Adejare

TWO

Uncle Bola was a small man. With his clean shaven jaw and baby face that always housed a smile, he was often mistook for a young boy.
But he was not young at all.
He was in his early fifties and had a family which consisted of three grown up daughters, of which, one of them was married.
He was an easy going man who was loved by everyone in the village. He also happened to be my uncle.
And like baba, he shared the same dislike for the white folk.

So, when baba told me it was he who directed 'green eyes' to our house, I decided to confront him.

Of course, baba would not have allowed me confront his brother on the matter. But, I needed to understand why he had done what he did.

The next morning, after baba left for his farm at the far end of the village, I dressed up and left for Uncle Bola's house.

Unlike baba, Uncle Bola was a carpenter whose workshop was in front of his house. That made him almost always at home.

That morning, he was making a stool when I arrived. He was deeply concentrated in his work that he didn't see me till I greeted him.

"Good morning, Uncle Bola," I said, smiling at him from outside the tent that was his workshop.

He looked up at me and smiled.
"Ha ha ha. If it isn't my favourite niece. Don't just stand there, come in," he said, dropping his tools on a large table in the workshop and offering me a bench to sit on.
"How are you doing? "

"Fine, Uncle," I replied, sitting down on the bench.

"How about my brother? Hope he has not turned you into his wife?" He joked.

"Hahahaha. You know I've been his wife after mama passed."

"Exactly why I keep asking you to convince him to take a new wife."
Uncle Bola looked serious. All traces of joke gone from his face. "You won't be with him forever, you know. You will have to pursue your dreams at some point."

He was right. I couldn't stay with baba forever. I wanted to explore the world and make impact in it. Staying at baba's side would only dwarf my dreams.

"That's why I came to see you, Uncle Bola, " I said.

"Oh. Okay. Why are you here to see me?" He asked, joining me on the bench.

I did not know how to begin. I did not want it to sound as if I doubted his intentions towards me. I did not want him to even think I housed the idea that he could hurt me or baba.

"A white man came to our house yesterday. He was short and had green eyes," I began. "Baba said you sent him over."

There it was. I had said it.
Uncle Bola only smiled before answering.

"Tom," he simply said.
Seeing the look of confusion boldly written on my face, he continued. "His name is Tom. He is the representative in our village of one NGO called Helping Hands international. His NGO is dedicated to helping young girls achieve their goals in life by educating them over the seas, in the white man land."

"Okay. But where did you meet him. And I thought you hated his type, like baba?" I asked the last part, raising my eyebrow in question.

He laughed. I did not see what was funny in what I said.
"Hate the white men? Of course not. Your father must have filled your head with his own theories. Truly, I hate their guts and actions which affect us, but I don't hate them. They have after all, brought little achievements to our village. Check the neighboring villages. Which one of them has a primary school? None. Yes, the white men have exploited us and our resources in times past, but we allowed it. We are responsible for our exploitation as much as they are. It goes both ways. As for where I met Tom, it was at the edge of the market. He was lost and needed a locale who could direct him. When we met, he told me who he was and his agenda. Then, I recommended he started with you. That's all."

I did not know what to say or how to respond. What Uncle Bola said made sense. We were responsible for our exploitation as the white men were. It was after all, our greediness that had made us fall prey to their evil schemes. But that still did not explain why he did not recommend one of his daughters to Tom. Surely, they qualified too.

As if reading my thoughts, he spoke.
"I would have even recommended one of my daughters to him, but none can go. As you know, Aderanti just got married last week. There is no way her husband will allow her leave him to go and pursue some foreign education. And Titi is still a small girl. How can a five-year-old survive on her own outside the protection of her parents? There's no way she can go.
As for Adenike, I wanted to keep this a secret for sometime, as it is a great shame to me. But since the information is paramount to our conversation, I will tell you. I only wish it would have been later." There was a sober expression on his face as he spoke.
Was Adenike dying? Or, had even died, that I wasn't informed? But then, death doesn't bring shame now, does it?

"What's wrong with Adenike, Uncle Bola?" I asked, coercing him to talk.

"She's pregnant."

Wow.
Okay, I was not expecting that. But surely, it couldn't be that bad. Pregnancy is not entirely bad if you think of cute little babies.

"And she doesn't know who impregnated her." I heard Uncle Bola say.

Oops! It was very bad. In my village, a girl who got pregnant out of wedlock was seen as a wayward girl. And her parents were not left out either. They were seen as not being responsible enough to teach their daughter the morals and values of the village. It was even worse if she couldn't give the name of her child's father. Her family would be outcasts and would have to bear the shame forever.

I could understand why Uncle Bola kept it a secret. And why he had recommend me to Tom. All that I had to do was decide if I wanted to go out into the world and fulfill my dreams, or stay at baba's side forever, knowing I had let go of the opportunity to be a better person.

Not that there was much decision to make though. In my heart, I already knew what I wanted. And I knew someone else who would want it too.

Abike.

I smiled at turned my eyes once more to Uncle Bola.
"Uncle Bola, baba said Tom needs two girls. I know of someone who will be happy to follow him."

"And who is that?" He asked.

"My best friend. Abike. But there is a problem. Her father is planning her engagement. Its coming soon. I don't know if you can convince him. I'll do my own part in convincing her."

"Oh.. Her father is Aremu, right?" He asked to which I nodded. "That's not a problem at all. Just do your part and leave the rest for Tom and I. But you need to go too. I'm sure you'll be able yo convince your father yourself if you want to. And in case he still refuses to listen, you can always call me."

"Thank you, Uncle Bola. By the way, is anyone around? I haven't seen anybody since I came."

"Its only Adenike that is around. But because of her current state, I've told her to stay hidden. I don't want rumors flying around yet. Titi followed their mother to the market. They should be coming back by now."

I decided to go in and see Titi.
When I entered her room, I found out she was sleeping so, I decided to let her be.

I waited for another thirty minutes before Auntie Bose, his wife came. After exchanging pleasantries, we proceeded to the kitchen to cook.
We cooked 'amala' (yam flour) with our native soup 'akuku'.

It was when we were eating that Adenike woke up. She only came to the kitchen to take her food to her room. It was a brief encounter but I couldn't help noticing subtle changes in her like her little baby bump. She also looked more matured. I guess the maturity came with the knowledge that she would soon be responsible for the care of an innocent baby. Her baby.

After eating, I decided to help Auntie Bose fetch water into her pots before going home. I had a lot to tell baba. A part of me knew it would not be easy to make him see reasons with my choice but, I still had to try. I could not continue caging my dreams and aspirations. It was time to let them fly.

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Hi guys, that's the second chapter up there. I hope you enjoyed reading. If you did, please vote, comment and share.

~ Teewhizz17