Must Read: The Cartel (18+)

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: The Cartel (18+)

IMA

Even before Ima became pregnant and moved to Odukpani to stay with her grandmother, she had always been Mma’s favourite grandchild. The duration of her pregnancy only strengthened the bond of love and friendship between them the more. They had basically done virtually everything together. Mma was more than her grandmother, she was her father, mother and friend.



Her immediate younger brother had snuck out of Calabar thrice to come see he during the pregnancy. On his second visit, she had asked him to bring her clothes and books for her. She told him where she hid Jama’s letters and monies he had been giving her. Monies she had mostly saved up together with the ones he sent in his letters.

While Jama was in Calabar, he was fond of buying her clothes. Very beautiful dresses, tops, skirts, p@anties and bras almost on weekly basis.



But she couldn’t display them in other not to raise eyebrows. She had kept the clothes hidden in a bag in her room, hoping to “launch” them in the university. But she always wore some of the undergarments just for his viewing pleasures. She was sad when John (her immediate brother) revealed their mom had searched her room and carried a particular bag, which turned out to be the one containing her new clothes.


But on his third visit, he brought everything she had asked for including the bag with the new clothes, saying he had entered her room remove it from where she hid it. Unfortunately for him, Micheal had seen him and reported to their mom. The beatings he received from her got him hospitalized when he returned home, and that was the last time Ima saw him prior to Mma’s funeral.

There was just no way she would forgive her parents because if they hadn’t chased her out of the house or had supported her throughout the duration of her pregnancy, Mma would still be alive. Her parents killed Mma she concluded.


It’s now been three weeks since the birth and death of Idara and Mma respectively. Ima’s grandparents compound was a beehive of (funeral) activities. She was yet to fully come to terms with the fact that Mma never saw her baby and was actually no more. She had been an emotional wreck and had to move in with the other older lady who filled in for Mma. Her only consolation were the general words of the community, that Idara was Mma reincarnated.



She was yet to see her parents. Only John had shown up in the next compound were she stayed. That was when she saw the scars of her mom’s treatment of him after he had explained why he never came visiting again. For the first time in her life, she hated her mom then.


To her, the only family she had now was John and Idara.


The following day was Saturday and Mma was to be lowered. Living the baby behind, she had gone for the wake and lying in state when her dad confronted her calling her unprintable names to the embarrassment and disbelief of everyone present. She had kept her cool to his chagrin. She was really surprised her mom was watching quietly as the whole scene played out without saying a word to her or looking her in the eyes.

She went about as though her dad was none existent whenever they came close together.



This had infuriated him to a point where he couldn’t bare it anymore as he moved to hit her for snubbing him. A fatal mistake that move would have been because out of the blue she pulled a knife out from her gown and charged at him aiming for his chest even before he reached her. But for the screams of the women who had been watching the drama (mostly all evening) between them, she would have driven the blade as far as it would go in his chest.

He had quickly pulled back, tripping as he fell backward in the process. But for a young boy standing very close who rushed and seized her hand, she actually meant to follow him down.