Harry's face burned when he saw black maria and a few police men in front of the house. He held the waterproof that contained two plates of rice he had bought from Eka udo's restaurant, and a red rose. His heart trembled.
He had wondered what might have happened to his wife, he noticed four police men in their uniform, standing by the gate.
"Is everything alright?" He asked in a shaky tone.
The police men immediately turned and pointed a gun at him.
"Officer that's the wife beater!" Atimma screamed from the house. She came out dressed in a pyjamas night gown and flip flop.
Two officers held Harry, the waterproof that contained food and the rose fell off from his hands. The officers handcuffed his hands and pushed him to the black maria.
A queer regret settled into her heart. And a horrible, shivering feeling skittered up her spine as one of the police men slapped Harry hard on the face.
"What did I do?" Harry asked in a shaky tone.
"You beat woman, shut up!"
For a split second, an unguarded look appeared in her eyes. A look of fear. Her heart pounded.
Another police officer slapped him hard for the second time, and he turned to look at Atimma. She turned away, frightened by the intensity of his gaze.
"What did I do to you?" He yelled...and shook his head angrily.
The police officer pushed him into the van and they zoomed off.
Harry's sad face when the police officer slapped him, appeared in Atimma's imagination. She became afraid of her very own act.
She stared at the black maria, until she couldn't view it anymore, her pounding heart, stealing her breath.
She went back to the house reluctantly, and thought of how Harry was going to cope in cell.
She called Linda's phone and it rang twice. Linda called her back afterwards.
"He has been taken away by the police." Atimma whispered over the phone.
"Good. perfect! He will learn his lessons in there." Linda said.
The two women talked and laughed about so many things, until Atimma decided to sleep off.
****
Weeks passed into months, and Atimma had not gone to see Harry in cell. Shame won't let her.
She was in her third trimester, and she needed him more than anything. His mother had started getting worried, and demanded to talk with her son.
The last time she saw him was when he took drugs and some money to her.
"He is in cell mama, police arrested him because he beat me up and almost killed me with this pregnancy." She said in a shaky tone.
Harry's mom cried and yelled over the phone.
"I don't believe you, Harrison won't do that, I didn't groom him to be aggressive!" She cried out...
Atimma hung up the call on her and turned off her phone. She was afraid that something terrible might happen to him, she became weak and thought of him at that moment.
Harry's mother had gone around different police stations, crying with her son's photo and showing it to the police men. she wanted to see her son and her joy was lifted, when she finally saw him at ikot Akpan abia.
"He has been here for over a month mma, he was arrested for battering his wife."
Harry's mom shrugged her shoulders and sat carefully at entrance of the police station, crying and yelling that her son is innocent. Every emotion inside of her was written on her expression.
When Harry was brought out by one of the police men for identification, her heart felt as she saw bruises from his head, to his feet. She wept uncontrollably.
She wept until he was taken back to cell.
she wept until she slept off and woke up again.
©reservedWritten By Vicky Bon
May 25, 2017
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