CHAPTER 149

Naomi had planned to burn Magdalene's clothes afterwards. Naomi felt that that was the only way to erase Magdalene's memory from her mind.

As soon as they finished parking Magdalene's clothes, Naomi decided to leave carrying a suitcase on her arms but Ruth suddenly stopped her. 

" Mama! What are you trying to hide from us?  Was it Ryan that attacked grandma that day? Was it Lawrence that attacked grandma that day? Why are you protecting that person if you really loved grandma? I want to know that person and I want to kill that person myself" said Ruth as she cried filled with lots of anger.

" You are my daughter Ruth and I know that it's my first priority to protect you. I am begging you to please forgive me if I cannot really do anything or tell you about it. I want to go" said Naomi who opened the room and left to her room. 

Ruth was filled with lots of sadness. There was no way that she would doubt Ryan even though she saw Naomi looking at him filled with lots of fear. Ruth believed that it couldn't have been him since she was with Ryan throughout the war. The was a clear proof that Ryan could not have done it since Nelly, the person that Ryan cared about the most also got hurt during the war.

" Until I know the person who killed my grandma, I will never be able to rest in peace. I will never be able to rest in peace even though I  decide to get married to Ryan right away and live happily ever after" said Ruth. 

" What about Nelly? Was she not there when grandma died?" Asked Faith filled with lots of curiosity.

" I have never doubted Nelly ever since I came here yet I think that what you have said is true. Nelly was there when the whole incident took place. There is no way that she wouldn't know the person who was responsible for attacking grandma which led to her mysterious death. We need to find her and get information from her before she becomes the case manager" Said Ruth who immediately left the room accompanied by Faith. 

They both went to look for Nelly and were astonished to see her seated at the balcony filled with lots of tears. This was after they searched for her all over the house for almost an hour. 

" Why are you crying Nelly?" Asked Ruth as she went towards her seated on a chair accompanied by Faith. 

" The breeze is so cool. Isn't that right? Why are you both here?" said Nelly who pretended to be smiling since she thought that Faith and Ruth had no idea she was crying. 

" The breeze can never be cool when we face a lot of troubles in this life. The breeze can never be cool till I know the person who killed my grandma. My grandma was such a good person and death was not supposed to be her destiny. You were there in the house during the war Nelly. I believe that you must have an idea of the person who killed my grandma" said Ruth. 

" I could have had an idea of that day Ruth but I was hit on the head immediately those unknown warriors entered the house that day. There was something very strange about them that day. Their dressing code proved that they were neither our warriors nor the closer gates warriors. If those warriors did not exist, then that means that they were sent by someone to attack us at home" said Nelly. 

Faith and Ruth were in a deep state of confusion. They wondered the kind of warriors that Nelly was speaking about. Olam town never had any enemies who would kill Magdalene unless it was Mambo town who had enemies that decided to attack them that day. 

" Does Mambo town have enemies?" Asked Faith filled with lots of curiosity.

" There is none that I have ever heard of except for Olam town the exact day that you both came into our lives. I don't think that the people who attacked us wanted to target grandma Magdalene, they had come for a mission which made them to attack us as soon as they realized that the mission was not complete. I don't understand what they came for" said Nelly as tears welled down her eyes.

Ruth moved closer to Nelly and tried to comfort her. This made Ruth to notice the smell of alcohol on Nelly's breathe. Ruth immediately slapped her and moved away from her which astonished both Nelly and Faith. 

" Why do you smell alcohol? Are you an alcoholist?" Asked Ruth filled with lots of anger. 

" I am not an alcoholist and I have never been one. I just decided to drink today in order to forget all the troubles in my life. I am sorry. I am really sorry for not being a perfect woman like you and Faith and I know that  I can never be" said Nelly. 

" Where is all this coming from? None of us is perfect. Faith and I have wronged others too. We have often went against grandma's and Mama's wishes in the past thinking that we were protecting them. I left Purist my daughter and Martin in the past because of the decisions they made. That made their lives miserable and yet I didn't care since I wanted to revenge on them. My anger led to Purist's marriage and that is the main reason why I am not perfect either" said Ruth. 

" Why are you so hard on yourself Ruth? I have always told you that you are not the main reason why Purist got married at the age of sixteen. You are not the main reason why you got married at the age of sixteen either. Circumstances in life forced her to get married. Please don't blame yourself my dear sister" said Faith who left the balcony. 

Nelly left the balcony too since she did not want to be scolded by Ruth anymore. Ruth sat on the chair at the balcony filled with lots of sadness. 

She finally remembered the promise that she made to Purist about the fact that she would destroy her marriage. This made her to feel that she needed to see Purist in her matrimonial home even if she knew that it was against the laws of the community. She decided to go and therefore decided to dress into clothes that would not disguise her face by covering her face with a scarf leaving only her eyes open inorder to focus on the mission. 

She therefore sneaked out of the mansion since she did not want anyone to see or recognize her in such a state. As soon as she managed to sneak out of the mansion, she ran as fast as she could to Purist's matrimonial home and was astonished to find her digging in the farm as soon as she arrived.

Ruth immediately went towards Purist filled with lots of sadness. She took the farm equipments away from her and held her arm leading her out of her matrimonial home. 

" What are you doing? Who are you?" Asked Purist who could not recognized Ruth since the scarf covered her all over her face.  

Ruth immediately removed the scarf from her face. Purist looked at Ruth astonished since she had warned Ruth not to come in her matrimonial home if she wasn't married yet.

" How are you doing Purist?" Asked Ruth who seemed calm about the whole situation and did not seem to really care about the consequences of her action.

" Mama! You shouldn't have come here. Did I not warn you before? There are always consequences to every action in this community. Go before someone sees you here and puts your life in danger" said Purist who signalled to Ruth to leave.

" I cannot leave today till you accept to come a long with me. I can't bear see you ruin your life Purist. I have fought for the rights of other girls. Why then does it seem difficult to do the same for my own daughter? Everytime I see your umbilical cord, it makes me remember that I have a daughter who cares about me so much. She is willing to sacrifice everything for my sake" said Ruth. 

" Till now I would choose you Ruth but this is not the right time to choose you. I have been not been able to remember everything about my past but the bond between you and I made me to always love you. That is why I am begging you to leave for the sake of that love that I have for you. I don't want you to put your life in danger because of me" said Purist in a pellucid voice.

" Hide me in the store or anywhere else since I have already made up my mind. I am not going to leave here without you" Said Ruth who went towards Purist's matrimonial house.

" I will think about it mama. Please go" said Purist who signalled to Ruth to leave.

Ruth immediately left. She knew and felt that Purist had a good reason as to why she chased her away. She promsed herself that her main reason would be to find the main reason why Purist chased her away soon. 

MARRIED AT SIXTEEN.