I appreciate everyone of you that took your time to comment yesterday, your varying opinions formed this chapter. Enjoy

Twenty-eight


Nmachi later found out that Victory had tried to abort her six weeks old pregnancy with a coat hanger and because she was inexperienced, had ended up damaging her uterus. This had been the cause of the bleeding. Her ten year old younger brother had been the one who discovered her almost lifeless body in the bathroom and raised an alarm. But it had been too late.

Nmachi looked over at Victory’s conspicuously empty seat days after. She tried imagining her there, sitting down and drooping her head in boredom as the teacher droned on and on. It was hard to remember that she would never see her like that again, never sit in the same class with her or see her walking down the corridor with her friends who seemed subdued by the incident.

If she had any tears left, she would have cried on and on. But her well of sorrow was empty. All she could do was sit mindlessly in class and listen to the Government teacher talk about Baron de Montesquieu’s principles of separation of power in Government. She appeared to be paying attention to the teacher but her mind was very far away.

Her and Victory had never really talked about death even though they’d seen people dying before. One time they had been walking home together when they saw a mob lynching a man in the market place. People said he had snatched a woman’s handbag but luck had run out on him when she raised an alarm and some boys pursued and caught him. He was almost naked and blood poured from injuries on his head and body, but the crowd was calling for his death. They had seen cases like this before and they knew even if the police came, jungle justice would be carried out and his body roasted to death.

People died everyday around her but it seemed like it was nothing. The dead were anonymous, statistics and reports on NTA News and national newspapers. People ate and drank while they read, watched or listened. Sometimes they shook their heads or commented especially if it was another criminal execution carried out by the military. They were in the military era and in the series of coups that heralded government after government, death seemed the one constant. The dead were however soon forgotten in the mixture of scenes and stories.

She almost felt as if the dead would rise and dust off their clothes after the director yelled ‘cut’. They would ask how well they had performed, and prepare for another scene. When reality felt so harsh, she felt herself turning to the make-believe world of cinema but there was no make-believe for her as she looked at Victory’s empty seat in the second row.

She could close her eyes and wish it was all a bad dream and visualize Victory returning from the toilet to class, but she knew she never would; she would never come to class again. It made her wonder if she’d been a good friend.

If she should have done more, tried harder to get her to stay away from trouble, to stay away from the infamous clique of Alice and co. If she should have worried less about herself, getting into trouble with Papa, getting good grades and instead helped her friend improve herself. If she had worked more diligently at their friendship, becoming the confidant Victory wanted, would she have prevented her from getting into the trouble that eventually led to her death? She didn’t have an answer to that but she knew that if she’d tried to stand by Victory in her time of need, if she hadn’t avoided her like she carried a disease, Victory might have still been alive.

“Pregnancy is not contagious, you know.”

Victory’s voice in her head, over and over again with the note of dry amusement. She had been so selfish, prudish, prissy and stuck up to get her hands dirty in Victory’s mess and now she was gone forever.

*****

She dreaded the funeral because it put a note of finality to Victory’s death. She still harbored the secret hope of seeing Victory in school, lounging at the corridor with an amused look on her face.

“Nma can you believe these people? They said I died, na wa oh!”

She could hear her say but the sight of her coffin being lowered into her six feet grave, crushed her hopes. Her burial was on a Saturday morning and she had attended it in the company of Mama. She had told her everything about the circumstances surrounding Victory’s death and Mama had been sympathetic.

“Its no use blaming yourself for what has happened, Nma. You’ll just have to go on living and learn to live with yourself now.”

How could she go on living? She wondered. How could she overcome the guilt that threatened to tear her apart as she saw her friend’s coffin being lowered to the grave. Her mother, Mrs Elechi’s eyes looked puffed and red-rimmed from crying. Her two younger brothers wore their grief on their sleeves and bawled out at the cemetery. Some of her classmates were at the funeral including Raphael but conspicuously absent were her three friends, Alice, Cynthia and Lisa and the boys who were indirectly responsible for her death, Ejike and Johnny.

Mrs Elechi finally knew what had happened when Nmachi told her about the party and rape that had led to her daughter’s pregnancy. Mama had told her it was the least she could do to honor her friend and Nma had gone to visit the Elechi’s the day before.

“But why didn’t she tell me? Why did she have to bear the burden of the pain and humiliation alone?”

“She was afraid you’d take it very badly and get really upset at her.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll bury my only daughter, my first child and there’s no pain or upset a mother could pass through than that. But those boys, those boys will pay dearly for this.”

Nma had left her house with a heavy heart, she wished persecuting Ejike and Johnny would bring back Victory.

*****

She went to a deserted part of the cemetery wishing it was all a bad dream and she would wake up.

“Please, God…” she choked. She’d never been a prayer person all her life so her supplication died on her lips, what would she say? She sank down to the ground.

She heard footsteps beside her. It was Raphael, he sat down beside her.

“I lost my best friend to tetanus when we were eleven,” he said absentmindedly and she listened with rapt attention. “We were playing football with two other of our friends and his team was winning mine. I was furious at how he seemed to be mocking my team with his skills, suddenly a friendly game turned brutal as I started playing roughly and refused to calm down. I_I wanted to kick the football but ended up kicking his bare foot and driving it into a rusty metal. The sight of the blood that poured out of his foot, calmed me down but my best friend was seriously injured,” he paused and let out an uneasy breath. “He died two weeks later because his parents were too poor to get him a tetanus shot on time. His father was a bus driver and his mother was a housewife, they had six other children to care for and didn’t take my friend groaning in pain seriously until it was too late,” he went silent.

Nmachi clasped her hand over his. He tightened his fingers over hers.

“No day goes by that I don’t think of that day and what I could have done differently, if it was my fault other than his parents that he died.”

“H_How do you learn to live with yourself?” she choked out.

“I guess you learn to take it one day at a time and try to make penance with yourself. I decided I would become a medical doctor after that incident. I would try my best to save lives because life is precious.”

Nma felt floored by the simplicity and honesty in his words. She didn’t know what else to say so she kept silent until Mama came to tell her it was time to go.

“Thank you,” she told him.

“Anytime.”



Tbc on Monday

wow .......I know the feeling of losing a friend knowing some actions of yours would made things turn out differently, directly or indirectly.

JeffreyJamez:
wow .......I know the feeling of losing a friend knowing some actions of yours would made things turn out differently, directly or indirectly.

Me too mehn

skarlett:


Me too mehn

It's sad

JeffreyJamez:


It's sad

Yeah

mhisbliss:
i hope Rafael will not use the fact that he has a similar experience to emotionally take advantage of the poor girl like JeffreyJamez is doing to skarlett right now

Advantage with the who to the what now?!

Finally have been unbanned....Thanks for the dedication.... I don't think I am going to forgive myself also...it going to take a Toll on me seriously, may her tender soul rest in peace...But wetin dem go do to dose Boys now?

mhisbliss:
Hehehehe just messing with you

Jor o lol

You are a gifted writer, Miss Skarlett, and from your d.p, a beautiful lady too.. .. I doff my hat.. .. You make sense.. ..






Lovely, naturally flowing story!

mhisbliss:
i hope Rafael will not use the fact that he has a similar experience to emotionally take advantage of the poor girl like JeffreyJam ez is doing to skarlet right now

Jeff is e-bae , kidding o

Santi222:
You are a gifted writer, Miss Skarett, and from your d.p, a beautiful lady too.. .. I doff my hat.. .. You make sense.. ..

Lovely, naturally flowing story!

Thank you dear, I appreciate

Olabantu:
Finally have been unbanned....Thanks for the dedication.... I don't think I am going to forgive myself also...it going to take a Toll on me seriously, may her tender soul rest in peace...But wetin dem go do to dose Boys now?

Lol welcome back

@bolded we shall find out

mhisbliss:
really? Hmm then i withdraw my comment then

Lol, no problem

Olabantu:
Finally have been unbanned....Thanks for the dedication.... I don't think I am going to forgive myself also...it going to take a Toll on me seriously, may her tender soul rest in peace...But wetin dem go do to dose Boys now?

Seems the spam bots are having a field day on that particular thread. Next time, send me a pm.

skarlett:


Thank you dear, I appreciate

Welcome.

dominique:


Seems the spam bots are having a field day on that particular thread. Next time, send me a pm.

Owk...

skarlett:

Lol welcome back
@bolded we shall find out

And I hope karma takes it place because no amount of punishment can Bring Vic back

skarlett:
Dedicated to Mhisbliss, Olabantu and rosalieene

Twenty-Six


She didn’t return to class for the remainder of the day and when the bell went off for closing time, she was one of the first to reach the gate and go home. Mama was so engrossed with Papa’s recuperation that she didn’t notice her red-rimmed eyes. When she noticed she seemed unusually quiet at dinner she had asked but Nma had told her she was fine. She didn’t want to add to Mama’s burden too.

The next day at school, things seemed to have calmed down a bit and she noticed some of her classmates actually looked contrite. She had managed to regain her cool and calm façade and so kept to herself for most of the day. She still heard some snickers when she passed but she did her best to ignore them. She was a nine-day wonder, very soon, they would all get tired. Alice and her friends made snide remarks about her when she passed, but she ignored them too.

She didn’t leave her class unless it was absolutely necessary. The hallway was practically deserted when she walked to the Talk Shop to get herself some snacks during break.

“Hello Nma,” she heard a voice speak, she looked to her right, it was Victory. “How are you?”

“What do you care about that? Aren’t bastards supposed to be unemotional? Aren’t you ashamed to be seen with a half human like me?”

“Nma, I’m really sorry,” she came closer. “I_I got hold of the diary by mistake, you dropped it and I was calling you but you didn’t come back for it. Cynthia met me and when she asked about it, I said it was yours. I didn’t know what was in it and before I could stop her, she collected it and read it. It was all a mistake.”

“It doesn’t change anything, thanks to your peskiness I was bullied and humiliated by everyone. I hope you’re happy now! I hope you’re finally satisfied with what you’ve learnt about me and my family,” Nmachi spat.

“I’m so sorry Nma, if I could change everything I would.”

“Well, you can’t, so it’ll be better for me if you stay away from me. I don’t want to have anything to do with you or anyone else, so just leave me alone!” Nma said and walked away. She felt her breath come out in heaves like she’d been running a marathon. She was still so angry. Angry at Victory, angry at Mama for putting her in this position, angry at her bullies, and angry at herself for being so weak and allowing their diatribes get to her. Well, not anymore, she thought fiercely, she had survived many years of Papa’s cruelty, she would survive this too.

*****

Raphael came to meet her in the library.
“Hello Nma.”

She raised her face to look at him and then turned back to her book. “Hello,” she muttered.

“Gosh Nma, Victory told me what Alice and her friends did to you in the girls bathroom yesterday, I’m so sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, its not your fault they’re nasty.”

“I_I know but still, I_I should have acted better.”

She looked up at him now. “I didn’t expect you to act any different, after all you’re all the same,” she said.

“Please Nma listen to me, its not like that, I_I’m…”

“Spare me the I’m different speech,” she said cutting him off abruptly, “as you can see, I’m busy and I’d like you to leave me alone now please.”

His ears burned as he walked away.

*****

Nmachi wouldn’t talk to Raphael or Victory after that day and for weeks after, she stayed by herself. Papa had recovered and was discharged two weeks ago. He didn’t seem to have changed much but the stint with Mama made him more afraid to lay his hands on any of them now. He regarded Mama with a certain kind of awe and finally when he was fit as a fiddle, went in search of another job. To her however, he remained indifferent and Nmachi couldn’t help feeling more like an intruder in his home.

“I’m not sorry I let out the truth about you,” he told her one evening. “Nena thought I didn’t know but she was mistaken. I never asked her but I knew you were not mine when you were born three weeks premature. I calculated your date of conception and it fell around that time she was with the priest.”

She felt the pain and bitterness in his words. It was like having a scab torn off a healing wound to have him remind her that she was the product of her mother’s indiscretion with a priest.

Well, I’m not sorry I’m not your daughter either, she thought bitterly.

The more Nma learned about herself, the more twisted and complicated her life seemed to become. She felt like someone trying to get out of a web that only seemed to get stickier. She had a strong sense that she wasn’t anywhere near all the important discoveries. Something else loomed out there, some other dark truth that would make even all this seem like nothing.

Very interesting...

Please I need to read from chapter 1...how can I?

mhisbliss:
can i send too?

Please am new on NL...

What is PM and how do I write it?

Thanks

mhisbliss:
can i send too?

Sure, why not

dominique:


Sure, why not

whiteprince:


Please am new on NL...

What is PM and how do I write it?

Thanks

mhisbliss:
yea but she aint a saint

Even at dat, she still deserved a second chance and Nma should learn not to make promise when Happy and when full of pity....She spoke before she could think and later she tried retracting her words but alas, it was too late andand that to me waswas the last straw...well just like that wise man said, what goes around comes around...EJIKE, YOU BETTER WACTH OUT BECAUSE I SEE SOMETHING TRAGIC COMING FOR YOU AND YOUR CLIGUE

whiteprince:

Very interesting...
Please I need to read from chapter 1...how can I?

whiteprince:

Very interesting...
Please I need to read from chapter 1...how can I?

bro you don't need to qoute a whole update just to say dis na

Olabantu:

Even at dat, she still deserved a second chance and Nma should learn not to make promise when Happy and when full of pity....She spoke before she could think and later she tried retracting her words but alas, it was too late andand that to me waswas the last straw...well just like that wise man said, what goes around comes around...EJIKE, YOU BETTER WACTH OUT BECAUSE I SEE SOMETHING TRAGIC COMING FOR YOU AND YIUR CLIGUE

preach bro preach

mhisbliss:
preach bro preach

I turn preacher niyen ooo

whiteprince:


Please am new on NL...

What is PM and how do I write it?

Thanks

PM is sending a message to someone you want to communicate with privately, that is private message. Click on the person's moniker and you will see send message, then click on that. The person will reply you if he/she wants. Then you take it from there.
Welcome to Nairaland.

whiteprince:


Very interesting...

Please I need to read from chapter 1...how can I?

I'll mention you on how to soon