Your relatives, members of your own family— even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you. Jeremiah 12:6
Click here for Part One of the series.
Olubunmi maintained her vigil by her brother’s bedside in the teaching hospital. A routine she had grown used to since his medical diagnosis required dialysis. As he slept, he bit his lips to hold on to the pain his shrunken body was going through. Tears rolled down her eyes as she retreated into a corner of the room to pray from her prized possession, the book ‘prayer rain.’ After what felt like an eternity of intense prayers, she returned to his bedside, rested her head for a nap, and drifted off into a dream.
Dayo and Abike crossed paths at the university in the nineties, and from the moment they met, it seemed like love at first sight. Abike, poised to pursue a career in education, exuded responsibility, while Dayo, a skilled athlete, harbored aspirations of becoming an architect. At the time, there were whispers circulating on campus suggesting that Dayo was unfaithful to Abike, and he had a wandering eye for other women. Despite this, Abike pretended not to notice, though it troubled her deeply, and she often questioned what the future held with him. However, given the lack of other suitors vying for her affection, she chose to remain committed to Dayo.
After raising five children and enduring what felt like a lifetime of pain and frustration, Abike reached her breaking point. To safeguard her home, she had gone as far as fighting with his strange women in public, sought advice from friends, and even resorted to traditional love potions to rekindle his affection for her. Despite her desperate efforts, Dayo persisted in his chronic womanizing, behaving like a dog on heat around town. The arrival of her mother in-law, however, marked a turning point, prompting Abike to finally confide in her about her son’s behavior. She listened attentively as Dayo and Abike aired their grievances. Amidst tears his elder sister, who accompanied their mother pleaded with the couple to reconcile as mother and daughter both vowed to intervene and restore peace between the conflicting partners.
Six months after that meeting, Dayo received a diagnosis of kidney problems that required dialysis. The rapid deterioration of his kidneys puzzled medical experts, yet dialysis remained the recommended course of action. Despite living far away, Olubunmi made frequent visits to support her brother and interceded on his behalf with fire prayers. At Dayo’s funeral, tensions ran high among his family, with accusations hurled in every direction. Abike found herself at the center of blame, her hands were deemed ‘unclean’ due to their well-known marital discord and public alterations. Instantly, she was branded a ‘wicked wife’ and ‘witch’ responsible for his untimely demise. Needless to say, Abike faced the full wrath of her hostile in-laws, despite enduring years of mistreatment from Dayo himself.
As the funeral and reception came to an end, the atmosphere at the family meeting that night was charged. Abike received the devastating news that she would not inherit any of Dayo’s properties, and the children were declared as belonging solely to the family, and not to her. Incensed, Abike erupted in fury ready to confront them all, but her brother in-law intervened violently, landing a barrage of heavy blows and slaps on her face and chest. Witnessing his mother’s distress, her eldest son, with tears streaming down his face, rushed to her side to console her and prevent further escalation. In fury, Olubunmi unleashed a torrent of fervent prayers as she came armed with her prized possession, the book ‘prayer rain.’ Mama, however, bowed her head in solemn reflection, contemplating all she had witnessed.
Ever since the passing of Baba five years earlier, mama had been mostly silent but tonight she spoke up. She began by rebuking her son Olushola for his behavior and asserting that this was not the appropriate time or place for such discussions. The other extended family members present were however not pleased and expressed their dissatisfaction with mama’s stance. Afterall, they came anticipating serious drama, complete chaos, and of course a share of Dayo’s vast properties. But mama had spoken, so the meeting ended, and everyone went off to bed.
In the far distance, veiled by darkness, Mama and Olakunle (Abike’s eldest son) erupted in laughter, congratulating each other on the theatrics earlier, while jubilating on their successful collaboration that delivered Baba and Dayo to the power of the coven. Olubunmi, now drenched in sweat, lifted her head, and gazed at her dying brother lying on the sick bed. Overcome with disbelief, she began to tremble intermittently.
TO BE CONTINUED
