Okay guys, my friend sent in this beautiful write up to commemorate "International Women's Day". I couldn't keep the brilliance to myself, so I had to share.

Enjoy...



I have always admired Eva.

She was one of those women who are beautiful no matter what they're wearing or doing. She wouldn't win any beauty pageants, but she glowed from within with a grace that ten of those skinny girls could never capture. She always had a ready smile and a kind word for everyone. Quiet, unobtrusive, minding her own business and somehow, managing to make everyone feel like she genuinely cared about their welfare.

All the guys in the office were half in love with her, and I wasn't an exception. Whenever Oluchi would throw one of her famous and regular tantrums at home-exacerbating the ulcers she'd already given me-I couldn't wait to come to work and set eyes on the epitome of femininity that was Eva. There was something about her soft smile and quiet words that soothed my tattered ego.

Perhaps you'll think she was a bomb. No, her beauty was from within, consisting of a graceful heart and a kind spirit. Yes, when she walked by in one of her shapeless maxi skirts that did nothing to hide the wide hips and hourglass figure, we all stared. The long sleeved cotton shirts only fueled our imagination about the buxom bosom beneath. But that was not her appeal at all. Not a stitch of make-up, her naturally kinky hair in two braids, and she had us all spellbound.

We all knew when it started, a few months after she had a quiet court wedding. She remained as kind, as soft-spoken as ever, nothing about her manner showed her pain. She smiled even more-if that was possible-and because we were uncomfortable with her pain, we dared not ask.

At first, it was infrequent. Maybe a few times a year. As the years passed, black eyes, bluish grip marks and swollen face became familiar landmarks on our Eva.

"I'm going to ask her," Deji declared out of the blue one night at our after-work hangout. We didn't need to ask; we all knew what he meant. It weighed on us too.

"And what exactly will you ask her? 'Excuse me, Eva, but is your severely swollen face a fashion choice?" Obi's sarcasm seemed out of place, but he'd made a good point. I spoke up.

"Why not? That girl does not deserve what she's getting from whoever beats her like that! I mean, she's so sweet and kind! I have a monster at home and I've not laid a finger on her..." "Maybe because she'd be the one putting you in the hospital, man," CJ teased me, and all the boys burst into laughter. I had to force myself to keep smiling.

"The point is, the woman is a freaking angel and that bloody bastard is beating on her." The mirth faded.

"She will not tell," Olu said, getting our attention. "What do you mean she won't tell?" "She won't," he insisted, "if she'd wanted help, she would have asked." "Maybe she's afraid," offered CJ, and there were nods around the table. "She obviously loves the bastard, she's still with him," Deji said.

"Look, guys, Eva has never ventured into any of our lives, and she's never invited us into hers. I mean, the only way we know she's married is her ring! We don't even know if she has any kids. Just think...if she wanted us to interfere, she would have asked," Olu finally said, bringing an end to the discussion.

We talked about other things, sweeping our abused co-worker under the carpet. Yet, later that night, as Oluchi screamed at me for coming home an hour late and leaving her with the equally squalling baby, I could not get Eva's pain-filled eyes out of my mind.

Months passed, and we were still silent. One Thursday morning, Kelechi from reception came upstairs to tell us that Eva was in the hospital. It was a testament to her goodness that even Mr. Peters, who was a dragon on his best day, was so touched that he gave a couple of us the day off and #5000 and instructed us to go and visit her.
Deji and I bought her a fruit basket and some balloons on our way to the General Hospital. When we got to her bedside, we had no words. She was a mass of bruises and cuts, and she had an arm in a sling. It was, therefore, a total surprise to us when she opened her swollen eyes into slits and smiled at us.
I burst into tears. Deji was slightly more composed. He extended the condolences of everyone at work to her and tied the balloons to the head of her bed. She could not speak, but she nodded her thanks to us. We sat with her in silence until she fell asleep and a nurse came to tell us to leave.

That night, we shared beers in guilty silence.

Maybe our shame should have propelled us into action. Maybe we should have gone to the police, an NGO, any one who would listen and help. Maybe, maybe we even should have taken matters into our hands!
Maybe we should have, but we didn't. Instead, our guilt and shame forced us into deeper silence. When Eva came back to work, as sweet as only she can be, we averted our eyes from her healing scars as we helped her lift heavy objects. We avoided asking about her husband as we asked how she was in the morning. We were embarrassed by our helplessness. And we did nothing.

Now, its raining, raining so heavily. Its almost as if the very angels are weeping in an echo of our pain. The atmosphere is gray and bleak, and not even the endless bouquets of red roses supplied by the company relieves the gloom. The priest is saying something that is supposed to be comforting, as the casket is being lowered into the cold ground. There is weeping, lots of weeping. She had people who loved her, people who are sad to see her dead. People, like us, who did nothing.

Her husband may have killed her in what the police is calling a "domestic accident", but we are all guilty of Eva's death. He started with slaps, and we were silent. Then limbs were broken. And one night, as rainy as this one, he hit her one too many times and she'd fallen against the edge of a table. A broken neck. A life gone.

In our silence, we'd condemned her to a lonely death as surely as if we'd dealt the fatal blow.

Kindly follow on twitter : @solidgal001

So wat message r u tryn to pass?

Na she no gree comot from the abusive marriage

Cutehector:
So wat message r u tryn to pass?

Wait ooo. After all you read just now, you honestly want to tell me that you didn't get the message??