Evil 1
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Ruth walked along the pedestrian way with bags hanging from her hands. She dragged her tired feet with her mind focused on reaching her destination; her home. She’d gone out as usual to sample some textile materials to people and hoped they would buy. That was her business and the family depended majorly on the income from it. Her husband, Tunde, had become almost dependent since after losing his job in a bottling company some years back. Since then, he had refused fo seek for a permanent employment and only engaged in ‘adhoc’ employments which came once in a while.
Sadly, she made no sales that day after trekking around the town under the scorching sun. As she walked carrying her bags of textile materials and hoping to get home before her tired legs would give way, a mad man walked briskly past her. It was not a thing to worry about as mad people were common sights around the town. But after taking a few steps forward, the mad man ran back and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to see who was touching her and there stood the mad man with a mean face. Before she could react to the uncommon encounter, the mad man said, “darkness is looming over your family. It has come upon you”.
Immediately after saying that, the mad man ran off without giving her any room to react. She stood at the spot momentarily thinking about what the mad man said and wondering what to make out of it. “Did his insanity made him say that or something led him to me? What darkness could he be talking about?”, Ruth wondered in her mind. After a moment of these nonverbal questions with no answers coming forth, Ruth continued her movement. Throughout that evening, her mind couldn’t rest. The words of the mad man became resonant in her mind. The more she tried to mute the words, the stronger they became. She was becoming restless. When she couldn’t gather her thoughts any longer, she knelt down and started praying.
After the prayer, she felt relatively relieved, but the thoughts never left completely. Deep down, they kept popping up. During dinner that even, she narrated her encounter to the whole family. She had three daughters who were eleven, thirteen and fifteen years old respectively, and a son who was twenty years old. She urged each of them to be careful in whatever they’d do in the coming days. While narrating and worrying over her encounter, Tunde laughed at her for taking the words of a mad man who had since lost touch with reality seriously. But that didn’t stop Ruth from promoting the safety of her family. Something within her believed the words of the mad man.
Days went by and nothing happened. But Ruth never stopped praying against whatever darkness the mad man was talking about. Then exactly eight days later, Ruth received a call from someone that introduced herself as her eldest daughter’s teacher. The caller informed her that her daughter, Shade, collapsed in the class and was rushed to a hospital. On getting the information, Ruth’s mind quickly went to the mad man’s prophecy. She prayed under her breath, asking God not to let her fears be true as she rushed to the hospital. When she got to the hospital, her daughter had been revived. She laid on a bed with a canula fixed on her hand and saline solution flowing through it into her system.
Ruth was very relieved to see that her daughter was out of the woods. Her fears were not true and she thanked God for that. While she sat beside her daughter inquiring how she was feeling, the doctor sent for her. Once inside the doctor’s office, she (the doctor) asked after Ruth’s husband. Ruth told her that her husband was on his way and urged her to discuss whatever she wanted to discuss with her. The doctor obliged. She produced a paper containing some test results and explained them to Ruth. “Madam, your daughter has malaria and typhoid fever. But those are not the major problem”, the doctor said. Ruth became more inquisitive and urged the doctor to say what was exactly wrong with her daughter.
The doctor was reluctant in revealing the remaining part of the result. She knew how heavily the information would weigh of Ruth, but she had no other choice. “Madam, your daughter is also about one month pregnant”, the doctor said pitifully. Ruth couldn’t believe her ears. She asked the doctor to repeat what she said and she did. This time, trying to console Ruth with some soothing words. Immediately she said that the second time, Ruth stormed out of her office with tears already forming in her eyes. She went to where her daughter lied and started making emotional Comment. “Shade, so you are the darkness that mad man told me about? So the condition of our family is not bad enough that you decided to bring more hardship and this shame to us? Where did I do you wrong?”, Ruth asked with tears flowing down her cheeks.
Shade was confused, she didn’t understand what her mother was talking about. She was about asking for clarification when her mother added, “so getting pregnant at this age is the way to help your family? What other training did I not give you. Why did I get it wrong?” Immediately she said that, Shade knew what she meant. She wanted to say something spontaneously, but she held herself. She bent her head in remorse instead while her mother continued making heart ripping comments. The next morning, Shade was discharged from the hospital.
Tunde was in the sitting room when Ruth and Shade got home. Once inside the house, Shade called her mother’s attention and said, “it was daddy that got me pregnant. He raped me twice”.
What happened next?
Find out!!!
TOCHUKWU ANOZIE
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