Mide had just woken up and with a headache too .The events of last night came flooding into her head again and she cried into the pillow .
Looking around for Suliat and finding out she wasn't there ,Mide decided to have a bath and scrub away the wicked memories in her head .
She went to the drawer that Suliat kept her extra sponge .It was the one Mide used each time she slept over .
It didn't take time for her to walk into the bathroom after getting all she would need from the drawer .
Aramide scrubbed and scrubbed ,trying to get his hands off her but it felt like it was permanent .
"I've been waiting for so long .."
She burst into tears as she recalled all what he said to her .
Her tears !icing with the water fell down her face .
After she was done bathing ,she put the most comfortable thing she could find and landed on the bed .
She stared at the ceiling.
Life wasn't over yet , She still had to go back to school .
If she worked hard enough she would get the scholarship for the rest of her classes .At least..
Mide's phone rung and she picked it to hear Suliat's voice .
"How are you doing ?Have you eaten ?I asked my brother to help you make something ."
If not for her condition, Mide would have laughed at that .
"I'm fine but I'm not hungry ."
She murmured ,barely loud enough for Suliat to hear her response .
"Okay .Please come to your house .That's where I am ."
The look in Mide's face was priceless .How in the world did Suliat expect her to come 'home' ?
That place had been more of he'll than home to her .
"Before you object,it is a matter of life and death ."
Life and death .It must have been about baami .
What if the news scared him to death ?
Ughh! She knew it .Always selfish .She just had to drag baami into her mess .
She wanted to respond but she noticed the call had already been cut .
Quickly putting on her slippers ,she ran home ignoring the furious beating of her heart .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She slowed down sighting the figure of someone she had grown used to in the past few weeks .
What was Dami doing sitting with her mum and baami under the visitors tree ?
Well at least baami looked okay .
She took large strides towards the tree and made her presence known by clearing her throat.
Dami shifted uncomfortably on seeing her .
"Hey ."
He said raising his head .
"I uhm heard what happened .I'm so sorry ."
Aramide's mum hit him on the back and whispered .
"Keep quiet ."
He sat down and faced the ground trying to avoid Mide's burning gaze .
Baami cleared his throat and drew Aramide to sit down beside him .
Just then Maama appeared ,standing and watching them with hate filled eyes .
"Miwa, I am very sorry . I didn't mean to abandon you .All these years that I have been away from you there was not one day I didn't think about you .That is why I have come back for you"
"Then why did you leave me ?"
Mide asked still keeping her calm .She had previously made up her mind to iron things out with her mum and maybe dissolve the anger in her heart a bit .She hated keeping feelings bottled up .
"Your mother has come to take you with her .Away from this place ."
Baami said as he took a sip of water from his cup .
"Baami ,I'm sure you know it very well that I won't go with her ."
Baami shook his head at her response .
"Your mother is offering you a better life .This place is not good for you .I'm sure you know that by now ."
"If the only way to have a better life is living with her then I really don't want one ."
Mama exploded in laughter .
"I knew my baby wouldn't leave me ."
Aramide shook her head and stood up .
"I am not staying because of you . If there is any reason I should leave it's because of you."
With that she fled with Dami hot on her heels .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She sat on a large rock and doodled on the ground with a stick .
Ever since she goth there she had been crying .
Seeing her mum had weakened her.
"A better life . Where has she been all this while ?"
She said to herself .
"She's been working hard to be able to take care of you ."
Her head snapped towards the voice and she saw Dami .
In the middle of everything Mide had forgotten that she saw him sitting there .
"How do you know that ? How did you even know my house? Why did you follow me here ?"
She threw questions at him making him smile.
" Someone else should tell you that ,"
He paused.
"But only if you give her a listening ear ."
He said as he sat on the large rock next to Aramide .
"I..I don't know what to say ."
She muttered silent enough for him not to hear her, but he still did .
"Just listen to her .I'm sure she wants to tell you a lot .Oh and also pack oh ,because I know you'll be leaving with her once you hear her out ."
"Goat ." Aramide smiled as she hit his back .
"Friend of a goat .What should I call you ?"
He asked laughter threatening to escape from his mouth .
"Just swallow that your laughter because if you laugh ehn ,it will be another story ."
"Seriously though ,she loves you .Always remember that ."
______________________________
Aramide planned the questions she would ask her mother as she walked into the house .
She had been searching since but didn't find her .Then she went to the kitchen and saw her cooking .
"Uhm...Can we please talk ?"
Her mum turned to her then washed her hands.
"Sure ."
"In my room ."
"Okay,let's go ."
"I'm guessing you want answers now ?"
Aramide nodded .
"Start from the very beginning."
Pearl,Mide's mum sighed before starting.
"When I got pregnant of you ,Your father refused to have anything to do with me. My father had a reputation to keep as a pastor so he did not want me in his house . He sent me out and disowned me .My mother just held on to his arm and looked at her husband throw my things out without saying anything . When I came here i refused to leave until they let me in. I was stubborn and didn't listen to your father when he said he would call me later if I left . So he dragged me inside and called his mother out ."
"Mama was the worst thing that ever happened to me .She made me work non stop and beat me every day .As the months went by,the punishments became more severe and your father did nothing about it ."
" i was just nineteen when i delivered you .When I gave birth to you mama became more brutal than ever .She would always make trouble about you not looking like any one in the family and call me a prostitute. Looking at your face made me endure."
"If baba wasn't around ,we wouldn't eat.One time ,you were sick and when I wanted to get some drugs for you and nurse you back to health, she took you away from me and locked me in a room ."
"Miwa , there's something else you don't know. "
Curiosity bit into Mide's mind immediately .
"I .. didn't just have you .I had twins ."
"Y...You and Dami "
Mide's eye balls bulged out .
"I know you might be angry but I need you to listen to my story .Maybe it will help you understand me more ."
'Sit yourself back down now'
Her subconscious compelled her as she was about to leave .
She decided she would stay and listen . Her mum had already gone through a lot because of her .
"It was looking at the both of your faces that kept me going everyday ,and seeing you suffer constantly in Mama's hands was like breaking my heart over and over again ."
"So I decided to run .I told myself that i would be back for you in a year .I would just get us a place to live and a job .Establish myself .Then i saw the way Baba loved you both ,I ..I couldn't just take the both of you away from him ."
"I also didn't want to deprive myself from seeing not even one of you . So I took Dami and left you ."
"As a boy, he would be stronger and would be more fit to go on that kind of expedition .So I left you for baba .So that he could take care of you the way he always did in my presence ."
She sniffed and wiped the tears on her eyes .
Aramide was also crying .
"I didn't expect it to take so long ,I thought it would take a few months,highest a year but it didn't. I kept struggling and then two years went by but i still had nothing. I came back for you but Baba wasn't around ,only your father was around and mama .They insulted me and pushed me out ."
She broke down and Aramide went to hug her .
" After that day ,I became more determined. Years passed and I came back but was never let in ."
"Soon ,Dami wanted to know that place I always went to and I had to tell him everything .When I found out Tayo ,my brother and his wife were coming to this place ,I told him to get close to you and give you a fake scholarship . He's the founder of Zenith College.I would pay for every thing but I couldn't let you know that cause you didn't want anything to do with me ."
"I'm very sorry ,I didn't mean to leave you . Please forgive me . I want you to live with me and your brother but if you don't want to I understand ."
Aramide just sat there rooted at the spot as her Mother walked out of the room.
Her mum had suffered a lot and it hurt to know that it was because of her .
She actually came back for her, multiple times.
Mide knew how things could stop going as planned ,she understood how hard it was to stay under Mama .
The images of her mum sitting there crying flashed in her mind again and she wished she could wipe those tears .
Aramide wondered if any one had done anything other than cause pain for her .
Her parents were nothing but cowards . They were to weak to understand that their daughter had made a mistake and there was nothing she could do about it .
Yes it would definitely be hard to imagine that their child had an illegitimate child but they would have at least not sent her out .
If her father was so religious then he should have known that God didn't support disowning a child .
Aramide escorted her mum and she dared to say ,her brother to were their car was parked in silence .
"I love you please forgive me ."
Her mum said squeezing her fingers as she was about to enter the car .
Aramide gave her an assuring smile.
"I already did . I can't come live with you but you're free to visit any time you want ."
Her mum smiled while Dami just waved .
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A/n : If you saw
this coming raise your hand 😁.🙌.
I had trouble writing this chapter cause of writer's block but now I'm over it.
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Bye✌✋.