Tears From Within...A story by E PLUS The Storyteller.

Silence! Silence! And even more silence! I tapped my feet restlessly, trying very hard to keep calm, but that, did not help. I had caused a scene and the neighbors felt so sorry for me! Hmmm.. my emotions were taking a toll on me, I had become an emotional wreck, owing to an abusive marriage that had left me shattered, beyond repair!

"Madam, you will have to come with us, to the police station." One of the officers, who had come along with his team, said to me.

"Sure, no problem." I replied, as I headed towards the house, just to lock the door.

"Well, there would be no need for that, we will take care of the premise, this is a very serious case, hence we need all evidence intact." The officer said, as he beckoned on me to get into the police vehicle.

 For a moment, I stood still, lost in thoughts, pondering over the entire incident, and I asked myself so many questions:

Where did I go wrong?

Was it a crime to be in Love?

Was I actually so blind that I couldn't see the handwriting on the wall?

How did I get here?

Right before my eyes, I watched my only daughter fall off the stairs, in a bid to save me from being stabbed by my own husband, but for my neighbors it would have been a different ball game. 

Angel, my daughter was actually rushed to the hospital, alongside my husband who eventually fell on the floor after I narrowly escaped the knife!

As my mind pondered over the entire scenario in the car, I slept off, only to be woken up by the police officer, as soon as we arrived at the station.

"Madam, here, water." He said, as he handed me a bottle of cold water. Without thinking twice, I rushed it. It was more of a life saver.

"Hmmm.. Thank you so much! I really needed this." I said, as I could hardly hold my breath.

"You are welcome, madam." The officer said.
I guess, it was his disposure that actually put me at ease, because the police station is the last place I wanted to be, at that moment.

"Now, tell me madam.. what happened today?" The police officer asked, as he stared into my eyes. Then, I heaved a heavy sigh.

"You really want to know the entire story?" I echoed.

"Yes, because this would help our investigation as to whether you are guilty of any foul play or not." The office elaborated. That moment, it felt like a furnace of anger, regret, betrayal and bitterness had just been opened up, then slowly, the tears from within rushed down my cheeks like a loosed canon. 

Then, I began my story...

It all began one Friday night, I had returned from work, quite early, and I needed some time to ease off tension. So I called Alice, one of my best friends, for a hang out but her phone was switched off. Then, I tried Tokunbo, also switched off.

 "Where did everyone go!?" I lamented.
After pondering and contemplating on what to do. I eventually decided to hang out by myself, then I took a quick shower, and headed for the club.

As soon as I entered the club, I had this chill like trickle on my back, the kind of feeling I always have, when something is about to happen! I spotted a vacant stool close to the bar section, so I decided to take it. I remember sitting down for at least thirty minutes when this young man walked up to me. Looking at him, you could tell, he was just far older than me. He smiled and I responded back with a smile.

"You look quite familiar." He said. I just stared on, to ascertain his assertion, but I couldn't really recall his face.

"Do you work for D and G?" The young man continued. That, immediately caught my attention. He had mentioned the company I worked for, so apparently, he was quite sure of what he was saying. Though, I had wanted to just be alone, nonetheless I did not want to appear as a snob, so I responded.

"Yes, I work at D and G." 

"Exactly! Looks like you have forgotten all about us." The man continued talking. At that point, I was lost, I couldn't relate with what he was saying.

"Us?" I asked.

"Yes, Us. Em.. remember the community project at Lawrence beach?" He asked.
Then it struck me! And what looked like a stroke of luck, just flashed through my head.

"Wow! Lawrence Beach! Oh my goodness! And for a moment, I thought I had lost you forever! Pardon me, I did not abadon that project. At a time I was just battling with other assignments, I got transferred, and stayed away for two years. As soon as I returned, the project was suspended, plus I lost your admin's contact, I tried to reach your PR, but did not get any feedback. Eventually, one of your staff informed me that Lawrence Beach was no longer interested in the project, so I let it rest." I explained.

"Hmmm... Well, I had no idea, you were still working for D and G. I thought you had left." The man replied.

"I'm still there, just running a different portfolio." I said.

"Cool. Then I guess we can reopen discussion on the project. We have new ideas that would excite you." He said.

"Awesome." I replied, quite optimistic.

"My name is Mairo, that's if you still remember me. At the time you were running the project, way back, I was just at the background, but now, I run and head the entire logistic department." The young man said.

"Hmmm... Quite a leap, and congratulations!" I replied.

"Thank you Miss Judy." He said as he stretched forth his hand for a hand shake. After an awkward silence, he broke the ice.

"Em.. do you come here, quite often? You don't strike me as one who would like to hang out in the club." Mairo said.

"Well, I guess we, don't just carry the label around." I replied with a smirk.

"Hmmm.
. nice one! You are such a  witty woman. So can I get your number? I'm hoping we can kick start the project, pretty soon." Mairo requested. And without further hesitation we exchanged numbers. For some reasons, I thought maybe my instinct had driven me to the club that day, as it had marked the reopening of a project I valued  so much. 

Weeks after, Mairo and I began to run the project on a very smooth sail, actually my Boss was quite impressed with my precision on every detail, and he was very appreciative of my relentless commitment to seeing the project through. I remained grateful to Mairo for his hindsight.

"Thank you so much for reconnecting, we wouldn't have achieved this great stride without you." I said, after we had successfully completed the project.

"Hmmm.. let's just say, your presence at the club was a catalyst." Mairo responded cheerfully.

"And I must say, you are really good at what you do." He added.

"Thank you so much, I appreciate your gesture." I replied. 

"Okay, I will be leaving now, hopefully we get to do more projects together." I said, as I handed him his cheque. He stared at me for a moment, and with the cheque still in my hand, I felt quite nervous.

"What about we go out, sometime this week? That's if you don't mind." Mairo said. I pondered over his proposal for a while, then I just smiled.

"Well, it's that a smile of approval?" Mairo asked, teasingly.

"Okay, let's see." I replied.

"Great! Looking forward to it." Mairo said as he eventually took his cheque. Through out the rest of the day, I pondered over Mairo's proposal, I wasn't sure what to expect, yet I was ready to give it a chance.  Mairo was quite cool, hilarious, intelligent, confident and unassuming. Apart from the latter, the other four qualities were fine by me. Anyway, this was a chance to take.

Saturday night was actually a day to remember; Mairo had taken me to an exquisite restaurant and I had my favourite meal.
It was fun, as we laughed, chuckled, giggled and talked all night. Actually, I wasn't looking forward to going home, like I stated previously, it was a swell night. The chemistry between Mairo and me grew and we had become an item. He literally swept me off my feet!

"So, Judy you believe he is the one, right?" My brother, Bernard probed. He had stopped by to see me.

"Hmmm.. yes! Absolutely." I replied as I watched him keenly.

 Bernard remained silent.

"You're not saying anything?" I prompted.

"Hmmm..
you said that you are sure nau! Anything I say now, might not go the right way." My brother admitted.

"Bernard, is there a problem, I will like to know your reservations. Just say your mind." I insisted.

 Bernard heaved a heavy sigh.

"Okay.. let me put it this way, Mairo is a great guy, at least we have hung out severally, and I have nothing against him. However, I still think you need to know him more than you do now. His beliefs, convinctions, strengths, weaknesses and whether you can live with them, or compromise here and there." Bernard said.

 At that moment, I felt I could relate with my brother's position. A part of me agreed with all he had said but another part protested.

"Well, Thanks bro, be rest assured that I know what I'm doing." I responded.

"No problem sis, I wish you and Mairo all the best." My brother said, as he embraced me.

On the other hand, my friends couldn't wait to wear 'asoebi'

Few months later, Mairo proposed, and preparation for our engagement and marriage commenced. Our families and friends were aquinted with all the details, and every hand was on deck to make the occasion a memorable one.

"Judy, this is marriage. Now, you are a wife and very soon, you will be blessed with the responsibility of becoming a mother. You need to be tolerant and resilient. Marriage is a total package. Build your home." My mother said amidst tears of joy as we both embraced each other.

Those words echoed for a very long time as they came in handy during the time of crisis in my marriage, a crisis I thought would end soon, but I was wrong. 

Despite my determination to make the marriage work, I watched my husband turn into a beast! I could no longer recognise my Knight and shinny Armour. Mairo had become very aggressive and easily irritable, at the slightest provocation.

   Even, when I assumed that the arrival of our daughter would be a positive turn around for us, I was wrong! Mairo wanted our first child to be a boy, thus his resentment.
He always had issues to pick up with me, and I was exhausted!

"This is four years after, yet you can't give me a son! I wonder why you are so comfortable?" Mairo yelled at me, while I was cooking. I remained silent, I had lost every strength in me, to even fight back.

"Pay attention when I'm talking to you!" He said, as he held on to my hand, very firmly. I was hurting.

"Please, Mairo, not today, not now. I'm tired." I pleaded.

"You are always tired! Tired! Tired! That's all I ever hear these days. What do you really do?" Mairo yelled.

"Mairo, you asked me to resign from work, and I did. I take care of the home, and ensure that your meal is ready whenever you want it...

"Oh! Shut up! And what's special about that? Any woman can do that!" Mairo interrupted and continued to yell. The more he yelled, the more I panicked because he was coming very close to hitting me. 

"I beg you Mairo, let me be." I pleaded, and before I could continue, he slammed my head against the wall. Shortly after, I lost my second pregnancy! Mairo wasn''t even at the hospital that night. I spoke with a counselor who advised me to work things out with my husband, rather than file for a divorce.

  I planned to go for a vacation with my daughter, but that plan was aborted, as Mairo threatened to deal with me if I stepped out of the house. Then, it dawned on me that I was in for a life time hell.

 My daughter  began to ask questions. She wanted to know why the house was always on fire. She had become very withdrawn and scared.

"Mummy, can you take me to Winnie's house?" She requested.

"Why? Don't you like it here?" I replied helplessly.

"No, mum.
You and daddy make me scared. Daddy is always shouting." She lamented. I hardly have the right words for my daughter, and this has taken a toll on me! I want her to learn the right values of life, and it all seems like we have fallen short. 

My marriage to Mairo can be described as a nightmare 

 So I decided to stage my exit from the house. I had almost succeeded, when my daughter hit her leg on the stair case, on our way out, then she screamed. This woke Mairo up, and he rushed out. As soon as he saw the luggages, he reached out to stab me with a knife, and simultaneously, my daughter attempted to prevent him, then she tumbled and fell off the stairs, while my husband slipped off and landed on the knife, as I dodged.

 Apparently, the noise of the commotion attracted my neighbors, and while I rushed out for help, someone had called the police. This is my story!

"Hmmm.. madam! So sorry about your experience. Now that we have your statement, we can accompany you to see your daughter and your husband in the hospital, and if you need a restraining order against your husband, then we can take it up." The police officer said.

 

"Okay officer, I'm ready to see my family." I said, as I finished up the bottle of water. On my way to the hospital, I became apprehensive. I wasn't sure what to expect, I prayed quietly. Immediately we arrived, we were taken to the children's ward, and there I saw my Angela, my daughter! She was fast asleep, I could see the bruise  she had sustained on her head while trying to protect me!😭😭.
Then, all the tears from within began to pour out. Angela had grown so fast in this cruel world of mine, she deserved something better! I stood and stared at my baby.

"Madam, I think she should be allowed to sleep for now." The nurse said. 

"Okay, no problem." I replied, and as we headed out, a tiny voice cried out.

"Mummy, please stay with me."

 Then I turned around and saw Angela reaching out for me. Quickly, I rushed and embraced her. We both cried for a while.

"Mummy, promise you won't go back." She whispered, and as I stared at her, the doctor walked in.

"Ah! Madam, I can see, you are much relieved now to see your daughter, your husband has requested to see you. 

Tears from Within... A story by E PLUS The Storyteller.

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