When a human society gets polarized by class consciousness, the gap
between children of the rich and that of the poor can only get wider. It becomes a stroke of Providence for
children with poor backgrounds to dine with their counterparts from rich families.
Emeka was one of the few children who enjoyed such rare benevolence of Providence.
Born by an admirable goddess who was to be widowed at forty, Emeka’s
mother spared no efforts within reasonable limits in offering her only child
the best education within her reach. Providence seemed to have found special
interests in her resolution and Emeka became an academic mystery to whoever he
finds in the classroom from tender age. At primary five, he had already emerged
the overall best pupil in a scholarship entrance exam into one of the
prestigious secondary schools in the country and that was how he crossed paths
with Agbomma. From then, they got entangled in an academic bond and their
academic oneness has traced its course down to SureHealth hospital.
There in SureHealth, between Emeka and Agbomma, healthy academic deliberations
and are quite common. Lively academic discussions that fetched them the
“Academic couple” title from their classmates in secondary school. Agbomma had
ensured neither their title nor Emeka’s raging academic thirst suffers setbacks
and right in that small cupboard sitting by Emeka’s hospital bed, she had
already stocked some basic first-year university textbooks and Emeka couldn’t
have thanked her enough.
During the evenings, when the signals of nightfall begin to gather
some measures of boldness, they usually embark on a gentle, snail-pace walk
within the hospital premises, as recommended by Doctor Ken. Topics of
discussion are usually handy and Agbomma looks forward to such daily exercise
as the exchange of ideas within such sessions reassures her of Emeka’s academic
balance and impressive views of life.
Today’s evening’s walk will definitely take a different tone. Emeka
had resolved in his mind to confront Mma on an issue of paramount importance to
him, a pinching issue which he knew Mma had been avoiding systematically ever
since her first visit to the hospital.
On that bench under the Gmelina tree where they usually pause for a
break after minutes of strenuous walk, in the silence in-between discussions,
Emeka beamed probing stares straight into the eyes of his companion. Agbomma was
trapped in a hail of confusion. On opening her mouth to implore reasons for
such curious stares; Emeka’s question seized the opportunity, “Mma, what has
happened to my mother?”
Immediately, strange feelings of shock ran through Agbomma’s spine. She
quickly chipped in a fresh topic with a pretentious smile not to have hard the
question. But Emeka will remain hell-bent on finding answers to his question or
spend the rest of the night under the Gmelina tree. Mma had already had a
superior instruction not to let out any answers to this question, no matter the
pressure and the situation at hand kept her lost in thought.
After long period of silence from Mma, Emeka got convinced that a genuine
attempt at finding answers to a biting issue had met the brick wall again. In
the company of tears, he gently lifted his clutches and began a walk back to
the hospital ward. Agbomma followed quietly behind.
One thing was loud in his mind, “Whatever that has kept a loving
mother from paying a visit to her injured only son in the hospital for two years,
must weigh more on the supreme side.
…..to be continued….
