Ijem gladly placed her head on his shoulders, she needed the strength he offered. Somehow this stoutly bearded man had grown to be her steady rock, just then She remembered someone had told her opposites do attract.
She and Obi had indeed attracted each other; his seemingly callous self and her sweet emotional self, his carefree attitude and her well-calculated perfect self. They had so many differences but they still fit, he understood her so well and this was what she kept on telling herself whenever he cheated. She loved him so much to forgive his weakness hoping he'd change when they get married.
Obi bobbed his round head lightly and began to hum and Ijem smiled, he always sang this song to her whenever she was moody. She sang along with him
"....you never know how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away". They laughed together and Ijem knew then that the result of the test would turn out fine.
The happy moment was cut short when a slender light-skinned lady Ijem assumed was a nurse called out to tell them that the test results were ready. She led them to a medium sized room that contained a bed and a desk with chairs. A small looking man sat behind the desk with round glasses dangling around his neck. He spoke warmly to them and for a bit, Ijem felt calm. The man continued to speak telling them about blood groups and compatibility.
Reluctantly he reached out for a white envelope, Ijem realized the envelope had been on the table all the while. She stared at him as he opened it and watched him as he put the round glasses on his eyes, staring at the paper for long.
Ijem held her breath and from the corner of her eye, she saw obi's head tilt sideways the way he always did whenever he was worried. The silence in the room was so loud Ijem could literally hear her own heartbeat racing. As the man began to speak, she gazed was fixated on his mouth, watching them move too fast, that she couldn't hear any more than she was focused. However, she caught the words "I'm sorry".
Hastily, she took her gaze away from his mouth and swiftly turned to Obi, as he too heard it. She wasn't sure of what he heard but she knew he heard the sorry part because his jaw had dropped open.
Ijem wanted to grab the paper and see for herself, but she knew she couldn't even read at that moment. It was then she felt the hands, the cold gripping hand of depression on her shoulders.
Stupidly, she remembered the hands on the depression poster she had earlier saw, the hands were open like it was offering something. She felt another hand wrapped around hers squeezing it hard, it was her obi.
The floor had become too cold and hard for Ijem to continue sitting. She stood up and continued cutting the hair. Tears burned in her eyes for a while but she didn't want to cry again. She reached out for the box of dye she had bought and opened it. She began to apply it with her bare hands not minding the consequences.
She had read somewhere that new hair equals new life, so she had hoped that new life would come along with a new man. Quietly, she promised herself that when the new man comes, the first question on their first date would be his genotype.
Finally, she was done, then she let the tears fall, hoping that after the rain would come the calm.