The Reaper's loot (Episode 18)

The Reaper's loot (Episode 18)

She jerked awake when she heard the sudden honking of car horns outside the gate. Knowing it was Ife and forgetting the baby that was still inside the fridge, she rushed out to open the gate for him wondering why he was home that early. It was just 3pm.

Ifeoluwa: “How is Bolu? He asked immediately he stepped out of the car.

Angela: “Jeeeus!” she exclaimed and ran into the house but decided not to bring the baby out in his presence, fearing what he’d do to her if he found out she had refrigerated his daughter.

Ifeoluwa: “What happened? Why did you exclaim like that?” he asked as fear gripped his heart. He went inside the room to check her but was surprised to see she wasn’t there. “So where is my daughter Angela?” he asked placing his hands on his waist praying she wouldn’t say something negative.

Angela: “I don’t know, I had been sleeping when you arrived and now she is not in the room where I left her sleeping” he lips quivered.

Ifeoluwa: “What do you mean by that? Did a two month old baby walk out of the house by herself? Besides you are the only one in this house and the gate is locked so where is my daughter Angela?” He asked trying to contain his anger, trying not to fling his head across her face or pounce on her.

Angela: “I am sorry Ife please believe me. I don’t know where…” she was interrupted by a muffled cry coming from the fridge. Ife without thinking twice, took giant steps towards the fridge and yanked it open. In it was his daughter with her lips quivering and her hand clasping and unclasping in agony. With a trembling hand, he reached inside and brought her out gently, feeling like he was having a terrible nightmare. Just then he heard the gate creak open and then shut in a loud clang. He looked to where Angela was supposed to be standing and realised she wasn’t there anymore. He quickly took the baby to the kitchen, turned the electric cooker and the gas cooker on. Removed her freezing cloths and shawls, got another shawl and wrapped her warmly in it as the kitchen started becoming hot enough to warm a cold person. Tears dripped from his eyes as he watched his daughter sleep restlessly when the warmth began to seep into her cold bones.

He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath at himself for not seeing the writing on the wall earlier. He knew getting her warm was not going to be enough, he needed to get her to the hospital as soon as possible.

He rushed her to the hospital when after some minutes of turning off the gas cooker, she began shivering again. The nurses at the reception, knowing him due to his endless visitations immediately attended to him without asking for cards to be bought first. The baby was born in their hospital aftrall. The doctor requested that they take her to his office instead where he had the nurses heat up some water, poured it into water bottles and after making sure it was cooled enough not to burn her skin, they place the warm water bottles under her armpits, groin and abdomen. He knew she was developing symptoms of Hypothermia and care needed to be taken.

===

She sat watching her daughter like she always did. She never got tired of doing that day and night. she made sure she kept her clean to avoid bed sores on her back- the nurses taught her how to do it with absolute care in order not to interfere with the machines she was connected to. Her heart was filled of love for her daughter despite how much she was hurt by her dad. She wondered where he was or what he was doing. Was he alive? Did he and his beautiful wife have peace and children? Is he happy? She found herself thinking about him a lot in those trying times of watching her daughter fight for her life.

A she sat watching her daughter that day after cleaning her up, a thought occurred to her that what if her daughter really could hear their conversations? Then will she ever forgive her for refusing to take care of her daughter? A feeling of guilt suddenly engulfed her. She suddenly saw all of the wrongs she had committed just because she felt she was the victim and in the process victimizing others.

“My grandchild, the child that my daughter gave birth to could have been a great consolation to me in this hard times and I pushed her away? Oh no! What was I thinking? Why wasn’t I thinking straight? The same way my heart ache for my daughter right now must be the same way hers also ache for her neglected child and what if that bat-eyed lady hurts the baby? Oh no! I can’t believe I acted so thoughtlessly” she suddenly sprang to her feet, reached for her handbag and brought out her phone. As she was about to dial Ife’s number, he barged into the ward looking like a wounded lion.

Ifeoluwa: “Hope you are happy now?” he put enough distance between them so he doesn’t have to shake they daylights out of her.

Adunni: “Happy about what?” she asked looking confused but the look on his face told him all was not well.

Ifeoluwa: “My daughter, your grandchild is fighting for her life right now. Guess what happened to her? Someone put her inside the fridge for how long? I don’t know and all these is because you were punishing the innocent child for being born like it was her fault that she was born and not I and your daughter’s. Are you happy now?” he asked again.

Adunni: “Oh my God!” she exclaimed and slumped back to the chair she had previously risen from. “I don’t know what to say. My sin is numerous, I was just about to call you to ask after her after realising my mistakes. I am sorry Ife. I was not thinking, I was only thinking about myself. Please how is Boluwatife? I want to see her so badly right now please take me to her” she pleaded with tears rolling down her cheeks like a rollercoaster ride.

Ife looked at her, not knowing what to say. The grief in her eyes was heart-wrenching she seemed to have doubled in age all of a sudden. He felt sorry for her when he glanced towards Bola and saw her lying there, sparkling clean.

===

Angela: “I want you to finish the two of them up together. Watch that her mother very well, she hardly leaves the ward at all but I know something will definitely make her leave this time around. I want you to pull the plug on her or any other way you think a person in vegetative state can be killed. Anyhow at all” she instructed the man standing before her desperately.

“I have been good enough yet Ife is not appreciative of my kind gestures. I never meant to leave her in that fridge for that long, I only slept off and now he is blaming me for it all? I know that I can no longer have you but I will make sure I cause you enough pain by taking away those you care so much about. Those for whom I am being tortured this much”

Man: “It will be done. I am a hawk, I watch my prey with calculated eyes before I act. Don’t worry, you will not be disappointed” he said as he clutched the brown envelope containing the N500,000 she had paid him. He was the finish off both Bolu and Bola, a job he saw as being very simple.

He watched them come out of Bola’s ward and smiled to himself. He suddenly approached the reception and requested to be directed to the rest room. Rather than the restroom, he diverted to the corridor which led to Bola’s ward and from there, locating hers was not so difficult as there weren’t much private wards in that line and in each of the other ones passed, he had heard voices and so concluded those could not be hers. He finally stepped into her ward and looking at her, he stopped in his track and became deep in thought.

“Is this not the beautiful girl I was toasting that time who was throwing her pregnancy at my face? Was she really pregnant? Is it her child I am to kill next? Oh wow!” he smirked wickedly at her sleeping figure. “She sure is a sleeping beauty, what a waste”