or lie she was going to tell when she got home. Shame filled her heart and covered her face. Chizaram adjusted herself against her mother’s bosom and Ezinne turned her to sit sideways and laid the side of Chizaram’s head against her bosom as against the back of her head and wrapped her arms around her. The girl opened her eyes for a few seconds at the disturbance before settling comfortably to resume her sleep. Ezinne gave her a reassuring smile, the little girl closed her eyes, and within a second she was asleep again. She wondered where she would start from or how. She had no university degree and except she would get one there was no hope of working in any office anytime soon except if she wanted to be a cleaner. No, she shook her head in disagreement with her thoughts. In truth she was a nobody but that didn’t mean she had to remain at her low estate. She hadn’t deferred her admission and was sure that UNIZIK was not taking her back, besides what would she do with Chizaram if she decided to go back to school? And who would pay her tuition? She waved off the thought of going back to school, it wasn’t in her destiny, or perhaps it was but maybe in the near future. She thought of painting, her love for drawing and painting had not died with her enthusiasm for being alive. She sighed in despair, how many people loved art works these days? Not even an artwork from a top artiste but one unknown and uncultured woman desperate for her means of livelihood. Even as she tried to describe herself, the definition painting her as a desperate woman seemed to take the top shelf. How else would anyone define her? Returning to Lagos was a long time dream perhaps a long time future one as she was sure that if Chukwuma survived the stabbed wounds just as Titi had predicted, he would be seeking vengeance for his injuries and for the bills he would pay at the hospital. She knew him, he would be seeking for his pound of flesh, and that she was sure she couldn’t give. The bus stopped at Benin to allow passengers stretch their legs and get some food if they desired. It had been five hours since they left Lagos and it was nearing dusk. She watched people alight from the bus but didn’t move until the driver informed her that everyone had to come down so she gently woke Chizaram and got down with the rest of the passengers.

hmmm? it's well with you sis

It serves the demon right, next please

Hmmmmm eno be easy oo but it shall surely be well...

Hmmm