Titan Race by Edentu D. Oroso

Author:Edentu D. Oroso [Oroso, Edentu D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Melodicrose Publishing
Published: 2019-05-03T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

A troubled look lingered on Vatima Hansi's face. Her magnetic eyes dimmed in the crease of her sleek facial features as if she had aged. Her youngest son on the opposite couch, keenly watching the television reports of the hurricane and prattling about it with elder sister and brother, took notice of her sudden ageing. He had also noticed on her return from Manu Square how she had been smug, lacking in the motherly warmth she often exuded.

He crossed over to her couch, tugged at her side, distracting her from her blank stare.

"Mama, are you bothered in any way?" he probed. His eyes glared with deep concern. “Mama, I know the damn hurricane is distressing, yet it seems something else is on your mind. Tell me Mama, what’s the matter?"

Vatima blanched; a bit embarrassed her son discerned her darkened mood. She extended a quivering hand and encircled his plumb body, masking her feelings somewhat, gazing into his curious eyes with affection.

"Nothing is bothering me, Hansi Jnr," she said in a husky voice, drawing him close. "How could I be worried with your cute little face and your radiant smiles around me?" Her lips formed a wry smile, but could not fool the boy with her antics.

Mama is not telling me the truth, Hansi Jnr thought. She must think I’m too naive to notice her lingering brooding. Of course, she’s in some kind of pain she finds hard to express. She had never been this weary in spirit before.

Her apparent weakness emboldened his adventurous spirit. He firmed his grip around her trim waistline, a form of strength he thought his arm could avail for her.

"Mama, are you telling me the truth?"

Drawn by the cosy exchange, Manta and Pram, her two other children stopped their prattle. Pram lowered the television’s volume by remote sensor.

Vatima leaned forward, almost breathing down on Hansi Jnr, invoking the presence of wilted courage. She touched the tip of his nose with her forefinger.

"You bet it’s the truth," she lied, her tone cajoling.

Hansi Jnr tickled, gasped and broke free from her hold, suspicion glaring still in his eyes.

Damn. I’m lying to my own son, Vatima thought. I have to shield him from the bitter truth though. I love my children. They are still tender, highly vulnerable. To expose them to the cruel aspects of the meeting with Tonka is to endanger their aspirations and engender their souls toward the absurd. I’ll spare them the ordeal.

"So how come you’ve been frowning all day, behaving funny and causing all those lines of stress on your face?" Hansi Jnr probed. Her sudden geniality did nothing to reassure him.

Manta, her eldest son chuckled on the opposite couch. "I didn’t quite understand Mama's mood myself. So distant she’d been from us. I thought perhaps it was just the bad weather that affected her."

Pram giggled and gave a girlish assent. "Mama looked like a fiery cloud about to burst when she came home before the windstorm."

"Now, no, no!" Vatima's protest went. "Stop exaggerating, Pram.

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