CHAPTER TWELVE.
It smelt like an old shoe; the police station. 'Nene Akujieze' my Mother said to the police man who was filling some sort of form. 'Madam you can only see her for 10 minutes. Don't let us come and remind you'.
We entered a small room that had a stronger smell of old shoe. The paint on the wall were peeling. The crevice had a V shape on each side of the wall like someone had carved it in, and the ceiling of the room was so low that I had the strongest urge to reach out and touch the water marks on it. I was carrying a flask of Egusi and pounded yam for Aunty Nene and Chizoba was carrying homemade orange juice, and water with another flask of Ugwu and Upkaka.
'She needs all the nutrients her system can hold' My mother had said while we were preparing for the visit.
They had come two days before, but I refused to go with them. I was sick with feelings I couldn't describe. Chizoba told me when she came back from the prison 'Aunty Nene, asked of you. She said I should tell you she is sorry'.
The information was funny. 'Sorry for what' I asked
'You can ask her yourself'
That night I couldn't sleep. I tossed from one side of the bed to another. I wondered what she was doing, whether she had eaten. All those terrible stories I heard about prisons, police men raping women. Cell inmates peeing on new cell inmates, came to mind. I was terrified that one day my life could take a very bad turn and I might end up in a horrifying place. Nine years ago I would never had envisioned such a thing; Aunty Nene in prison for murdering two people.
Aunty Nene entered the room. 'Nno' she welcomed us. ' Kasie, how are you'
'I am fine'
'They haven't called off the strike yet?'
'Mba; No'
'Okay. Chizoba, how are you'
'Fine Aunty'
She ate hungrily.
'Aunty it's like I have infection' she told my mother in ibo 'You know I don't bath here. My vagina is now itching me'
'I would bring you medicine tommorow'
'Thank ma'
Then she faced me. I could see her face clearly now. Her eyes were sunk deep inside their sockets. Her lips were cracked and white. Her hair had undergrowths at their roots but they were packed up tight in a knot. Ironically she looked better than I remembered.
'Kasie, are you still angry with me?'
'No'
'Thank you' she said.
'Madam your time is up' a voice said from the front counter.
'We would come tommorow' my mother said. I packed the flask and cans from the table. My mother and Chizoba hugged her. I didn't. Aunty Nene was mad. I was sure she was mad; there was no other reason to explain why a woman who has been seperated from her children for one week would not ask about them. I just concluded that she was stark raving mad!
The next day while we were preparing to go the police station to see Aunty Nene my mother sent me to buy antibiotics for Aunty Nene.
'Good afternoon, please I need antibiotics for vaginal infection'.
'Okay' the phamarcist replied
'One more thing' I said 'Give me the type that can't kill somebody if the person takes an overdose'
The man stared at me like I was talking baloney. He gave me antibiotics, the one that cures vaginal infection and the one that could kill a person that takes overdose of it.
'Mummy you know Aunty Nene wants to commit suicide with these drugs.
'Hian! Suicide!'
'Yes, she wants to drink overdose'.
'God forbid'
'Mummy it's not a matter of God forbid. Just make sure you give her just two tablets'.
'Okay' My mother was nodding her head, she was actually taking my advice. I realised how much she had changed since daddy left us. She was softer. I wondered if daddy heard of what was happening to Aunty Nene. He must have heard, it was all over the news, ANGRY WOMAN KILLS HUSBAND AND MISTRESS.
WOMAN FROM HELL STABS HUSBAND TO DEATH. The kind of news that was featured on the cover pages of News paper but in tiny captions.
I and my mother went alone that day.
'Kasie, how are you' she asked
'Won't you ask about your children' I said
'How are they?'
The way she said 'they' irritated me.
'Kasiemobi respect yourself ' my mother sneered.
Aunty Nene started to cry.
'Nene its okay'
'Aunty it's like am running mad. I don't understand what is wrong with me.'She mumbled in between tears and the granulated food in her mouth.
I didn't know if I was being unreasonable, attacking her, but I everytime I tried to feel sorry for her, I felt a greater sorrow for Mukaosolu, Ralph and the baby. It was that anger that I haboured when daddy abandoned us. Aunty Nene was doing the same to her children; Abandoning them, refusing to be strong for them.
'He beat you, so you killed him and his mistress, now you might spend your whole life in jail' that was what I really wanted to tell her until she said
'I don't regret killing him. I feel sorry for his bitch, but Ben deserved death for killing my baby, for everything he did to me and my children.'
'Aunty you stabbed him till he was no longer recognizable, you put a knife through his eyes.' I said, aghast.
'And I felt good about it. I would do it again. Do you know he raped Mukaosolu?'. Her voice cracked 'That is why I can't bear to see her. He raped her continously, she tried to tell me but I didn't hear her. I was deep in my own sorrow. Mourning my youth that I lost because of her, blaming her for my marriage to Ben. I failed my daughter. I destroyed her life with my own hands. That was the least I could do for her.'
I wanted to believe she was making the story up, unfortunately it wasn't a made up story. It struck me like a blow. Aunty Nene's voice was filled with immeasurably pain. I stood up and hugged her tight. 'Aunty am sorry'. I whispered.
'He raped my daughter, after raping me, he put his rotten penis inside my nine year old daughter.'
My mother couldn't cry, move or talk. She just sat still trying to assimilate what she heard. She cried when we got home, her body vibrated under my embrace. 'Mummy it would be fine' I said, my voice masked with disbelieve. We slept together holding hands and completing each others snore.
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