THE CHAT ROOM : PART 11 – 20
PART 15
Temi Akintade
My mother’s mouth gaped open by the time she saw me. The red flannel shirt I was wearing did nothing to hide the pregnancy. By the time I got close to her, she looked like she had just seen a ghost. But I wasn’t expecting a quick retaliation from her.
She slapped me across my face. The slap left me staggering like a drunkard.
Tears quickly formed in my eyes. “Mummy I’m so sorry!” Maybe coming to meet her according to Frank was a wrong idea. But he had encouraged me to face my problems.
“I am disappointed in you. I knew it would come to this. You never listened to me! You were always chatting on the phone! Was it a crime that I got you a phone at a young age?”
I shook my head. More teams fell. students glared at us as they passed by.
We were opposite the hostel, Frank was standing beside his car. He had introduced himself to my mother as my lecturer.
THE CHAT ROOM : PART 11 – 20
After few minutes of silence. I heard her faint voice. “Is he responsible?” She jerked her head in the direction of Frank.
I looked at Frank who was clueless about what was happening.
I should say yes. Maybe my mother would embrace me then. because Frank looked comfortable because of his Toyota car.
But I remembered that Jesus Christ who recently told me that he loves me would frown at my lie so I told her the bitter truth. I told her about Tayo.
“That boy never loved you! Why did you not ever report him to me? Why did you never open up to tell me all about this? What led you into the chat room for goodness sake!” Her voice broke but no tears came.
My lips trembled. “You were never attentive to me. You never loved me. So I didn’t know what love meant. You always yelled at me.
But how was I supposed to tell you about the butterflies in belies when I speak to Tayo or how Bose told me that I needed a boyfriend. Or how Tayo had told me that I needed to have sex with him to be beautiful.” I shook my head. “You were never there.”
“You stand there, accusing me of not loving you when I did! If I don’t love you, I would have aborted you or at least tossed you away when you were born.
But I nursed you and gave you my brea$t to suck. You want to know why I was always cranky and harsh towards you?” Her eyes shimmered. A new kind of expression that I couldn’t decipher appeared on her face.
“Why?”
“I was dying of ¢ancer.” The birds stopped chirping and even the soft breeze ceased for some brief seconds. “I was diagnosed with brea$t ¢ancer when your father d!ed.”
I took few steps towards her as my eyes began to droop over the lace close she wore. I wanted to be sure that her brea$t was still intact and have not been snatched by the wicked claws of ¢ancer.
“You never told me.” I stopped right in front of her. Not caring if she would snap at me or sIap me across the face again.
“You never cared Paulina. All you cared about was your phone! You neglected your mother even when I would keep groaning in pains muffled by the walls of my bedroom.
You never heard or seek to listen.” Her lips stretched in a dreamy smile. “But it’s fine.
You will soon be a mother now. And you will know what it feels like to be rejected, ignored, and hated by your daughter.
I felt all these from you. But maybe if there was proper communication between us both, then maybe there wouldn’t be any rough patches between us.” She turned to leave in a slow and unsteady gait.
“Mother please wait!” I screamed. “Forgive me, please. Let’s start all over again.”
She shook her head. “I disown you today Paulina. I cease to be your mother as from today because you paid me back with ev’l.” She marched off.
My knees buckled and gave way beneath me and my butt h it the sandy ground. Frank rushed to me. “You should be careful so you don’t hurt the baby.”
I threw my long arms around Frank and began to weep. I didn’t care if I wet his shirt with my tears.
All I wanted was for my mother to forgive me. Frank bundled me into his car where I continued to weep non-stop.
“You should stop crying. You know she doesn’t mean it like that.” He said.
“I have hurt that woman so much. She has suffered for me and I didn’t even know. I was a rebellious teenager! I cvrse the day I met Tayo in the Facebook chat room!” I blurted.
Frank kept rubbing my hand until I stopped crying. He was about to turn in the ignition of the car so we could drive to church since I didn’t feel like going back to the hostel when my phone rang.
My heart slammed into my chest when I saw the caller. It was my mother.
“Hello mother, I’m so sorry ma.” I hurriedly said into the phone before she disconnects.
“Hello, please this is not your mother. I picked her phone from an accident scene.” The bass voice said into the phone.
I sat up. “What accident scene? Where is my mother?”
Frank stopped the car now.
“Your mother just got involved in a trailer accident when she was about crossing the SDP road in gwagwalada. She died on the spot.
Her phone entered inside the bush that was how I was able to retrieve your number to call you.” The caller said and ended the call as soon as he finished explaining about the accident.
The phone slipped out of my hand, and I drifted into the dark. Maybe I would find my mother there.
My mother was d.ead!
THE CHAT ROOM : PART 11 – 20
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