"Some of you fall in love because you don't pray."
It took an enormous amount of willpower to stop myself from laughing after hearing that statement. After all, this wasn't a situation where one laughs, no matter how amusing it may be.
With all my sister's pregnant and none of the fathers answering it was clear that the relationship issue was beyond the ordinary and thus supernatural guidance was needed.
My three elder sisters knelt in front of my mom, a strictly feminine family, with our rich father out of the picture as he was caught cheating and losing in court. My mom got away with a reasonable sum; enough to start a business and make a fortune.
A fortune in which the outputs of her 3 daughter's relationship would dent drastically.
The babies would be terminated. I, a child of 16 understood that much. Three daughters can't give birth to a bastard each.
Even for a regular family without our issues, it can't be done.
My mother was never the type to raise her voice, but with the way her head she closed her eyes and assimilated the news, I knew she was angry and disappointed.
The silence was heavy. I wasn't in trouble yet I felt the tension in the room, the kind of silence that makes you aware of everything going on in your body and some of the things going on out of it.
The creaking of the chair as my mother rocked on it thinking. The nervous wiggling of my sister, Eliza's, hands.
She was the youngest of the three, just two years older than me, and hers was the worst, a whooping four months pregnancy skillfully concealed by her big frame and small belly.
I looked at my mum and coincidentally she was looking at Eliza too.
"You're all going to lose the baby." She said silently.
It wasn't a statement up for debate - it was a verdict passed, a judgment and a punishment.
Tears started streaming down Eliza's face.
I knew from the start that she was lying about the father not answering.
Just last night I was kept awake by her giggles over the phone. Unless the baby had started tickling her insides, it was a given that she and her lover were still in contact.
"No." She said softly.
All eyes immediately turned to look at her.
Eliza, with tears in her eyes said it again.
"I'm keeping the baby."
Mother paid her no mind and kept on talking.
"I'll call the family doctor and set an appointment for each of you."
"I'm keeping the baby!" Eliza shouted.
"That's not your decision to make." Mother replied back
"Why not? It's my baby."
"That would be fed on my money, that would be given birth to in my home, and that would be a stain on my name!"
Mother was shouting. She never shouted.
Eliza sat on the floor in shock, we all were shook at the incident.
"None of you are keeping these babies. First it's not right and secondly none of you are clearly mature enough for the responsibility of a child."
With that she walked inside.
I looked at my sister's, they all looked down, heads bowed in shame and guilt, only Eliza was crying, defiant.
I had an idea of who the father may be, a boy with whom I've caught her with multiple times.
I take good care not to pry at my sister's movement, yet I knew he wasn't someone that'll simply up and run. He seemed to actually care for her and she was obsessed with him.
"Does he know?"
I asked quietly as I came to kneel beside her.
It was a simple question, and Eliza nodded her head in response.
"It was our first time, he's so scared. I think he's blocked my line."
I bit back the retort I had to her, instead just rubbed her back encouragingly.
"It's our child, it has to be our choice if we keep or remove it."
I couldn't bring myself to tell her that his act of blocking her removes himself from the equation.
She was obsessed, and it became clear to me then that obsession wasn't love, it was madness.
My two other sisters looked fazed, they had accepted their faith willingly, their pregnancies being just over a month meant it would be an easy process.
I had never gotten pregnant, never had the bad luck to be, and was always careful to avoid it, but I've had a lot of friends who have had, lost and aborted a lot of kids.
It's not an exaggeration to say I've seen and heard all kinds of scenarios and I know exactly how my sister's story would go if she didn't get rid of this baby and of her feelings.
Still, I knew the look I saw in her eyes, the eyes of delusions that makes you think you can do it.
The eyes of defiance that makes you ignore all advice and plunge headfirst into motherhood.
Even if she was my sister, with such eyes I didn't waste my breath.
For there's one thing I've learned, in matters of love, life and babies, experience teaches best.
Header Image was captured by me and edited using Canva.
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