Once inside, Emeka’s uncle began asking questions without pause.
“Why do you look so pale? Are you sick? Why is your belly so big?”
“Um… I came to see Emeka, sir.”
“Why?”
“I’m pregnant by him, sir,” she announced in tears.
“What? You’re pregnant by Emeka? At your age? What a disgrace!”
“Help me, sir, I beg you. My parents sent me away. I don’t know where to sleep.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t take you in here. The only thing I can do is give you Emeka’s parents’ address and a little money so you can go there. Here, this is all I can do for you.”
“Thank you, sir,” she replied, still in tears.
She left the house and immediately went to the station. She then took a taxi to Emeka’s home. During the whole trip, she thought about the parents she had left behind, and tears kept falling from her eyes.
After a few hours, she arrived in the village. She saw a woman in the distance sweeping.
“Good evening, ma’am.”
“Good evening, young girl. Are you looking for someone?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m looking for Emeka.”
“Why?” she asked sharply.
“I’m pregnant by him, ma’am.”
“What? Aren’t you ashamed? You come here claiming you’re pregnant by my son because you heard he joined the army? Get out of my sight immediately, witch!”
Just then, an old man stuck his head out of the hut door to see what was happening in the yard.
“What is going on here?” he asked.
“This girl came from nowhere and says she’s pregnant by our son.”
The man looked at her as if searching her face for an answer, then asked, “Are you sure what you’re saying is true?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
“Where do you come from?”
“It was Emeka’s uncle who gave me your address.”
“Emeka is not here right now. He was recruited into the army and has traveled. Please, sir, let me stay here. I have nowhere to go. My parents chased me out,” Ogei continued, crying.
“You don’t have a home, and so what?” Emeka’s mother exclaimed. “You are not welcome here. My house is already full.”
“Your house? Did you bring a house when I married you?” Emeka’s father asked angrily.
“Listen, young girl, follow my wife. She will show you a room where you can stay while waiting for Emeka to return.”
“Thank you very much, sir,” Ogei replied, relieved.
She followed Emeka’s mother to the room. Once inside, the woman hurled violent threats at her.
“You think you’ll get away with this so easily? Know that you haven’t seen anything yet. You’re lucky my husband stepped in in time, but I will personally make sure to deal with you in this house, you witch. My son Emeka had never known a woman in his life. Since we lived in poverty, no one ever came here saying she was pregnant by him. Now that he has joined the army, you appear from nowhere as if by magic. You’ll soon learn what my anger looks like, filthy dog.”
She walked out in fury. Ogei tried to stay strong even though she dreaded what would come next. She was still grateful to have found a place to sleep.
At nightfall, while everyone was outside, Ogei did not dare leave her room. Emeka’s father came in to see what she was doing.
“Why haven’t you left the room since you arrived? You can come outside and get some fresh air. You’re not in prison here. Whether you’re pregnant by my son or not, if you had come to me in this state, I would have helped you anyway, so don’t feel rejected. You can call me Baba. That girl standing over there is Emeka’s younger sister. Her name is Ife. And what’s your name?”
“My name is Ogei,” she replied timidly.
After their conversation, when Baba left, Emeka’s mother entered the room and looked at Ogei with hatred and contempt.
“Wait until my husband leaves the house tomorrow. I’ll show you what my anger looks like.”
She then walked out, looking upset.
As soon as she left, Ogei knelt down and began to pray, crying.
The next morning, while she was still sleeping, Ogei was woken up by Emeka’s mother with cold water.
“You’re still sleeping at this hour? Get up immediately and go sweep the whole house. Then you’ll cook for all of us. After that, you’ll wash all the dirty clothes I put in the yard. Then you’ll go fetch water for the evening, and after that you’ll go to the market to buy groceries for tomorrow. If you do not finish everything I asked before 4:00 p.m., know that you will not eat anything here.”
For several months, Ogei lived with Emeka’s parents, where she was mistreated by Emeka’s mother every single day. She never missed an opportunity to hit her.
One morning, while she was sweeping the living room, she noticed someone entering. The person looked strangely like Emeka. She bent forward to see properly and realized it was indeed him. She ran to hug him, but suddenly he pushed her away violently.
“What are you doing in my house?”
Suddenly his mother came in.
“Welcome home, my son.”
“What is this girl doing here, Mama?”
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