Abandoned - S01 E02

Story 14 hours ago

Abandoned - S01 E02

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 2

One day, she asked Ayo, "What if the babies come and we don't have anything?" Ayo didn't answer. He just walked out of the house without saying a word.

The night Benny went into labour, Ayo ran to the neighbour who had a car. "Please, my wife is in labour, help us." The man agreed and they rushed to a nearby general hospital. Benny was in pain, but she was calm. At the hospital, she was taken inside immediately. Ayo was asked to pay a deposit. He didn't have anything. He dropped his small phone and begged them to manage it. One nurse collected it and waved him off. "Just wait outside," she said. After about three hours, the doctor came out. "Congratulations. Your wife has delivered safely."

"She gave birth to four babies. Four girls. Not triplets. It's quadruplets." The doctor said. Ayo stood still. "What did you say?" he asked. "Yes. Four healthy baby girls. Mother and children are doing well. But you need to buy baby things, food, diapers, wrappers... a lot," the doctor added.

Ayo didn't reply. He just stood up and walked out. He didn't tell anyone. He didn't call anyone.

He didn't return to the hospital. He just walked and walked until he reached a bus stop. From there, he entered a bus heading and disappeared.

Benny woke up and asked for Ayo. The nurse said he stepped out. Hours passed. Night came. No sign of Ayo. Benny called his number. Switched off. She waited till morning. Still nothing. The hospital demanded payment for delivery. Benny had nothing. The babies cried all night. No clothes, no food, no diapers. Benny sat on the hospital bed with her four babies, unsure of what to do. A nurse came in, looked at her and said, "Madam, where is your husband? You can't stay here like this. We are not running a charity." Benny looked at her and kept quiet.

By the third day, the hospital refused to allow her go. They said she must pay hospital bills. A cleaner who pitied her gave her some old wrappers to wrap the babies. Another patient's wife donated baby milk. Benny sat in the corner of the ward and watched other families carry their babies home. Her own babies were lying beside her, yet she felt like she had been left alone in the world. The nurses started calling her "that woman with four babies." She no longer answered questions. She just sat there,

feeding the babies with anything she could get. Ayo was gone. Benny had been abandoned.

By the next morning, the nurses at the hospital started asking questions. "Where is the husband of that woman with quadruplets?" one of them asked.

Another replied, "Since yesterday after she gave birth, nobody has seen him."

The hospital accountant frowned. "But he needs to come and settle the bill. They are owing us." The doctor on duty checked the file. "N780,000 for delivery, baby care, and drugs," he said. "He must come and pay. We are not a charity hospital." They checked the corridors, the waiting room, the toilet, even the compound, but Ayo was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Ayo had returned home the same night his wife gave birth. He walked into the one -room house like a thief. He packed his old clothes. Then he sat on the floor and looked around the room.

"How am I going to take care of four babies?" he asked himself. "I don't even have money for food. What kind of life is this?" He stood up, locked the door, and dropped the key on the window sill. Then he walked out of the compound without telling anyone.

Ayo kept walking, avoiding people that knew him. He felt like if anyone stopped him to ask about Benny and the babies, he would not have anything to say. He didn't enter any bus. He just kept walking until he got to a small park and begged one of the drivers for a free ride out of town. The man looked at his face and gave him a seat. As the bus moved, Ayo sat quietly. He didn't talk to anyone. When the driver asked him, "Where exactly are you going?" he replied, "Anywhere far from here."

Back at the hospital, Benny was still waiting for Ayo. One of the nurses came to her and said, "Madam, where is your husband? We need him to come and settle the bill." Benny said, "He didn't tell me where he was going to. I've not seen him since yesterday." Another nurse hissed.

"You mean he abandoned you?" she asked. Benny didn't know what to say. The nurse added, "This is not a government charity home. If your husband doesn't show up today, we will not allow you and your babies to leave." Benny looked down at the four babies lying beside her. They were quiet but hungry.

By afternoon, the hospital management called a meeting. "This woman has been here for over 24 hours after delivery," the matron said. "Her husband has vanished. We must decide what to do." One of the doctors replied, "She is owing N780,000. She cannot leave this hospital until that money is paid." Another nurse suggested calling the police. "Let them go to the address on their file and find him." But when they checked the file, they saw the house address written in pencil. The street was correct, but there was no house number. "This man planned this thing," the doctor said.

The hospital called Benny and informed her officially. "Madam, until you pay the N780,000, you cannot leave this hospital. Your babies will remain here with you, but you are now under watch." Benny sat quietly. Her wrapper had become loose, and her hair looked rough.

The babies were sleeping beside her. One nurse dropped a tin of milk on the table and left. A patient's wife who had noticed her struggle came closer and whispered, "You never see your husband?" Benny shook her head. "I don't even know where he went. He didn't say anything. He just left."

Later that evening, two cleaners who lived in Ayo's street came to the hospital for their night shift. When they heard about a woman who gave birth to four babies and her husband disappeared, they asked for her name.

"Benny?" one of them said. "Ayo's wife?" The nurse nodded.

"Yes. He ran away after she delivered." The cleaners looked at each other. "We saw him yesterday evening with a bag. He didn't greet anybody. Just walked out of the compound. People even thought he was going to buy something."

The nurse asked, "Can you take us to his house tomorrow?" They agreed.

The next day, the hospital sent two staff to follow the cleaners to Ayo's house. When they got there, the door was locked. A neighbour confirmed that Ayo had not returned. "He left in the evening with a small bag and dropped the key on the window. That door has not been opened since then," the woman said. The hospital staff took photos of the house and returned. "He has vanished," they told the management. "No phone number is reachable. The man has disappeared into thin air." The hospital sighed. They now knew Benny had been left behind without help.

Days passed. Benny was still in the same hospital bed. The babies were now beginning to grow weak. She had no diapers. She had no baby clothes. The wrapper she used to cover them was already dirty. The nurses pitied her but couldn't do much.

One of them came to her and said, "Madam, this thing your husband did is wicked. Even if you are poor, you don't run from responsibility like this." Benny said nothing. Her eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling. She didn't even notice when the nurse walked away. The babies started crying again, one after the other.

On the seventh day, the hospital management gave Benny a form. "If you have any family member that can help, fill this form and give us their number," the matron said. Benny thought for a while and wrote down her younger brother's phone number. He was still serving in Jos and didn't even have a job. But he was all she had. The hospital called him. "Your sister is here with four babies. Her husband has disappeared. We need someone to come and sign for her." The brother sounded confused. "Four babies? Ayo ran away? What is all this? She should deal with it. We warned her not to marry that man." he asked.

Back in the hospital, the nurses continued to ask questions. The story had now spread to other wards. Everyone was talking about "the woman whose husband ran away after quadruplets." Some people blamed Ayo. Others blamed Benny for marrying a man with no means. The babies were weak, but they were still alive. Benny was stuck in the hospital like a prisoner. Every day she prayed for a miracle, but nothing changed. One of the nurses came in and said, "Madam, I don't know how this will end, but your case has reached the Chief Medical Director." Benny kept quiet.