FED UP

(…continued…)

                Mama Risi told her that she did not notice any. Mabel hung up. They flagged down a keke and left for Mabel’s place.

“Do you need to buy anything for the house?” Cynthia asked when they passed the mini market.

  “None that I can think off,” Mabel replied. “Maybe when I get to the house, I will know what I need.”

  “Ok.”

  “I will need to use the ATM sef.”

  “Which bank?” the keke man asked.

                Mabel looked at Cynthia and their eyes met. They were wondering why the man was interested in their using the ATM.

  “I will do that later,” she said.

                They got to Mabel’s place, paid the keke man and he left.

  “All these people sef. If he carries us to ATM now, he will stay in the keke and call other people who will rob us.”

  “I noticed how he jumped into the ATM matter.”

  “It pays to be alert o. There is no security anymore.”

                They entered the compound. They exchanged pleasantries with those they saw in the compound.

  “Who knows whether Mama Risi is around?” Mabel asked when they got to the staircase.

  “She has to be around na.” Cynthia replied. “Today is Saturday.”

  “Her curtain is closed.”

                They got to Mama Risi’s flat and knocked. No one responded. Mabel knocked again.

  “Who is there?” they heard Mama Risi ask,

  “It’s Mabel,” she replied.

                Mama Risi opened the door. There was something about her countenance that didn’t seem right. They greeted her.

  “Welcome my dear,” she replied, forcing a smile. “How is your mother?”

  “She is fine.”

                They noticed that her eyes were red like someone who had just cried.

  “Why are you crying?” Cynthia asked her.

  “Who said I am crying?” Mama Risi said, still maintaining the forced smile.

  “But your eyes are red.”

                She did not respond. She just sniffed and looked away.

  “Mama Risi, what is going on?” Mabel asked her.

                She turned and went back into her house. They went in with her. She sat on the couch and they sat beside her, each on one side.

  “Mama Risi what is the problem?” Mabel asked, touching her shoulder.

                She was quiet for a while.

  “Too many issues,” she finally said, exhaling from her mouth.

  “Like?”

                She sighed.

  “Since my husband died, things have not been very easy for me.”

  “I am aware of that. Did anything happen that is making you cry now? When I called you in the morning, you sounded normal.”

  “I cry like this many times. It is just that you met me crying. If not, by the time my children come back, I will wash my face and pretend like all is well.”

  “Oh, they are not around?”

   “I can’t let them see me cry. I sent them out to get something when the heaviness was too much and I needed to cry.”

  “Eiyaa. What is the problem?”

  “A lot of money issues.”

  “The house rent is not due na. Is it?”

  “Not that.”

  “I know it cannot be that because I know you have paid for this whole year.”

  “Thanks to my brother abroad. He was deported last week.”

  “O my gosh! What happened? Why?”

  “They said papers this papers that.”

  “Kai, that’s bad o.”

  “It is not as if he is very rich, but he has enough to help me out once in a while. Now they sent him back, what will I do?”

  “What about your late husband’s family?”

  “Those people are not even an option. When my husband died, they said I killed him.”

  “Why?”

  “They did not like me from day one.”

  “Why?”

  “I am from a different tribe.”

  “What does that mean? Is it not the same country we are?”

  “They said I forced myself on my husband. My husband’s parents love me but his siblings don’t at all. Before and after the burial, his brothers dealt with me. Even though it happened years ago, the experience is still fresh in my memory.”

  “People can be myopic and wicked o.”

  “So leave those people. They have never asked how I am training their niece and nephew in school. One even said one time, that I have been prostituting and that is why I could not bear more than two children for my husband.”

  “Kai.”

  “My dear, it is not easy o.”

  “That reminds me, how far with Risi’s school fees?”

  “That is one of the major issues. I have been able to raise half of it after getting the insult of my life from the person who gave it to me. I am meant to pay back before the end of the month. Where will I see money to complete the fees, or even pay back the one I borrowed? And they are writing test this coming week.”

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac