WRECKED 23 22

From the moment the first group of girls arrived at Lake Alau, Anaya took charge. She had nurses in the house to care for their medical needs, and she worked without counting the hours or the cost. She telephoned relatives, arranged for movie hours, buying a large Samsung screen and setting aside a room where the girls could watch. She even secured a well-known comedian who never gave his services without a fee but succumbed to her bullying and blandishments. She volunteered to sit during the night and watch anyone who needed it; most of the girls had nightmares. Some, suffering more than the eyes could see, could not sleep, and she would sit up talking to them or watching movies until morning came.

Two girls recovering from burns and the girl recovering from the fistula procedure were her present care. No matter how hideous the scarring, Anaya did not flinch.

Jubril was proud of her. She was usually tired by weekend. Even then, she would rush to see this girl or that to make sure they were alright. He was proud of her but nothing had changed between them. They slept apart still. There would never be another child unless he could persuade Anaya that it was cruel to deprive him of a child, and Afsat of a grandchild. He did not expect her to listen. She was too absorbed in her work. She was busy lavishing all the love she had withheld from him on the victims of terrorism.

In the meantime, he suffered and felt neglected. Nevertheless, he was still proud of her and praised her, for what she was doing was reaching far beyond the confines of Lake Alau. If she went on like this, Anaya Rufai would be a legend by the time the insurgence ended. Still, there was no sign of that, yet.

It was a moving sight watching the girls' faces brighten anytime Anaya walked in. Sad and yet heartening because there was hope, and there was joy, even among those for whom life would be a travesty. He looked at Anaya and thought; she has created this for them. She has made this possible by the sheer force of her own will. She has given them hope and given them joy. They'll remember and love her for the rest of their lives. For them, there will be no disillusion.

Later that evening, his phone rang. "Hello. Yes, fine thanks. Very nice. Did you? Good. What can I do for you, Honourable?"

Anaya looked up. It was a long one-sided conversation. Jubril was frowning. She wondered who the Honourable on the phone was.

Why were they even called that? She thought.

Thieves! The whole lot.

"Of course. Yes, do not worry, we will look after her. I will tell my wife. Right. Goodbye, sir."

"Tell me what?" she asked.

"There's a special case coming in the day after tomorrow. One of the Chibok girls."

Anaya gasped.

"She's had a rather bad experience. Honourable Ibrahim asked that you see she gets extra care."

"What really happened? How bad is it?"

"Unfortunately, he didn't say. All he knows is that she got away from her captors and was found running in a daze at the edge of Sambisa forest. No family; they were wiped out in the last Chibok raid. She needs a good rest and they are sending her here."

Anaya stared at him. "Terrible!"

"And speaking of families, Anaya, I think it's time we have a child. I know my mother would want a grandchild, too." Anaya was shocked into silence. Jubril's face showed nothing. His tone was quite noncommittal. A child? Surely this was not a time to think of such a thing. How could she possibly start a pregnancy when there wasn't a spare moment?

"It's unfair to us all," he interrupted her train of thoughts. "Of course, if you agreed, I'd end my affair with Kilali."

Anaya saw an escape route and took it. "Aren't you being a little unfair to her?" she said. "Sacking her after all this time?"

"I have my priorities, Ana," he answered, "and so has she. Kilali's changed a lot since she lost her husband. I think she carries on more for my sake than her own."

"Look, Jubril, I don't have time for that now. I mean, the girls need me. Only yesterday, an underaged street worker was brought in, and I have to pay attention to her."
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"Pay attention to a prostitute? How long do you plan to waste time on these people? You know this can't go on forever."

"Was. She was. She will not be going back to that profession by the time I am done with her, so please do not call her that again. I don't blame her for her choices, and you shouldn't either."

"Really?" Jubril snapped.

"Yes. Really! Jubril, it economically made sense for her to code herself out of poverty and her unfortunate circumstances."

Jubril looked at her incredulously.

"She is already assisting the staff in the kitchen and will start evening classes tomorrow. The activities will improve her self-esteem and self-worth. She needs to be inspired and given a chance to succeed, Jubril, not condemned…"

"Anaya…"

"I'm not done. Look around us. I mean, really look! The prostitutes, robbers, area boys…all these people, as you have succinctly put it, have much potential but have invested their mind and value into wrong, immoral and illegal practices. Guess what, we are part of the system that has put them in the perpetual poverty they have rejected the best way they know how to. Deal with it. Maybe you should try to love the unlovely, and I do not mean just 'tolerate' them or 'be nice' to them but really truly love the people that our society has stamped as dirty, scary, difficult or beyond helping. We made them that way. And by 'we' I mean the group of selfish higher citizens. Now, I'm choosing to be part of the solution, part of the meaningful communities that come together to change how these people are treated."

She stopped to catch her breath, then continued, "I may not be the best wife or mother in the world, but I will set an example for how to truly love those that our culture tells us to revile and fear.

Jubril, can't you see, it feels good to love people who are hard to love."

"I know," he said quietly without looking at her. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"Back to our main discussion, Ana, will you think about having a child?" Anaya hesitated. She could feel herself freezing up. To start again, to endure that miserable experience after months of being left in peace? She almost panicked. "I can't. I don't want another child. I don't want children. I didn't even love the one I lost…"

Jubril got up slowly and left the room.

****

"Mrs Rufai?"

"Yes?"

"You wanted to see the girl when she came in. She has arrived and is being settled in."

"Oh, yes. That's good." Anaya remembered Jubril's concern about this girl from Chibok.

"Which room is she in? I hope the doctor will come around to check her?"

"He's with her already. She has bruises all over her body," was the sympathetic reply.

"She's more of a mental case, it seems. She made no progress in the General hospital. Hopefully the change of environment will do her good."

"Which doctor was assigned to her?"

"Dr Judd."

"Good. I like him. Very empathetic, if I may add. What's the girl's condition like?"

"I heard she hasn't spoken a word since she was found. She's very withdrawn."

"Pity. Let me see her."

The nurse accompanied her. "I've never seen a thing like this. The terrorists have to be stopped immediately. She's in this room." She knocked and opened the door for Anaya. "How are you, my dear? Madam Anaya is here to see you." The nurse looked at Anaya and made a face as if to say much good it will do trying to chat with her, then went out. Anaya approached the doctor.

"How is she, Dr Judd?"

"Traumatized."

"That's no surprise. Is that why she isn't speaking? She asked, confused.

"Each survivor reacts to sexual violence in her own unique way, madam. Some express their emotions while others prefer to keep their feelings inside. Some may tell right away what happened, others will wait weeks, months or even years before discussing the assault, if they choose to do so." He continued, "It's just important to respect each person's choices and style of coping."

Anaya nodded, "Okay. I can understand that. So, how do I help? There must be something I can do."

"Just be there."

"Excuse me…I don't understand…"

"Madam, it is important to remember that because of the ****, she feels she has lost control over her life."

"Okay…" Anaya urged him to go on.

"If she prefers not to talk, don't push her. It's what I have been telling the doctors who were evaluating her at the Teaching Hospital. You can do the talking. Tell her stories, if you may, and when she is ready to talk, listen. Just listen. I will be taking my leave now. Thankfully, the diseases she caught can be treated with medications. The nurses will administer them to her."

"HIV?"

"Negative."

Anaya sighed in relief, nodded again and bid farewell to the doctor. When he left, she turned towards the girl.

She was sitting in a chair by the window with her back to the room. She hadn't moved or looked around. For a moment, Anaya hesitated. Then she walked up and stood in front of her.

"Hello," she said, as she gave the young girl her best smile. "I'm Anaya Rufai." Slowly, she raised her head. She was sallow and emaciated, with huge deep pits under the dead eyes. And they were dead. She had never seen such emptiness and numb despair in a face before. Her bruised arms were lying on her bruised laps.

She just looked at Anaya and didn't speak. "Won't you say hello to me?" Anaya said. No answer. Just that terrible vacant look. "Oh, God," she said under her breath. "What do I do now?"

Leave her–say goodbye and go. But that was to admit defeat. She must answer in the end. She could not just sit there and ignore her. Anaya brought a chair and sat down. "Okay," she said. "You've been through a bad experience and you don't feel like talking. But you won't mind if I talk to you for a bit, will you? It might even cheer you up. Sitting alone is so sad."

Anaya left at the end of the hour.

The nurse walked up to her. "Any luck?" she asked. Her manner irritated Anaya. She felt tempted to say yes, we got along fine, but she didn't.

"Not yet," she answered. "It'll take time, but we'll win in the end."

The nurse shrugged and walked away as she mumbled, "She is so sure of herself because she has money. Well, she'd be wasting time with this one."

Anaya could not stop thinking about her. "She's so lost," she said to Eni. "I can't explain it. It's as if she won't admit she's alive."

"You've been going to see her for a week now. Has she said anything to you?" Eni asked.

"No," Anaya admitted. "But she knows I'm there. I saw her move when she heard me come in yesterday. That is something. I will get her to talk to me soon. I know it."

"Don't beat yourself about it, ma. All cases can't be helped."

Anaya rolled her eyes at Eni.

****

"Hello," Anaya said. "It's me again. You must be sick of listening to me chattering away. If you don't want me to come, you've only got to say." Was there a flicker in her eyes? Anaya held her breath for a moment, not daring to believe it. "If you really are fed up with me, just nod your head," she said. "I'll go away and I won't come back. Just nod – that is all you have to do. I won't mind, I promise, but I'll miss you. I'll miss coming to see you. Should I go away?"

Every day for fourteen days an hour, sometimes longer, of reaching out to her finally paid off. She didn't nod. She shook her head. Tears came into Anaya's eyes. She didn't try to hide them. She let her young friend see them and she touched her for the very first time.

"I'm so glad, Brave one," she said. "Someday, you'll tell me your name. Once again, I am Anaya. Auntie Anaya. I'm your friend and I'm going to help you get well. Let me go and tell that ugly nurse."

Jubril had not been home for two weeks. He had telephoned and Anaya spoke to him about the girl and their progress.

"What really happened to her, Jubril?"

"No one knows. Those beasts must have really hurt her. The government's main concern is to nd out if the girl knows their location."

"I don't think she should be pressured after a traumatic experience like that, at least not now. She would just retreat further to escape them. I'll keep praying she opens up and talks about it someday."

"That's why she was sent to you. It's a gamble that removing her from the hospital she was taken to when she was found might jolt her into self-awareness. If she doesn't respond while she is with you, she will be transferred to the Teaching Hospital in UNIMAID for further evaluation, with a view of long-term stay in the mental ward."

Anaya was aghast.

"Over my dead body!" She did not give him time to protest before she hung up. "Mental ward my foot," she said. The girl was responding, but not fast enough to escape the fate closing in on her. Anaya had to make a breakthrough before they committed her.

She spent the night awake, thinking of what she could do.

Chapter end