Adunni's Tales

I thought I didn't hear him clearly. Then he said it again. Bola and I were utterly confused. Just as Uncle Jide was about explaining his words, his mom came in. Uncle Jide had earlier told me that his mum would be visiting but the events of the day had made all of us forget about her totally. Uncle Jide's mom sensed that something was wrong as she entered even though we tried to welcome her heartily. Immediately after she was served a glass of water, she asked Uncle Jide what was going on. Uncle Jide looked at her and told her he was about telling us the truth about my identity. Uncle Jide's mom suddenly became pale. She took one glance at me and she started sobbing quietly. That day, Uncle Jide told us how on the first day he saw me he felt like he was looking at someone he knows; more like he was looking at himself. He recounted how he couldn't shake off the feeling and how when he eventually saw the birthmark on my upper chest, he was dazed. That moment...

“Layo please wake up” “Layo… Layo please. I am sorry” I could hear Bola crying faintly. The more she cried and begged me to wake up, the clearer her voice became. I opened my eyes to see both Bola and Uncle Jide hovering over me. I felt so cold. It was obvious they had been trying to resuscitate me with water. Bola kept on crying and apologizing for acting in the manner she acted. It was Uncle Jide that first noticed that I was awake. He shouted my name with joy and sternly told Bola to move away. I got to know that when I fainted, Uncle Jide had threatened Bola that if anything happened to me, he would personally make life a living hell for her. Bola kept on crying uncontrollably. She kept on apologising. “Bola… I didn’t do anything wrong” I said looking up at her. “Layo my baby…I know now. Can you ever forgive me? I am sorry, I thought you were me” “what do you mean by that?” Uncle Jide looked up when she uttered the last statement. That was when Bola started a story...

The day I got to Abuja, Uncle Jide was the one that came to pick me at the airport. I had high hopes that it would be Bola but here was I facing the first man I ever loved who also happens to be my brother-in -law. I quickly reminded myself of my decision and walked towards him with a smile on my face. “Good afternoon Uncle Jide, thanks for coming to pick me” “Layo Layo…welcome to Abuja. You don’t know how happy I am to see you. I have missed you so much. I am sure you have missed me too… See your cheeks are coming out…” Uncle Jide kept on rambling till we got to their house. He was obviously excited; I just didn’t know what the cause of his excitement was. Just as Uncle Jide drove into the house, Bola flew out. It was like she was waiting close to the entrance to hear the sound of the car. Bola ran to me, hugged me and led me into the house. “Layo my baby…welcome to our home. We are going to have so much fun together” That day, Bola and I kept talking till late in the nig...

For the next few months, I pretended that everything was okay with Uncle Jide and I. I ignored some of his calls and tried my best to pick some. Since I made a decision to keep Bola happy, I had to stick by it. It was hard not to burst out one day and call him all the bad names I had reserved for only him in my head. It was harder not to ask him why he chose Bola over me. To make matters worse, Uncle Jide was completely avoiding the issue and acting like everything was normal. Tayo, on the other hand, became angrier by the day. On the day she couldn’t hold it any longer and bursted out in anger at Uncle Jide when he asked of me, I saw it coming. She said Uncle Jide was shocked. She wasn’t sure if he was shocked at her audacity or at everything she was saying. Frankly, she didn’t care. Tayo said he didn’t utter a word to interrupt her while she rambled on and on about how she was disappointed in him for hurting me so badly. She said when she finished, Uncle Jide told her he woul...