family ties
Wen di invitation reach house, plenty years don pass since we last hear from Aunty Zoba. Nobody really know wetin sup, but wen her mama find her go her house, she hear say her pikin wake up one morning, pack her things comot from compound. Aunty Zoba carry Zora her daughter and Dora, di small girl way Aunty Zoba mama carry come make she dey help Aunty Zoba for house.
Dem talk say wen Aunty Zoba mama carry Dora reach Aunty Zoba house, Aunty Zoba first laugh because she bin tell her mama say she dey find who go help her dey put eye for Zora wen she dey work. She bin dey expect make her mama bring pikin way don grow small, somebody like Akuchukwu way don already dey primary 4.
No be say Dora na small pikin o, di girl bin dey seven years wen dem carry her go Aunty Zoba house. Di issue be say Zora bin dey six years that time. Na one year Dora carry senior Zora, and Aunty Zoba bin no dey find another pikin to train.
And di way she bin dey look Dora, with her small body, big head way dem barb and big stomach, she don already know say di girl go dey chop food of like four people.
Aunty Zoba no poor o, di woman get money, but wen you don already dey used to dey feed two people, any other person be like baggage.
Mouth way Aunty Zoba get, even di stubbornness, na from her mama she collect am. Na why wen her mama tell her say make she no dey look Dora like pikin, say dey girl don already get like three siblings for house way she dey take care of. So, Zora with her small statue and fine skin na small challenge where Dora dey.
Aunty Zoba no gree o, she put leg for ground, insist say as her mama dey go back house, she go carry Dora go back. Zora, on her own, no dey hear word, di girl stubborn like goat and Aunty Zoba bin dey fear say na another goat her mama carry bring for her.
But her mama sef no gree hear. She tell Aunty Zoba say she don already promise Dora mama say her pikin go dey with Aunty Zoba, and say Aunty Zoba go put Dora for school. In fact, she tell Dora mama say di next time way she see her pikin, her pikin go don fresh, fine, dey speak English like say she just dey come back from Obodo Oyinbo.
Di next time way Dora mama see her pikin na di very next day wen Aunty Zoba come to return Dora. Dem talk say Aunty Zoba try to return Dora three times, but di girl mama no gree o, and Dora sef no gree go back house.
Na how Aunty Zoba, Zora and Dora become one family start to leave togeda.
Aunty Zoba no be widow o but nobody fit open mouth talk where her husband go. If you ask her, she go hiss tell you make you no vex her. Aunty Zoba mama sef no dey answer that question.
Pikin no gree talk, mama follow am zip mouth.
Aunty Zoba no try to return Dora again, na why everybody relax. Once once, she go carry di two children come to visit family. As Aunty Zoba mama carry talk, Dora start to dey go school dey even speak film English.
Dora even start dey call Aunty Zoba ‘mummy’ dey way way Zora dey call her.
Dora mama no send. Person way don already comot hand for anything way concern her pikin. She say na she born di pikin, but na Aunty Zoba she born di pikin for, and as Dora no dey suffer, she no go dey fight Aunty Zoba.
Wen she sef dey see di goodness of Aunty Zoba for di life of her remaining children.
Na part of di reason why nobody shake wen Aunty Zoba stop to dey carry di children come back house. After all, na she get children and according to wetin she give as excuse, work dey busy and she no get time to dey carry dem come back like that. If you wan talk to any of dem, you go call Aunty Zoba for phone.
Na so one year pass, two follow am for back, next thing you know 6 years don pass since anybody see Aunty Zoba and her children. Den call stop to connect.
Aunty Zoba mama no wait make day break, she find Aunty Zoba go her house even though Dora mama tell her make she no worry, Aunty Zoba fit dey busy. Or maybe dem steal her phone.
Mama way know pikin way she born go Aunty Zoba place, house way she dey siddon two weeks sometimes, she come back di next day talk say Aunty Zoba no dey. Say dem tell her say e don tay way Aunty Zoba pack comot from that compound and nobody know where she dey now. She no tell anybody where dem dey go.
Four years still walka pass and nobody don hear from Aunty Zoba. By all calculations Dora go don dey 22 years where Zora dey 21.
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Na why invitation burst all man head wen e reach house. Zora wan marry.
Aunty Zoba mama double effort to find where her pikin dey, she spend plenti money and after one week and small days don pass, location drop.
She pack bag, Dora mama follow her for back.
Dem say di new house fine pass where Aunty Zoba bin dey stay. E big pass sef; na story building and na only Aunty Zoba dey di compound.
Wen dem knock, na Dora open door. Say she first shock wen she see dem before her face con arrange well. Say she smile open door make dem enter, greet dem good morning.
Na after dem answer good morning kasala start to burst.
Aunty Zoba mama start dey hala: Where dem go? Why dem no tell anybody say dem dey pack? Why dem put everybody for high tension? Which type of habit be that? And wetin be this nonsense of say Zora wan marry?
“Where my daughter dey? Where your sister Zora dey?”
Wen dem reach parlour, Aunty Zoba don already dey come down from di stairs. She sef no shake as she see her mama and Dora mama. She smile, greet dem like say na she tell dem make dem come.
“It must have been a while since you last saw dem, but that’s not Dora. Dey look alike, it confuses me sometimes,” Aunty Zoba talk wen Dora enter inside to go bring water make dem drink. “That’s Zora.”
Make e no be say dem dey doubt dey woman, dem wait make pikin way go kitchen enter parlour with water way she go bring. Na Dora be that. Person way born am confam am.
“No,” Dora mama talk, “na Dora be this, na me born this one. Where di one way you you born? Zora. Dora, where your sister dey? Dey one way dey marry?”
Aunty Zoba laugh. “They do look a lot alike.”
Na dat time all man start to look wall dey notice say na only Dora picture dey everywhere. Even one of Zora picture no show face.
Dora mama talk say since way she know Aunty Zoba, na only English dey woman dey speak, but say for di first time since she meet di woman, dat English vex her. Say e scatter her head.
She say wetin vex her pass no be even wetin Aunty Zoba bin dey talk, na say Aunty Zoba mama just dey look her pikin. She say even Dora bin dey look Aunty Zoba like say she dey wait make dey woman decide something.
“Zora here is the one getting married, Dora has gone to stay with my husband, you know he’s abroad.”
Na that time Aunty Zoba mama shout. Dora throway face go one side.
Dora mama na dey only person way no know wetin e mean. She say nobody gree tell her wetin happen, and even she sef no gree tell us how things go from there.
All we know say we attend Dora wedding to one rich man like that.
If Aunty Zoba come to visit her mama and Dora mama, and you ask her how her children dey, she go say Zora don marry go her husband house so she no dey too see di girl. She go say Dora still dey abroad with her husband and she dey go school there. Say Dora dey very promising and she go soon finish university.
Aunty Zoba mama no dey put mouth again, and Dora mama no dey ask questions again.
Pikin no gree talk, mama follow am keep quiet.
Na Zora we dey call Dora now.
