A SHRED OF CAKE

A scene of utter desolation compelled the evening forlorn sun to deteriorate slowly into the western horizon. Horizon was rescued by immensely thick dark pregnant clouds stretching its vast darkness but at some point, it allowed the sun to peep with desultory though full of despondency. It was a day the sun had amputated hope for her. A motion that it could neither stop to comfort her nor retract into days she would hear her last message and make it work but blessed the land with crepuscular. Though it faded, it never sieged completely into darkness but always had empathy for Rose’s thoughts that reflected the epitome of her demise state in quick succession.

Rose sat desolately by the river bank, her legs dangling in the water. Despite her social status, life had no essence of living again. All she yearned for was to crumple down her breath without a trace of her again. She gladly held into being of much use to fish under the water rather than floating in a swimming pool.

The palm tree leaves next to her, comforted her by rubbing her back gently due cold breeze of air that slowly blew easily across the land. At least nature would feel the pain that tormented her heart. Her cascade bond of hair never blackmailed her. It reacted with the nature of wind swaying along her cheeks brushing them softly. Her cheeks had been drenched by tears that welled out of her eyes and perambulated on the cheeks.

A state that she could never evade but had to cling to. Thoughts that perused her brain in quick succession throwing her into a stupor. Her world seemed distorted into a formless figure. A blurred picture in her fantasy elusively almost creaked her heart to halt. She was certain of whom she figured out. Her mother. A picture that roused a haunting feeling in her body clogging her nerves and making her feel she could not hold it any longer.

“Coming to meet you mom!” a reserved joule of energy at least made her complete her statement blubbing bitterly. Though arduously, she managed to turn her head on her right side. The urge was in control of her. A blurred image of a bottle with a sign of hazards harnessed her eye receptors due to watery eyes. That was the medicine she needed to cure her disguised state. She extends her hand to get hold of the bottle. Though the failure of the approximation, her hand lands on the bottle with a thud tormenting her body into a ruin of pain. Made a wiery face on her pretty face as she coiled and crouched on her elbow supporting her right hand with the left hand. Unable to restrain the pain she released her body onto the ground and wrangled in deep pain and agony.

“What have I done to this world to deserve this cruel treatment? But for you mom, I’ve tried” Rose mumbled words groaning.

Vivid Pictures of her mother as she made her last sigh of breath in a pool of blood overwhelmed her thoughts. This was after being rummaged by a car as they crossed a road that connected directly to the main gate of the university. She gladly joined with the help of her mother, Grace. There was no effort needed to resuscitate her life back. She was gone. She could vividly revive her memories of her kneeling and holding her so dearly on her chest. Confined in disbelief that she was gone but she could not let it go. Weeping that drenched all her tears onto her mother’s face washing even blood spots that had stained it. It was her first day at Azam University but turned her into a despot.

Not long after she unveiled a secret her father held back for many years. Grace was her maternal mother and not Olive as she had grown in years with that fallacy.

It was on her eighteenth birthday anniversary after graduating from high school. At that moment for her, life had no burps. She was heavily pampered by her parents. A lack no something life. It was a coincidence for her that even her love life geared up. For her, it was not a shred of romance but a lake of joy she swum every time utilized with George. He was a handsome man, who flourished her life with flowers and surprises. She felt she could spin the world with the tip of her finger when in front of his charming eyes. Eyes that beamed with the limelight of love.

She was inexperienced in romance but she enjoyed what she did. A stitch of a clock that never stopped counting how deeply she entrenched herself into burps.

Not yet independent. She had no identification card yet but managed to sneak out of their cosy building to spend time with her boyfriend, George. Her ruffled scarlet dress showed her curves and edges perfectly as she made her calculated steps along the road. At the rendezvous point, she made a stance eagerly waiting and full of a smiley face. Just then a car slides to a halt. She was familiar with that type of luxurious car. She chuckled a bit. George welcomes her by opening the door for her. What she didn’t realize was that Olive watched all the scenes from her car which was just behind George’s vehicle. Olive was in hurry to serve her best in her businesses that shuttered the territory.

George had already booked a prestigious reservation at Rossie’s aviator resort. Chilling moments and serenity that would make them glow together. As the car halts in the parking lot, Rose is amused by her name and her childhood picture flaunting on the background of a website as George paid the bill. That roused the curiosity that killed the cat.

After several gulps of drinks, Rose headed for the lavatory. Negotiating a corner, she rams into a janitor just in front of a mirror. She was bewildered by the situation that was reflected in the mirror. On diligent scrutiny, she tried to scream but Grace held her tenaciously and fumbled her mouth. They looked like identical twins. Grace broke into tears regarding Rose as the only navel of her life.

“My daughter … just relax and I’ll explain,” Grace whispered to her. “I needed you to be safe. What goes around comes around. Glad we met. After you were born, your dad borrowed some money from my dad. Which it was arduous to repay. My dad was an extortionist and so he threatened us every time. Sometimes your dad worked from scratch and repay but the repercussion was us going in days without food. After even debt being settled, he still demanded and so on a place of another woman would kill his extortionist's hand. To put an end to this was to fake my death and your father to marry another wife. From the little I had saved from my work as a janitor, I bought this resort but still loved working as a janitor. I feel sorry for not letting you know the secret for years. I’m glad your dad married Olive who nursed you from childhood. I know you’ve graduated from high school and I’d like to take it from there. I’ll help you study for your dream career at the University.” Grace expounded.

“Aviation! “ Rose interrupted. It was all it mattered in her life.

A day of exhilaration had turned into gloom for Rose. She could feel the gap the secret had drugged deep inside her as she lay hopelessly on a couch. This was after returning home late at night. Glad her parents hadn’t arrived before her.

 Footsteps approaching seemed to perturb her from her forlorn state. She gathers herself up. Her visage is confined by her father’s face which looked wiery that day.

“My daughter… these are admission documents. As you can see, I’m ageing. You’ll look after my health in that late stage. I got you a course in medicine. You’re expected to report to the University soon.” Thomas expounded by putting the documents on the glass-designed table. He headed to his bedroom.

Over the past years, Olive’s business had been mitigated by private sectors but on that day, it was at its peak. The government had anchored its ruining claws into the flesh of her businesses. She looked stressed as she entered the house mumbling words. “Now the government officials want to invest in such businesses and the only way to success they come up with sanctions against mine so that it can be closed. Right?” Olive muttered as walked in graceful comportment.

 As she surpasses the sitting room, she oversaw the envelope. The admission envelope at Highchem University. “That’s the solution to my problem.” She whispered.

A few days later, Rose receives a hamper gift from her boyfriend. A gift that derailed her smelling receptors from the cologne sprayed on it. A cologne George used as his trademark. Overwhelmed with an exhortation, she tossed off the wrapping. “Surprise!” she exclaimed to herself. The surprise was that seemed like a smuggling business. A visage that swaddled her eyes with an admission envelope. Her name is on it and a note is attached.

“My love, it’s a surprise to make your dreams come true. I overheard your curiosity about joining an aviation course on our last date. Here is the course I got for you from a well-known University. But, I’d like you to do me a favour. I’ll be launching my airline business soon, I think you’ll fit into managing a business we own. I kindly request you to take the business management in aviation. Yours forever, George.”

The note made her feel uneasy. She made a sigh and released her body on a couch. She tried to think about how to evade one of the courses offered. His father was too tough to listen to balderdash. There was an abject reason to convince him. In the process, she fell asleep.

Olive’s legs antagonize as she entered the house, making her stumble on air. Unable to constrain her stability, gravity force made her land on her stomach. A situation that made her feel embarrassed in front of Rose. Rose had been enlivened by the shuttering of melamine plates as they landed on the mat but due to piling up, they split into pieces. A commotion was initiated by Olive as she stumbled.

Rose, rose onto her feet as she still felt dizziness and came to the rescue of her. She tried to help her stand but she handed her an envelope.

“Please do it for me. You’re the solution I see for my business problems.”

“No! I can’t. I have other two to go about!”

“If you blackmail me, I’ll expose you to your father. You’re dating an old guy.”

This caught her horror-struck. She knew what would be like to face her father with such news. She retracted back and headed back to her bedroom. She opened the envelope. She had been admitted to a law school and her school fees for her first year were wholly paid. All she had was to give in.

The next day, she sneaked out of their home and went to visit her mother. She hugged her with deep emotions. She visited her to unveil what she was undergoing but Grace made her a surprise celebration for the reunion. At the event, her mother handed her a gift. A gift that also caught her dumbfounded. An admission letter from Azam University for an aviation course. Still confused and not in her real senses, she met herself hugging her mother. Grace hands over to her a receipt of fee payment for her whole course at the university.

 Life of burps started reneging. After calling her boyfriend to refute her grievances, he threatened to break up with her. But that’s what she loved. She had to endure it. For her mother, she had paid all the bills and she could not trash out all the money her mother had struggled to get.

“I think I’m a shred of cake. But, they are all wealthy. They can take the expense of me moving from one university to another. All I need is to give each a specific day of reporting to their university of choice.” Rose concluded as she sat by the swimming pool of their home. An injection she stung herself for her demise life.

Four years at the university, life had been good for her, unlike others. She was a queen. She was good at nurturing in all the courses and passed exams. Her formless universe was distorted by the conflicting date of her last exams which was ideal for graduating. For that moment, she could never blackmail any lecturer with any excuse. All she needed was to sacrifice for one person. She chose her mother. On her way up the staircase, she tripped and fell making her right hand face the wrath of the sharp edges of the stairs. The stairs rummaged her bone shuttering it into pieces. She could never make it for the exams and if she could have, she could not write anything on the papers unless colour them with blood. The world was cruel to her. 

A graduation certificate was ideal for getting a job in the territory and after all the efforts and sacrifices she had done for four years in different courses none of them would be considered her a graduate.

Feeling ruined, she ran past the laboratory and grabbed a bottle of poison with her left hand. She successfully managed to evade being spotted in her state and head out of the school. She perambulated in the nearby forest in great grief. She found herself near the river. A river that seemed a solution for her.

A slight touch on her hand made her feel less pain as she wrangled. It was her father. He helped her sit. Behind her was Olive.

“I understand what you’ve gone through for years. We feel sorry for you. I know you heard all the stories from your mother but just one part that she left. Olive is barren. She can’t bore you a sibling for you. She has been good to you as your mother. We’ve also talked with the vice-chancellors and your exams are reserved. You’ll take the field you loved the most to graduate on.” Her father comforted her.

Rose melt into tears as she hugged he father for the first time.