HOPE

Chapter 3

A tall, greenish building stood right in front of Hope, staring at her. She sighed softly and dragged her suitcase carefully towards the gate. It made muffled sounds due to the floor's structure. She sighed again and thought what her parents reaction would be. Will they be happy to see her or the other way round? She thought but mustered up courage. She hit the gate gently with the knuckles of her left hand thrice, progressing to a louder, firmer knock, but there was no response. She did it the second time and decided to go with a strong bang the third time but bore the same result. She decided to open it herself and there it was, opened. She pushed the black gate open and saw no one except the colourful flowers that decorated the big compound. She made her way in trying to see if anyone was around but saw no one.

'Hello! Is anyone home?' She called out but no one responded.

She wondered why everywhere was as quiet as a grave? It was Friday and her siblings should have been back from school with her mom. She looked at the watch on her wrist, it was 2:40 pm.

'I guess I will check the inside.' She told herself and walked towards the door. She walked past the car parked in the big compound that was electrified in all angles. The Lexus RX 450h stared at her as she walked towards the door and hit the door bell.

'Who is at the door please?' A voice finally emerged from the house.

'It is me.' She replied with curiosity.

'Coming.' Said the voice. This time, getting closer to the door.

The door was opened and there stood a tall, dark, well structured woman wearing a surprise look.

'Hi mom.' Hope said with a smile on her face, trying to hide how curious she was.

'Hope? What are you.....'

Hope quickly cuddled her mom tightly, stopping her from finishing her words.

'I miss you mom.' She said with a soft voice still cuddling her tightly.

Wuraola quickly held her hand and pushed her behind a little.

'I miss you too Hope. But you should have told me you were coming.'

'Would you have let me if I did?' She replied.

Ewatomi sighed with her head down and finally said. 'I think I made it clear to your Aunt Kathy that you coming home is not allowed. And how do you even get in here?

'The door was opened.'

'Opened? How did you get this address? She asked again.

'Mom! Enough with the questions. You should be happy to see me not feeding me with a lot of questions. I have been away for years and now I'm back. But the only thing you care about

is try to chase me away?

'I'm.......' Wuraola tried to talk but was stopped again.

'It's too late mom. You can't chase me away this time.' She finalized and made her way in, leaving her mom behind who was calling out to the gatekeeper.

The Sitting room setting caught Hope's attention as she walked in. It was spacious and less choky. It had a Plaster of Paris {POP} powder on the ceiling, a beautiful chandelier at its center, and comfortable couches to complement it. A unique permanent place was also dedicated to the flat LED TV and sound system. The whole place glowed with man made lights. Hope was still observing the house when she heard her name.

'Hope?' A voice called. But it sounded like that of a young girl. She looked towards the dining room and there stood her sister and brother looking at her with disbelief.

'Hey fellas.' She replied with her arms open heading towards them.

'It's Hope!' John screamed exuberantly as he and Joanna ran into her arms. They were so happy to see her and Hope could tell. She was happy to see them too. It felt so good to hold them again after many years.

'How have you been guys?' Hope asked, patting their heads gently.

'We are fine Hope.' John answered.

'If I could recall, the last time we talked, you didn't tell us you would be coming.' Jane who seemed to be the sharp-witted one asked.

'Well, I wanted to make it a surprise. And guess what, I will be spending this Christmas holiday with you.'

Hearing this, they were both delighted. They had so many questions for her but Wuraola interrupted them.

'Save the questions for later okay. Your sister is tired and needs to rest.' She said and motioned them to go to their room.

'I will see you later.' Hope whispered and gestured them to go. They both headed to their room excitedly. She turned to her mom and sighed. Her face could tell that she still had questions.

'Do you still have questions to ask or you will show me to my room?' She confronted her.

Wuraola scowled at her for seconds. She knew how obstinate her daughter could be sometimes. Chasing her away quickly would be challenging.

'Follow me.' She finally said and headed up the stairs. Hope followed her quietly. Shortly, they stopped after walking past some rooms and Ewatomi opened the door that stood in front of her. 'You will be staying here for a while, I believe.'

'Not bad.' Hope said as she walked into the room, ignoring what her mother said. She dragged her suitcase carefully and placed it beside the well furnished wardrobe that stood beside her bed.

'It's an en suite bedroom so I believe things should be easy here.' She said.

'It should.' Hope replied still not giving her attention. She was observing the rooms and shook her head vigorously.

'If you need anything else, you can call me. Dinner is at seven...' She stopped and walked towards the door. 'Don't be late.' She finalized and closed the door, letting out a loud bang.

Hope walked slowly towards the bed and sat down. She fell lightly on the bed with her back and sighed softly. She knew her mom didn't want her here. But why? She knew she was hiding something and wouldn't allow her to stay for a long time. She had to get things done quickly. She had to find out the hidden truth. She had to come up with a plan. Different thoughts crept all over her mind as she gazed at the white ceiling.

Dinner that day was a quiet one. The family ate in silence and the only thing that could be heard was the unrhythmic clinking of spoon and plate.

'So are you planning to spend Christmas with us? Frederick finally broke the silence. He returned from work not quite long and was fortunately welcomed by dinner. He was surprised to see Hope but decided not to show it.

'Yes. Of course.' She replied with a smile.

'You're spending new year with us too?' he added.

'Yes. And before you ask, I will be celebrating my birthday here too.'

'So, where are you taking us to?' John asked curiously.

'I don't have that planned out yet but...' she stopped and stretched her hand across the table, holding both John and Joanna's hands. 'We are definitely going to have fun that day. She smiled.

They were both excited to hear this and happily dug in their food. Serenity took over again until John asked the question which seemed to be unsuitable to the moment.

'Is mom coming too?'

Wuraola who had been eating and listening to them quietly, suddenly stopped. She looked at them for a while and dropped the cutlery she was holding.

'I think I lost my appetite.' She stood up and flounced to her room. Everyone watched as she walked away for a while and continued eating. John wore a curious look and tried to ask what he did wrong but was signalled to by his dad to continue eating.

Hope didn't wear a confused look like her siblings did. She knew why her mom reacted that way and wasn't ready to give in. She decided to ask her dad why they wanted her away so badly but gave it a second thought. She didn't want to create another scene. She ate quietly, thinking of what to do.

She walked into her room after dinner and fell tiredly on her bed. She gazed at the ceiling for a while and grabbed her phone. She tried to play games and watch some movies so as to prevent her from thinking but didn't seem to work.

'Maybe I shouldn't have come like mom said. But, he told me I would find my answers here.' She soliloquized and sighed. She kept asking herself questions that could only be answered by her parents. At the thought of this, she fell asleep.

A soft breeze blew on her for a while but suddenly turned into a cold touch. She shivered with her eyes closed and wondered why her window was opened. She remembered it was closed before she slept but suddenly sensed something strange. The type of coldness she felt reached into her bones. It was as if her heart was a door left wide open to the icy wind. She tried to reach out to her phone but couldn't find it. Her hand kept on brushing dry leaves as it moved. She opened her eyes gently and there stood the moon, staring at her. Quickly, she sat up and looked around her. She was surrounded by trees and enveloped in fear at the sight of the spooky forest. She stood up and walked fearfully, looking around to see where she was. She felt something liquid in her mouth and hands and suddenly the moon shone brighter. It was as if the moon received her communication to see what it was in her mouth and hands clearly but to her utter dismay, it was blood! She screamed after seeing this and began to run. Could she have killed someone? Could it be her parents? If not, where could they be? Her mind raced with questions as she kept running and hoping to find a way out of the scary forest.

After a long run, she decided to take a break under a big iroko tree. Her heart slammed against her ribs and she gulped for air. The buzzing sound of insects and squeaks of bat emerged all over the forest. Her whole body felt numb and feet were bruised. She wondered how she got to the unknown forest which looked to be far away from home. At the thought of this, a sudden movement behind her caught her attention. She stood up to check out what was there and there stood three strange humans who seemed to be from the Yoruba tribe. She could tell by their structure that they were men. They wore Èwù and Sòkòtò which looked tattered and stained in blood. Their appearance looked like that of people who needed help.

'Who are you?' Asked Hope fearfully.

They replied but in a language she didn't understand. She tried to ask what they were saying but was shocked by what happened next. They seemed to have moved like a flash and were now standing in front of her.

'Rànwá lówó'. They kept pleading as blood gushed from their mouth like a river. Hope seeing this decided to run but was stopped by another set of strange humans too. This time they were women and tears flowed down their cheek. She was confused and scared and didn't know what to do. Afterwards, the people kept on multiplying and this time she couldn't take it anymore. She covered her ears and yelled loudly only to discover she had been dreaming.

'Hope! Is everything alright?' Wuraola asked rushing into her room after hearing her scream.

'I thought you were gone mom. I thought I will always be alone. I thought I lost you and dad.' Hope cried at the sight of her mom.

'It's alright dear. I'm here now.' Wuraola who was now consoling her hugged her tightly. 'You're not alone.' she said patting her gently.

'Where is dad? Hope asked with tears in her eyes.

'He is with the kids. I told him to put them to sleep.' Wuraola replied softly. Hope's loud scream was what woke them up and it sent shivers down their spine. So she had Frederick attend to the children while she checked up on her daughter.

Wuraola drew her back gently and asked her what it is she saw in her dream. Hope narrated everything to her and looked at her mom as if she understood it all. Wuraola sighed deeply and stayed mute for a while. She raised her a head only to notice her husband had been standing at the door listening to the whole story. They both looked at each other in a way that got Hope confused. It was as if they were communicating inwardly. It looked as if one of them should be the one to tell her something. Something she didn't know about herself. Hope sat on the bed and looked at her parents, perplexed.

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In a different realm, the curtain of night had fallen upon the whole village. The stars twinkled brightly with the moon smiling at them. An old hut stood at the end of a thick forest. The sounds of dangerous animals could be heard from afar at the late night. An old man who seemed to ignore these wild creatures, sat comfortably on a stool made of wood. He suddenly sprang on his feet after noticing something in the sky. A young heavily-built man suddenly came out of the hut with a palm-oil lamp in his hand.

'Baba, you may hit your leg on a stone and fall.' Said the young man who hurriedly bent and picked up the staff that was on the floor. He handed it to the old man who seemed to be blind but kept looking at the sky. He decided to ask what he was looking at but only replied with what left him confused.

'She is home.' said the blind old man.

'Who is home bàbá?' He asked still looking confused.

The old man laughed as if he had seen a glimmer of light for a while. He finally answered. 'The saviour.'

He looked at the old man as he walked into the hut laughing awkwardly. He didn't understand what he meant by 'The savior' but he guessed it was something good as it was a long time since the blind seer laughed.