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Once upon a time, in the beautiful village of Kunata, there lived a man named Ope. Ope was married to his beautiful wife, Zuri and together they had a son named Kemi. For many years, Ope and Zuri lived happily. They were both traders who sold beautiful fabrics at the local market, and they loved each other so much.

When Kemi was 6 years old, Zuri learned that she was pregnant. When Zuri broke the good news of her pregnancy to Ope, they were thrilled. In the past years, Ope and Zuri had been trying to get pregnant but nothing worked.

To show his wife how excited he was about the pregnancy, Ope took good care of Zuri and didn’t allow her to do any hard chores around the house. From the first month of her pregnancy, Zuri was treated like a queen. Even her best friend, Oge, would go to her house to take good care of her. 

“My friend, I am so excited for my pregnancy. I am happy that God has finally answered my prayers. I was very worried that Kemi would be an only child and he wouldn’t have anyone to play with,” Zuri said to her friend, Oge.

“My sister, I am happy as well. I am not even married, but I know what it feels like to pray about one thing for so long,” Oge said, “you’re a very lucky woman, eh. See the way your husband treats you like a queen. He doesn’t even let you cough in peace,” Oge added.

“Don’t mind him. He is just excited for our baby. You need to see the way he was petting me the other day,” Zuri said.

“You don’t need to tell me. I have even seen the way he looks at you. The man really loves you, and I pray that God will give me a husband like him one day,” Oge said.

“I know he will. You have been a very good friend to me since our secondary school days, and I know that God will reward you with a good man,” Zuri smiled.

“And he should be rich because I don’t want to suffer with any man. I need someone who is God fearing and already made,” Oge burst into laughter.

“Oge, correct Igbo babe, you don’t joke with money, eh?” Zuri teased her friend.

“I can’t joke o. My eyes are wide open. I will not suffer like my mother, please,” Oge laughed.

“Oya, what do you want to eat so I can prepare it for you before I return to my house?” Oge asked.

“If you can make me Egusi soup and pounded yam, I’ll be very grateful, and I’ll love you forever,” Zuri smiled.

“No problem, I will do whatever you want, but just know that your money is 20k,” Oge said before disappearing into the kitchen.

“Don’t worry, Ope will pay you,” Zuri laughed.

Some days after Oge left Zuri’s house, something terrible happened. That night, Zuri was on the bed sleeping when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen, and when she got out of bed to use the bathroom, she realized that she was bleeding heavily.

When Ope saw that Zuri was bleeding, he rushed her to the hospital. Luckily for them, nothing had happened to the baby, but that was just the beginning of their problems.

“Babe, what happened? I left the house as soon as Ope called me,” Oge said as soon as she saw Zuri.

“Ah! Ah! Oge, you didn’t have to come. It’s 4 in the morning; you should have at least waited until dawn,” Zuri said.

“I should wait until dawn while my best friend is lying on a hospital bed? God forbid,” Oge said, ” Please tell me that the baby is fine,” Oge added.

“Yes, the doctor said the baby is fine, but she also said that I’ll have a very complicated pregnancy and might experience bleeding like that periodically,” Zuri said in said tone.

“God forbid, your pregnancy will not be complicated. You will give birth safely, and you and your baby will be in good health,” Oge said.

“Amen,” Zuri said.

“So, when will you be discharged?” Oge asked.

“I don’t know yet. The doctor didn’t say anything about that,” Zuri answered.

“That’s not a problem. As long as you’re here, your husband and I will take good care of you,” Oge said. Once it’s morning, I will go back home and cook you a nice pot of chicken pepper soup,” Oge added.

“Make it goat meat pepper soup. I have been craving that for a while now,” Zuri said.

“No problem. Just be good, and I will take care of the rest,” Oge said.

For the remainder of that morning, Oge spent it gisting with Zuri, and when Zuri eventually slept off around 7 a.m, she left for the market.

Two days later, Zuri was discharged from the hospital. However, less than two weeks after returning home, the same thing happened again, and Ope had to take her back to the hospital. This time around, Zuri did not remain there for long; she was discharged the next day.

Sadly, that wasn’t the last time Zuri bled. As time passed, Zuri fell very sick and began to bleed often. In the third month of her pregnancy, she couldn’t even move around the house without support. In fact, things got so bad that Ope had to buy a wheelchair for her because she could barely stand on her own or do anything on her own.

“Oge, please talk to your friend for me. I have tried to convince her but she will not listen to me. I do not want to lose her, please,” Ope said to Oge.

That day, Ope had invited Oge to the house because he wanted her to convince Zuri to abort the pregnancy.

“This pregnancy has taken so much from us. Your friend is no longer the cheerful person she used to be. She has become a shadow of herself because she is always in pain. Even her doctor has advised her to abort this pregnancy, but she is too stubborn,” Ope said.

I will talk to her and I hope she listens to me. By God’s grace, we will not lose her,” Oge said.

“Where is she now?” Oge asked.

“She is sleeping in the living room. You can talk to her when she wakes up,” Ope said. I’m heading to the shop now. Please, I’d really appreciate it if you could stay with her until I return home. I don’t want her to stay alone,” Ope added.

“That’s fine. I will. My schedule is free today,” Oge said.

“Thank you very much,” Ope said before driving off.

While Oge and Ope were discussing outside the house, they had no idea that Zuri had woken up, and she saw them talking.

“Did Ope invite you to come and convince me to abort this pregnancy?” Zuri asked when Oge walked into the living room.

“Zuri, please just do what the doctor says,” Oge said.

“Oge, how can you tell me to end the precious life God has planted in me? Even if my husband were to advise you, wouldn’t you tell him no?” Zuri said in a teary voice.

“Zuri, I do not want to lose you. Your husband and son do not want to lose you. If you abort this pregnancy, you can always get pregnant again. If something happens to you now, who do you think will take care of your son? Ope? He will mourn you for a few months and marry a younger woman,” Oge said.

“I have heard you, but my decision is final. I will not abort this pregnancy. I didn’t come this far to give up. And you’re saying that I will get pregnant again. Have you forgotten how long it took me to get pregnant again? 5 long years,” Zuri said in a teary voice.

“It doesn’t matter, Zuri. This pregnancy is not what we thought it would be. I know it’s not an easy decision, but you have to be considerate. Zuri, please. This pregnancy is draining the life out of you. We don’t want to lose you,” Oge said.

“Oge, I serve a mighty God, and I know he will not let anything happen to me and my child. I will carry this pregnancy until the ninth month, and I will give birth to a healthy baby,” Zuri said.

” I have tried talking to you as a friend, but since you have made up your mind, there’s no problem,” Oge said.

“Then, please talk to Ope. What I need now is his support,” Zuri said.

“But Zuri, you know this pregnancy does not belong to you alone. It’s Ope’s baby, too, and he has the right to say he doesn’t want the baby,” Oge said.

“Oge, I do not want to have this conversation again, please. No one, not even you or Ope, will tell me what to do with my baby. I am the one carrying this child, so I get to make the decisions. Ope has absolutely no idea what I go through every day,” Zuri yelled.

“It’s okay. At least I tried my best, and like you said, you’re the one carrying the baby, so we will not make decisions for you,” Oge said.

Sadly, it wasn’t just Oge and Ope who tried to convince Zuri. Zuri’s parents and her in-laws begged her to abort the pregnancy while it was still young, but she refused. When they saw that there was nothing they could do to convince me her, they all let her be.

Slowly, Zuri managed to keep the pregnancy until the 8th month, even when she was in severe pain, and couldn’t sleep or even eat without throwing up. But in the eighth month, something horrible happened.

One morning, Zuri was in her bedroom when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen, as usual,  but this pain was worse than anything she had ever experienced. Somehow, the pain she felt had kicked in premature labour, and by the time Ope rushed her to the hospital, she was very weak.

“Right now, we have to make a tough decision. We either have to save the mother or the child,” the doctor said.

” Please save the mother,” Ope said In a teary voice.

“Are you sure about your decision?” The doctor asked.

“Yes, please,” Ope said.

Immediately after Ope confirmed the second time, the doctor rushed back into the theatre room, but after 10 minutes, he returned with sad news.

“I am so sorry, Mr Ope, but I couldn’t save your wife or the baby. Even if we had carried out the operation, she would not have made it, and as for the baby, she was already dead in her mother’s womb,” the doctor said.

“No, please tell me you’re joking. I cannot lose my wife. She is all I have,” Ope said as he broke into tears.

“Doctor, what is it? How is my friend?” Oge asked as she rushed to the scene.

“I’m sorry, ma, but we lost her,” the doctor said. As soon as Oge heard that Zuri had died, she screamed and fell on the floor.

“May God console you and your family,” the doctor said before walking away.

When the news of Zuri and her baby’s death reached her family and Ope’s family, everyone rushed to the hospital to console him.

“I warned her but she didn’t listen, now see what she has cost me. What do I tell Kemi, our son?” Ope cried.

Luckily for Ope, Kemi had gone to his maternal grandparent’s house for the summer holiday, and he had no idea that his mother had premature labour and had died in the process.

“Ope, I know this is the last thing you want to hear, but I promise to help you take care of Kemi. Zuri was like a sister to me, and her son is also my son,” Oge said as she hugged Ope.

Three days after Zuri passed away in the hospital, Ope and Zuri’s family organized a burial for her. It was really heartbreaking because they had to bury her with her pregnancy at such a young age. Zuri was only 32 years old and she was a visionary, energetic woman.

Because she was so concerned for Ope and his son, Oge packed her things and moved into Ope’s house so she could look after Kemi, her late friend’s son, and her husband.

About six months after Oge moved in, Ope noticed that Oge was really good with Kemi, and also, he had slowly fallen in love with her.

“Oge, Zurii was really lucky to have you as her friend. Honestly, I don’t know how I would have handled things with Kemi if it weren’t for you,” Ope said.

“Thank you. I really loved my friend, and that’s why I’m doing all of this. Sometimes, I wish she was still here,” Oge said.

“Me too. Oge, please marry me. I know you might not know me so well, but I know you. I have thought about this very well, and if there’s anyone who will look after Kemi like her child, it’s you,” Ope said.

“Really? You want me to marry you? Wouldn’t it look like I’m betraying my friend?” Oge asked.

“No, you’re not betraying Zuri. I know Zuri is dead now, but she would want you to do the same thing; please think about this,” Ope begged.

While Ope was begging Oge to consider his proposal, he had no idea that Oge had a big skeleton in her closet, and if he ever found out, he would chase her away from his son and his life.

Watch out for Part 2

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