Tiwatope’s Redemption – Episode 4

Tiwatope’s Redemption – Episode 4

By Kayode Odusanya

Being students of Geography, their professor had thought it logical to take them on a field trip that allowed them the opportunity to see some of the natural phenomena they read about in their textbooks. Their first stop after leaving Lagos was the Meteorological station in Osun state; now they were at the Erin Ijesha waterfalls in the same state. The students had been bored at the first stop, but their spirits came to life seeing the high mountain walls and how water naturally fell from the top.

Tiwatope had fallen asleep on Tolu’s shoulder and he gave her a nudge as their other course-mates started getting off the bus. Her eyes slowly opened as her mind adjusted to the reality around her. She lifted her head off his shoulder shot him a lazy smile before looking out the bus window. The driver had turned the bus around and her side of the bus was facing the waterfall. The continuous sound of water hitting rocks was music to her ears. The air around the place felt so fresh and clean.

Mr. Okereke, the professor’s assistant had a paper in his hand as he asked students to gather round for a roll call. A couple of students had walked off from the bus’s location with their phones out, trying to get the best shot of the waterfall for their Instagram pages. Tiwa looked up the mountain walls, which was dotted with teenagers in white on blue school uniforms climbing up the mountain. They looked so enthusiastic, but all she could think about was the possibility of one of them falling off. She shook her head and turned around to Tolu.

“Are you fully awake now?” He asked and she smiled as she rubbed her eyes. He got off his seat and reached for his bag in the overhead luggage rack. “Let me give you something.” She peered over to look as he rummaged through his bag. And then he brought out a small silver flask, about the size of a regular coke bottle. “Aha! I found it; my natural energy booster.”

She had a curious look on her face as she said, “what’s that?”

He ignored her and opened the flask; steam escaped the top like Aladdin had just rubbed his lamp and the genie was materializing from it. “It’s still hot. Let me give you a cap full.” He said and slowly poured some of the content in the flask cover.

“Did I agree to drink whatever that is?” she said and leaned in. “It smells like ginger.”

“Yea; it’s a blend of ginger and turmeric water. Great natural energy booster.” He put it near her mouth and she moved back with a scowl on her face. He looked at her for a second and then drank the content of the flask cover. He shook off the bad taste and then proceeded to pour another cap full.

“Tiwatope Ogundeji!” Mr. Okereke called out her name and she shouted out, “Yes!” He looked at her for a couple of seconds before bowing his head to mark her name on the register, and then going on to call out another names.

“It’s getting cold.” Tolu said and she turned to face him. They were the only two left on the bus now, and from the corner of her eye, she could see the driver spying on them with the rare view mirror. She sighed, collected the flask cover from him and took down the content in one go. Her face screwed up as she handed the flask cover back to him.

___

The waterfall had seven levels and it felt like a video game to her. While her other course-mates stopped to take pictures at each level, she dragged Tolu on to keep climbing. They were at the third stage now, and as they ascended to the fourth, they got to an abandoned settlement. Empty mud huts that were once inhabited by people littered the plateau.

After going through the empty huts, and taking a few pictures, they walked over to sit by the cliff of the mountain because Tolu complained about being fatigued. Forty feet down below was a cluster of close to seventy people, ascending at a very slow pace. “I think it would take them at least half an hour to catch up with us.” Tiwatope said and turned to look at Tolu, who looked lost. He had the same expression on his face like when he first got on the bus that morning. She just wished he would tell her what was bothering him. When he caught her staring at him, he forced a smile on his face.

“So…tell me about yourself.”

“What would you like to know?” She asked.

“Yea, tell me about your family.” He said excitedly.

“Well…I don’t have much of a family.”

“How is that?” He said and moved closer to her.

“Umm! I’m sorry, but I don’t feel like talking about that right now.”

“Okay.”

They sat quietly for a couple of minutes before Tiwatope broke the silence with, “Back in the 90s, a middle aged Norwegian couple lived next to an Orphanage somewhere in Apapa, Lagos. My dad was one of the orphans at the orphanage.”

“Okay.”

“The Norwegian expatriates had one child; my mom. They didn’t want her mixing with the locals, so they never let her out to play.” She leaned forward to check the progress of their other course-mates before continuing with, “My mom started sneaking out at night while her parents slept, and with time, she and my dad became friends. They were both in their late teens at the time.” She stopped to clear her throat before adding, “One thing led to another, and my mom got pregnant for my dad.”

“Hmm!”

“My mom’s parents were furious and wanted her to get an abortion, but she ran away with my dad before that could happen.”

“How did they survive?”

“The police caught them the same day, and locked my dad up.”

“Why?”

“My dad was 19, and my mom was 17. My mom’s parents claimed statutory rape.”

“Oh!”

“Yea, but my mom wouldn’t have it, so she started breaking things in the house and threatening to ki*ll herself, till my dad was released.”

“Wow!”

“The orphanage didn’t like the controversy, plus my dad was getting too old, so after he got released from the police station, they sent him off to be a cook for a young couple; the Ogundeji’s.”

“That’s interesting.” He said with a puzzled look on his face.

“Yea, that’s where I got my surname from. My dad was from Cross River, but the Ogundeji’s took him in as theirs, even though they were just about eight or nine years older than him.”

“So, technically speaking, you are a Calabar-Norwegian girl?” He said with a smile.

“Yea, technically speaking.” She said and laughed lightly.

“So, what happened? I mean with your mom and dad.”

The smile on her face was quickly replaced by a faraway look. “My mom died during child birth.”

“Oh! I’m sorry to hear that.”

“My maternal grandparents didn’t want me because I looked too African, so they had a deal with the Ogundeji’s and dropped me off with my Dad.” She leaned forward to look at how far her course-mates had come before continuing with, “The Ogundeji’s took care of me till I was around three, and my dad and I left their house.”

“Okay.”

“It was just me and my Dad in our two room apartment, running a small restaurant my Dad had opened not too far from where we lived. We didn’t have anyone except the Ogundeji’s as family.”

“Okay.”

“My dad took real good care of me till he died two years ago…hit and run situation.” She said as tears flowed down her eyes. Tolu moved in closer to her, and put his arm around her shoulder. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and continued with, “I technically killed my mom, my grandparents rejected me, but my Dad’s love kept me sane. When he passed, I went off the tangent. I didn’t care about anything anymore.” She didn’t sob, but the tears continued to flow, and Tolu couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say, so he just kept quiet.

After a few minutes of silence, Tiwatope got up from her sitting position, wiped tears from her face, dusted her bum, and rolled up her shirt sleeves. “And that’s the Tiwatope Ogundeji story.” She said as she walked over to the edge of the cliff, looked down, and then hurried back to where he was seated with her hand outstretched. He shook it, and she pulled him up. “Come on. Let’s at least get to the forth waterfall before they catch up with us.”

To be continued

ALL EPISODES

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