COMING HOME

Chapter 29

~~If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
                    John 15:7(NKJV)~~  

Several months of faithful work with God she could at least admit knowing God's calm and soothing voice when He spoke to her. No doubt it was God's voice she heard returning back from evangelism. A month was gone and she could not keep putting off the fact that her time here was up. How was Mrs Ade going to take the news? She wasn't even sure of herself and meeting her parents right now sounded frightening but if not now when? Waiting one more year wasn't going to make more.

'Aunty Tobi, it's time for evening devotion!' Tobi panicked hearing Ola shout her name. She turned the whole bucket's content on her body and went into the room to dress. She would also appreciate a little help from God to make the delivery of the news easier for everybody.

'Tobi?' Her eyes travelled to the direction of the door. How long ago was it Ola came to call her?

'Mrs Ade, please come in.' Mrs Ade opened the door but remained at the entrance. She squeezed the hem of her dress using the sole of her slippers to gather around her. She might have as well ignored Mrs Ade's presence pretending to be busy. When she looked up, the candle illuminated Mrs Ade's face revealing drooping eye bags.

'Mrs Ade?'

'I'm alright Tobi. I should be worried about you. I know something's on your mind, tell me.' She leaned against the door frame and folded her arms.

'I've been thinking, maybe it's time for me to go back home.' She finished talking and got the  responses of Mrs Ade's heaving chest and blinking eyes.

Thick red and green lines had formed on Mrs Ade's hands and head. Did this miss think she was the only one God spoke to? Since their return from their last evangelism Tobi had been in a gloomy state and only starting conversation when asked questions. God graciously told her the reason. She almost got depressed but with Mr Ade's absence and she being the eldest meant she bottle up her feelings and coordinate the family hiding whatever she felt till she was alone to cry out her heart's content.

'Mrs Ade? You haven't replied to what I told you.'

'Did you like the food?' She asked releasing the weight from the door. 'I made sure the egusi had lots of kpomo but I'm sure before I was able to hide it the children ate most of it. Come on Tobi, let's go and pray. Mr Ade will come back home today but we can't wait for him.' 

'Mrs Ade? Aren't you going to say anything?' She asked almost raising the pitch of her voice.

'I don't have anything to say!' She replied in the same tone.

'Okay then, I guess we should do our devotion then go to bed. Maybe Mr Ade might have the words to tell me.' She walked out of the room brushing shoulders with Mrs Ade.

The night breeze blew giving her comfort as she thought lifting her head to let the air pass through her nostrils. Evening devotion had been the worst since she got here struggling hard to avoid eye contact with Mrs Ade that sat in front of her as she made her contribution.

'Oluwatobiloba.' She did not look the direction the call came from, she just continued to enjoy the breeze. 'I'm sorry Tobi, I've been thinking about you leaving for a week and it's difficult thinking about you leaving, you've only been here for a short while.'

'Short while?' She asked scuffing. 'I don't think my mother would think so too but I understand, if I had someone come visit me I might just lock the person in my storage room and swallow the key.' Mrs Ade sniffed in catarrh using her hand to wipe what was left of it on her nose.

'I'm going to miss you too much. I almost told Segun to allow us move back to the city. When you leave I'll just have to ask God why He let you come here to take you back again. I'll miss you Tobi and I hope your family accept you back when they see you.' She lifted her arms over the blades of Tobi's shoulders and pulled her close. 

'Me too. I might just ask God that question myself. Mrs Ade? I wanted to ask you for a favor.'

The dust from the moving car irritated the insides of Tobi's body. She stretched her head outside the window everytime the dust mixed with the yam porridge she ate making her almost throw up. Mrs Ade had woken up hours before her departure time and had done well to wake the whole house up with bellows of instructions for them to prepare.

They were finally out of dust and in the highway of fast moving cars. Everywhere almost looked foreign to her seeing the congestion on the road and colorful buildings after a year and month from being away. Her life had been like this just months ago, fast paced without direction except wanting to graduate, get married then open a chamber to recycle the wealth between the circle of rich people as was her country's custom. Today, as she got closer home, she was happy she'd been rescued from that life, she wasn't hopeless again, nothing could steal her joy again.

'Tobi, I'm sure these places have brought nostalgia.'

She caught his gaze in the rearview window shaking her head. 'I never got to this side of the city, I was only fond of chic cities.' 

'Aunty Tobi, will you return back to the village with us?' Tobi's smiled realizing Shade was sitting by her side.

'Maybe.' She replied exchanging a quick glance with Mr Ade. The car sped passed a signpost welcoming them to Kado. Tobi sat up hoping the rapid rise and fall of her chest would reduce but as they passed Julius Berger Front Park, she shifted to rest her back against the beaten-up upholstery chair unable to look outside the window hoping not to rattle Mr Ade or Shade. In less than thirty minutes, if the road remained free of cars she would reach. She could never face her mother's judgemental stare with the way she looked. 

'Mr Ade, please can you take me somewhere first?' He lips moved to a side. Since their departure from his house, they to stopped three times and each time because she told him to stop his car so she could think her decision through. 'We're still going to Maitama, just a different destination than my house. My aunt's house. She'd had better receptive capacities especially since she wasn't the one I left for more than a year.'

Mr Ade smiled following the direction she gave. Twenty minutes later, they sat in front of a monstrous ten bedroom mansion. A uniformed man approached them with a AK-47. 'Ah, madam, na you be that?' He asked getting to the car. 'I sure say I dey see well so?' He rubbed his face with his hand severally. 

'Yes.' She replied with a giggle.

'You sure because we don dey find you since tey tey. Wetin kon make you resurface na? Abeg Tolu open gate for madam niece, she don show o!' He said waving his hands towards the small surveillance building that stood adjoined to the gate as he backed away from the car.

'Ah! Your family is loaded o.' Mr Ade commented driving into the open gate.

'Who's there Tolu?' A fifty year old woman questioned walking towards her garage  accompanying some women to their cars. 'Tobi?'