EBIERE 11

"Ebeire, I know that you do drugs, no matter how much you try to hide it from me."

I just kept staring at mama with absolutely no words to reply. The look in her eyes was really serious.

"I will tell you a story. The story is about your birth, the circumstances surrounding your birth." I suddenly felt uncomfortable sitting on the wooden joko. Whatever mama was going to say must be serious.

"I was pregnant six times before your pregnancy, they all ended up as miscarriages. When the seventh pregnancy finally stayed, the scan confirmed I was going to have twins, beautiful girls. Unfortunately, five months into the pregnancy, your twin sister died in my womb and started to decay."

"What!" I was shocked, no one has ever mentioned this to me.

She continued calmly as if she had not been interrupted; "The doctor said they had to carry out an operation to take out both babies so that my health would not be affected. I told the doctor that the operation would not be necessary because I was going to give birth to my child, at least one was still alive. Your father and the doctor tried all they could but I refused to kill my baby. God had to do something.

When the pregnancy was 7 months old, the doctor carried out another scan. This time, the scan revealed that one healthy baby was growing in my womb. The remains of the dead child had miraculously disappeared. The doctor was surprised, but I knew God heard the cry of a childless woman."

The ocean of tears that had gathered in my eyes began to flow down. "Ebiere, you have to make your life worthwhile. Why else would God preserve you in the womb, if not to use you greatly?" This time, mama smiled tenderly. "It's never too late to start afresh."

"Thank you, mama, for believing in me at this time of my life when I don't even believe in myself," I said amidst the tears. 

Mama hugged me and for months after the words that kept ringing in my head was; Make life worthwhile. The how was what I could not answer.

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