Stronger Than Pain

Chapter Thirteen

Grandma wasn’t ecstatic when she saw aunty Mma drive into the compound in company of mum and I, she didn't need to say the words, her countenance tells it all. The expression on her face was that of a woman who has just met with a turbulent household enemy. Apparently no one had mentioned to her what happened to mum, her daughter.

We alighted from the car and aunty Mma hurried over to the rear door to help mum out. As mum hassles out from the door, grandma's angry face slowly turned into shock as she watched her daughter struggle to alight, and limping as the ground greeted her swollen feet. Without words, she rushed to her, her hands shaking in fear and her lips wide apart in horror. Grandma couldn't stop the numerous questions flying out from her lips, her hands still shaking as she embraced mum.

“Was she involved in an accident?” she asked again, fixing her piercing eyeballs on mine. I gently shook my head, looking away from her. “Then what happened to my daughter?” She more of screamed than asked.

“Mum relax, I'll explain” my mum managed to assure her.

“She was beaten mama” aunty Mma blurted out, angry that mum was trying to downplay the whole thing. Mum shot aunty Mma a wicked look, obviously unhappy with the way she had put it.

“Beaten? By who?” Grandma asked in horror, halting mid sentence.

“Her husband Emeka, your son in-law aunty replied still holding mum closely so she could lean on her and walk.

Grandma's head whipped to my mum, her gaze resting on her

“What have you done this time?” . Grandma asked mum immediately, with tears trailing her frail cheeks.

“What?” aunty Mma exclaimed stopping and turning to face grandma. “What she has done? Is that what you're after? What could she have done to warrant to be killed like this, eh mama?” aunty cried.

She couldn’t obviously believe mama was going to support dad for beating up her own daughter that way.

“What do you know little girl? They have been married for ten years and this is the first time he's beating her, that means she must have done something stupid" Grandma said in a raised tone. "Emy isn’t like this, I know him” She added.

“You know him better than you know your own daughter?" Aunty Mma asked, astonished. "So you know your daughter to be troublesome and meddlesome eh? So are you saying your daughter deserved this beating mama? I cant believe this!” aunty was so hurt, it was written all over her.

“How am I even sure he didn’t beat her like this because of you?” Grandma added, rolling her eyes at aunty Mma.

Aunty shook her head in defeat, cast a glance at mum and smiled sadly. She helped mum sit down on a wooden chair which sat on the narrow verandah.

“I'd thought if your mum see you in this condition, and watch you feel this enormous pain, she would've felt pity for you and maybe help you, but clearly I was wrong" She calmly said to mum. "Nekky, I'm so sad that even your own mum is in support of this abuse, this violence, this killing!” She added almost in tears.

Grandma was now behind them, her hands resting on her hips. Aunty Mma turned to her and with another sad smile said “Well done ma! You can mail her off to that beast you call an in-law, by the way what’s my own, is she not your daughter?” and with a long sigh, aunty Mma walked out. At the door she looked back and exclaimed “If I hadn’t come in when I did, you would have met her corpse; you can ask your granddaughter”

After aunty left, mum explained to grandma everything that transpired, word by word. Grandma faulted mum for being too inquisitive.

"You mustn't know everything Nneka, you shouldn't pry into his privacy! Haven't you heard of the phrase mind your business? Grandma began. "Why can't you listen to simple instructions? I'd earlier advised you to ignore his excesses for Christ sake, and now look at the consequences of not abiding by simple rules!" She added angrily. Grandma was obviously sad that mum didn’t apply her ignore attitude she'd advised earlier on which actually didn't go down well with mum.

In response, mum cried bitterly and became so upset with grandma. She admonished grandma for always faulting her and never providing support.

"With you it's always about what I did wrong every time. Emeka is always right in your sight while I'm always the bad egg mama!" Mum screamed. "Can't you ever support me and maybe see things from my own point of view? You are asking me to mind my business and I ask, is Emeka not my business? Does this mean I shouldn't bother whether he comes home or not, whether he eats or not, whether he's alive or not?"

"Do you even love me? Care for me? Or want me alive?" mum asked bursting into uncontrollable tears. Mum bitterly said so many things to grandma that actually hurt her.

The evening was so quiet as grandma felt the pain her daughter was going through a bit. She called dad to inform him we were at her place and also took time to massage mum’s swollen leg, her swollen lips and head with hot water and balm to ease the pains but it served very briefly. I guess that was when grandma realized the height of pain mum was in and the inhumane act done by her son-in-law. She became so embittered.

Dad arrived the next day, his mood could be better described as bitter, angry and uncaring. Grandma wasn’t pleased. I wasn’t pleased either and relayed my anger through the manner in which I received him.

"Welcome" I murmured casually as I walked past him. He saw my countenance and deduced something was very wrong. He was expecting the usual hugs and pecks but got none. Grandma was still seated outside the veranda while mum was inside, sleeping.

"Ada, please get a chair for your father" Grandma said in a raised tone. I murmured an 'okay' which I was certain no one heard. I dragged the yellow plastic chair outside and dumped it behind him. Casting me a weak glance, he rested his left hand on the chair.

“Good day mama” he greeted while pulling the chair closer. Grandma nodded and welcomed him. I noticed he was not smiling, not even a bit and I was certain it was his own little way of avoiding a confrontation from grandma.

“How is everyone mama” he continued uninterestingly.

“Everyone is fine” she replied. They exchanged other simple pleasantries and then he turned to me.

“Ada we would be going back in the next minute, so head in and dress up” he ordered. I bat my eyelids and sat still. “And tell your mum to hurry up as well” he added absentmindedly.

By this time I was fuming with anger. He was so unrepentant of his actions and didn’t even see the need to explain to mama what happened, or was he expecting the old woman to ask before he see the need to explain?

“Didn’t she even hear me drive in?” he asked no one in particular, stretching his right leg and fumbling with what seems to be his phone in  his trouser pocket.
*****

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