Six months after Beatrice moved in with Musa, she had her first child, Habeeb and everything changed, starting with her emotions. They called it postnatal stress, everyone tried to find and pin a name to it including her unofficial husband.

To Beatrice, nothing made sense again, not even the smile of her little baby. All she wanted to do was sleep. Gradually, she fell into a deeper form of depression and became an aggressive woman.

In fairness to Musa, he tried all he could for her until she became really violent, she even blamed him for everything including her half education. The first year of Habeeb’s life was without motherly love and affection, Musa became the mother and father… it was war to have Beatrice nurse her son.

“Beatrice would you like to go back to school now?” Musa had asked one day, looking at his young wife with affection.

“Why?” Beatrice’s eyes had almost bulged out of their sockets “Why do you want me to go back to school? Are you tired of me already? Or is there someone you’d like to bring home? Am I a burden to you already? Why are you not responding?”

Musa watched in dismay as his wife reeled out accusative questions. ..

“I thought it was your dream, but forget it.” He said with a wave of his hand, but he had already stepped on a viper’s tail and that day, he knew he couldn’t help Beatrice!

…

How did I lose my phone of all things to lose? I quickly rushed back to my fainting location, described myself to everyone I saw… “I was the woman who fainted here earlier today” they looked at me pitifully and told me they didn’t find my phone.

There was nothing I could do but go home.

First Musa had dragged my babies away, now I can’t even reach them. The first step would be to block and retrieve my line, then get a new phone. If I was lucky, it wouldn’t take more than a day.

I unlocked my door and stepped into my apartment, my beautiful apartment.

Let me quickly tell you this; my apartment and I are two different entities. If you met me on the road, you would not associate this home to me.

After I lost my sanity and husband, interior decoration became an obsession, not just a passion, an obsession. I could enter your home and volunteer to rearrange for free.

I channeled all my energy into this and my home is a haven of sorts, I love entering every corner of my three bedroom apartment.

I stepped in and was enveloped by its warm deliciousness, until I entered Habeeb’s room and lost it.

I wept my eyes out until I could make no more sound. Then I sat on his bed, looked around, carefully avoiding the mirror that loves to remind me that I looked like an old woman, then I began to plan how to murder Musa and of course, the woman he seemed marriage worthy after dumping me!

…

The venom of suspicion had been planted in Beatrice’s mind with Musa’s reference to her neglected education. Why on earth would he want her in school? Part time or full time, it reeked of hidden agendas.

Musa’s efforts to allay her fears and take her mind off things only fueled her anger. Nothing else made sense, except the one thing ringing in her head, that her husband was tired of her.

“We should go see your parents again, who knows, the sight of their grandchild could change things” Musa had suggested again one windy night while Beatrice was grudgingly feeding Habeeb

“The sight of a grandchild you say? You think my father would be glad to have a Habeeb as grandchild when he wanted a David or Joseph?” she said, her tone icy.

“Beatrice, is there something I need to know? You’re acting strangely”

“Strangely? Like a mad woman? Tell me” She dropped Habeeb on the cushion without looking and the toddler landed on the tiled floor, his cries renting the air!

Musa jumped off his seat, reaching for Habeeb before Beatrice who began to cry pitifully and curse harshly.

“You need help” Musa said, rocking the boy who was more shocked than hurt.

Nothing changed, except if ‘worse’ counted as change. Habeeb was barely a year when Beatrice found out she was pregnant again. A miracle in itself since their marriage had deteriorated so much that even the simple act of mating was burdensome, hence neglected.

Beatrice had become a terrible nag and bitter soul. All she wanted was to sleep and complain about her imagined sorrows.

One day, she woke up and turned to Musa.

“Let’s get married, legally” She said. Musa looked at her carefully, he saw an old woman, with a wrinkled face and sad hollow eyes. Slowly he shook his head.

“No” he said.

“What do you mean?” Beatrice almost shouted

“I don’t want to marry you.” He said and with those words, nailed Beatrice’s coffin!

….

 

To be continued.