Scars (Romola 2)

66: Arike, Leave Me

Trigger Warning

Romola heard the loud voices all the way from the passage, just before the open clearing where the house stood. She slid off the bike before hurrying towards the house. As usual, the withered bench, where the three old gossips sat, leaned against the wall of one of the houses but only two women sat on it.

"Good afternoon."

"Afternoon oh. Wetin you dey find here? What are you looking for here?" One of them asked.

Among the three gossips, Mrs Nelson was the only approachable one. Of course, she shared the secrets of those she helped but she was always willing to lend a helping hand.

"Where is Iya Nelson?

"She's not around."

"Can we help you?"

Their help was the equivalent of dropping a matchstick in a bucket of oil.

"No."

The wrinkler one, turned towards Romola's house. "Shey, you will tell them to keep quiet. They are not the only ones in the compound."

Romola nodded with no intention of doing as requested. It was pure foolishness for a child to attempt to end their parent's quarrels. She wasn't here for them. Besides, she was sure this woman didn't want the fight to end. She wanted to hear more and more so they would have more to gossip about.

The closer she got to the house, the crisper and louder the voices got.

"I said she must leave this house today."

"No. She's not going anywhere. She's my daughter. If anyone must leave. It's you."

"When God been dey share brain, where you been dey? When God was sharing brains, where were you?"

"This girl has found a way to earn money, you are complaining. The other one you sent away, what good did it do? Shebi, if you left her, we might be living in Ikoyi by now?"

Romola crept up the staircase, even though the sounds of their voices could have masked her footsteps. She stood beside the door post and peered in from the transparent net. Her step father stood there, tall as ever with his square face while their mother's hand wrapped around his collar. Sunbo stood at the end of the room, closer to the passage way that led to the kitchen. Some of her bags and boxes stood at her feet.

"What nonsense are you talking? Didn't you chase her away? When you are supposed to provide for your children, you want them to work for you. Jobless he-goat."

"Why should Sunbo go to school? Did Jide go to school?"

"I swear, I regret the day I married you."

"Did I beg you?" Her stepfather said. He clenched his hand around her mother's hand and tried to tug it free from his collar. "Leave me now. I say you should leave me."

"No. You are not leaving this house. She is." Her mother turned to Sunbo.

Romola watched Sunbo press her back against the wall. If the poor girl could enter the wall she would.

"If you don't leave me now, I will—"

"What will you do? What can you do?" Her mother, stretching on her toes and inching towards her stepfather.

The man raised the back of his hand and slapped her against the cheeks. She screamed. Romola clamped her hands across her mouth to stop herself from joining her mother's chorus of pain.

The man slapped her again. "You will not leave me, right? You want to see what I can do, ehn."

Despite the tears, her mother croaked without losing her hold on his shirt, "You will not go anywhere."