Just a Tear: Episode 22 by Ngozi Lovelyn O.
Kanayo stood watching the woman with all anger in his heart and he said to her: "Old woman, if not for the fact that you are aged, I would have given you a serious injury now, not minding we are in the house of God. How could you stoop so low as to accepting to destroy someone else's happiness, don't you have a heart? What if the person were to be your own daughter, how would you feel?"
The shocked mother stood looking at her own Osonye denying her right inside the church, she burst into tears: "Osonye, what are you saying? Are you denying me, your own mother? Can you please tell this young man that I am his mother Inlaw. I don't know why you chose to hide this wonderful truth about your wedding from me, but I am so happy for you my Osonye, its what I have been praying for ever since your last marriage was called off"
"Stop it woman!" Osonye snapped: "Its now obvious you were sent to destroy my marriage." She then turned to Kanayo and pleaded with him to ask his friends to take the woman away from the place.
And he signaled his friends, and they took the woman as she was crying on top of her voice: "Osonye, what have I done that you are denying me in the presence of God? Osonye, you are attracting the wrath of God upon your self." She cried bitterly, cursing herself for giving birth to a daughter who chose to deny her.
"No problem, my God, hope you are in heaven watching my own daughter denying me right in your own house. I have never been disgraced all my life, why choose now that I'm nearing my grave to allow this horrible humiliation to befall me? God are you not the one I'm asking? I demand you to answer me now." The mother wept bitterly as she dragged Chichi and left the church.
Oge who brought her to the place had already left the church premises, she couldn't enter inside because of the outfit she was wearing. She only led Osonye's mother to the place.
Everybody in the church were left confused, having mixed feelings about what happened. When Nonye, Osonye's friend noticed how the guests were murmuring among themselves, she went to the woman Osonye paid to stand as her mother and asked her to stand up and clear the air that she was Osonye's real mother.
And she then stood and did exactly what Osonye expected her to do.
"Please, there shouldn't be any confusion here. I am the real mother of the bride. My daughter has on several occasions recounted how some people had swore to prevent this wedding from taking place due to some reasons best known to them, even her very own close friends. And now they have come up with another scheme to destroy my daughter's happiness. But in everything, God's will prevailed. What ever God has joined together, let no man put asunder. And I want to use this medium to fix in the minds of every one of you here, be careful of the people you call your friends, because some people who claimed they are your friends are actually your enemies"
The fake mother succeeded in permeating their minds with warm words and they believed all she said without further questions. They even applauded her for her calm silence when the old woman (Osonye's real mother) came to cause commotion into destroying the wedding.
Osonye was not happy on how she denied her own mother.
"Mother, I don't know how you found out but I am sorry for denying you. It wasn't my intentions to, just that I have put much effort into ensuring that this marriage last and not turn out like my previous marriages. Please forgive me mother. Don't worry, I will come and visit you soon and explain to you my reasons for taking this wicked actions against you, and I am sure you will have no other option than to forgive me" Osonye wept in her heart, but not knowing that she won't have the opportunity to explain things to her mother again.
And the wedding continued. Finally, Osonye and Kanayo were officially husband and wife.
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When Oge was still waiting for a bus to convey her back to the restaurant, she saw Osonye's mother coming out from the church crying.
She rushed to her:"Mama, why are you crying?" worried Oge asked
"Oge, thank God you are still here, please can you take me to the park, where I can get a bus going to my village?"
"But Mama, why are you leaving your daughter? I thought she is having her wedding? Or is she not the one you are looking for?" Oge asked
"Oge, I don't have a daughter anymore, my heart is broken and I don't think it can still be repaired again"
"But Mama, I don't understand what you are saying, please make me understand, is she not your own Osonye?"
"Oge my daughter, please can you lead me to the park? My sickness is seriously getting in on me again. I need to get home as soon as possible. I don't think I can withstand the pain I'm feeling right now" Osonye's mother requested with a broken heart.
So Oge decided to lead her to the park but she was having a sheer confusion in her heart. While they were in the bus, she decided to ask Chichi since the mother had refused to open up.
And Chichi told her what happened.
When they reached the park, Oge requested her to eat something.
"Don't worry my daughter, my home is not that far. I will eat when I get home"
Oge said OK and pleaded with her to accept the N500 note, which was the only money with her and she accepted.
Oge who couldn't wait to gist her Aunty what happened took a bike from the park straight to the restaurant and then collected money from her aunty and paid the bike man.
She gisted her Aunty what happened and it spread round the street. Many called Osonye different names for denying her own mother who carried her in the womb for nine months, and nurtured her into becoming somebody.
Some of the people who knew her and Ifeoma started doubting the accusations that was leveled against Ifeoma after they discovered that she was marrying her best friend's ex-boyfriend.
Majority started believing that it was all Osonye's plan to get Ifeoma out of the way and make her look evil in the sight of her boyfriend so that he will dump Ifeoma and marry her.
"For somebody who has the heart to deny her very own mother can do anything to her friend" one of the rumour mongers said.
After two days of experiencing the shock, Osonye's mother died in her sleep. She couldn't bear the heartbreak.
She died without opening up to anyone on how her own daughter denied her. She wept bitterly and suffered humiliation in her last days.
To be continued..
To be continued..
The author of Just a Tear is Ngozi Lovelyn O.
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