SPEECHLESSNESS
WRITTEN BY MARIANNEADA
EPISODE 1
The noise from their neighbour’s house distracted him, he tried to ignore it and continue with this reading it was becoming louder,….. He sighed and glanced at his alarm clock on the reading table to check the time,……. it was 12.13am,….. He sighed again,…… The woman was not helping matters, she couldn’t stop yelling at her husband,….. Her husband too was ready for her,….. Her husband was shouting at top of his wife’s voice,………. He imagined what might have caused the night’s quarrel,…….
Ever since they moved from their old house to their new house, there’s never a night their neighbour wont shout at each other before retiring to bed,….. They just moved to the neighbourhood and doesnt think it’s wise to interfere in people’s family matter,…. Twice his dad had tried knocking at their gate to calm them down and also advise them, but stopped remembering he might be over stepping his boundary,…..
He tried to get a glimpse of what was happening, he carefully moved his curtain aside and tried looking into their house but he didnt see them clearly, he could only see their shadows,….. He closed the curtain and sat down on his bed.,,,
“Why cant someone sleep peacefully in this neighbourhood,…wife and husband always at each other,…. I wish we never packed into this house,………… and her two grown daughters cant help to control their madness…. “he mumbled ,
His head was beginning to ache badly,…… He needed a cold tea to calm his nerves,….. He tried calling the servant but kicked against it remembering it was too early to disturb them,….. He stretched his his weak body and headed to the kitchen to make a cold tea,…. Everywhere was quiet and dark,…. He doesn’t want to disturb anyone’s sleep by switching on the lights, …. He managed the light from his small phone,… As he approached the sitting room, his phone went off, he remembered he forgot to charge it …he could still hear the couple screaming at each other,…. but the sound of heels scared the shit out of him,….. He felt he heard someone’s footsteps,….. He was so scared that he rushed and switched on the sitting room light,……. He was shocked at who he saw at that hour of the morning trying to tiptoe up the stairs,…..
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The noise coming from her parent’s room was becoming louder, she quickly blocked her ears with her ear piece and increased the volume of the music that was playing in her phone,She was singing aloud trying to shift her mind to something else,She didnt hear the loud knock on her door, Her door was pushed open and her younger sister Thelma walked into the room looking sober.
“Debbie,Cant you stop mum and dad? “she asked amidst tears
Debbie paused her music player and removed the ear piece from her ears,
“Sorrrryyy, What did you just say? She asked her sister
“I said, can’t you stop mum and dad”she screamed
”I’m fed up with their everyday fight,How many times did i try to stop them, the last time i tried, i found myself in the hospital and you, Cant you stop them, I’m just a year and eight months older than you,dont think because i’m the first born, i’ll die for their sake, I’ve tried my best, i think you need to try yours too, “she smirked at her sister who was surprised at her response
Debbie and Thelma are the daughters of Mr and Mrs Obasi, Debbie is the oldest, she’s pretty, tall and fair in complexion, she’s very stubborn in nature, she loves making friends, but She’s not as pretty and intelligent as her sister Thelma. Thelma is calm, reserved and always keep to herself, ever since they were small, they never got along. She was in SS1 while Debbie was in SS2, They both grew up in a family where quarelling and fighting is the order of the day, but they never lacked anything good life could offer them,their parents not minding their everyday fight, make sure they take proper care of them especially their father, he is the owner of Obasi and Sons enterprise, his dream have always being to have a son who would take over his business,… He opened a restaurant for his wife because of her passion for cooking, he never knew that will bring the downfall of happiness in his home, he regrets ever taking that decision,his wife have turned him to a woman beater.
Mrs Obasi being a very tall beautiful lady, uses her beauty to her advantage,she enjoys the praises she receives from her male customers, she’s known as a good chef, she prepares food for the top politicians and rich business men whenever they’re hosting a party, wedding or burial, she’s well known in FESTAC, she has crews that help her out in cooking and serving of food,her business has grown so much that she feels she’s no longer under her husband’s control ,she’s always busy cooking for one occasion or the other,she bought a van that conveys her cooking utensils and workers to any place they were paid to cook.She’s rarely at home and this have made her daughters choose the kind of life they want to live,… At 16,Debbie was no longer a Virgin, she has broken up with four guys, Thelma is reserved, she has tried so hard to talk to her sister about her lifestyle but they always end up fighting, So she let her be.
In school, Debbie avoids her sister, she doesn’t want anything to do with her, she’s tired of her unending advise. She sees Thelma as someone that has a Skeleton in her cupboard.
She was angry when Thelma banged into her room to inform her of their parent’s fight. She tried her best in controlling her anger.
“I think I’m done with you little sis, get the hell out of my room!!!!!, I have an assignment to write, “she ordered her sister
Thelma shrugged and left the room disappointed, She stood by the door and listened to what her parents were saying to each.
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”You should be ashamed of yourself, A married woman sleeping around with different men,Imagine sleeping with my friend,You’re a disgrace to womanhood, “her husband shouted at her
”So because someone told you, he saw me in a hotel with your friend, you concluded that he slept with me, “his wife threw at him
”What will a married woman be doing in a hotel? Now listen,I’m closing down your restaurant, as from today stay away from that shop, you’ll stay at home and take care of your children, For the past seventeen years, i’ve been praying for a male child,But you’ve refused to give me one,Instead of thinking of the solution to our problem,you’re busy jumping from another man’s bed to another,”
”You’re a big fool, You cant lock up my restaurant,If you do that you ‘ll spend the rest of your miserable years in prison,Look at pot calling kettle black,.You spend your money on girls young enough to be your daughter, and you stand here to accuse me of infidelity,It is what you put inside me that i delivered,Useless man, You’re just a shameless he goat, “she insulted her husband
”What did you call me? “he asked her furiously
”What you just heard, fool”
He gave her a thunderous slap,Thelma rushed into the room, but her mother picked up a flower vase and threw at her husband who dodged the shot, And the vase came hitting Thelma on her forehead,She lost it and collapsed on the floor,The couple ended their fight immediately and rushed to their daughter who was already loosing alot of blood, They quickly carried her to the car and drove to the hospital.
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