(...continued...)
Mabel couldn’t get herself to say anything. She
just stared into space.
“Is it work
related?”Cynthia continued to press for answers.
Mabel
shook her head.
“So tell me
what the problem is.”
Mabel
just sniffed and did not say anything.
“Wait o!”
Cynthia seemed to suddenly
remember something. She got up to go towards the bathroom.
“Don’t go
there,” Mabel said and tried to stop her by holding her hand. Cynthia removed
her hand and went into the bathroom. She was shocked at what she saw. Mabel
hadn’t hidden the suicide materials well enough.
“O My God!”
she exclaimed and came out with the bottle of drugs and the knife. She brought
them to Mabel who looked away. “So you tried to kill yourself like you tried to
do last time?” she asked, with a lump in her throat and tears forming in her
eyes. “What were you thinking?”
Mabel kept mute as the tears
flowed freely.
“I can’t
believe you tried to do this again.”
“The pain
is too much for me…” Mabel finally said and sniffed.
“Is suicide
the only option? If you kill yourself, what would happen to those you leave
behind? Do you know the kind of pain you will leave us in? Mummy could suffer
High Blood Pressure and die. You didn’t think of all that?”
“You don’t
understand the kind of emotional trauma I am in right now.”
“Whatever
it is, there are other ways of handling it.”
“I have
tried everything,” Mabel said, shaking head. “I can’t keep going on like this.”
“Oya tell me what happened.”
Cynthia
dropped the suicide materials, sat beside Mabel and held her hand. Mabel used
the free hand to wipe tears from her face.
“It is
Segun,” she said.
“Segun your
boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“What did
he do to make you want to kill yourself?”
“He jilted
me.”
“Ah ah. When?
“Today o.”
“Aww. Tell me what happened.”
“You know
we have been friends for a while now.”
“Yes I know.”
“He made
moves to sleep with me but I refused. I told him I can only do it when I am
married. Last month, he told me he wanted to marry me. I accepted because I
love him so much. Then I let him get close and we started sleeping together.
“Chai.”
“I was
excited that I was finally getting married to a man of my dreams but because of
my past experiences of heartbreak, I wanted to be very sure he meant it. I
decided to wait till he fixes a date to come with his people before talking
about it. Days turned to weeks and he did not talk about marriage.”
“And you
were already sleeping together.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t
ask him about the marriage plans?”
“I did.
Anytime I stylishly ask him about it, he would tell me that he is working on
it. At a point, he stopped calling me like before. When I call him, he would apologize
and tell me he has been busy with work, trying to gather money to marry me.”
“He had gotten
what he wanted na.”
“I believed
him.”
“Men will
be men.”
“Then I
noticed that the only times he called me were times he wanted to sleep with me.
I still felt he loved me and was sincerely planning to do the needful. We
continued like that until I got the shock of my life this morning.”
“What
happened?”
“I was making
my hair in the salon with some of my friends; then he walked in with Kemi.”
“Which Kemi?”
“The Kemi
you know.”
“Your
colleague that they fired recently?”
“Yes.”
“What was
he doing with her in the salon? Are they cousins?”
“Cousin
fire. I ignored the fact that he came in with her, took excuse from the guy
making my hair and rushed to hug him. Do you know what he did?” At this point,
Mabel’s voice was raised. She was bitter.
“What did
he do?”
“He brushed
me aside.”
“What?”
“That was
just the beginning of the embarrasment. I was shocked. I stood and asked him
what was wrong. He told me in front of everybody that he is no longer
interested in me. I asked him what I did wrong. He said I am not the kind of
woman he likes and that there was no way he could marry me. I asked him why he
did not say it all the times he was sleeping with me. He told me I am stupid
and turned to Kemi. She just stood there with a smirk on her face. I asked her
why she took my boyfriend from me. She told me I am not woman enough and I am
not good for him. She held Segun’s hand and suggested that they leave and go to
another salon.”
“Are you
for real? Why will Segun do such a thing?”
“I was
heartbroken. Imagine, jilting me inside a salon, which is the centre of gossip
propagation. I am finished.”
“Really
finished. That’s terrible o.”
“The girls
there felt bad for me and rained abuses on Segun and Kemi as they left. I cried
and sat back down. The guy doing my hair knew I was no longer in the mood so he
rushed the hair. My friend, Glory, who I went with, paid for me and we left. My
face was soaked with tears and I was barely seeing my way. She chartered a taxi
and brought me home.”
“But girls
can be wicked o. Didn’t Kemi know Segun was your boyfriend?”
“How didn’t
she know? She always saw him when he came to pick me up from the office when we
started dating. I even gisted with her about him some times sef.”
“But men
can be stupid at times. They date a girl, sleep with her and then dump her for
another girl.”
“By now,
the news must have spread. How will I face my friends? How will I face my
colleagues at work on Monday? I am tired of all this. Why is this always
happening to me? This is not the first time a guy will take advantage of me and
break my heart, neither is it the second or the third. What is wrong with me? When
will all this end?”
Cynthia
heaved a sigh and tears started flowing afresh.
“Now it is
my turn to console you,” Mabel said and managed a smile.
“I
understand what you have been going through.”
“It is
painful.”
“I am yet
to get over that rape incident. From time to time, the memories come up and I
feel the hurt afresh.”
“It is a
terrible feeling.”
“Yet it is not enough reason to kill yourself.
You die and he lives on, enjoying his life. Who gains?”
“I am sorry
I tried to do that.”
“So what do
we do now?”
“I need
some time to get over it.”
“You will
be in church tomorrow right?”
“I don’t
know. I am not in the mood to go anywhere. I may even take excuse from work for
the whole of next week.
“You should
talk to mummy about it today o.”
“No.”
“You have
to tell her.”
“I will but
not yet.”
“What about
pastor’s wife?”
“Not yet.”
Cynthia
looked at the clock on the wall and said, “It’s getting late. I think I should
leave”
“Really?”
“Yes. Mummy
is alone in the house.”
She got up to leave; then stopped.
“What have
you eaten since morning?”
“I don’t
have appetite.”
“You need
to try and eat something.”
Cynthia
made to leave and stopped again.
“You
promise not to attempt suicide again?”
Mabel kept quiet. Cynthia was
puzzled. She noticed sadness on Mabel’s face.
“infact, I
am staying with you this night,” she told Mabel and dropped her hand bag.
“The
incident just flashed through my mind now.”
“I will
call mummy and tell her I am sleeping over here and will come back tomorrow.”
She
picked her phone and dialed her mum’s number.
(...to be continued)
Nedu Isaac
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