JEMIMA

Chapter 27

"Toni! Toni! Toni wetin do you" The Hausa man called in his thick Hausa accent, as he attempted to wake her up. Toni had fallen and was like a log of wood as passersby started gathering around.

" Bring me water," the Hausa man said as someone rushed to get it. Sprinkling water on her face, Toni jerked and woke up, she sat up as she began to say thank you to the people around. As she managed to get up she fell right back and fainted, the people around her grabbing her, to make sure she doesn't fall to the ground.

" Make we carry her go hospital," someone said. And immediately she was mounted on a huge man and taken to the clinic near the area.

After a few minutes, she was attended to as the nurses tried to revive her.

"Wetin do am?" One of the women that brought her asked the head nurse.

"She's alright, she's just having morning sickness. It seems she stressed herself a lot." The nurse answered.

"Morning sickness abi wetin. Wetin that one mean" the huge man asked.

With a giggle the nurse answered, she's pregnant so it's only normal that she gets sick and dizzy at the early hours of the day. Besides, she has been stressed a lot, I need you to make sure she gets enough rest".

" Pregnant?" Toni's Hausa boss asked shocked with his funny accent.

" Na wa oo, all these small small children. How old come be this one wey don carry belle". The woman commented.

" I tire o, I'm sure she's one of those loose girls. At your age" the huge man said, stretching his hand at Toni mockingly.

"Very good, Kai I no wan see you for my shop again, you hear. I go tell all the shop owners make them no allow you work for them. Make you no corrupt the girls we the manage finish" the Hausa man said to Toni.

Tears rolled down her eyes at their words, as she pleaded with the boss not to take the decision.

"Oga, I beg, na beg I dey beg. I no get anywhere else, biko. I beg no chase me commot I beg you oga". Toni said with tears in her eyes as she managed to get off the bed and kneel.

" No beg me, Ashawo (prostitute)" the man said as the three of them left to the clinic. Leaving the nurse and Toni in the room.

Toni looked up and called out to the nurse.
" Ma, please I beg you. Please help me remove this thing inside of me, I cannot go home, I can not get a job, please ma help me".

"Oh dear, you are a young girl, how could you have gotten yourself into this" the nurse asked compassionately as bent down to help Toni up.

"It's a long story ma, and I don't wish to talk about it, please just remove this baby". She said desperately.

" We don't do that here, apart from the possibility of it going wrong. All lives are special in the eyes of God, including your baby. You might have made a mistake in the conception of this child, but the baby itself is not a mistake" The nurse stressed.

" You don't understand ma, my life is a mess and I don't mind dying alongside the baby. I'm a mess ma"

" The harlot in the Bible was a mess, Paul was a mess, Peter was a mess, even David was a mess. But God turned their mess a life into miracles and influences. It doesn't matter how much mess your life is in, all that matters is you have a chance to rewrite your story". The nurse said, her words touching Toni, making her remember the times she spent in church, learning of God, and being the good girl she was taught to be.

All her life she never thought God would possibly pay attention to her life. She was complete trash and no one, not even God, could care about her. Losing her parents, the only people who showed her love even in her weird state, broke her and she had accepted the fact that God doesn't know her.