Utonwa_writes

CHAPTER NINE  THE EXCHANGE “It seems it was not only your love for flowers that died after I left Nne, everything about you has changed.” They were standing right outside the ICU waiting for the doctor to finish with rounds. Ijeego was staring at the wall looking lost. Uju touched her lightly on her shoulder to call her attention, “Mummy?” She said “How’s your daughter, Ujunwa?” Uju was startled by the question and how cold her mother sounded. “She…she is well” she stuttered, still confused about the question. Ijeego turned towards her and said with a stern look on her face, “You get to see your daughter anytime you wish right?” And before Uju could answer, she continued, “You are a part of her life? You go to bed every time knowing you have full access to your daughter. She did not leave your home; she listens to you and does everything you want. These alone are enough to make any mother happy, to make you flourish as a mother, Ujunwa.” “Mummy, I am seriously trying not to compreh...

CHAPTER EIGHT REUNION  Uju took a taxi to her parents’ house after she landed in Enugu. She needed to drop some of her things there before going to the hospital. The state hadn’t really changed much since she left. She met the gateman when she arrived; her mum had told him she was coming. Uju hadn’t met him before, the former gateman she knew had died years ago. The door to the house was locked, so she checked the flower pot in front of the house and found the key. She smiled. Her mother still kept the key there after all these years. She unlocked the door and hesitated for some minutes before stepping into the house and immediately regretted coming straight to the house as old memories flooded her mind. She dropped her bags in the sitting room and briskly walked out. Outside, she sat on a plastic chair in the compound to catch her breath when she remembered her mother had a flower garden she tended to and loved when Uju was younger. Brides- to-be from their church would come over ...