She opened her eyes gently, the rays of sunlight didn't let her open her eyes completely. Her lashes were slightly wet. Everything was blurry
she tried to rub her eyes but she was too weak to raise her hand. She heard some male voices not far from where she was. They sounded surprised.
"Who's she?"
One of the men walked towards her. Their faces weren't clear as her sight was still blurry.
" She doesn't look familiar, do you think she's from here?" The man turned his head to another man
" She quite beautiful, I haven't noticed her before"
Another man walked towards her. She tried to look at their faces but she could not. She later fell unconscious.
The next time she woke up, she found her self in a room. It was rough and wasn't considered a place where people lived. There were all sorts of clothes hanging on the wall and the room smelt mould including the mat she was laying on.
She sat up and looked at everywhere calmly. When she looked at herself, she was covered with a wrapper with different colours on it.
A little girl ran inside and hid in a corner. She didn't seem to notice the woman who sat up on the floor. Some minutes later, a little boy of the same age as the girl ran inside. He was smiling and breathing heavily. He had been running.
When he saw the woman on the mat, he moved closer to her
" Did you see Remi running in?" He tilted his head as he asked the woman.
When the woman turned her head in the direction where the girl hid, the girl was already looking at her with surprise on her face.
She ran out immediately and started shouting.
"Mother, the guest is awake!"
Her brother could only run after her with frustration, who knew their game would suddenly end.
A woman in her mid forties entered the room hurriedly with a bowl of water in her hand. The lady on the mat could only look at her curiously as she sat beside her.
The woman smiled at her and caressed her face. She tied a wrapper on her chest to cover her body. Her hair was braided backwards.
" You are finally awake"
Realizing this woman was someone she could communicate with she spoke
" Where am I?"
" You are at my family house. You were found at the river bank two days ago by my husband and his men so he decided to bring you back."
"..."
" You were unconscious for two days that I was scared that you had died but your heart was still beating so I couldn't say to bury you."
The lady on the mat could only wonder how she got by the river bank.
" What's your name and where are you from? Maybe we can help you return to your family"
The lady could not think of what her name may be
" I don't remember.."
The woman widened her eyes
" Your family name?"
The girl shook her head.
Remi ran inside with her brother and sat on the mat with the lady. Before their mother could scold them for being too forward, the little girl spoke.
"Sister, you are so pretty" Her smile could only warm the heart of the people who saw her.
" Take your brother out, we are discussing "
Remi pouted her lips and stood up. She held her brother's hand and walked away but before she left the room, she turned back and talked
" I think the name Sewa fits big sister.. since she's beautiful"
"..."
Her mother glared at her but the girl chuckled and ran out with her brother. Obviously the little girl had eavesdropped on their conversation.
" Sorry about her " the woman could only smile awkwardly.
" You don't remember your name or family name?"
The lady nodded
" But I have a name now..."
"..."
" My name is Sewa " The lady said with a little smile on her face.
The woman could only nod her head.
" You can stay with us for the sometime, I'll tell my husband when he comes back"
Sewa nodded her head.
She later learned that the woman's name was Asake and she's a mother of five children. Three girls and two boys.
By evening, her husband was already back from fishing which was the main job of the families that lived in the town.
The man looked happy when he got back. A boy and girl were behind him. The girl looked like Sewa's age mate while the boy looked younger than her. When their eyes met, her face brightened up further.
" You look so happy" The woman smiled at her husband.
The man hugged his wife, he hadn't noticed the strange face standing beside her.
" The fishes we caught was something we could fish for a week and it's all sold out now"
The woman looked more happy
The man whose name was Asekunowo glanced at Sewa who was standing beside his wife. He smiled at her.
" You finally woke up"
" Thank you very much for your kindness"
" Oh! it's nothing". The man walked towards her holding his wife.
" What is your name?"
Hearing the question, the lady hesitated
" Sewa"
The man furrowed his brows
" Sewa is a nice name for someone as beautiful as you" He ended up smiling.
" I actually gave her the name" Remi chirped in.
Asake could only hold herself back. She wanted to hit this girl so badly for being so forward. She should have known.
" What do you mean?" The man turned his head to his wife.
The woman hesitated
" ....She doesn't remember anything about her past or where she's from"
"...."
Everyone who didn't know about this looked puzzled.
They all knew when their father brought this beautiful woman into their house unconscious but none of them expected her to have lost her memory.
"What?" The man seemed to be in shock. He wasn't expecting that.
He narrowed his eyes at the young lady before him. She didn't bow her eyes but looked him in the eyes.
Asekunowo could not help but notice the colour of her eyes, they were dazzling black and beautiful. The more he looked at her, the more he got mesmerized by her.
After keeping quiet for a while, he spoke
" okay you can stay here till you remember everything"
His wife let out a sigh of relief. She didn't know why but she had already grew a liking for Sewa.
The corners of Sewa's lips turned up slightly
"Thank you so much"
Asekunowo patted her shoulder.
When their skin made contact, images flashed in her eyes. They were too fast that she could grasp only one.
In the memory she grasped, she saw a lot of pretty girls around her. They all smiled and bowed their heads when she passed.