Unfulfilled promises 40

Unfulfilled Promises

Written by Audrey Timms

Episode 40

Aunt Vien was very happy. She kept saying that Oleng had finally broken the girl jinx by giving birth to a boy. Her parents had given birth to two girls; her sister had given birth to her, Oleng while she had given birth to four girls. So it seemed there was no male child in their family but Oleng had proven them wrong. Oleng felt it was Eric’s gene since his parents had given birth to two boys also.

At that precise moment, Eric lifted his head from his book and stared into space. He couldn’t explain the immense joy that had come over him all of a sudden. A smile curled his lips and lit his face like a light bulb.

“And Mr. Moody finally smiles. What’s tickling your fancy?” Damian’s gaze rested on his smiling brother.

Eric turned to look at his brother on the sofa. “I really don’t know. All of a sudden I feel like dancing…and all I can think of now is Oleng.”

Damian sighed. “Eric, it’s been five months. I think you should forget about her.”

“Easier said than done.” He sadly replied.

After Oleng’s few minutes of sleep, she was made to breast feed the baby. She cried tears of joy while doing so. The baby looked so much like Eric. He had his family trait of very fair coloring. Though the baby still looked red, Aunt Vien told her the baby would be fairer than normal. Oleng knew he would look like ahalf-caste like his dad. Aunt Vien noticed that the baby had her nose. She asked her what she would call him.

“Eric, after his father even though he abandoned us,” she replied weakly and sadly. “If he had been a girl, I would have named her Erica.”

Aunt Vien smiled. She told her she had called her mum but Oleng had closed her eyes after the baby finished nursing hungrily and was taken to his cot.

Oleng woke up to find her aunt crying profusely. She grew alarmed.

“Aunty Vien, what is it? What’s wrong?” she fearfully asked but she just continued crying. She looked into the baby’s cot but her baby wasn’t there.

“Where’s Eric? Where’s my baby?” she clutched her aunt’s hand who shook her head vigorously and continued crying.

“Where is my baby?”

“He’s dead.” Aunt Vien finally said in between sobs.

“What?” she screamed. “No! What have you done with my baby? I want to see my baby. Eric! Where’s my Eric?” Oleng yelled hysterically upsetting the drip on her hand.

Aunt Vien ran to call the doctor while Oleng continued yelling. The doctor and some nurses came in then.

“Calm down please.” The doctor advised.

“Doctor, where’s my baby?” Oleng yelled with tears rolling down her eyes.

With great sorrow and shaking his head, he replied, “There was a sudden complication with your baby. He couldn’t breathe. His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck when you gave birth to him but we managed to remove it but it had already affected him.”

“But he was okay when I held him.” she reasoned, still in tears.

“Yes. It was a delayed effect. He suddenly had trouble breathing and finally died. I’m sorry.”

“No! No! No! Where’s my baby? I don’t believe you. You’ve killed my baby. Eric, where are you? They have killed my baby.” she wept hysterically and had to be injected before she calmed down and slept but before she slept she muttered, “I’ll never forgive you. You’ve taken my baby away from me. Eric, they’ve killed our baby.”

If Oleng had been considered moody before she gave birth, well, after the death of her baby, she became worse. She became withdrawn. When she was discharged from the hospital, she wanted to go back to Port Harcourt so she would stop being a burden but her Aunt would hear nothing of it.

So she continued to stay with her though she spoke no word. She would stare into space as if she were in a trance. Nothing Aunt Vien did or said could get to her. She had to complain though that her breast felt heavy because of the unsuckled milk. Aunt Vien helped her out.

In desperation at all her failed attempts at bringing her out of her shell, her aunt told her mother to come over. The latter didn’t mince words in telling her to snap out of it when she came.

“You should be happy that you’re not saddled with an unwanted baby. Now you can go back to school and get on with your life. Don’t you know you would have found it difficult to get married? No man would want to be saddled with a child that is not his- a male child for that matter! So you should be grateful to God for saving you from such an incongruous situation. Instead of mopping around, get a grip on your life and start preparing to write your G.C.E. exams by September and since it’s too late to enroll WAEC exams for you, you’ll take that next year. You must gain admission into the university next year. Have I made myself clear?” she asked the still figure on the bed.

“Oleng! I’m talking to you. Have I made myself clear?” she asked her daughter who just ignored her. She walked to the bed and roughly shook her daughter who leapt up in anger.

“What is it? Why can’t you just leave me alone the way you did when I was pregnant? I know you’re happy that my baby died so that you can continue to control my life the way you want. Well, I’m not in your house anymore and I’m not going back so please just leave me alone. I’ll resume school whenever I dim fit and not at your own command. So just go back to Port Harcourt and continue to live your life without me as you’ve always done.” she threw at her mother and laid down on the bed again, turning to face the wall.

“Oh, so you feel we are equals now for you to talk to me anyhow because you’ve given birth to a child the way I did even though yours died. So you want to continue to useless your life pinning away over that fool and his bastard child. Let me tell you, you won’t succeed! You’ll write that G.C.E. and WAEC even if I have to drag you to the exam hall myself. I’ll send your books down and everything you need for the exams. I’ll be here by September. Make sure you are ready.” With those sternly spoken words, she walked away leaving her daughter numb.

She didn’t bother to spend the night but took the next flight back to Port Harcourt.

To be continued