Thread by @RBiakpara

1/. Lilia; not her real name of course. She grew up in a house where they were in the spotlight. Her dad was a very talented musician and very loved around the country. In fact, you could describe him as an African music icon.

2/. With this rather coloured background, she was still the first member of her family to earn a Master’s; she did so in Public Administration. Her background, personal experience, & education will hold her in good stead as it created the foundation on which this story is based.

3/. Her early adult life was rosy, meeting the man of her dreams & spending many years together. When she lost her dad, a couple of years after her mom passed away, it saw her world come tumbling down like a bad plane crash. Tanimu was getting married but it wasn’t to her.

4/. It was with her roommate, Estella, from school. Someone she had helped with food & shelter for 9 months in university.
His words to her, “I would have liked to tell you earlier, but you were in grief. We moved the date because we didn’t know how you would react.

5/. She (Estella) is with baby, & I wouldn’t want to not be there for them”.
She was hearing pronouns & nouns sound out like daggers to the heart. What does he mean “we, she & baby”? Her vision seemed like she was deep in an ocean eyes wide open trying to make her way through.

6/. She didn’t know when he left her. She had no shoulder to cry on. Boyfriend and best fr…she started to cry again, more forcefully this time she thought even as she didn’t remember that she cried a first time.

7/. THE BETRAYAL
Estella saw him approaching from the window. He was coming to the apartment just like she planned and predicted.
Tanimu was a very simple young man and had been loyal to Lilia. He was also a very brilliant student and was very helpful to a fault.

8/. Estella was a popular campus girl. She was angry Tanimu had chosen Lilia over her & had actually worked her way into Lilia's books to get to Tanimu. But truth be told, more of the anger was directed at Lilia, who she blamed for everything.

9/. It hurt her that no man had stayed long with her.
Minutes before he arrived, she looked at herself in the mirror. “I’m better looking than Lilia, same complexion, a little shorter, shorter hair but a more robust butt.” She said aloud to herself.

10/. Everyone on campus knew her for that. She was going to use it to her advantage to get ‘her man’. She was playing for keeps.
She knew Tanimu would come. She had ‘groomed’ him for months even though she made him feel it was he doing the grooming. She encouraged him to no end.

11/. Surprising how Lilia didn’t notice. Once in the apartment, she tried to play it cool. She wasn’t a shy person at all and could start a conversation at the drop of a hat. But they weren’t meeting for any conversation today – they both already had the hots for each other.

12/. She counted his steps towards her. Tanimu was ravenous and was paying more attention to her even in that state, than any of the other guys ever did in the past. Though it was Estella with the butt, Lilia always seemed to be the one with all the attention.

13/. But now, Tanimu was paying her all the attention, and from his actions and hunger, not even Lilia coming in at this time, could have stopped him! How could she have trusted Estella to host her boyfriend?

14/. A few years after their wedding, Tanimu and Estella had come to her foster home. Estella had lost the child she was carrying for which Tanimu broke up with her for. They both had come to her not only to seek to foster a child, but to ask forgiveness.

15/. Estella had a condition that meant she produced abnormal amounts of male hormones. To try to treat the condition, she had gone on birth-control pills. She recently had been told she couldn’t have babies.

16/. They wanted to adopt an infant or young child, so they can experience developmental milestones with the child. They came to her's because it was the only one with all the legal covers that would protect the adoption plus the health-record she holds above others around.

17/. She knew that and they knew she knew, but she didn’t have the energy to make it strenuous for them. She had done very well for herself and had even won international awards. She was very motherly to children adopted from her orphanage

18/. – they were often viewed as adults way sooner than their peers if not carefully placed. That in turn, can often lead to abuse. So when anyone decides to experience development, she is more than inclined on those cases.

19/. On this occasion though, she was more concerned for a permanent and consistently happy home for the child, if at all. She was going to only allow a child go where they will find protection, love, opportunity, parental assurance, and security.

20/. She was also mindful to ensure they grow proud and without the usual stigma surrounding adoption.
Back to the present, she didn’t want to hear their apology not because she couldn’t forgive them but because she had moved on, she didn’t want a reminder of it.

21/. She couldn’t at this point also tell Tanimu that he had a son…their son. If only she could be as cruel as they had been to her. But then, maybe she was being cruel by not telling them.
She had power in her hands.

22/. She reached her goal, exhausted. Even more shocking to her was that the euphoria that she thought she'd feel upon reaching it wasn't there. Something wasn't right. She thought it would be a new feeling but instead she felt just the same as she had since that day.

23/. Tanimu, his parents, Estella and all their friends didn’t know about Jamaal, their child. She feels guilty and needs help on what to do. She was hurt very badly but she had rolled with the punches and come up at the other side.

24/. Should she let the cat out of the bag about their child? But for how long can she keep the secret? Can she trust them enough to let them adopt a child? Help a mother make her decisions please.

Estella hated Lilia for no reason. Who is to say what she will do now if Lilia 'wins' again? Tanimu's lack of steel cannot be lost on both women. What will stop Estella from wanting to harm mother and even child including killing him?

These are Lilia's fears.

Let's appreciate what women go through shall we? That they do, in so many different ways. If I wasn't such a lazy man, I would have put this thread out yesterday. But like they say, better late than never.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to EVERY WOMAN.