VILE

Chapter 16: The Past

Tomike seemed to be coming around as she moved her fingers softly. She slowly awakened as the voices around her became more audible, but her eyes remained closed. She heard Iya Bose's voice. She could also hear Bose and Temilade's voices.

There was another voice she couldn't decipher, a man's voice. But she constantly heard Iya Bose and her daughters address him as 'Doctor'.

She was in a hospital, she could tell by the smell around her. She wasn't a fan of hospitals at all. They reminded her of her mother, of suffering, of pain. But apart from that, she just simply hated the smell of bleach and antiseptics that oozed out of a hospital.

How did I get here?

She couldn't help but wonder. All she could remember was gulping down a large amount of the concoction she had made. She had mixed a hand full of lime with four tablespoons of salt and some potash. While she lived with her step father she had heard it was capable of removing pregnancies easy.

There was no need for anyone to perform an abortion on her. All she needed was the right amount of the mixture and she'd achieve the goal.

Did I overdo it? Or perhaps I got the mixture wrong?

"She'll be fine mama, don't worry. She and the baby are doing well"

Although Tomike was bearly moving, she froze at the words of the man they called doctor.

"What baby?" Bose sounded confused.

"She is pregnant. Didn't you know?" The man said.

"Who did you say is pregnant?" Iya Bose spoke in shock.

"The young lady is pregnant, about eight weeks gone. The substance she consumed was probably used to try and get rid of the baby."

"Ha!" Iya Bose and her daughters echoed.

"I assumed you knew this. Well, she'll have to be on bed rest for a while. The mixture she took greatly affected her system. She was able to reach the hospital right on time though, before any real damage was done. Thankfully the baby is fine, and she'll be okay too."

Tomike heard a chair squeak, Iya Bose must have had to sit down. The shock must have weakened her limbs.

Breaking the silence that now enveloped the room, the doctor spoke again.

"I will take my leave now. I'll be back to check on her later. Please let her rest"

"Alright, thank you Doctor." Bose responded.

Tomike felt something flow through her body. It was a mixture of anger, sadness, dissapointment and utter shame. Life lifted her up from the ground only to push her into an abyss to drown.

As she laid there, she vowed not to open her eyes for as long as she could help it. And as soon as she had the chance, she would make it permanent. She'd end it all.

It was best for her, since the evil child inside her refused to die, she'd end both their lives. It was also best for Iya Bose, she wouldn't have to burden herself with Tomike and her never ending bad luck.

"How is this even possible? She is so young." Temilade seemed to be unable to contain her surprise.

"How will I know? Mummy where did you even bring her from? From my calculation of how far gone she is she probably got herself pregnant before coming here. Girls of nowadays, perhaps she had a boyfriend, and got pregnant" Bose sounded furious.

It's not true! That's not what happened! That disgusting man, he was the one. He did this to me!

Tomike was tempted to scream in order to be heard, but she had no courage to do so.

"Won't you send her back mummy? Before she completely ruins our family name."

"Send her back where?" Iya Bose snapped at Temilade in yoruba. "To where? She is now our family, there is nowhere else to send her to. We just have to deal with the situation. When she wakes up, we'll talk to her."

"Hmm. This is serious mummy. Are you sure we can handle this? I mean, it's a child we are talking about. A child having a child." Bose spoke in the same tone her sister did.

"You too Bose? Oya what do you want me to do? Send her to her step-father? The one that maltreated her and made her do menial jobs? You saw her when she came, looking like a withering tree about to be blown away by the wind, and you want me to send her back there? Sister mi will turn in her grave. I will do no such thing. We will speak to her when she wakes up, period!" Iya Bose firmly stated with her voice slightly raised.

Tomike took a deep breath. Things couldn't help but get worse for her. For everytime she thought she had seen it all, life sprung up a new surprise.

                         **********

Tomike opened her eyes to see no one in the room. In between faking sleep and actually sleeping because of all the sedatives she was given, her eyes were tired of being closed.

It had been two days since Iya Bose and her girls found out about her pregnancy, and in all that time Tomike was 'asleep'. She was scared to death of facing Iya Bose, or worse one of her daughters. They must have already been planning on how she'd leave their mother's house.

Tomike sat up in a bid to relieve herself from the uncomfortable position she was in. She looked around. It was evening. The drip attached to her hand was almost empty. There was a substantial amount of fruits and beverages on the stool beside her.

Iya Bose.

Tomike couldn't help but feel bad for the woman. This woman who had made such an effort in finding and taking good care of a distant relative that reminded her of her sister, was now being repaid with disappointment.

Tears ran down her cheeks. More than it was for her, it was for Iya Bose. She cried because she had finally found someone who cared about her since her mother's death, and the first thing she did was disappoint her.

Just then, the door opened and Tomike tried quickly to adjust herself into a sleeping position. But she must have been too slow because Iya Bose spoke and said, "I saw you, you better open your eyes and stop faking that yeye sleep"

She dropped the white nylon she was holding on the bed table and brought out from it a black food flask.

"You haven't eaten anything since, try and eat." She sat beside Tomike.

Tomike looked up at her, tears hanging on the brim of her eyes, threatening to fall. She couldn't say a word, shame barely allowed her breathe.

"What is it? Won't you eat? Oya oya open your mouth." Iya Bose opened the flask and took out a spoon of porridge potato. Tomike sniffed in the aroma of dry fish and cent leave. As the smell hit her nose, her stomach growled, reminding her of it's emptiness. She hadn't eaten since she got to the hospital. Starvation was a slow way of killing one's self but she wanted to try it any way.

"Oya, open your mouth" Iya Bose snapped.

The last thing she wanted to do was anger the old woman any futher, so she compiled.

She ate in silence as Iya Bose continued feeding her. Tears occasionally fell down her face, but Iya Bose carried on, completely disregarding it.

Even though this was one of the worse moments Tomike had ever been through, somehow, it felt different this time. It felt different because she had someone with her. She had Iya Bose.

**********

So sorry guys for the late update. Took a break from social media and I must say it was refreshing. But! I'm back like I never left. 😁
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Btw my chapters are getting longer than usual right? I know. Can't help it though.
I'd like to dedicate this chapter to EbeleChristian thanks for all the support 😘😘
Don't forget to vote comment and share!
Xoxo💕
Val💕