I have always seen myself as the most observant person I knew; and in a way, you wouldn’t blame me, I notice and see things others don’t. So how could I have missed what was so obvious? How could I not have noticed when she changed? Her sombre looks, and bloodshot eyes should have been glaring to me, but they weren’t. In all honesty, I simply overlooked the fact that one of my closest friends was going through a lot.

I guess I could say that we were all busy with our final exams in school, with all the stress of preparing for the exams and working on our projects, I could say that I was too distracted to notice; but then, what kind of friend does that make me? Then before we knew it, project defense came and went, and we were finally graduates. And she went through all these while carrying the burden alone, without telling a single soul.

Somehow, I noticed she wasn’t her usual boisterous self when I saw her again at the burial of another close friend’s father’s burial, but I pegged it down to the sadness of the occasion, and never went further to ask her if she was all right. I just assumed she was. What a friend I was!

So when I came back to school for clearance and met our friend (the one we went for her father’s burial), her first question after the normal pleasantries was,

“When was the last time you saw Chisom?”

“Either last November or December,” I replied, oblivious that a bombshell was to be dropped. We were in January.

“Did you notice that she is pregnant?” she said.

I stared open-mouthed at her, using my index fingers, I cleaned my ears and blurted out, “What did you just say?”

“I was more shocked when I realized it.”

“How did you get to find out?”

“I visited her yesterday, and noticed how she had grown fatter, and her sluggish movements. At first, I didn’t want to believe it, even when I saw her slightly bulging tummy, so I jokingly asked her if she was pregnant. Her widened eyes, and shocked expression confirmed it before she then told me everything.”

“Jeez, how old is the pregnancy?”

“Seven. She’s to give birth in March.”

“You don’t mean it! That must have been around June or July, during the time we were running about for our final exams.” It was incredibly difficult to fathom. I had seen Chisom so often then, and nothing had clued me in at all.

“Yes. I had asked her why she didn’t tell anybody, and she replied that she didn’t want anyone judging her.”

“I can understand her reasons. Still, I’m surprised that she could hide it that well, and none of us her friends knew.”

“My dear oo. I’m still shocked. Just go and see her. She needs our support, especially during this period,” she said, and finally added, “I need not to tell you that you should not let any other person know about this. I only told you because we are very close.”

“Of course, I’m not telling anyone,” I replied, a tad annoyed that she would think I would disclose this anyhow. But isn’t it exactly what I’m doing by telling this story?

And so I planned how to visit her as I mulled over the whole thing in my room. I picked up my phone, and dialed her number; she picked up on the fifth ring.

“My sweetheart!” I exclaimed, trying hard not to disclose the fact that I knew about her.

Read more ➡️ https://www.thezenpens.com/2019/01/29/silence-within-echoes-a-short-story-by-somtoochukwu-benedict-ezioha/