Yejide Episode 12 – 13
Yejide Episode 12
The following day, Kelechi dropped by to see Yejide again but this time, he came with a check that he indicated to Yejide was for her upkeep. He mentioned things like using it for house rent, clothes and food even though he tried not to make it known that he already knew about their rent issues. It was a large sum of money enough to pay their house rent for three months. When Kelechi handed Yejide the check, she exclaimed and revealed the sum to Dupe who was also seated with them. Dupe who saw this immediately went on her knees to thank him on their behalf but to everyone’s surprise, Yejide handed the check back to Kelechi and told him that she could not accept it. This was because she felt that he had done enough for them. Dupe who was beside Yejide gestured for her to take back her words and action but she ignored and insisted that he take back his check. Kelechi only sighed and begged Yejide to accept it.
“But why do you keep doing this? Where you dey work sef? How do you get all this money?”
“Don’t worry Yejide, I didn’t steal the money. God provided them for me so that I can give you…..” Kelechi talked some more and after some persuasion from him and Dupe, she accepted it.
Kelechi kept dropping by to look after Yejide and soon enough they got pretty close. One Tuesday afternoon, they had gotten into some deep conversation and revealed some of their past experiences. Their conversation went from Yejide trying to explain to Kelechi how she could speak English so well to how she ended up on the streets and becoming a pr-stitute. Yejide had just turned seventeen when she was sent packing by her aunt who she lived with since she was born. Her mother had died at childbirth living her fatherless because her father was unknown. Yejide had suffered maltreatment while growing up from both her aunt and aunt’s husband who were supposed to cater for her. She was sometimes called names and even labeled an abomination because her mother had given birth to her out of wedlock and her father was unknown or sometimes called a witch because her mother died during delivery. Even with all of these, Yejide was still very brilliant in school. She would always come out top of her class and represent her school for so many competitions and expeditions. She was also like a big sister to her younger cousins who were both two and fours years younger than her. She would take responsibility for everything and would try to do everything that was right according to her aunt and uncle but that did not keep her from being maltreated. She would be beaten up for little things and deprived of food for no reason. She was eventually stopped from attending school after her senior secondary school two (SS2) even though from the beginning she worked her way into funding for her tuition by selling on the streets. Yejide was that type of girl who was maltreated out of envy and for being a good child. It wasn’t until she was almost raped by her aunt’s husband when she was sent packing. She had gone to report the incident to her aunt but her aunt who didn’t take her side thought she was trying to break her marriage so she sent her out of her home and told her never to return. That was the day Yejide left her aunt’s house and never thought to go back.
Yejide had nowhere to go so she lived on the streets as a panhandler for about six months before she met Dupe. Dupe had been working in a small food joint when she came in contact with Yejide. Yejide’s purpose which was to beg that very day changed when Dupe offered to help her. Dupe helped Yejide to get a mini job in the same food joint and not long after they met, they became really close. Yejide managed to work at the food joint for three months until she was kicked out with Dupe after Dupe was accused of stealing. The duo went back to living on the streets after they couldn’t find jobs and soon turned to pr-stitution to earn a living.
episode 13
When Kelechi heard Yejide’s story, he felt really sorry for her and tried to console her for her loss as well as
the fact that she was abused while growing up. From that very moment, Kelechi opened up to Yejide and revealed to her about his past as well. He told Yejide about how he also grew up fatherless and how hærd it was for him to cope with the stigma associated with having siblings (a step-brother and two step-sisters) who shared the same mother but different fathers. None of them shared the same father so their family used to get a lot of looks especially when he was younger. He mentioned some of the things he had to suffer due to his mother’s mistakes and how things changed once he found God. It was a very emotional moment for both Yejide and Kelechi. After Kelechi shared some of his past experiences, Yejide proceeded to ask how he was able to turn out well even with all of his circ-mstances. This is because according to her, she in the past had believed in faith and in God but stopped after she thought she had been abandoned by God. The two talked for a while and Kelechi encouraged and gave Yejide some advice that she even ended up agreeing to follow him to church the next Sunday.
That night, after Kelechi left for his house and Dupe got back from her outing, Dupe and Yejide had a long conversation about the new path Yejide had decided to follow. Yejide also opened up to Dupe about her past after five years of meeting each other. She had never opened to Dupe like the way she did with Kelechi about her past because she believed it was the best and didn’t want to unlock the pain she went through those years. She cried while speaking with Dupe who was also very emotional at that moment. Both ladies went silent for a while before Yejide asked Dupe to join her in leaving the pr-stitution life. It definitely came as a surprise to Dupe because she didn’t expect it from Yejide even with all the emotions that were floating in the air. She asked Yejide to repeat herself just to be sure that she heard properly before going speechless. Yejide tried to get Dupe to understand her reasons and why they needed to come to a halt. She explained to Dupe that she confessed to Kelechi and told her about what they did for a living so he spoke to her and gave her some advice. She also told Dupe that he had mentioned that he would help them get better jobs so Dupe was happy when she heard this. Ever since they had known each other and lived together, nobody had ever offered to help them like the way Kelechi did. Not even their neighbors could help get them jobs because everyone was struggling and trying to make it as well. The ladies cried tears of joy and hugged each other that night before falling asleep.
The following day, the least expected happened as Eric, Yejide’s supposed to be boyfriend finally showed up at Yejide’s house when Dupe wasn’t around. This was after a long time of his absence. She had gone to open the door to head for the kitchen when she saw Eric at the door. As surprised as she was, she frowned at his presence and asked him why he was there. He tried apologizing and hugging Yejide but she ignored his attempts. She was mad at him for many reasons and had already realized that Eric needed to be out of the picture so without even thinking twice she ended the relationsh¡p they supposedly had and told him never to get in touch with her again. Eric and Yejide’s relationsh¡p was more of a materialized relationsh¡p than a true relationsh¡p. At first, Yejide thought she would see more in Eric as she had pictured even though she knew he was a ladies’ man but things changed when she later noticed the routine she had with him. If it wasn’t going out to parties and outings with him just to serve as his girlfriend, she was pleasing him in bed. However, Yejide settled for Eric’s nonchalant spending and reckless attitude due to the money and material things she obtained from him while Eric was in for the s€×ual pleasures he obtained from Yejide. They both knew this individually but never openly admitted it. After that night with Kelechi and it was clear what she wanted and no longer wanted, she realized Eric was part of the people she needed to cut ties with. As she ended the relationsh¡p, Eric rained insults on her and called her names before exiting. She didn’t expect less so she hissed and watched as he left the premises in anger.
To be continued….