ANGELA episode 24

ANGELA
episode
24

She opened her eyes looking scared,…..
“Richard,.. Pls i want to talk to him,…..
Can someone call him for me, “she said fidgeting
Her voice woke Vanessa who was
sleeping beside her on the bed,……
She turned and was surprised to see
Vanessa sitting on the chair with her
head on the bed sleeping ” Thank God you’re here, aunty Vanessa,
… Pls call Richard, i want to see him,….
“she said stretching out her hand for a
hug
” calm down dear, Richard will soon be
here, he went to see the doctor,….. “she said hugging her
The door opened, Richard and the doctor
walked in
” Oh thank God you’re here,.. “she heaved
a sign of relief
” Richie,….. They want to kidnap me,…… They hit the driver,….. “she stuttered
He hugged her tightly,….
” Angel, i’m here now, nothing will
happen to you,…… ”
” Baby they want to harm our baby,……. I
saw them in my dreams,… ” Her condition was getting worse,….
Richard held her tight,…
” Doctor please what’s going,…?,….. Pls
help her”
“It’s normal,… She’s regaining her
memory,…. I’ll give her sedative to calm her down, she’ll wake up feeling better
“the doctor assured him
” Baby, pls dont leave me alone, stay with
me,… They might be back to take me,…..
”
She slept off few seconds later in Richard ‘s arms,….. He refused releasing her from
his grip,……. When she was deeply
asleep, he quietly laid her on the bed,….
He went out and called her mother telling
her about the good news,.. He assured
her that everything will be ok,…. And begged for her Permission to allow Angel
sleep over in Asaba because of her
present state of health ,….. He told her to
discuss with her husband ‘s family since
he’ ll be coming with his father for
theIntroduction,…… Angela ‘s mother was filled with joy,….
She called aunty Beatrice and broke the
good news to her,….
******* Angela was discharged late at
night,… She had fully regained her
memory,…. Desmond and Nancy were there to take care of her,….. Richard was
the happiest man on earth,….. He was
over excited as he watched his Angel
hover around him,…. His Angel is back,
…… He carried her to the car not minding
people were staring at them,…. After helping her with a warm bath,… He
served her dinner,… He fed her as she
loves being fed by him,……
“baby i can’t believe i forgot you and
everyone around you this past months,….
I’ve only seen such in movies,…. I never believed such will happen to me,…… I
cant imagine how you felt during those
periods,…. ”
” sssssshhhhhhhhhhh”he said putting a
finger across her lips
“Dont talk while eating,… ” When he was done feeding her,…. He
called the cook to clear the table,….. He
bathed and joined her in bed,….
“I’m sorry for making you pass through
alot,…… Actually, i wanted to tell you
about the pregnancy before i saw myself in Lagos,…. I know you were shattered
when you knew i was pregnant,….. Baby
i’m still scared,… I feel they might come
back for me”
“Nobody will harm you,.. I’m now here
with you,…. ” ” I’m sorry for failing in my duties,… “he
apologized to her
” i should’ve prevented this from
happening but i was too careless,…… My
step mother is the one behind your
kidnap,….. She confessed to doing that, …. “he told her
” I’m happy i’m here with you,…i love you
so much Richie,… ”
” i love you too My Angel”they slept in
each other’s arms
********* Richard dropped her off the next day
after going for her check up,… The
doctor confirmed her perfect,…… He
informed her mother of their visit the next
day,… He wants to hasten his marriage
plans,…… *******
Two days after the introduction
ceremony,…. Richard and his family
embarked on a journey to his village,….
He managed to remember the route to
his village Umuahia in Abia state,…. Though he noticed the place is rapidly
developing,….. His father instructed him
to drive to his uncle’s house first before
going to their house,……
On getting there, his uncle and family
rushed out wondering who had parked the jeep,.. Vanessa, her dad and Richard
alighted from the jeep,.. Their uncle was
shocked, after many, his cousin is back,…
They ran to Mr Johnson shouting Johnny,
Johnny,…… Their scream attracted other
villagers,…. Everywhere was filled to the brim,…. He was known as a
philanthropist in the village,… His second
wife changed all these,….. They were all
happy to see them,…. Richard could
barely recognize Any of them,…. H was
small when they last visited the village,.. He had wanted to report his stepmother
to his kinsmen but a force always
stopped him from doing that,…. He
believed his step mother had a hand in
that,…..
Mr Johnson took his time to narrate all he has been through to his kindred,…. They
were all shaking their head in pity,…..
Uncle Ogbonna, his father’s cousin was
almost shedding tears,…….
“That evil woman destroyed our family,….
Do you know that i wouldn’t have been in this village suffering if not for what that
woman did,….. My brother here got me a
US visa,….. I went to get my ticket money
from him only for her to tear my visa
before me, and asked her guard to throw
me out,…. The next time i came to Lagos, ….. I heard you have relocated,…. And no
one seems to know where you relocated
to,… I went to see your grandmother few
months later only for me to be told that
she has relocated to London,…… I came
back one year later to check on, but i met new tenants there, they told me she has
moved out,…… To make matters worse,
she stopped visiting the village,… Just
few months ago,….. We saw her when
we returned from the farm waiting for us,
…. At first i thought it was a ghost,…… She explained to us how she forgot
everyone, even her family members, she
lived a life of solitude for many years,..
Thank God she didnt hand over all her
husband’s properties to Johnny…. She
employed workers who helped her out in the Company,……. She brought in a
contractor from Lagos who with his
workers renovated your grandfather’s
house,… She did a wonderful job there,
you wont be able to recognize the house
again, she has turned the house to a mansion,…… “Uncle Ogbonna told them
Richard couldn’t get what he was talking
about, was he talking about his dead
grandmother or what?,…..
” Uncle pls i’m sorry for cutting you short,
are you talking about my grandma that died when i was baby or what? “h asked
His daddy stood up,……
” I’m sorry son, i lied to you about her
death, she’s alive,… “his dad apologized
It then dawned on Vanessa that she
hadnt told Richard the truth about their grand ma
, she hit her hand on her forehead
” A lot of issues on my head,…. Thank
God it’s finally coming to an end”she
calmly muttered to herself
Richard gave her a stern look,.. And she looked at him with guilt in her eyes,….
“Son pls,we’ll talk about this later,….. “his
daddy begged him and he sat down
” Johnny, if you’re ready to go to your
house, i have the spare keys here,… “he
said going into his room to get the keys, ……
********
Richard was really impressed with what
his grandmother did to the house,…. But
he wished he would see her,… His uncle
couldn’t get them her number because his phone was stolen few days ago,… He
gave them her new address in Lagos and
they promised to go there immediately
they leave the village,….. He searched
the house for a family photograph but he
didnt see any,…. There were no family pictures in the house,.
After making acquaintance with his
kindreds, it was agreed they will visit
Angela’s people in five days time,
Richard called Angela and told her to
inform their people of their proposed visit for the traditional marriage rite, he
wanted it to be a low key wedding,… He
would have a talk of the town wedding
after his wife puts to bed,…
***********
Angela and her mother have been busy preparing for the D day,.. Her mother has
completed her six months mourning one
month ago,….. She can now go out,…
Aunty Beatrice was a handful of help to
them,…. She tried calling Tope to inform
her of her marriage but her number isn’t connecting,…..
Mama called her from London and she
was happy for her, she wished she was
there to witness the marriage but she
promised to be around for her white
wedding,….. Angela dropped the call and went out to check on the firewood that
was supplied for cooking only for her to
see Mama Johnson coming out of her
jeep,….. Though she’s old,she still looks
younger than her age,….. Angela not
minding her condition ran to her,…… She came into the house with all she
bought for the baby,….
“i just spoke to Mama now,… She didn’t
tell me about your visit”
“we wanted to surprise you my Angel,…. ”
” you will stay in this house with me, no more hotels,…. I need you around me,…..
”
” As you wish my daughter, ”
Her mother returned to see the old
woman,…… She was excited
******* Richard and his daddy returned from Lagos disappointed, they were told
the old woman travelled,.. They would’ve
loved to stay longer but they need to go
home and prepare for his marriage
ceremony,….
On the D day,…… Angela was dressed in a traditional outfit, she looked more like a
princess as she was glistening in her new
look,… Richard too couldn’t take his eyes
off her,…….. She smiled throughout the
event,.. Mr Johnson later arrived with his
people,….. As the occasion was about to begin,… Mama Johnson came out of the
room where she has been resting to
watch the event,… Mr Johnson saw her
from afar, he tapped Vanessa who was
busy ordering everyone up and down,
she followed his gaze and saw her grandmother,. They both ran to her,.. On
getting there, Vanessa knelt down in
front of her and hugged her,… Mama
Johnson was shedding tears of joy,…mr
Johnson knelt down too, Richard just
looked on,…. His father spoke amidst tears,…..
“She’s your grandmother,….. “he said
calmly
“Mama,i’m sorry for not listening to you,
….. I’m sorry for neglecting you,.. I’m
sorrrrrry mmamamamamama,………… Mama biko oooo, forgive me,….. I caused
all these,… I invited the lizard to my
home,. By harvesting an ant infested
firewood,…… Nne mmmmm oma,…….
Sweet mother,……. “Mr Johnson cried
His kinsmen joined him in begging her,… She was surprised to see her husband’s
people,…..
She looked at Angela who was about
soiling Her face with tears,..
“Angel you never told me Richard was
from Abia state, the first day i saw him, i knew there was something strange about
him,. I saw my lost son in him,….. As for
you”she said turning to Mr Johnson
“I wont say anything until the ceremony is
over,….. I dont want to ruin my grandson
‘s day,…. ” She lifted Vanessa up and hugged her
” My baby, “she said touching her face
Vanessa couldn’t let her go, she has
missed her alot……..
The ceremony ended peacefully, the
villagers left early since they had a long way to go,….. They begged their
grandmother to follow them to Asaba,
after much persuasion, she accepted
with the promise that their will confess to
them the true cause of their mother’s
death..........