BABY TUNMISE

Chapter Seven

Bisola was mashing some yam and feeding it to her daughter when her phone rang.

She picked it up in the presence of everybody and placed it on her ear. "Hello? Hello Ma. Ma? Beeni oh, Bi a shey ri niyen. I'm so surprised too. No, you can't come. The police have locked up the gates. No no no. We will be okay. She's fine. Her daddy is fine too. Please don't worry too much Ma. They're all okay. This too shall pass, Ma. Alright Ma. I'll talk to you later Ma."

She dropped the phone beside her and turned to the people in the living room; Tiwa, Modupe, and Itunu. The men were eating in the dining room, Tamilore was inside, and the helps were either inside the kitchen or outside.

"Who told Alhaja?" She demanded.

A small silence passed. The culprit was intimidated by Bisola's tone.

"Ehn?"

And then Modupe talked, "I'm the one."

"You're the one," Bisola repeated sarcastically. "Why did you tell her, Modupe? I just had to cut the phone, cause she was just rambling on..."

"I mean, she deserves to know, doesn't she?" Modupe asked her sister, cutting her off.

"Hm, Modupe." Bisola huffed. "Now you've put the Iya oniya in a state of worry, do you think her mind will be at rest?"

"She's our mother, she should know everything about us. I thought we were a close-knit family, that kept no secrets from each other?" Modupe asked.

Bisola just nodded and turned back to her daughter, whose mouth was currently hanging open, waiting for her mother to put mashed yam in it.

Tamilore, who had been silent all along spoke in a low voice. "She didn't even call to ask about him."

For some reason, Bisola jumped to their mother's defence. "She...you know, in her area, the network is usually very bad. I'm sure that's why. You know she can't just not care about you, na."

Tamilore stared.

* * *

For the past few weeks, Itunu, out of courtesy and respect for her distressed aunt, and so as to not appear insensitive and unconcerned, had avoided calling her mother and telling her about what was going on. Truly, she felt greatly uncomfortable; she was living in danger. There was a kidnapper in their midst. It was a wonder, how a holiday Itunu thought she would greatly enjoy and have an amazing time in, turned out to be a nightmare.

But Modupe had inspired her, and she was going to call her mother today.

She was inside the room she stayed in. The time was around three in the afternoon. Itunu had made sure she locked the door. Honestly, she did not feel safe in this house, and she didn't like how she was feeling.

She picked up her phone. Its battery was half charged. She typed her mother's number in the Phone app; she knew it offhand.

It didn't ring the first, second, or third time. And then Itunu remembered that her mother was in far away Ijebu Igbo, where the network was extremely bad.

She sighed.

She then began to scroll through her apps, going to her Instagram and her Twitter accounts. She hadn't even used social media since the day her cousin went missing. Itunu didn't even think she could stay away from social media for that long, yet she did.

* * *

The whole family was sitting in the living room, looking into the distance. Everybody still seemed sober, and the dim orange light complemented their mood.

After a while, Bisola spoke up. "Erm, Uncle Dipo. What are the police saying?"

"Abi," Tiwa chipped in.

Dipo didn't say anything for a short while.

"Still working oh, that's what they're saying."

"Ah." Bisola clapped her hands.

"I...I just hope they can solve this case soon enough," he said.

Then he added, "Since none of you wants to confess."

Nobody said anything after that.

* * *

Before she slept, Itunu decided to try and call her mother again.

Surprisingly, after the third trial, it rang. Itunu almost leapt for joy. And then her mother picked the second ring. Itunu glued the phone to her ears.

"Hello? Hello Mummy?"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. "Hello? My baby. Oh my God. The network here is so bad. This is like a village." She paused. "I've been trying to call you for days, but it wouldn't go through. So frustrating. I can't wait to come back home." She paused again, after her rambling. "How are you?"

Itunu could not describe the kind of happiness she felt, at talking to her mother. A wide smile was etched on her face.

"Mummy, I'm fine. How are you too?"

"That's good. I'm fine, my baby. I hope you're enjoying yourself? How's your new cousin? Are you enjoying him? I know you love babies so much."

Itunu felt sad. Her cousin was nowhere to be found. Her mother didn't even know that.

"Mummy, Hameed is missing."

"He's?" Her mother did not seem to hear.

Itunu had to repeat it. "He's missing."

"He's eating?"

Itunu realised that the line was starting to break.

"Mummy he's missing!" She yelled into the phone.

But the line had gone off.

* * *

Around nine-thirty, everybody started dispersing into their various rooms. Dipo took Tamilore inside. Daddy Dami, Bisola, and their child, Dami went into their room. Modupe and Tiwa left for their room, and the helps went upstairs too. Itunu went into her own room.

She changed her clothes, putting on her pyjamas. She turned on the AC, got into bed, and pulled her duvet over herself, and closed her eyes.

Itunu must have been asleep for about five hours when she started dreaming. Her dreams were always vivid and clear, but this one was more realistic than any other dream she had ever had. She was sleeping in the dream, just like she was now, and her eyes were closed, yet she could see the person in her room.

The uniform brown curtains which was draped over every single window in the house covered their whole body, so she couldn't guess who was behind it. She had absolutely no idea of if they were a man or a woman. The light was not helping matters; the light of the room was switched off and only that of the bathroom was on.

They stood in front of the wardrobe, the one where Itunu's bags were kept. The door of the wardrobe was open. They stood in such a way that Itunu could not see what they were doing.

The dream felt too real to Itunu...but she was tired. She was so tired, and the AC was on, and the duvet was so comfortable...that Itunu abandoned all thoughts of standing up to confirm if this was a dream or reality.

By the time Itunu woke up, she had forgotten half of the details of the dream.