Bimpe and Femi have been married for six years before the fabric of their marriage, made of the most exquisite silk, started fraying at the edges. A mature woman in her thirties, Bimpe runs a successful hairdressing salon while Femi has a thriving furnishing business tailored to the high-class.
Their marriage started out as a mini heaven-on-earth. Femi was a dream husband, the type that African mothers spent weeks praying and fasting for, on behalf of their female daughters. He provided for Bimpe, took her on dates, and still found time to help with one or two household chores whenever he was at home. Yes, their marriage was heaven, pure heaven. Their three girls, nicknamed, 'the gang' by their father, drew on the atmosphere of love like banana trees draw on water. They bloomed and had rosy cheeks.
But then, their well-set marriage table began to turn. Suddenly, Femi saw Bimpe as an old wreck of a ship—useless, of no value but rather constituting a nuisance. Looking at his wife became irritating like sand in the eye and so, the beatings began. He would use his belt to play a symphony on her body. He went through all the great classical playlists—Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and Debussy were all recreated on Bimpe's flesh. And when that was not enough, he would pick up the turning stick for his favourite meal of amala and use it to turn his wife's flesh.
Bimpe was confused. How could love so sweet turn sour? Is Femi seeing another woman? Has she lost her sexual appeal? Is he hitting her because she could not give him a male child? She was also stuck. Her mother's refrain had always been that 'once married, forever married.' A woman stays in her husband's no matter the problems she may be facing. After all, what would be the point of womanhood if you cannot sacrifice for your children? So Bimpe rebuked the thoughts of ending her marriage that sometimes crept into her mind like a thief in the night and continued her search to know why.
But as she sought answers to her questions, Femi's belt continued to search for the arteries and capillaries running under her flesh.