I stood beside the window at the balcony watching the winds go by as I imagined the house without me. I had been very spirited but the way events unfolded left my mind over worked – I had always thought I was smart – but life had given me more that my mouth could chew – I could not deny that I was not really impacting any body around, so I would be better gone. But mother wouldn’t have me do that.
After a long fight, Beauty had finally agreed to apply for NCE at the Adeniran College of Education, Ijanikin. It was not an easy decision. We all knew that if father were to be alive, he would never have agreed to her daughter going for a low class degree but we all didn’t have any choice. Mother still wanted a way to get her out of the house for some time so that some peace could return to all of us for a while. Beauty had practically become a thorn in the flesh. She opposed everything. Her thoughts were supreme and nobody had the right to argue with her.
Besides the soothing thought that Beauty was going to have a change of environment was the understanding that it was going to be much less burdensome financially to go through an NCE. We didn’t still have a choice any way! Dr. Imoi was informed that Beauty had finally made up her mind to go for an NCE and it was not up to a week before he sent Mother some money which could take care of the initial expenditure. I had never gone to a higher institution before so I didn’t have any idea of the expenses the later was just three years and the fees were less. I didn’t have any idea the amount of money that was needed, but along the line, I was beginning to feel that she was demanding too much from Mother. Normally, I no longer question whatever she did because it almost always ended up in a fight!
Somehow, Mother managed to meet up with Beauty’s demand but meeting those demands had put the rest of us in some sort of financial disadvantage! I didn’t even need to bother to ask about myself. I was supposed to write JAMB that year, but Beauty had taken all the money including the little money that mother had put together from her thrift savings. The only option left for mother concerning my education was for her to take a loan. One of her friends had advised that it was safer for her to take any loan she wishes to take from her office’ cooperative. Dr. Imoi had already sent the money to enroll me for JAMB to mother but the pressure of sending Beauty to College made her to spend everything including my JAMB fees. I was not happy, but I didn’t have a choice! Another JAMB was going to come up after about eleven months and that meant I was going to stay at home doing nothing for that period of time. It almost got me sick but somehow I was able to put myself together, after all, Beauty whom I had considered my archenemy was no longer go to be around which meant that stay was going to be very convenient.
It was on a Sunday that Beauty finally had to leave for Lagos. We had all gone for Morning Mass at the Church and returned early so that we could assist her with movement. Mother had called Aunty Shogo to help to make accommodation arrangements for her a week earlier. Mother told her that she should try as much as possible to live a life that would prove that she was from a good home. That advice was only given to fulfill all righteousness! Beauty was beyond advice and only her thoughts were right. We all could only hope that when she got to school, she would do just the right thing- We were still very busy bringing out her things. She did not even bother to talk to us all through that afternoon. Suddenly, she leaned against the wall and started to sob.
‘What is the problem? Beauty’ I had asked but there was no response. We had not really been that much in talking terms, but I managed to insist she must tell me what the problem was. She turned around. Her eyes were blood shot!
‘I’m not worried’ she lamented as she cleaned her eyes ‘everybody has succeeded to get me to go for an NCE. I know father would never have done that!’
‘But Beauty, It is nobody’s fault! You have not been able to pass the JAMB
examination. Maybe’
‘My point exactly’ she interrupted ‘Must I go to Ijanikin because I have not passed JAMB? Does it mean I would never be able to pass the JAMB?’ Her questions were just flowing one after another. I had many things in my mind I would have loved to tell her but I was not sure if she was going to listen to me. It was obvious she wanted a goodbye quarrel or at least a very hot argument.
‘Rosalind wrote JAMB three times before she was able to secure admission. At least I’m aware of that why can’t I be given another chance? Now everybody talks about an NCE.’
‘Beauty you are always talking about Dr. Imoi’s children. You do not have to compare yourself with anybody, mind you!’ I cautioned
‘I hate them she screamed because their father is the one putting me in this whole mess. I have enough evidence’ she glared
I personally saw Beauty as a traitor. I could not imagine that she regarded Dr. Imoi as an immoral person in spite of all he was doing for us. I had not been protective of anything before then- at least I held nothing dear! But Dr. Imoi was in my good books- Something Beauty would have to contend with if she really wanted to prove that he meant no good for us.
‘Now, how will you explain that the job mother was supposed to get a few months ago was given to his wife instead’
‘I don’t have explanation for that right now but as soon as I’m able to know what happened, we all shall know the truth.
The following day, Beauty was all parked. She had checked carefully to make sure that she left nothing behind. She had been parking for two days! Mother had once told her that you start preparing for any journey at four day’s length. She was going to depart the following day and it got all of us filled with excitement.
My mind was still rumbling when suddenly Christy screamed. She had been asleep. We all rushed inside to see what the problem was!
‘Mother’ she called ‘someone wants to kill me with a knife’ – she said pointing and swimming in sweat!
‘And who is that person’ mother had asked surprised but Christy couldn’t respond. She was overwhelmed as she held tight to mother.
‘What exactly did you see’ Mother had asked again getting very worried
‘I think someone wants to kill me mother! She said again and held tight to mother as if she was holding onto her last breath.
‘Why would somebody want you dead’ I had asked in bewilderment’
‘Whatever you have done!
I couldn’t fathom what was happening to my sweet little sister as I used to call her although she had become a bigger girl –
It took all of us about twenty (20) minutes to get Christy back beside herself – Then she narrated the dream or night mare, may-be afternoon-mare or whatever it was that we thought was going to stop and leave us all alone, but to our sorrow it continued day after day – it became another concern in the family Christy could just scream from sleep panting like someone who just finished a marathon race with sweat all over her body – mother brought out the family album to see if Christy could identify the person may be by Chance he could be one of the many family acquaintances who had all deserted us, but all to no avail.
Weeks passed into days and days into months, but the problem remained the same. Christy had become a home patient with mother and I as major care givers.
Fortunately or rather unfortunately mother had learnt not to cry. She had had too many reasons to cry in her life and she had cried too many times that she developed some immunity to tears – I never knew it was possible –
There was a day I was alone with Christy, - Beauty had gone out and did not return until it was late! Mother also went for an evening prayer from which she was to return at ten. Christy slept off on the couch – As she was sleeping, I looked at her and felt some pity – she had struggled with sleep for over an hour before she eventually gave in – she did not want to sleep. Even I didn’t want her to sleep especially when no other person was at home because her disturbances had become more frequent – Almost every time she slept – it turned out to be another embarrassment to my family –
The neighours too began to suspect that something was terribly wrong with Christy – we all prayed that it doesn’t develop into a mental problem – we were scared!.
My mind was still going through all we were confronted with when suddenly Christy jumped up from the couch and began to run towards the door, sleep walking – or rather sleep running. She hit her head on the wall and slummed – I ran towards her as I shouted for help – Good enough, our neighbours came and she was rushed to the hospital – when mother returned I couldn’t find words to express myself – I could not recover from the shock till the following day - .
Christy was in coma at the hospital for three days and we had to take turns to stay with her. On the third night, I was left alone with her and at about 11pm, the doctor had gone round to check all the patients and after wards, there was total silence. Loneliness was my watch as I sat by the bed looking at my sister struggle for survival. The whole place was very quiet. As the clock was ticking the time away, the fluorescent light tearing the darkness apart, and the piercing cold besieging the night, the thought of possibly losing my dear sister made me afraid. Suddenly I had shivered and turned around. I thought I had heard footsteps behind me. I had been told not to believe in ghost stories, but that night something began to tell me that ghosts do not only exist in fairy tales. Then was I caught in tangle of fear. In the midst of my fear, I had slept off. As I dozed, I had heard somebody talk.
Why am I so cold? Mother! Where are you?
I was alert immediately, but I could not open my eyes for fear of the ghost. In my mind, I started to recite Hail Mary until I finally screamed out.
Blessed mother of God!
Then I opened my eyes and found that it was Christy. She had regained consciousness after about 33 hours struggle. I was very happy to see her open her eyes but she was still too weak to stand up.
‘Thank God for you, Christy, you are back’
‘Where are we’ she had asked. Then, I began to explain to her everything that had happened, but funny enough, when she was fully recovered, she remembered every details of what had happened including her nightmare. In the dream she saw father pointing at the man she had always seen in her dreams trying to kill her – father was accusing the man of being responsible for his death – shortly after father left according to her the man started chasing her and that was how she woke up and stated running –
Christy had described this man to mother several times but mother could not really reconcile her description to any of father’s friends or acquaintances back in Lagos –
As the nightmares continued to hunt Christy, one thing was very clear in my mind – At least Dr. Imoi was not in the description – after all, Christy knew him too well -. There was a day a prophet came to our house and told mother that the spirit of father was hunting Christy but we couldn’t reconcile that to father’s personality – why would father’s spirit hunt Christy. When he was alive, she was his favorite – another Pastor told us one day that she was possessed!
It was as if each day that came plunged us into another misery before we could recover from one – we never recovered from any of them! I always wondered each time I heard someone said that they were having the best of everyday – I didn’t believe it was possible. In our lives, sorrow was prevalent and fear was the monitor – I always thought we were behind another fence of life –
Naturally, Christy was a very good girl with a good heart; she couldn’t hurt even a bug let alone a fly! That’s one of the reasons mother was so devastated when this whole problem started –
Mother had struggled to enroll for JAMB for Christy – The exams were to come up in a week but she had too much to worry about that she could not concentrate in our studies – I was becoming more worried than I had ever been about Dr. Imoi and concerning the promise he had made to father. Beauty was not as surprised as we were. Each time our hopes were dashed, she would only respond by a refrain ‘I told you!
The day we returned from the hospital was particularly a very sad day for all of us. It was 4pm when we finally got home. The thoughts of how to get over all the troubles dominated my mind all through the time I watched over Christy as she sat in the living room and mother cooked in the kitchen until we finally sat down to table. The food obviously didn’t have the usual taste as no body ate with any form of excitement. Christy retired early from the table and that afforded Mother and I the opportunity to look at our condition objectively.

‘I do not think going back to Pastor Fidelix will do us any good! I had complained ‘We have spent virtually all our little savings on this condition and we have not seen any improvement. I think we should start to explore more options’ I added and began to look away.
‘I believe you! Hilary, honestly I do. I`m getting more worried these days especially as we have had to sell off most of our assets and now we don’t have anything to sell’ at this time, she was very pale. Her eyes were red and were apparently soaked with fluid. The usual feminine optimism and faith seemed to have dwindled due to the troubles we have had to suffer.
‘I do not know what I`m going to do! Mother stood up sharply in a way that suggested that she was overwhelmingly troubled. She turned and faced the window pulling herself together with her blouse tightening around her chest. Her busts area was already wet with no other thing but tears, I knew. I stood up and managed to move a few footsteps away from the table close to where she stood. As I got closer to her, ‘mother is a witch’ which Beauty had told me some months back echoed in my ears. I almost resisted what brought me to her, but that maternal bond between me and mother was just too strong! We have always been told that where ever witches are, the misfortune we were swimming in were never in short supply.
‘Please, I want you to be as strong as possible mother and I know you have always been from the time I was a teenager when things began to fall apart and now I am a fully grown adult and I promise I’ll stand by you. I know we`ll be okay’ I held her hand and bent down where she sat. I knew she needed me so badly as an encouragement to move on. At first, she was too upset to look straight into my eyes but as she dodged my gaze, there was an incident where our eyes met. Currents of hope seemed to have moved from one to the other. At that instant, she would later tell me that she felt the kind of courage she had not had for a long time and then we were embraced by tranquility that was sufficient at least for the night not from any substantial thought or words or by any form of evidential consideration but just from the natural expectation that everything would be alright.