Chapter 1

Two and a half years later...

Sophia sat on the worn-out couch inside her Father's bedroom. Bernard looked so pale and emaciated, one could count the number of bones on him.

After his wife passed on Bernard shut the whole world out.

He never shed a tear nor cry out in agony as everyone and the doctors who saw to him had expected.

And weeks turned into months and months years. Yet Bernard starved himself, kept to himself, and unfortunately developed a heavy malfunctioning heart.

Sometimes when his demons would haunt him, Bernard had panic attacks which led to seizures and Comatose. So it was advised he shouldn't be left all alone in quiet.

Fortunately, Sophia grew up quickly, taking over the motherly role with strong conviction and bright optimism.

She made sure to care for her fragile father and never showing her doubts and fear to him.

It worked. Because soon he would nod at her questions and references and one time he managed to say a word which elated Sophia so much when it happened.

It became a routine. She'd return home from her long lectures at the university and freshen up afterward she would go up to his room and in a chirpy mood narrate how the day went.

And Bernard would listen with rapt attention, although he hardly made eye contact with the twitching of his arm or his monosyllabic responses Sophia knew he was listening and she was getting through to him.

"Dad, you won't believe who I ran into today at school?" She said with a smile.

Bernard twitched his arm, slowly not saying a word. Sophia took it as a go-ahead.

"So I ran into Lazarus from my primary school, the one who teased me so much then and I'd come home with a teary face every day until you reported him to my teacher who reprimanded Lazarus."

"We became good friends later? he visited home once when I celebrated my birthday" She added when she saw he still didn't recall.

"He was the one who bought me lipstick for my birthday and thought I'd love it. But you went berserk. You thought he was trying to bully me again" she stated in anticipation.

Finally, Bernard nodded in response which made Sophia chuckle at how her dad still disliked Lazarus till now.

"Yeah that one, I met him in school today he is doing a degree in political science and he was so happy we bumped into each other and he said I now looked so pretty and all grown." She blushed at the memory.

"Of course my dear, you are... I always knew you'd take after....her." He managed to finish.

It was now a name they feared and dreaded to mention. To avoid opening wounds. Since her mother Cecelia died, no one ever dared mention her name for fear of an unimaginable response from Bernard.

Instead, they avoided any topic relating to her.

It hurt Sophia so much that she couldn't talk about her mother's almost fading memory, for fear it might trigger her fathers' attacks.

She missed her mothers' hugs and nice mother and daughter talk. But she wouldn't say it out loud.

Sophia was still in her reverie when she heard someone yell her name from downstairs. She jerked.

Only to find Maureen fuming but masked her expression when Bernard turned towards her direction.

Almost forgot that Maureen had been waiting for Sophia to prepare their lunch.

Maureen was Sophia's stepmother. After a year of Cecelia's death, Bernard was advised to remarry since he was still young and needed a companion.

Having no say in the matter, Maureen was chosen by Bernard's relatives and little traditional rites were done. She helped him a lot as a companion but Maureen knew that Bernard's heart would always belong to someone else.

So to say, Maureen acted nice towards Sophia only in the presence of her husband Sophia's father Bernard. But otherwise, she could be her worst nightmare.

Her stepmother saw no reason why she should bear another dead woman's cross instead of looking after herself and her future children.

"Dad I'll talk with you later okay? I have to help mum out in the kitchen" She added and stood up while patting him on the arm.

Bernard merely nodded and zoned out.

Sophia attended college from home, she was lucky enough that her school was close to home. It was just a forty-five minutes drive with a bus but a thirty minutes drive with your private car.

She stayed home because her father dreaded the thought of her leaving him alone also because he ate the food prepared by Sophia alone.

She left the room with Maureen right behind her. They entered their well-kept modern kitchen although it didn't have all the equipment it had enough, Sophia turned to face her step mum.

"Am sorry I almost forgot daddy hasn't eaten and... I... Was only trying to lighten his mood upstairs" She finished and released the breath she'd been holding.

Maureen pouted her lips and looked Sophia up and down then swiftly left the kitchen without another word to her.

She looked surprised, it was unlike her step mum to ignore her mistakes just like that.

After some thought Sophia decided to make her father's favorite dish called "Abacha."

Maureen went upstairs and sat beside her husband who was lost in his world as usual. She touched his frail hand and he turned meticulously to look into her grey eyes, noting it wasn't his daughter Sophia he went back to his reverie.

Maureen frowned, this was how he'd treated her for so long. He'd never shown her any welcoming treatment and she felt out of place. But she knew better than to complain to him or Sophia, only her younger sister Monica knew her predicaments.

"I know you only think of her..." Maureen Paused to gauge his reaction yet none, so she continued.

"You only think of her, I... I mean she's dead for God's sake. And it's been years that silly incident happened_" She was cut short from her speech when Bernard turned towards her and spoke in the best intimidating tone he had.

"Don't ever .... Speak of h..her memory like that! Ever again" He pointed towards her with disgust.

Maureen sighed, "So you speak?... Wow, that's nice to know."

"You only speak when it's about Cecilia" She spat her name with venom.

"DON'T EVER MENTION HER NAME AGAIN!!!! Do you hear me?!!..." He started panicking yet Maureen kept on with her tease.

"Oh does it bring up old memories? Mmh? I'd love to help you bring up old memories so we can finally deal with it!."

"I know you loved your wife Cecilia but she's dead! DEAD!! And let the dead bury themselves."

She stood up and paced about in fury.

Bernard was already hyperventilating and tried to stop Maureen from rambling.

"Gawd! All my life I've wished for a husband who'd love me and care for me but no. All I get is the first man I married wanted a son so badly that I had to remove my seeds and eventually became barren. Now you?!" she said pointing at the already hyperventilating man.

Bernard clutched his chest instinctively trying to relieve some of the aches he felt but it wasn't helping.

"Don't even see me as human. You don't eat the food I cook! Surely your precious daughter does everything for you eh?" She laughed sardonically.

"All you do is just sit down there and reminisce over your dead wife. When will you ever get it into your thick skull that she's never coming back to you so move on!!! Damn it!!!!" She kicked the stool beside the bed that which made a loud noise that added more fuel to the fire.

Bernard fell from his chair onto the tiled floor that was when Maureen stopped her rant and rushed to his side.

"Bernard!!!" she called fearfully.

"Please wake up? Bernard?" She shook him yet no response. Then Maureen screamed and rushed downstairs.

She met Sophia on the way who heard the scream and ran up immediately.

"What's the matter?" She asked Maureen.

"Oh God, oh God!, oh my God!!" She kept on chanting.

"WHAT is the matter!!!" Sophia yelled.

"Y...your..your father" She swallowed and continued... "Your... " Sophia interrupted her incoherent words by rushing past her to her Fathers room and found him lifeless on the floor.

Sophia fell beside him lifting him onto her laps and shook him.

"Dad!" She called with a soft voice trying to hold in the tears in her eyes.

"Daddy? Dad... Please its m..me Sophia.

It's going to be alright okay just hold on"

she rocked him to and fro.

She yelled at her stepmother. "Maureen call the ambulance now!!!."

Maureen rush to the scene. "I already called the ambulance, they are on their way" She replied.

Sophia nodded and kept on rocking her father to and fro and chanting inaudible words in his ear.

Maureen was going crazy. In her mind, she made up stories to tell the police and Sophia.

She knew if anything happened to Bernard that she'd be locked up.

So she took her chances and made up stories in her sneaky lying mind.

Finally, when the ambulance came, Bernard was saddled into the car while Maureen and Sophia joined him at the hospital. He was taken into the intensive care unit immediately.

It was later in the day that the police called Maureen and asked what happened.

"I... Oh God," She cried while wiping her tears with a handkerchief which one of the policemen gave her. Once she realized their kind gesture and the pitiful looks on their faces, she fed wholly on their gullibility and the lies rolled off smoothly from her tongue.

"We were just talking usually as husband and wife then he started talking about his dead wife. I... I tried to stop him from digging into the past but he was adamant. Oh dear lord, I should have done better" She shook her head at the memory then continued.

"He started panicking and ..and I tried to calm him down but he fell off the chair and that's when I screamed for help" More tears fell from her eyes and she cried before them.

They consoled her and left her to wait for her husband alongside Sophia in the waiting room.

One and a half-hour later the doctors and some nurses came out of the unit with a sour faces, Sophia started to panic.

"Mrs. Moore, your husband had a cardiac arrest and was on the verge of death when he was brought here and we tried our best....."

"Oh God here comes the cliche rehearsed words they say to soothe you before the real bomb," Sophia thought while she zoned out.

She was thrown back to reality by someone's loud heart-wrenching screams. She jerked and turned around in the direction of the noise and found her step mum on the floor screaming.

Sophia was confused, the nurses were onto her mum who refused to be consoled that was when it dawned on her that her daddy was gone.

She sat back down on the hospital chair and zoned out with fresh hot tears streaming down uncontrollably...