“And so, that’s why I’m here. Basically, I had a one-night stand with a guy and got pregnant out of it. He’s rejected it, and my parents have rejected me. That’s my life up to this point.”

It was a Saturday afternoon, and as planned, Akushika was in Raymond’s apartment, along with Jonny and Bukky. Facing them all, she gave them a detailed account of her story.

To her surprise, she didn’t break down this time around. It felt like she was starting to embrace this reality. The past few days were teaching her how fruitless it was to continue crying over all that had happened; she might as well just accept it and move on to do what was necessary, including taking care of the baby.

Raymond, Jonny and Bukky had listened silently to her story, and once she was done, they all looked somber and stunned.

“Chale, so in this day and age, some parents still dey do that disowning thing over pregnancy? Seriously?” Jonny wondered aloud. “That’s crazy. I thought we’d moved past that nonsense.”

“Hmmm, me sef. I can’t understand. So sakeof one error, you say she no be your kiddie again? Ahba!” Raymond shook his head. “I no be parent, but this kind parenting di33, ibi yawa. How?

“Hmmmm,” Bukky hummed. “Na the oloshi responsible for this pregnancy too is another one.”

Akushika looked a bit confused. “Umm, oloshi?”

Bukky laughed. “Oh, that means fool in Yoruba. Like the way you people say kwasia over here.”

“Oh, okay, okay. Yeah, as for him. Bukky, the way he insulted me when I told him. Calling me a whore, that I sold my body to other guys and I’m just trying to pin the pregnancy on him… hmmm. It was so painful.”

“Hmmm. Ray, this our gender, them dey like disgrace we too much!” Jonny remarked.

“Ashock! So some niggas, sakeof sex, them no get conscience again? Ah! Ohhh, ibi sad, ibi sad,” Raymond lamented. “And he knew he was your first?”

Akushika sighed and nodded. “I told him I’d never done it before. He was like, oh, perfect.”

“Waaa see! When it was to fire di33, he was happy to be the first. As pregnancy come, now he dey run. Shameful nigga,” Raymond remarked, the scorn apparent on his face.

“Hm! You guys know how I feel about these matters, so me, I no go talk plenty,” Bukky stated. “But, baby girl, with what you’ve said, it doesn’t sound like your parents would be any satisfied if this idiot actually accepted responsibility.”

Akushika shook her head. “Hmm, Bukky. The fact that I have something like a boyfriend alone would be a problem. These are parents who said I’m only allowed to have a boyfriend once I’ve obtained my doctorate degree.”

The three sat up, their eyes wide with shock. “Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Jonny stepped in. “Doctorate?”

Akushika nodded. “Yeah. Until I’m done, no boyfriend matters.”

The shock remained on their faces. “But… but why doctorate?” Bukky questioned. “If undergraduate, I can understand, but… isn’t this too extreme?”

“Honestly. Coz you know a PhD takes not less than three years to complete, right?” Jonny asked. “What if your PhD takes about seven years? I mean… chale, echill. Na my head start dey bash me sef. This kind rule di33, ei.”

Akushika sighed. “Yeah, well, I’ve had to put up with a lot of rules and regulations under my parents. People say their folks are strict, but my folks are another level. Honestly.”

“Wow. Then I’m sure you never went out or had friends over,” Raymond asked.

Akushika shook her head. “If I wasn’t sneaking out, like that fateful night, never ever! It was like a mortal sin to even ask if I can go out. The blastings I’ll receive will be enough to shake the outing out of me. And as for friends… trust me, the worst thing I could do would be to let you meet my parents as a friend. Even my girls, they’d find something to pounce on and claim that you’re a bad influence and you should stay away from me.”

“Ei! Asem ben nie!” Jonny exclaimed. “Ah, so how did you get through school with all this?”

Akushika shrugged. “I was homeschooled, actually.”

“Ohhhhhhhh!” the three chorused together.

“Yeah. Basically, it’s only until university that I’m attending school with others, and that’s when their strictness really got intense, since they don’t want me to be tainted with ‘the foolishness of the outside world’.”

The three looked pretty unimpressed by that. “Ebei! This overly protective distin too, it’s too much,” Raymond stated. “I understand the whole trying to protect you, I mean, it’s standard. Every normal parent is protective of their children. But this kind of bubble… honestly…”

“Hmmm. They must have prevented you from doing a lot, then,” Bukky commented.

Akushika nodded. “Yep. No movies, no cartoons, no music… a whole lot of rules. The only TV we watch is the news, like CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and the like, because they said I need to be up to date with international happenings and know what goes on in other parts of the world, since they’re training me to be a woman of international repute.”

Jonny shook her head. “Hmmmm. I mean, fair enough, their desire for you is good. But, balance dey hia, chale. Balance dey need. What’s wrong with watching a movie every now and then? Why, do they think the presidents of all the nations never watch TV or listen to music or something? See how Obama sef dey put out his favourite playlist every year.”

“Ashock!” Raymond butted in. “All these top-notch executives of banks and international firms have a life outside of business.”

Akushika sighed again, then let out a tiny snicker. “You know, that reminds me. There was this rule too that I never really understood. And that was that I was never allowed to learn or speak any Ghanaian language.”

The three stared blankly at her almost simultaneously. “Wait a minute, what?” Raymond enquired.

Akushika nodded. “Twi. Ga. My native Ewe. Can’t speak a word of them. And I was forbidden to speak any of them.”

“Ah-ah! But why, now?” Bukky asked.

“Well, according to them, they are… or should I say, were, training me to become a woman of international repute, and there are languages that matter on the world stage, one of which is English, and there are others that are of no relevance, like our languages. So they would not permit me to learn a language of, and these are their words, ‘a language of zero effect and relevance’. So that’s why I can only speak English.”

The three remained silent, clearly stunned by this. Akushika shook her head and smiled. She had always been baffled by that rule, and it was no surprise to see others reacting to it the same way.

After a few moments of silence, Jonny murmured, “What in the self-hatred for one’s own culture is that all about?”

Bukky shook her head. “Hmmm. I’m just imagining if my mother heard something like this. Heii! See me see wahala. You say something like this to Mrs. Bernice Temitope Ogunjobi? The woman who made sure we learn Yoruba before we learn English? Heiiii! That woman does not joke with culture ooo! She says an appreciation of the culture you’re born into is very, very important.”

“Exactly!” Raymond added. “It’s so important to know your culture and appreciate it and know how to speak the language. It’s a uniqueness that you can’t take for granted. Nahhh, I’m shocked. International nti, you spit on your own background? Eiiii.”

“But guys, guys, you know what be my problem?” Jonny piped up. “If them really get that mindset, then why them give you that name? Coz honestly. Akushika Acolatse. Clearly points to where you come from. Since they don’t want to associate their daughter with the language and the culture as a whole, just give her a whole new name, like, I don’t know, Anita Aikins or something.”

Everyone laughed. “Ah well. I’ve never understood it, and I really wanted to ask why,” Akushika stated. “And honestly, even the issue of my name, like you’re saying, Jonny, I wanted to ask why they wouldn’t just change my name. But there’s no way I’d be spared for that.”

“3mohm, I can understand that. African parents and ‘just do as I say’ di33, like twins,” Jonny quipped. “Chale, look, no disrespect to your parents, Shika. I don’t think any of us want to assume they’re devils in human skin. But, with all you’ve told us, they sound very someway bi. Sorry, but that’s just how I see it.”

“Yeah, me too. Very much,” Raymond added. “And this reaction to what happened to you doesn’t make it any better. I mean, fine. Your daughter’s gotten pregnant. You’ll be upset. Okay. That’s expected. But going to this extent of disowning her and not wanting to know what happens to her? Come on! So, so what are going to tell those around them when they ask of you? ‘Where is your daughter?’ ‘Oh, we’ve disowned her, she’s no longer with us’. Like, how does this sound right to your ears? Chale, chale, it doesn’t make sense.”

Akushika shrugged. “Well… unless some divine intervention takes place, this is the reality I live in.”

“Well, do not worry, my dear,” Bukky declared, rising from her seat and walking over to her. “That’s the past now. You’re now with us, and this place is a judgment-free zone. Just feel free and get yourself together. We’ll be here for you always. So consider yourself a part of the family.”

“Absolutely. You’re a part of us now,” Jonny agreed.

“Yeah. Now you can balance the equation for us, na I’ve had to be doing third wheel things for too long,” Raymond joked.

Akushika laughed. “Sure, sure. Thank you guys so much.”

“You’re welcome, my dear,” Bukky replied. “In fact, now that you’re part of us, shey you fit join us for the studio sessions?”

“Oh yeahhhhh, yeah, yeah! So we have this studio that we go to, just to meet other singers and to, you know, do our thing,” Jonny explained. “Ray usually goes with us just to enjoy the vibe and all, and I’m sure you’ll love it. Saturday late mornings is when we move. Around ten o’clock. You good with that?”

Akushika’s eyes widened with excitement. “Uhh, yes! Yes, I’d love to join you guys!” she gushed. “You sing all kinds of songs, right? The R&B and the pop and all that?”

With each passing day, it looked more and more like she had been led to the right place. It felt so good to have these young folks embrace her in spite of her past and make her a part of them. This was turning out to be more of a blessing than she had ever expected.

Jonny nodded, albeit with a raised eyebrow. “Uh, yeah, we do all that. But uh, sounds like you know a lot about that. I thought they forbade you from listening…”

Akushika shrugged, a sly smile. “Well… I never said I didn’t get sneaky more often than not. I know a lot of good music, I just made sure to cover my tracks so they never found out.”

Raymond snickered and shook his head. “Hmm. That’s the thing most strict parents will never understand. Those rigid rules and orders you enforce without letting your kids understand, eh, they’ll be breached in the sneakiest ways possible.”

“Tell me about it. Well, anyways, tell me who your favourite artists are, Bukky…”

Yeah, Akushika’s parents are a lot more rigid with their rules than we thought. And weird too. Banishing your own language? Nahhh, that’s just off…