They went back outside and sat with their mother.
“Is there
any problem?” their mother asked.
Cynthia
looked at Mabel but Mabel did not say anything.
“I know
something is wrong.” She said dropping the tray of Egusi she carried on her laps. “Tell me what it is.”
Mabel
heaved a sigh and told her, “It’s Segun.”
“O my God!”
she adjusted herself on the bench she was sitting on. “What happened to him?”
“Nothing
happened to him. He is fine. He…he..”
“He is a
compound fool,” Cynthia said angrily.
“Cynthia!”
Mabel called.
“Was he not
the reason why you wanted to kill yourself yesterday?”
“Chi m o.
what?” Their mother placed her hands on her head.
“Cynthia
stop it!”
“Sorry.”
“You wanted
to kill yourself again?” her mother said.
Mabel
kept quiet.
“Are you
not the one am talking to,” she said with her voice a bit raised.
A
neighbor looked out of her window and said, “Mama Cynthia is there any
problem?”
“No
problem,” she replied. “Thank you.”
“Let’s go
inside your room and talk about it,” Mabel suggested.
They
went inside her mother’s room.
“No wonder
Cynthia did not come back yesterday.” Their mother lamented, clicking her
fingers. “I knew something was wrong. Mabel tried to commit suicide. Hmm.”
“Thank God
I met her on time o.” Cynthia said. “If not, it would have been another story
by now.”
Mabel
kept quiet.
“Nne what
were you thinking?”
“I was in a
bad mood yesterday after what happened. Am sorry about it.”
“Tell me
what happened.”
“He
abandoned me.”
“He broke
your heart actually.” Cynthia said. “Stop painting it.”
This
time it was their mother that cautioned Cynthia.
“Let her
say it anyhow she wants.”
“Sorry. Let
me go and cook the soup.” She left.
As
tears flowed down her cheek, Mabel told her mother everything that happened.
When she was done, her mother didn’t say a word.
“Mummy did
you hear me?” Mabel asked her.
“Yes I
did,” she answered after heaving a sigh.
“Then say
something.”
“Why do you
have to go through the same thing I went through?”
“Mummy the
painful thing about it is that he left me for that stupid girl.”
“It should
not be. You are too young to go through this repeated heart break.”
She took them down memory lane as
tears flowed down her eyes. Mabel and Cynthia were the only children of Madam
Kate. Their father abandoned their mother after putting her in the family way
on two occasions. He promised to marry her but left her and married someone
else. That was after she had suffered several failed relationships. She was
bothered seeing the same cycle repeating in the life of her daughter.
“Hmmm,” she
heaved a sigh again.
“This is
not the first time a man is doing this to me,” Mabel continued.
“I know.
Something needs to be done about this.”
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