short-story

TILL DEATH DO US PART

/ Motunde Dada / 2 Comments

Oyin was having a “pity party” as tears streamed down her cheeks. She was overwhelmed by emotions as so many thoughts crowded her mind, each struggling for expression and recognition. She never would have predicted the events of the past six months when her world fell apart with the diagnosis of a stroke. But that paled in comparison to the recent shock which had devastated and shattered her world.

Oyin loved Suffy to a fault. She had worked hard at her marriage and sacrificed her entire life to ensure that Suffy and their two boys had lived a comfortable life. Suffy had faced challenges in keeping down a job over the years, and Oyin had worked two jobs for the longest time to facilitate their lifestyle as a family. She had virtually broken her back taking on extra jobs and opportunities for the benefit of all. For this, Suffy, the boys, and extended members of their family appeared grateful, and she had basked in that love until now. Six months ago, she suffered a massive stroke, which affected her right side extensively. She had been on the verge of retiring into a relaxed and exciting life. With both boys now done with school and some decent investment, she had thought…now was the time to enjoy life! Unfortunately, the expenses associated with her health condition were taking their toll on available finances, and she was becoming fearful. To her utter disappointment, Suffy’s attitude had exacerbated the situation as he neither made attempts to contribute to her treatment nor assist in sourcing viable options for treatment. Suffy appeared helpless in the situation, and Oyin was left to work out the solutions herself.

Suffy, on his part, was increasingly out most nights for “a night with the boys.” This, he explained, was his placebo for managing the pain and trauma associated with seeing his once vibrant wife, bedridden. Unfortunately, those outings opened up opportunities to meet some ladies, and Suffy was now in a sizzling relationship with Adijat. Suffy had tried to keep the relationship away from Oyin, but one of his friends, Kole, “carelessly” let the cat out of the bag during a telephone conversation he had with Oyin. This brought her to her current state.

“What happened to the vows we took …” in sickness and in health?” Did those words mean anything to Suffy at all, or were they mere words?” Oyin muttered to herself. After all, she had stuck with him when things were rough. She had vowed to stick the marriage out “For richer or poorer” and had done so. It hurt the more because she knew that her current state of health was a direct result of the stress and trauma she underwent just to make Suffy comfortable. Was this how he intended to repay her love? If the tide had turned, she would never have acted the same way. She would have remained steadfastly beside him to comfort and encourage him. If only she had missed Kole’s call, she thought, the adage goes that ignorance is bliss. She would not be hurting now. But then, his betrayal cannot remain hidden forever, she figured and decided to brace herself to see Suffy for who he truly is. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that Kole had intentionally passed the information to her, and it was not in error.

Love

Havilah

RESPECT FOR THE INDIVIDUAL

/ Motunde Dada / Leave a comment

Have you ever skipped a day, I mean, omitted a day? I woke up this morning, thinking, hey… It is Wednesday, and Havilah needs to speak. I get on the laptop and realise it is Thursday, 5th June, not Wednesday, 4th June. All due apologies to my avid readers.

Feranmi was born into an upper-middle-class family with many domestic staff ranging from the gardener, steward, and cook to a personal maid. Her maid, Omawumi, was responsible for laundering her clothes among other tasks, and ensured she was impeccably dressed at all times. It therefore came as no surprise that Feranmi often won the neatness badge for her class. Her pleated uniform was always well starched and ironed, making her the envy of most of her classmates. It was indeed a feat to beat the sharp, clear edges of the pleats in her uniform with just the right amount of stiffness. The uniform was a complicated combination of box and side pleats that proved a challenge to most.

One evening after Omawumi had finished ironing Feranmi’s uniform, she took the ironed uniform on a hanger to Feranmi’s room. Later in the evening, Feranmi inspected the uniform and yelled out for Omawumi in an angry tone. Immediately Omawumi appeared, Feranmi started berating Omawumi and lashed out with angry words. Despite Omawumi’s apologies for the less-than-perfect state of the uniform, which she attributed to her ill health, Feranmi raged on. She raked up such a fuss that Feranmi’s mother was roused from her siesta and was forced to inquire about the cause of the rumpus. Feranmi immediately pointed to the uniform hanging in her wardrobe and blurted out, “Mom, see what Omawumi expects me to wear to school. How can I win the neatness badge with this?”

Feranmi’s mother was enraged at her daughter’s actions. She exploded, “Feranmi…you are insolent! Apologise to Omawumi immediately! Not only is she older than you, but you have no right to talk to her this way. You do not pay her salary, so you have no right to demand anything from her, and she is not answerable to you. Respect is reciprocal and if you want to be respected, you must respect others. Going forward, you must launder your school uniform yourself so that you learn to respect and appreciate the labour she puts into ensuring she feeds your ego. She is the person who deserves the Neatness badge because it is the direct result of her efforts.”

Feranmi’s mother ensured that Feranmi laundered her uniform herself and went through the frustrations of variability in starching results, coupled with the challenges of wrinkle-free ironing. After five fruitless attempts, Feranmi apologised profoundly to “Aunty Omawumi” and became much more respectful. She had learned to appreciate people’s efforts and respect for them, regardless of status. She had learnt respect for the individual.

Feranmi’s story reminds me of one of the Core Values of a company I once worked for. RESPECT FOR THE INDIVIDUAL was one of its core values, and it was emphasised. The resultant impact on overall productivity as a result of this value cannot be overstated. Staff were enthusiastic to put in their best efforts to achieve corporate goals.

It is therefore important that we instill this value into our children and ourselves, and it starts from how we as parents treat people around us, especially those in a lower social status than ourselves. May the Lord teach us the right things to do.

Love

Havilah