13.
Everyone felt so much pity and anguish for Ofure when she came with bruises. She had just suffered a mild accident. A tanker had almost crushed the motorcycle that she had mounted. Anyone who had met Ofure knew that she preferred trekking to mounting bike, she preferred saving the money. As a child, she had used money given to her for transport to save and suffered her legs instead. Everyone, basked in ignorance treated Ofure with pity. That week, some students even escaped from the prying eyes of stern teachers to help her with her duties. Only Mary, her neighbor knew the truth behind her scars. She had tried to help Ofure. She too was not at ease with the way the men had judged the young bride.
‘Ofure, there are agencies now. The world is changing. These agencies are supporting women against domestic abuse. They can help you too’.
Ofure didn’t want the matter to expand more than it had already done. She knew that Collins was not a cruel man in his heart. He had just been stressed from lack of jobs and the pressures on his neck. Perhaps she too might have handled the matter too unruly.
‘Don’t worry Mary. God will take control. We will be fine’.
Mary pitied Ofure. She was among the last generation that had missed the opportunity to grow with the world. Poverty and illiteracy had left them behind and they were huge victims and loyalists of the misconstrued gender construct. It was this same Mary that found a cleaning job for Collins. The one he rejected because he was ashamed of tagged a cleaner, the same job that Ofure was using to sustain the family and emerge slowly as the breadwinner.