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Episode 49

The search for Bode began. Toyosi and John wept all days for
him. They had visited everywhere they could to find him. Mrs
Omotayo had also combed everywhere for Taiba who also fled
during the bomb blast. Now I knew what really happened—it
was a bomb blast in the Ikeja Army Cantonment. The latest
news had it that the bombs were kept in an airtight
underground and became heated up. So, there was ignition
and they blasted.

I secretly went through some of the newspapers my father
bought—a lot of them, because he needed to keep himself
abreast of all the information pertaining to the bomb blast. He
needed Bode so much.

Toyosi had grown lean, just within few days after the incident.

It was obvious that she was getting lean. To worsen the story
of her life, her husband had notified her of his return to Nigeria
in few days. Toyosi needed to get back to her husband’s house
and pretend that she had been waiting there for him all the
while.

My father was the most confused person in the world. If Bode
would never be found, then he would have to bounce back to
me and take me as his child, but would he be humble enough
to apologize? That would be a question for another day.

I was walking on the street a week after the incident when I
saw Obinna walking towards a house. Yes! We could get a clue
to Bode’s whereabout from him, I thought. When I returned
home that day, I told Toyosi about Obinna and we tried to
locate his home.

Toyosi and John cried out loud when Obinna’s parent told them
something. As I was able to make out, the boy himself had
become deaf and dumb at the loud sound from the blasts of
the bomb while he was running away with Bode. The real
bomb was the shock of his best friend, Bode, who rushed into
the Oke Afa canal and sank. Obinna saw his friend sinking in the
mire; himself had to turn around and escape somehow from
death.

As I learnt later, many souls were lost to the mysterious canal
which I never knew was in existence until the occurrence of the
bomb blast. I felt for Obinna. How would he feel now about the
loss of his speech and auditory sense he was boasting about
just few minutes before the blast? Would he now be the one to
get offended seeing someone putting leaves inside the mouth? I
thought. Sometimes anything that goes around comes around.

Toyosi fell and rolled on the floor. She was ready to die right
inside Obinna’s house. John mustered much courage and
helped her out of there. Obinna was just full of tears too—he
was trying to look away from me, being overcome with
shame. I wept for them.

I found it hard to believe that Bode was dead for real. When
Mrs Omotayo heard that, she concluded that Taiba was dead
too. How would the villagers feel whenever they hear of Taiba’s
demise?

It was too ironical a thing to think about—five people in a
house, three disabled and two able-bodied; a mishap came
rocking and the disabled were able to survive while the able
were not able to save themselves. There must be ability in
disability, I thought. When I later told Biodun what I observed,

he said it was the truth, because ‘ability’ was part of what
makes the spelling of ‘disability’.
A day after Toyosi and John knew the truth about their son
Bode, a great disagreement erupted between them. Toyosi
fought hard to leave John and get away forever, but the man
didn’t want her to leave. He confessed that he was already used
to her.

I watched as the drama unfolded. Toyosi had her way and
disappeared. John wept like a baby. He seemed to have lost
everything—his child and his wife. I thought he would now at
this moment set my mother free, but I was only making a big
mistake.

The day after Toyosi left, early in the morning, I woke up but
didn’t find my father. I went to the parlour, to my father’s
room, to Bode’s room and to my mother’s room but he was
nowhere near. The home was half-empty since they had sold
almost everything in there earlier.
I sat on the only chair left in the parlour and noticed a note on
the table. He must have left a letter for me. Now I needed to see
what he had for me, apology and nothing else, I thought.

Afterall, he had lost everything he thought he had earlier.
Rose, I have walked out of this house forever. Don’t expect to
see me anytime soon because I will never return. I maintain,
Rose, you are the cause of all my tragedy, because if I haven’t
had you, I wouldn’t have had anything doing with any other
woman, such that I impregnated Toyosi. If you have come out
of your mother’s womb as a normal human being, I, John,
would not have slept with another damsel and bring her home.

If you have only come out whole from the womb, I would
have been contented with you and your mother; but now
everything I have is gone. I will go and start a new life. Next
week the house rent for this flat will be due and you will be sent
out by the caretaker. It is better for me to remain childless than
having you as a child because you are as useless as nothing.

Imagine, a child that will never get married. Goodbye Rose.

I screamed. Does that mean I would never know where my
mother was? Now I would find John wherever he may be. I
needed help here. Who would help? I thought.
Now I believed it was time to get on to my feet and fight for
my right. John and Toyosi must not go scot-free, I thought.

They must produce my mother. Now I had nothing more to
lose. I would confide in Mrs Omotayo and give her my real
identity, perhaps she could be of tremendous help. I would
reveal my real identity—she must know that I am the daughter
of John and not his housemaid as she thought I was.

I got up to my feet and began to make for the exit door.


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