The heavy wooden gate of the Okhizu compound rattled violently under a series of firm, urgent knocks that echoed across the dusty courtyard.
"Is anybody inside this house? Abeg, open this gate!"
The voice outside was strained, sharp with anxiety, but unmistakably clear. It belonged to Osaro's mother, Mrs. Iruson. She stood outside in the unforgiving afternoon sun, holding a neat travel bag tightly against her side. She was dressed respectfully, with her fine wrapper tucked firmly around her waist, while her face was etched with deep, motherly concern.
Ever since her husband had single-handedly made the unyielding decision to give their young daughter away in marriage to Mr. Okhizu, ignoring all her quiet pleas, Mrs. Iruson's heart had known no peace.
Every single night, terrible visions of Osaro crying out in the darkness haunted her sleep. She could not shake the feeling that something was wrong with her daughter.
Today, unable to bear the heavy weight in her chest any longer, she had packed her bag and made the long journey herself, determined to see her child with her own eyes.
Inside the quiet courtyard, Amina, Mr. Okhizu's second wife, was busy near the grinding stone. Hearing the persistent knocking, she wiped her hands on her apron and turned toward the entrance.
But before she could take two steps, the husband's aunt stepped out from the shadow of her hut. Her posture was stiff, and her eyes were narrow, filled with an immediate and cold warning.
"Where do you think you are going?" the aunt hissed in a low, dangerous whisper that barely travelled across the dirt.
"Remember what the master of this house said before he left for his meeting. No visitors for Osaro. Especially not her mother. If that woman sets foot inside this compound and sees Osaro in her current state, she will run to the village elders and cause unnecessary noise.
"Handle it, Amina. Exactly as our husband instructed you!"
Amina swallowed hard, her throat feeling tight and dry.
She looked at the heavy gate, then back at the aunt's harsh, uncompromising face.
A terrible battle waged inside Amina.
Her conscience screamed at her to open the door, but the deep, paralyzing fear of her husband's wrath held her in check. She knew what Mr. Okhizu was capable of, and she knew that disobeying him could bring consequences not only upon her but also upon Osaro.
Amina nodded slowly.
She straightened her wrapper and walked toward the gate, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
She slid the heavy iron bolt back with a sharp metallic clank and pulled the wooden door open just enough to stand in the gap.
As the gate swung open, Mrs. Iruson's eyes lit up with an instant flash of desperate hope.
"Ah, Amina! Good afternoon, my daughter!" she greeted hastily, her eyes eagerly trying to peer past Amina's shoulders into the compound.
"I came to check on Osaro, my little girl. Please, call her out for me. Let me just see my daughter, even if it is only for two minutes!"
Amina immediately shifted her body, completely blocking the opening with a warm, respectful smile, a practiced mask taught to every woman living under Mr. Okhizu's strict roof.
"Ah, Mrs. Iruson! You are very welcome, ma," Amina said smoothly, her tone dripping with artificial warmth and deep respect.
She reached out and gently took Mrs. Iruson by the forearm, carefully coaxing her away from the threshold and guiding her toward the shaded wooden bench built just outside the compound walls.
"Please, sit down here, ma. You must be very tired from your long journey under this hot sun. Let me quickly bring you some cold water."
"No, Amina, please, I don't need water," Mrs. Iruson insisted.
Her fingers tightened around the handle of her travel bag as she looked into Amina's eyes with intense, searching desperation.
"Just call Osaro for me. My mind has not been at rest since last week. My body is telling me something is wrong. I just want to lay my eyes on my daughter and know she is safe."
Amina felt a sharp, agonizing sting of guilt twist in her stomach.
She knew that just a few metres away, hidden inside the suffocating darkness of the back room, Osaro lay stretched out on a thin mat, battered and feverish, her body covered in fresh welts and completely unable to stand after another brutal night in her husband's chamber.
Amina lowered her eyes for a moment.
She wanted to tell the truth.
She wanted to open the gate fully and allow Mrs. Iruson to rush inside.
But fear stopped her.
"Mama, I understand your heart," Amina lied seamlessly, keeping her voice soft, soothing, and entirely convincing.
"If Osaro were inside, she would have run out to throw her arms around your neck already. But as fate would have it, she is not in the compound right now."
Mrs. Iruson froze.
Her brow furrowed in deep confusion.
"Not in the compound? Where could she possibly go? She is a brand-new bride. Where could she be?"
"Our husband sent her to the neighbouring village alongside his sister, Oge, early this morning," Amina explained.
She knelt slightly on one knee out of respect for the older woman, hoping to make her lie sound more believable.
"They went to carry some farm produce and sell it at the central market. You know how our husband is. He likes an industrious and hardworking household.
"They left long before dawn broke and will not return until very late tonight."
"Late tonight?"
Mrs. Iruson's voice cracked.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips as her shoulders slumped in bitter disappointment.
"I came all this way. Can't I just enter her room and rest my legs while I wait for her?"
Amina put on a look of profound, sorrowful regret, lowering her head respectfully.
"Ah, Mrs. Iruson, you know the strict rules of the Okhizu household. Our husband warned us before leaving that no guest, not even direct family, is allowed to enter or wait inside the compound while the master is away.
"If he returns and finds you sitting inside without his permission, it will only bring serious trouble and punishment upon Osaro's head. You know how firm he is when his rules are broken."
Hearing that her presence could bring severe consequences down on her daughter's head made Mrs. Iruson completely pause.
The memory of how unyielding Mr. Okhizu could be, and how her own husband had casually ignored her tears to seal this marriage arrangement, paralyzed her resolve.
The absolute last thing she wanted was to make her child's life inside this formidable household any harder than it already was.
"Is she... is she really doing well, Amina?" Mrs. Iruson asked in a quiet, fragile whisper.
Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears as she searched Amina's face for any sign of betrayal.
"Tell me the truth, my daughter. Is my Osaro being treated well in this house?"
Amina forced another warm, gentle smile onto her face, suppressing the rising wave of nausea and guilt eating at her soul from the inside.
"She is very fine, ma," Amina lied again, her voice unwavering.
"She is eating well, adjusting to the family, and learning the ways of our household. Don't worry your heart at all.
"I will personally tell her that you came the moment she steps through the gate, and I will make sure she sends a message home to you."
Amina quickly retreated into the compound for a brief moment, returning with a clay cup of cool water.
Mrs. Iruson accepted the cup, taking only a tiny, polite sip before setting it down.
Her heart was far too heavy with unspoken dread to consume anything.
She adjusted her fine wrapper, picked up her travel bag, and wiped a stray tear from her cheek with the corner of her cloth.
Behind the thick, high mud walls of the compound, hidden in the dark, silent shadows of her small room, Osaro lay on her side.
Through the tiny wooden window shutter high near the ceiling, the faint, painfully familiar tone of her mother's voice carried over the wall on the hot afternoon breeze.
Osaro's eyes snapped wide open.
Her heart began to hammer wildly against her aching ribs.
"Ma... Mama..." Osaro gasped, her throat feeling as raw and dry as sandpaper.
With every ounce of strength remaining in her weakened body, she tried to lift herself off the dirty mat.
She dug her raw fingernails into the hard mud floor, trying to pull herself up.
She desperately wanted to crawl toward the door.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted her mother to hear her.
"Mama! I'm here!"
But the instant she tried to move her torso, a blinding pain flared through her abdomen and ribs, cutting the breath clean out of her lungs.
Osaro froze.
She tried again, but her body refused to cooperate.
"Mama... I'm here... please..." she wheezed out.
Her voice was nothing more than a faint, raspy whisper that could barely reach the doorway of her own room.
Her eyes filled with tears.
She could hear her mother's voice outside.
Her mother was so close.
Yet she was completely helpless.
Defeated by her own weakened body, Osaro collapsed back onto the cold mat.
She pressed her face into her folded arms as hot, silent tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks, cutting clean tracks through the dust on her face.
"Mama..." she whispered again.
She lay there in absolute agony, listening helplessly as the faint sound of her mother's footsteps slowly faded away down the quiet dirt road outside.
Outside the compound, Amina stood perfectly still near the entrance, watching Mrs. Iruson's small, neat figure walk away down the long red-dust path until she disappeared around the bend.
Amina's heart felt heavy.
She had lied to a mother about the condition of her own daughter.
She had watched her walk away without knowing the truth.
Amina knew that the lie might haunt her for a long time.
Once the road was entirely empty, Amina stepped back inside.
She pulled the massive wooden gate shut and slammed the iron bolt back into place with a heavy, echoing thud that seemed to rattle the very ground beneath her feet.
She leaned her forehead against the rough, splintered wood of the gate and closed her eyes tightly.
For a few seconds, she remained there without moving.
The guilt was becoming unbearable.
She thought about Osaro lying helplessly inside.
She thought about the look on Mrs. Iruson's face.
She thought about the desperate hope in the woman's eyes when she had asked to see her daughter.
Amina slowly opened her eyes.
The dark, suffocating silence of the Okhizu compound wrapped around her once more.
And behind those locked gates, Osaro remained alone with the painful truth that her mother had come looking for her, only to leave without ever knowing how desperately her daughter needed her.