Withered Flower - Episode 6

“We can’t be doing this anymore, I feel really bad every time I cheat on Emem”

“Since when?” Iyeke asked.

They had just finished making love. Nkem knew that he had not put in his best and this was not because he had problems but because he kept thinking about Emem the whole time. He had to admit that he hasn’t really cared about her in years past but recently, he had begun to see the little girl he fell in love with, when she was only four.

He had first seen two boys threatening this tiny girl by the large guava tree at the back of the school. This spot was known as the “fighting spot”. Grievances were settled here during break or after school. A small crowd gathered around the spot and were cheering on. It was evident that none of them was supporting the tiny girl. He moved closer and observed from a short distance. The girl was on fire, he thought. She wasn’t fazed by the two boys who were towering over her by at least two heads. She kept shouting at the top of her voice and jabbing her finger at one of the boys’ chest. He stood there and kept admiring her defiance.

“Enough” he said. And turned to the tiny girl. “Come with me” and he grabbed her by the wrist. He was glad that he was stronger than her because the strength she had was very impressive. He managed to drag her to a safe distance before berating her on what he termed “foolishness” on her path. The tiny girl seemed unrepentant and that endeared him to her and plus the fact that she was very pretty.

He soon became friends with her and also understood where her strength came from. She had five elder brothers and being the only girl, she became one of the boys. It wasn’t until his third year in University when she finally accepted to go out with him (She was in SS3) and they got married immediately after she graduated from University.

“I don’t know, I really want to focus on my marriage, I love Emem”.

Iyeke got out of bed, grabbed a dressing gown and went into the bathroom.

“Why did you come then? You should have stayed back and not come here to tell me rubbish”. Iyeke called out angrily from the toilet.

She was so angry at herself right now. Over the years, she had tried not to allow the guilt of sleeping with her best friend’s husband get to her but now, Nkem just made her relive all that in one swift moment.

“Iyeke, I really need you to understand why we can’t do this anymore”. Nkem said. She hadn’t heard him come into the bathroom. “I did love you once but then, I fell in love with another and I want to focus on that” He said.

“This is so unfair” she said with a low voice. Nkem could tell she was crying and he moved closer and held her waist.

“No!!” Iyeke screamed. “No!! don’t touch me. You and I were in a relationship and then you left me and started chasing her. Several times she said no to you but you still insisted. How could you do this to me? Am I so unlovable that people leave me to marry other people? What is wrong with me”?

Nkem felt bad, as Iyeke’s outburst took him down memory lane. He had started dating Iyeke when she was in secondary school. To be honest, he had dated her, not because he loved her but because every boy in Oredo Model College, Benin, wanted to date Iyeke. She was the most beautiful girl in the school (she still was) and everybody wanted to be associated with her. To him, she was a conquest and he conquered. It wasn’t until Emem finally accepted to date him that he broke up with her.

“You knew she was my best friend and you still went ahead and asked her out. That bitch stole my life!!!”

“Come on Iyeke that is unfair. You know Emem never knew that we dated and she felt really bad when she found out. I have apologised about everything and really hoped that you had moved on”.

“I know and to be honest, I really do not hold this against her. She had been like a sister to me but sometimes…” She turned to face him. “…I can’t help but wonder what would have been. Did you love me at all?”

“Lets not do this, Iyeke” Nkem replied avoiding the question. “What matters now is moving forward”.

“Why did you start this relationship again, when you knew you were only going to break my heart?”

“I am sorry about that, I shouldn’t have. I was so sure I didn’t want to be with Emem again but…I do love her and cant imagine my life without her”. He turned her around and lifted her chin “Kene adores you, why don’t you give him a chance and…” He didn’t get to finish his sentence.

“I can’t date him…I can’t. It won’t work” she replied.

“Why?” He said, staring at her face. He knew why but was really hoping that she would trust and speak to him about it.

“Nothing. Please can you go now, I really want to be by myself”. She flopped on the bed and buried her head in one of the pillows.

Nkem wanted to console her but decided against it. It will only start another round of crying and he didn’t think he could take it anymore, besides, it was getting late and Emem would start calling to find out where he was. Quietly, he slipped out and shut the door behind him.

As soon as she heard the door close, she assumed a foetal position and cried herself into a dreamless sleep.

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Chief Mezu was quite unsettled. He had seen a young man leave Iyeke’s apartment about 30 minutes ago. He had been anticipating this, as he knew she would get married someday, but he didn’t realise how painful it was going to be to let go. Was that a tinge of jealousy he felt? Oh well, the young man had left and now it was his turn. He picked up the phone to dial her. As he lifted the phone to his ear, he sees a Posh Cayenne jeep pull up to her apartment and a young man stepped out and headed to her door. He hadn’t knocked for long when Iyeke opened the door and let him in.

The phone fell out of his hands. He quickly retrieved it and ended the call before it went through.

He had just seen his son enter his lover’s house.