The Tattoo

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN


ECHOES OF YESTERDAY


"Ujunwa, I think you should go home and rest," Ijeego said as she adjusted the blanket over her husband. She had barely looked at Uju since morning, only stealing occasional glances when she thought she wasn’t watching.


"Mummy, I can stay," Uju protested.


"No, nwam. You barely got any sleep last night. Biko, go home, freshen up, eat well, and rest. I’ll take care of your father."


Uju hesitated. A part of her didn’t want to leave—not just because of her father, but because she didn’t know how she felt about returning home alone. The house was filled with too many ghosts, too many memories she wasn’t ready to face.


But her mother was already focused on adjusting her father’s drip stand, signaling the end of the conversation.


"Odimma," she murmured reluctantly, picking up the car keys.


As she stepped out of the ward, the first thing she did was pull out her phone and dial Kasie.


"Mummy!" Kasie’s voice rang with excitement, instantly lifting Uju’s mood.


"My baby! Kedu?"

"Odimma. How are you and how are my grandparents? Have you seen Grandpa?"


"I'm fine, I cannot say so for your grandparents but I know they'd be fine soon. It's just a phase" she said not believing her own voice.

"You are there with them, that is the .osy important thing at this stage. I'm missing you" kasie said 


Uju smiled sadly. "I miss you too, my love. I’ll be back soon, okay?"


"Okay. Love you, Mum!"


"Love you more, my darling."


As soon as she ended the call, Nnanna’s name flashed on her screen.


She picked up and put the phone on speaker as she started the car.


"Hello, CEO," she greeted with a small smile.


"Uju, kedu? You don’t sound too tired, so I guess you finally got some sleep?"


"Not really, but I’ll rest soon. I’m on my way home now."


"Good. You need it." There was a pause before he added, "I called the police DPO. The investigations are still ongoing, but they have a strong lead on the strange guy stalking your family"


Uju tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "Ezigbo Chineke! Did they find out who he is?"


"Not yet, but they suspect he’s connected to someone from your past."


Uju’s chest tightened. "My past? Who?"


"I don’t know yet. But the officers are working on it."


She exhaled sharply. "This is too much, Nnanna. I just wanted a peaceful life for my daughter and me. Now, it feels like my past is coming back to choke me."


"You are not alone, Uju. I’m here, inugo?"


She swallowed, his words sinking into her heart in a way she hadn’t expected.


"Daalu, Nnanna," she whispered.


"Odimma. Call me if you need anything, okay?"


"I will."


By the time she got home, the house felt larger, emptier, more suffocating. She sat in the car for minutes, gripping the steering wheel, unable to step out.


How many nights had she cried herself to sleep in that house? How many times had she pleaded for her father’s acceptance, only to be met with rejection? The walls of that house held her deepest pain, and now she had to walk back into it.


She inhaled sharply and stepped out of the car.


The cook, a middle-aged man she didn’t recognize, was wiping the dining table when she walked in.


"Good morning, ma," he greeted, straightening up.


"Good morning."


"You must be Miss Uju, Madam said you will be coming. Welcome. Should I serve your food?"


She hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. I’ll eat... in the kitchen."


She wasn’t ready to sit in the dining room—the same place her father had last spoken to her before throwing her out.


She ate silently while the cook busied himself in the background. The food was good, but it tasted like nothing in her mouth - probably due to tiredness or due to the bitterness lying stagnant in her stomach like a pool of water in a pothole after it rains.


When she was done, she slowly climbed the staircase, her heart pounding harder with every step.


She stood in front of her childhood bedroom, staring at the door handle as memories rushed at her like a wave.


This was where she had locked herself in, crying for hours when her father refused to speak to her.

This was where she had laid, hands on her stomach, terrified and alone, the night she realized she was carrying a child.

This was where she had whispered prayers into her pillow, hoping for a miracle that never came.


Her chest tightened, her hands trembling.


Then, before she lost her nerve, she turned the handle and stepped inside.


The room was exactly the way she had left it. The bed, the curtains, the little shelf that still held her childhood novels—everything was frozen in time, untouched by the years she had been gone, but looked like it was freshly cleaned. Her mother must have instructed the Help to do so.


Her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the floor.


Tears streamed down her face as her past consumed her.


And for the first time in years, she let herself grieve.


                             CHAPTER TWELVE



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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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