Chapter 7
They entered the room, and it was Prisca's first time stepping into Patrick's space. Sharon quickly pointed at the dried blood stained on the bed as she walked to the window, pulling the curtains wide open for Prisca to see clearly. "Look!" she exclaimed.
"Oh my!" Prisca gasped, as realization hit her about what she was seeing. "No, it can't be true. It can't be possible."
"It can't be what?" Sharon asked, disgust evident in her tone. "So your friend had no self-control? The moment we left last night, she came in here to sleep with my brother while pretending to be a saint?"
"No, Sharon," Prisca shook her head, refusing to believe it. "I've known Tina for a long time. She wouldn't just agree to sleep with your brother after rejecting his advances from me several times. I thought your brother was a saint. I can’t believe this—Tina vowed never to sleep with anyone until she gets married."
Sharon felt irritated by Prisca's words and asked, "So are you implying my brother raped that girl?"
"No," Prisca replied, struggling to find an answer. She cursed herself internally for leaving Tina behind. It was also her fault, as she thought Patrick wouldn't dare touch Tina or take advantage of her. She had never known that Patrick was just pretending, waiting for them to leave before he could pursue Tina. Feeling really bad for Tina, she wanted to see her immediately.
When Patrick arrived at Tina's village junction, he found himself unsure of the way to her house. He stopped the car, parked, and turned off the engine. As he prepared to ask Tina for directions to her home, she suddenly rushed out of the car without looking back or thanking him, running off into the street toward her house.
Patrick sighed, shocked by Tina's reaction. He slid into the passenger seat, shut the door, and started the engine, driving off to his office since he was already late for work.
Mama Tina stood at home preparing for the market while worrying about Tina, her only daughter. She sighed, recalling how Mama Prisca had embarrassed her when she visited to check if Tina was there.
Jude had told her that Prisca visited their home before Tina left with her, but Mama Prisca insulted her for asking about Tina's whereabouts and blamed her for not training Tina properly.
As Mama Tina sighed, she blamed herself for rushing to Mama Prisca's house before dawn. If she had known that Mama Prisca was indifferent, she wouldn’t have wasted her time confronting her about Tina's absence. "How was I supposed to know where your daughter went with mine? Did I follow them?" Mama Prisca had questioned mockingly.
"Hmm..." Mama Tina gulped, recalling how Mama Prisca had said, "You could have at least taught your daughter not to be friends with others or not to go out with Prisca! Just leave my house and don't come back here. I haven't seen Prisca either, and I didn't go to your house or anyone else's to ask about her."
Mama Tina knew that Mama Prisca would defend her daughter’s wrongdoings and hide her true emotions. As she returned home, she prayed that nothing bad had happened to Tina and Prisca, but Tina still hadn’t come back.
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Mama Prisca was aware that this wasn’t the first time her daughter had stayed out late, but she didn’t take it seriously. She assumed they were at a friend's house due to the heavy rain that had fallen overnight. She knew that if she had informed Mama Tina about this, Mama Tina might get emotional and refuse to leave, blaming her daughter Prisca and claiming she was a bad influence on Tina.
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Mama Tina sighed as she remembered how Mama Prisca had treated her. She began to arrange her empty basket and handbag for the market, where she sold fruit. Meanwhile, she waited for Jude to finish his breakfast inside. She didn’t want to leave him alone, especially since she had no idea when Tina would return. Richmond had gone to help his friend Alex at his father's furniture workshop.
As Mama Tina sat on the bench in front of her house, she suddenly spotted Tina walking toward their compound, looking haggard and dejected. Their house had a small entrance gate and wasn’t large, built by her husband before he ran away with another woman. He had only managed to fence half the plot, leaving a small opening for access.
Mama Tina knew her husband was enjoying the money of the woman he had followed, claiming that she was too local and troublesome, whereas she was a calm, peaceful, and God-fearing woman. Despite this, her husband said he couldn’t stand her and abandoned them when Jude was just a baby.
Mama Tina had once confronted her husband about their misunderstandings, praying and hoping that one day he would return home, but he hadn’t yet, and she had not given up hope. She believed he would someday come back because she still loved him. She started her fruit business to provide for her children’s education in the government school in their village.
Mama Tina sighed and stared at the tired-looking Tina as she approached. Knowing that she would have to question Tina about her whereabouts from the previous night, Mama Tina stood up from the bench and walked toward her daughter.
"Good morning, Mom," Tina greeted, staring downward.
Mama Tina noticed that Tina's eyes were swollen and red from lack of sleep, causing her to frown. "Good morning, Tina. Where are you coming from, and why are your eyes so red?"
Mama Tina continued to regard Tina suspiciously, but Tina couldn’t muster the courage to tell the truth. She began to stammer, "I was with Prisca. She took me to Sharon's place, and we couldn’t return last night because of the rain."
"Hm..." Mama Tina hummed, asking, "Is that why you're looking like this? And who's Sharon? Did you sleep at her house, or where exactly did you spend the night?"
Mama Tina stared at Tina eagerly, and Tina replied, "I slept at Sharon's brother's. No, I mean at Sharon's place," she corrected herself.
"Hmm. Sharon's brother. Sharon's place. Which one should I believe now? Please don’t tell me you spent the night at a man's house," Mama Tina demanded, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized Tina, who looked unkempt with red marks on her face and neck.
"No, mother! It's Sharon's place! I mean Sharon's family house," Tina insisted, staring at the ground and unable to meet her mother’s gaze. She heard Mama Tina sigh, "Hmph. Is that alright?"
Mama Tina continued to scrutinize Tina, feeling that something was wrong. If everything was truly fine, why would Tina look so sad after spending the night at Sharon's place with nothing unusual happening?