“I am not with Itohan. I hope all is well,”Ese asked in fear.

“Yes, but Eric was involved in a car accident. I want you and Itohan to come back in the morning, so that you can take care of him,” her husband informed her.

“Okay. I hope it is not too serious?”Ese asked

“No. ”

Then, let me talk with him,” Ese demanded from her husband.

“He is sleeping at the moment. They sedated him so he could have enough rest. Infact, we were instructed not to disturb him.”

“God please, preserve my brother’s life, ” Ese prayed. Immediately she dropped the phone, Itohan ran to meet her.

“Aunty, I am no longer comfortable staying here. I want to go and search for Eric.”

“Do you know the time. This is 8pm.”

“Aunty, I don’t care. I want to see Eric,” Itohan said firmly.

“My husband just called me now on phone. Eric is fine . It’s just that he was involved in a car accident.”

“What!”

“Calm down. He is recieving treatment in the hospital and he is stable. They had to put him to sleep as they were stitching the wound so that it won’t be so painful. He might sleep till tomorrow morning. That’s why my husband said that we should come back tomorrow morning to see him,” Ese explained

“Ha! I hope the accident is not serious. I don’t want my husband’s to die,”Itohan cried.

“Nothing will happen to my only brother. ” Ese said firmly.

As early as 5am in the morning, Itohan and Ese had already had their bathe and prepared for the journey but Ese’s husband told them to wait because he want to come carry them with his car.

By 7:30am, he had not yet come and Itohan became agitated.

“Aunty Ese, I can’ t wait anymore. I need to to see my husband.”

“I need to see my brother too but we have to wait because we don’t know the hospital he is in. Let’s exercise patience. ” Ese pleaded.

Meanwhile, everywhere was bubbling because of the wedding preparation. Ese carried Itohan to the bride’s room in a bid to distract her and make her think less about Eric but it made the whole situation worse for her.

Sparkling at the corner of the room was the wedding gown. It was so beautiful that it attracted the attention of everyone that entered the room. The make-up artist was with the bride.

“Your wedding gown is really nice. Where did you buy it from?” Ese asked.

“We ordered it from Dubai. My fiance insisted we must get it from there,” Peace answered.

“Wow! I like it. It’s not common,” Ese told her.

“But aunty your wedding gown was even finer than this . I remember how we were shouting when they told us the cost,” Peace reminded her.

“My dear, but no one will want to wear it today, just after 8 years. New designs are emerging daily. That is why we shouldn’t really stress ourselves because of any thing. People should just do their wedding ceremony according to the capability. Afterall, it is just a day event.”

“Thank you so much ma for this. I wish that my fellow ladies will understand this. One of my friends just left a very nice young man that wanted to marry her. She wanted a society wedding and the man told him that he cannot afford it. That was why she called off the relationship” Esther; one of the brides maid told Ese.

“This is the same issue that made my elder brother to leave the former lady he wanted to marry. The lady insisted that one of the famous musicians must be the guest artist in their wedding. My brother agreed but told her that she must be the one to foot the bill. That was how problem started between the 2 of them. My brother later opted out of the relationship,” Another bridesmaid narrated.

“That is the problem we are facing in the society today. Sandra want to do what Cynthia did, but it doesn’t work that way. A man must not kill himself because he want to marry you. The marriage itself is more important than the wedding ceremony. If there is no money for elaborate ceremony. Do it the way you can and live happily with your partner thereafter,” Ese advised.

“I wish my gender will know this,” Esther chipped in.

There was was a tap on the door and the bride’s mum came. She looked at the brides face and shouted,” Peace what is this?”

“Mum, what are you talking about?” Peace asked.

“I mean the multiple layers of paints on your face and the one on your eyes that made you look like a masquerade,” her mum told her.

“Mummy this is just a make up. Today is my day,” Peace explained.

“Welldone! Thanks for reminding me that today is your day. Now listen to me young lady. Look for water and wash off all that nonsense on your face. I am leaving now, if I come back and see it. I will do the washing by myself,” The bride’s mum threatened.

Peace started crying and Ese pleaded with her to stop crying.

“My dear it’s okay. It’s true that today is your wedding day, it shouldn’t make you to forget the doctrine of your church. The make up is too loud. Even I, that everyone knows that I like make up didn’t do this type on my wedding day. Just calm down . Let the make up artist do a mild makeup for you. You will even look more beautiful,” Ese advised. She got carried away by all that was happening that she didn’t notice that Itohan was crying. She quickly carried her away from the bride’s room and demanded to know what the issue was.

“I am crying because of the shame that I brought upon my self. Whenever I see anyone wearing a wedding gown , It reminds me of my dreams and aspirations. I promised myself that I will marry honourably and wear a wedding. Look at how I ended, “she cried.

“Have you given up on wearing a wedding gown? Eric is going to pay your bride price. You will have any kind of wedding you desire. I promise you that.”

“I have lost the opportunity for the kind of wedding I desired. I desired to wear a wedding gown that the colour would truly signify who I am. I desired a marriage that was holy with the bed undefiled. Whenever I remember how I struggled to maintain my chastity against all odds for a whole 26 years, only to throw it away at the 27th one, it brings tears to my eyes.”

“The mistake has been made, there is no need to keep regretting about it . Forget the past and face your future. All you need to pray for is that God will change Eric for good,” Ese advised.

Ese’s husband came and they left with him. As they were on the way, Ese asked about Eric.”

“He is fine but he still need some rest,” he explained.

“But I have been trying to reach him. His phone is switched off,” Itohan told him.

“I am with the phone. We collected his phone so that he would not be disturbed,” Ese’s husband told Itohan.

Instead of driving to hospital Ese’s husband drove to their home. On getting there, all the family members have gathered.

“What is going on. Who are these people gathering for?” Ese asked in agitation.

Watch out for the next episode.