Rejected At Birth Episode 10 – Thessycute Ekene

Rejected At Birth

Episode Ten

The woman asked, “Did you just talk?” Even I myself was confused as I couldn’t say anything else.

Then she said, “There might be something going on here.”

“Open your mouth,” she screamed, and I did just that.

Then she stood expressionless and said, “What hospital would refuse to untie a child’s tongue after birth?

I’m not sure they are professionals.”

She asked my sister to open her mouth too, and then she concluded that we had tongūe-tied.

I didn’t even know what it meant.

I didn’t want to hear anything else about her plans to adopt my sister. I just left to sit outside.

I didn’t feel comfortable, and I had a bad feeling about her. It seems hunger didn’t allow me to see it before then.

It seemed she had already made up her mind, and nothing was going to change it.

But I knew what to do. I went back home, taking the path we followed when we left the house.

I knew Grandma would be disappointed in me, but I had hope in her.

I knew she would do something to stop the woman from taking my sister away from me.

In just a day, she had changed my sister completely, dressing her in fancy clothes like all the rich children.

I didn’t want any problems with her.

All I wanted was to take my sister home, not have her adopted by someone she just met in a day.

I looked up and got lost in thought, not noticing when I followed the wrong path and entered the bush.

I had to retrace my steps and follow the road that led home, already preparing myself as a prōdigal child.

I was shocked when I entered the compound.

Grandma was lying at the entrance of the house, so weak that she could barely speak.

Aunt Kate was fanning her. She murmured some words that I couldn’t hear until I got closer to them.

When Aunt Kate noticed me, she rushed to hug me.

I was really scared and stood still for a minute, feeling confused. She said, “Thank God you are back.

I’ve been planning to come and look for you and your sister.”

She searched to see if my sister was following me. Then she asked, “Where is Julian?”

She told me that Grandma had been very sick since we left the house.

Grandma even promised to hārm herself if she didn’t see both of us with her own eyes.

Aunt Kate had convinced her to get a little better while she came to find us.

When I got closer, Grandma seemed to have dozed off.

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything about my sister or answer that question.

After all, Aunt Kate was the reason I was there, and everything she said was a lot to take in.

I touched Grandma and realized she had a fever.

I wasn’t sure if she felt my touch, but when she saw us, she screamed my name, “Chinedu.”

That was the first time someone called me by my name.

Grandma had never called me by my name before, she preferred calling me “big boy” because she thought I acted too mature for my age.

But then she asked the question I had been trying to ignore, “Where is Julian?”

I had prayed to God to help me explain things to Grandma because she wouldn’t understand my gestures.

I opened my mouth, but the words still didn’t come out.

I tried again, but nothing happened. I tried to hold her hands and tried to drag her out of the compound.

For someone who was sick, Grandma suddenly acted strong, and I felt like she wasn’t actually sick.

She managed to walk into the hut and came out wearing different clothes.

I knew she was ready to go with me, even though she still acted like she wasn’t okay.

Aunty Kate called her eldest daughter, but I didn’t know her name.

She asked her to take care of the other children. The daughter nodded and left.

She was older than all the children in the house.

We walked to the woman’s house with Aunty Kate supporting Grandma to walk.

When we reached the woman’s house, she wasn’t there anymore.

I didn’t know if she went out, but I saw my sister and didn’t want anything to do with her.

I just wanted her to come home.

She was playing outside again with the other children. When she saw us, she ran away just like before.

I got really offēnded, and Grandma had to call her “Julian.”

Julian refused to come and greet Grandma, acting like she didn’t know any of us.

I didn’t know how to explain it to Aunty Kate and grandma, so I just pointed at the house and signaled that we should sit.

The woman came back, and this time we sat for a long time.

When she saw us, at least she recognized me.

She asked where I had gone before, and I pointed at Grandma.

“Oh, you went to bring your grandmother,” she understood that. Grandma didn’t even let her say anything else.

She asked the woman, “What is my granddaughter doing with you?”

The woman didn’t know what to say and finally responded, “Come inside, and I will explain to you.”

Grandma, Aunt Kate, and I followed her inside to hear what she had to say.

She offered them food, but they refused.

I knew Grandma would be upset that I ate from the woman’s house.

If Grandma and Aunt Kate weren’t around, I would have accepted the food again because it was an opportunity.

Then she started, “I saw her sitting on the roadside of a closed shop yesterday, all alone.

She looked really dirty, so I had to take her in.”

She didn’t finish when Grandma scolded Julian, “What did I tell you about strangers?”

Aunt Kate gave her a stern look, even though it was because of her that we were in that situation.

The lady didn’t say anything for minutes.

I felt she was searching for the right words to use. Then she said, “To cut the long story short, I’m thinking about adopting her as my own child.”

Grandma stopped her, “Why would you even think of adopting my grandchild?

Did she tell you she’s looking for someone to adopt her?”

Aunt Kate firėd back, “Go to the orphanage and adopt any child you want. Leave her alone.

As you can see, they are twins, and you can’t take one away from the other.”

It was the first time Aunt Kate was being reasonable, and I nodded along as they spoke.

The woman didn’t know what else to say and yelled at Julian, “Follow your family home if only they will take care of you.”

I wasn’t really troubled about the food or clothes. All I wanted was to be with my sister.

Julian had already started crying, refusing to follow us home.

“Don’t forget It’s the way you treat her that is making her refuse to follow you home,” the lady said.

I signaled Julian to follow us home, something I didn’t want to do because I felt so betrāyed by her.

I assured her that we could come to visit the woman if she wanted, and she pointed at Aunt Kate.

I knew she was still scared of her, so I had to convince her that Aunt Kate wouldn’t hurt her again.

She hugged the woman and then stood up to follow us home. The lady looked so sad, and I knew she didn’t have a choice.

I was glad Grandma didn’t tell her that she picked us up somewhere because it would have made the situation wōrse.

We arrived home, and the other children rushed to hug us.

They weren’t around the day we left, or else they would have looked for us.

We went back to our poor life, and I didn’t believe Aunt Kate had changed.

But then days passed, and the woman showed up at our house.

I didn’t know how she found us, but by this time, Grandma had fully healed, so I knew she would defend us.

“What are you looking for?” Grandma asked, and then I saw her children running out from the car to play with us.

I didn’t play with the children, I just stayed somewhere to listen to their conversation to know if my sister was safe.

The woman offered Grandma some money, saying, “Take this, use it to take care of the children.

Make sure you take them to school.

If you permit me, I would take them to the hospital. I didn’t tell you that your grandson talked, so there is hope for them to talk.”

Grandma accepted, and we all went to the hospital in her car.

We visited the doctor and booked an appointment. We waited for our turn, and when the doctor saw us, he examined me and my sister.

He said there was nothing wrong with us, just that we had tied tongues that needed to be cūt off.

The woman pleaded that it should be done that day, and she would pay any amount to make sure it was done.

Everything was done, and I said my first word, it was actually my second word which was “Mama,” but I actually wanted to say “Grandma.”

My sister didn’t start talking until later.

Grandma thought it was important for us to speak well so that we could be accepted at school.

About my dad, we never heard from him ever again.

To be continued…
Thessycute Ekene

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