A Rust on the Box

PRESENT DAY

  Panic hit me! I've waited for this moment for 9months, and now it is here, but I'm at a loss as to what to do. I grab my keys and head to the car, open the back door so they can carry her in.

I arrive at the hospital, i can hear her crying, holding my hands asking me to be there for her. Of course I've been with you all these 9months, washing, bathing cooking and doing all possible chores, treating you like the queen you are. I admit I’m the one who has put you in this condition.

She has been taken into the delivery room, I begin pacing up and down the waiting room, and I know it’s of no use, but what do I care? No joke would be funny to me, i think of possible people I'd need to inform, but i decide against that, they are not doctors so they won't be of use right now.

What's happening in there, the doctors should have come out by now, how long has it been, I check my watch it says 15 minutes have passed, I think my watch must have stopped because it feels like 2 hours have passed.

The doctors comes out the delivery room with a smile on his face, I knew she had delivered and it was successful, I began blushing from end-end I’ve become a father. What a proud moment for me, i pray in my heart that it should be a girl. When the doctor broke the news to me, it wasn’t a girl, my prayers were not answered, it was a Boy. I was happy all the same, i wasn’t allowed to go in just yet to see my wife, some cleaning need to be done.

I began calling family members and friends to inform them about the good news. After several calls I checked my time and saw that its been over an hour since the delivery had taken place, my folks already confirmed they were on their way. I saw the doctors and nurses pacing up and down, I began wondering what’s going on? why the sudden panic amongst them? I kept hearing the doctor instructing the nurse to check the different wards, they needed to do a roll call and make sure everyone is intact, the doctor came up to me with some bad news,

 ‘YOUR BABY HAS GONE MISSING’ the word sounded like a loud alarm, 

I went ballistic, said that can’t be possible, how could such a thing happen? I immediately ran to a near-by police station to report the case.

The officer walked in, he asked that i write a statement, like I could do anything, my entire body had gone limp, my wife had not been informed yet, she was put on bed rest and induced sleep. Our first child, our son is missing. I did not even get to see him, to hold him, what monster could have done this? What did the child ever do to anyone? The officer is asking the doctors and nurses who handled the delivery to come over to the station and write a statement, instead of him to arrest all of them in the hospital. In the midst of this chaos, my parents came in with smiles on their faces expecting to see their 1st grand child, hard it was for me to break the news to them, with tears in my eyes I informed them that someone stole that away from us, my mom went hysterical, she wanted to kill the doctors, my dad was asking for security footage of the hospital if they had CCTV cameras. All that was running through my mind was I have been lied to, monsters really do exist..

 The search continued, no woman who had taken delivery had gone missing and their babies too. So how did this happen what went wrong, a search and interrogation of the nurses began, that was when they noticed that one of the nurses who joined them in the delivery wasn't a staff of the hospital.

The chief medical director was arrested for further questioning, what do I do next? Where does my search start from? I saw the roof above me spinning, and I was out....

  ******************************************************************************

YEARS BACK

'"Are you sure you are not hungry?" This was the 4th time in the last 30 minutes that she had asked. "Tesefe or whatever your name is, I am not hungry, when I am I'll go to the kitchen". I know I snapped but she was getting on my nerves, this new addition to the family, my dad said it was his way of bringing up the youths of this country but I don't see what difference he could make by sending just one person to school. Oh well I had better go apologise to her, I hate hurting women. As I entered the kitchen to say I'm sorry I notice that she's bent over writing a note, probably an assignment from her school, she was in her 1^st year at a federal university. I don't want to disturb her but I can't help but notice her figure, she's smallish with Moderately big C-Cups and a nice round but firm butt, from all the squatting to grind pepper in the village, the only thing is her arms are quite long but I don't seem to mind, infact I think it gives her a sort of graceful fineness. I'm staring from her legs up to her face when our eyes meet. For a second I couldn't breathe, her eyes are like a black river, I have to swim to shore before I drown in their depths so I break the gaze and look at the wall tiles instead, "Are you hungry now?" She asks. No I'm not, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for snapping earlier, I shouldn't have", "Oh no problem, you did not offend me at all" she replied "why are you so concerned about me eating now?" I ask "nothing oh, I just want to wait till you are eating so we can eat together, after all you are the boss around here, Master Bruce" The laughter erupted from my belly, I liked her immediately.

As I dished the steaming rice and okro for myself I asked, "So what is your name again?”She replied "why ask if you will just forget?" "I don't think anything you say to me from today will ever be forgotten" I replied. "My name is Tesefe" she said with a shy grin.

 Things changed for me eventually, one day My friends, Nihil a sad Buddhist that was my neighbour and Erat my course mate from my university days came over to my place for a Call of Duty marathon. Whenever Tesefe passed by, I seemed to go on a long kill streak, finished a round at 75 kills to 10. When she wasn’t present I lost my form. Erat then said out of nowhere, "Are you given her the good D, because I think she was checking me out?" Nihil laughed, "Checking you out, forget it man, she was giving Me the 'I-want-to-fuck-you-because-you-are-a-hotcake-eyes' but I'm a monk so I didn't give her the answer she wants". "Shut up!!!" I didn't know why their words made me so angry, I just knew I had to keep her away from these monsters, especially Erat, in school they said he was using jazz because no sane girl would fuck a Yoruba jagaban like him, known for breaking hearts."Ahh, my guy done fall in love" Erat screamed.

Slowly I began making efforts to get her attention, I wanted more, and this was not the usual housemaid oga of the house relationship, and we treated her like she was a member of the family, had her own room equipped to her comfort and taste. My mum calls her the daughter she never had, but she fondly called me ‘Master Bruce’, ever since she saw Batman she won’t stop. I couldn’t think of a better way to express my feelings and letting her know other than writing a short note to her, I'm not the most expressive guy but that did not stop me. 

                                                                                   

‘I was a lifeless planet,

Wandering through the dark,

And like a broken arrow,        

Could never hit the mark.

Until I chanced upon your fire,

And was captured by its might,

And although I may still wander,

You are never out of sight.

This you need not ponder,

For as I turn upon my pole,

I know my other side,

Is heated by your soul.

 I eventually sent it to her but I didn't write my name. I slid it under her door and I'm sure she read it and she must have suspected me because she changed her attitude towards me, it was like she was avoiding me.

 I got back from nysc camp, i had been away for 3 weeks. I was eager to see Tesefe, i got home, and it wasn't Tesefe who served me food and took my bags in. I had to do that myself. somehow i found myself fighting the urge to go to her room and check on her but i had to resist the urge. I just had to sound as casual as possible when asking about her, she's fine was the information i got.

 I started making conscious effort to come across her, only once was i able to get a glimpse of her, she was cooking with my mum in the kitchen, i smiled in her direction, but she turned her face the other way. The next morning i tried to sneak to her room before everyone gets up. I got to her door, it was locked i tried knocking gently but no response. I went back to my room, scribble down some more words, ran and slid it under her door.

 I’m thinking about you like

A thinks about being with C

And B thinks about seeing D

And E effing G

And H eyeing J

Like rain clouds think about pouring

Like thugs think about grass

And when I think about you the world makes cents

I noticed things had changed, all this notes and not a single response from her, instead shes keeping her distance. I felt maybe she needed time, even when my friends came around they noticed the change in her attitude.
 We were the only ones at home, I did not see her coming but we bumped into each other, first instinct was to keep moving and ignore her, I lost control of my six senses. I did not know when I grabbed her and began kissing her I searched her mouth with my tongue, slowly and thoroughly and she tasted fucking amazing, my skin got tight it was so hard I ached with it, she pushed me away and exclaimed “master Bruce what are you doing?” she immediately slipped from my arms and ran off to her room shutting the door behind her, I wanted to chase after her, but I could hear my parents driving in, I left and went back into my room.

In the coming weeks things did not seem to improving between us, oh how I craved for a kiss from her, her kisses shatter me completely making me feel raw and exposed leaving me vulnerable, but she avoided us being home alone. I had begun working at a my place of primary assignment, the little bucks I got on me, I went and got a rose and a card, dropped it in her room, this time I put my name on the card, I woke up the next day, I found the same rose and card by my bedside.

Things got so bad I found myself volunteering and eager to do domestic assignments she was assigned to do, I had to put myself in check from time to time.

I was exhausted from trying, I had given up on the outside, but on the inside, I was in search of a chance an opportunity something extra that I can do..

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