ZaraIhua:
Chapter 29
The distant sound of approaching footsteps had me batting my lashes. Exhausted from crying, I lay beside Uduak, my body drained of all strength.
I had made the request that would take the life of my sister's unborn child. God! I feel like a monster, a terrible demon. I wonder if she'll ever forgive me
But what choice did I have? I can’t lose my sister. I can’t possibly ask them to save the child and let her go. She’s all I’ve got. From the very beginning, she's always been by my side. I won’t trade her life for the child of that bastard. Maybe that’s selfish. Maybe it’s cruel. But the world is cruel, and I refuse to let it take her from me.
A gentle hand rested on my shoulder. I hesitated before looking up. Richard.
He held a small bag in front of me. “You should eat,” he said, his voice sounding very concerned.
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “Is that guilt dealing with you?” I asked, staring at him intently.
He ran a tired hand over his face and exhaled.
“Please eat something, Ruby.”
His plea was soft, genuine, almost desperate, but I didn’t care.
Sensing I wasn’t going to budge, he placed the food on the mini table and quietly walked out. Perfect.
Alone again, I focused on Uduak, who had been unconscious for what felt like an eternity. Just to be sure, I placed a hand over her nose to check if she was still breathing, a foolish action, considering the steady rise and fall of her chest.
I let out a shaky sigh and smiled weakly. my sister will be fine. I know she will.
Then, my phone rang. The screen had cracked as a result of the fall, I was surprised it still worked.
Landlady.
I quickly answered. “Ribbon!!” Her loud voice boomed through the speaker before I could even greet her.
“Landlady, good—”
“Oh my pikin, I just dey dream about you. How you dey?” Worry filled her voice.
I hesitated. Contemplating whether to tell her the truth or not.
“Ribbon, talk to me na.”
I swallowed hard. “Landlady, I no dey fine. I no dey alright.”
I heard her whisper something, as if she wasn’t alone.
“Wetin happen? Landlady don dey worry us say make we pray for you oh.” That was Emeka’s voice.
“Yes, Aunty Ruby, which day you go come back? I dey miss you oh,” another voice chimed in. Oh my darling Ekene.
My heart clenched at the warmth in their concern.
“I don’t know…” I whispered.
“She dey cry oh, she dey cry.”
I wasn’t sure who said it…. Amaka, maybe? Or someone else.
“Tell us now, we be your family. How you dey, wetin happen? My ajebutter, shebi I tell you say make you no dey cry cry anyhow. Make you strong gidigbam?” Landlady’s tone softened, though I could imagine her stamping her feet on the ground, her large ass shaking with the force.
A lump formed in my throat. “I…I….” I cleared my throat and forced the words out. “I dey hospital….”
The immediate uproar on the other end nearly deafened me. Questions flew from every direction, even Ekene’s voice was among them.
“Make una calm down make she talk now!” Agnes’ strong, masculine voice finally broke through. “Ruby, how? Wetin happen?”
I took a deep breath and turned to the window, watching the world move on outside, oblivious to my pain.
“I and my sister were involved in an accident.” I paused, letting the weight of the words settle before continuing. “I’m okay, but my sister is in a more critical condition.”
“I talk am!! That day that ogbanje cat cry for midnight, I know say bad thing wan happen. Na why I say make we pray, this small rat come dey talk rubbish,” Landlady’s voice shot up again, indignant. “Amaka, another day you go talk that rubbish again, eh, I go slap you slap wey your mama never give you before! Idiot!”
“Which one be say you go slap me? Landlady, no dey call my mama for here oh!” Amaka fired back.
My head throbbed. Are they really doing this right now? What was I even expecting?
“Which mama? If people wey get mama come out, you sef go come out? That one wey-”
“Landlady, please!” I snapped, exasperated.
“What’s all this now? In fact, I don’t want to talk to you guys again. Please just end the call.”
“My pikin, no vex, you hear? No vex.”
Their voices softened, filled with reassurance, warmth, and care. And despite their noisy, chaotic nature, I knew they meant well. They are my family. My Agadaga family.
The call continued for a little while longer, but when the doctor walked in, I had to hang up.
Turning back to Uduak, I reached for her hand, squeezing it gently.
“You’ll be okay,” I whispered. “We’ll both be okay.”
~~~~
“Good news,” Doctor Samuel said with a reassuring smile on his face, flipping through the chart. “Your sister is stable. She’s been through a lot, but she’s strong. She’ll wake up soon.”
I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. “Are you sure? No complications? No surprises?”
He nodded. “She’ll be weak, but with rest, she’ll be fine.”
Giving a little sigh “Thank you, doctor.” I said, relief washing over me.
A few hours later, I felt Uduak stir beside me. Then, her lashes fluttered, and her eyes slowly opened.
I sat up immediately. “Uduak?”
She blinked a few times, adjusting to the light, then looked around in confusion before her gaze landed on me. At first, she looked relieved. But then something shifted in her expression.
Her hands moved to her stomach, her fingers pressing down as realization sank in.
“No…” Her voice was barely a whisper, her lips trembling. “Ini… where’s my baby?”
I swallowed hard, gripping the sheets. “Uduak, listen-”
“Where is my baby?!” Her voice cracked, and tears welled up in her eyes.
I reached for her, but she flinched away.
“Uduak, I had to make a choice. You were slipping away. It was either you or-”
Her body shook as she let out a choked sob. “You should have let me go, Ini! At least my baby would have lived!”
I froze, my heart dropping. “What?”
“My life has been nothing but pain! That little one was the only good thing I had left, and you took that away from me!” She wiped at her tears roughly. “You should have let me go.”
Anger bubbled inside me. “And then what? Let you die? Let me live knowing I could have saved you and didn’t? I wasn’t going to lose you, Uduak!”
She shook her head furiously. “You were selfish, Ini. You made the choice for me!”
“Because I love you, dammit!” My voice cracked. “I love you too much to let you die! I couldn’t-”
“Then you should have thought about what I wanted.” Her voice was quiet now, but the weight of her words hit me like a punch to the gut.
A thick and suffocating silence filled the room.
Then she turned away from me, her back facing me as she pulled the sheets up to her shoulders.
“Just go” she whispered. “I don’t want to see you right now.”
Her words felt like a slap, but I stood there, unmoving. My throat burned, but no words came out.
“Ini, I said leave!”
I wanted to explain. To make her understand.
But for the first time in my life, my sister, my best friend, didn’t want me near her.
And that broke me more than anything. God bless you for this post Jhay100:
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Business › Boutique Business by Jhay100(op): 9:27am On Sep 27, 2025
