Travails of Eve's Daughters

They are four close-knitted friends.

Each has a story about her life.

From conscientious single career girl, LIZ, trapped in a love web with the most unlikely of men.

To spontaneous and witty EUGENE, stuck in an ill-matched wedlock.

To brooding Dr. ADA, haunted by old ghosts, and to NGOZI, stricken with the guilt of a secret adulterous affair.

Amusing!

Intriguing!!

Entertaining!!!

Excerpt

Ngozi paced about the living room, anxious to see her kids, and frustrated at being denied access to them.

"Mum, I want to see my kids. Nobody can take care of them as I can, it is not fair for Niyi to deny me from seeing my kids. I………"

"Hey, you lost every right to complain when your husband discovered your infidelity." her mother interrupted.   

"Then why doesn’t he just divorce me if that is what he wants so I can move on with my life?"

"Is that what you want? That your husband should divorce you? Do you know the loneliness, dangers, disrespect and other menace faced by divorced women?"  

Ngozi stared at her mother; she has never heard her speak so passionately about anything in a long time.

"My dear, a woman’s place is by her husband. Society does not tolerate divorced females. They are considered failures and treated as such. Your married friends will become wary and suspicious of you and probably see you as a threat to their marriages, the men see you as an easy lay. Believe me, it is not a pleasant way to live."

"But mum, what do you want me to do? He has refused to pick my calls and refused me access to see see the kids. It has been six months now that he threw me out of the house. Six months of not seeing my kids." Ngozi cried.

"He is still hurting. Give him time to heal. In the interim, pray. Pray that God should soften his heart towards you. I am sure he will come around in time. Niyi is a good man." 

"But how long do I have to wait?"

"For as long as it takes to win back your man’s heart."

"What if I can never win him back again? What if it is over?"

"Don’t give up so soon."

"I have been thinking of paying the children a visit before he returns from the office."

"I don’t like that idea. I don’t want you to see the kids behind him, get his permission first. Let the sleeping dog lie."

"Hey mum, I don’t need his permission to see my kids," Ngozi burst out angrily.

"I don’t want you to aggravate the matter beyond what it is now."

"I forgot to tell you that his mum called yesterday, she invited me to come over to the house next week." Ngozi replied.

"She did?"

"I guess the children have worn out the old woman," Ngozi said, an amused grin on her face.

"So what do you want to do?"

"I am honouring her invitation. She informed me that Niyi will be travelling for a trip soon."

"I hope you know what you are doing."

"Don’t worry mama, everything will be all right. I am excited to see the children."

Chidinma studied her daughter as she gulped down a mouthful of garri and eddykaikong soup; glad to see that the young woman is gradually coming back to her old self. She hoped that her daughter’s narrative will not be like hers, who has been alone ever since her husband divorced and kicked her out of the house.

Many times, she had cast her mind back in retrospect. She needed to remember how it all happened. She remembered quite alright that she was at her friend’s house, remembered arriving at the house to give Adanna a message from the women’s group. Adanna had failed to turn up for meetings for three consecutive weeks, so being the closest to her; she took on the assignment to deliver the message.

"Adanna." she called out, but there was no response.

She walked into the backyard and called out again, but was met with silence.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her and while turning to see who it was; she felt a grip on her neck from behind. Iron like hands covered her mouth and face as she was dragged into a room and thrown on a wooden bed. She tried to scream, but the death-like grip on her face stifled her as she struggled to keep from suffocation. Realizing that she has to relax against her assailant in other to live, she stopped struggling. He did not want to be recognized, as he used an old smelly rag to wrap her face and gag her mouth.

"Relax and don’t try to scream or I will kill you," he whispered menacingly into her ears. Instantly, her body went still and ceased struggling. She conditioned her body to be calm as the animal on top of her had his way. As he pounded her body, she tried to blank out, held the image of her little girl in her mind while the ordeal lasted.

She winced as his loads of seed gushed into her. In an instant, it was over. He arose and fled the room. She laid there, still for God knows how long. She tried to gather her thoughts but felt only blankness. Then, the door opened as Adanna, entered with her two sons.

"Hewwo, so you are the one," she shouted.

 Chidinma looked about her surroundings. How did I get here? What happened to me? She wondered. She tried to rise, then to her surprise, realized her nakedness. How? She wondered. She tried to arise again, but flinched as a horrible pain seared through her body.

"So you are the one who has been secretly coming in here in my absence to sleep with my husband?"

At that she jumped up, but had to sit back, otherwise, her nakedness will be seen by all.

"No Adanna. I came to drop a message from the women’s group. Then a man pounced from behind and did this to me."

"How dare you tell lies after you are caught? I know what to do." And with that, Adanna rushed out of the room. With all her will power, she rose, absorbed the pain that rent through her broken body. She gathered her clothing which has been shredded into pieces on the floor, and tied them around her body to cover her nakedness.

Moments later, the door burst open as Adanna entered, followed by Akachi, her husband. At his sight, Chidinma flinched. What would he think seeing me in this state?

He looked at her with all the hatred he could muster. "So it is true? My wife caught red-handed in adultery." Then he was gone, left her in the room with Adanna and her sons.

 "Get out of my house, you prostitute." Adanna pounced, dragged her into the open place.

"Please, don’t expose me to public ridicule; give me a wrapper to cover up myself."

"You deserve all the ridicule and shame for sleeping with your friend’s husband, bringing shame to your husband and causing me pain."

"It is not what you think, please let me explain."

"You want to explain to me that I didn’t see what I saw?" And with that, Adanna and her sons, dragged Chidinma into the street, called her names as she walked away.

 Chidinma contemplated whether to go home and face her enraged husband or dash into the forest, and never be seen again. She could feel eyes on her, all in condemnation; as they threw darts and pointed accusing fingers at her.

 She managed to walk home and on arrival, the sight that welcomed her almost got her reeling. Her belongings flung on the floor in the compound.

"Akachi, please, let me explain. I don’t know what happened, please…."

"Listen, woman, I am not interested in your stories, pack your things and leave my house." He clenched his teeth and fumed; a murderous rage on his face as he charged at her. The neighbours who witnessed her shame had to hold him back from causing her harm.

Knowing that it is no use arguing with him, she began to pack her belongings.

"What about my daughter?" She asked.

"Which daughter did you bring along with you when I married you?"

"But she is too young to be left alone, please let me take care of her."

"You? Soiled as you are? You cannot and will not touch or see my daughter until you go to join your ancestors."

Walking like a zombie, she left her home that very day. Weeks later, she received the divorce petition from the magistrate court.

She tried to marry again, but like cancer, the shameful event had already contaminated every aspect of her life. No decent and respectable man wanted her for a wife, and so she has lived, desolate through the years. One thing that had kept her hopeful is her young daughter. She had wondered what lies they have fed the poor girl with about her, hoped that one day, her daughter would seek her out.

Many years after the nightmare that changed the course of her life, she heard from the grapevine that Adanna’s husband became grievously ill of a strange illness, the only recourse was to confess a hidden sin, otherwise; he would die a horrible death. The truth was finally uncovered, but a lot of damage had already occurred. Akachi had remarried and had three children from his new wife, and the guilt of the unjust treatment of his first wife turned him into a recluse until his death. Her name was the last word on his lips as he passed on to the great beyond.

Adanna’s husband finally died, the disease had eaten deep into his body. She met his dead body on arrival from the market. She heaved a sigh of relief, for the burden of caring for a dying man was taking its toll on her. She often wondered if she would survive the ordeal of tending to his basal needs which he had lost control of. She knew they were paying for their sins, and had sought out her old friend to no avail, to ask for her forgiveness, but fate did not allow her the luxury of been forgiven.

That all those who wronged her received their nemesis brought no delight to Chidinma. Their punishment will never bring back all she had lost, and neither would it heal the pain of the past years. Her life took a new turn when fate brought a man across her path. The man who told her about the man called Jesus, who never judges and neither condemns based on the sins of your past.

She needed no much persuasion, she fell in love with the man Jesus and afterwards, the light had shined into her darkness. She had new friends, received help and got trained with economic skills for survival. She also received marriage proposals from two bachelors in the local assembly of worship, but felt she is past the marrying age, and not ready to attend to a man’s whims and physical demands.

Young Ngozi grew into an adult without knowing her mother. While in college, Ngozi paid her short visits without her father’s knowledge, but such visits, which never lasted for more than ten minutes were filled with tension. Chidinma could see accusation written all over her daughter, but the young girl never confronted her and neither did she talk about it. Somethings are better left unsaid.

Ngozi stopped coming around to see her, and Chidinma concluded that it was probably for the best. She didn’t see or hear anything about her daughter for years until loud knocks woke her from sleep one Saturday morning. She had gone for a night vigil at the local assembly and settled in to have a short nap before her clothing store open by 12 noon. The entire neighbourhood knows that Chidinma does not open shop until 12 noon on Saturdays, and that rule has become custom for a while now.

Wondering who dared disrupt her sleep on a Saturday morning, she rose from the bed, spurted to lash at the intruder. The bustling anger died down the instant she saw her visitor. Gaping at the beautiful woman her daughter had turned into, she moved aside to allow her come in. 

She began to feel an ache deep within her heart, an ache carefully concealed under the cover of smiles and work, an ache she has become too familiar with. Much as she had tried to move on with life and has succeeded at it to an extent, she feels the throbbing fatal wound in her heart about not been a part of her daughter’s life.

And now, that three-year-old she left behind on that fateful afternoon when Akachi threw her out of the house is now an….

"I am getting married mama."

Ngozi’s abrupt announcement broke into her thoughts.

Then fear gripped her. No! No! She must not marry until the curse upon the daughters of the family is washed off her. It is either they are raped or caught in adultery. Chidinma never knew her own mother as she was thrown out of the house by her father’s family. No, not again. This curse must not be allowed to continue to rage.

"I want you to come for prayers in my church before the wedding. It is very important and you must come."

"I will not be able to make it. There is a lot to do before the wedding."

"You must come and you must not tell your father about this. "

Ngozi stared at her mother. She has never seen her this agitated about anything.

"Okay." She replied.

But she never showed up for the prayers. Chindinma prayed for her daughter, that the plague will not harm the young lady. After Ngozi’s seventh year in marriage, she had thought the worst was over until she was woken up by the sound of weeping. She opened the door and found her daughter weeping profusely, with bags all around her; she knew instantly that the curse has struck again.