Amoral(The Sacrifice)
“One day, when we grow up, we will get married and live close to each other, and our children will be friends just like us.” It had been one of Chinwendu’s greatest wishes to have Akunne married like her and settled with her family like she was.
They had made a pact that turned Chinwendu into a matchmaker. Unfortunately, all the men she had been linked with were shallow-minded and assumed she was a freeloader.
”Chinwe, I love you, but you really have to stop with the link-ups. They have become very exhausting at this point. All the men think they’re some sort of Messiah because they live in the YouKay. Besides, I have been in love, and it didn’t work out, and now I am working on my goals.” Akunne’s mimicry of the acronym for the United Kingdom sent Chinwe reeling in throaty laughter.
”They can’t be that bad. I mean Aku, you haven’t spoken to anyone in the past month. They say you are always busy and that you.….well you act like a feminist.”
Amused by her friend’s words and her hesitance to use the label, Akunne was drawn to laughter.
“I am a creative fashion designer and my work is my life. Most of these men want a woman who is ready to abandon her life to wait on them or a nurse. I can’t seem to understand their obsession with nursing. We have other important things to discuss, biko. Let’s focus on them. How are my babies?” Akunne squealed as she voiced her question. She was the godmother of Chinwe’s two adorable children, Kaima and Kamso. They were fraternal twins of opposite gender.
”They are doing alright, my love. They are with my husband at the moment. For some reason, he believes it right to play video games with four-year-olds.” The two friends laughed at the scenario as they pondered what it could be like to live in the same city.
The sound of the air hostess’s announcement drew Akunne back to the present. She fastened her seatbelt as they took off, and her head was placed on the window. The announcements were drowned out by the voices in her head as she thought of moments in the past that she had shared with Chinwe.
The ascent of any aircraft always made her feel lightheaded and queasy, but staring at objects outside the window helped her hone her fears. A little tear slipped out of her eyes as she stared at the world she knew was falling behind with each new altitude gained. It made her wonder if her decision was hasty.
Had she jumped at this offer because of her friend or because she was hurt and wanted to escape?
The flight was headed to London, and the next connecting flight was to take her to Manchester. Her eyes caught wind of a notification coming from her WhatsApp application. The hostesses had instructed them to put their phones on-airplane mode, which she did, but she assumed the message had arrived before the instruction.
”Honey, I am sorry for what I did. Please tell me when you’re travelling abroad”
Akunne hissed loudly as she read what her ex-fiance had written. His apology didn’t move her because she knew it was not genuine. Collins didn’t care about anyone but himself and hated to take any form of accountability. Their relationship was a farce, and he had no modicum of respect for her, which was why he cheated as many times as he wished. For some reason, she wondered why it took years before she was able to let him go. Why was she holding on to him? Did she fear that the loss would leave her life empty now that Chinwe was no more. She felt a tear slip and fall onto her palm. Chinwe was no more, and she had no one left in the world to talk to.
When the visa application was approved, she felt her mind zeroed in on getting her things together and escaping from her reality. One that she had always felt was a dream come true until that fateful day when a lady walked into her shop with blazing eyes and a baseless accusation. The words burned to her brain like a tattoo on her skin.
It was a young girl in her early twenties, dressed in a black jumpsuit and an intimidating afro with her bag clutching to her side. She had an envious hourglass shape and the most beautiful dark-skinned features she had ever seen. Akunned assumed that she was staring at another beautiful bride customer until hell was unleashed
”So you are the whore that won’t let Collins rest!”
The words seared through her flesh like a hot iron.
She did not understand what those words meant and why she was being accused by a person she suspected to be a customer.
”Excuse me?” Akunne had replied, stunned by not only the lady’s confidence but also her stance, which showed she was ready to get physical.
”Collins has told you to leave him alone, but you won’t listen! He has a girlfriend! Me!”
Akunne’s mouth hung open as she came to terms with what she had heard.
”I don’t understand!” She managed to utter bamboozled by the sheer ignorance and the magnitude of the accusation
”What don’t you understand! You can’t be this old and dumb, for God’s sake! Leave my man alone,” The girl yelled with her hands akimbo
”Old? Man?”
Akunne thought to herself, she was only 29 years old and the lady, though younger, wasn’t a child either. Still she was flabbergasted by the words that left her mouth. It didn’t make sense to her or was she refusing to understand what was being said.
“Collins is my fiance” She finally uttered leaving the lady in question stunned.
“Fiance? Fiance” She muttered repeatedly probably questioning what she had heard. Akunne watched as her expression went blank. For an instant, she looked ghostly, and suddenly the myriad of thoughts running through her mind were quite evident on her face. She was simply pondering on the weight of the statement and the depth of the betrayal.
“It’s not true” She managed to mutter softly, shaking her head in the process. “It can’t be. I would have known. We have been together for three years” The fiery lady that had stormed her store seemed to be as slow as a sloth and her demeanor that of a puppy. Her eyes caught wind of the ring on Akunne’s finger and only then did she begin to scan the room. Akunne’s mannequins were wrapped in unfinished clothes and littered across the room were materials of different patterns. Her sewing machine harbored sticky pictures of she and Collins.
Akunne would have probably laughed if she were not also a victim of her fiance’s infidelity. “We have dated for 5 years, engaged for three.”
“How could he?” The young lady questioned as she sat on the floor of Akunne’s store. What had started as an altercation metamorphosed into an unintended trivia about a man.
Akunne felt the tears slip from her eyes and fall onto her cheek. In that moment she could hear Chinwe’s voice echoing in her head “Akunne you are too good for that man. He doesn’t deserve you”
“Did he sleep at yours yesterday?” Akunne asked the young lady who still appeared to be in shock. She nodded to answer and Akunne chuckled. “I have been an idiot” She thought within herself.
“My name is Ebube”
“My name is Akunne”
The two ladies sat in silence for an hour, staring into nothing. “It’s not the first time he has cheated,” Akunne said, sighing.
“Same here” Ebube replied
“Ebube you are too beautiful to go through this. I am done with Collins but please do me a favour let him go as well. You deserve so much better”
“You make beautiful traditional wears by the way” Ebube’s compliment drew smile to her face before she reached out to her finger and pulled the ring out.
“Do you want some tea?” The voice of the airhostess drew Akunne back to reality and she turned to the beautiful indian lady who waited on her request. She had served the passenger beside Akunne and waited on an answer. Akunne nodded feeling to emotionally drained to speak.
Kamso and Kamsi had lost a mother and she had lost the only living family she had. All the dreams she had shared with Chinwe were futile. They would never come to reality and neither would she have someone who would love her as much as Chinwe did. The children needed her to become a temporary mother figure until their father decided his next step. Akunne felt like a lone wolf. Her life had little meaning and she had no roots. She had often questioned God and asked why she was not taken instead of Chinwe. Leaving for two years was probably a respite that she needed. But what next? What would happen to her after that?
Exhausted by the endless torturous circle her mind drove her in,she placed her head on the headrest, let her eyes shut of their own volition and began to weep.