Utonwa_writes

 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 ra...

 CHAPTER TEN A START Uju followed her mother into the ICU with careful steps, her heart pounding heavily in her chest. She wasn’t sure if it was fear, anger, or a confusing mixture of both. The room smelled of antiseptics, and the steady beeping of the machines filled the silence. On the hospital bed, her father lay frail and weak, his eyes closed as if lost in deep thought. His skin, once vibrant, had dulled with age, and his once strong frame looked shrunken beneath the hospital sheets. Uju took a deep breath, preparing herself for whatever was to come. “Ifeanyi,” her mother called softly. “Ne nu, Look who is here.” Her father’s eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, he just stared at Uju. His gaze was unreadable—shock, maybe disbelief. His throat moved as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out. Uju stood rooted to the ground, unsure of what to do. Should she greet him? Move closer? Turn around and walk out? Finally, after what felt like forever, he spoke. “Ujunwa?” His voi...

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 ...

  CHAPTER SEVEN  Too Much It was a quiet ride to Kasie’s school. Uju needed the silence to help calm her mind from brooding on the chaos of the past few days. She looked out the window and silently counted the nose masks a boy was hawking in traffic in a bid to distract herself from thinking about meeting her dad. She stole a glance at Nnanna. He was driving and was focused on the road. She was grateful he didn’t engage her in any conversation; he must have read her mind. Flashbacks of their conversation at the parking lot earlier made her cringe; Nnanna had given her a dazed look when she had asked why he was at her company and after she got ahold of herself she had blurted out “well, sorry but I was just surprised to see you here. Of course your company and mine might be working together in the future –or soon, so the question was absolutely unnecessary.” “How are you, Uju?” he had asked again with concern written all over his face. “I am fine.” She had replied and laughed n...

CHAPTER SIX  Need  Life has a way of leaving you in shambles when you think you’ve almost got it all figured out. Uju knew she was certainly going to meet her father again after all these years but she never thought it was going to be in this situation. When Ijeego, her mother had told her about her father’s deteriorating condition, Uju knew she was helpless. Her mother had always been helpless when challenges were thrown her way. She knew her mother needed her there and even though she didn’t mention it over the phone, her tone gave it away. She loved her mother, she always had. Even when she couldn’t speak up for her years ago while she was pregnant and her father had thrown her out for refusing to terminate it because he didn’t  want a bastard in his home. Ijeego was with him when he drove all the way from Enugu to Awka to drive a pregnant Uju out of his mother’s house. Ijeego just stood there crying. She had instructed the driver to take Uju there the night her father...

CHAPTER FIVE Letting in Kasie hurriedly unlocked the door when she heard her mother’s car drive into the compound. The car had barely stopped before Uju jumped out and ran to hug her. Nnanna, the CEO alighted from the driver’s side and went behind the house to look around. Uju was talking with the gateman when he came back to the front. “There’s no one at the back, he must have run when he heard the car drive in” he said. Uju turned to him, “The gateman didn’t see him too. It’s really creepy at this point.”  “Have you filed a report yet?” Nnanna asked “I planned to do that this week.” “I could help you put a call through to the police. I have people there.” He had offered to drive her home after Uju told him what the call was about at the restaurant. She was visibly shaken and he knew she was not stable enough to drive. He had instructed his driver to follow them in his own car. Uju declined his request but agreed when he offered to go to the police station with her. She invited hi...