BURNT ROSES

Mummy Harmony relocated from Benin to Lagos for greater prospects of employment. Eddington, her "wife beater" husband, had given her the beating of her life with his leathery belt, a day before she was to go on a planned trip. She accused him of not being affectionate towards her and her children. Her mother died a year before she went into labour and Efosa, her elder sister relocated to Lagos with her dada boyfriend. She was desperate to do something useful with her life because after all, Sister Ibinabo prophesied that her destiny was in Lagos. Onome was meaning to travel as soon as she could but she was impecunious. She had no serious job, but she had worked as a maintenance at The University of Benin [UNIBEN], before she was entrenched by the new civilian government. It was a starkly gruesome experience for her because it was her major means of survival, and her husband's paltry monthly salary could not even buy Goodness' diapers for a week. She degenerated into becoming a shadow of her former self, to say nothing of how she lost her head in the cloud. It was already two weeks she lost her job and she was overshadowed by sadness, her face ashen, her hair tawdry and unkempt, her skin sallow.

'Hello, Efosa', Onome said.
'How far you na, Onome', said Efosa holding the phone propped between the nape of her neck and chin.
'I dey oo. Benin dey as you leave me'; 'I dey come una side next week', Onome said unhesitatingly.
'Serious? E don tey wey I see you my only darling sister. Ok na... I dey cook for hand... Sorry I no hear you well well'. Efosa said with her voice rich in tone.

While other people in Benin were moving to Germany, Onome found herself cutting corners to move to Lagos - where onions was gold, where tomato was diamond, where job opportunities were way more than a cushy job one could imagine. But regardless, it was were she chose to go. She wanted to fulfill prophesy and upon her incoming, she planned to work a bit and save to open a pepper soup stall then trade a little of adire articles of clothing. She was throwing her and her children's clothes into a Ghana Must Go sack rather surreptitiously while her husband was carousing in front of The Maverick, a new beer parlour in Sanmoure. A cursory look at Onome could evince how weary she was in her marriage with Eddington; how sentimental she was about their slavish yet violent matrimony. She threw caution into the wind in her state of bereft affection. She premeditated it that she would one day leave Eddington and find a better life for her and her children.

With each day that passed by, Onome never ceased being thankful to her creator for blessing her with a daughter like Harmony. Harmony was a perfect creature in the cynosure of her eyes. Harmony was an embodiment of all she ever wanted of a child: she was endearing with her infantile kindness, sassy but respectful, intrepid with a smile of straightforwardness and possessing a lure of demure. Harmony was a seven-year-old, extremely chaperoned by her mother; she was a girl of uncouth mouth and wild too. An interloper while on tourism shortly to Esan, saw Harmony and professed that her caramel of innate Pidgin English was awesome. Despite the fact that it was the rife language spoken under the trees, in the market, in schools, in work places, most people preferably spoke English to their children.

'Don't let me ever hear you speak Pidgin in this house', Nna said to his wife for speaking Pidgin in reply to their two-year-old son.
Nne nodded in approval looking at her crossed husband in fury.

He had said this to her, irritant at the way he saw some young bumpkins speaking while he was going home from church; it was as though it were their real voice or the only thing they could in elocution, express themselves in, he thought.

Although Mrs. Thompson spited Onome, she certainly knew that Harmony was just an empty vessel that made the loudest noise. She adored children who in awareness of their ability made effort towards continual trial. Her fear was that Harmony had a proclivity to speaking Pidgin English all her life because she was never sent to school while other children scampered on early mornings with slouched bags prodded on their back, revealing the nuance of duress and eagerness in their aura. Mrs. Thompson liked children that spoke British English, even if they struggled to speak, in that they tried to say something in English was satisfactory to her. Perhaps because she was a teacher of English Language and Literature made her bigoted with such misconception. She indulged a fussy dislike for Onome for not properly taking care of her children, most especially, her new born baby, Goodness. She was wont to crying on a daily as early as 5am, disrupting Mrs. Thompson's sleep before she prepared for work. At first, she didn't comprehend the novelty of this spatial disturbance because it was too unearthly an hour, every day. But later on, she only could know that the buzzing cry belted from the last building along the lines of the street. Most children in her compound cried late in the morning, in the heat of the afternoon, and in the evening just before dinner was prepared, but Goodness' was eccentric. There was a mysteriousness in it that even more so, assuaged her from cussing. 'Wasn't she a mother to understand enough?', she asked herself rhetorically.

'Baby, baby, baby, come and see your Mommy
we go down, we go up... Baby, baby, baby, come
and see your daddy we go down', Onome often sang after ignoring Goodness for so long.

Harmony answered back when her mother made an angry statement, yet Onome never felt a sense of loss in her countenance. She would then trade words with Harmony, 'I no blame you oo. If I no open leg for your papa, I for no born you.'

Mrs Thompson got a call from her son who just completed secondary school and was awaiting admission into UNIBEN. She had told him to come, but she was worried if he would like her noisy neighbourhood. Yet she invited him anyway.

'Do you want to come?' , Mrs Thompson asked her son, Simeon.
'Yes, Mommy', he said.

The day Simeon arrived, she had gone to the pit-latrine toilet to answer nature's call. He came into the compound lost on where to enter looking at the onward spectre of rooms. Fortunately, Daniel, a hawker of consumables recognized that he was Mrs Thompson's son and showed him her door. In front of her door was a collapsed fridge mildewed with rust and cladded with a washed ohun wiwun. He entered into the room to see a streamlined architectural design that adjoined an alcove shouldered on a neat POP ceiling; a new fridge, gas cooker with oven, air-conditioner and paraphernalia were in sight. He was so overwhelmed that he rushed into a prayer of gratitude to God for answering his prayer, 'God when I arrive, let what I see be pleasing'.

Onome successfully got enough money for their trip after she washed Daddy Taofeek's clothes for three weeks. They sneaked out one early morning stealthily not to wake Eddington from his sleep. He had come back a night before trying to rape her while sleeping. She was tired to wrestle with him and he succumbed. Then he told her that she was frigid countless times without number, but she did not understand what it meant so she took it as a compliment.

'Who is in my room?', Mrs Thompson said
'It's me, Mommy', Simeon replied rather jubilant to hear his mother.
'Couldn't your sense tell you to close the door after you entered?', she said ignoring his greetings.
'Always close this door anytime you enter. Is that clear?'
Yes, Mommy. Good evening.'

There were no banters between the both of them. Simeon expected it because he knew the kind of person she was - a stern disciplinarian, a consanguinity that never mingled with people. He sat on her bed dumbfounded in bewildering torrents of thought. He saw a new person before him, not the mother he used to know; he saw a mellowed fleshing lady.

'Ahn... Ahn... Na your face be dis? Onome you don fine oo, dat your guy dey try well well ', said Efosa.
'Wo, Efosa leave that yeye guy laidis oo", she sighed before saying.
'You go download di full gist for me later abi?'
'How dat your yellow pawpaw guy?
'Im dey kampe; Im no dey kontri', Efosa said to conclude the conversation as they trod to her house.

Her boyfriend was out of the country for a carpentry job in Baghdad to return in a few months. In the scheme of things, Efosa's marriage was a foil to Onome's in that Efosa's marriage was more of an endearing, accommodating and sacrificing one because they both understood their perspectives and opinions. On the day the Ileagbon family came to ask Onome's hand in marriage, it was a happy day for her because she admired her suitor who was ravishingly handsome. After weeks of marriage, the Ileagbon exchanged her puppeted husband with a mentally unstable man that was a stammerer.

Eddington woke up in lassitude with droplet of organic fluid over his pants, his eyes blurry, his speech slurry from alcohol of the last night. He sat on his bed on impulse. Only then did he realize the emptiness of his room - Onome and their children were out of sight. He ran out of the room to bring them back...

Efosa welcomed Onome and her children into her elaborate two-bed-roomed flat in Ayokolo village. It was so beautiful that Onome captured and re-captured the decors with her mind's camera. She was outrightly oblivious that the living standards in Lagos were better than in Benin. She had still not gotten from Harmony's debacle from a bus conductor in Berger, because she did not give him his money on time. He almost tore her clothes before a Samaritan woman came to her rescue and paid the money even though Onome had paid already. Her baby never ceased to whimper throughout the trip. She was so irate, Onome thought.

On the night of their arrival, a breaking news was syndicated across the media of a plane crash. Efosa's boyfriend happened to be among them; he was killed in the onslaught of the plane crash. Onome saw it first. She ululated, 'Efossssa! Your guy don go oo. Plane crash!'. Efosa came undone looking in confusion at what Onome just said. She saw the unveiling of the names of those killed in the plane crash - Oloruntoba Abiola was number five out of three hundred and seventy five killed. She could not believe her eyes and swooned. 'Heee! Efosa! Which kind wahala be dis', she poured a bucket of water on her head, propping it with the calf of her leg. 'Harmony, go bring more water', she said to her daughter who was already knelling down near Efosa.

Efosa woke up with a severe headache. She was cried inconsolably for hours on end because she was pregnant, and her confidant was no more. She could not apprehend what next she would contend with so she swooned again. This time around Onome held a glass of water to her throat burping her incessantly. Later in the day when Efosa was strengthened enough, they went to a clinic for medical treatment. 'Onome, I no get moni to pay anybody laidis', 'Make we just go first', Onome replied as if she had rehearsed it beforehand. They got to 'Happy-Ever-After' Hospital. It had its emblem monogrammed and embossed on the forehead of the building. Onome felt unwell with an urge to throw-up so she backed away to vomit in a nearby bush. She too was pregnant. It was then that she remembered she was raped by Eddington a night before she came to Lagos.

They held each other's hand as they walked into the clinic. The doctor they saw was above being happy; yet he treated them to a ceremonial kindness. There was a stony silence before Efosa spoke up, 'Doctor I get belle', 'Me too, Doctor'. They took turns to discuss with the doctor at great length. The doctor, of course, condescended to flow with them in Pidgin. He told them he did his national youth service in Benin, and was well-accustomed to their culture, locality and all about them. After eliciting the invaluable advice from the bald-headed doctor, they rounded off quickly to go home because Harmony and Goodness were home alone.

Nothing was said about the corpses of the casualties and It had worried Efosa just so much that she saw illusions of her boyfriend beckoning her on to come and bury him. Few week after she kept herself abreast with the recent update that the government seized the bodies, and they would be interred by the military in a mass burial. Even though she chided herself that she did not go to stake her claim, she knew for sure that she was out of navigation. The crash happened in a neighbouring town around Jigawa State and she was in Lagos. Her insufficiencies betrayed her yet her insipid taste of sorrow re-assured her none the less.

She did not rise to the occasion for she was unwell, and her sister's presence re-assured her too. Onome picked up a job in a paper towel factory a week after her arrival just so she could care of them all. Her pay could take care of their feeding and her children's education. When Efosa was strong enough to work, she re-opened her pepper soup stall. Her customers missed her a lot because her assorted pepper soup was delicious; some of them came to whisper their love to her at home. She told them she was fine, not giving them any slight chance to think she was mourning.

'Mrs. Thompson's trouble is just too much', one calabar woman said to other neighbours as they chitchatted in the verandah. The other day I asked her if she had flushed well but she reeled off at me saying, 'Don't ever in your life talk to me like that!'.'It was such a gnomic rejoinder for me that I held her mouth in bewilderment', the calabar woman said. She was not feeling well until she sent Mercy, her daughter, to apologize on her behalf and they had settled amicably. Mrs Thompson had ever since then been concerned about public affairs - she funded the repair of the bathroom door and tiled the wall. The serendipity of Onome's relocation portended well for the future of peace talks. Her baby's cry that peeved not only Mrs Thompson but also every household was not anymore to be heard.

The day Efosa went into labour, Onome was delivered of a baby already. Efosa woke up subconsciously to see a baby boy and girl, then she realized she had given birth to twins. She smiled in awe. Efosa's infinitesimal income was barely enough to take care of herself and her twin babies so she often depended on the bi-monthly dole Onome received from the American establishment.

In the small community they lived, Harmony interacted pretty well with a lot of urchins that somewhat changed her demeanour. Bonhomie, Mama, Wisdom, and Moses from the other compound, were her playmates. Harmony and Goodness were pulled out of school for reasons best known to Onome. The children would jeer so loud, romp their skinny bodies on one another, drag their hair while playing 'Lost and seek' and the little ones among them would clod green leaf interspersed with earth in a tin container, motioning one another saying, 'Don't disturb me; I am cooking', like they knew what they were doing.

Simeon was a caterer knowledgeable in making cakes, pastries, cock-tail drinks and inter-continental dishes. He had learnt the whole combination from a government-organized skill acquisition in Jos. People were less endeared to Jos because they felt it was in nothingness, that it only had fresh food commodities and very little red oil. In stead of their settlement in Jos, they would rather go to Abuja, which was the capital city. In Abuja, businessmen orchestrated road projects to gravitate customers to their establishments, power was stable 24/7, and there was a thrill of earthly paradise everywhere. Although the names the local government gave the towns sounded ridiculous and over the ark, the inhabitants were past caring.

Harmony died one cold morning. She cried of stomach-ache and said in finality, 'Mummy I will miss you', 'Harmony which kind talk be dat?'. Onome said in a declamatory pant and ran out to call a taxi while Efosa tried to give her something to resuscitate her, but all were to no avail; she died before Onome came back. Onome was submerged in sorrow throughout that day. Neighbours came to pay their tribute while some were asking for water to drink. Harmony was shrouded with a thick mattress until she was buried by 9pm in a shallow grave in the bush.

Necessity was the mother of invention when Eddington was incarcerated for theft by the Police. His gossipy friends involved him in an armed robbery operation to swindle a rich man who happened to be surrounded inwardly by policemen. Nobody knew about this man because he drove out alone and drove in alone. They laid siege on his house from 10pm before the ringleader Osahon instigated them to attack. They were four in number: Eddington was the most unfortunate of them. It stemmed from the fact that his ineptitude in armed robbery led to his arrest while his cohorts escaped cleverly. His parent's were stark illiterate who were later told that he had been arrested. They were beside themselves with worry, and would rub the tresses of their dreads saying to each other, 'Eddington dey pilizon', intermittently. It was no longer news to them when Eddington was adjudicated and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.

Onome and Efosa lived happily ever after until Onome rented an apartment near her workplace at the paper towel factory. Her landlady was receptive. She was also a mother of three little children whose names were Timileyin, Banwo and Iyanu. Goodness and Angel habitually went to their house upstairs to watch satellite and Iya Landlady would fry yam and eggs for them in their sing-song moments watching Disney Channel. The smell of the fried yam that wafted into air somewhat bolstered them up. Iya Landlady was a very perceptible being - she was no respecter of persons. If you misbehaved, she banished you from her house or switched off the water coming into your flat from the central switch which was under lock and key.

For three days Simeon went under the tree eating nothing in anxiety because his UTME result was yet to be released by JAMB. It was taking so long, and he was panicking. His confidence went south. It was about to two Mrs Thompson received a call from Gwaripwa, Abuja (because he used her phone number for his registration) that her son unrivalled other candidates in the ranking test, and was given a scholarship to study Economics in the University of Nigeria[UNN]. She thought the call was from one of them, those good-for-nothing impersonators who stole her husband's 50 million naira and wanted to get her too, and she was intuitively right.

'You people cannot get me. I am an intellectual with BA, MA, PHd. I have all the certificates. I know your type; I will deal with you. Hee!', Mrs Thompson said sardonically.
She knew the tactics they used to get what they wanted; she was a teacher, after all.

Ultimately, Simeon's result was released and he was admitted into UNIBEN to study Accounting for he beat the cut-off mark.

'Kiliwi... Kiliwi... Selewi...Selewi', Baba Onigaari said.
Efosa was riddled by his conundrums so she took the chilli chicken she had crisply grilled at home and started eating.
'Abegi, don't keep me quiet laidis', Baba Onigaari said
'Shey e ro pe mo go ni?', she smirked.
'Mo ro pe o fe lati se kekere si mi ninu awon alo', she said stalking into her pepper soup stall.