HER LAST WISH Episode 71 by Azeemah Salami
The door was opened by an old woman, who was slightly bent, her hair was white and soft looking, the glasses perched on her almost wrinkled nose were silver.
“Grandma, good afternoon” Amina and Emeka greeted, going on their knees and prostrating respectively.
Dan and Layla followed their step.
Aunt Esther had told Emeka and Amina to take them to greet Grandma after the merry with the kids.
“My darlings, how are you?” Grandma asked, straining her eyes to look at Dan and Layla who were standing behind Amina and Emeka.
They all walked in. Amina helped her sit back on a chair, which allowed her comfortably rest her back.
“Oshe oko mi (thank you my dear)” She smiled at Amina.
“Aunt Esther said we should bring her siblings to comman greet you, they arrived from overseas just yesterday” Emeka said.
“Ehn ehn. My foreigners, come over here lemme see your faces” Grandma said, adjusting the glasses on her face properly.
Dan and Layla stepped in front of her.
“Ah, beauties. You’re very welcome, how was the flight? It must have been so stressful. Sorry my darlings”
Aunt Esther had not lied when she said Grandma speaks so clearly, not only that.
“Thank you Grandma” Dan and Layla smiled.
“You’re really going to enjoy being here … It’s all fun. I hope you aren’t finding it hard coping with the massive attention you must be getting already?”
Grandma does not only speak clearly, she also speaks very good English.
“Nah, although it was a bit uncomfortable at first but it’s cool” Dan said and Layla nodded in agreement.
“Oh, I’m glad to hear that. Ah, Ah, abi you were the ones I heard those kids singing to earlier?”
“Yeah”
Grandma smiled “It seems they’ve welcomed you already. I’m also going to welcome you tonight with a very interesting tale”
Their faces lit up.
“Thanks Grandma” Layla smiled.
“We look really forward to it” Dan added, with a smile.
Grandma nodded.
A lady walked out of an adjoining room, bearing a bowl of pap with fruits on a tray.
She smiled on seeing Dan and Layla.
“You must be Moremi” She said to Layla.
“Yes”
“And I guess this must be your friend, what’s your name?”
“Dan”
“I was about coming to greet you after I serve Grandma, how was the journey, I hope it wasn’t stressful”
“Not really”
“This is Aunty Lola, grandma’s last born” Emeka clarified to Dan and Layla.
“Oh,” They acknowledged.
“So how do you see Lagos? Are you liking it already?” She asked, sitting on another couch after placing the tray on a stool in front of Grandma.
“We love it” Layla smiled and Dan nodded.
“You’re even going to love it more after you spend more days. You guys are very welcome. I hope you have fun during your stay here”
“Thank you” They smiled.
***
“Wo(see), if you break my eggs, you’ll pay for it!” Aunty Esther shouted at a customer who was close to breaking the neatly arranged eggs in the crate just because she wanted to see the Oyinbo people inside the shop.
“Calm down nah” Mr. Femi said to her.
“You did not see that she almost broke my eggs ni. I have to warn her because if she breaks it now, it’s sorry I’ll collect”
“What do you want to buy jare?” Mr. Femi asked the lady.
“Two pure water and one peak milk” She answered, still staring at Dan and Layla seated inside the shop.
Layla smiled and waved at her and her face lit up immediately.
She waved back happily.
The number of people who have come to get something from Aunt’s Esther’s shop just because they wanted to see Dan and Layla can’t even be counted.
Their compound seemed even crowded than usual.
Aunt Esther had refused to allow them into her shop and at one point she had shouted at the crowd not to kill them for her; something her husband later scolded her for.
“After few days now, all these will calm down, they are just still very excited to see you guys” Mr. Femi assured Dan and Layla after the customer left.
“It’s actually fine, we’re excited also” Layla said.
Dan and David were busy playing a game on Dan’s phone, they’ve been at it for minutes now and they looked as though they were having fun with it.
Another customer appeared, and Mr. Femi started attending to him.
Layla wished she knew everything about selling to people here, she would have loved to help.
“How do you calculate in Naira? I also want to be able to help you sell to customers” Layla turned to Aunt Esther.
“Ah, that’s quite a long process o. You’ll need to know the price of every bit of thing here. . . Besides, It’d be so much stress for you, so don’t bother jare”
“But I really want to bother, Mr. Femi will be resuming work next week, there’ll be no one to assist you”
“David is going to, he knows pretty much about everything here. I’ll just be monitoring him”
“I’m not going to make Dave work while I’m here, I want to do it” Layla insisted. “Please” She quickly added.
“Alright, to make things easier for you, I’m going to put a price tag on every thing here and probably a name tag also. All I just have to teach you is the calculation.”
“And I’m going really good at memorizing. I’m gonna catch on quick” Layla smiled.
“It actually takes a great deal of practice, but I know you’d pull it off” Aunt Esther smiled back at her.
“Phil called me this morning while you and Dan were still in bed”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah, she wanted to check up on me and also asked how you guys were”
“We also spoke to her after we were done eating”
“Oh. I hope you also called your friends”
“We did” Layla smiled, she miss her best friends already and they all kind of got emotional during the call.
“Should we make Amala for lunch or just have it tomorrow?” Aunt Esther asked.
“It’d be better for lunch” Dan said.
“I thought you were so busy with your game” Layla said.
“Not really,” He grin at her and she rolled her eyes at him.
“Hey, what’s up?” He asked.
“The only thing up are your ears; when they heard Amala” Layla teased and Aunt Esther who was within earshot started laughing, she didn’t know if it was because of what Layla said or how she pronounced Amala.
“Geez, really?” Dan pretended to look offended.
“Yup” Layla grin.
“Dan, it’s like you have plenty crush already o” Mr. Femi chuckled, walking into the shop.
“Oh” Dan didn’t seem surprised, he’s pretty much used to it.
“Most of the girls have just been asking me different questions about you” He smiled, sitting on the chair.
“Dan must be used to so much attention already” Aunt Esther said.
“Exactly, he is” Layla added.
Dan smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
“Mummy David” Amina said, walking into the shop.
“Me and Emeka are going to the market, do you want to buy anything?” She asked, smiling at Layla when their gazes met.
Layla smiled back at her, she couldn’t tell why she likes Amina already.
“Yeah, I want to buy locust beans and ewedu.” Aunt Esther said and Mr. Femi gave Amina some cash.
“Thanks Amina, God bless you for me” Aunt Esther smiled.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Alright”
“Moremi, let’s go and start prepping for lunch before Amina comes back” Aunt Esther said and she and Layla got to their feet.
***
“C’mon Amina” Layla chuckled as Amina hit her butt playfully.
They’ve gotten unsurprisingly close within the few days they arrive. It’s actually impossible not to get along with someone like Amina and Emeka. They are sweethearts, they’ve been doing their best in making this place lively and fun for them. Their effort is greatly appreciated.
“I use to think most Oyinbo people have flat bum bum and skinny body until I saw you. See, you even have bum bum than I do. Comman gimme small na” Amina joked and they both laughed as they stepped out of Aunt Esther’s apartment.
Amina has always being amused with Layla’s shape and she doesn’t hesitate in showing it.
They met Dan and Emeka seated on the long bench in the compound and they sat with them.
Dan and Layla were relaxed enough that they now felt at home, they are quite familiar with the neighbors and the environment already.
Although, they were yet to leave the house for anywhere else.
They might be leaving the house tomorrow to go to Layla father’s grave.
“Amina, I was telling Dan how and needs to be smart to live in Lagos”
“Hm, one does not only have to be smart o, but have to be street smart as well” Amina said.
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s because you people have not started going out, that’s why you don’t know yet.” Emeka said.
“This place you don’t just carry your bag anyhow, you actually need to cling to your bag, if possible sef, marry it because before you blink your eyes like this, your valuables have vanished and then you suddenly begin to speak in tongues, your normal heartbeat sef will just run out of control. God help you if you don’t find yourself in the hospital” Amina sigh.
“Really?” Dan and Layla started laughing.
“And even when you go to the market, you must be very alert and vigilant about yourself and belongings, some people only come to the market to steal and not buy anything. Some sellers sef will even try to exploit you when they notice you’re a novice, they’ll charge you extravagant prices and if you don’t know how to price things ehn, you’ll exhaust the money with you without even buying all the things you need” Emeka said.
“Wow” Layla sigh.
“Sometimes at night sef, all these agbero will just start fighting, making people run in different directions, the rate at which everyone will start locking their shops and houses. . . and by agbero, I mean thugs” Amina clarified.
“Oh”
“There are actually thugs in Vegas too” Dan said.
“Yeah” Layla nodded.
“Ah” Emeka laughed, “You see those thugs there are posh thugs. These ones here, you’ll nearly pee on your body if they look at you too much not to talk of when they shout or start fighting, they take real cannabis like it’s food. They’ll use their head to break the bottles they want to use to stab someone, some will even use their body for sample before going ahead. You’ll see someone bleeding heavily and still continue fighting. Hm, I just pray you don’t even experience their stupid fighting before you go back” Emeka said.
Dan and Layla looked quite stunned.
“They don’t really fight frequently here like they do in areas like Mushin, we’re lucky not to live in that area I swear” Amina said, calling her brother to bring water for her.
“Exactly, the thugs there are rugged.”
“Those on the island are still enjoying but you see we in the mainland ehn, it’s only God that’s protecting us” Amina said.
“Oh, there are two parts?” Dan asked.
“Yes, the city has two parts; the mainland and the island. Most people who live in the Island are mostly high income earners. There are high income earners who live on the mainland also though.”
“Wow, there’s pretty much to know about this place” Dan sigh.
“A lot” Emeka said.
“Despite how crazy Lagos is, the beauty still remains. I love living in Lagos except those times crazy things happen” Amina said, drinking from the water her brother brought for her.
“This city never actually sleeps, always awake” Dan said. He noticed everyone still goes about even during late hours.
Different car horns in the midnight.
“I noticed that too” Layla said.
“Yes o, always awake” Emeka said.
“Aunty Amina, my mummy say you should help me and make my hair” Amarachi said, walking towards them.
She grinned happily at Layla, and Layla could see her front tooth is starting to grow.
Layla smiled back at her.
She got to find out Amarachi is Emeka’s younger sister.
“You that like crying like what I don’t know. I hope you won’t cry o” Amina said.
“I won’t” Amarachi said.
“That’s what you always say, sha go and tell my mum to give you comb and cutting comb”
Amarachi hurried away.
“A girl has been peeping over here for a while now” Dan said pointing to one of the neighbors door and they all saw Damilola quickly close the door.
Amina and Emeka sigh almost at the same time, glancing at each other.
“I never even knew she lives here, I once said hi to her when she came to get something from Aunt Esther’s shop but. . . she didn’t respond” Layla said.
“I saw her come out only once since we arrived. Why can’t she just come out to join us instead of peeping” Dan wondered aloud.
“Why. . . Aren’t you both saying anything?” Layla asked.
“Well, her name is Damilola and we were once very close friends” Amina said and Emeka nodded.
“I need to go and pray” Amina said, getting on her feet as the loud speakers of a mosque not so far away from the house boomed.
Normally, she doesn’t get up immediately it booms but she’s avoiding spilling any more details.
“I’ll be back” She said, walking away briskly.
…………
HER LAST WISH Episode 72 by Azeemah Salami
“Amina, does that really matter?” Layla asked with a slightly raised brow.
“Walahi, it does not matter to me but. . .my parents,” She swallowe d hard. “They are going to kill me if they find out”
Dan and Layla got to confirm their suspicion about Amina and Emeka having feelings for each other, it was quite obvious.
And then it was nonchalantly mentioned by Emeka during a conversation just few minutes after Amina returned from the mosque.
The reason stopping them both from going ahead is because Amina is somehow concerned about the cultural and religion difference.
Emeka doesn’t think it should be an issue.
“Amina, I know we’ve gone over this a couple of times. But it’s not like we are going to announce to your parents that we’re dating. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to impose this on you but. . . If you really like me like you do say, should our differences matter?”
“You’re getting me wrong; it does not matter to me either. I do not care if you are Igbo or a Christian or whatever but. . .” Amina sigh, worried.
“Is there probably anything else asides the cultural and religion difference?” Dan had to ask.
“No, that’s just it” Amina sigh again. Emeka is probably thinking she doesn’t like him as much as he likes her but that’s all shade of wrong. She likes Emeka so much, they practically grew up together, they’ve spent a reasonable amount of time together. She liked him even before he told her he liked her. She’s never wanted to date someone badly like she does him.
She’s just so bothered her parents would find out at some point and it’ll be terrific.
She could remember how her father had almost beaten her to death when he found out she was dating a Yoruba guy from her school.
“I guess you don’t want to go against your parents wish” Layla noted.
“That’s a tough one actually” Dan sigh, looking like he doesn’t know what to say anymore.
“How about you sit your parents down and tell them?” Layla suggested.
“I second that. You’re eighteen, at least you should be free to date anyone you want to” Dan said.
Amina laughed with no humor “I wish I can but I can’t, that’s not the case with me. I’m sorry Emeka”
“It’s fine. I’ve been on this for a long time but made no headway, let’s just move on, perhaps we are better off as friends” Emeka’s expression depicted the exact opposite of what he just said.
Dan and Layla respectively wished they could help but they don’t even know how to go about it.
“Should I go and call Amara? She came while you went to pray. She even dropped what you asked her to get from your Mum” Emeka said.
“She’s here already” Layla said.
“You are back” Amarachi bounced towards them smiling, with her hair cream in hand.
Amarachi is rarely seen without a smile, she’s a happy kid with obviously no worries.
A part of Layla wished her life could be that free of worries.
***
Layla’s piercing scream hit Dan first before her body did.
In seconds, she was hugging him tightly, terrified.
He started laughing, if he hadn’t known what made her so terrified, he would have been dead worried.
She was terrified because a huge rat almost stepped on her feet.
They were returning inside after listening to Grandma’s night tales which they always find so interesting.
“It’s gone” He was still laughing as Layla slowly released him.
“I can’t believe you found that funny!” She said, her brows furrowing together.
“Of course I did, you laughed at me when the same thing happened to me yesterday, remember” His lips parted, revealing his teeth.
Her lips were pursed as she walked away, leaving him behind.
He laughed as he tried catching up with her.
~~
Dan recounted what happened to Aunt Esther when they got inside and she laughed with him, much to Layla’s embarrassment.
***
Dan and Layla looked confused when a man suddenly jumped in front of the cab, while they were stuck in traffic, holding a bottle of soapy water. Before they could think, he was vigorously pressing the bottle cover and spilling the soapy water on the windscreen, he pulled a damp looking cloth from one of his back pockets and began wiping the water with it.
Dan and Layla glance at Aunty Esther but she didn’t even look in any way moved by what the man is doing. She looked like she’s experienced it all days of her life. Even David didn’t seem to care.
They returned their gaze to the man who was still wiping the windscreen vigorously.
“Get away from my windscreen!” The cab driver shouted, pressing the horn. “Walahi talai, I will jam you with my car if you don’t move from there now”
The man acted deaf and continued wiping the windscreen hard and fast, moving in different direction.
Even if they were all in a kind of sour mood, it brought some smile to their face.
They were returning from the Ikoyi cemetery after spending some time by Layla father’s grave.
She feels fulfilled and also has a mix of emotion going on inside her.
She hadn’t cried much like she had thought, it felt like she had finally come to peace with her father’s death and only wishes for him to continue to rest in paradise.
Dan and Layla now understood what the man was trying to do and they tried not to laugh because instead of the man’s intention of making the windscreen cleaner, he was actually making it more dirty.
He squeezed the damp cloth, shook out the water, folded it and returned it to his pocket.
He grinned, looking satisfied with the terrible work he just did, he proceeded to salute the driver “Na for you to dey see road well well. God bless you sir!”
“Look at this idiot ehn,” The cab driver said. “He wants me to pay him for staining my windscreen. If you don’t get out of there now!”
They couldn’t help but chuckle, the man was still saluting the driver, showing all of his brown teeth in a smile until the driver moved the car forward.
The man ran off to the car behind them.
The cab moved faster when the traffic jam started clearing.
***
Layla prepared noodles and egg for David when they got home, he had to eat. They didn’t have anything before leaving the house in the morning and now it’s afternoon.
The rest of them didn’t feel like eating anything yet. And Aunt Esther had even retreated to her room immediately they got back. She’s kind of exhausted and needs to rest.
“Thank you Aunty Remi” David said as Layla handed him the bowl of hot noodles and fried egg.
They both walked to the living room and Layla joined Dan on the couch while David sat on a separate couch and started eating.
“Are you okay?” Dan asked her.
“I’m fine” She nodded.
“How is Aunt Esther?”
“She must be sleeping now and I don’t want to disrupt her sleep by checking on her. You know how exhausted she seemed”
“Yeah. Amina came over while you were in the kitchen. She decided to check on us when she noticed the shop wasn’t open and also because she didn’t see us all morning”
“Oh, instead of sitting here, we could actually make some sales before Aunt Esther is awake? After all, we are now getting familiar with the shop sales and how Naira works and we’ll also have David come with us so he could help with things that aren’t very clear to us yet”
“Great idea!” Dan nodded.
***
“I never thought I would love selling to people this much” Dan smiled, after selling again to another person who had seemed quite glad ‘Oyinbo’ attended to her.
Most of the people who came to get something were intrigued with either Dan or Layla selling to them and they keep coming back to buy random things and they were happy to keep selling to them.
David didn’t even need to do much, they didn’t need him as much as they thought.
He was seated on the armchair in the shop, busy with the games on Dan’s phone.
They only asked him questions when things get kind of complicated. They were surprised to have gotten the hang of the sales so quickly. Well, maybe they shouldn’t be surprised since they made Aunt Esther and her husband explain in details to them how the sales work. They’ve been learning for some days now and it seems to be paying off.
They didn’t know they’d be this good at it until they tried.
Layla waited for Dan to finish attending to another customer before telling him she had to go check on Aunt Esther and also prepare a meal.
Her Aunt hasn’t had anything to eat since morning and she thinks it isn’t healthy for the baby.
They also have to eat. She was starving and she knows Dan is also, even if he didn’t mention it.
“Hi” She said to Damilola as she came across her on the way to the apartment.
For a second, Layla thought Damilola would reply with how her mouth almost parted open but was kind of taken aback when the girl suddenly ran off.
Layla stared after her, confused. She sighted a large scar on the back of her neck and before she could process it. Damilola’s uncle walked past her after and responded to her greetings with a nod.
She proceeded to the apartment.
~~
Layla started preparing local jollof rice after checking on her Aunt who was still deeply asleep.
Her Aunt had welcomed them with the same meal when they arrived from Las Vegas, and although Aunt Esther prepared local jollof rice for them in Las Vegas but the one she and Dan ate in Nigeria tasted best!
Her Aunt added everything she couldn’t in Las Vegas and it was just crazy!
They’ve ate it a few times since they got here and it always tasted more delicious each time.
They do enjoy it greatly and Dan had even included it in the list of his favorite meals.
She’s still finding it hard deciding the meal she likes most between Palm oil rice and Amala.
***
“Hm, Dammy” Aunt Esther sigh.
Dan and Layla just asked her about Dammy, why she acts all weird.
They were seated in the living room, shortly after dinner.
Mr. Femi has gone to bed because he has to leave early to work tomorrow.
David is off to bed also.
“It’s not like she’s intentionally ignoring your greetings, Dammy is a very sweet girl, it’s just that, that monster she calls her uncle might kill her if she talks to anyone in the house”
Dan and Layla glanced at each other, confused.
“Her uncle doesn’t like it if she talks to anyone in the house, he would beat her till she bleeds. The scars on that girl’s body can’t even be counted”
“What!” They exclaimed in horror.
“Darn it! I saw a large scar at the back of her neck, he. . . did that to her?” Layla’s apprehension rose when Aunt Esther nodded.
Layla could finally understand why Dammy had ran off just when it seemed she had almost wanted to respond to her greetings; She had seen her uncle approach.
“Dammy had no outstanding scar on her body when she was brought here, every single scar you see on her body was inflicted by that monster” Aunt Esther looked angry.
“Oh my God” Layla sigh.
“Doesn’t she have parents?” Dan had to ask.
“She was actually brought here when her parents died. She’s been here for long. In fact, she was once close friends with Amina and Emeka, almost everyone knows the three of them, they go everywhere together, you’ll rarely see them apart but that was when Dammy’s Aunt was still staying here with them. Only for her to get married and the uncle became a monster; He beats her up over the tiniest things, maltreats her at every chance he gets, makes her do the most tedious work even him who is a man cannot do. In fact, he once intentionally broke her arm”
“Oh my God” Layla has her palm over her mouth, her eyes pinching with tears.
“Why isn’t anyone doing anything?” Dan asked, an edge to his voice.
“Ah, who told you we didn’t do anything. I’ve never seen the neighbors come together to help someone like they did with Damilola. We had her uncle arrested several times but the way he always gets released still remains a puzzle to everyone and each time he gets back, he would double the pain he inflicts on the poor girl. Makes her suffer more. We decided to stop getting him arrested, since it seems we’re only making the girl suffer even more. But we didn’t stop standing up to him whenever he punishes her unjustly. My husband even once beat him up, with everyone’s effort in putting a stop to it, it only made the monster maltreat her more. It was then most people started pulling out”
“You should reach out to her Aunt” Dan swallowed hard, filled with so much anger towards the so called Dammy’s uncle.
Layla was too stunned to say anything.
“We contacted her Aunt o, we even begged her to come take the poor girl away but she said she just got married, she can’t just bring someone to live with her and her husband that soon. So, we told her to at least give the permission to make Dammy start living with me or even any other neighbor she chose but she refused and promised to talk to her brother. Since then, we didn’t hear from her again, she never picked our calls again till date. The few of us remaining didn’t stop trying all we could to make that monster pay for what he’s doing to Dammy. We got a lot of people involved; people who has the position to help but the worst part is that Dammy isn’t even helping matters, she would deny he’s hitting her or inflicting any pain on her, she would claim she’s only sustaining injuries from her carelessness and insists it had nothing to do with her uncle. My husband and I had to pull out when the mad man threatened to kill David if we do not mind our business. Even if it might have been just a threat, we couldn’t put our only son life at stake.”
“What the hell” Layla muttered under her breath.
“He’s a maniac” Dan said.
“He is o. A big one. Hm” Aunt Esther yawned.
“Don’t you think there’s a reason Dammy denies he ever hits her?” Layla reasoned loudly.
“Exactly, there must be a reason behind it. No one would do that”
“Of course there is. I just pray that wicked man meets his waterloo soon. The spirits of that poor girl’s parents would fight for her and tear him into pieces to the extent that no part of his body will be recognized,” Aunt Esther got to her feet. “I want to go and sleep”
“Yeah, you should” Dan said.
Layla kissed her Aunt’s stomach goodnight like she normally does and they watched her walk to the room.
“Layla, you know we have to help right?”
“We really have to!”
……………….
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