Episode 41
Continuation
As I soon learnt later, it was all about Bode who slumped when
he was on a swing playing with his friends the day before,
which was the Children Day Celebration. Bodeâs head hit hard
against the swing and he bled to unconsciousness. That was
the same day I was asked to hawk, not regarding that it was
our day (Childrenâs Day).
John my father didnât return home because somebody must
have to stay with Bode in the hospital. Toyosi who returned
early the next morning had only come to prepare something
for her son.
If not that I asked her where Bode and my father was, she
wouldnât have told me. I had pity for them when I heard the
misfortune. Was it not the same Bode who was healthy and
kinky just the day before? Wasnât he the one who made fun of
me the most? I thought. I silently prayed to my God to spare
Bodeâs life because I would not wish anyone dead.
John and Toyosi lost their joy. They had to spend many days
without going to their places of work, all in the name of
wanting to cater for the health of their sons. With the confused
look on the faces of the illegal couple, I thought they had
repented, therefore I approached them to ask them if they
would let me come with them to the hospital where Bode was,
but my father refused blatantly. As for Toyosi, she had
softened. Her eyeballs had popped out, just because of
incessant tears.
I watched my fatherâs wealth gradually fading. I could do
nothing but pity. Maybe God is fighting for me, I thought. But
this war seemed too much for them to bear. Bode had already
spent a month in the hospital, between life and death.
As if that was not all, Toyosiâs womb began to swell up. I
thought it was another ailment until I got to know, somehow,
that she was already pregnant for my father. They were
confused, not knowing what exactly they would do with the
pregnancy. If I hadnât seen the doctorâs report where she kept
it, I wouldnât have discovered this. She was two months
pregnant.
John and Toyosi began to have some quarrels regarding
whether the pregnancy should be kept or aborted, because any
moment from then, Toyosiâs husband would return from
South Africa where he was. John wanted the pregnancy kept
while Toyosi wanted it aborted. John believed that a bird at
hand was worth two in the bush. Since they didnât know if
Bode would survive it, then John had easily passed him for two
birds in the bush and ironically, the one in the womb would be
the bird at hand.
The confusion was much for the illegal couple such that they
even resorted to physical fight. John threatened to visit Toyosiâs
home at her husbandâs return and tell him the truth of the
whole matter if Toyosi aborted the pregnancy.
I was surprised that John could regard a foetus still in the
womb that myself, a child who was of legitimate birth. John
lost his job and depended only on whatever Toyosi earned
from her business. Whenever Toyosi refused to give him
something, John would come to me and collect some of the
profits I made from the egg sales and whenever Toyosi
returned, she would pour out the content of her mouth, but
who cared? I had no ears to hear her shouts.
The two began to behave like Tom and Jerry. They would pick
offences at the slightest provocations. Toyosi threatened to
abort the pregnancy without my fatherâs consent but John
threatened to kill her if she did.
Amidst their piteous state, Toyosi received a letter. Her husband
would be returning to Nigeria in seven months time, which
would be February of the following year, 2001. Already, Bode
had completed three months in the hospital without improvement.
Mrs Omotayo had become my enemy. She would turn her
face away from me anytime she saw me. I even took a step to
apologise, but she refused blatantly and shouted at me. I
wondered why it seemed too difficult for her to forgive me.
Toyosiâs fear was that her husband would come when she
would be eight months pregnant already, then it would be too
late for her to abort the pregnancy and she would eventually
lose him. Toyosi didnât want to lose her husband because he
was very wealthy, so she needed to abort that pregnancy on
time.
South Africa? I pondered. That was where Johnâs younger
brother went and never returned to Nigeria till date. I had
missed him so much because Uncle James, as he was called
then, was a very good friend of mine. Sometimes I had
wondered why he wasnât wicked like John my father. I
remembered how Uncle James used to get angry at my father
anytime he was maltreating me. He would nearly punch John
on the face. Even the day I saw him last, it was through a hot
brawl he left our house, threatening to jail my father for ill-
treating me. That day, John slapped his face and he raised his
hand too to send a hot slap on my fatherâs face in return, but
when my mother entered the room, he retreated just for her
sake.
James, who had been staying with us all the while because of
accommodation problem, was sent packing by his elder
brother. When my mother was pleading with John to let uncle
James be, that wicked man slapped her and pushed her out of
the way, accusing my mother of having sexual relationship
with his brother. Uncle James left eventually. The day I saw him
last, he only came to secretly tell us that things had eventually
worked out for him and he would be travelling to South Africa.
He told us to keep it secret from John his brother and my
mother did. That was the last time we saw him; the only times
I thought of him was whenever Toyosi was talking about
South Africa where her own husband had gone too.
Surprisingly, Bode recovered from the illness and was
discharged. It was then that John my father agreed with Toyosi
to abort the pregnancy. She did and took ill for a whole month.
All she could do was cry all day. John also cried along as well
as Bode, but it was I alone that wouldnât cry though I tried to,
but tears wasnât just going to come out of my eyes.
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