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"Mumi Tobi! How body nau? ", Mrs. Ajibade greets Amara, as they embrace each other after evening mass. And with a radiant smile, she replies, "Eeeey, my mumi! Good evening ma... Body dey well oo. God is ever faithful!"

"Yes oo, my dear. His mercies endureth forever!", Mrs. Ajibade proclaims. Thereafter, holding onto both Amara's arms, she asks warmly,
"And how is my boy?"

"He is fine.", Amara replies.

Mrs. Ajibade squints and continues, "I hope he did well, last term!"

"Yes o, mumi!... He scored an average of eighty seven percent(87%)."

"Wow!!! That's great!... Well, I expected nothing less from him. I've always known Tobi to be a little genius." Mrs. Ajibaje avers enthusiastically. Afterwards, they both laugh and start walking toward the church gate.

"Okay nau, mumi... Make I quick go enter bus. Goodnight!", Amara echoes, as they separate. Then bewildered Mrs. Ajibade turns and inquires, "Ah ah!... You did not bring your car???"

"No, ma. I just wanted to exercise a little bit today." she replies with a warm smile.

"Exercise ni!!!... This night??? Come on, let me give you a ride!... I will drop you off at Ikorodu, then you can exercise from there." Mrs. Ajibade insists with a bit of attitude, although in a friendly way, afterwhich Amara laughs and starts to walk toward her, saying, "Okay ma! No wahala."

Mrs. Ajibade, who goes to stand by her open car then peeps in to her house girl, "Topę! Oya, clear the front seat for her. Then put the yams and plantain in the boot... Yọ burẹdi kuro nibẹ! "
Subsequently coming out of the vehicle, Topę humbly responds, as though her visibly broken soul had fully acquiesced to its sub-par state,
"O daa, ma."
It's a bit dark right now to see Topę properly. But the light from the car is partially illuminating both her taciturn demeanor and the valley-deep tribal incisions running down her roughly kneaded cheeks, like scratches from an angry tiger's claws. Truth be told, it is never easy to tell the kind of expression on this poor girl's face. But even now, one thing is vivid in her countenance- she is utterly demoralized and emotionally shattered. Her unique facial appearance alone seems to have already marred her self esteem. Yet in addition, life has doomed her to slavery, as though it were her birthright. Poverty, illiteracy and servitude have taken away her ability to hope; her ability to dream. And now, she is like a walking shadow.
Whenever people see her cooking, cleaning or serving dishes, they brandish her perfectly fit to do so because to them, this is her sole purpose in life- to be faceless and voiceless; to serve for the rest of her days; and to only amount to whatever the stereotypical society deems fit. It is truly diabolical.

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"Mummy!!! Welcome home!", Tobi yells, as he jumps into his mother's arms when she enters the living room.

"How are you, my dear?", Amara asks, while playfully ruffling his hair with her palm.

"I'm good!!!... We just finished eating dinner."

"Really?.." she asks humorously, "..What did you eat?"

"Daddy bought bread and suya... and Uju helped us fry some eggs." he responds in glee.

"Wow! That's nice... And did you keep any for me?", she asks playfully.

In response, Tobi smiles coyly and begins to scratch his head, afterwhich he says, "Uhmmm... The bread was actually small sha... And the suya was very dry. You would not have liked it."

"Oh really?", Amara raises an eyebrow, before finally bursting into laughter. Afterwards, she inquires, "So you have already met Uju?"

"Yes!... And she is very nice!", Tobi replies with a smile.

"Really? That is wonderful then. Where is she?" Amara asks, dropping her bag and scarf on the couch.

"She is in her room." he answers.

"Alright."

Thereafter, Amara starts to head towards the passage door, but then pauses before entering and turns back to Tobi. "Have finished your homework?" she asks.

"Yes!" he replies enthusiastically.

She continues; her face becoming stern now, "And have you taken your bath this evening?"

"..Uhm... Not really...", Tobi's eyes start to wander around.
Afterwards, his mother's expression lightens. Then she says in a calm but serious tone, "Oya... put off that Tv and go wait for me in the bathroom."

Tobi immediately puts it off and then echoes before frolicking away,
"Dad is in the bedroom by the way!"

"Oh! Alright." she replies, as she walks towards Uju's room.
Upon getting there, she knocks on the door and then opens, echoing politely as she does so, "Hello!"

Uju is folding her clothes into the wardrobe. And she almost jumps up in shock, at the sound of Mrs. Balogun's voice. Woah! She had never expected her to be back so soon. The truth is, she had not wanted her to come back just yet. Since she arrived, she has been so at peace. But for some reason, Mrs. Balogun's presence makes her feel like all her troubles have just begun. And as this lady in a large kaftan walks into her room, her heart starts pounding beyond control. All she can think of is mummy and how terribly she treated her. She does not know if Mrs. Balogun will be the same or even worse. They are friends, after all. They may be birds of a feather.
'Dear lord!', Uju excalims within herself, as she sets eyes on Amara. The look on her face and the majestic way in which she takes her stance shows in some way, that she is in charge of this house and that Uju's fate lies in her hands.
Although on the bright side, at least Mr. Balogun is kind, unlike Uncle Obinna, who couldn't care less about what his cruel wife did to her, his own niece. But then again, these people are not even family. She is still just a house girl whom Mr. Balogun's wife purchased from her friend. The man has no obligation towards her whatsoever. Therefore, he can easily afford to also turn a blind eye or even mistreat her himself.

'What sort of life is this?'

"Good evening, ma! Welcome back." Uju replies, in the humblest and most innocent way possible, curtsying slightly as she does so.
It is as though time intentionally stops, as within that split second, Amara thoroughly scrutinizes her. Her razor-sharp eyes bore into Uju's heart; Uju's soul. She tries to be very subtle about it, but Uju is well aware that this woman is studying her every move; her every mannerism; studying her meticulously, as though trying to get the most accurate first impression; trying to reconcile the lies she has heard from Obiageli with the girl standing before her.
"Thank you. How was your trip?" Amara asks, walking toward the bed, afterwhich Uju drops her clothes and replies devotedly, with a warm but fettered smile, "It was fine, ma."

"Alright, that's good. When did you arrive?" Amara sits on the bed.

Uju replies; her hands humbly crossed in front of her, "I arrived Lagos at about four o'clock. Then Uncle Femi picked me up at Ojota at about four thirty."
With careful concern, Amara nods in reply, "Ookay" Then she asks, "...What about your aunt and uncle? I hope they are well."

"Yes, ma. They are both very fine." Uju avers, nodding in assurance.

Afterwards, there is a long silence. Uju is still standing and Amara, sitting. But just before the awkwardness reaches the brim of Uju's sanity, Amara begins, with a calm but serious tone,
"Do you know why you are here?"

Uju is speechless.

Then Amara continues, "... Before you departed for Lagos, what did you uncle and aunt tell you?"

For some reason, Uju is still dumbfounded. She does not know exactly how to answer that question. In truth, she is not completely sure why she is here, or for what purpose she is being tossed from pillar to post. She is not sure exactly who she is. All she knows is who she wants to be and that to survive, up until that point, she has to keep breathing; she has to keep going, despite how badly life treats her. She believes that she was not created to be a slave. However, if she must serve in order to get a step closer to her future, then she will. She is already in Lagos after all. A few weeks ago, she was still in the village. So, who knows what tomorrow may bring? Nonetheless, she is still short of words. Thus, Amara continues, still as calm as ever and looking Uju in the eyes,
"... Uju, I want you to understand that you are not a slave to me. I am very sorry about the death of your grandmother and all that you've been through. But your being here is of your own free will. If you ever wish to leave, I will take you back to your uncle's.
But while you are here, you need to understand that you won't just cross your legs... You will have to do chores... and you will have to run errands. You will have to assist my husband and I, because we will be taking care of you... providing you food, clothing, shelter and education. And most importantly, you must abide by our rules. You must not be disrespectful or irresponsible. If ever you are, I will put you on the next bus to Owerri...
I am not a wicked person. But... if you push me to the wall, I can be very harsh."

"I don't beat my son, so I will never lay a hand on you. But if you push me to the wall... then I may have no choice.
You are a Christian, are you not?... Please act like one... because this is a Christian home. I will not tolerate any boyfriends, sexual misconduct, immoral dressing or teenage pregnancies.
My son is just six years old, and I don't want you to become a bad influence on him. I most certainly will not tolerate that."

Afterwards, Amara sighs and then continues earnestly, "Uju... Men can be very deceptive. Please, don't fall victim to their charms or empty promises. Some can be very good too. So if you must make friends, please do so wisely.
Please, If ever there is anything you need, do not hesitate to tell me. Don't assume that I will refuse. Just let me know first. Then I will decide what to do...
Also, my husband is a very wonderful man; a very kind man and a very honourable man. Make sure you respect him completely. It would really piss me off to discover that you did otherwise..."

Amara looks up and starts to stare into space, "...I heard some unsavoury details about what you did at Owerri. Please, that should not repeat itself here. Although... the story was a bit sketchy, but I don't want anything of that sort happening here. Do you understand me?"

Sighing discreetly, Uju then affirms with a humble tone, "Yes ma. I understand."

"Alright.", Amara replies, smiling a bit,
"Please, call me 'aunty Amara' or just 'aunty'... I am not a grandma yet."

Uju chuckles and smiles warmly in reply, "Alright, aunty. I will."

Afterwards, aunty Amara stands up from the bed and pats Uju gently on the shoulder. "Have you eaten?" she asks.
"Yes, ma. Uncle Femi bought food for us... Oh! I'm sorry, Aunty... Please, can I call you 'ma' sometimes? It's just that I am so used to it."
Amara rolls her eyes and replies, "Alright. Fine... No problem. You can finish up with your clothes. Although, from what I can see, we might need to go shopping tomorrow.

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GLOSSARY
Oya - Quickly
No wahala - No problem
Mumi - A name given to an older woman, as a sign of respect (e.g Mummy, Mami) It also means mother.
"Mumi Tobi!....How body nau? " - "Tobi's mum!..... How are you doing?"
"..Body dey well oo......." - "I'm doing fine."
"Okay nau, mumi........ Make I quick go enter bus...." - "Okay then, mumi......Let me quickly go take a bus home."
"..Yọ burẹdi kuro nibẹ! " - "...Remove the bread from there."
"O daa, ma." - "Alright, ma'am."