Unfulfilled Promise

Unfulfilled promise episode 39 – 40

Unfulfilled Promises
season 1
Episode 39

Emem usually made nasty statements around her about spoilt people who engaged in s€× at an early age which really hurt Oleng as she intended Oleng tried not to mind her because her elder sisters were nice to her They accepted her the way she was Edidiong had been the one to comfort her the day she had caught her crying over Eric.
“I’ve tried to forget him,” she had sobbed. “I’ve blocked my mind from thinking about him but he keeps coming How could he betray me like that? We were best friends We planned on getting married in future yet he abandoned me when he knew I was pregnant.His own child for that matter. We made so many promises to each other.” she had bitterly wept.
“It’s okay, Oleng,” Edidiong had consoled “Guys are like that It’s a pity you fell for him They promise you the wh0le world but run away at the slightest sign of trouble Don’t worry, you’ll get over him. Just give it time Time changes all things.”
Oleng had been very grateful to her ever since for understanding Life wasn’t so unbearable there because Aunt Vien and her children with an exception of Emem of course were nice to her.
She came back to the present and remembered her mother Not once had her mum called her to talk to herShe sent messages through her sister She had taken her phone so she couldn’t communicate with her friends, Zinny and Marvy whom she missed so much Eddy and Dave were out of the question She missed her friends so much she wished they were there with her Zinny would have made mince meat of Emem and Marvy would have made good friends with Mfon since they were so alike.
Her aunt had registered her in antenatal classes but she had refused to go there again after her first visit The women and the doctors had embarrassed her with stares They had wondered almost loudly what such a young girl was doing there She had heard whispers from some pregnant women that she had probably been raped She had wept all the way home despite how her aunt had consoled her.
Her aunt had called her mum who had sent down money for a private doctor to come and see her regularly since she refused to go back to the hospital She had also sent money for new clothes since the bulge had grown bigger as she was five months gone and baby things That was all her mum was good for; sending money since Aunt Vien was just a teacher.
She followed her aunt to the living room after much persuasion where the girls were making noise about the nollywood movie they were watching Emem burst into rude laughter when she saw her in front of her mum Mfon nudged her to be quiet.
“Edi love, please get Oleng her breakfast.” her aunt instructed.
“Sure.” She got up from her chair.
“Please I can get it myself.” Oleng protested.
“Don’t worry, Oleng. I’ll get it for you. Just sit down.” she advised going to the kitchen. “By the way, what do you want to eat?” she called from the kitchen.
“Bring rice for her.” Her mum called out to her as she made Oleng sit carefully on a chair.
Mfon and Anietie tried not to look at her for her not to be embarrassed but Emem stared at her mockingly. Oleng lowered her eyes. She felt ashamed indeed.
“Please Edidiong. This is too much. I can’t finish it.” she complained when her cousin brought her a plate heaped with fried rice, garnished with salad and three pieces of chicken.
“As usual, the queen of the house dey complain.” Emem taunted.
“Shut up, Emem.” her mother chided.
“Try to finish it Remember you’re eating for tw. Do you want your baby to be as small as an ant?” Edidiong teased.
“Actually, I don’t care.” Those very sadly spoken words touched everyone in the room except Emem of course!
Oleng continued to live with her aunt in peace except when Emem visited Time flew and her pregnancy was now nine months old Her mum for once didn’t talk to her all the months she was in her aunt’s place. She didn’t mind since she was used to such treatment. The doctor examined her and said she would be able to put to bed naturally and if she couldn’t she would undergo a cesarean section.
She woke up early on the thirtieth 30th)day of April feeling pains She ignored them and didn’t tell her aunt until late evening when the pain became worse Her back felt as if there was a heavy wood on it Her wa-ist was killing her Her aunt rushed her to the hospital when she told her it was as if she had urinated on her body which meant her water had broken She kept lamenting that she didn’t know that labor pain was like that After hours of tough labor, she finally gave birth to a healthy baby boy in the early hours of the first day of May She cried tears of joy when she heard her baby crying.

Unfulfilled Promises
Season 1
Episode 40

Aunt Vien was very happy She kept saying that Oleng had finally broken the girl jinx by giving birth to a boy Her parents had given birth to two girls; her sister had given birth to her, Oleng while she had given birth to four girls So it seemed there was no male child in their family but Oleng had proven them wrong Oleng felt it was Eric’s gene since his parents had given birth to two boys also.

******/
At that precise moment, Eric lifted his head from his book and stared into space He couldn’t explain the immense joy that had come over him all of a sudden A smile curled his l-ips and lit his face like a light bulb.
“And Mr. Moody finally smiles What’s tickling your fancy?” Damian’s gaze rested on his smiling brother.
Eric turned to look at his brother on the sofa. “I really don’t know All of a sudden I feel like dancing…and all I can think of now is Oleng.”
Damian sighed. “Eric, it’s been five months. I think you should forget about her.”
“Easier said than done.” He sadly replied.
***
After Oleng’s few minutes of sleep, she was made to br-ast feed the baby She cried tears of joy while doing so The baby looked so much like Eric He had his family trait of very fair coloringThough the baby still looked red, Aunt Vien told her the baby would be fairer than normal Oleng knew he would look like ahalf-caste like his dadAunt Vien noticed that the baby had her nose She asked her what she would call him.
“Eric, after his father even though he abandoned us,” she replied weakly and sadly. “If he had been a girl, I would have named her Erica.”
Aunt Vien smiled She told her she had called her mum but Oleng had closed her eyes after the baby finished nursing hungrily and was taken to his cot Oleng woke up to find her aunt crying profusely. She grew alarmed
“Aunty Vien, what is it? What’s wrong?” she fearfully asked but she just continued crying She looked into the baby’s cot but her baby wasn’t there.
“Where’s Eric? Where’s my baby?” she clutched her aunt’s hand who shook her head vigorously and continued crying.
“Where is my baby?”
“He’s dead.” Aunt Vien finally said in between sobs.
“What?” she scre-med. “No! What have you done with my baby? I want to see my baby Eric! Where’s my Eric?” Oleng yelled hysterically upsetting the drip on her hand.
Aunt Vien ran to call the doctor while Oleng continued yellingbThe doctor and some nurses came in then.
“Calm down please.” The doctor advised.
Doctor, where’s my baby?” Oleng yelled with tears rolling down her eyes
With great sorrow and shaking his head, he replied, “There was a sudden complication with your baby He couldn’t breathe His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck when you gave birth to him but we managed to remove it but it had already affected him.”
“But he was okay when I held him.” she reasoned, still in tears.
“Yes. It was a delayed effect He suddenly had trouble breathing and finally died I’m sorry.”
“No! No! No! Where’s my baby? I don’t believe you. You’ve killed my baby. Eric, where are you? They have killed my baby.” she wept hysterically and had to be injected before she calmed down and slept but before she slept she muttered, “I’ll never forgive you You’ve taken my baby away from me Eric, they’ve killed our baby.”
If Oleng had been considered moody before she gave birth, well, after the death of her baby, she became worse She became withdrawn When she was discharged from the hospital, she wanted to go back to Port Harcourt so she would stop being a burden but her Aunt would hear nothing of it.
So she continued to stay with her though she spoke no word She would stare into space as if she were in a trance Nothing Aunt Vien did or said could get to her She had to complain though that her br-ast felt heavy because of the uns-ckled milk. Aunt Vien helped her out,
In desperation at all her failed attempts at bringing her out of her shell, her aunt told her mother to come over,The latter didn’t mince words in telling her to snap out of it when she came.
“You should be happy that you’re not saddled with an unwanted baby Now you can go back to school and get on with your life Don’t you know you would have found it difficult to get married? No man would want to be saddled with a child that is not his- a male child for that matter! So you should be grateful to God for saving you from such an incongruous situation Instead of mopping around, get a grip on your life and start preparing to write your G.C.E. exams by September and since it’s too late to enroll WAEC exams for you, you’ll take that next year You must gain admission into the university next year Have I made myself clear?” she asked the still figure on the bed.
“Oleng! I’m talking to you. Have I made myself clear?” she asked her daughter who just ignored her,She walked to the bed and roughly shook her daughter who leapt up in anger.
“What is it? Why can’t you just leave me alone the way you did when I was pregnant? I know you’re happy that my baby died so that you can continue to control my life the way you want Well, I’m not in your house anymore and I’m not going back so please just leave me alone I’ll resume school whenever I dim fit and not at your own command So just go back to Port Harcourt and continue to live your life without me as you’ve always done.” she threw at her mother and laid down on the bed again, turning to face the wall.
“Oh, so you feel we are equals now for you to talk to me anyhow because you’ve given birth to a child the way I did even though yours died So you want to continue to useless your life pinning away over that fool and his bastard child Let me tell you, you won’t succeed! You’ll write that G.C.E. and WAEC even if I have to drag you to the exam hall myself I’ll send your books down and everything you need for the exams I’ll be here by September Make sure you are ready.” With those sternly spoken words, she walked away leaving her daughter numb,
She didn’t bother to spend the night but took the next flight back to Port Harcourt.

To be continued

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