PERFECT FAMILY

Favour looked up and down the corridor, before stepping out of the room. She walked briskly towards the exits carrying a light bundle. She didnt know what she was doing, or why or anything for that matter. she had made the decision without a thought.

She breathed a sigh or relief, when she got out of the building without any incident. She hailed a cab, and got in. Maybe, just maybe today was her lucky day.





"What are you talking about? My wife can't be dead.....when I left here she was awake. She was feeding the baby." Mr. Akan screamed at the doctors.

"Sir please calm down" one doctor said.

"Calm down? They were supposed to be discharged tomorrow and you are telling me to calm down? What would happen to I and the baby? How I'm I supposed to take care of the baby?" He continued.
"Ehm. There is another thing" the senior doctor said uncertainly.
"What thing Dr. Jude? What thing?" Mr. Akan asked, looking from one uncertain face to the other. Then it dawned on him that it was unnecessary for four doctors to be there just to inform him of his wife'e death.
"This has never happened before, but uhm sir we cannot find your baby. Your baby is missing" Dr.Jude said.
Mr. Akan burst into hilarious laughter.



Semi pushed her trolley down the aisle slowly. She was a meticulous shopper. She looked through her list, which her baby was trying to grab. She had to joggle keeping him from fretting in his front carrier and shopping. This made her slower than usual. She bumped into a trolley coming in front of her, and looked up to apologise. The woman behind the trolley was also smiling apologetically. She had a baby strapped to her chest also.
"I am so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Semi said.
"Neither was I my dear. My baby has been struggling with my list" the pretty lady said.
"Same here. How many months is your baby?" Semi asked.
"He was born on 19th February. He is seven months old" she replied.
"Wow what a coincidence. I gave birth on 19th February too" Semi gushed.
The women stood there for a few seconds exchanging baby stories and gushing, before they continued with their shopping.
"Twins..... I definitely want twins" she thought.


Temi strapped her son in his car seat, then went to unload her shopping cart into the boot of her car. She closed her boot, and came into the driver's seat. She looked through the rear view mirror to give her baby the usual smile, his car seat was empty. Semi screamed.


The boys lay in their play pen babbling. Their mother was by the counter mixing dough. Once in a while she turned towards them and picked up whatever they had thrown out of the play pen. The kitchen was an untidy mess, that is if you consider it a kitchen. The only part of the kitchen that looked habitable was the playpen. There was an insane amount of toys littered around, some still in their packets. The boys were obviously well taken care of, judging from their robust and healthy appearance.

The woman by the counter looked out of place in the untidy environment. She had on a knee length gown, and her hair and makeup were flawless. One of the boys began wailing, and she went to the pen and picked him up patting his back and softly cooing. She picked up a front sling and strapped the  baby to her. Then she continued with her dough singing softly to the baby.



Semi sat in the quiet nursery, starring into space. She focused her mind on her son, his smile, his cries. He has different cries; the I'm hungry cry, the cry for a diaper change, hey I'm awake cry and her favourite the I want my mummy cry. Tears rolled down her cheek. It has been almost six months since he was abducted, his birthday was a week ago, and no trace of her baby had been found. Laye walked in on his wife seated in the nursery as usual.
"You have to stop this Semi...... you can't continue like this. Please" he said to her sitting beside her.
Semi turned around and lay her head on his chest and they sat quietly together.
"You know what we went through before we could have a baby.... why does this have to happen to us? Why would someone take away my baby? Why?" Semi asked suddenly. Laye looked on forlorn, having asked himself the same question over and over in the past months.

The police had no leads. It was like their baby vanished into thin air. Semi slowly stood up, and held her hand out for her husband.
"You must have had a tiring day, come and have your dinner" she said pulling him up.




Favour pushed the stroller down the lane in the park, eliciting stares and smiles from other people in the park. She and her kids always had that effect on people. They looked perfect, a happy family. Her boys were strong and healthy, and all that was missing was a father. Favour stopped in her tracks.
"No... never think about that....you have all you need. You are happy" she chided herself aloud to the bemusement of a man sitting nearby.She continued pushing the stroller.

"Madam... your children are so handsome" a young girl said watching the boys play in sandbox.

"Thank you" Favour replied beaming proudly.
"Please would you take a picture of me?" the young girl asked, holding out her phone.
"Sure" Favour said.



The boys had deprived her of sleep that night. She had been up all night tending to them. They were not ill, so Favour wondered why they had been such a bother. Maybe they had a flaw after all. If they repeated it, she would have to get rid of them like the others. She needed a perfect family, she had a perfect family. She was late for work, she had never been late for work in her life.


Two weeks later, Semi was going through her bbm, when she noticed her little cousin's display picture. Her cousin was a very pretty girl, although she thought she was rakishly thin. She scrolled up, when something in the background caught her eyes. Two little boys, sitting in a sandbox. Semi smiled and took a closer look. Her heart beat faster, as she zoomed in on the picture. The boy looked like her son, but he obviously wasn't. She muttered to herself, wondering if she was ever going to overcome her loss.

Days later, her cousin was in her house and soon enough the discussion stirred in the direction of that display picture. She listened intently as she was told.of the beautiful women and her boys. Semi had a thought niggling in her mind, she just couldn't shake off the feeling. When her husband came home that day, she discussed it with him.
"But you can't keep going after any child of that age, hoping he would be our child" he said.
"I know.... but I just have a feeling.... It's a park, I just need to see" Semi replied.
"The woman has twins" Laye responded.
"Nonidentical.... what if my suspicions all along have been right? What if it's that woman from the mall?"
"I know I cannot stop you, but this is bringing back the hurt again and again"
"Please... I just need to know" Semi pleaded.



Semi sat on the bench by the sand box. The weather looked like it was going to rain. This was the fourth day she had been coming to this park and she had seen many children, none of them hers. She had decided to come one more time, so she sat there hoping.
From a distance she saw the woman pushing the twin stroller. She matched the description her cousin had given, but the stroller was a different colour. Semi:s heart began beating faster. She forced herself to remain seated and she adjusted her glasses. Laye was supposed to pick her up, she looked at her wrist watch and prayed he came right now.


The woman approached, and like a creature of habit went to the bench and sat down. She fussed over one of the babies, as the other was fast asleep. Semi watched, trying to look like she wasn't. She brought out her phone and sent her husband a text.


Laye hurried through the park toward the sandbox. He had received his wife's text just as he drove into the parking lot. He didnt want her frightening an innocent woman and her children. He caught sight of the woman from afar, but she had only one baby he slowed his pace. Getting to where his wife sat, he joined her on the bench.
"It's her... It's the woman from the mall" Semi whispered.
"I am glad you are here. I didn't want to break my promise by confronting her...but I am certain" she continued.
"Are you sure?" Laye asked her.
"Yes definitely. I have never forgotten a single thing about that day"
"Well we have to tread carefully... Let me call the police"
"The police? That's my baby and you are talking about the police?"
"Yes... This is a serious accusation we are about to make. " With that, he got up and moved a little way farther.



Favour felt uneasy. She looked at the couple seated on the bench. They seemed to be having an argument. She didn't feel comfortable. She picked up the boy, and strapped him into his stroller. His brother was still asleep. She rose to leave.


"She is leaving" Semi said agitatedly.
"Let her go a little further, we would follow her" Laye responded
"How can you be this calm? That woman stole my baby.... Our baby"
"Listen to me... calm down.... If that is our son, we would know soon enough"




They trailed the woman to a rundown neighbourhood. Semi sat in the car, watching her husband talking to a police man. She couldnt believe what was happening. she wondered what was happening to her baby inside that house. The house didnt look habitable. It looked like it was going to topple over at any moment.
Few minutes later, more policemen arrived and Laye joined her in the car.


Favour sat down very still, looking at the detective in front of her.
"So are you going to tell us why you stole the baby?" the detective asked.
"That is my baby. They are both mine" Favour shrieked.
"We would know soon enough... We have sent out dna samples for tests. But you better confess"
Favour didn't say any further word.  The detective walked out of the room slamming the door.

Semi was overjoyed, the dna reports had proved her right. She hugged her son, who looked at her with wonder. She had never been as happy as she was at that moment. The detective walked into the room, holding more sheets of paper.

"The other baby is not hers either" he said.Semi gasped in shock. He went on to tell them the most shocking story they had ever heard.


Favour Dumas had been married to her late husband Freddy. They were married for six years without a child. Favour was a nurse, and her husband a doctor. They ran all the tests possible, which showed that they were both ok. In the seventh year of their marriage, Favour took in and had a son, they were ecstatic.

One year later, they planned a birthday party for their son and invited all their friends. On their way to the venue, they had a car crash and her son and husband died. Favour survived and was in a hospital for months. When her wounds healed, she had to be transferred to a psyche institute where she stayed for three years before escaping.

That was eight years ago, no one knows how may babies she had abducted, and the police are still trying to trace the parents of the other baby.



LIFE IS A CHOICE MY FRIENDS
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID

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