A Promise From My Heart

60. (FINALE)

AMATULLAH'S POV

I waddled. It was the only way to describe my movement; waddling like a duck or maybe a penguin. It's been three months since I last saw my feet. If I had no mirror to see their swollen appearance, I would have said I can't remember what they looked like. I offered my hand to my husband who was quick to take it. Sucking my lips in, I rested my feet against the little lift on the ground, paused then directed my next leg. A loud exhale came from me. My chest tapered as if I had run a kilometre race. Even walking was stressful. I can't walk for a long time without panting. It felt too much to do.

I can't believe this was what my mother had gone through. The pain in my hips and lower abdomen, discomfort everywhere, extra weight, severe mood swings and many other things that comes with pregnancy. My neck was as dark as charcoal, nose the biggest it had ever been, face swollen like I had been punched and my body thrice the size I was used to. I was everything but the beauty Yusuf had always described me to be. And my mother had five of us. Five? I don't think I can ever do this five times.

My mother was waiting in the middle of the living room. Worry pinched her brows. I already knew the questions at the tip of her tongue from her eyes.

"Pele, oko mi." She pacified, noticing my struggle.

I gently lowered myself like a glass into a sofa, washed with a tide of relieve for being in a comfortable chair. Heat thrashed in upsurges across my body, inside and out. I felt hot all over. It had been that way since I entered my eight month and grew worse with time. One yank and the silk scarf around my head came off. I scratched the one-month-old cornrow which I had been too lazy to loosen and plait again.

My mother sat next to me. My eyes danced to her direction and I appreciated her all over again. Carrying us in her womb must have been work alone, talk more of the years that came after those times. And many known and unknown sacrifices she made for us.

"Subola!" Yusuf called out.

"Sir." Subola's voice resonated across the house from one of the rooms.

My mother and Subola had moved in with us the way we had planned initially until after the birth of our babies. Their presence had made everything easier. Having more people in the house had lessened the boredom which consumes me sometimes whenever Yusuf was out. Subola appeared.

"E ka bo." She greeted us.

"How are you?" Yusuf acknowledged her greeting with a nod.

"Fine sir."

"Microwave this." He held out the nylon he had in hand. It contained the isi ewu we had bought from a food vendor along the way.

"Uncle, there's no light."

"Oh?" He looked around as if just noticing the lack of power supply. "Just wait, I will switch on the generator soon."

"Okay sir." She received it and dashed into the kitchen.

"What happened at the hospital?" Mummy asked.

"They said I am just two centimetres dilated. The contractions are normal. But if they get worse to the point of being unbearable, I should come back to the hospital." I answered, beads of sweat slipping down my neck.

It had been a week since mild contraction began. It was just a slight wave of constriction in my lower abdomen. They came and went at random.

"She can't be admitted since she's not yet in active labour." Yusuf added.

"Of course, she can't. I told you both that the way she feels is normal. The contractions aren't serious yet." Mummy said.

"We just wanted to confirm if everything's okay." Yusuf defended.