A month had passed since Halima's burial, Mohammed was still yet to be found and Ifeoma was still sulking about her best friend's death.
The morning she got home after that dreadful incident had been the most agonizing one of her life, her husband had held her in his arms for hours while she cried her heart out.
Ifeoma was on her way to the hospital for her monthly check up when she came across Fali.
"Ifeoma! How Una Dey!" The chubby woman greeted cheerfully.[How are you?]
"I'm fine, dear. How is your husband?" Ifeoma responded with the same energy.
" He Dey o! I just Dey come from market, I go buy baby stuffs" Fali said.[He's fine. I just returned from the market, I went to get baby stuffs]
Ifeoma almost rolled her eyes.
Was she trying to make her envious of the baby bump she was getting?
Ifeoma had also shopped for baby items several times as she was also pregnant multiple times. But the baby stuffs ended up been dusty in the baby room they had reserved for a baby they give birth to.
"That's nice. I'm so happy for you, but I think you need to take a chill pill. Shopping for baby stuff in early stage is bad luck. Just saying" Ifeoma said with envy.
" Bad luck? He no Dey for our family o. But Ifeoma, come o, mama tell me say you don get like six miscarriages. And you no Dey do anything about it? Na spiritual thing you dey use play like this? Na until they chop all your pikin finish you go know say he Dey serious?" Fali said.[Bad luck? It doesn't run in our family o. But Ifeoma, mama told me that you've had six miscarriages and you're doing nothing about it? Why are you taking such spiritual issue with levity? Is it until they kill all your unborn children before you know that it's something serious?]
Ifeoma was enraged. Mama had gone around telling her private matters to strangers? Especially to one whose mouth doesn't stay in one place, Fali of all people.
"It's not six, it's four. And I don't think these are issues you should be talking to me about, it's my business not yours, please." Ifeoma replied harshly but Fali was adamant.
" Na because I like you I Dey concern na! Imagine say na both of us carry belle like this and we don born am together, he no go sweet?"[I'm concerned because I like you. Imagine that the both of us are pregnant and we give birth at the same time, won't that be sweet?]
Ifeoma stared at her in confusion. Why would giving birth together be sweet? Were they friends?
"Fali, May I please, just leave? I have an appointment" She said dismissively as she proceeded to leave but Fali stopped her yet again.
What kind of mad people did we get as neighbours like this ? Ifeoma thought.
" Which appointment con worth Wetin I wan tell you? See, I get one pastor wey be say Wetin he talk na him go happen. If he talk say make night no come, I swear, he no go come. Hin name na Pastor Solo. Just give me the chance to take you there, I swear, if you no born, make I die! " Fali rushed on.[No appointment is worth this information I'm about to give you. See, I have this pastor that whatever he says comes to pass. If he says Night shouldn't come, I swear, it won't! His name is Pastor Solo, just give me a chance to take you there, if you don't give birth, I should die.]
Ifeoma was suddenly calm. Fali is a crazy busybody and all but what if she actually had solutions to her problem? What if she was actually the angel God sent to bring her connections that would help her? What if? But on the other hand, what if she was just going to take her to a fraudulent man who knows absolutely nothing.
Ifeoma knew that she wouldn't find her answers with the what if's , so she decided to follow her, it was a pastor after all and not an herbalist.
Her need for a child overcame the irritation she had for Fali.
***
"Let us pray" The young fair man who was dressed in a long white gown said as Fali and Ifeoma went on their knees.
The man seemed too young to actually be so vast and good like Fali had painted, but then who says only old or middle aged men are good pastors.
After a long chain of prayers, and been in the spirit, pastor solo asked them to take their seats.
" Ehm... Sister, what's that name of yours again?" He asked.
"Ifeoma... sir" She added reluctantly since she thought the guy was too young to be addressed like that but he was spiritually older than her so maybe he deserved it.
"Sister Ifeoma, I've consulted the angels concerning your matter and they told me that all this happening is because you have a spiritual husband and that husband which is in the spirit realm would never allow you to give birth to another man's child, so he kills them, with joy"
Ifeoma was perplexed, she had never heard of that nor even thought of it. She was beginning to trust in the man of God.
"So how can we stop the... spiritual husband sir?" Ifeoma enquired hoping that she would leave that church as a woman who would give birth soon.
"You have to look for a man whose spirituality is higher than that of the spiritual husband, you have sex with him and when you get pregnant for him, he would never be able to kill the child because he carries the spirit stronger than his" The pastor said.
Ifeoma was confused, what gibberish was the man saying? Adultery?
"Why can't we just make my husband's spirit strong?" Ifeoma asked.
"We don't make spirits strong, spirits would be strong right from birth"
Ifeoma was dumbfounded and even more confused. She already knew where this was going but she wanted to listen till the end.
"Where would I now get a man who has strong spirit?" Ifeoma eyed the pastor vigorously.
"Men who speaks to angels like they are friends, men who go to the spiritual realm. They are very hard to find, I am one of these rare species"
Ifeoma stood up instantly.
" Ehnehn ! I know! I should have known when you started talking incoherently. You want to sleep with me! Eh, wonder shall never end. What women go through just to get baby is alarming o! So you think you can dupe me of my body because I want to give birth? Spiritual husband? Fali, is this the man who says anything and it comes to pass? Chai, abi that's how you got pregnant too?"
" Ifeoma, no be so na! Na so plenty women be o, no be new thing. If man think say make them do DNA, fifty percent of them go see say no be them get pikin" Fali said in a bid to make Ifeoma see it as something usual.[Calm down, Ifeoma. Women do this all the time o, it's nothing new. If men should think of doing DNA tests for their kids, fifty percent of them will find out that the kids they've been fathering aren't theirs]
"Not me! Definitely not me! What kind of insult is this? Me and this one? Ah, God! It's not your fault o, it's because I allowed my need for a baby to cloud my reasoning, if not, am I even supposed to follow you to a place like this?" Ifeoma exclaimed as she felt tears well at the corners of her eyes.
She stormed out of the church, got into her car and drove off.
She couldn't imagine that such an insult happened to her. The fact that she wanted to give birth doesn't mean she was willing to do the next irritating thing for it.
She thought about what Fali said about fifty percent of men fathering children that aren't theirs and she shook her head.
On another note, she didn't blame them. Most of these men have the notion that the woman is always the problem when it comes to childlessness meanwhile most times, they actually are the problem, and when the women get to know this, they do it with another man and bring it to them.
As she drove into the hospital compound for her check up, she thought: What if Pastor Solo was Right?
TO BE CONTINUED...