Not Your Emily

NOT YOUR EMILY

Emily hated everything about rain. How it made the roads muddy, how the air smelled, and how people got disorganized anytime it deigned to fall. She just thought it was pride. The rain was very proud today she thought even as she got into her car after a tug of war with the umbrella she used as protection. Finally she was in the warmth of her BMW. 

She never failed to update her garage each year with the latest models of cars. So long as it cost money, she got it. She was afterall referred to as 'The money magnet'. She smiled to herself. That was the kindest nickname people ever called her.  Even her housekeeper called her a witch secretly. 

As she drove she thought of how her thirty seven years had sped by, How she had amassed all her wealth and the many bridges she had had to burn. It hadn't been easy but then she had made it. She smiled ruefully. Her mother would be so proud if she could see her now. A tear slid down her right eye. She'd lost both parents before she could even speak. A fire she was told. She had been at the day care centre when it had happened and so was saved from the hideous incident. 

Even before she stepped into the office she could hear the whispers, drawn breaths, feel the tension. They all saw her as a cold boss. She never smiled, she never went on trips with them and she never spoke much. She liked the way they kept their distance. She learned the hard way that humans were the worst species of harm one could ever encounter. 

Oh how she scrubbed floors till she could see her reflection in them in her uncle's house. They had taken her in as soon as the fire ravaged her home and parents and from the beginning They were everything but kind. Even from a tender age, she hawked all over the street. Her uncle's children attended the best Montessori school in the neighborhood and wore clothes she only got when they had torn. 

They also saw no need to employ a maid afterall They had Emily. 

She grew up reading old newspapers and forgotten books just to learn English. If there really was a hell as the old preacher insisted there was, it was her uncle's house and she lived there. 

Her uncle's wife made Cinderella's step mother look like a saint. She did everything in her power to ensure she never measured up to her children who by the way were duller than empty boxes. In all, her childhood was a memory she almost never cared to remember. 

When people ajudged her cold, uncaring and frosty she never bothered to correct that notion. She knew she hardly made herself show any noticeable emotions. What good had all the emotions she'd shown as a child done to help her out of her predicament? 

At 15. She had summoned enough courage and ran away. She slept in wooden sheds at the market at night and carried shoppers goods for them for whatever little token they could offer. Many would shake ther heads and ask what she was doing on the streets but no one really wanted to know the answer. Barely just to Satisfy their consciences by asking. 

She sipped the tea her secretary brought to her even as she swivelled her chair around. Now she lived in so much opulence she didn't know what to do. Where would she ever even find a man who would match what she had or be humble and confident enough to accept everything she had and stood for?  

She smiled and shook her head. The memories just came flooding back. How the Four men who had grabbed her one night as she was returning to her spot under the shed had manhandled her. Collecting her earnings for the day and raped her. They declared gleefully how they had been monitoring her movements for a while and how that night was their lucky night. She couldn't make a sound. Her emotions were already too dead to even feel pain if she was paid to. She never remained the same after that. She could only care less what happened to her. She was too busy trying to survive and looking for a way out of the torture that had suddenly become her life that she didn't realize her chronic sickness and swelling stomach was as a result of pregnancy till an old trader was kind enough to point it out to her. 

The shell that was her life came to a stand still. 16 and pregnant. Funny enough she got used to the idea after many weeks and couldn't wait to hold the only thing she owned in this world in her arms. 

But then, nature as usual had to be cruel. She had a miscarriage. Fainted in a pool of her own blood in the middle of the market while under the strain of a bag of rice. People scampered away. No-one wanted to answer to the police or bear the burden of caring for her or transporting her to the hospital. Well, that day was her day of Transfiguration. 

Mr. Titus a Mexican on a market survey with his team saw her, picked her up, took her to the hospital and as they say the rest is history. 

Her brilliance in school earned her so many scholarships abroad.  Of course not after a lot of tutelage. Mr Titus bless his generous soul bequeathed all he had to her upon his death and made her his sole heir since he had no family. 

Emily jolted back to reality. With the AC on high and her feet on the plush carpet, she thought of the life that was now hers. Her painful but successful transition, and how people would never know her story and continually judge her no matter what. 

She smiled to herself, she couldn't change the past, It built her to be the woman she was now, maybe she could make a few changes in the present and the future. She sighed even as she signed another anonymous cheque for another orphanage home.... 

Most often we judge people from afar without even having an iota knowledge  of what the person might have gone through or is even going through. We just conclude that he is bad, she is arrogant, he is stingy, he is proud, she is too full of herself etc. Why don’t we take out time to know the person better and closer before we jump into conclusio. Now do you think Emily should change her ways and smile more often so that people wont discredit her person, or she is just fine the way she is, after all – she doesn’t care. LETS HEAR YOUR THOUGHts.

We hope you enjoyed this wonderful piece, and was le to learn one or two things. Always remember you can preach a better gospel with the way you live your life than with your lips.
Don’t forget to Comment, Share and drop your suggestions and contributions. Bye for now.

CHAINED

                          CHAINED

The sound the plate made as it touched the ground corresponded directly with his heart that was beating abnormally. He couldn't seem to catch his breath. His thoughts bordered on how the plate had slipped out of his hands and what the punishment for that would be. Probably another night of sleeping outside with the mosquitoes and cold tiles for comfort or enduring another round of beating. He slowly sank to the floor in despair.  He was in his customary clothes.  A tattered black shirt, khaki shorts and rubber slippers. An attire that surely  wasn't fitting for the environment he found himself in but was of course suitable for his position of chief servant. Doubt and fear coursed through his veins even as he tried to gather the broken pieces of the plate together. Madam always kept an inventory and will notice the missing plate but till then he had to think of all the possible ways to die. As she would definitely try to kill him. God forbid her plates from Thailand knew destruction. 

He stood in the sitting room. Taking all the beauty in. The very comfortable chairs he was not allowed to sit In,  the marble floors he scrubbed daily,  the expensive looking television set that was forbidden for him to ever touch, and all the family pictures on the wall that showed everyone in the family with shining teeth and starched clothes. He remembered when those smiles were directed at him and when his own picture also hanged beside theirs. He remembered when he was a part of this family and not just a slave. When he was the head and not just a freeloader 

When he was a father and a husband.

The memories came rushing In unbidden. He had been the perfect man for Sheila.  She was the talk of the town on campus. His drivers were at her beck and call, his money was her money and she loved him to pieces. It was only right that the two lovebirds get married and they did shortly after her youth service. Oh they had a grand wedding 

All the people who could come were treated to a royal wedding.  He had no family since he was an only child born of parents who were only children too. And they had died in a car crash years ago. 

Seeing the joy in Sheila's face alone everytime he came home from work was enough to make him happy. They were in heaven. And nothing could destroy their happiness or so they thought. 

It happened one Friday. James got to work as usual, after several moments of kissing his wife goodbye to meet a bunch of uniformed men surrounding his office. A government project had gone wrong and was found guilty of fraud. His pleas fell on deaf ears. He lost everything in the long run. To say he was shocked was an understatement. He was devastated. Oh his wife was understanding for the first few weeks but when the Hunger set in, she started to change subtly. "Don't touch me, I'm hungry" that was her anthem everyday. "The children have not eaten.  How can you call yourself a man" That was her pledge. He watched all the love crumble before his eyes.  Nobody wanted to work with him anymore. His reputation preceded him. Sheila snagged a job in an oil company paying six figures and then his hell became several degrees hotter. 

 "How can I work all day and Still come home to a dirty house? If you don't clean this house you will find yourself on the streets" she boldly proclaimed one Monday evening. It was no longer 'darling' or 'honey' or 'sweetheart'. Words of endearment she called him a few years ago.  It was now 'useless man', 'Good for nothing' and 'fool'. He washed her clothes, took the children to school, did all the chores and had his special cane for whenever he made a mistake. His body was covered in sores and he had not even touched his wife since he had no job. She claimed "enjoyment was for the rich". All the tears he had cried throughout the ordeal, could have formed a small river. But things never changed. He never went to church or any public occasion for the shame was unbearable. Even his friends would not help him. They definitely didn't want Sheila breathing down their necks. 

He had always had a small stature so his wife used that to her advantage when giving him the much required 'discipline'.  He could not run away, Sheila proclaimed that he still owed her for all her suffering and if he tried it, he lost all rights to ever see their children. And he couldn't let that ever happen. Her high class friends would laugh and turn him to a bartender and cook anytime they visited and Sheila proudly told them she was enjoying her 'tamed husband'

He was a man. He was to swallow all the hardships of life without complaint. He was to be strong and be the sole provider. He was not to experience abuse from anyone, he was to be the abuser if at all.  If he cried, he was weak.  If he asked for help, his manhood was questioned 

What then? How then would he be free?  Who would fight for him and be his voice? Who would unlock his chains?

The sound of the car horn jolted him out of his reverie. She was back and this was his life. 

Most often we attribute the victims of  Domestic Violence to me females alone, we have forgotten that men too can be violated. Men too can be a victim. Men too suffer. So let’s put hands together to stop domestic violence in all ramification. What advice do you have for James and people who suffer Domestic Violence especially men, because it is regarded as a “taboo” for a woman to “beat” a man, been that – women are the weaker vessels.

We hope you enjoyed the wonderful piece and was able to learn one or two things. Don’t forget to Share, Comment and Contribute, it will be highly appreciated.

#StopDomesticViolence 

#SayNoToDomesticViolence 

#MenTooAreVictims 

Always Remember You Can Preach A Better Gospel With The Way You Live Your Life Than With Your Lips

**Written By Ayeba Ene, 400level Psychology, OAU**

Always Remember You Can Preach A Better Gospel With The Way You Live Your Life Than With Your Lips

Mistress of Secrets (finale)

................The next day, Justice came back home from work but not with the children. His wife had texted him that he should drop them off at their aunts place and that they needed to talk.
He hoped it wasn’t what he was thinking.
He couldn’t lose a family he had worked so hard to have. He just couldn’t.
He entered and saw her sitting in one of the chairs waiting for him. For the first time, she looked sane and normal. She was dressed in one of her green dresses, her hair was tied up with a matching ribbon and her chin was jutted up in determination. The room was quiet and the A.C hummed softly in the background.
“Katherine.”
“Sit down please.” She said pointing towards the chair opposite her. He stepped onto the soft rug dropped his key beside her phone on the centre table and proceeded to do as she asked.
“Promise me you wouldn’t lie to me.”
He started to lean forward.
“Promise me!”
“Okay, ok.” He said lifting his hands as he shifted pensively in his chair.
“I promise I will not lie to you.”
“How long have we being married?”
“Fourteen—fifteen years”
“In all those years have I ever been a bad wife to you?”
“You have being perfect my dear, you know that.”
“Do you love me?”
“Katherine, with all my heart, and you know that.”
She wiped at a tear on her cheek.
“Who is the father of my children?”

Oh no no no no!
“Katherine, baby. Honey.” He said leaving his seat as he came towards her.
“Please don’t touch me.” She gritted out.
So he knelt in front of her.
“I am their father.”
With all the pain and hatred she had in her, she slapped him hard across the face. His face whipped to the side as he waited for his ears to stop ringing. Panting hard, she rose and side stepped him.
“You have being lying to me throughout our marriage; I refuse to continue to be insulted this way. I am leaving your house.”
That got past his ringing ear to be processed by his brain. He rushed up after her.
“Wait.” He called but she hadn’t moved, she was still standing there glaring at him.
“Please sit down.” She did.
“All I did was for us. So we could be happy together.”
“What did you do?”
“How much did Cha Cha tell you?”
“So you are still planning on lying to me?”
“No, of course not.”
“I want to hear everything.”
For a long time he didn’t say anything, then he stood up, and went back to his seat.
“I knew I couldn’t have children long before I married you. It was due to an accident I had in my teenage days. I couldn’t tell you because you had many suitors back then and I was afraid of losing you.”
“What?”
“So for the first four years of our marriage I was responsible for our childlessness.”
“All that drugs I took, all the prayer houses I went…” she said in surprise.
“To think the source of my problem was busy holding my hand through it all.”
“I didn’t count on you becoming so desperate. I thought if I didn’t mind, you wouldn’t also mind that much. But you wanted a child and you were desperate about it too. So one day I met a guy at the basket ball court I frequented and we got talking.”
He looked up at his wife then.
“Cha Cha had no right to have told you.” He said desperately.
“You weren’t supposed to ever know.” He muttered.
“I am listening.” She said eyes wide with pain and unshed tears.
“I made you get that app in your phone, and I was able to track when you were most fertile.” He was quiet for a long time murmuring how she wasn’t ever supposed to know.
“Then I drugged you and invited him over.” He said in a small voice, never meeting her eyes.
Katherine slid off the chair and wept in her hands.
“To think I was so happy when I found out I was pregnant.” She said amidst gasps.
“I am so sorry.”
Then she stopped to gape at him.
“I have three children.” She announced as if she just realized it.
“They have separate fathers?”
“No, no of course not I would never do that to you.” He came to wrap his arms around her.
“Don’t touch me you snake! How could you do this to me? You handed my body over to another man, a stranger you met at a basketball court.”
“I am sorry Katherine. I ensured he was clean, all the time he came over; he was always tested before coming.”
“All the times he came over, my God what did I ever do wrong. No sane man does this to his wife.”
“I am sorry. I so sorry, but I did it for us. It is just like going to a sperm bank.”
“Without my consent, my husband gave my body out to a stranger. I don’t even know you.”
“I am your husband and if not because of that crazy woman no one would have known, we were happy Kate.”
Arms wrapped about her, she kept rocking back and forth. Then she asked.
“Who is the man?”
“You don’t need to know, I am the father of our kids.”
She nodded.
“What if he comes back for them?”
“He can’t.”
“Of course he can. And then we will become the laughing stock of this town. My friends, my family, everyone will know. Everyone will know what you did.”
“Babe, don’t worry about it. He won’t bother us. I took care of it”
“You took care of it how?”
She asked looking directly into his eyes. But he looked away.
“Don’t worry about it. He wont bother us.” He repeated, the anguish in his eyes starting to have a touch of hope. Perhaps she would understand and forgive him.
“That is not a satisfactory answer, I cant stay here and be humiliated with you, you can keep the children, because if Cha Cha knows and you didn’t tell her, then he did. Pretty soon others will know too.”
“Please don’t leave me.” He rushed to say, taking her hands.
“I will take care of her like I took care of him and find out who told her and take care of them too.”
“I want to know what you mean.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
She made to move past him.
“Okay.” He said desperately. Then he studied her for a long time and cupped her face.
“I trust you, I want to show you that I trust you, that is why I am telling you this. But you must promise me you wont tell anyone. You must promise me you will be strong, stronger than your usual self.”
Katherine nodded, tears sliding down her cheeks.
“I went to his house, and we had a few drinks, I slipped something in his drink and when he fell asleep, I set his house on fire, but I made it look like an accident so no one will ever know.”
“Oh my God, You killed him?” she whispered in shock.
“Yes honey, he was trying to blackmail me, always asking for money. I had to kill him. We already had two boys and a girl, we didn’t need him anymore.”
Her legs couldn’t hold her, she dropped to the chair. He knelt before her.
“You have to be strong, you need to get close to Cha Cha, try to find out how she got to know then we can take care of her and whoever told her. We are family Kate, we need to take care of each other. Do you understand?”
“I do now.”
He nodded, seeming relieved. His eyes glinted with evil. She had never seen this side of him.
“You must be careful, that woman is very smart. We need to know who told her.”
“But I already know.”
He looked up sharply.
“You do?”
“Yes. It was the police.”
Just then uniformed men stepped out from every other room, surrounding them.
Justice stared at them for a long time, not comprehending what was happening.
“What is happening?”
“You are under arrest Sir, for the Murder of one Mr. Frederick Otegar. You have the right to remain silent for anything you say will and may be used against you in the court of Law.”
“Katherine.”
“You were willing to continue killing, weren’t you?”
“It was for us.”
“No it was for you and you alone. You married me without telling me about your problem, because you wanted to make yourself happy, you drugged me, your wife, brought a stranger to violate me, your own wife so you can have a child. Only God knows how many times, how many times you drugged me. And when you got what you wanted you went ahead to kill the man. And you are even willing to continue killing.”
She wiped at her eyes for the millionth time.
“Your confession was recorded. Cha cha not only told me you were not the father of my children but also that the police had contacted her and that they were trying to get you to confess to the murder. Apparantly, Mr. Frederick had mentioned what he had done to his sister, who saw you with him on the day of his death.”
“Move!” The policemen shoved him.
“I pray you rot in jail.”
Cha Cha stepped into the room after the policemen had filed out.
“You still feel I shouldn’t have told you?”
“Yes, but I am glad he was unmasked. Who would have thought I was married to a monster. I didn’t know you worked with the police.”
“I don’t…okay so maybe once in awhile they come to me for help.”
“I wouldn’t have believed any other person.”
Cha Cha turned to leave then paused.
“You will be fine?”
“Eventually, I would have to tell my children the truth someday.”
“Good, Secrets can be very dangerous.”
“Says the Mistress of secrets”
And Cha Cha walked out of the house with a satisfied smile on her face, one secret was out, on to the next one.
Behind her, her wolf like dog growled and bared its teeth at any one who dared to look at her.

Question: Do you think ChaCha should have just keep her mouth shout, after all what do don't know can't kill or hurt you and Katherine would still be leaving with the love of her life and her children. Or do you think Cha Cha did the right by allowing Katherine know the truth about her husband and even got him arrested.

Hope you enjoyed the write-up, don't forget to drop your comment, suggestion and opinion.

*Always Remember You Can Preach a Better Gospel With The Way You Leave Your Life Than With Your Lips.