SEEING THE INVISIBLES

EPISODE 4

She arrived at my residence at 12 p.m. the next day. It was a Saturday, and it had been an environmental sanitation day, so I had spent the better part of the morning cleaning the house and removing some tenacious plants that had grown along the pavement's margins. I adore cooking, therefore I prepared rice with crispy curry fried chicken for my special visitor. In my mini-bar, I had also stocked up on a few non-alcoholic beverages, making sure to include orange juice. She likes drinking orange juice. I'd also bought some excellent music and some top-rated movies. We weren't going to talk about her troubles the entire time she was staying with me, were we? As a result, I prepared a few items in advance of my special visitor. When she knocked on my door, I was sifting through my photos. I opened the door and welcomed her in. Her outfit consisted of a pale yellow sundress with green frills and a matching headpiece. She had a classic appearance to her. She sat down after we hugged and exchanged pleasantries. She eagerly accepted the orange juice that I provided. I grabbed a couple of glasses, and we were soon drinking and chattering away.

She said, "Getting to your location wasn't easy at all."

I said, “Probably because of the environment.” "They won't be able to rest because of the touts at the intersection." They bother them even after ten o'clock!" she grinned and became silent. I sat and waited for a long time.

"So, you wanted to know what was wrong with me..." She said softly.

I took a deep breath and braced myself.

"I had no idea who my parents were. "I was adopted from motherless babies home by my guardian." She gave a sorrowful smile. "He claimed that I brought him good fortune and that pleasant thing began to happen to him as soon as I entered his home." He was a farmer whose wife had been diagnosed as infertile by physicians. They had tried countless times to have children of their own, but all of their efforts had been in vain. So, after much deliberation with his wife, they made the decision to adopt. He claimed he adopted me because I resembled her in appearance. According to him, things started to improve as soon as I entered the house. His land began to produce more, and his wife's petty commerce began to improve. Soon after, he was able to purchase a larger home and expand his acreage to allow for more farming. He was able to hire laborers, and his business grew significantly. The lady was really nice to me and treated me as if I were her own child. They enrolled me in the best school in the area that they could afford, and I was instantly recognized as one of the class's brightest students."

“When you were adopted, how old were you?” I inquired.

"My father claims I was two years old at the time."

I smiled and nodded, allowing her to continue.

"A cousin of my adopted father came to visit me when I was in secondary school. I'd never seen him before and was shocked he hadn't come to see me. My guardians greeted him with excitement and praised him for finally visiting their small dwelling, which was no longer so humble. He appeared genuinely pleased for them and kept his gaze fixed on me.

They introduced me to him as their daughter, despite the fact that I had learned through time that I was adopted. When I found out, it didn't bother me. They probably only wanted to tell me the truth, which made me appreciate them even more. Anyway, he questioned who I was again, and when I told them I was their daughter, he smiled and said he'd seen his daughter-in-law. My guardians laughed, and I sheepishly averted my gaze, but I had no idea he was serious."

"He departed the next day and returned a week later with his son, who he said was about to finish high school and enroll in the university. He introduced us and then left us alone while he talked to my adoptive parents. At the time, the man's son, Simon, appeared to be rather reserved. I'm not sure if it was because of shyness. We exchanged a few words before his father said that they were leaving. They congratulated us for how wonderfully they were received, and we thanked them too. Over time, I grew to like Simon and even looked up to him as if he were a senior brother. Even when my guardians joked me about him being my spouse, I flatly denied it, claiming Simon was my brother.

Simon approached me one day as I was about to finish secondary school and told me he had feelings for me and wanted to marry me. Before I started university, we should establish a covenant. I was overjoyed! But the covenant was where I drew the line. Not that I didn't want to be with him, but my mother, a devout Christian, had advised me against taking blood oaths, which he was proposing. I told him I loved him and would be there for him, but I would not be a part of the covenant he was proposing. Simon was quite disappointed, and he didn't speak to me for several days. I was miserable, but I refused to give up. Finally, he accepted my word of loyalty and we reconciled.

When I started university, he was in his third year. We didn't attend the same university, but we used to see each other whenever we had the opportunity. He would bring up the idea of a covenant occasionally, and I would decline. I realized that he had begun to alter his behavior. He hung out with terrible gangs and told me he didn't go to church anymore because it was for people who were too lazy to do things for themselves. I tried to talk to him and pay him more visits, but he grew distant, telling me that if I loved him, I would agree to the covenant. However, I stood firm on that point."

He contacted me late one night and said he was going to come to see me on campus. from where are you coming? I asked  He explained that he was on his way down from university. I advised him that it was already too late and that he should wait until the next day, but he refused. He sounded as if he'd been drinking or something. I begged him to wait as if I saw something horrible was about to happen, but he refused. He claimed I didn't want him to come since I had a lover. That was not the case, I told him. He said he was coming anyway, and that we'd make the covenant that day, whether I liked it or not.

I sobbed and implored him to wait because it was evident he was inebriated and that we would talk more about it tomorrow, but he refused to listen and abruptly ended the call. Someone called me with his phone a few hours later, saying he had been in an accident and was in a private hospital. I rushed to phone my parents and his, and I went to visit him the next day. The doctor stated that he had severely injured his back and was unable to walk and that he was paralyzed from the waist down. He claimed that I was to fault for the mishap. He said he wouldn't have traveled that day if I had agreed to what he was saying. I assured him that his paralysis would not prevent me from marrying him. Since then, I've been looking after him. He still lives with his father and is surrounded by servants, but every now and then I check on him and he checks on me. We were supposed to get married two years ago, but his father continues postponing it for some reason. Simon has radically transformed over the years, as I have witnessed. He doesn't love or cares about me any longer, but he also doesn't want to let me go. Even though I have stuck with him until now, he insists on forming this covenant."

I took a big breath and exhaled slowly. There was a lot to process here. But I waited a while, and when she didn't respond, I asked, "How about you?" What are your thoughts on him?"

She let out a sigh. "I'm concerned about him. I'm in charge of him. If I leave him now, it would appear like I am leaving because of his paralysis. And I'm not sure how he'll handle it if I leave."

"Are you sure you want to leave?" I stated.

"But I won't be able to!" she exclaimed. "I can't leave him like that." What type of person would do such a thing! I view him as my future fiancé and husband. We would have gotten married had it not been for my father-in-law's delay. I'm still not sure what his issue is. I'm willing to marry his son, but he continues telling us to wait. We've been circling the subject since the accident, which has been roughly three years. I threatened to leave once, but Simon started crying, and I had to assure him I wasn't leaving until he calmed down."

For a while, we were deafeningly quiet. "Baggage," a show hosted by Jerry Springer, kept coming to mind. This was a dangerous situation. Is it possible for me to accept her baggage? What would I become if I succeeded? Is it a family member? What could I do to assist you?

I sighed, and she smiled as she glanced at me. "Joseph, you're fantastic. I notice how calmly you go about your task. Even though you are superior to others, you do not impose on them. I've noticed that you're always willing to assist others with their troubles.

It would be so easy to fall in love with you, yet you can see why I have to keep my distance..."