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It's not too late to say a happy new month, right?
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I sat quietly on a stool as I stared up at the clear blue sky. Revealing things to my family was one thing, hoping that Mrs. Williams reversed her curse, was another. I loved Henry so much to let him go but his mother was not seeing that.

It was Monday and the reason why I was still in the village was that Henry still wanted time to talk to his mother. I was starting to see this as mission impossible.

I heard shuffling and finally, someone sat beside me. I turned to my side to see that it was Abasifreke. Aside from Mary, the rest of my siblings were in school. Mother had gone to the church and father had gone to an elder meeting. Mary was busy at the back washing the clothes while Abasifreke last time I checked, was cooking.

"The porridge is done," Abasifreke announced to me while looking at the phone she shared with Mary. When she noticed I didn't make my move, she turned to face me. "Sister?"

"Do you think she'll reverse the curse?" I wasn't speaking to Abasifreke but myself.

Abasifreke sighed, pocketing her phone. "She has to, by force or by force. There's no choice to it."

I turned to Abasifreke, and she shrugged. "What? She's very wicked, extremely to say the most. Why didn't she think about us before laying some curse? Now it's going to affect her son too. She has no choice but to pull it off."

Abasifreke might be right on that. Henry seemed to love me and seemed like he'd stand by me regardless of the curse. His mother has to pull it off or it would affect him.

"She's likely not to," I voiced out something opposite from what my brain was screaming to me. "Henry and his sisters were adopted. She has no child of her own. She's likely to turn a blind eye since Henry isn't her biological son."

"You see!" I flinched when Abasifreke exclaimed and stretched out her hand. "She cursed mum to give birth nonstop, not knowing she was trading her children too, putting it in mummy's tummy. Which of us do you think was supposed to be hers?"

I tried not to laugh at my sister's statement. "Abasifreke, be serious for once."

"Maybe it's Jessica, that girl likes to say 'you're mad, you're mad', all the time. Maybe Mrs. Williams was supposed to be her mother." That did the trick. I laughed hard while imagining my younger sister Jessica, being older than my other sibilings. "See, that's better."

"Huh?" I stopped laughing to look at Abasifreke.

"Laughter looks best on you." She went to her serious mode. Something we only see when she was angry. "Don't overthink things, God knows best. Besides, I wouldn't trade Jessica or any of you guys."

That got me teary as I pulled Abasifreke into a hug. "Me too."

While hugging her, I tried not to think about negative things. Yes, Mary was the more mature one that gives advice, but Abasifreke's advice were usually solid and normally stick for life because of how unusual she gives it.

I felt my phone ring in my pocket, which broke Abasifreke's and I hugging moment. I reached for it to see the word 'My love' written on the screen. I swiped to answer and placed it against my left ear.

"Henry, morning," I greeted him. It was still morning, though the time was three minutes to twelve.

"I miss you, love," Henry sighed at the other end, while Abasifreke gave me knowing looks. "Mother is just being difficult."

This was the reason why I didn't set my expectations high so I wouldn't be disappointed. But I still was. "So no hope?"

"I've got you, I've got Hope." I smiled at his words. "And that's why I've decided for you to come to Lagos this week. My mum seeing your parents might change her mind."

"She hates them," Yeah, I planned to take my parents to the city so they could apologize, but I doubted that would make his mother change her mind.

"Does she hate your siblings too?" I blinked, where was Henry going? "I want your singling to come to the city too. Didn't you say you wanted a better life for them? Here's an opportunity. I'd get your parents a house and enroll your siblings in the best of schools here in Lagos."

"Henry—"

"My mother got soft spots for kids. Some water works and she might reverse the curse. We're killing three birds with one stone. A new house, good school, reversing of curses." I didn't know what to say, I wasn't expecting this at all. Yes, I wanted to take my family out of here but wasn't this all too much for Henry?

"Can I talk to my family?" I asked him. I wanted to hear their views on the matter.

"No problem," He said over the phone. That day, I kept thinking hard about what Henry had just said to me over the phone. Abasifreke had made it her life choice to make me spill out the conversation between me and Henry, but I didn't. I wanted to say this only when everyone was at home.

So when night came, we gathered outside the house on a bench. I sat with my parents on one bench while my siblings sat on one. The bench was that long.

"We're gathered, why don't you spill?" Abasifreke asked while Mary sitting beside her, nodded.

Knowing my family and knowing they'd lots of friends and memories here, I doubted they'd agree. "Henry had decided not just mum and dad, but we all will move to Lagos."

"Move?" Mary asked, "As in relocate?"

I sighed, I knew they'd disagree. "Yes. He wants to get us a new house and enroll Jeffery, Gloria, Jessica, Faith, Wisdom, Afanide, Betty, and Destiny in a new school. I know this is too much and you guys won't agree to it but—"

"What are you saying?" Mary looked at me. And Abasifreke nodded her head.

"Have you seen small pikin reject ice cream before?" Abasifreke scoffed.

"When are we leaving? Wisdom asked, turning to his twin sister Faith, like she knew the answer.

"When are we leaving?" Faith directed the question to me, while Destiny walked and jumped on my lap.

"Jeffery and Gloria said Lagos building is very tall and you can climb up to touch the cloud," Destiny Said in a tiny voice, pointing at the twins. They were in their final year in secondary school yet feeding Destiny rubbish.

"W-we c-can lick cloud, r-right?" Afanide questioned.

"You're mad," Jessica slightly hit Afanide. "Don't listen to Jeffery and Gloria."

"When are we going sister?" Betty asked in tiny, bringing back the question asked by Faith and Wisdom.

"Yeah, when are we going?!" My siblings said at once. They seemed excited to leave the village.

I turned to my parents, they had the final say. My siblings were down to it but if my parents said no, then it was no.

"Why are you looking at us?" My father gave an encouraging smile. "Your brothers and sisters just asked a question. When are we leaving?"

I felt like crying at that moment. Here I was, killing myself over nothing when my siblings and parents agreed. I nodded at that happy they had bigger plans for themselves, the same way I had for mine. "How does the day after tomorrow sound?"

I chose that because first, they needed to arrange their clothes and shoes and books and memorable objects while selling the rest items in the house. Next, I chose that day because knowing Henry, he'd have a house in a second, but I wanted him not to stress himself and have a day to do that.

My siblings didn't go to school the next day and knowing how ten was a huge number, we decided to take the flight instead, knowing the car wouldn't contain us. Abu had the assignment to drive the car back to Lagos.

Who knew Abasifreke had fear of height? She was the last person I'd expected to have that. Because of that, I had to switch and sit with her so I could hold her hands throughout the flight. Abasifreke was funny though, she looked like someone that had seen a ghost.

When we got to Lagos, Henry was waiting for us at the airport in two cars. I entered one of the cars with Henry behind the wheel and my parents comfortable at the back, while my siblings were at the other, fighting over who'd stay at the front. Afanide won.

"Welcome to Lagos ma, sir," Henry said to my parents, as he drove smoothly on the road. I turned to see my parents looking at him with so much guilt in their eyes.

"Thank you, my son," Father finally responded. "How is your mother?"

Henry hesitated a bit, then glanced to the side to spare me a glance. He let out a chuckle, so the atmosphere won't seem worst than it already was. "She's fine. Do not worry, don't think much about it."

Mum and dad stared at each other and I knew they felt even more guilty. Henry then focused on me. "I won't leave you, I promise."

And that was the reassurance I needed to keep me strong. Henry had a plan to convince his mother to reverse the curse and I wanted to put all my hope on him.

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When Henry said he was getting my parents a new house, I wasn't expecting a freaking mansion! The house set before us was twice as big as what I could imagine. We all came down from the different cars and just like my family, I was awestruck.

"Your new home," Henry said, handing my father the keys to the front door and another bundle of keys to the different room in it.

"This is so much my son," Father said, while Abasifreke leaned forward to accept the keys on father's behalf.

"And both cars are yours," Henry said, as he handed the keys to the cars he took us with from the airport. Father was so awestruck again and this time, Mary leaned forward to accept the keys the way Abasifreke did before father would reject it out of modesty.

"Thank you, my son—" Mum was about to kneel down, but Henry quickly held her forearm to stop her.

"No please, I'm not God so you shouldn't kneel before me." Henry warmly said to my parents, then held my hand. "Why don't we go in?"

Henry led the way but when we got to the front door, he waited. Abasifreke handed the keys to father and so did Mary and we all waited for dad, the owner of the house, to open the door and invite us all in.

We got into the house and marveled at how it was already furnished with the trending stuff. Henry moved us to the leaving room and on the coffee brown center glass table, was a document. He reached for it and handed it to my father.

"This is the document that rightfully states that you're the owner of this house. We are now under your roof, Mr. Prince." I knew what Henry was doing. In the same way, as I was trying to repay for my parents' wrongdoing, he was trying to repay for his mother's. Back in the day, my father's family was one of the richest in the village before every good got stripped out of him. This might have been our life if we weren't jinxed.

"Upstairs are seven rooms, aside from storage. The biggest room is for your parents, while you all will decide on the rest yourself." Henry said, speaking to Abasifreke.

"How can we repay you, sir," Betty spoke, then pouted.

"What do you mean sir?" Mary scolded and I scurried my brows at her. Did she leave her respect in the village? "Brother-in-law, call it well."

"Brother-in-law," Betty obeyed and laughed, same with Henry.

"He's a big fish o," Abasifreke spoke next. "Hold am tight."

Now I felt embarrassed. Henry, on the other hand, didn't. He seemed amused. He loves my siblings, I could tell with just one glance.

That evening, after we'd all eaten, we sat in the living room with Henry. It wasn't like Henry and I were going to stay at my family's house, no. But we needed a plan.

A plan that involved Afanide, Betty, and Destiny's tears.

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The next day, Henry decided it would be best to go confront his mother. I was nervous but I wasn't sure if my nervousness was close to my parents. They both had their fingers intertwined and I could see them push the lump in their throat every second. Henry had gotten a driver to drive my parents and a few of my siblings in my father's car, while the rest got into the car I was with Henry.

The gate to Henry's family home opened and of course, my siblings behind me exclaimed, forgetting that we had serious issues ahead of us.

Once Henry parked his car, he reached for my hands and held them tight. Today was going to determine our faith.

"Let's have hope," Henry said, leaning over and kissing my lips without caring that my siblings were watching us.

"More like faith," Faith had to ruin the moment. "Faith's higher than hope."

"Oh my God, Shut up." Jessica who was older sighed while using her fingers to press Faith's lips together. "You people cannot read the room."

Jessica was the first to step down, then Wisdom, Faith, Afanide, Betty, and Destiny. I wouldn't blame Jessica. Aside from Henry and me, she was the oldest in the car. Since those older than her weren't in the car, she thought she could display her seniority.

"Come on," Henry stepped down from the car and quickly moved to mine so he could open the door for me. I held his hands and climbed down from his car.

We all gaze upon the house while my gaze roamed to meet my parents. "Let's go in."

We decided to obey Henry's instructions. We began moving into the house with Henry and me, leading the way. We got in and the first person we laid our eyes on, was Olamide.

"Henry, Hope." Olamide got up from the couch she was sitting on and moved to her brother to hug him.

"Where's mum?" Henry asked.

"In her room. She went to get her phone. She'll be down soon. Dad's making a call in the dining room." And that's when I could hear Henry's father's faint voice. "Who are they?"

"My family," I spoke next. Olamide's eyes widened, as she looked upstairs with a little fear. Nonetheless, she greeted my family with warm gestures.

"Um, why don't you all seat while I—" Her statement was short-lived when we all gulped just hearing the footsteps coming down the stairs. Luckily, it wasn't Henry's mum but Dorcas.

"What's going on?" She asks seeing the full room.

"Henry," She moved to hug her brother, then acknowledged me.

"Hope's family," Olamide whispered.

Dorcas' mouth opened slightly at that information, then stared upstairs out of reflex. "Mum will be down soon,"

"That's the whole point," Henry said as a matter of fact.

Dorcas felt the need to argue but she swallowed her further statements and sighed. "Welcome ma, welcome sir. Hope, these four look like you."

Dorcas said, pointing at Mary, Jeffery, and Gloria — who were the first set of twins and Destiny.

"That will be all for now," We turned to see Henry's father moving to the living room after his call. He stopped upon seeing us and looked at Henry, Olamide, and Dorcas for an explanation. After he got filled on who we were, he instructed Dorcas to go and call Mrs. Williams.

This was something we weren't looking forward to but had to face no matter what. Dorcas walked down a few minutes after and when we all witnessed Mrs. Williams, I held Henry's hands for strength.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulder in a secure manner, as if sending his mother an unspoken message. Time seemed to stop when her eyes finally landed on my parents. She looked like she'd seen a ghost and no matter how many times she opened and closed her mouth, words didn't seem to find their way out.

"Mum," Henry said in a deep voice. "Hope's parents."

Henry's mum slumped on the couch but she wasn't unconscious. This was a blast from the past, something she never wanted to come in contact with again.

"Mum—"

"Get them out of my house," She spat out, trying to regain from the information.

"Idara," Father began but that became worst. Mrs. Williams took one of the couch pillows and threw it at my father.

"I said get out!" Mr. Williams tried to calm his wife down, as she acted rashly towards the things she came in contact with.

My eyes landed on Afanide, Betty, and Destiny. Afanide was the first to notice and so he tapped his younger sisters and they all knelt.

"Please forgive our parents," My three youngest siblings cried while crawling toward Mrs. Williams. Mrs. Williams stopped her frantic movement to look at my siblings.

"What is this?" She asked as she stared at my brother and sisters. "Tell your parents to get out of my house!"

And I knew we had no hope.

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Word count: 2981

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-Eddy