Here is the concluding part to the fiction I started last week The Travails Of Iya Ibeji. I am so sorry it took a while for its completion but I hope more the waiting is worth the while, with this piece. Make sure to rate and correct after reading....
Little Kehinde woke up when everywhere was dark. She looked around but was faced with eerie sights. Black faces, black trees, black floor and atmosphere, the only light at the end of her tunnel was her mother's face. She gave a little cry and made to reach for her mother when a light caught her fancy. It was a light emitting from the face of a creepy creature. It was supposed to scare her but rather alluring. She crawled towards the light in a bid to get hold of it but it kept moving farther. She was bent on catching up.
Little Kehinde crawled faster but the lights wouldn't stop running. Now the light was no where in sight and everything had turned pitch gloomy. Not even the light at the end of her tunnel; her mother's face. She gave a little cry and with no response, she cried louder.
Dewale was faced with a critical dilemma in his life. He was yet to complete the assignment given him by his boss and the woman whom he once loved had come earlier in the day to claim a happy reunion. If only she knew the kind of person her husband was; He knew deep down what he was doing is evil and when caught could be a disaster but what else could he do when it was the same end result if he did it or not. He had been threatened to be killed by his boss if he didn't complete this monthly assignments he was assigned. He wished he had stayed with Abebi in the village when he heard she gave birth to his own babies. Here he is, strolling in the middle of the night to see if a miracle might suffice.
Lost in thought of what excuse he would give his boss tonight, he was awoken by a familiar sound from nearby; a baby's cry. No! The Almighty doesn't answer to an evil man's heart desires. Maybe he was beginning to hallucinate because of his needs. He stopped and listened again; the cry was becoming more intense. He found a hidden corner and spied ahead. When he discovered it was all clear, he sent for the direction where the sound was coming and prayed desperately it was a lone kid.
Abebi stirred and felt around her. She was relieved when she touched familiar flesh. Her babies. She had smiled and continued her doze into the dreamland. She had a horrible nightmare. Taye and Kehinde had grown into teenagers and they were leading reckless lifestyles. Taye was the head of a school cultist while Kehinde was running a prostitution business downtown. She really did try to train this children. Why would they turn this way. She desperately tried to call them to order, all to no avail. She started to look for Dewale who happens to the their father maybe they could obey his own plea but it was a thing of surprise when she found out he was in prison. What is her life turning to??
"Woman who are you?" The voice asked and tapped her to wake her up.
Abebi opened one eye and discovered it was morning already. She had dozed off. She was about to say her good mornings and probably apologise for sleeping at her stall front when she found one of her twin was no where to be found! Maybe her eyes was deceiving her. She cleaned it with her wrappers and it met same sight. It was then she knew trouble has come!
"Madam I say why are you here?" the woman asked again....
Iya ibeji had gained her voice by now and descended on the woman asking for her second child to be provided. The ruckus caused a big scene as people trooped out of their stalls to see the drama unfolding. She kept shouting and wailing for Kehinde while the other woman asked that she be vindicated as she was just a mere shop owner. People were surprised by the strangers accusations and someone belled the police when it seem the issue couldn't be salvaged.
The police bundled them into the van and straight to the station. Investigatons began in earnest and by evening, there was a call by a street vigilante about a man in their custody whom they caught probably kidnapping a child whom he claimed to be his. The baby description fits the one they were looking for, so they asked that the man be brought over for questioning.
The abductor turned out to be Dewale. He had seen a lone child by the road and had assumed his prayer had been answered, especially when she kept quiet and even slept when he carried her in his arms. Luck ran out of him when he met some Vigilante who had intercepted his escape moves and tied him down in their cabal trying as much to root out from him the truth. How could he have told them he was a victim of circumstances. He was unlucky to have a ritualist as a boss. He uses children for money charms and he was the messenger sent out to bring the victims. This child was supposed to be the 8th but now this would be his last.
Abebi was more than relieved when she saw her Kehinde but was a separate feeling when she learnt her baby was almost abducted by a man and the man turned out to be the baby's father. If only Dewale had looked at his children's face when she brought them, he wouldn't have dared to take his own to danger. He shooed them away earlier, now it was time for her to shoo him away in revenge. He was busy shouting, "I told you the baby was my kid, that woman over there is my wife" and when Abebi was asked, she denied knowing him asking that he rot in jail. Long story cut short, he was thrown into 20years in prison after being tried in court and found guilty with crimes: accomplice to murder and kidnapping.
Iya Ibeji had forgotten totally about her dream that night. She got help from the state's government as a damage for the crimes of Dewale. There was a scholarship for her children and a booming business set up for her, one which she manages well. She had a very bad habit of disallowing people scold her children. She pampered them to the extent where they control her emotions and actions. Whenever a teacher scolds any of her child, she would go over to that school to fight. So everyone let her kids do what they wished.
It was around this time, Taye, who happens to be the male and first twin started pilfering(stealing). Kehinde, the female of the twin had started getting sweets from the uncle next door and he had been pleasuring himself with her delicate body in turn. When concerned people brought Iya Ibeji's attention to it, she flared up and accused them of badmouthing her twins. She was busy with business to notice anything wrong with her wards. It was late before it dawned on her.
The twins were now in the university, both leading reckless lifestyles. She heard her boy was now a notorious cultist feared around campus with the popular nickname, "Capo" and her girl, no matter how much she tried to provide for her, she still went extra miles to get her incomes by pleasuring men. What kind of a life is this? She had no one by her side to talk to her children and their father was still in the prison serving his term.
She was lost in thought when a call jolted her of her reverie. It was a call from the Village. She learned her mother was sick and her attention was needed. Of truth, she felt guilty of neglecting her mother. She had only visited the village twice since she came to Lagos. For her, Lagos was the main deal while the village was just a fling from hell, she forgot her roots. On hearing the news, she quickly set preparations to travel to the village. She assembled her workers telling them how to handle business in her absence. She called the twins so they could go with her, they refused. She decided to go alone but it was too late as her mother died before she could reach the village. She performed the last rites before going back to Lagos finally.
Taye, a fine young teen was known to be strong headed and rebellious. He joined a secret cult in the first year he gained admission into tertiary institution. He was known for his callous acts and bravery. He has carried out mostly, major successful missions in the secret group and this has made him accelerated faster to the position of a first in the cult society. As the head of such societies, he was more exposed to danger as he would be the frontier to every clash activities they involved another of their kind. He had learnt how ruthless his own father had been and had vowed to do more! There was trouble breeding as the head of another secret group was wooing the girl he had an eye for. They would be fighting to death for this sake and a date has been picked. He smiled at his usual victorious self... "I am Don Capo afterall"........
The twins had a heated argument that morning because of Kehinde's lifestyles. The male had accused the female of sleeping around even with his best friend and she had retaliated by pointing out how he had once killed her own lover. The argument had gotten out of hand, in annoyance, the boy stabbed the girl on the chest and ran away. She was rushed to the hospital and their mother was contacted. Iya ibeji was still crying about that incidence when another call came in. She feared receiving calls these days because of bad news but did she have a choice?
Taye has just been shot by a rival cult to which he died immediately. On hearing the news, the mother collapsed. She woke up some two days later to hear her Kehinde is also gone. What was life without her children?? She planned to commit suicide but the watchful eyes of the government anticipated that and wouldn't allow her. By now, Dewale had almost completed serving his prison term.
Some Few months to the twins demise, Dewale was set free and the first thing he did was to search for his family. He was devastated when he heard of the twins death and blamed himself for not being father and husband enough to his family. He sought Abebi's forgiveness. Even though it took her long to accept him fully, she finally did. He was the only family she had left afterall. They decided to go back to the village so he could take over his father's property.
With greying hairs, they still looked good together. They got a driver to take them back to the village after packing up their things. Maybe Lagos wasn't meant for them. They would go to start a new life over again in the village. They had seen much in life which was one reason they aged more than their ages. Abebi placed her head on Dewale's shoulders wishing her twins were there with them to make a complete family she had always dreamt of. Dewale, understanding what she might be thinking, raised her head up, looking into her eyes pleadingly and kissed her forehead. The driver was amused at the drama going on between the two oldies and lost concentration. Long story cut short, there was an accident, the couple died leaving the driver unscathed....
WHAT A FATE!!!!!
N.B - If you are angry the story ended on a bad note, remember, not all that starts bad ends good and vice versa. I just had to divert our minds out of the usual conclusions. Life itself is unpredictable...