Womb-Man.

Bolu’s story:
It was one of those days when Dad came home late. He rarely had time for Mum and my siblings. Mum hardly complained about anything. But that night, she
stayed up till 2a.m, waiting for Dad to come home. I remember that night vividly. Immediately Dad entered the house, Mom went to hug him and gently said, “Yemi, where have you been? The
children have refused to sleep. What’s going on?”
As he opened his mouth to reply, the stench of alcohol made Mom stagger.
“You’ve been drinking. And I know you’ve been sleeping around too. I found condoms in your car last night.”
Still, she didn’t shout. “I’ve been silent for too long, there’s a limit to what I can take.”
“Watch your tongue, you filthy woman! You bore me three useless children, three girls! What good would that do me? A boy is what I need, and I sure would get it.”
A rage began to grow in me, I was too angry to think.
Mom did not flinch, she didn’t cry but the force she used in raising her hand to slap him was unbelievable. Dad went out of control and beat her to a pulp. She
tugged, kicked and yelled. He then ripped her clothes and began to rape her. Amidst tears and unheard screams, Mom was abused. She laid there, helpless. So
was I. This went on for over 30 minutes and I couldn’t bear watching anymore. Baby and Titi were asleep. It was time.
I silently crawled into Dad’s room and ran my fingers around his shiny black gun. I knew it would be useful. My legs were aching, but I had to endure. I pushed myself back to the living room, forced myself to stand, aimed the gun at his head, tightly shut my eyes and pulled the trigger.
“You animal!” It was a pleasure watching him die. I fell back and threw the gun at him. Mom looked at me with alarmed eyes, “What have you done?” No one would find out who killed him. After all, how strong can a cripple be?

Love Gone Sour:
It was my wedding day, the day I always imagined. The day I had fantasized about since I met Olise. As Dad walked me down the aisle, I reminisced on how I met him and how he proposed to me in the presence of my entire family. We were together for almost five years and that day was to mark the beginning of our endless journey. In my flowing white dress, I walked up to him. He looked so handsome. As he raised my veil off my face, tears pooled in his eyes.
“Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do.”
It felt so good saying that. I could not wait to get out of there and run off with Olise to our finely planned honeymoon.
“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
Tears streamed down his face. Tears of joy, I thought. The priest repeated himself, no reply still.
“Olise, isi gini?” What’s wrong?
“I can’t do this Amber, m ike ilu di na nwunye i” I…I cannot marry you.
My mouth fell open. Our guests began to murmur.
“I don’t love you in that kind of way, I can’t love you the way I should. I’m not made to.”
“Nke a bu egwuregwu?” Is this a joke?
He pointed to a pew at the back of the church.
“I love that man, I’m sorry.”
With that, he dashed out of the church, out of our wedding and out of my life with his lover right behind him. Apparently, he was in love with his driver. I still cannot comprehend why this is happening to me. How do I explain to the entire world that my husband-to-be is an homosexual? HOW? I’m losing my sanity, this is too much for me to handle.
    I’m Amber, the woman whose heart was shattered to very many pieces on the day that was to be her happiest.

    Sexual abuse, betrayal, hurt and heartbreak are few of the many experiences women go through in this
present century. These days, the people who hurt us are the ones we least expect, the ones we are not afraid to love unconditionally, the persons we are
always ready to give to immeasurably. Women love, hoping to be loved in return but most times, get broken in the process.
    I speak for the ones who are hurt, the ones who are weak and have given up, the bitter ones, the ones who have decided to be stronger, to hold on, the ones who cannot speak but deserve to be spoken for.

                                   Adebola Ade-Aduwo
                           Twitter & IG: adebola_x
                                     Student & Writer.

Guilty Pleasure.

Like sunrise and sunset,
Illumination at the end of a tunnel.
Unexpected snow on a summer afternoon,
So much joy dominating the gloom.
Like an oasis in the middle of a desert,
Could she have felt any better?

His hazel eyes,
They lift up her soul.
One moment with him and all her fears fly,
This feeling keeps making her whole.
His calm can only be rivaled by the stillness of a lake
Being with him assuaged all pain
His smile radiates with the brightness of a thousand suns

She wanted him fiercely
All day, her mind is filled with thoughts
Imaginations of how his sturdy hands would feel on her skin
What he could do behind closed doors
His lips, would they drive her into a frenzy?
Would she shudder in his arms?
Are his slender fingers capable of making her crazy?
Would the ecstasy throw her into a semi-sane dance?

She's spellbound
She wants this to be special
All she craves is a never ending love,
From this perfectly created brown man.
But deep in his eyes, whenever she stares,
All she sees is a lustful desire.
He obviously doesn't love her half as much,
His needs are right between her thighs.

Should she give it up?
Feel as glorious as Aphrodite for just a moment
Experience the inexplicable,
And yet, be left with an eternal regret?
Or should she not?
Beneath the abyss of her heart, the answer dwells.
So much gloom dominating the joy amidst her guilty pleasure.

The dilemma of a 21 year old virgin.

                                                                  'Debola Ade-Aduwo (@Adebola_x)
                                                                         Student & Writer.

Last Thursday Night

   At about 7.OOpm last Thursday, myself and a friend were struggling to get off the road and board a bus home. That did not go as planned.


One heart wrenching punch, POW!
I screaaaammmmmmmmm!
Blood, dizziness.
I saw stars in a million hues...


   I stood there, in the middle of the ever busy Obalende road, staring at this devil in a mortal's skin, wondering why he had punched me in the face. Blood gushed out of my gums, my head felt heavy as my jaw reeled in pain. Why would someone just look at you and decide to bless you with a punch? A nerve racking punch, one that rendered my brain useless for an hour or two. I'm still trying to figure that out. I checked my bag if anything was stolen, everything was in place. The scary thing was that he still stood there, staring at me with his sinister eyes like he wanted to beat me to a pulp.
    Passers-by walked on. Traders kept on selling. (Lesson No. 1: In Lagos, NOBODY CARES!). A middle aged woman came to the scene and all she could say was, "So you cannot blow your own back abi?". My mouth fell open. Why in God's name would I "blow my own back"? This crazed man was finely dressed but the look on his face shouted, "Near me, let me finish you".
    My friend had to drag to me to a sidewalk as I was too shocked to move. She too was alarmed. A man then shouted from the crowd, "Ko ma gba dun. He's not normal". I thought so too. I just carried my yellow self into a bus and found my way back to Lekki. Thankfully, I didn't get any bruises nor a black eye, I love my face too much for all that.
   I'm laughing at myself right now but that night, I didn't even have the balls to smile. Now, I cannot go out at night without constantly checking my sides if a black man in a white shirt is out to punch me again. *sigh*
#LifeInLagos
            
                                                                'Debola Ade-Aduwo (@Adebola_x)
                                                                        Writer & Student.

Heart Is Heavy.

Me.
Shattered Heart.
All For Nothing.
We Lost Our Spark.
Love Forgotten.
Wounded Soul.
Blank As A Deep Hole.
Comatose.

STOP.

Just When I Stopped Believing In Love,
At That Moment When My Heart Was Growing Ice Cold,
I Saw You.
My Love, I Saw You.
And At That Moment, I Knew It Was You.

It All Began,
Our Teenage Love Affair.
The Innocence Of A Boy, The Mentality Of A Man.
All Was Beautiful, Your Love Was More Than Fair.
Loving The Imperfect You, Perfectly.
Inexplicable Feeling.

I Opened Up To You,
You Felt The Deepest Parts Of Me.
My Inner Weakness,
I Was Now Revealing.

That Smile That Played At The Corners Of Your Lips.
Your Tiny Eyes;
I So Longed For Your Kiss,
As Every Minute Passed By.

Suddenly, Our Little Fairy Tale Started To Cease
Something Was Amiss.
You Were There... And Then You Were Not.
I Still Do Not Know What Hit Us.
Our's Was Like A Flower,
Blooming With All Beauty At Dawn,
Dead At Night.

See With Me.
Did You Not See That My Life Revolved Around You?
Feel With Me.
Can You Not Feel The Numbness My Heart Feels?
Believe With Me.
Do You Not Believe That These Torn Pieces Can Be Stitched?

Perhaps It Wasn't Meant To Be,
Perhaps It Was Just An Illusion.
Perhaps...

My Heart Is Heavy,
Cold, Numb, Weary.

STOP

Comatose.
Blank as a deep hole.
Wounded Soul.
Love Forgotten.
We Lost Our Spark.
All For Nothing.
Shattered Heart.
Me.


                                     'Debola Ade-Aduwo (@Adebola_x)
                                                                Student & Writer.

Dead To The Living, Alive To The Dead.

   I was just thinking about life and death. Especially death, and the beautiful people he has taken away from me. I remember my closest friend in secondary school, the way death took her away slowly, unexpectedly. I didn't even get to say goodbye.
    When I lost my dad. *sigh* God bless his soul. I felt so empty. Every thing seemed different. Like jeez, I felt dead.
 Its funny how you have someone by your side now, and the next minute, he's gone... Forever.
    I cried buckets and drums, slept on dad's bed, put my friend's favourite song on repeat, and all that. It didn't still bring anyone back. ONCE THEY ARE GONE, THEY'RE GONE!
    While these people were alive, I made it obvious to them that I loved them, used every atom of me to show them that I cared. My point here: Whenever you are graced with the opportunity to show your family and friends love, please do. You never know what will happen the next minute. We take too many people for granted, we hurt them, we make them beg for our attention. These people deserve more from us. And once they're gone, you're left with tears, memories, imaginations of things that should have been done, hearts that should have been mended and what not.
     Some people will never realize how important their loved ones are until they become a memory. If it were even supernaturally possible, please, by all means, ask the dead what life means...or rather, meant to him. Or better still, ask a person who merely escaped death by some seconds. Life to the dead is hope, a chance to make right all wrongs...a wish.
     You don't have to wait for them to leave, or worse, die and then live with regrets, do you ? I always tell my friends, " Believe I understand you, act like I don't". I mean, people give so many unnecessary excuses because they believe their loved ones would understand. Its just wrong. Do the best you can, be responsible for other people's happiness while you have the chance. It doesn't have to be anything big. In fact, it's the little things that count; a smile, a hug, surprises. Just let them know you acknowledge their existence. It's so easy these days to become self absorbed. Everything's always about what YOU want, what YOU need and how others make YOU feel. How about the people who DO make you feel good, who comfort you and hold you close when you're down? There's a saying that goes something like: 'You don't know what you've got till it's gone'. You might take loved ones for granted because they're always there, like air. Or water. We just can't live without them! So treat your loved ones like they are the most precious things to you. As if you literally couldn't live without them, so when the time comes to say goodbye, whether it is sudden or expected, you can look back on happy memories instead of moving forward with regret.
    Believe me, life's shorter than you think. Make it worthwhile. Show love, make someone smile.

                                        'Debola Aduwo (@Adebola_x)
                                                      Student & Writer.