Adara's parth to happiness

On a bright sunny afternoon, she sat forlorn on a huge large stone in front of rickety old

apartment she shared with her despairing mother in sabo, a rural area in Ogbomosho, a town in oyo

state. Tears escaped from her beautiful eyeballs as she tried to stop the blood which was gushing out of

the big toe of her left foot. She had hit it against a stone on her way back home. She wasn’t crying 

because of the pain from the cut but, for the fear of an evil that was likely to occur. The thought of

facing yet another hazard despite the ones she had been through within the eight years of her existence

scared her out of her wits.

Adara was born on the twenty-fifth of December 1983, at the Baptist hospital Ogbomosho. The

arrival of the baby brought peace and joy to the five years marriage of Anike and debo owosetan. She

was christened on the first of January 1984 and people made merry, dined and wined to the fullest. The

naming ceremony was the best that could have been done by the new parents, who were filled with joy

and happiness.

The baby`s growth progressed almost perfectly. She was a point of reference to beauty,

happiness and sound health. She was loved by all and she was the pride of her parents. She was well

provided for with the best of clothes, shoes, toys and quality baby care kits. She had the love and

attention of her parents.

Debo, who was into a wholesale business of wood, tried giving his spare time to his wife and

beloved daughter. He worked at a remote outskirt of Ogbomosho. Its routs led to led to ijawaya in oyo

town. The inhabitants of igilowo were wood producers and distributors. They cut down trees from the

forest, and then had them remodeled into big-sized chunks of solid wood for sale. People from far and

near ten trooped in to order for woods. This wood sales was a lucrative one and it therefore enabled

debo to provide for his family well enough.

       His wife, Anike, on the other hand, owned a fully stocked provision store. Her store was filled to

the brim with goods, and it was never short of patronage. Her store was renowned for being adequately

stocked and fairly priced. An item not found in other stores was quite certain to be available in anike`s

store and with that, her line of customers kept increasing. Thus, she was also financially buoyant as her

husband. With the fat pockets of her parents, Adara was such a lucky, lovedlily.

Love, care, affection, good health and sound mind were at their acme in the owosetan family

until tragedy struck. Adara was just four months old the fateful day that Anike started giving complaints

of feverish sparks. She complained bitterly of severe headaches and cold. She also had high temperature

and suffered from loss of appetite. She went on drug medications immediately but it all proved abortive.

She further settled for local treatment, taking different bitter mixtures but all to no avail. Eventually, she

was placed on admission in a hospital and was asked to go for series of test. She was then diagnosed

with typhoid fever. Treatments where immediately administered to her in rapid successions but she

refused to respond to treatments. Rather, she grew worse each passing day. She was transferred to

series of hospitals before she was admitted in the intensive care unit at the Baptist hospital,

Ogbomosho. Anike had been to this same hospital four months earlier to bring forth the joy of

motherhood.

Her husband, Debo, started becoming worried for their long time savings had started

diminishing gradually on the treatment of Anike. Soon, weeks were running over weeks, still, she didn`t

get better. After a couple of months on the sick bed, her illness escalated and she was declared a victim

of dementia. She could no longer recognize her relatives let alone relate with people normally with

people around her. She was no longer capable of standing, or sitting without getting a helping hand.

Within the period of four months of her illness, she had become pale and stricken beyondrecognition.

      Soon, Anike`s store was closed down for it could no longer be maintained financially. Goods

could no longer be bought to replace the old ones sold. Moreover, her numerous sales maids didn`t help

matters as they pocketed the profits from whatever goods were sold. Whenever Debo called for the

days profit , they will always give an excuse of reduction in general prices. Customers couldn`t get what

they needed, yet the shelves kept getting empty each passing day but Debo knew not what to do as he

knew that “every man`s business is no man`s business”. For him, they were the least of histroubles.

Adara all through this period was put in the care of her paternal grandmother. She had started

feeding on cereals at five months since her mother could no longer breastfeed her. She seldom saw her

mother. She was occasionally taken to the hospital to her mother only upon the doctor`s prescription, to

observe whether seeing her baby would help get her out of the dementia but, such visits were always

futile.

* * * *

Matters deteriorated on 18th of October, 1984 rather than get better. Adara was brought to see

her once beautiful mother as usual. Debo was sitting at his wife`s bedside holding her hands with one of

his, crying silently. The gift God had blessed their marriage with was on his lap. She was looking so

innocent and beautiful without a single knowledge of what her parents were going through. He had his

eyes fixed on Anike`s pale expressionless yet still beautiful face. Tears rolled from his eyeballs. He

remembered the sweat moments they had shared before Adara`s arrival.

“Please get well soon for me, Anike,” he whispered to his not- listening wife, tightening hid grip

on her hands as if that could stop her from dying. “you know I love you, fight for our Dara,” he said

fondly calling his daughter, now crying like a woman. His tears, dropping on Adara who was now staring

at her father, her forehead slightly squeezed as if she was beginning to understand what was happening.

          The thought of how he would survive without his woman if anything had happened to her tore 

his heart. He wondered why it had to be his beloved that had to go through all the pain she was going

through. He wondered if it had to do with some evildoers, though he had never believed in such but

now, he was having reasons to. But who could have his easy-going wife wronged? he thought. He held

his daughter tightly, kissing the whole of her face as he cried as if it was any consolation to him. His deep

thoughts and emotional outburst made it hazardous to his health for suddenly, he dropped the hands of

his wife which he had gripped tightly fearing to let go of it, and then, his hands loosened around the

baby in his arms. It was the scream the loud cry of the baby that got some nurses running into the room

patient Anike was hospitalized. With shock, they found Debo slumped over the body of his wife, their

baby unwillingly dropped on the ground.

The doctors struggled hard for the young man`s life. Hey tried all efforts to get hold of his life 

but all attempts at reviving him proved abortive. He later kicked the bucket without giving prior notice. 

It was devastating shock to the grandma when she came to the hospital with thoughts of bringing lunch 

for her son but instead her grandchild was handed over to her with her only son declared dead. All

efforts to pacify the old woman proved abortive. She cried, refused food and water but kept feeding

herself with tears.

On the 21st of October, 1984, problems compounded in owosetan`s family. Grandma owosetan

still hadn`t eaten or taken even water since the day her only child and son left her behind. It was

unbearable for her, for very soon, she would start being called names to her face. She had gone to bed

with heavy thoughts hoping she would not wake up the following day and so it was.

At Ogbomosho general hospital where Anike was, she regained her consciousness, memory and

strength. She felt relieved and happy and was eager to have her husband see her better. She imagined

how surprised and happy he would look. Unknown to her, things were no longer the same. A familyfriend soon brought Adara to the hospital. Though the doctor said Anike might be attacked with sparks

of dementia once in a while, she could recognize her baby when brought in to her. Soon, she started

asking after her husband and mother-in-law who were yet to discover she wasbetter.

Promises of support were numerously made to Anike when three days after being discharged 

from the hospital, she insisted on knowing what was behind the absence of her husband and mother-in-

law. The least she thought of was death. Cold shivers ran down her spine when reality dawned on her.

She had dazed glazed eyes fixed on their family pastor as he preached to her that “the lord gives and 

could also take away”. He also told her to be strong and believe everything was for a reason for God has 

better plans for us. She was baffled at the great damage and havoc death had done to her family within

five months of her ill-health. She felt guilty for her husband`s death.

Unfortunately, Anike began to have a relapse of her dementia, she began to act deliriously and

wild. Her relatives then got her a one room apartment at sabo for they believed she could no longer

maintain or be maintained in an urban environment. Though relatives promised to check in often, but

not keeping to their promise, soon abandoned Adara and her mother for she had become psychotic and

psychiatry couldn`t be afforded.

Adara was left to face the dangers and hazards of living with a psychotic mother. She kept

enduring the embarrassments, harassments and abuse thrown at her by her neighbors and people. She

couldn`t go to school for it could not be afforded. Their feeding was settled from the meager money

gotten from alms and little chores the child did around. she went to people who needed load carriers,

restaurants needing dish washers and so on. It was a hectic life.