Must Read: The Cartel (18+)

7 years ago

Must Read: The Cartel (18+)

JADE

“Thanks” She replied Ima’s compliment about her tattoo. Then moving over to the bedside mirror, she sat down on the seat Ima sat on in the morning, only this time she began adjusting her hair while looking at her reflection. “But I don’t really like it.” She then added, seeing Ima approaching her.
“Why? It’s beautiful” She asked her. At this point, Ima’s voice sounded unsure in her ears.
“Everyone who sees it thinks admits it beautiful. But I’ll rather not have any ink on my skin. And that’s why only a handful of people have ever seen it. She said as Ima picked her comb and began combing and adjusting her hair for her.
“So why then did you do it? I believe you weren’t forced?” Ima asked
“Literally no, technically yes.” She said
“I don’t understand?” Ima replied sounding honest
“It’s a long story. Wouldn’t wanna bore you” She replied
“For you I’ve got all day. So tell me” She insisted and reassured her she wanted to hear whatever her story was
“The only people I’ve come to know as parents or family aren’t my biological parents and family” She said as their eyes met in the mirror. She could see Ima wanted to say something, but stopped obviously because nothing came out as she looked away.
“It’s ok. As a matter of fact, besides the people who already know this even before me, you’re the first person I’ll be telling this myself. I just feel ok to finally tell the little I think I know of my story” She said in trying to reassure Ima she was ok talking about it and didn’t really need the sympathy Ima was trying to give her right then.

“I understand sunshine” Ima said calmly.
“So if you look at the tattoo closely, you’ll notice that there’s an inscription IMJ engraved within. Obviously my parent or whoever it was that dumped me in front of my (adopted) parents house must have given me that as a form of identification or so” She began, just as she saw Ima looking closely at the tattoo while running a finger through the work of art.
“Ok!” Ima said so she could go on
“Perhaps they knew my parents had no child of their own and had been married for sometime and chose to leave me with them because I grew up as an only child. But a couple of years later, perhaps due to the fact that mom wasn’t thinking about her childlessness again and spent her time loving and raising me, she took in and had a set of twins. A boy and a girl. But before then, I realized I didn’t look like any of them facially but I took mom’s skin colour and nature.”
“For over seven or so years, I never knew I had a mark on my back. Mom would dress me up and all. And only when I’m fully dressed for school or church would i look at my reflection in the mirror, little girl style. Obviously she was trying to protect me from my inquisitive self because I’ll sire ask her questions.”
“But finally one day my nanny picked me from school, i got undressed and went about running around the house in my pants and socks. She chased me around and somehow i was standing in front of a mirror in mom’s room and started dancing. I think i tried to look at my small how i was shaking my backside when I noticed some markings on my back”.
“I screamed and ran out to her that something was on my back. She tried her best to convince me there was nothing but i would have none of it. I swore I saw “black writing” there. Mom came back and met me crying and asked why. She spent the next ten or fifteen shouting at my nanny that i stopped crying for the marks and started crying because of my crying nanny”
“It was years later mom told me i was never to be allowed without a dress on in front of the mirror and that she was scolding my nanny that afternoon because of what my reaction would be and them having to deal with “what” would follow” She said, emphasizing the “what” with a bracket gesture
“I would go on to check my back everyday and wasn’t convinced with dad and mom’s explanation that all first daughters in the family had the “IMJ” inscription on their backs. I had never seen it on mom before, but she told me it would disappear as i grew older”
“It never did. But i stopped asking questions because mom was never happy when i mentioned it and rebuked me severally”.
“Getting into boarding house, i always tried to cover up. One story or the other but finally two years or so years ago, i had a fight with Vivienne, because I had caught her molesting a junior student. She was stripped off her post as my assistant and suspended for two weeks. She confronted me when she got back and in the course of exchanging words with her, she called me a bastard. Saying stuffs about me being abducted and all”
“I didn’t let her finish and attacked her, leaving her with a broken nose. Long story short, i couldn’t believe what she said because she made reference to the inscription on my back as being left by my biological folks”
“My parents confirmed this and i became depressed. All these years I’ve been told a lie.

The people I know as parents aren’t actually mine. Lots of thoughts and i shut everyone especially my overtly protective mom out of my life. At the end i failed my SSCE and Vivienne moved forward. You already know the rest about I and her from there” She said looking at Ima’s reflection in the mirror.
“Yea. I do. Go on” Ima replied
“Exams came and went, I returned home,to face my fears.om wasn’t ready to talk about it. Dad would only say I’m his daughter, that’s all. He seemed to get angry my wanting to know was hurting mom. He loves her so much and not even me was/is allowed to make her sad. It’s not like I was actually interested in finding my biological “parents” or reuniting with them, I just wanted to know them. Know my story. But I had to let peace reign in the house,at least for a while. We went on a family vacation in Obudu. I enrolled for my French language lessons and things went back to normal in and around the house”
“About two months later, mom came into my room and asked me if I wanted to meet my biological parents. Since she was the one who approached me, I said yes gladly. Though I was scared at the same time. The look mom gave me was all I needed to know she wasn’t happy with my answer. Perhaps she felt I wasn’t grateful or appreciative of all what they had done for me.

All the love and attention, which is even obvious she took my welfare seriously as compared to the twins, her biological children, but yet I rejected her as my mother”
“At that point, I hugged her and told her reassuringly that she was indeed appreciated and loved by me. And that I actually consider myself lucky and blessed the day my mother or whoever decided to drop me at their door step. I told her I wasn’t thinking any less of them as my parents, but that I was only curious about my biological parents, wanted to see which of them I look like, and that I feel it’s my mum”
“I told her I just wanted to thank and if possible hug my mom for not dumping me on the streets, gutter, sewage or refuse dump like other unfortunate kids. But for bringing me to their household and not because I hoped or intended to develop some special bond or relationship with her ot them.”

“Perhaps I would have been hawking during school hours, a call girl or something worse if I had been raised by my biological parents”
“So the next day I went and got the butterfly tattoo over the “IMJ” inscription. When I got back and showed her, she almost fainted, asking why I would decide to carry a tattoo. But when I told her I didn’t want to be found by my mom again, she smiled and hugged me. She had done alot for me, so if that little sacrifice would confirm that I didn’t want to leave her, then why not.”
“So that’s why I said I really don’t like it, but just had to do it to make someone happy” She ended and looked into the mirror again only to see tears running down Ima’s eyes.
“Why are you crying?” She asked Ima smiling
“Oh.. I’m not.” Ima replied quickly looking away and walking away from her
“Yes you o” She insisted and turned around to look at Ima. “Seriously you don’t have to. I’m ok actually”
“Yea. You’re are” Ima said turning to look at her as she dried her eyes with her handkerchief “Just that you’ve been through alot at this young age. I was rejected by my parents too, though in a different circumstance.

So your story reminded me of mine.” She told her
She wanted to ask her to tell her her story, but she felt the Ima, just like her would tell at a time she considered appropriate or she felt in the mood to talk.
“So..To the pool?” She asked standing up
“Haa.. I’m already cold now. Not sure I can get into that water again. But I’ll meet you by the pool side” Ima said
“Don’t stay here too long. I’ll be waiting” She said as made her way out of the room.
“Yea. Make those guys heads turn in the meantime dear” She heard Ima say
“Hahahaha. I’m not that good o” She laughed and replied closing the door