It had been two years since Esenam was forced to live outside her home. Life had not been easy but through the immense support of the Church, Boat and her mother, she had made it this far. Mr. and Mrs. Fiagbe were in the living-room of their home one evening when a batch of letters were brought to him. Mr. Fiagbe was looking through the day’s newspapers. Mrs. Fiagbe was reading a novel. That had been the order of the day since Esenam left. She turned to novels to fill the void and anger she felt towards her husband. Reading kept her occupied.
Elorm, their son, walked in from town and handed his father the mails he picked from the letterbox and left for his room. Mr. Fiagbe looked through the mail uninterestingly. He saw one from the University Esenam attended and opened it hoping for another excuse to justify his actions. He scanned through the contents hurriedly.
“Yes! That is my daughter. She’s made me a proud father.” He shouted excitedly.
“Which daughter are you referring to?” Mrs. Fiagbe asked, looking up from the novel she was reading. Her husband gleefully handed her the letter. She scanned through and could not hide her joy. Esenam had made them proud. She had obtained First Class honours in her field of study. As a result, a renowned Banking institution had offered her an opportunity to join their team. It was the bank’s way of helping the young but brilliant students to achieve their dreams in life. They saw it more as a corporate responsibility towards society. There was, however, a catch to the whole happy package.
“Wait a minute; she’s to reply by the twentieth of this month indicating her acceptance or otherwise. That gives us just about three days to go. We need to find her immediately. We can’t make her miss out on this golden opportunity.”
“She is your daughter; you should know where she lives. You can take the letter to her if you want,” said an elated Mr. Fiagbe.
“Honestly, I don’t know. You forbade all of us from seeing her. How will I know where she lives? All I know is my daughter is out there at the mercy of strangers, thanks to her father who was chosen by God to protect her.”
“I know you see her so stop pretending. I saw you with her around your office some time ago so stop making it seem like you’ve not seen her ever since she left this house. Anyway, that’s not important, we need to find her and as soon as practicable. I’ve even forgotten her number; can you call her?” Mr. Fiagbe stated trying to get his wife to contact their daughter. Mrs. Fiagbe walked to the phone and dialed Esenam’s number. A mechanical voice told her Esenam’s number was switched off or out of coverage area. She hoped Elorm would know where but it turned out he didn’t or he was not telling.
Esenam had informed her when she had moved to Naana’s place but she had never gone there practically because Esenam always came to see her and she did not want them crowding Naana’s house with their visits.
“Elorm, cut the act and tell me where we can find your sister. There is something she had to attend to urgently,” Mrs. Fiagbe stated hastily.
“She is no longer my sister so why should I bother to know where she lives,” Elorm retorted looking over at his Dad.
“Stop your nonsense right now and answer the question. Do you or do you not know where Esenam lives?” his Dad commanded.
“I don’t know, Sir!” Elorm said and saluted his Dad.
“You can go. You are more useless than I thought,” Mr. Fiagbe said, disappointed.
Getting Esenam to work in any bank was one of his cherished dreams for her. Now, he is faced with a golden opportunity to make that happen and Esenam had complicated it all. If only she had listened to him, this conversation that made him feel like a villain would not have taken place.”
“So what are we going to do?” his wife asked frustrated.
“I guess we’ll wait and see if she’ll show up here.”
“Show up where? Here? Have you forgotten how you treated her the few times she’s been here? And do you remember what you did and said to her the last time? Well I haven’t forgotten and I know Esenam remembers it too. You virtually dragged her out and specifically told her not to set foot in this house or you’ll call the police and give her out as a thief. You even said you’d kill her if you have to. And from that day I’ve not seen her again. You are very heartless Alfred. I’ve often wondered if you are the same person I met and fell in love with. I don’t even know why I put up with you and your selfish ways. You are selfish and a hypocrite. Thanks to you we don’t even know where our daughter, the one whose birth brought so much joy to our home, lives. You should be very proud of yourself. The King’s wishes have been honoured. ”
“L ook Sylvia, it’s not my fault Esenam lives with strangers. She made her choice so don’t blame me.” Mrs. Fiagbe’s tolerance level had been stretched. She threw the letter on him and warned him to look for their daughter and hand it over. She mentioned that she’s had enough of his ego and pride. She warned that she would leave too if he does not mend his selfish ways.
“If Esenam misses out on this golden opportunity because of your selfishness and ego, consider yourself without a wife.” She said and left for the bedroom, slamming the door in the process.
