WHAT HAPPENED CELIA(3): A NONFICTION BLACK FRIDAY STORY.
Ade, Sola, stand up! It is morning already, get up and have your bath and don’t be late to school. Ade stretches himself up from the mat and his sister ‘Sola’ turning left and right.
“Ade Stand up”, his mum screamed.
“Mama I am not going to school today!” “Celia glanced at him’ you must be joking!”
“Mama today is Friday and we will soon come back home”.
Celia dragged him up from the mat and that is the main reason why you must go to school today.
She bathe Sola and dressed her up for school.
Ade was at the bathroom singing. His mum rushed out of the room, upon sighting Celia! He quickly poured water on his body.
“It is almost seven 7:15! Ade be fast with your food and your sister is ready for school. She gave Ade and his sister twenty naira each for breakfast and two biscuits”.
Ade rested one of his shoulders on her sister back and waved Celia bye.
Ade who is seven years and his little sister three years of age.
Celia rushed to tidy up the room, scattered by the kids while preparing for school. A woman who is in early thirty’s living in a one room apartment, with her two kids and husband. A television station, a DVD player and a music player placed on a small shelf. A two sitter chair, a table at the middle of the room and a wardrobe at the window side of the room.
She dressed up, to hawk her bread and beans….popularly called “Ewa Agoin”.
There was sale and she returned home early before 12'O Clock.
Celia entered the compound and saw Mama Mokuro and Mama Ngozi sitting on a bench at the entrance of the house.
Mama Ngozi, a dark woman in her early 40’s ,dark skin married with three kids. Mama Mokuro is also a woman in her 40’s. She is a renowned talkative and people around the community nicknamed her “radio station”.
Celia greeted the both of them, Ekule ooo(Good day) and they replied Ekaaabo,e ku oja (welcome).
“How was sale today?(they both asked her in uniform)”.
“It was fine…Thank you!”.
“Mama Ngozi! ,Mama Mokuro tapped her”. “Don’t you see the way Mama Ade works so hard to send her kids to school not even a public school but private school..Her husband is just a useless butcher. Who has a lot of concubines both married and unmarried. In this century where HIV/AIDS, SDI, Gonorrhea and other infections are common in our society. He is a perpetual drunkard, who doesn’t take good care of his family”.
“If I am the woman ehn, hmmm! Mama Mokuro continues… ”
“Ehat can you do? Mama Ngozi asked her!”
“I will pack out of his house; leave him and the kids alone. I like enjoying myself oo because I don’t know exactly why she is still living with man”.
“She also pays for the house rent”.
“Breadwinner of the family”, Mama Mokuro concluded.
“Mama Ngozi gave her scornful look. Not everybody is like you, we all know you abandoned your kids with your husband and he is responsible. With the story I heard, you packed out of your matrimonial home because you met an assumed rich man , who later duped you of your money and ….”
“Mama Mokuro eyed her, enough of that story!Can you please tell me the difference between you and Baba Ade? You can’t expect her to leave the kids with such a man, whose life is miserable and even threatened to kill her, if she ever run away with the kids. They both kept quiet upon sighting Ade and his sister.The little kids greeted the two elders”.
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Ade entered their living room with his sister, dropped their bags on the floor . They saw their mum sleeping on the bed and covered up with clothe. They didn’t wake her up because she once instructed them not to disturb her while asleep.
It was almost two o’clock , Mama Sheriff who is Mama Ade friend came knocking at her door, to call her for jummah. The kids opened the door for her and she entered the room to wake her up.
Ade stopped her from waking her up because their mum doesn’t like it.
“Mama Sheriff, shouted Mama Ade!”
“Salaam Alaykum” almost three times.
There was no reply. She moved closer to remove the clothe and tapped her but no response.
She raised her hand up and there was no sign of her breathing…
“Oro ooooo! (Display of grief)”
Mama Sheriff screamed, Ade asked her what wrong with his mum. She rushed outside with Ade and her sister Sola!
HELP,HELP….ARA ILE….NKAN TI SELE NINU ILE YII …EKUN LE ABIYAMO ,COME TO MAMA ADE ROOM.(She called for help).
The landlord of the house ,the tenants who are around trooped inside Celia room and other people in their vicinities.
“ Mama Ade is dead and it looks like someone entered the house through the back yard and strangled her to death”.
“Who could have done this? How come? When? This is very sad, people started lamenting”.
She is such a nice woman who works very hard to take care of her family. Mama Mokuro and Mama Ngozi weren’t left out.
“It is such a pity, Mama Ngozi said! She greeted I and Mama Mokuro few hours ago and we didn’t leave the entrance of the house”.
“The criminal must have entered the house through the backyard and some people rushed to the backyard and they saw her bucket of water and clothes she was washing”.
Ade and his sister held hands crying , an old woman replied.”Your mum is about to be taken to the hospital and she would be fine”.
“Ade was old enough to know his mum is dead!”.
Baba Ade was called on phone to announce the state of affairs at home to him. Few minutes later he entered through the backdoor crying.
“A butcher who was known to have numerous concubines”.
Mama Ade junior sister “Tolani” held his trouser.
“You killed my sister,”she said.
“Who knows if one of your numerous concubines killed her!”.
“Agabaya Oshi (old fool), Olojukokoro (greedy being),Se ori nnkan ti odasile ?(have you seen what you have caused? ) and this two kids can never live with you and never would you set your eyes on them”.
“She wailed”,sympathizers dragged her away from Baba Ade .
Mama Ade was a Muslim, Islamic rites were performed on her and buried that same day at the cemetery amid tears.
Months passed on and the police continued their investigation without any traces of who was behind Celia death.
THE END
