MARRIED💞
Episode 10.
©Miriam Edem
“Sharon wake up! The taxi is here, keep your eyes open please, I heard my mother said tapping me on my cheeks as I tried staying awake. I was carried into the taxi and I felt my sister who is a midwife with me, as she kept encouraging me to be strong. The hospital was indeed very far from the village and my mother was very scared if they will attend to me because the nurses there behaves like possessed beings. They get very harsh if they notice any local midwife tried her best and failed, they will have to suffer you for while with no human sympathy that the woman life is at risk.
“Are we not there yet? I asked.
“Don’t worry very soon, my mother replied and anxiously told the driver to hurry up.
“Can’t you see the gallops? I can’t enter them na else na another wahala, the taxi driver said when the pressure was too much on him while my waist was on fire.
“Hey! Hey! Mommy o, I said holding my sister tight when the pains became unbearable.
“Sharon please we are almost there, my mother replied.
“Its coming o, its coming out o! I cried out and my sister inserted her hand in my legs and shouted on the driver to stop.
“What is it? My mother asked running from the front seat to the back where I was,
“She’s about to give birth, my sister replied.
“Eh? For my car? The taxi man asked.
“So what? Don’t you have pity at all? My sister asked back.
“Please not in my car take her out I take chineke beg you, the man seriously said and my mom didn’t waste time to spread a wrapper at the side of the road where the car was parked, just close to the bush,
“What are you doing? My sister asked her.
“Please I don’t want trouble, she can deliver here, please help us, my mother replied and they helped me out of the car to the wrapper.
Women who were passing by helped with their wrappers to cover me, and right there I delivered of a girl child but she didn’t come out crying.
“She’s so weak, my mother said as I was trying to catch my breath.
“What happened? I asked seeing their faces but a woman who stopped to help got the baby from my mother and began beating her and turned her around stretching her body and she gave a cry. I breathed out hearing my baby cry, though I was too weak to express my joy.
“She’s fine now, theres no need going to the hospital, the woman said giving the baby back to my mother while my sister attended to me. We got back to the taxi because the driver waited at a corner watching us, and we returned to the village. My sisters were so happy but we were rushed in so we can be taken care of.
5 months later, I and my baby was very fine. But every day I get scared looking at her with all that was happening in my family, Cecilia still got raped despite she was very fierce and it was a mother burden that I don’t want my daughter to equally end up like us. I had this thought of running away from the village, but whenever I bring it up my mother will kick against it, but I knew somehow I will escape from here.
One particular day I heard of a traditional marriage going on somewhere and decided to feed my eyes, its been something I had always admire. I wanted leaving my baby behind but she woke up crying and didn’t want to follow any of my sisters, and I didn’t want to miss the occasion also because I fancy it a lot, I had to carry her along. I stood outside the compound with the rest of the uninvited villagers watching but the heat was becoming too much despite I covered her with a baby blanket but she was very uncomfortable, I had to leave.
With the cars parked outside the compound, one wanted reversing and almost hit me behind,
“Oh sorry sorry it was not intentional, he came out at once apologizing.
“It was not what? If you had knocked me down will your English solve the problem? Can’t you use your eyes anymore to see where you’re driving? I asked transferring all my frustration on him.
“Hey calm down okay I apologized right? He asked and my baby began to cry.
“Oh she’s cute, hold on, he said taking something from his car while I tried making my baby stop crying.
“Use this to get something for her, at least you won’t cut off my head right? He asked stretching some notes to me and I took it.
“That shouldn’t stop you from watching next time, I replied and left immediately before he will change his mind.
“Thanks ma’am, I heard him shout behind but that was not my business.
I got home and saw it was 5,000 naira he gave,
“Ewo! When he didn’t hit me o, it was only the horn that startled me and he’s throwing away 5k like that? I said smiling at the money and i remembered my plan of escaping,
“But what if i safe this money and use it to utilize my plan? I thought about it and kept it safe so my mother won’t learn about it. Right from that day I began saving any little money I was given, especially Mary who loves giving my daughter money, when she leaves it goes straight into my saving box until a particular day my dad dropped by when the gods touched him to support with upkeep. My mother was not home, after staying for a short time looking at me while I attended to my baby, he stood up when he was tired and dropped a bunch of money on the bed and left. I peeped when I saw he zoomed off with his motorcycle and counted the money and saw it was 20,000 naira, right there I stole 5,000 naira and my saving box was very okay for me to run away with but to where?
That was another question I never asked myself, but anyhow I consoled myself that anywhere is manageable and I’ll sure survive as long as am out from this God forsaken village. I began to think about my mom, but I didn’t want to be weak because I had to go and my mom will manage somehow without me, after all I won’t run away forever. I just want to find solution and keep my baby away from all that is going on but my mother won’t understand that, and I pray she does very soon even though I won’t wait for that time to come.
When my mother returned I informed her about her husband dropping by and she gave me that killer eye,
“my what? She asked.
“I don’t know o, I replied her and she counted the money on the bed and hissed.
“Will 15,000 naira carry us till the next 2 months he will draw himself down here again? Rubbish! She shouted leaving the money on the bed and left the room.
“Sorry it was 20,000 sha, I said in my heart and couldn’t stop myself pitying her.
2 weeks later I was more than determined to run away at all cost after binding the voices of Chinenye mother voice telling me I can’t run away from my shadow, but I told myself I have to hide from it at all cost. I kept this to myself waiting for a very good time to take off with my daughter praying so hard we should succeed together.
I was secretly hiding my stuff in the bush, and one day my mom left the house and I saw the compound kind of dry, I took my 7 months old daughter and left telling my sisters especially Chinenye that i want to see Mary. Since I didn’t carry anything, no one suspected but indirectly I was telling them goodbye even though I couldn’t tell my mom that but I dropped a note for her.
I left to the farm where I hid my stuff at a corner I know no one goes but only me, took my things, stopped a bike and took off. From there I got a cab that will take me to the bus station where I will enter any city I will hear first, I wasn’t bothered about my safety at all if I will leave the village safely and I have to go really far. Though dusk was falling on us, I decided to stop at a nearby city so I can find somewhere to sleep and take off the next morning where no one will reach me.
In the bus I noticed my daughter has a fever and I was very scared, I didn’t even know who to complain to when there were young people with me who probably knows nothing. I tried bringing down her temperature but it was not working and it got me more scared though I had to pretend until the passengers began to ask why she is crying too much in the bus.
“Is she your daughter? Then stop her na, a woman at the back said.
“Sorry but she’s not feeling too well, I told them.
“Then take her to the hospital, I don’t know what’s wrong with small girls getting pregnant without knowing anything about motherhood, the woman said and I heaved and told the driver to stop me.
“Wait we are almost there, the lady sitting beside me said and I nodded. After few minutes we arrived and I just looked around confused, it was my very first time outside the village and every determination I had quenched. My daughter fell asleep as I strolled carrying her with my bag going to no where exactly until I saw people coming out from a building. I read the banner there and saw it was a church, then I weakly looked at my daughter, she was still very sick and I suddenly blamed myself for running away.
I decided to enter the building and sat at the back, people were still in the building despite many were leaving. I soaked my handkerchief with water placing it on my daughter head as I kept watching, and when I saw the building was almost empty, I wrote down a note putting it in my daughter blanket as I wrapped her and it read,
“I once believed in your God but he failed, but please beg him to save and take care of my daughter for me. From a teen broken mother”.
I was crying very seriously as I cautiously left where I sat to the middle of the church and laid my daughter on the long bench there without anyone noticing. I kissed her on her forehead fighting hard not to leave her but I had to because I saw I couldn’t take care of myself, how will I take care of her?.
I closed my eyes and left without looking back …………….
TBC
#milove
