Life was sailing relatively well for Folakemi. She'd delivered her baby. It was a beautiful female child who resembled her very much. After gazing at her brown orbs for a long time, Folakemi couldn't think of any other befitting name than 'Cassandra.' The name gave the feel of a gorgeous girl worth more than gold and as fragile as an egg.

Folake was also happy because David was finally in good condition. She had him beneath her grasp now and didn't have to worry about his whereabouts anymore. It felt liberating to have been able to figure out a way around such a challenging situation. Peace at last!

Or so she thought.

Folake was changing her newborn's diapers when the door of the room slammed open, hitting the wall with a thud. Kelvin had stormed into the room with a walkie-talkie in his hand. His sudden, thunderous appearance did not only startle Folakemi to her soul. The sleeping baby in the cot was also frightened, and she expressed her fear by crying loudly, injecting the air with more apprehension.

Folake suspended her activity and stood upright when she saw Kelvin. She was not only frightened by his sudden presence, but now she was also furious.

"Kelvin! What's your problem?! You just woke my baby! It was so hard to get her to sleep!"

"You and your stupid son are the ones who are supposed to wake from their silly delusions!" He fired, making his voice even louder than his appearance from a few moments ago.

He raised the walkie-talkie he was holding into the air for demonstration so Folake could see clearly. "Yesterday, I got a call from the principal of one Elexer College or whatever it is called. And I could hardly believe what he was telling me!" Kelvin moved closer to his wife like a wolf ready to devour. Like prey, Folake was frightened by her husband's approaching steps. She cowered and took a few steps backward, not quite as bold anymore.

She was scared for what he may do to her now that he'd found out. But it was more than that.

"He told me that David was harassing a student of the school who he believed to be Sindara! Can you imagine that?!" 

"What?!" Folake's jaw dropped, utterly astonished by the news herself. She'd thought this was only about what she'd done in secret, but this information pulled at the strings of her heart lethally: hearing that her son was acting crazy in school and harassing a female when she'd persuaded him to continue schooling with hopes that he'd become a better person.

"What is 'what'? How can you even ask that question when you went behind my back and your children's backs to look for David and enroll him in a different school so no one would find out? Where did you even get the money to pay his fees? You were willing to spend money on that murderer, and that makes you a delusional wench, Folakemi! For deeming that psychopath boy worthy of education!"

"Don't talk about my son like that, Kelvin! You are the one who should be ashamed of yourself. What does it speak of you as a parent that I had to enroll David secretly into another school just because his life is at a potential danger of your wrath if he lives under the same roof as you? That only makes you a gross monster, Kelvin! The fact that you've refused to understand that David made a mistake and refused to forgive him is truly baffling to me! How can you not care for your seed?!"

Folake spat back, her eyes glossy with forlorn moisture. Kelvin couldn't find the words to throw back at his wife, so he stared, mute. His ego was bruised and battered. Eventually, the silence broke, but neither Kelvin nor Folakemi were the breakers.

"Mom, So you knew where David was all this while? and you watched Alexander get sick from missing David without letting him or any of us see him?"

Startled, Folake tore her gaze away from her husband, looking sideways till her eyes landed on her firstborn, Yemisi, who was standing by the doorway, her mouth agape. All along, she'd been standing there, absorbing all of the absurdity in the information that was passed across. Folake's eyes dropped. She wished so badly that her daughter didn't have to overhear this conversation.

"Yemisi, I didn't do this with ill intention. I hope you can understand—"

"No, Mom!" Yemisi's voice was hoarse because they contained a queue of emotions, ready to flood through the gathering wetness in her eyes. "What you did was so wrong! You aren't the only one who loves David or holds him dearly to your heart. If you had brought him home upon finding him, we would have had his back against Dad's opposition. After all, Dad is the only person who hates David. What's the chance of Dad winning against four people who have a pure, unadulterated love for David?"

Folake closed her eyes tightly for a second. She was frustrated. Yemisi clearly did not understand her desperation. She wasn't present at Obalende Avenue on the day she had to make that uncomfortable compromise. Yemisi didn't understand that if Folakemi hadn't done what she did on that day, she would have lost David forever.

Even if Yemisi found David later on, she wouldn't have been able to convince him to come home or found a way to keep him close In the manner that she had done. Yemisi had no idea what it meant to be a mother — a desperate one that longed for the wellness of her child.

Yet, now that Yemisi said those words, lashing out bitterly, with so much anguish in her facial expressions, Folakemi felt like a fool for what she had done. Her compromise felt like a waste — a deal with no benefits whatsoever; a lose-lose situation. What was the essence of doing that if it would cost this unbearable pain that she could see on her daughter's face right now?

She had been selfish and had refused to look at the bigger picture. It was indeed punishment to her other children to have put their lives on pause, hoping vainly for the day David would return home, when she knew perfectly well, where David was. That realization alone made her desperation as a mother lose its defense. The sentiments and intentions behind her actions suddenly didn't matter anymore. She'd done wrong to her children.

Kelvin, on the other hand, was furious and embarrassed by the fact that Yemisi had ridiculed him like that and didn't take his side. His chest swole, and he breathed out in a flustered manner.

"The two of you are such foolish females! God! I'm out of here!" he remarked before storming out of the room, pushing Folakemi aside in the process. Her side collided harshly with the cot, and it took a few minutes to get her posture straight. Otherwise, her baby would have been hurt.

Yemisi, who'd been standing by the door, walked away too, shaking her head in disappointment. After a few minutes of tears and reflection, Folakemi braced herself up after weeping. She tied the hem of her wrapper firmly around her waist and made her way out of the house to see her son. Before stepping out of the house, Folakemi looked back at her baby in the cot and made a mental note to return as soon as possible.

***

When Folakemi got to The Elixir College, the school's premises were empty. It was probably quarter past four — qclosing time. Hence why she could barely spot any students in the corridor or anywhere else. She decided to take a quick walk around, though, just in case she'd meet anyone at all. Then she saw a housekeeper coming out of one of the school's toilets with a mop bucket in hand.

"Good evening," Folakemi greeted the short woman.

"Good evening, madam," the housekeeper replied, eyeing Folakemi from head to toe. She studied her appearance to categorize her outlook into one of those numerous stereotypes.

"Abeg, where is the hostel of this school? You fit show me the way?" Folake asked in a tone heavy with urgency, and the keeper got the message.

"Okay, madam. Just go straight down. You will see one big blue bungalow. Na the hostel be that. Shey na boy abi na girl—"

"Thank you, madam!" Folakemi answered, already sprinting her way through the school's surroundings before the housekeeper could get another complete sentence out of her mouth.

As she journeyed through, trepidation traveled even faster down her nerves and questions through her mind. Would she be able to keep her emotions at bay if she laid her eyes on her son? How would she even be able to talk to him? She was already so heartbroken from the news she'd heard. How much more David? What must he be feeling right now?

Folakemi had no inkling, and the blurry fog of cluelessness hovering over her heart troubled her like thunder and rain, sizzling down with drops and drops of panic. And she needed an umbrella as soon as possible — the umbrella in this situation being the answer to all her questions and the calm to her anxiety. She could only get that protection if she saw her son. Hence, she could not wait.

Finally, when she arrived at the vast blue bungalow that the housekeeper had talked about, she dashed in and found herself in a reception with a corporately dressed man standing behind a desk. His mouth was wide open in shock from Folake's barging in.

"How may I help you, ma'am?" the receptionist shifted his crescent-shaped spectacles to sit nicely on the bridge of his nose. Folakemi's countenance effortlessly made him nervous as well.

"My son! I'm here to see my son! His name is David. David Williams. He's a new student. Please, what's his room number?! Take me to his room right now!" Folake slammed her hand against the wooden desk.

"Oh, oh okay," the receptionist licked his lips. "W-well, the thing is parents are not allowed to step into the rooms in this hostel, and even if you want to, you have to apply at the office of—"

"Look, I don't care for rules right now! I need to see my son now. If you don't let me in while I ask politely, I might as well cause a scene within the next five seconds!"

"Okay, okay. I'll fetch him right away, ma. Just give me a moment, ma," the receptionist said after contemplating for a while how uncouth of a sight it would be if this strange woman were to cause an actual scene right now. It would be worse than losing his job because he disobeyed a rule that could easily be amended.

While he left Folakemi to wait, he ran as fast as he could, the sole of his shoes almost colliding with the back of his head.

Five minutes later, the receptionist returned, frightened for the news he was about to relay to Folakemi. Folakemi, on the other hand, had already taken notice of his countenance, and she felt her shoulders sag. It was about to be something very negative. She breathed heavily, wondering if she could take any more loss.

The receptionist dropped the bomb anyway — irrespective of whether she was ready for it or not.

"David, your son, is not in his room right now, madam. A-also ma'am, His things are missing. I didn't see his luggage, and the corner of his bed space is vacant - no bed sheet or pillows whatsoever."