Righteous drove with the kind of speed that only an insane or intoxicated person would attempt.
And truly, she was intoxicated, but not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She was rather intoxicated with joy. A joy that she could not explain or appropriately put to words right now.
Nearly colliding with her garage wall, she pivoted just in time and successfully steered the car into the garage.
Barely turning off her car engine, she immediately opened her driver's side door, came out, slammed it shut and bounced into her house.
Rushing towards her daughter who was seated on a couch, listening to a television program in the living room, Righteous pulled her up and gave her a crushing hug.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Ease off, Mum. You are almost crushing my windpipe!" Ayanate croaked out, eyes wide, barely breathing.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me." Righteous immediately released her daughter.
"It's just that I'm so happy, baby. I'm just so happy right now, I feel like I've just been given the world on a platter of gold," Righteous cried excitedly and subconsciously gave her daughter another crushing embrace which Ayanate reciprocated with equal fervor.
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Ayanate was both surprised and ecstatic at her mother's display of joy. She rarely saw her mother show off such a high level of positive emotions. Without knowing the cause of it, she was happy for her mother. When was the last time her mother expressed such joy?
Indeed, if she could guess correctly, she would say that the last time her mother had been so happy like this was her wedding day and the day she gave birth to her and her brother.
Righteous broke loose from the embrace, sat down on a two-seater couch and patted the space beside her.
"Come and sit down here with me, honey. I've got great news to share with you."
Ayanate did as instructed, curious but smiling.
"I have good news to share."
"Really?" Ayanate chirped animatedly.
"Awww, yes o, and I know you'll also be excited about it when I finish telling you."
"Okay, you are killing me with the suspense."
"Please, my dear, don't use such a word again."
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Ayanate's eyebrows cocked up. "Which word exactly?"
"Don't say, 'kill' again, please."
"Mum," Ayanate chuckled in relief, "I didn't mean it literally. I was only using it as a figure of speech."
"Yes, I know, but it's still the word of your mouth."
"Okay, I'm sorry. I hear you. I'll not use it again."
"That's better, my dear."
"Thanks, Mum. So, can you go ahead, please? The suspense is- uh... Let me just hear it."
Righteous reached for the television remote control and pressed the power button, effectively turning off the television and shutting off the program.
"I'm also going to tell your brother about it. God is definitely answering our prayers," Mrs Righteous gushed.
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Ayanate had not seen this kind of extreme happiness from her mother in a long while. This was what she and her brother had been praying for, that their mother would accept the joy of the Lord and make it her strength instead of always being antsy and irritable. It was finally happening as they prayed and believed. Ayanate could only observe in awe.
Instead of spilling the anticipated good news, her mother was stalling for time, but Ayanate didn't care. This happy side of her mother was really something amusing and entertaining to watch.
"So, before I tell you the good news, baby,"—Ayanate almost protested at the 'baby' her mother called her but she knew that her mother's elation would make any protest fall on deaf ears—"I have a sweet proposal to make."
"Anything for you, Mum. Just say it already! The suspense is starting to get excruciating."
"You shouldn't say such gloomy words, baby. After all, the good news is about you."
Ayanate didn't bother protesting again about the 'baby' as she concentrated on the last statement her mother made. The good news was about her?
She scrunched her eyebrows trying to recall anything she'd done that could warrant such joy from her mother.
"Wait. I don't understand. How is the good news related to me?"
Her mother patted her shoulders. "Don't worry, you will see, my dear. You'll see. But let's talk about my proposal first."
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With an affirmative nod from Ayanate, Righteous began to lay out her proposal. "I want to propose that instead of calling your brother and giving him the good news over the phone, I think we should pay him a surprise visit.
Let's go out for a little celebration—just the three of us—and have a nice time. It's been a long time since we did that, don't you agree?"
"Yeah!" Ayanate clapped her hands excitedly. "That would be nice and it would also be a pleasant surprise for Preye."
"Yes, yes, you can imagine a surprise visit to his condo and giving him the surprising news!"
Righteous gave her daughter another quick, warm hug, squealing into Ayanate's hair.
"I love you children so much I don't know what I would do without you two in my life. You children are one of God's greatest gifts to me, you know?"
"I know, Mum. My brother and I are also grateful to have a wonderful mother like you."
Righteous began telling her daughter the good news she brought home.
"You remember the fixed deposit account I opened, specifically to save enough money for your treatment in the United States of America?"
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"Yeah, yeah... I remember."
"Well, after six long months, the bank emailed my statement of account and finally permitted me to withdraw the money if I wanted to."
She remembered clearly the bank account her mother was talking about. It was a fixed deposit account where she could frequently deposit money but could only be allowed to withdraw from it every six months.
It was more or less like a go-fund-me account that was set up in her name, only that her mother and brother were the ones funding it.
Shortly after she became blind, as she and her mother and brother prayed for the recovery of her sight, they had also gone to a lot of hospitals in Nigeria.
When the hospitals in Nigeria didn't work out because of obvious reasons, her mother spent millions of Naira flying her to a few other African countries like Ghana, South Africa and Egypt. That was how far she went before her mother almost became bankrupt. Still, none of them could provide a solution to her 'peculiar' case.
At that time, Righteous was an emotional wreck because of the state of her daughter. Desperate to do everything in her power to eradicate the problem once and for all, she never considered her dwindling finances. When it could no longer suffice for the treatment of her daughter, unknown to Ayanate, Righteous began mortgaging her properties and used them to apply for loans in different banks, determined and certain that they would stumble upon the solution.
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Her mother’s behavior at the time was like someone who needed a fix. Ayanate finally heard of the bank loan from her brother when he confided in her and voiced out his growing concern about their mother. That was when she finally walked up to her mother and told her that enough was enough.
An argument, fueled by frustration due to the pressing and unexpected problem, sparked. The family had never been so disunited.
Righteous was angry at her son and didn't talk to him for over a month. Ayanate was angry at her mother and did not also talk to her. Preye was left feeling terrible and confused because of the misunderstanding that was going on at that time thinking that it would have been better if he had kept his mouth shut and allowed peace to reign.
Righteous begged her daughter to understand the reason for her actions but it all fell on deaf ears. It was like an unending cycle of sorrow and heartbreak.
Ayanate felt miserable that her united family was falling apart because of her condition.
Filled with anger and resentment for her son, Righteous didn't want to see him, much less hear his voice, and Preye took the bait. He stopped returning home from school every weekend as he usually did.
After a tremendous effort from Ayanate, she succeeded in getting her mother and brother under one roof.
Prior to the small family meeting, she had prayed, asking God for forgiveness for her actions and that of her brother and mother.
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She also prayed that God should restore peace and unity in the family. She asked the Holy Spirit to give her words that only he could say that would comfort and bring healing to their emotional wounds. And the Holy Spirit did.
They broke down in tears and apologized to each other. They embraced each other like long lost friends and the family was once again a united and happy family.
Knowing that their little reunion might not be enough to stop her mother from worrying about her, she gave them an idea she thought might keep her mother busy from being anxious about her for a while.
She suggested that her mother should cancel all the applications for the bank loan, rebuild her finances and her law firm. As soon as she was stable enough, she should start depositing money monthly into a fixed deposit account until it would be enough to travel to a recommended hospital in America.
Righteous readily agreed to the idea, but not after Ayanate made her promise that she would never borrow from anyone or the bank.
Now their sacrifice had paid off. Her mother, who was currently giddy with joy, had returned home to share good news about the money.
"I was so excited when I saw that we've been able to deposit 85% of the money," said Righteous.
"Wow, Mum, are you serious?" Ayanate asked, pleasantly surprised.
"I would never joke with this."
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"This is indeed exciting news."
Ayanate got up from her seat, dancing around and making a joyful noise. Unable to sit still, Righteous joined her and they happily danced around for a while.
They both sat down to rest and resumed talking. The way her mother's voice was subdued as she started talking immediately set something off in Ayanate. She braced herself.
"Ayanate, baby, I know you made me promise never to borrow again, but this money is just remaining only 15%
to be complete for your treatment, and that's just four million naira. I can take a soft loan that I can pay up in a year or two, no collateral. If only we could ease up a little and borrow this money so that we could get going."
Ayanate frowned and began to shake her head.
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