CHAPTER SEVEN

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Mercy stares at her son, her heart breaking for him, he was twenty –three years old, what did he know about love? She didn’t even know anything about love, and she was already a full blown adult, and had lived half her life already.

Love? There was no such thing like love.

Did she love her husband? She didn’t know because she doesn’t know what love is. But she knew she never wants harm to come to him, she knew she would go to the ends of the earth to make sure he is safe, she knew that she could give her arm if he asks her to. Maybe that’s why no matter what he did to her she forgave him, even in her pains she forgave him, in her tears she forgave him when all he did was cause her pain and misery and try to break her spirit, forgave him.

Maybe that was love not judging him for his wrongs, accepting his flaws and mistakes, looking past his imperfections, accepting his scars and default…forgiving him constantly and submitting to him always even if it broke her.

Maybe that was love, she didn’t know.

But she had a child with this man she had called husband from day one, she had cared, she submitted and God knows she would continue to.

Yes, he wasn’t the man she saw long ago in her Uncle’s parlour, warm and sweet . He was different but she had also come to realize something..despite it all, she would never leave him hanging, stranded or dying and walk away, No!

Maybe that was what she understood as what love meant, and if this was love why did it hurt so much. why?

She cleans the tears from her hers, looking at Emeka silently nursing his pain. he says he loves this Diana girl, she had seen her a couple of times, sweet sometimes and abit pushy other times, they were friends, Emeka had said, but she knew her son, the closest friend he had and cared so much for was Jessica, they were inseparable until her death. He had cried, the way he was going now..it broke him.

Maybe Emeka loved that girl in his own way, but for this Diana, this pain was different, it was suffocating, it was - deep.

Yes, Mercy didn’t know what love is or what it meant or how it felt like but she felt pain for whatever her husband did to her and still care for him and here her son felt broken over a girl.

Then maybe they were unfortunate beings to care for people who have hurt them still,but the strangest thing was that..they cared still, they cared still.

“I am here Emeka, I will never leave you my son, never” she says taking his hands to her cheeks and kisses it

Emeka turns to her,a sad smile on his face, a strand of tear trekking down his left eyes “I know mama, and that is why I’ll never leave you and never let any harm come to you,never again” he says, this time he pulls her to him, hugging her tight as they cried in each other’s arms.

*

They came home to find their things outside, the gate locked

“What in the world?Adamu, open the gate!” he orders the security man

“Bros Emeka, oga says make I no let you inside if not him go fire me, and I get wife and pikin for house, abeg make una go, abeg him don go bring big boys, them be go eat, na them bring una things come outside, him say him go go police station sef go report say you use cutlass mark am for body”

“I did no such thing, he is lucky. Adamu,open the gate my friend!” Emeka shook the gate

“Bross abeg na God I take beg you” Adam pleads “Oga go kill me, kill you, kill madam join” he begs

“Who be that! who you be?” three men asks walking towards them, that minute his father drives in, a man in the front seat, a police man at the back with him

“Yes officer see him here, this boy tried to kill me” His father jumps out of the car, “And his mother sent him” he says pointing to her

“I didn’t,he was the first person to attack my mother, I tried to stop him and we got into a fight, he used the cutlass to attack me but I stopped him.I took it away and left with my mother to the hospital, you should be arresting him for treating his wife and son like this, isn’t there a law against domestic violence against spouses and children?”

The men had alighted from the car, he recognized one as his father’s lawyer

“Look Emeka, your father had filed a report against you, and shown us the injuries he sustained’’

“What injuries? He didn’t sustain nothing“

His father unbuttons his shirt to show bandage around his body..

“He wasn’t injured,he is lying” Emeka shakes his head, really, his father went that low as to lie and inflict these on

The lawyer steps forward to show him pictures of a man without his face showing, that looks like his father ‘s with cutlass marks on it, he looks at his father and some red patches on the white bandage

“I didn’t do this, if I did you would have been dead for all that you did to my mother” Emeka says. His mother is crying

“My husband please please.. okay we are sorry, forgive your son, please this is a house matter don’t let people laugh at us” she goes on her knees

“House matter you say madam? And you sent your son to beat up your husband,to get him injured? You should be arrested, both of you”

“Don’t touch my mother” Emeka pulls his mother away as the police reaches for her hand “Don’t you dare. I know what you are doing Father, playing politics with your money, it won’t work. How much did he pay you to lie eh Mr lawyer?Don’t you have a family, aren’t you ashamed to be bribed?And you thugs …is that how money sways you all? And you police man, you have pledged to honour and protect lives and properties and here you all are dancing to the drum Mr Ambross Chikurdi is playing because he threw a few nairas on your faces and put some in your bank account is that it eh?You all know all he is saying is a lie, I only punched his face that is all”

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