Tangle episode 22

Malik felt deep sympathy for Helen, she who wanted to dig up her past memory and get back to her old life now just unveiled a past sorrow which she never thought exit. But the questions in his heart were; did Helen need to dig further? What if inside the dark box of her memory lies a more traumatic experience that should better be forgotten? What would he do if Helen insists on leaving them after finding her family? He couldn't bring himself to answer the last question, all he prayed was that the opening lead of her old memory be sealed off completely for good and he would find a way to convince Helen to stop searching.

Helen looked completely dedicated to the task at hand which is finding her family. She assumed to be desperately looking forward to see her mother who she only had a glimpse of from the short memory leaked she had.
'Please do you know the residence of his family?' Helen asked the fisher men with pleading eyes.
The fisher men looked curiously at the lady before them. Why is she being encompassed over such an old incident? What's her relationship with the family?
'Since the death of her husband, life was difficult for Sarah, she moved out of the apartment her husband rented and had been moving around with her daughter' one of the fisher men said.
She asked if they knew precisely where she was presently but they told her they didn't. She decided to look around if she would remember anything else but she didn't.
After a few moments Malik convinced her they should start heading home and continue their search the next day. As they were about to get to where they parked their car, Helen saw an old woman running from afar shouting 'Aderonke! Aderonke! Aderonke!’ Helen stopped and looked at the woman but found no familiarity. She continued going her way until suddenly the woman grabbed her shoulder.
'You this stupid girl, where have you been all this while' the woman yelled.
She turned to the woman and asked 'Please do you know me?'
'I can't believe you just asked me such a nasty question? So you are this heartless? You ran away from home and denied your background' the woman talked furiously.
'Madam, please are you her mother?' Malik asked.
'Me? I pray before a child like this grow in my womb, she should be washed away as my monthly period' she cursed.
'Where is my mother?' she begged somberly.
The woman was reluctant to give information about the whereabouts of her mother, she was enraged that Aderonke had abandoned her mother but after much pleading and persuasion she agreed to take them to where her mother was staying.
Soon they were in a canoe, moved by two human propellers, one at the front and the other at the back. Malik can't help but stared at some old dilapidated houses which seem before his eyes as having just a few days left before they sink into the river they were built upon. Their canoe stopped at the doorstep of such a house, the woman who had brought them disembarked from the canoe and walked on some over-expired wooden planks, which served as doorstep of the so-called house. The two followed in her footsteps as she mounted her agile feet on the pieces of termites left over wood, made as the stair case to the house.
Inside the house, they found a figure lying calmly on the wooden bed. The room was dark and gloomy, the air inside was polluted by all sort of odour. Malik wished he could run out to catch a few breath of the fresh air again. As if reading his thought, the woman who had brought them went to the window and pulled them open. Immediately, there was a coup, daylight overcame darkness and fresh air started pouring in.
'Sarah, I have brought you some visitors' the woman announced.
A little bit blindfolded by the light, the figure on the bed sat upright. Her face was lean and pale, all the flesh in her cheek had flattened to the bone, only a soft skin covered her skull.
'Welcome Sikira, who are they?' the figure spoke in a barely audible tone.
'Maamaa, maamaaa' Helen screamed as she got the first glance at the figure.
'Aderonke, my daughter' the figure shouted back in a deep voice. Helen rushed to the woman and wrapped her arm round her.
Malik stood watching the emotional moment between mother and child and he started feeling guilty for forbidden the reunion.

Watch out for next episode

Written by: komolafe olufunminiyi

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