MUTING IT√

ONE

To her, the house was deserted. Looking around the room, her sister who had been staying with her since the deed happened was no where to be found. She got up gently and looked around the room.

Then she headed towards her cousin's room only to realize they weren't there, her mom's room was the same too, looking around the whole house, she didn't find anyone. Did they abandon her? Did they finally found out about her deeds? Did they realize she…

The protest from the door interrupted her thoughts as she sighted her mother walk in with her sister and cousins, but then they weren't alone, the people she recognized to be a part of the extended family were with them.

Her mother was the first to notice her presence.

"Mimi, come down," she ordered and Mimi nodded before descending the stairs while all eyes were fastened on her.

Mimi looked from the bald old man to the slender aunty Ife and then the chubby man who had always tried to prove he was better than her father; uncle Sola. Then her eyes met with her grandma.

"Part of what we are talking about, you can't greet abi?" Her grandma said in disdain.

They knew quite well that she couldn't do that, Mimi ignored her and sat by her mother who had her head bowed with a black scarf wrapped around her.

"Now on to what we came for, today marks the last day of your opo, it's time to go," the bald old man known as the oloriebi announced.

Mimi's mother raised her head in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"It's time to leave, you have nothing to do in my son's house again," Grandma continued.

Mimi shared a look with her younger sister Fara before looking at her cousins.

"I don't understand you," Mimi's mother replied.

"You are to leave this house by weekend, you and your kids, likewise Lanre's children," the old man announced.

"What!" Fara screamed.

"That's what we are talking about, the elders are talking and you still have the guts to talk, your mother didn't train you?" Uncle Sola questioned with contempt evident in his voice.

"This is my husband's house, you can't just tell me to leave, where do you expect me to go with the kids?" Mimi's mother voiced out.

"You have no right to question us, just thank your head that Ife begged on your behalf if not you'll be in prison now, so…."

"I didn't kill him, how many times do I have to prove my innocence?" She yelled in frustration.

"So the poison crawled into the food or who is the wife here? You cooked his meal or did he cook it himself? Just think of this as a favour, leave or you rot in jail," and with that the old man got up prepared to leave.

Mimi felt a pang in her chest at the mention of her father's death. They all blamed her mother for his death when she wasn't the one, agreed she prepared his meal but no one knew how the poison got into the food.

"You can't just tell us to leave, this is our father's house!" Fara shouted and they scoffed.

Grandma ignored her outburst and turned to their mother, "You only have two days, mind you, you have to leave with Lanre's kids."

"What!" Mimi's cousins, Omolola and Omolara exclaimed in unison while Mimi's mother looked up at her with glassy eyes.

"Where do you expect me to go with four children?"

Uncle Sola shrugged, "You can go to hell, we don't need Lanre's kids in our family, your husband decided to take them in which makes them your responsibility."