Toju

Walking tiredly through the gate to my entrance door, I find it unlocked. I am shocked because it means either someone is inside the house or I forgot to lock the door. I never forget to lock my door while going out and no one has the spare key to my apartment so I thought.

I cautiously open the door and immediately I step into the house, a sweet aroma of steaming pepper soup saturating the arena wafts into my nostrils. I walk towards the kitchen and Toju comes out of the kitchen with a bowl of steaming hot pepper soup and water on a tray. This bitch! She must have gotten my spare key from the last time she was at my house.

That was about six days ago. She had left very bitter after we had a fight over the baby she was carrying. She was four months gone and her belly was already protruding yet she still refused to abort the baby like I asked her to. I wasn't ready to be a father yet. On her last visit, the altercation had reached a climax and I made it clear to her that she either aborts the baby or I am taking no responsibility for it. She had cried out of my house that evening. She called me the next day to inform me that she was finally going ahead with the abortion. She said that she had scheduled an appointment with Dr. Kola, a mutual friend of ours for Tuesday evening which was yesterday.

Now, as she walks past me with the tray of pepper soup I freeze in guilt, unable to form the words to say to her. She says nothing too. She just lays the tray on the table and turns to me and beckons—"Come on Vicky, come eat your food before it gets cold", she is smiling as she says this.

I notice her belly which was swollen the last time I saw her is now completely flat, as though nothing was there before. She has done it, I think. But I'm shocked by how quickly she's back to shape and how strong she is. I resolve to ask her how it all went, but after I'm done consuming the overly inviting pepper soup. I settle down and pick the spoon and I start on the meats. They taste really delicious I must confess, yet strange. I continue eating the meats, scooping the spicy soup with each piece. She sits across of me, smiling as I devour her delicacy.

When I'm almost done, I ask her casually— "What meat is this anyway?" Still smiling, she replies "that's your baby you're eating."

"What?"

"Yup. The foetus. Tasty isn't it?" She's laughing eerily now.

My phone rings before I can conjure any reaction. It's Dr Kola. I pick the call and he goes—"I am sorry Victor but Toju lost a lot of blood while we tried to remove the foetus last night. She passed away this morning."

My eyes dart across the table to Toju, alas she's gone.

Cc: @tojukaka, come and see what your namesake has done ooh.