Chapter 4 WALKING ON SHELLS

Kome travelled to Warri a week after her meeting with Eric. Her aunt had seemed a distant proposition especially as their last meeting was when she was in junior secondary school. It was the period of mourning for her deceased mother. She arrived Warri on a sunny Saturday afternoon. She took a taxi to her aunt's home which was situated at Okumagba Avenue, a busy section of the city known for its commercial activities. Her aunt lived with her family in the mainly residential part of the community. She trekked some distance before arriving at the front of a black gate.

It looked the same way like the last time she had visited. She knocked on the gate and after a while, a young boy came to open it.

"Good afternoon," he greeted.

"Good afternoon, I want to see aunty Peace."

''That is the name of my aunty...who should I say you are?"

"I am Kome, her niece."

''Okay, please wait here while I go in to inform her,'' he said.

He closed the gate and left for the house. She struggled to stay focused especially with the intensity of the sun. He was gone for a while and soon returned with her aunt's approval. She took a surreptitious look around the compound, noticing a car parked beside a tree. The bungalow looked like it had seen better days especially with its not so bright painting. They arrived at the front of the house and the door opened suddenly to reveal a middle aged woman. She was dark and had her hair done in an afro style. The lady recognized her immediately.

"Kome!" she screamed and embraced her.

After a while, they separated and her aunt led her into the house. The sitting-room was a beauty to behold. It was fairly large, walls painted in green and beautifully furnished with a set of cozy furniture sitting on a soft rug. Paintings and calendar adorned the wall and music was playing from a stereo.

"How are you?" Peace asked.

"I am fine," she replied.

"It's been a long time. How is your father?"

"Daddy is fine," she replied.

"So what should I offer you?"

''I will love to have water.''

Her aunty called Michael, the young boy and asked him to get a glass of water. After Kome had drank water, she gave a concise report on the intervening years but did not tell about the pregnancy. She also told her that she would be staying for a month as a result of her mobilization for national youth service. Her aunty told her that her two daughters were in the state university while her only son was living in Port Harcourt. Her husband was at work while she was on leave from work. She knew little about her aunty and her family up till this point and felt better conversing with her. Kome assisted her in preparing the evening meal. Her aunt's husband arrived just before the evening meal. He was tall and quite dark in complexion. He gazed at her curiously the moment their eyes met. Her aunt did a quick introduction and he welcomed her with a wide grin. She enjoyed the meal and happily retired to bed at a quarter past ten. The day was one of her best in recent times.

She was woken up by a knock on the door the next morning. She stretched her tired body before getting up to open the door. The young boy was standing in front of the door.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"Good morning, how are you?" she asked.

"I am fine. Mummy said you should prepare for church," he said.

"Okay."

He left immediately. She had no intention to go to church but there was hardly anything she could do. She knew her aunt to be a devoted Christian hence it would be unheard of for her to say she was not interested in attending church. She quickly had her bath and joined the rest of the family on the way to church. The building of the church was much bigger than the one in her hometown. She was also struck by the number of vehicles parked in the compound. There were many people in the auditorium and she quickly found a seat in a section populated by ladies. She listened and went through the motions of worship half-heartedly. She was increasingly finding herself thinking less of being a Christian and instead was clinging to hope. Hope was shrouded in her Christian faith in the past but now it stood on its own. Her thoughts kept on examining a possible way out of her dilemma. She prayed silently in her mind that her stomach would not grow more than its normal state throughout her stay in her aunt's house.

Once the service came to an end, she went to stand by her uncle's car. She met Michael standing there without her aunt and her husband. After some time they came around.

"Sorry for the delay, we had a meeting," Peace said.

They got in the car and soon were headed home. The rest of the day was spent leisurely as she had some time with her aunt and her husband. They congratulated her on her successful graduation and engaged her on other issues. She tried to be discreet in her discussion with them as she feared exposing her present condition.

The days moved steadily as she got acquainted with the daily activities of the Brown family. She reveled in the love they showed her while she made a conscious decision to impress them with her overall behavior. She took over most of the chores leaving Michael with ample time for his studies. She stayed indoors most of the time and only ventured out on the request of her aunt. She kept herself busy with some novels which she got from her aunt's library while also seeing various movies.

She also took to examining her stomach every morning. It looked very much the same size but her body was changing. Her breasts had become softer. She also felt weak most of the time. Her aunt was almost too busy with other things to notice the changes in her and this gave her the opportunity to plan out her next move.

The days went on as with the strain of the developing pregnancy. Her health increasingly became fragile as she felt feverish and nauseous. It felt like she was walking on egg shells in a dark tunnel filled with predators waiting to rip her apart. She struggled to conceal her health challenge from her aunt. It came to a climax the weekend before her exit. She was helping her aunt in the kitchen when she suddenly felt nauseous. She closed her mouth with her left hand and ran out of the kitchen to her aunt's amazement. She found succor in the bathroom as she vomited into the bathtub. She knelt down beside the bath tub for a while encumbered by the cold feeling that serenaded her insides. She raised her head as soon she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"What is wrong with you?" Peace asked.

"I feel ache in my stomach," she replied.

Her aunt looked her straight in the eyes and examined her with worry in her face.

"When did it start?" she asked.

"Yesterday," she replied.

She feared the look on her aunt's face but decided not to avert her eyes. Peace held her niece's gaze for a while and then looked away. She hesitated at the door.

"Let's go to the hospital to do a proper checkup," her aunt suggested.

"Ma, I guess a little rest will do," she replied.

"All right."

She heaved a sigh of relief immediately her aunt left the bathroom. She couldn't believe her luck and resolved to leave as soon as it was Monday morning. She had considered extending her stay but the feeling of being found out seemed more than compelling.

She joined her aunt soon after in the kitchen and they finished preparing breakfast. She visited a pharmacy to purchase some drugs just before they had their meal. They ate in silence which was usual but Kome was nervous. She stole surreptitious looks at her aunt in a bid to ascertain her disposition but only met a bland face. She excused herself in order to take the drugs. Once she got to the kitchen she developed cold feet.

''I can't be sick of anything, it has to be the pregnancy," she thought.

She flushed the drugs down the kitchen sink and left quickly. She heard her aunt's voice before arriving the dinning section which only confirmed the fact that they were done with their meal. She ate the remaining portion of food on her plate and cleared the table. She spent the remaining part of the day in her room. She laid on her bed even as thoughts assailed her mind. She was going to leave for Benin in two days' time and was already contemplating the daunting journey ahead. She was worried about being stranded financially and thought of her father flitted into her mind. She had not heard from him since her return to Benin and therefore had not received any money from him. Her mind struggled amidst the thoughts and soon she fell asleep.

She woke up suddenly at the sound of a knock on the door. She got a sense of the time through the dim shade of light that illuminated the room. The glow of the sun was gradually receding. She stood up from her bed and opened the door.

"How are you?" her aunt asked.

"I am fine,'' she smiled.

''I thought you have slept enough," her aunt said.

"All right ma. I will be in the sitting-room soon."

She watched her aunt leave and then returned to sit on her bed. She sat in front of the dresser and viewed her face. It was changing gradually. Her cheek was chubby, her eyes had a faint look, and she noticed the appearance of some spots on her face. She dismissed her fears while leaving the front of the dresser. She looked at the room which has comfortably housed her for a whole month and suddenly became unsettled. She was about taking a path into the unknown just because of a moment of indifference and passion. She was still getting accustomed to the thought of a being growing inside her. She shrugged off these feelings and left for the kitchen. She had a whole day to escape the scrutiny of her aunt.