The Re-union 3

Eight lonely months passed. In everything black she saw the colour of his hair. She paused on the streets to stare at young men who looked as Nduka had in his prime; she gazed longingly at the backs of tall, strong-looking men with broad shoulders, wistfully hoping they would turn and she would see Nduka smile at her again. They did turn sometimes, as if they felt the yearning hot blaze of her eyes, and she would turn away her eyes, for they weren't him, not ever him.


Most nights, she called out to Mama in her dreams and Mama would rush to her room with shouts of 'o gini?' Only to find her shivering awake in fright, aroused from sleep by a nightmare.

She often saw Nduka as he was when they had first met in her dreams; handsome and charming with his cute boyish smile and the mischievous glint in his eyes. Attributes, she had hoped to see in their baby and wished Nduka would be there to see too.

Sometimes, Mama would come upon her and ask why she was crying and she would have to touch her own face to feel the tears she hadn't felt fall.

One night, exactly eight months and two weeks after Nduka's death, she is awoken in the middle of the night by the most excruciating pain she has ever felt. Her screams bring Mama hurrying to her side. Mama puts on the butane lamp and gasps, her bed is soaked with blood.

Soon after the bleeding, her water breaks. There is no time, the baby is coming premature. With an expertise borne of years of practice, helping women in the neighborhood deliver their babies, Mama sets to work.

Her pains feel so intense, she knows she passes in and out of consciousness and this goes on for minutes that feel like eternity. She feels weak when Mama urges her to push but she reaches back for whatever strength remains in her flesh and bones and push.

Her travail is over as it began with the birth of her child an hour later. She is too exhausted to speak and can barely keep her eyes open. It is only when Mama grinning like a Chesire cat turns to show her the baby now wrapped in swaddling clothes that she notices the blood dripping from her to the mattress and to the floor.

She hears Mama calling her name but she is drifting farther and farther away. Mama's voice grows distant.

Ahead of her, the world is beautiful. Nature is resplendent in her beauty with the chirping of birds as they glide in the air as swiftly and magnificently as dreams. Suddenly, she is a young girl again, her heart light with no cares in the world. She is on the footpath to the beautiful house on the countryside, the one whose warmth welcomes her, in her dreams. The landscape stretch as far back as the eyes can see and it is lustrous with the greenery of the grass. She tries to play with the beautifully coloured butterflies but a restraint in her demeanor makes her pause.

She looks back at Mama who is crying by her bedside and tries to tell her, "don't worry Mama, I'm all right," but the words seem stuck in her throat. Nature beckons and she turns away.

She walks down the path, opens the door and meets with the most charming sight of all.

There, just ahead, sitting on a beautiful couch in resplendent clothes, is who she can only describe as an angel. As she draws closer, his features become clearer until she recognizes it is Nduka, her Nduka.

"I've been waiting for you, my love," he says, his deep baritone undertones making her stomach flutter and her toes curl up to high heavens. He rises from the couch.

"I'm here now," she hears herself say and they both smile. He holds out his hand towards her and she tries to reach...she just couldn't....

"Oluchi!" Mama wails by her bedside, "Oluchi!!"

She turns slowly and looks at Mama and the crying infant in her arms while Nduka beckons. "Come my love, we'll finally be together. Nothing, not even tradition can come between us now," he says.

She looks at him and for the first time, feels hesitant. "But what about our child?"

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. She'll join us at her own time," he assures her smiling.

Oluchi smiles and looks back at her mother. "Its all right Mama, I am where I ought to be."

Slowly, the world behind her begins to shrink and darken but when she turns to Nduka, there is only brightness and warmth. And happiness.

She feels her face glowing with joy as Nduka finally holds her hand.

She is home and they are finally together. Truly she is home.






THE END


This story is dedicated to my former Creative Writing lecturers in the university. Stories are felt deeply because of the level of humanity invested in them, thanks a lot for making me more passionate about my writing.