Chapter IV
IV
Grandma West died that night. Eniiyi went to bring her down for breakfast. She entered and opened the curtains to let the light in.
It didn’t initially alarm her that the old woman was still in bed.
Sometimes her grand-aunt would oversleep, but hearing Eniiyi rummaging about, having the room filled with light, was generally enough to wake her.
“Grandma?” There was no response, and the figure on the bed was still cloaked in the little darkness provided by the angle of the room. “Grandma.”
She inched closer, the dread increasing with every step she took. She reached out her hand. Her grand-aunt was cool to the touch. She ran out of the room and shut the door behind her, and then went to find her mother. Ebun was seated at the table, talking quietly to Grandma East.
“Mum, can I speak to you for a second?”
Grandma East’s mouth fell open. “Eniiyi, what have you done to your hair?!”
“Mum?” she said in a quiet voice.
“You haven’t gone to get your grandma yet?” was her mother’s reply. If she was surprised by Eniiyi’s low cut, she chose not to mention it. “The ogi will get cold.”
“I just want to talk to you first.”
“Okay?”
“Alone.”
“Since when did we start keeping secrets in this house?” Grandma East complained as they left her in the dining room.
“What is it?” her mother asked as they stood in the corridor. Eniiyi struggled to say the words. “Spit it out.”
“It…it’s Grandma West…” She didn’t have to say more than that.
Perhaps it was the look on her face, perhaps it was the way her voice broke.
But her response sent her mother racing away from her and towards the west wing’s staircase.
Eniiyi followed. When she got to the bedroom, she saw her mother holding Grandma West’s wrist, looking for a pulse.
“Okay,” she said, laying the old woman’s hand gently back on the bed. “Okay. Okay. Okay.”