Dear MIMSters: This Is Why Our Mom Will Always Come First Even Though We Didn’t Grow Up With Her| Part 2

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Robert was the worst hit amongst us. He had high fever all through the night but as helpless as my stubborn father was, he wouldn’t even allow his wife back into the house. I can never understand how someone could hate so effortlessly!

I remember none of us slept almost all through that sad night. We stayed on the topmost floor of a 4-storey building in a government built estate somewhere around Ikeja. My dad had told the neighbours not to accommodate my mom, and that whoever did should be ready to face the consequences. The poor woman was therefore ignored by every one. She passed the night under the stairs… she would spend a full week under the stairs before she realized her husband was serious about letting her go, so she walked away finally.

My father forbade us from talking to our mom, and somehow, during that one week she spent under the stairs, when my elder sister, Rachael snuck to see her taking Robert with her, my father found out and dealt with her. Till tomorrow, none of us knows how he found out.

My mom disappeared for 6 whole months; with no one aware of her whereabouts. One Sunday, very early in the morning, she returned to see us but he would not allow her come in. She cried, begged and begged, but he did not allow her see us. We could hear her crying outside the door but none of us dared go out to see her.

She left again only to show up in my school the next day. I was so happy to see her. She brought goodies for me and also stopped by to see my siblings in their various classes. We all ate the goodies she brought for us and were happy. She gave us 50kobo each and promised to visit us again soon.

Of course, none of us told our father about her visit when he returned from work but somehow, he found out, again. He returned from work the next day and dealt with all of us.

The following week when mom came to see us in school again, immediately I sighted her from afar, I rested my head on my locker. She moved towards my seat and called me, “Ruth!“, but I ignored her. Then she asked me, “Did your father ask you not to talk to me again?” I nodded but did not lift my head up to look at her. Dad had told us he had people watching us and I did not want to get into trouble. She got my message and tearfully left my class. When she attempted to see my siblings in their various classes, they all also ignored her. She left our school crying that day. How did we know? Dad’s informants told him and he ‘proudly’ told us the next day when he returned from work. He applauded us for ignoring our mother and making her leave our school crying. He said he was sure she had learnt her lesson.

My mother’s plight can fit into a book, believe me. Don’t get tired of reading because I won’t get tired of writing. I will tell you how we all fared without her in our lives as we grew up…

I can only whisper to you that our precious mother is laughing today, can’t say that much for my father though…

(Story continues…)