Gone astray episode 12 – finale
Gone astray
Episode 12 (finale)
Ruth resumed school after about one month of
absence. She was looking quite different. She
was much more withdrawn and anti-social
than she used to be.
The news of her miscarriage and apparent
molest had been on everyone’s l-ips. Though
there were different versions of the story, they
all seemed to have emerged from one source,
Hannah.
She had made new friends, and never seemed
to care about what happened to Ruth. I was
the only person Ruth had. She never failed to
express how much regret, pain and
embarrassment she had caused herself and
her family. I could feel her pain, i was just
thankful it wasn’t me.
We watched with keen interest as Hannah and
her new-found friends continuously absconded
from school and returned unsuspectingly. It
surprised me how easily she could influence
people. Each time i saw her friends, it was like
seeing myself all over again.
Two weeks passed, as we neared the end of
the term. It was a typical monday morning.
The last lecture before break had just began,
Hannah and her friends left the classroom
with their bags hanging from their shoulders,
heading towards the gate house.
Ruth and i went straight to the principal’s
office, to alert him. The principal was a stout
old man, known for his extreme punishments.
He was angered by our news. He walked
hurriedly towards the gatehouse at the back of
the school, hoping to catch Hannah and her
colleagues.
Ruth and i walked briskly behind him,
struggling to keep up with his pace. Halfway
through the journey, i felt thirsty and
exhausted. I was p-nting heavily. It had been
going on for quite a while now, i waved it off
as stress.
As i struggled to keep pace, my vision became
blurred, eventually turned dark, i felt
weightless and powerless. I tried to call out to
Ruth, but my vocal cord produced no sound.
From that moment, i had no idea where i was,
or what was happening.
.**********
I opened my eyes slowly, trying to figure out
where i was. I knew i had passed out, a while
ago, but i couldn’t guess how long. I turned
my head sideways to look properly at the
figure sitting in front of me.
My vision was inaccurate and blurry at first.
As it began to brighten, i could see my mother
sitting close, with tears flowing from my eyes.
I looked around the room carefully, it was
obvious i was in a hospital.
Fear gripped me as i saw the sadness on my
mum’s face. I was scared that something bad
may have happened.
“what happened? “i asked, trying to prop
myself up on the bed.
My mum handed me a piece of paper. I
snatched it from her, and perused it’s content.
It made no sense to me, it was mainly medical
jargons.
” i don’t understand, what does it say? ” i
asked as i handed the paper back to her.
” you are pregnant “she said, in between sobs.
My heart skipped a beat, my head felt lighter.
If i were standing, I’d have fainted again. I
broke down in tears, thinking it was not
possible. I remember i swallowed the pills
Hannah gave me.
” no-no it has to be a mistake “i scre-med.
” blood and urine tests have confirmed it” my
mum replied
I held my head in my palm, utterly confused
and dejected. I had no idea what to do or say.
I felt like dying. I could feel my energy
draining away. I wanted to cry, but It seemed
my tear glands had dried up, or my pain was
more than tears.
My father burst into the room, and scre-med
at the top of his voice.
“so you have disgraced me finally, you have
brought shame to me”
He tried to hit me, but my mum held him
back.
“she is pregnant, don’t hit her please”.
I just laid motionless on the bed, at this point
i couldn’t care less if i was dead. My life was
empty and meaningless.
“who is responsible for this “my father shouted
” Ehis” i blotted out without hesitation.
“Ehiagwina’s son?’
‘yes’
“get up, we are going to his father’s house”.
My dad dragged me roughly from the bed, he
led me out of the door, not minding my
current state of health. My mum tagged along,
as we headed for Mr Ehiagwina’s house.
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The atmosphere was tense, the reception was
hostile. Mr Ehiagwina had labelled my dad a
failure for not being able control the “small
LovePeddler” he had in his house. He was
convinced that his son wasn’t responsible for
my pregnancy, even before hearing his side of
the story .
He ordered us out of his house, but my dad
insisted on hearing from Ehis first. Mr
Ehiagwina called him over the phone, and
ordered him to come home immediately.
We sat and waited quietly for about 30
minutes. I stood behind my mum who was
weeping profusely. My face was devoid of
emotions, i had cried myself to the limit.
Although i was falling apart in,side, my
countenance didn’t reveal much.
Ehis arrived no sooner than expected, he
entered the living room unannounced, perhaps
expecting to find his father alone. The faces
before him through him back. He paused for a
while and examined our faces closely.
No doubt, he must have deduced the situation
appropriately. He reorg-nised himself and
greeted everyone. His father pointed a finger
at me.
“do you know her?”he asked
“we attend the same church” he replied
calmly.
“she said she is pregnant for you”
“Jesus! “Ehis exclaimed, putting his hands on
his head.
” daddy, i don’t know what she is talking
about” Ehis denied
“shut up, the catechist caught both of you in
church the other time” my father cut in
“that was then, she was my girlfriend, but we
broke up when i caught her in a hotel with a
man” Ehis continued.
” i told you she is a LovePeddler ” Mr Ehiagwina
contributed.
” she has been sleeping with odion’s brother,
what ever she is carrying there must belong to
him,” pointing at my abdomen.
” did i not catch you with him in a hotel? ”
Ehis asked
The entire scene was inhuman and
embarrassing for me and my family. Being
called a LovePeddler with circ-mstantial
evidence made me want to die.
Who would have believed that Ehis would ever
treat me like this? Few weeks ago, he took my
V-rginity, he was my knight in shining armour.
Today he is the one labelling me a
LovePeddler.
I bent my head in shame, as everyone turned
towards me, waiting for a response . Any reply
i give would make no difference, I’d be damned
anyway.
“Odion’s brother has returned to Malaysia, you
can take your LovePeddler daughter and b—–d
grand child to him there, but for now get out
of my house” Mr Ehiagwina barked.
My dad jumped to his feet and hurried out of
sight. My mum and i walked slowly towards
the door. I walked closer to Ehis and
whispered to him.
“you ll come looking for your child someday ”
He totally avoided eye contact with me, he
knew deep within himself that he was the
father.
My dad’s car was not parked outside anymore,
he had left us in anger. My mum and i took a
cab home. We cried all the way home, other
passengers looked at us in amusement,
wondering what was wrong.
We got home, me and my mum went in
separate direction. I went to my room and
continued my tears. Ighalo joined me in my
room, and cried along.
About 10pm, a sharp knock on the gate
awakened everyone. Ighalo went outside to
open. My father staggered into the compound,
towards the house. I came to the seating room
to have a good view of him.
The stench of alcohol and vomit esc-rted him
as he staggered along. He began to utter
several senseless words
“you disgrace me you disgrace yourself. I’m a
failure, but your education is over, you and
your b—–d. ”
I knew he was referring to me, i was grieved. I
had never seen my father drunk before. As i
watched my father throwing up, and my
mother weeping, i felt terrible. I knew i had
brought shame and disgrace to my household,
and myself. I had made mistakes, gone astray, and that, would
change my life forever.
THE END…
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