Tejumola - Season 1 - Episode 12

5 years ago

Tejumola - Season 1 - Episode 12

☆☆☆☆☆

“what other five lettered words do you
know?”I asked Eniola.

I was helping her with her homework.

“Errrm..M-U-M-M-Y….”she scratched her
head.

I laughed”write it down.”
“I don’t know anyone again..”she said
looking up.

“What about D-A-D-D-Y, DADDY?”
“I don’t want to write that”she frowned
“Why?”

“I don’t have a daddy”she looked down
“You do have a daddy”I corrected her.
“I don’t, i can’t see him”she squealed.
Just then a customer walked in.

“Please I need a bottle of water”he said.
“Okay, gerrit from the fridge!”I replied
without looking up.

“Good afternoon sir!”I heard Eniola say.
“Hi pretty, what are you doing here?”he
replied.

“Mummy, look at the man that nearly hit
me that day.”Eniola informed me.

I looked up with a smile, but…

I just froze. The whole place became tensed;
I could hardly breathe, what does he want
here? How did he know I’m here?

“Teju?”David found his voice.
He dropped the bottle of water he was
holding.

“I….errm..Teju…what are you doing
here?…I mean..errm…how did you get
here?”he looked pleased.

My tongue cleaved to the roof of my mouth.
He hasn’t changed a bit..still the good-
looking guy that ruined my life. I swallowed
hard.

“I…errrm…isshe your daughter?”he
persisted.

I felt anger surged through my veins.
“Yes o! She’s my mother”Eniola quipped,
“Shut-up Eniola!”I screamed at her, was
suprised at my outburst too.

The startled Eniola walked gently back to
her book.

“And you!”I turned to face David.
“You came to buy water abi? Now take your
water and walk out.”my voice was rising.
“Teju…”he began.

“I’m sorry…I really am..”he moved towards
me.

“Sorry? What for?”My voice was suprisingly
calm.

“I never meant to hurt you…”
my cruel laughter cut him short.
“I’m sorry Teju, I don’t know why you hate
me so…”

A resounding slap stopped the gibberish
talk.

“now you know how much I hate you huh?
Leave my shop”I told him with my hands
akimbo.

I expected him to hold his cheeks or make
an expression, but he didn’t seem to care
about the slap.

“Teju please, we need to talk..”he tried to
take my hands.

“if you touch me ehn? I swear, I go wooza
you!”i threatened.

He smiled, turned to Eniola, squatting
beside her he said.

“Baby…what’s your name?”his voice was
cool.

“Eniola David.”she replied slowly with fear
in her voice.

He held her chin softly, he examined her
face, his hands patted her eyebrow..he
searched her eyes..

“Take your filthy hands off my daughter!”I
retorted, pulling Eniola away from him.
“She is mine right? She is my baby huh?”he
was wearing a weird look.

“see thief o…”i clapped my hands.
“you hate me so much, you claim to love
my daughter…”he said in a lament.
“she’s not your daughter!”I shrieked.
“she is! Her name is Eniola David..which
other David do you know apart from me?”he
moved towards me”Isn’t it so clear? She
has my face…”

“leave at once!”i cut him short
“I will, but I’d come back tomorrow to pick
my child.”he said stressing the word ‘child’
I watched him as he left my shop.

I turned to glance at Eniola, i knew i was in
deep mess if he should sue me to court. I
don’t think I can survive Eniola’s absence.
“mummy don’t mind him you hear?”Eniola
said hugging my waist.

Tears streaked down my cheeks.
Is this my destiny? Do I have to suffer? In
what way did i go wrong? Do i deserve all
these?

Tomorrow! He said. I needed to act fast. He
definitely can’t take my daughter away.
definitely can’t take my daughter away.

☆☆☆☆☆

I rested my head on the window pane, the
events of the day flowed through my mind.
David’s voice echoed loud and clear.

My God! I gasped. Tejumola where did you
go wrong? I asked myself
I looked at the bright moon searchingly,
maybe I might find a solution there; but the
moon seems dumb. I turned my attention to
the stars but they were dumb too.

“What do I do?”I racked my brain.
Of course running away isn’t an option.
Bola said so when I told her about David
few hrs ago. She had warned me sternly not
to run away, unless I want to vacate the
earth.

Could she be right? Maybe I should just
drown myself or I should drink poison?
No! I shook my head, I can’t! If I do, what
would become of Eniola, besides I love my
life.

“Tejumola Benson, think hard o”I told
myself.

Eniola stretched and turned in her sleep,
murmured something throwing the covers
away. I redressed the covers, covering her
properly.

“Leave me!”she protested
“shhhhh, keep quite, its midnight!”I hushed
her back to sleep.

I lay beside her, trying my best to sleep but
it eluded me. I gazed at the ceiling till day-
break.

*************

“Mallam Adamu sannu o”i greeted the
hausa man who sold beef close to my shop,
as I unlocked my shop.

I came to shop late because I went to
Eniola’s school to pay her school fees.
David hasn’t showed up, its almost a week
now. So Bola was actually right, he meant
no harm.

I sighed, as I dusted the provisions.
Only God knows how my parents are for
now. Maybe Baami has forgotten about
me..

“Iya Eniola welldone o”Tola’s mother
greeted me.

“I came to buy some soup material o.”She
announced sitting on a stool.

“Ah Ahn! Mummy Tola, you should have
just given me the money while I was coming
to shop this morning now…”I said with
concern.

“No problem o!”she replied looking around.
“Errrm, shey you know Iya sikira?”she asked
when she had the surity no one would hear
us.

Mummy Tola the Amebo! I smiled to myself.

“Ehn now.”

“Toh! The woman is in trouble now o”she
made a face.

“trouble?”
“Yes o! You know she’s having 15 children
ba? Toh, the husband don impregnate that
corper wey dey their compound o”she
concluded.

“Ehn? How did that happen?”I asked
holding my chest.

“How did that happen? Hehehehehe, na how
e take dey happen, na im com happen”she
laughed.

“Wonders shall never end o”I clapped my
hands in gossip fashion.
“Errm, mummy, what do you wanna buy
now?”I quicky said, in order to stop her
from bringing up another topic.

She look disappointed”I wanted to tell you
how Iya Demola killed her husband’s
son”she said with a frown

“Ah Ahn, leave that one till I come back
home in the evening”I laughed.

“Are chasing me away ni?”she feigned
annoyance.

“Noooo, haba! My shop is your own too
now..”that was how I got rid of back-biting
that morning.

That afternoon, I was sipping garri when I
saw Tola running towards the shop, her feet
was bare save the socks.

“Mummy o, Mummy Eniola oooo”she wailed
throwing herself on the cemented frontage
of my shop.

“Tola, ki lode? What happened?”I asked
holding her.

“It’s Eniola oo”she wailed the more.

My heart skipped, my hands became
shaky…

“What happened to my baby?”my lips
quiverred.

“She
….she…she…was…she…is…yeeeeee!”Tola
cried the more.

Tears filled my eyes
“Talk to me Tola please…where’s she?”
“some people catch her o…they put her
inside motor and drove away”she managed
to explain

“Yeeeee! Haaaaa! My daughter o!”
my daughter has been kidnapped…I raved
like mad.

I threw myself on the flow, rolling from left
to right and vice versa.

“My God o! Eniola ooooo!Haaaaaa! Moti ku
ooo! Baami ooo…E gba mi ooo”I screamed
and wailed.

A crowd gathered , with alot of Ohhs and
ahhs!

I jumped up, about to run to Eniola’s
school, when someone gripped my hands…
I turned sharply with tear stained eyes.
“David..”I whispered

I remembered his last words, maybe he
abducted my daughter.

“David where did you take my daughter to?
Where is baby?”I wailed shaking him
vigorously.

“Give back my Jewel”I shook Him some
more.