Chapter 1 The mistake.

CONSEQUENCE

1

Some where in a developing village,in Enugu state,Kachi and her mother were seated on wooden chairs peeling the cassava they harvested from their farm. The cassava would be later processed into cassava flakes(garri) and sold at the village market.

Mazi Okeke,Kachi's father is a palmwine tapper whose income can barely feed the family. Oriaku,Kachi's mother is a petty trader of different food items,including cornflakes (garri).

Apart from these,Okeke's family also have their farm lands as another source of living,which is in fact,the major source of living in the community.

Kachi jerked up from her chair,startling her mother. She ran to a corner and threw up the contents in her mouth.

"Kachi,are you OK?" The voice of a concerned mother filled the air.

"yes mama" Kachi replied,wiping her mouth with the back of her hand before walking back to her place.

"why are vomiting?" Oriaku asked,suspiciously.

"mama,I don't know. I am not feeling well" Kachi replied.

"Kachi,you have been behaving strange lately,tell me what is wrong with you?" Oriaku was filled with expectations. "I hope it's not what am thinking?"

Kachi's heart skipped. She knew what her mother was thinking. But she was very careful for that not to happen.

"mama,which one is behaving strange?...and I don't know what you are thinking o" Kachi said in her defense.

"OK. After we are done with this,we will go to nurse Eliza's house." Oriaku said before picking up a cassava.

"nurse Eliza,to do what?" Kachi shrieked.

"to find out what is wrong with you" Oriaku replied.

Kachi was scared. She didn't need to ask that question because she already knows the answer. Nurse Elizabeth was one of the lucky people who got to further their education after secondary school.

Elizabeth came back to the village after studying nursing because she wanted to help the people of her community.

Elizabeth owns a small clinic in her house; one segment is a room and the other is a clinic,that is not properly equipped. Nurse Eliza came from the combination of nurse and Elizabeth.

FEW HOURS LATER.

"mama Kachi,I have collected Kachi's blood and I will be taking it to the place where the test will be done." Elizabeth announced.

"we should we expect the result?" Oriaku asked,not happy with what she heard.

"in two days" Elizabeth replied.

"it is far,but no problem" Oriaku replied unhappy. Oriaku paid off her debt and left for home with her daughter,whose mind has never been at rest.

Through out the day, Kachi was restless. She drowned herself in thought and prayed earnestly for the test result to come out negative.

"what if this result comes out negative?" Kachi asked herself.

"what will I do?" She muttered.

"oh God, please do not let this happen to me" The thought of being pregnant overwhelmed her.

Kachi was so lost in thought that she didn't hear mother calling for her. It took a thunderous slap from her mother to bring her back to reality.

"Kachi, what are you doing here?" Oriaku roared

"ma? nothing" Kachi replied quickly and sprang to her feet.

"what do you mean by 'nothing? Won't you join me in the kitchen to make dinner?" Oriaku queried.

"umm..." Kachi tried to speak but her mother shut her up.

"will you get yourself in to the kitchen before I slap you to the kitchen!!" Oriaku said sternly and in seconds, Kachi found herself running to the kitchen.

Kachi helped her mother pound pepper and picked out dirt from the beans they were to cook for dinner.

Oriaku looked at her daughter who was absent minded in what she was doing. She noticed that something was bothering her.

Oriaku thought of how to get Kachi talking and the best way was to use her motherly love and understanding.

"Kachi my daughter" Oriaku called tenderly.

"yes mama" Kachi jerked. She quickly looked down to the tray of beans sitting comfortably on her legs.

"are you OK?" Oriaku cooed.

"yes mama. I am fine" Kachi replied. She never looked at her mother while responding.

"you know you can tell me anything right?" Oriaku tried as much as possible to be as polite as she can be.

"are you angry with me? OK am sorry, my daughter" Oriaku apologized. Kachi snapped her head up. She stared at her mother with eyes wide open.

"mama!" she was appalled because it is impossible for an African mother to apologize to her child when she corrects him or her.

"what is the matter?" Oriaku chuckled.

"ah ah, since when did you start apologizing for querying me? Talk more of when you hit me?" Kachi asked suspiciously.

"forget that one. Just like you always say, there's always a first time" Oriaku responded and Kachi laughed to that.

"Kachi..do you have a boyfriend?" Oriaku dropped the bombshell. Kachi froze. She knew her mother was up to something when she became all sweet and apologizing.

"mama, what are you talking about?" Kachi stuttered.

"it's a simple question my dear daughter, that requires a simple answer" Oriaku smiled.

"mama I don't know what you are talking about or what you are trying to hear from me" Kachi replied.

"why are you trying to shy away from this question? Why are you being coyly?" Oriaku asked but Kachi remained quiet.

"my dear daughter, you are teenager. No a young adult and it is understandable that you desire to have such relationship with a young man, just like other teenagers" Oriaku continued.

She collected the tray of beans from Kachi and poured it into a pot of boiling water seated on the fire. She asked Kachi to push in the fire woods to enable the fire to keep burning.

"so tell me, do you have a boyfriend?" Oriaku asked again.

"no mama, I don't" Kachi replied shyly. She played with the hem of her dress, smiling sheepishly.

"but your actions right now, is saying otherwise" Oriaku noted.

"no oo, I don't have a boyfriend oo,but..." Kachi hesitated but Oriaku urged her to go ahead and say her mind.

"there are men who are interested in me" Kachi replied.

"men!!!" Oriaku squealed "who are those men?"

"have they touched you?"

"ah mama, calm down. I never said that I accepted them and they did not touch me" Kachi retorted.

"Kachi, I hope for your sake, you are saying the truth o" Oriaku warned "because you are behaving suspiciously lately"

"mama, I don't know what you are implying o. How are am I behaving strange?" Kachi sulked.

"OK. No problem. In two days we will find" Oriaku replied before concentrating on her cooking.

Once again, Kachi was drowned in the river of fear. After dinner was served, she couldn't eat because she had no appetite.