Dedicated to Ebuglow ❤

•

Call unto me, and I will answer thee... --Jeremiah 33:3a (KJV)

As soon as Tayo walked out of the study, he released the breath he didn't know he had been holding. He needed space, time but he wasn't sure if he wanted to think about the ramifications of what this revelation meant. 

It hadn't been easy just sitting and listening to all his parents had to say. But there had been a light moment when his father had said the word progeny and he remembered when Posi had said the same. 

A light moment indeed. 

He stalked to the living room and sat. Everyone had gone to bed. He knew he needed to get some sleep too but his mind was too cluttered and disorganized to settle down for sleep. 

With his head in his hands, he called on the One he knew he needed. 

Abba, Father. 

One word, one call that was pregnant with all the feelings, words, emotions he couldn't put a name to. He didn't want to sink into what he was feeling. He had been there, he had done that. And it wasn't a good place to be. 

He did the only thing he knew how to: he prayed. 

*******

Tayo jerked into consciousness suddenly as if he had just woken up from a nightmare. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the room. He was still seated in one of the chairs in the room. He checked the wall clock and noted the time was about 2 a.m.

He had prayed but his heart still felt heavy. Maybe, just maybe he hadn't dropped his burdens a hundred percent. His mind was moving at the speed of light as he tried to think about what this meant for him.

He, at the age of 33, just discovered that he was adopted. This meant he wasn't of royal blood and thankfully, he wasn't the first son. 

Or any son of this family, for that matter. 

He didn't have a birth family either. He didn't know if his grandaunt was still alive. What of his birth father? Would he still be welcome in this family? Should he tell his siblings? What of his friends? 

And most of all, who was he?

He didn't have a place he could trace back to as his family line any more. As his thoughts rammed into each other, with no answer to any, he began to question who he had always believed himself to be. 

Yes, he had always had a reservation about telling people he was a Sijuade but he hadn't expected that the reason behind that, whether he was aware of it or not, would be this intense. Now, it felt like everything he had believed was a lie. 

Stop. Just stop. He felt and heard a part of himself shout. He didn't need thoughts like these. If anything, he needed to be grateful. He knew it. It was just taking a while for it to sink in.

He needed more sleep and more praying. He dragged himself off the sofa and walked towards his bedroom. He hoped GP was in Gerald's room tonight. He really couldn't deal with his questions yet. 

Thankfully, he wasn't. He saw his phone blinking on his nightstand but turned away from it. He would deal with every other thing in the morning.

For now, he needed sleep. 

*******

Posi yawned again as she went about putting her box together. It was Monday and time for then to go back to their lives. She couldn't deny it. She had had a fun time with the royal family. They were so warm and welcoming that she felt like she had known everyone for a long time. 

Funmi's beautiful voice could be heard from the bathroom as she passionately belted out Hillsong's I Am Who You Say I Am. She hummed along to the song, grateful to God for making her his own. 

Her mind replayed what had happened or hadn't happened the previous night. Something was going on with Tayo and she didn't know what it was. They had all stayed in the living room till about midnight. When they didn't see his parents or Tayo himself come to the living room, they all decided to go to bed. She had given GP his phone to leave in his bedroom before she left for bed. It had taken a while before she could sleep for worry about what was happening with Tee. But one thing she was learning was that worry didn't solve anything. 

"I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who You say I am…," Funmi sang with dangerous riffs and runs as she sashayed into the room, with arm movements that could rival that of a conductor of an orchestra.

"When will you drop a hot EP for us?" she said seriously with a bit of teasing. 

"When you people are ready for the heat," she replied. They both burst into laughter. "Anyways, I don't have a release to do that yet. When it's time, I will know and you'll be the first to hear about it."

"You mean I will be the first to hear about it after Gerald, yeah?"

Funmi gasped then said, "You are smart."

Posi shook her head at her friend's antics. "I don't know what I'm doing with you. Seriously."

"But you love me still. Don't worry, you're doing well."

They continued to pack their bags in silence before Funmi spoke up again. "So, do you have any idea what yesterday was about?"

"No, I don't. He hasn't replied any of the chats, both the ones I sent privately and ours on the group page. I just hope all is well."

"Hopefully, he'll tell us today and if not, we'll wait till he does." Funmi sat on her box as she tried to zip it up. 

"Ahn ahn. Did you buy more things?"

"Uhn?" Funmi had her puzzled look on like she didn't know what she was talking about.  

"You did? When did you even have time to buy things?"

"Well, remember when we stopped by that mall after church."

"Yes."

"Well, Adetutu helped me get some things. I needed them."

With her brows raised, Posi asked, "And I'm sure Gerald already knows about your shopping tendencies?"

Funmi shrugged and Posi scoffed. 

They heard a knock on their door. "Come in."

They saw Tutu's head first before she entered. She looked around the room and pouted sadly. "You are really leaving today?"

Posi and Funmi looked at each other before Posi replied. "Yes, we have to because of work."

"Hmm. Okay. I will have to come to visit you in Lagos."

"Of course. You are welcome to stay at mine," Posi said and she was rewarded with an ear to ear grin. 

"Anyways, mum says you guys must have breakfast before you leave. So."

"Okay. We will be down in a moment."

"Alright," Adetutu replied as she skipped out of the room. 

"She's such a happy child," Funmi commented. 

"I know, right. Let's finish up so we can join the family for breakfast. The Last Breakfast." Posi winked. 

Funmi snickered mischievously. "Hopefully not, especially if you became a daughter-in-law."

Posi had obviously had it with her friend. She flicked her forehead and shook her head amusedly. "Sha let's go."

*********

The breakfast atmosphere was tense, especially around the king, two queens and Tayo. Tayo was smiling but not his usual blind-me-with-your-shinning-teeth smile. More like a perfunctory one. 

Posi tried to catch his attention from her spot opposite him, but he was adamant on staring at his plate of scrambled eggs like he was viewing them under a microscopic lens. The few times he looked in her direction, he gave her that bland smile and continued to push his food around on his plate. 

Even the conversation around the table seemed to just go over his head. Posi noticed his parents also had that faraway look in their eyes. 

When breakfast was over, she saw Prince Adekunle talking to Tayo. She seemed to think she had developed supernatural hearing abilities over the night as she tried to read their lips and hear what they were talking about. 

"Pawsii," Adebisi cried for her attention. 

"Yes, baby." She placed him on her lap as she sat. 

"Don't go home. Stay," he cried again. His lower lip was already wobbling and his eyes held a sheen of tears. Olori Ariyike laughed from where she was seated. 

"Posi has taken my son away from me," she lamented with a sigh, making everyone laugh.

Adebisi turned his teary glare on them which only made them laugh the more. 

"I'll come to visit you, okay?" Posi tried to placate him. 

He folded his arms and looked at her dubiously as if he had been told that same line several times and had been disappointed one too many times.

"I promise," she tried again. 

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise." She rubbed his cheeks and hugged him. 

"Okay. I love you."

Everyone in the living room went awwwww as they watched the two of them. 

"Okay. It's time to go," GP announced. 

All their bags had already been placed in the car which was waiting at the entrance so they stood to leave. 

The king spoke first. "Thank you so much for coming to celebrate with me. I hope to see more of you. Friends of Adekiitan are family to us."

"Thank you, Kabiyesi," the four being addressed replied in various pitches. 

They took turns exchanging hugs with the queens and siblings, as they promised to keep in touch. Even Adebisi was smiling at Posi and waved enthusiastically at her. 

Queen Aderonke moved towards her again to hug her as she whispered in her ears, "Please, watch out for Adekiitan. He will need his friends now, more than ever."

She didn't know what to say to that except, "Okay, ma." The queen held her hands a bit longer, patted them before letting her go. Her words just served to reinforce the worry that something was indeed wrong with Tayo. 

Posi watched as Tayo walked slowly towards his parents to hug them and bid them goodbye. It was nothing like when they came on Friday though. His mum pressed a large brown envelope into his hands and he stood still for several minutes before he looked around.

He gave the keys to GP and asked if he could just sit without driving. His excuse was that he didn't sleep well the previous night. Everyone got into their seats, giving him the back seat so he could get the rest he needed. GP in the driver's seat and Gerald beside him, while Funmi and Posi sat together. 

They all glanced at each other but said nothing. If he said he needed sleep and didn't want to talk, then they would let him but not for long. 

********

Tayo was grateful that his friends just let him be. He knew he needed to explain his actions but he wasn't ready. Posi had tried to get his attention, but he couldn't meet her eyes. 

He was even surprised at himself and how calmly he was handling the situation. Well, he was different now.

After breakfast, when his brother had called him aside to speak to him, he knew his second mum would have told him what was going on but he just told him that he was fine. His brother had made him promise to call when he was ready to. He had even told him that he would come to his place a day or two before he had to return to London. 

Greeting his parents and siblings goodbye had felt too final for him. But there was nothing he could do to stop the feeling. He knew what was in the brown envelope and he felt the pull to open it but he wasn't ready for the emotions he knew awaited him once he opened it, especially with his friends in the car. 

He sat at the last row in the car as he watched his friends keep their voices and conversation to a minimum because he had said he wanted to sleep. He was sure they knew it wasn't sleep he wanted and he was glad they left it at that, at least for now. 

*******

They arrived in Lagos at about 7:30 p.m and dropped off Gerald and Funmi first. They thanked Tayo, who was now awake, for the weekend and promised to call. 

Next, it was Posi. Tayo alighted along with her and helped her with her box after she waved goodbye to GP. As soon as they got to the entrance to her apartment, Posi stopped him with a hand on his arm. 

"Hey. Are you okay? You've not been yourself since last night."

He cleared his throat first and gave her those quarter-hearted smiles he had been dishing out since that morning. "Yeah. Something happened." He stopped her before she could ask what. "But I'm not ready to talk about it. Not yet. You can just add me to your prayer list."

She stared at him for a while before she said, "You've been on it for a while."

His smile increased to a half-hearted one. 

"Okay. If you say so. But take care of yourself. I'll see you later," she continued as he nodded. 

"Now, go home and rest. My regards to GP."

They exchanged a hug. "Alright. See you."

As he turned to go, Posi wondered just what could have dimmed his smile so much. Even his stride felt like he was dragging himself. All she could do was pray for him like he had asked. And that wasn't too much to ask.  

******

As Tayo walked into the living room, his eyes fell on the frames Posi had given him for his birthday. It held one of the pictures he had taken during his photoshoot, in which he was dressed in full white traditional attire. Beside that frame was the framed message which said:

"A royal priesthood made in the image
And the likeness of God.
As a king to rule, making decrees
And as a priest to utter groanings.
Not to keep silent;
Accepting what life throws."**

He read it aloud to himself. Well, he was no longer of royal blood. He turned to go to his room before GP stopped him. 

"I'm here when you're ready to talk."

He looked at his friend and tried to smile. "Thank you. I'm going to bed."

He'd talk to him when he was ready but for now, he needed to come to terms with all the chunks of information that had been dropped on him like a sack of potatoes. 

Lord, help me. He prayed wordlessly as he dragged himself up the stairs.

Olori Aderonke couldn't keep the tears at bay anymore as she watched the car drive out of the palace. The finality of the moment was too much to handle. Adekunle walked to her and hugged her. 

"It will be fine, mum. I'll talk to him before I leave next week."

"Egbon mii, please take it easy. He just needs time. Everything will be fine. Soon," Olori Ariyike added. 

Olori Aderonke nodded as they all walked back into the palace. She really hoped everything would be fine like they said. She really hoped so. 

**********************************

P.S: ** Read the original and full poem here:
https://my.w.tt/cTNzDPQkucb