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“But you still haven’t left? What language do you understand? Take the child with you and go back to the village. I will come and see you by the end of the month.”
“Why are you making me go through all this, Emeka? Why did you lie to me and use me when you knew very well you didn’t love me? Even though I have your child, you have no compassion for me.”
“Listen, I’m already late and I don’t want to talk too much. If I find you still here when I return from work, it will end badly for you.”
He left angrily.
Ogei started crying again. She sat on the ground in front of the hut looking lost. Suddenly, a female army officer passing by noticed that she was crying and came toward her.
“Good evening, young girl. Are you okay? Are you looking for someone? You can’t stay under this burning sun with a child. What’s wrong?”
Ogei explained the whole situation to the woman. She was so compassionate that she decided to help her. She took the child and walked toward a hut, asking Ogei to follow her. Ogei picked up her bags and followed her inside. Once there, the woman bathed the child and then gave food to Ogei.
“You can stay with me while we look for a solution. It doesn’t bother me because I live alone here. You can call me Aunt Uzoma.”
Ogechi’s eyes filled with tears.
“Thank you so much, Aunt Uzoma. I truly don’t know how I would have managed without your help.”
For several weeks, Ogei stayed with Aunt Uzoma.
One day, while she had gone out to buy sugar and was returning to the hut, Emeka’s wife blocked her path.
“Listen to me carefully, ugly girl. Whether you are Emeka’s sister or his wife, I don’t care. I just want you to know that I am the one who is now his wife, and I am the only one he loves.”
Ogei tried to leave without listening, but the woman grabbed her arm to stop her.
“I’m not finished yet. Are you deaf on top of being ugly? I never want to see you passing here again. This place is reserved for respectable people like my husband and me, not for dogs like you.”