THE TATTOO

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CHAPTER 15 

THE SILENCE AFTER


Uju woke up feeling… light. It had been a while since she felt this way—like the air wasn’t pressing too hard against her chest, like the past wasn’t clinging to her skin. Maybe it was the slow acceptance of everything that had happened. Maybe it was the tears she poured out the night she came home.


Or maybe, just maybe, it was because of Nnanna.


She thought about his words, the gentle way he had called her nwanyi oma, the tenderness in his voice. A small, almost shy smile played on her lips. Could she really allow herself to feel something again?


Pushing the thought aside, she stretched and got up. Today was about family. She had promised her mother Onugbu soup, and she wasn’t going to disappoint her.


A Morning of Simple Joy


The kitchen smelled of home—bitterleaf, stockfish, Ogiri, rich palm oil. She hummed softly as she stirred the pot, the steam rising and wrapping around her like a warm embrace. It felt good to cook for them again.


She carefully ladled the soup into a flask, packing it neatly. Just as she was cleaning the kitchen counter, her phone rang. Her mother.


She smiled as she picked up. “Nne, good morning. I’m almost on my way.”


Silence.


Then a voice, steady but hollow.


“Uju… daddy anwugo, your father is dead."


Uju’s hand froze. The phone almost slipped from her grip. “Gini?” 


“He left us this morning.”


No.


She had spoken to him last night. He had sounded better. He had laughed, even.


Her breath came in short gasps. No, no, no.


“Mama, are you sure? Maybe he—”


“Nne, I am sure.”


There was no wailing. No hysteria. Her mother’s voice was calm—too calm. Was she in shock? Or had she already accepted what Uju couldn’t even process?


The kitchen felt suddenly suffocating. The smell of Onugbu soup turned sickly in her stomach.


Uju sat down on the stool by the kitchen counter. Her father was dead.


The words made no sense. They weren’t real. They couldn’t be.


The Numbness Settles


Time became meaningless. Uju wasn’t sure how long she sat there, staring at nothing. The food, once a symbol of love and care, now sat there untouched—useless.


Her fingers trembled as she picked up her phone and scrolled to Nnanna’s number.


He picked up immediately. “Uju?”


She tried to speak, but her throat closed up. A long silence stretched between them.


“Uju, what is it?” His voice sharpened with concern.


She swallowed hard, gripping the edge of the table. “My father is dead.”


The words finally came out, but they still didn’t feel real.


A sharp intake of breath from Nnanna’s end. Then, softly, “Oh, nwanyi oma… I’m so sorry.”


Her lips parted, but she didn’t know what else to say.


“Are you alone?” he asked.


She nodded, then realized he couldn’t see her. “Yes.”


“You shouldn’t be. I’m coming.”


She blinked. “What?”


“I’ll book a flight now. I need to be there.”


Something in her chest clenched. He meant it. He was coming. For her.


Uju exhaled shakily, her voice barely above a whisper. “Okay.”


As she ended the call, she realized something. How will Kasie take the news, how should she tell her?


But not now. Not yet.


She closed her eyes, letting the silence settle around her. Her father was gone.


And yet, in the middle of that darkness, someone was coming to stand by her side.



                                CHAPTER SIXTEEN



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THE TATTOO

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Chapter one Nightmare  Kasie ran to her mother’s room as soon as she heard her scream. She knew it was the nightmare, again. She met her sitting upright on her bed clutching the pillow a little bit too tight to her chest, with sweat dripping down and soaking her silk floral nightie. The AC was on, Kasie noticed and the room was a little bit chilly. She sat down close to her mother hugged her tight and continued whispering, “It’s alright mum, I’m here now”. Uju woke up with a jolt, her daughter, Kasie cuddled up at the other side of the bed sleeping. She looked at the table clock close to her side of the bed “11:32am, God!” she exclaimed under her breath cautious enough not to wake her daughter. The events of the night kept replaying in her head. The nightmare, the same nightmare that had tortured her for the past 16 years. This time, she had clearer images of the only memory she had of the man that raped her 16 years ago. She remembered he had what seemed to be a scar and a badly d...
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Chapter Three Wahala Uju felt like a million years had been added to her life the moment the ‘manly figure’ got closer to her car with security  boldly written on his T-shirt. Kasie heaved a heavy sigh of relief and sank into the car seat. “Hello Ma’am, sorry there has been a general power outage in the estate. We are trying to fix this. I am just here to see how the electrician is going about it,” the security man said. Uju still catching her breath from her initial panic replied, “that’s...that's all right, take your time.”  THE NEXT DAY It was a cool Sunday afternoon with Jon Bellion's simple and sweet playing in Uju's room. She was doing a final check on the presentation she had prepared for her company. Her company or rather her passive aggressive boss desperately needed to be awarded a contract from a multi-national and internationally recognized Motor oil producing firm in the country.   “This would be the biggest gig of the company so far, if we can grab...
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CHAPTER TWO The strange man "Kasie," Uju called as she glanced at the wall clock, "let's go, we are running late already". She perused the list she was holding making sure everything they needed to get from the shopping mall was written. Kasie walked frantically to the living room. She looked tensed. “What’s the matter?”, Uju asked standing up immediately.  Kasie stammered, "I...I saw him." “The strange guy?”  “Yes, through the bathroom window. He was hovering in the backyard but I do not think he is still there. I made a sound and he ran off to the other side of the compound," Kasie replied while trying to catch her breath.  They had been seeing this strange man longer than they could remember. Uju had reported the case to the estate security a couple of times but nothing seemed to be done about it. She hugged Kasie, promising to report to the police this time. She just needed a picture of him on their property as evidence. Uju sighed. “Do you st...
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