I Should Have Spoken Up (Part 10)

As Bose was leaving for school the following morning, she saw Uncle BJ outside, putting some files in his car. As he was about to recite his regular scripts of how Bose was avoiding him, Bose just blurted out the words “I think I’m pregnant”.

It was as if Uncle BJ was struck by lightning…he opened his mouth but couldn’t find words. Bose walked away from him and went out of the gate…moments later, she felt a hand grab her and it was Uncle BJ. He told her that nobody must hear about it as he was not going to ruin his marriage because of her.

He was stern and said he would deny it then kill her if she told anybody or even if anyone found out. Bose said she already told someone in school that was planning to help her get rid of it. Uncle BJ asked if she spilled the identity of the person responsible for the pregnancy, Bose had to say no, she knew exactly how he would react so she had to deny it. Uncle BJ said he would give her whatever she needed to get the job done when she got back from school.

After seeing Uncle BJ’s reaction, Bose figured there was no other option but to do what Lizzy suggested.
Lizzy was already waiting for her at the school entrance. Bose told her she had made a decision.

Lizzy said they had to go take care of it immediately. Bose said she wasn’t prepared and didn’t bring any money. Lizzy told her not to worry about it and she could bring the money later. They left school through a path in the bushes; Lizzy had brought clothes for both of them so they wouldn’t be going about in their school uniforms. She then took Bose to a local market where they met an older woman who sold local herbs and spices.

It was obvious Lizzy had discussed with her earlier…because as soon as they greeted her, she took Bose to a small room at the back of her shop.  The woman pressed Bose’s tummy and checked her lower eyelid, she said it was true that Bose was pregnant and must be about 6 weeks long. She said it would be easy and shouldn’t be too painful because she was not too far along.

She asked if Bose had eaten breakfast…Bose hadn’t, so she gave her a powdery substance and told her to swallow it without water. Bose was a little hesitant but Lizzy urged her on. Bose emptied the substance in her mouth and God, did it burn. She almost spewed it out but the woman told her not to, as it would defeat the purpose.

Bose squeezed her face in disgust but had to swallow it, the woman also gave her a shot of some alcohol laced herbs and told her to swallow it all with a gulp. It reeked really bad…Bose started coughing after she downed the shot. Her tummy began to rumble…the woman said it was working. She said there was one more thing to do and that was the most important part of it. She handed Bose a little bottle, she told her to drink the content right before going to bed and she would "see" her period by the time she woke up in the morning.

It had to be taken that night and she shouldn’t eat or drink anything else after drinking the concoction.  She said Bose would feel a little tummy ache but that was about it. Bose asked if she could eat, the woman said she had to wait about an hour before eating anything and she should avoid spicy food as it could make her tummy ache worse than it normally should. She said Bose could send her money through Lizzy.

Bose thanked the woman…she left with Lizzy and spent the rest of the day at her house. When it was about the end of school day, Bose made her way home…she felt kinda woozy and her tummy ached a little but Lizzy had told her she would feel that way. She also told her to avoid anything strenuous.

She wanted to tell Uncle BJ how it went but he wasn’t home. She managed to do her afternoon chores…she stayed in her room for the remaining part of the day. She pretended to be studying (since she had a big examination coming up) so nobody would disturb her. She kept looking out through the window to know when Uncle BJ got back so she could go talk to him.

Her aunt made vegetable soup for dinner but she passed because of the warning to avoid spicy food. When Uncle BJ didn’t show up at about 9:30pm, she decided to have some slices of bread and a cup of hot cocoa. She waited like 15 minutes, drank the content of the bottle she was given by the woman at the market and went to bed…

© 2015 Lanre Olagbaju All Rights Reserved

PART 9                                                                                          PART 11

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental