The Broken Vase chapter 2

As I once wrote “if that which was hoped for fails to manifest; then the lingering faith propels the mind for better opportunities to thrive”.

Just as “belief is a personal confirmation of an acclaimed truth”, Amaka did believe that God was real. And so, she continued to pray till she fell into a deep sleep.
Medically, such a sleep could be termed as “coma” but in this case things were different. It started off as a beautiful sleep where Amaka saw herself dreaming about the things she liked. And in that dream, she saw her father calling unto her and waking her up. Amaka didn’t understand any part of the dream because it probably wasn’t a dream.

Soon afterwards, she was awoken by a painful and somewhat sting from her back. She open her eyes to find herself on a hospital bed, with her dad by her side. That little moment Amaka dreamed her dad was waking her up was clear reality. Her father had closed early from the office that day, and planned on going to Amaka’s school to get a transcript for her transfer to a new school.

Saved by the bell

When Mr. Joseph opened the entrance door to his apartment, he immediately noticed the absence of his wife and daughter. He thought they had gone shopping or probably visiting the mall for a change of scenery. All for him to find his only child laying helplessly on the floor with blood everywhere. Mr. Joseph would have preferred to hold his daughter and cry on top of her like they do in the movies; but this is broadly midday and he wasn’t naïve.

He acted as fast as possible; carried the little girl to the car at once, ran back to take his mobile phone and locked the door to shut invaders out. Mr. Joseph drove as fast as he could and he searched in his mind for a nearby hospital that could save her daughter’s life. He finally found a specialist hospital and rushed in screaming on top of his lungs; Emergency! Somebody help, this is an emergency!! My daughter needs help, somebody!!!

The Lies

After Amaka was taken in to the theater for the removal of the broken piece of vase that had pierced her back, Mr. Joseph needed to call his wife. He ranged Ngozi’s phone twice but there was no answer, he dialed the number again and again till she finally answered.

My dear, Amaka is in the hospital……I met her bleeding when I got home from work this afternoon. Ngozi screamed Jesus three times as though she was surprised to hear the bad news…….. But I just left home some hours ago to visit my friend in the salon and also to make my hair….na wa oo, (she exclaimed in pidgin English). She then offered to visit the hospital but her husband advised she went home to take care of things.

Ngozi was fully convinced that Amaka would dare not reveal the truth behind her accident. Because often times, she’d threaten the little girl with all sorts of monstrous punishments. Unknown to her, Amaka had made up her mind that there was nothing worse than a “near death experience” and Ngozi’s threat were nowhere close to this.

Related : The Broken Vase chapter 1

Amaka is Sasha fierce

The first thing she did after regaining consciousness was to reveal everything to her father……. As Amaka narrated her ordeals, her father couldn’t stop the tears from falling. He blamed himself for putting his little girl through so much pain. But then, he refused to wallow in self-pity; he knew just what to do and how well he’d pretend to keep his cool in order to prevent Ngozi from hurting either of them if she realizes something was up.

He stayed by Amaka’s bedside, his mind was full of thoughts and appreciation because he could have lost Amaka due to his wife’s cruelty and unkind behavior. Mr. Joseph was smart, he knew what was at stake and whatever his decisions were going to be, he’d put “safety”first.

Freedom at last

Amaka got authorized to be discharged from the hospital, and in a few days, she was back home. Her father took an emergency leave from work because he needed to take care of his only child. He’d watch cartoons with her and prepare nice assorted pepper soup for Amaka. The little girl was living the life of a princess she deserved.

Meanwhile, our dear Ngozi couldn’t stand that Amaka was getting so much attention, she was pretty jealous. There were no more unnecessary errands and curses to be laid on little Amaka, she was definitely free from the domestic abuse and battering. It was just the beginning of her anticipated good life, and to crown it up her father got a home tutor to help her study.

Broken chains

Just like a “thief in the night crawls up your window” so did Ngozi’s divorce papers. She got served, and was advised to accept it in good faith. Attached to the papers were documents of the crimes she committed towards Amaka, her jaw was literally on the floor. She didn’t know how to apologize because what she did was beyond pardon”.”

I suppose sometimes; “I’m sorry” doesn’t cut it…….there are things beyond pardon….

So, Mr. Joseph decided to focus on taking care of his daughter and change some of his work routines in order to have enough time with Amaka. He employed temporal chef and cleaners to tend to their needs and he made up his mind to adopt a child later in the near future so that Amaka would have a sibling. It was a good call, and he was lucky to have listened to his daughter.

When you listen with your eyes and mind, you’ll find the hidden truth in the tongue of a scared child.
Save a child from mental instability and stress.
Give a listening ear and pay attention to their body language.
There are monsters amongst us, and they are robbing us off the belief that the good still exists.
Spread the love and not the hate.
Hate is easy, but love is the easiest because it is free.

Also published on Pulse.ng