The Survivor E09: A breath of fresh air

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Smoke, Choke.

Breathe, And Grow.

Mother is my favorite motivation.

Seyi tried to take her mind off it. Not completely, of course not! Just temporarily. A short time. To reset her head.

No, in truth, she was heartbroken, had partly given up, was frustrated, vexed... She wanted to give up, wanted to run away... That's what a normal person would do. Of course! But that was the problem. Seyi wasn't a normal person. She wasn't a regular girl with normal actions. Seyi wasn't a coward, a quitter. It wasn't in her blood. She was a fighter. But she knew that there was no one to fight. She couldn't go to U.W to complain, their bursary, their rules. But she hadn't been denied it yet, had she? That, particularly, was the problem. It was frustrating, having to bottle it all in, and having no one to vent it on. So, that was the reason she decided to take a break from it, take her mind off it.

For two days, she didn't check her mails, didn't view messages of which none came anyway, except from MTN; her telecommunication network. She didn't visit the Secretariat or the University branch office to check. It was a waste of transport fare, anyway. She focused on her work. On the salon and her job at the PHARMACY.

It's work now. At least, if the school doesn't work out, making money should.

She threw all her energy into making wigs. Two each day, and with unexplainable speed and accuracy.

She seemed to have gotten so good at it. Many times, Bolu would tease her about being a good wig maker, even better than their "Ọ̀gá". She appeared to have a special upper hand in the craft. She used balls of thread and churned out perfectly neat pieces. As she had discovered, her hands were made to sew. Màmá Àríkẹ́ told her; She was a born seamstress. Perhaps, that was why she was so good at making wigs but not so much in hair weaving. It was because wigs involved stitching. She alone churned out two orders in one day. It was with surprising strength too. She seemed to immerse all of herself into it.

_____

Màmá Àríkẹ́ noticed.

Seyitan was different. Not that she hadn't been a good worker, but she was... different. That was still the word for it. She didn't know what was going on, although she heard something about the bursary from her friend, Seyi's mother, so, she had guessed... Assumed. Maybe the girl had applied for the bursary.

She had afterall, noticed Seyi's interest while they talked. And to be real, the girl needed the aid. It was for her, that she sometimes, brought up the topic herself with the hope that Seyi might need it. She cared for the girl. She was afterall, her daughter by moral standing. Her friend's daughter.

Two wigs in a day! Each day, three days now. Seyi didn't look unwell or disturbed but her motherly instincts knew she wasn't all too good either.

The first time she had tried to call her and speak with her, she had been out and before she returned, Seyi had gone. Consequently, she tried again and again but something always came up and Seyi was consistent with her Two pm mark but, this time, Màmá Àríkẹ́ was determined to create the space.

Normally, she could have talked to her while they met before she closed, but Màmá Àríkẹ́ didn't feel comfortable, discussing it with her while the others were in the shop. She craved for a one on one talk with her on the road home but that wasn't working out, she cut some time with an alibi.

______

It was almost two. Time seemed to fly these days. Seyi was still at work with her second wig for the day.

Swift but nimble, her fingers twisted the pin through the needlework. In and out, in and out, the pin stitched neat, small lines around the wig cap. Her peers were at work too. Only, it was still their first. A major factor of which was that everyone got breaks and while they were at it, she was at the shop, making her wig. She had been raking up attachment pieces when Màmá Àríkẹ́ called to her.

"Seyitan..."

"Seyitan, you'll come with me to the market." "You are the only one who can't pick good quality attach."

Pick quality attachment? Seyi was confused. She didn't have any trouble with picking attachments. And,

Màmá Àríkẹ́ definitely knew that so, Seyi guessed that she had something else in mind.

They didn't go to the market, Seyi guessed that already and Màmá Àríkẹ́ had told her that immediately they got outside.

"I need to talk to you, my dear."

******

"I need to talk to you, my dear." She said as they sat down on a lonely kerb of a small shop.

"It's true." Seyi said quietly. "But I'll be fine, ma." She said in a more courageous tone.

"Then, go and do what you have to do. We can't be scared of the complexion of the child and so, refuse to birth it." Màmá Àríkẹ́ said.

___

So, she followed the advice. And hours later,she was with a sealed envelope, ready to decide.

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