It’s time to close the door on this series that’s been filled with heartbreak and grief. How does it end for Leticia?

A lovely Wednesday morning it was. A morning with the sun out in all its glory, surrounded by clear blue skies and very few clouds.

In the Dawson household, it was a special kind of busy morning, as this would be the last time there would be any serious activity in it.

Leticia and the children were leaving and heading to Sunyani to begin a new chapter of life.

Having taken a walk around the entire house, from the master bedroom to the kids’ room to the kitchen, storeroom and the dining room, Leticia stood in the living room, looked around, and took a deep breath. The rooms had been emptied out, and just a bare, unoccupied building was what it now was.

This is definitely the best decision to make, she reminded herself as she continued to observe the place. There were too many memories within these walls to say she would just move on with life as it was without degenerating into a dark place.

“Sammy! Denny! Time for us to get going now!” Leticia called out to the young ones in the room.

The children walked out of their room, carrying bags and looking pretty sad. “I’m gonna miss this place, Mummy,” Samuel said, holding on to his mother, as did Denise.

Leticia sighed as she placed a hand on her little boy’s head while looking around again. She knew it was not going to be easy for them to leave. New surroundings. New school. New friends. She knew it would be tough for her little ones.

But staying here was tougher. She had thought about it long enough, and she was convinced. To remain in these surroundings would not help her get over the spite lodged firmly in some corner of her heart. And that wouldn’t be helpful for her or them in the long run. This had to be done.

Two more weeks had passed, and she was sure that this was the right decision to make. Her healing was not going to come by just pretending to be okay, but by dealing with it properly. Time wasn’t going to heal these wounds as far as she was concerned. Taking certain actions would, and that included leaving the city altogether.

“I know, baby, I know. But it’s for the best. And I’m sure you’ll get used to our new place.”

The three of them walked out of the room and onto the porch, where Thomas’ dad and Reverend Bondzie sat, waiting for them. They rose from their seats, giving the children big smiles.

“My sweetheart Denise!” Thomas’ father said as he ushered his granddaughter into his arms, and Samuel walked to the priest. The older Mr. Dawson looked at Leticia and gave a sad nod. He had also tried to convince her not to leave, but she had insisted that it was the only way she could properly move on with life.

He had tried to encourage her to stay and be strong for the children, to which she had plainly stated it was best for them to live with a mother who had healed from her wounds than to pretend and eventually fall into an eternal state of bitterness, which would eventually be poured out on them.

It hadn’t been an easy conversation; it had been long, difficult, and almost fierce at a point, but eventually, he realized it was best to let her do what she believed was right for her and the children.

“So the flight is at 9 o’clock, right?” he asked.

Leticia nodded. “Yes, please.”

“Alright. Well, as we already settled the issue of inheritance at the courts, I’m going to handle the distribution of the family property. Are you sure you don’t want to take possession of the house in Kumasi?”

Leticia shook her head vehemently. Already, staying in their house was bad enough. To take the house where Thomas and Glori had spent the entire weekend hungrily devouring each other with a passion all over was another issue altogether. The thought alone made her want to retch violently. “No, Daddy. I’ll hold it in trust for the kids for now. I’m sure they’ll know what to do with it by then.”

“No problem. So I’ll sell this house and let you have the proceeds, and if anything else pops up, I’ll let you know.”

Then, he sighed and bowed his head. “Hmmmm. Leticia. God knows it wasn’t meant to be like this…”

“Daddy,” Leticia intercepted gently, putting a hand on his shoulder, as Reverend Bondzie did likewise on the other shoulder. “I know too well. It wasn’t. But… I guess… choices were made, and… this… this is where we are now…”

Her voice beginning to break, the two elderly men switched to comforting her. “It’s alright, Leticia. It’s alright,” Rev. Bondzie assured her. “This is your first step in moving on. We would’ve wished you could move on here, but you need to do what’s best for your mental health, and for the children too.”

“Just take good care of yourself and the children, alright?” Thomas’ father said to her, to which she nodded.

“Anything else left in the house?” Rev. Bondzie asked.

She shook her head. “Sammy and Denise went for their bags. Everything else has been packed and is in the car.”

“Alright. Good, good. Shall we take a moment to pray before you set off, then?”

Leticia, Thomas’ father and the children all duly closed their eyes and bowed their heads.

“Heavenly Father, yet again, a new day is here, and it is only by Your grace that we are standing here, and for that, we are ever grateful. Lord, I commit Your daughter Leticia and the children into your hands. As they depart for Sunyani, we pray for travelling mercies, we pray that You will take them safely. Let no harm come their way, in the mighty name of Jesus. And Heavenly Father, as they start a new chapter, may there be a restoration of joy, a restoration of peace, a restoration of all that has been lost by virtue of all that has happened these past few weeks. In Jesus’ name we pray with thanksgiving. Amen!”

“Amen!”

***

Turning her head to the left, Leticia saw Denise fast asleep and securely buckled in her seat.

Placing her hand on the little girl’s head, she looked behind. The young man sitting behind her gave her a thumbs up as she noticed Samuel in slumber as well. She gave him a grateful smile and turned.

Twenty minutes into the flight, and they were out of Accra. She sighed as she stretched her neck to look out the window. She had seen the seas and the canoes on the shores. Such a lovely sight. And it hadn’t been the first time.

It reminded her of the last time she and Thomas sat on a plane together. She had been excited about the scene and told Thomas, who gave a weak smile and nodded and said, “Ohh, that’s nice.”

In hindsight, since that had happened after the infamous row, she was sure he probably cursed her in his head afterward.

But that was immaterial now.

It was nothing but green vegetation she could see now. And if she was going to get through this, reliving memories wouldn’t be the most helpful.

Just think of the future ahead of you, girl, she encouraged herself as she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. The past is the past. It can’t be changed. It’s time to focus on what’s ahead of me…

***

Midday had arrived. Leticia and the kids were now at their new home.

Kwesi had met them at the airport and duly taken them to their new residence. A comfortable little bungalow in a rather comfy neighbourhood. Upon arriving, she was pleased she had delegated the task of a new home to him; he had secured a good place for them.

As he helped the children get their room in order, Leticia stepped out of the house to make a call. She had spoken to Thomas’ father and her parents on the way to the new home. Now she had to contact her now former priest.

“Hello, Leticia?”

“Yeah, Reverend Bondzie. We’re in Sunyani now.”

“Oh, thank God for travelling mercies. Good to hear. Have you arrived at your new home yet?”

“Yeah, we’re here, and we’re already working on setting it up as I speak. Kwesi is helping the kids set up their bedroom. Sammy seems pretty excited about it, so that’s a positive, I guess.”

“That’s great to hear. We give thanks to God. So please, Leticia, let me be hearing from you often. We might be miles away from each other now, but I still wanna know how you’re doing.”

“Oh, don’t worry at all, Father. I’m definitely gonna be keeping in touch. Don’t be in doubt about that.”

“Great, great. So you start work tomorrow?”

“No, I’ll start on Monday. So I’m going to the hospital to check up on my brother and see how far with his rehabilitation. Then I’ll go and meet my therapist for our first appointment.”

“Alright, alright. Well, all the best in that. We’re praying God helps you through that period.”

“Thank you, Rev. I’m most grateful.”

***

“Lll…ll..Leticia?”

In his ward in the Bulber Memorial Hospital, Barnabas looked surprised but delighted to see his sister as she walked into the room. Her name had come out of his mouth in a slurred way, indicating how the stroke had affected his speech. He attempted a smile as she came to land a kiss on his forehead.

“Hey, Barnie, you doing good?”

He nodded, his eyes looking up at her with joy.

“Great. The nurses told me you’re doing fine, and that’s great to hear. So far, I hear your speech therapy is coming along nicely. Petite a petite, right?”

“Yeahhhh. I’m okayy,” he drawled slowly, nodding his head in similar fashion as she sat down, placing a basket by his side.

“Good. Well, aside from this food I’m bringing you, I also wanted you to know I’m now settling here in Sunyani. Going to make sure I do everything I can to help you get back to the Barnabas we know you to be. I know it’ll take a while, but I’ll be here through it all.”

Barnabas looked confused. “Buutt… th-the children? Thommmassss? Wherrree is heeeee?”

A wistful smile appeared on her lips upon the mention of that name. She had anticipated this.

Of course, due to his condition, he had not been made aware of all that had happened. So he didn’t know his brother-in-law was no more, and he certainly didn’t know the other details. He would come to know in due course. But for now, that wasn’t a priority.

She gently rubbed his arm as she sat on the bed next to him. “Don’t worry about all that. I’ll let you know what’s happened in time. For now, I brought you some of your favourite yam balls. Just the way Maame used to make them back in the day…”

***

Standing in front of the door, Leticia heaved a big sigh.

This was it. The final major task for the day.

After letting Kwesi take the children to a nearby playground so they could make new friends, and visiting her brother in the hospital, it was now time to see the therapist.

It was time. Time to truly begin the journey of healing from the pain of loss. The pain of betrayal. The burning urge to hold on to that flaming coal of anger.

As she stood there, she knew that deep down, she was still bitter at everything that had happened. Thomas’ infidelity. Glori’s betrayal. The discovery that Thomas despised her. The fact that she could never get an answer to all the questions in her head since that awful morning the police officer appeared at their front door with the bad news. She was nowhere near okay; a root of rancour had already taken hold in her heart.

Hopefully, this would be the start of working towards freedom from that rancour.

Quickly doing the sign of the cross, she knocked on the door, opening it after she heard an order to come in.

The middle-aged lady sitting at her desk put down her papers and flashed Leticia a wide smile as she approached. “Please take a seat,” she said warmly, to which Leticia obliged.

Picking up a sheet of paper, she looked at it. “Okay, so… Miss Adjei, right?”

Leticia smiled, then nodded. “Yes. Miss Leticia Adjei.”

“Alright, so my name is Abigail Ofori, as you already know, and you’re welcome to the first day of therapy. Let’s begin, shall we?”

THE END

And that’s the end! Man, look at the depth of the consequences of Thomas’ and Glori’s actions on those that concern them. It most definitely wasn’t worth it. Broken friendships, shattered lives… it messed things up. Just shows how you gotta be wary of the decisions you make in life; they have more far-reaching consequences than you’ll ever know.

Thank you for reading, and of course, continue to enjoy yourself in the State!