Here's another excerpt from the fictional series 'Desperate Dreamer'. If you haven't been following, you can check older posts. I kept it short on purpose. I'd like to hear your predictions on where you think the story is going.
Two years had flown past, and Nkili was
still living with Osita. She still cooked his meals, cleaned the house and
stayed at home. Osita still worked long hours, and was still driven by his
arduous desire to become a father. He was so desperate that he insisted they
both go for check ups to make sure there were no fertility problems. The doctor
assured them they were fine but Nkili was still not pregnant. It bothered Osita
so much. Some nights he came home after working sixteen hours and he couldn’t
sleep. As far as he knew Nkili was not using contraceptives. He checked
thoroughly and there was nothing to suggest she did so. But why was she not
pregnant? When would he have children of his own? Would it ever happen? Now he
was over fifty, would he have children in time to watch them grow? The pain of
childlessness seared him night and day. It became increasingly hard to love his
wife in the face of such unbearable pain. Not only that, she clearly did not
love him. On rare occasions she treated him like her husband: looked him in the
eye lovingly; cuddled him; spoke kind, soft words to him. Other times he was no
more than a flatmate. She talked to him like an inanimate object; quit the bed
when he came back from work. He nursed a strong suspicion that Nkili was
cheating on him. His life was an unfolding nightmare, and he felt so helpless.
Well, considering the manner in which they got connected and married, the uncertainty in Osita's emotions isn't suprising. The desire for a child is understandable and is probably provoking conflict in Nkili's feelings as well as Osita's. The challenge they have as a husband and wife is their decision not to discuss their emotions. If this stems from genuine inability and ignorance on both parts then hopefully they can move forward with some advice. At the moment I am not sure of Nkili's sincerity in the matter.
ReplyDeleteShe portrays the child in the picture whose face to me doesn't exactly represent dissapointment, but rather grumpiness. In such a position all blame is on the husband and every good thing is her right.
I suspect that Nkili is seeking out a full interesting life elsewhere outside Osita, but will only find out what she has really dumped later on in the novel. How right is my prediction?