Episode 4
"Tell me this is not true. Do you mean your mother-in-laws can be so cruel as to do this to you? How on earth could they have given you a space of few days to vacate from your husband’s house with a child and heavy pregnancy?" Gloria asked surprisingly. She kept staring at Ngozi in suspicion and expecting the latter to tell her the story was just a joke but the tears in Ngozi’s eyes confirmed the sad reality. Ngozi cried till her head hurt. "It's okay. Stop crying. When I was telling you those days, you thought I didn't understand what it means to be in love.” Gloria chided but moved closer to console her.
"The worst part is that I never saw this coming. Johnson and I started from scratch. You witnessed most of it yourself and know how much we toiled together and not that I became a gold digger overnight. I can't count the number of times we slept on empty stomachs before I finally secured a job for him through the influence of Mary, my longtime friend. Ngozi sobbed.
“I wish my dead husband can rise for just a minute to testify to all these" She continued. “Can you believe my mother-in-law called me names? She called me a witch!!! Gloria, you know I can't even hurt a fly. I couldn't have killed my husband. What would I have to gain by doing that?” Tears rolled down her eyes once again and streamed down her cheeks.
"It's okay. Stop crying. We will fight this together. Justice must prevail. I will invite my lawyer over to your house tomorrow morning. I'm sure Barrister Rebecca will surely get to the root of this issue" Gloria assured her. “By the way, where is Anita?" She asked.
"Anita is with my mother. You know Anita could be so sensitive. The issue on the ground might start affecting or distracting her from the class and all that" She explained.
"All right. I now understand. What will you eat? Let me go and get you fried rice and bush meat. I know you can't resist it even in your dream" She giggled.
"No. I don't want anything" Ngozi declined.
"You can't just stay hungry because of your condition” Gloria insisted.
"Please, don’t bother yourself. Besides, I want to go and check on Anita at my mum’s house. I am so eager to see her. I can't just wait to wrap my hands around her. She's my first fruit. She needs my care and love at the moment. I want to say hi to her before the day closes its shop" Ngozi declared her intention to Gloria.
"All right, dear, I understand you perfectly," Gloria said as she prepared to accompany her bosom friend.
Gloria and Barrister Rebbeca proceeded to go to Ngozi’s residence. Alani who already recognized Gloria opened the gate for her to drive in.
" I believe your madam is inside? I tried to reach her on phone this morning but her number was not reachable" Gloria asked Alani as soon as they alighted from the car. Maria sighted them through the sitting room and hastened to greet them.
"Good morning madam" She knelt.
"Hello, Maria. I hope Anita's mother is around?" Alani and Maria glanced at each other. Gloria became suspicious. "What happened? Is everything okay? She was with me yesterday afternoon and we talked at length before she proceeded home. So, tell me what could have been wrong? She beckoned at Barrister Rebecca. "Barrister, please let's go in and leave these clowns alone”. They had barely taken two steps when Maria summoned the courage to inform them about what happened. "Ma..Ma.Madam is... not...around ma" She stammered and began to scratch her head as if the remaining explanation was hidden somewhere in her head.
"Where has she gone to? We planned to meet in her place today" she gazed at Maria tension howling over her already.
"Yes...Yes...Madam. But my madam was rushed to hospital this morning" Maria dropped those words almost immediately.
"What? Hospital??? She's not due yet. How come? What happened to her?! Gloria asked.
"Madam developed abnormal insanity this morning. She almost tore herself naked and was heading through the gate when we called Aunt Ada on phone to inform her" Maria tried to make it clear before tension gripped her. "This is rather ridiculous. You mean she lost her memory, ran mad or what? Oh my God! This is crazy indeed".
Barrister Rebecca who had been making a phone call during the conversation stared at Alani, Maria, and Gloria's faces and asked in bewilderment. “What is going on here? Can someone explain to me?
“I am really confused about what is going on but I think we have to reschedule our Meeting to some other time,” Gloria replied and also hinted at the barrister about Ngozi’s mental condition. She thanked Maria for the information and opted into the car with Barrister Rebecca and drove out of the compound.
"I hope God will prevail and put a stop to this calamity befalling this family. Madam doesn’t deserve all these. She's too nice to encounter this problem. I wish Oga can rise from the dead to help madam out. This is becoming unbearable" Tears clouded Maria’s eyes and dripped down her cheeks.
"This bad situation dey even affect me and my family. They don send my children to come from school. My two wives dey complain bitterly. I do dey lack my responsibility since one died. Madam too does dey face her own. This life self, wicked people too full am. God should just send thunder and kill all the wicked people wey dey inside" Alani released a heavy sigh as he poured out his mind to Maria who stood sniffing her nose, her right hand beneath her jaw as she listen to him.
Ngozi sat upright resting her head on the wall. Her eyes were roaming across the hospital room. "My love, where have you been? You have been keeping everyone waiting. Where's your wedding suit? I'm in my wedding gown already. Promise me you will stay till death do us part." Her younger sister, Ada who was sitting across from her couldn’t help but sob over her mental state. Gloria knocked gently on the door and walked in. "Ada, sorry. I don’t understand what is going on here. This is strange to me" She sighed heavily.
"I don't understand either. She was hale and doing fine until I was called upon this morning to come over immediately" Ada replied amidst tears. Gloria hastily moved to the Psychiatrist’s office to get a better understanding of her friend’s sudden insanity. "Doctor, I hope she will be fine?" She asked impatiently.
"Of course, she will recover” the doctor assured her. “her mental state is a result of too many pessimistic thoughts. I will advise you to keep her company more often. She needs to go out more often and visit interesting places which will improve her mood. She must not be left alone and should be well taken care of especially now that she's heavily pregnant.
"All right doctor. We will obey your instruction" Gloria quickly added.
Gloria returned to the ward to inform Ada about the doctor’s instruction. "I hope Ngozi would listen at the moment. I have always been telling her to let go of everything. She doesn't need to harbor so much pain in her heart. She needs to give herself enough rest" Gloria pressed further.
"Same here, ma. I do tell her to worry less but she wouldn't listen. She..."Ada was interrupted by Ngozi’s lunatic display. "Everybody see, see. My better half is here. He's right here. He's wearing white and red. White stands for peace while red stands for love. Oh, my baby boo. I love you but you don't love me as I love you. Where is my white and red dress? Why didn't you go to the boutique to buy it for me? I'm not moving an inch if you don't rush to get it. I am staying right here till you come back!” She laughed sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and stared hard and long at Gloria and Ada disdainfully. "You guys are fools. Can't you welcome my better half? Ada, go and get him pap and roasted corn. Gloria, you are stupid! Go and get him a fork and knife from the stream. I can see you are all mad. Crazy people!" She released a long hiss. "If you don't want to go, I am not handicapped. I will go myself.” She stood up to leave the bed. Ada and Gloria moved closer to her to stop her. She fought tirelessly to release her hands but they overpowered her.