Finmi

Finmi stared at her eviction letter, and wondered what she was going to do with her life. Suicide seemed like a good option, at least she would find peace in death, and rest from the turbulence that was her life. But she had her daughter to consider. If she killed herself her daughter's life would be ruined, and she would go through untold hardship like she did. Nigeria was a cruel place to be left as an orphan.

She was born to middle class parents. Finmi was the last child out of five children, three had died as infants. Her parents brought in homeless children, till they could find suitable homes for them. She couldn’t count how many times they had to eat only twice a day, because her parents wanted to save money to help a child.

One day, her father came back home after a long day at work, stretched, and asked for a glass of water. Finmi hugged him, and ran back to the kitchen to fetch him some water. He drank the water and said he was tired, he stretched and fell asleep, never to wake again.

From that day, her life changed. Her mum tried to make ends meet, they weren’t comfortable, but they were happy. Then her mother fell sick, and died, just a year after her Father. Finmi had just finished her secondary school, she wanted to go to the University, but with her mother gone, that was impossible. Her elder sister dropped out of the University, and married a young carpenter on their street, at least he was earning money no matter how little. She moved out of the house leaving Finmi alone, but she visited occasionally, bringing food and a little money when she could.

Finmi decided to get a teaching job with her Secondary School Leaving Certificate, in a nearby primary school. The pay was chicken change, but she loved being able to impart new knowledge, and the children made her smile, so she stayed.

Finmi was walking to school on a bright Monday morning, when a sleek, silver, Mercedes Benz sped past. She admired it’s shiny, chrome finish, and wished she had car, “ If wishes were horses, beggars would ride” , she thought with a sigh and forged on. The car slowed down and parked. Finmi walked past it without a thought. A tall, handsome, middle aged man stuck his head out of the car window.

“ Do you need a ride?”, he asked, his voice as smooth as velvet.

“ No. Thank you, I don’t”, Finmi replied.

“I guess I’ll just drive beside you, until you get to your destination.” He said, with a cheeky grin.

“You can’t do that.”

“Watch and see then” ,he said grinning at her.

Finmi rolled her eyes, and with a long suffering sigh, she agreed. She entered with a frown, deep down she was dancing with joy, because she didn’t have to trek the whole distance to school today.

“What is your name?” he inquired.

“I’m Finmi”

“I’m John, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Same here”. Finmi replied and looked out the window.

He cracked a few jokes, and by the time Finmi told him, she would be dropping at the Community primary school, she was laughing.

“ You work here ?” he asked.

“Obviously.” She replied.

“Can I get your number?”

“I don’t have a phone.” Finmi said, she didn’t have money to spare, her budget was stretched thin, as it was.

“Okay, I’m sure I’ll see you around. I came here for a campaign, I have to go now or I’ll be late, Bye.”

“Bye.” Finmi waved, as he sped off and made her way into the classroom.

The next day, as she was walking to school, she saw him and he picked her up. It became their routine. She found out he was running for the Chairman seat of their local government, but he had just returned from London, where he had worked as a Lawyer. He decided to move to Nigeria, and enter into the world of politics. Theirs was a whirlwind romance, he spoilt her endlessly, and bought her countless gifts, her best was an expensive silver mobile phone, her few friends were green with envy over her wonderful catch.

Finmi felt nauseous, and she threw up for the third time that week.This must be coming down with malaria, she thought. She decided to go to the pharmacy, to get some over the counter malaria drugs before it got worse. She called John, and told him she would not be going to work, because she was sick.

“Oh, sorry about that Fin, I’ll come over, once I’m done with the rally. Do you need anything?”

“ Just you, and anything you think I’ll like.”

He laughed, and she chuckled and cut the call. Finmi showered, and walked to the nearby pharmacy and asked for malaria drugs. The pharmacist peered at her over her half moon glasses.

“I’m trying to regulate how I give  Chloroquine, because of its extreme itching side effect. So I’ll give you another one.” she said handing the tablet to her.

“But wait, are you pregnant?”

Finmi stared at the woman, thinking about her near constant nausea recently and how she had thrown up for the third time this week. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember when last she had seen her period.

“ Can I have a pregnancy test, because I think I might be.”

The woman handed Finmi the pregnancy test, and another malaria drug safe enough for pregnant women,

“just in case”, she said.

Finmi walked home dazed, as soon as she got home, she chugged a glass of water and peed on the stick. She kept the test stick on the counter, tapping her foot while she waited. After a few minutes, she checked and saw the positive sign on the stick. She didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. If John didn’t want this baby, she would be doomed.

She picked the stick, and walked to the living room, dropped on it a stool beside her couch and stared at it.

“Hey Fin, a penny for your thoughts, I knocked but you didn’t answer. I thought you were out .”  John said.

“Oh it’s nothing”, Finmi said trying to hide the pregnancy test.

“What are you trying to hide?” he asked raising his brows.

“ Nothing.”

“Okay then. I’ll just head to your room for a nap, and I brought you some ice cream and chocolate. Here you go.”

As she stretched to collect  the bag, he quickly pulled the pregnancy test, out of her hand.

“Got you!” he grinned, and stared at the pregnancy test, then he looked at her and smiled so wide, she thought his lips would tear.

Tears filled Finmis eyes, as she looked at him. He picked her up, and swung her around laughing.

“Why are you crying, Fin, it’s alright. I know this wasn’t planned, but I’m happy about this. I love you so much, and I already love the baby”.

“Oh John, I love you so much.”

“ Since you’re pregnant, I would love if you moved in with me, so I could take proper care of you, We will get married as soon as possible.”

Finmi stared at him, and decided in a split second that this would be the best thing, for the baby’s sake.

“Yes John, I agree.”

Her life changed from that day. She moved into his sprawling house, with it’s manicured lawn and a huge pool. She felt like a Queen, she had a cook to cater to her cravings, and a driver. She quit her job as a teacher, and spent her days following John for his campaigns and meetings. Life was splendid for Finmi.

John won the Chairman election, and a few months later Finmi gave birth to a baby girl, her name was Helen. Finmi was the happiest woman on Earth, and John was ecstatic. John rented a high end building, close to their house for her, and she opened a restaurant, business was going booming.

Finmi sat on the bed in her room, playing with Helen. Her phone rang, and she picked it up thinking it was John. It was John's cousin, Brown.

“John is dead, he died in an accident this afternoon, his car rammed into a pole. I’m so sorry Finmi.”

“No!” Finmi gasped and fainted.

“Finmi . Are you okay?, I’m coming over to the house now.”

Brown came to the house,  and met Helen crying and holding her mother. He dropped Helen at a neighbors place, and he took Finmi to the hospital.

Finmi woke up disoriented, where was she, and where was Helen she thought. She remembered this morning's event, and started crying again. Brown moved from his seat beside her bed, and held her hand, until she stopped crying.

The funeral was arranged two days later by Brown. It was a solemn event, and Finmi would not be consoled. She went back to their house, visitors came to pay their condolence, but to her , they were just an endless stream of faces.

A year later, Finmi was in dire straits. Business at the restaurant was unbelievably slow, and she was unable to pay the rent, so she had to close it down. She went back to the Community primary school to try for a job, but there was no vacancy.

One morning, the estate’s caretaker came to her house. A short, bald, fair man named Ben.

“Good morning Finmi, I see your lease has expired. Here, we expect you to pay two months before it expires, but you haven’t done that. If you do not pay within a month, I shall have no option but to evict you. I know your husband died recently, and things have been hard on you. But we need our money.”

“ Okay, I’ll try my best to see what I can do. Won’t you come in for some tea?”

“No. Thank you. I have a lot of work to do today, maybe another time, Bye.”

“Bye, Mr. Ben.”

Finmi tried her best to get the house rent, before the month ran out. She asked her friends, but they said they didn’t have the money to spare, she would have gone back to her parents house, but her sister's husband had stumbled on hard times, so she asked them to move into the house, since she was with John, there would be no space for her and Helen there.

She woke up on the proposed eviction date. She walked out to her porch and Mr. Ben was there, waiting for her with the dreaded letter.

“Good morning Ma'am, This is your eviction letter. We expect you to leave the premises, within 48 hours. I am very sorry.”

Finmi went back inside, carried Helen and drove to Brown’s office. He was her last resort, maybe they could even stay at his place, until she found her feet, she thought with a surge of hope. She entered his office, and the receptionist directed her to his office.

“Good morning Brown.”

“ Good morning Finmi , how’s Helen, and how are you?” he inquired.

“ We aren’t fine, Brown. We’ve been served an eviction letter. I tried my best to raise some money to pay for the rent, but I can’t. I need your help, I need a place to stay, just until I get back on my feet.” She said in a teary voice.

Brown looked at her in pity, and shook his head.

“ I’m sorry Finmi, I don’t have money to help you, or any space to spare. I would have told you to get a loan, but you have nothing of value to use as a collateral. Maybe you can move to a homeless people shelter.”

Finmi stared at him in shock, she stood up and walked out the door, without saying a word. She walked slowly to her car, entered and held Helen’s hand.

Finmi stared at the eviction letter, as tears rolled down her face. A knock on her window startled her.

“ Good morning Ma’am. I see you’re crying, are you okay?”

She turned, and looked at the young man at her window. He was tall, and handsome with a warm smile.

“ It’s nothing.” She sobbed.

“It’s definitely something, you can’t just wake up and decide to cry. You know they say, “ A problem shared, is a problem half solved.”

Finmi nodded sorrowfully, and told him everything, she showed him her eviction letter.

He stared at it and smiled at her.

“Why are you smiling, this is not a joke you know.” Finmi said, miffed at his reaction.

“Oh it’s not that, I think I have a place for you to stay. You see, my parents died in a crash, a year ago and their house has been sitting empty. My wife and I have been wondering what to do with it. We already have a house and we don’t want to sell my parents house, because it holds so many memories. If you see it, and you like it then it’s yours until you find your feet. My name is Paul Omotosho.”

“ I will love to see the house, and stay there. My name is Finmi and this is my daughter, Helen”.

He smiled and waved at Helen, who smiled back at him.

“I was supposed to see one Mr. Brown at this office, but I’ll do that tommorow. Let’s go see the house.”

“Okay” Finmi said with a huge smile.

They drove off to the house, it was on the other side of town. It was beautiful, built with red bricks, and surrounded by the most beautiful flowers, a little overgrown but still beautiful, and it was  in a quiet neighborhood.

“ This is beautiful! We’ll move in tommorow please, before we get our stuff thrown out.”

“ That’s fine by me. Let me get your number so we can keep in touch. I’ll let my wife know about you needing a job, she’ll definitely find something.”

“ Thank you very much.”

“ It’s nothing at all. Mrs. Finmi.”

Finmi moved into Paul’s parents house the next day. An old woman on her street, who she rarely spoke to paid for a moving van to help pack her things. She thanked her profusely, but the woman simply hugged her and waved it off.

Paul’s wife came to visit her, two days later, when she was putting the finishing touches to the apartment. She knocked tentatively, and Finmi opened the door.

“ Good morning, I am Paul’s wife, Mitchell Omotosho. How are you doing, I hope you like the house.”

“ I love it, and my daughter does too, she’s upstairs sleeping now.”

“I opened a flower shop recently, and business has been booming, much more than I expected. I need some help, I wanted to ask you if you would be interested in working with me.”

“Yes, yes, yes. I have been looking for a job. I’ll take it . Thank you very much, Mitchell. I cannot explain how grateful I am.”

Mitchell gave her her business card, with her work address, and phone number.

“ Call me if you need anything, I’ll be expecting you, on Monday by 8am.” She said and walked out the door.

Finmi looked round the living room, and twirled with joy. She had found light at the end of the tunnel, and help when she thought it was impossible and from a complete stranger to think of it.  She had a place to stay and a job, no matter what the future would bring, she knew could tackle it.