It was about 4 pm on that Sunday afternoon as two cars parked in front of the gates of the Owusu-Bempong family home.

Out of the first car stepped Bruce, Nana Asor and Clarence. Out of the other car stepped the Fugah twins and Olivia. They were all dressed in black, ready to mourn with Becky over the loss of her father.

As Clarence moved to the boot of Bruce’s car to get the customary packs of water, Bruce sighed and shook his head. “Chale,” he murmured, “it’s crazy how we used to come here and have so much fun as a group. Now we’re here for the second time to mourn another parent.”

Nana Asor nodded solemnly. “Life,” she agreed silently. “Hits you with so many insane curveballs. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

The group then moved to the gate, with Delasi knocking on it.

A minute later, and the gate opened, with Arabella standing before them. As they greeted her and gave her their condolences, they walked into the compound. As one would expect, the air was heavy with the kind of stillness that seemed to respect the weight of grief.

As they moved forward, they saw her.

Becky.

Seated on a bench near the porch, clad in all black like a grieving widow, with her eyes down.

As she heard their footsteps, she looked up, revealing her eyes red-rimmed and swollen from sorrow.

Was it their faces, etched with concern? Was it the fact that they had seen her in this situation before? Was it the fact that they never left her side no matter what? Only she would know. But the sight of them seemed to undo her in that very moment.

She froze for a minute. Then, her lips quivered, and suddenly, like a dam popping a hole with no warning whatsoever, sobs wracked her body. She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably as she began to cry loudly.

Without hesitation, Nana Asor rushed forward quickly, dropping her bag onto the ground as she reached Becky and knelt beside her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“It’s okay, Maayaa, it’s okay. We’re here. We’re all here for you,” Nana Asor whispered, her voice trembling but soothing, as her own eyes glistened with unshed tears. “It’s alright, babe. It’s okay.”

Becky held on to her best friend, weeping bitterly. “It’s not fair, Asor! It’s just not fair!”

“I know, Becky, I know! It’s okay, baby. What matters is that we’re here for you. We’re here for you. We love you, Becky. We love you so much…”

In that moment, the two of them kneeling on the floor and holding unto each other were a picture of raw, unfiltered emotion — Becky’s grief pouring out in torrents, and Nana Asor’s unyielding strength holding her steady. It was a picture so heart-rending, the rest of the group visibly struggled to keep their composure. Delasi and Olivia lost the battle to keep their tears in, while the guys had to fight extra hard to keep them from streaming down their face.

For close to a minute, Nana Asor and Becky remained there, locked in an embrace as they wept together. As they ended, and slowly and eventually rose to their feet, the others moved forward, each person wrapping her up in a consolatory hug as words of condolence were spilled softly into the air.

“We’re so sorry for your loss, Becky.”

“Sorry, baby girl.”

“You’re not gonna go through this alone, okay? We dey for you.”

“We’re here for anything you need.”

As the friends were done with their greetings and began to guide Becky gently toward the house, ready to meet the family elders and do as tradition normally demanded, the faint creak of the gate sounded again.

They turned, and Arabella was opening the gate to two other sympathizers.

Bishop Gordon and Akpene.

Also dressed in black, they walked solemnly across the compound towards the group. Wiping her tears, Becky sniffed, then stepped forward, her lips moving silently as if trying to speak but failing.

Before she could say anything though, Bishop Gordon gently placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a gentle look of sympathy before embracing her gently.

“Take heart, Becky,” he whispered. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. You are not alone. Our Comforter is with you. And so are we.”

As he released her, Akpene stepped forward and enveloped Becky in an embrace that felt so much like a mother’s embrace: warm, steady, and unwavering.

The type she had not felt since her mother’s demise.

“You are loved, Becky,” Akpene said softly. “We won’t let you go through this alone; we’ll walk through this together, okay? Lean on us, and lean on God.”

For a moment, Becky was speechless, overwhelmed by the outpouring of care. Maybe she knew it would come, but it was still so astounding to hear all these words of comfort and receive all these hugs of concern. She simply whispered, almost inaudibly, “Thank you so much.”

An extra pat on the back was followed by Bishop Gordon’s voice.

“Alright guys, let’s go in.”

***

The living room of the Owusu-Bempong household had been rearranged to accommodate visitors, with a number of chairs placed on the left side of the room, facing the family elders seated in a semi-circle.

As the group entered, they saw Amankwaah and Owusua seated nearby, and they waved to them before forming a line to greet the elders, as was customary. The elders, mostly men with a scattering of gray-haired women, sat with solemn expressions, their hands resting on their laps as they mulled over this loss.

Led by Bishop Gordon and Akpene, the group moved down the line, each person clasping hands with the seated elders before making their way to the visitors’ seats. Once they were all done and seated, with Becky sitting next to Nana Asor and resting her head on her best friend’s shoulder, Bishop Gordon rose to his feet, cleared his throat, and began.

“Um, good afternoon, my elders. As visitors, it’s only right that we introduce ourselves and let you know of our reason for coming here. Please, my name is Bishop Gordon Tamakloe, and I am the head pastor of Shalom Temple. This is my wife, Mrs. Akpene Tamakloe. And we are friends of your dear daughter Becky, along with the rest of this squad, whom I believe you are familiar with. Umm, we have heard of the unfortunate news, and we came by to confirm if this is true, and to mourn with you and to offer our support during this difficult time.”

The elder in the middle nodded gravely as Bishop Gordon took his seat, then began. “We thank you, Bishop, and all of you for coming. It means a great deal to the family to have Maayaa’s friends here. Indeed, we know these young ones—they have been like family to Maayaa for many years, and we are glad they are still around after all this time.”

He paused for a moment, gave a deep sigh, then continued.

“Yes, what you have heard is the truth. Mr. Victor Owusu-Bempong is no more. Sickness ravaged his body for a long time, and unfortunately, he lost the battle last week. For those who have been around for a long time, you’ll know that… our late brother and father had a lot of controversy around him. But from what the children have told us, it appears he had an epiphany on his deathbed. All we can say is that we hope the Almighty God has mercy on his soul and receive him into glory.”

“Umm, we thank you for coming over to support the family. As you know by now, the children lost their mother a few years ago, and now their father is gone, so it’s extremely tough for them. So we are grateful for your presence, and we ask that you continue to support them in this difficult period.”

***

“Ah, wait oo. He said he was attacked by his conscience?”

Becky nodded silently. Leaning against Nana Asor as the squad stood outside the gate, next to Deladem’s car, she folded her arms and sighed. “Didayy, me sef, I still don’t get it. It’s… it’s mind-borsting. But… that’s what he said. And somehow it led to him coming to his senses and regretting all he did.”

Clarence shook his head. “Chale, this be mad ooo. I no know what I go talk sef.”

“No be you alone ooo,” Bruce agreed. “This part of our world diɛɛ, anything is possible. But this one… I never hear some before. Sey your conscience come attack you. Crazy.”

“Hmmmm. But somehow it led to him realizing he was wrong all this time?” Delasi asked.

Becky nodded. “Yeah. Comparing the previous meeting with this one, it was a total 180. The man cried his heart out, told us he was sorry for everything he did… it was… it was just so hard…”

As Becky’s voice began to break, Nana Asor held her tightly. “It’s okay, Maayaa. Take your time,” she whispered as Olivia, standing on the other side, wiped Becky’s eyes with the handkerchief in her hand.

Everyone waited as she did her best to pull herself together. She then continued.

“It was so hard. You guys know how much that man pissed me off. How much he ruined our lives. You know, it’s not a secret. Yet, it just feels like… there was this hope deep down somewhere that… he’d come to himself and try to make things better. And to see that it only came on his deathbed… hmmm…”

“Take heart, Maayaa,” Bruce consoled, rubbing her on the shoulder. “It’s tough, but sadly, there’s nothing we can do.”

Becky nodded, then sniffed and forced a bitter laugh. “Chale, so now me and my siblings, we are orphans. Who would have thought?”

An awkward silence among the group followed. Nobody really knew what to say in response to that. Despite her laugh, nobody wanted any attempt at dark humour.

As she rubbed her nose, Becky murmured, “Well, at least I have you guys.”

“Absolutely. That’s why we’re here,” Nana Asor agreed. “You know we’re always gonna be there for you.”

Delasi nodded. “Like Didayy always says, the unbreakable cord.”

Deladem nodded in agreement. “Through rough and smooth times, chale. We’re always gonna be there for you.”

As she nodded, a faint smirk crossed Becky’s face. “Yeah. Thank you guys. I really appreciate it. But you know you guys no dey force for me. You’re not there for me when I say I wanna be slim and sexy like Margot Robbie.”

A collective groan and ‘mtcheww’ arose from the group upon hearing that.

“Herh, Maayaa, I’m on my best behaviour right now ooo. Don’t make me come for you,” Nana Asor warned. “Serious matters and you’re talking about Margot Robbie?”

“Ashock,” Clarence scoffed. “My dear, don’t push it. You’re not in the frame of mind to receive any blastings.”

“Tell her, Clay. Anka by now, no be small Metallica insults she collect.”

As their laughter faded into light chuckles, Becky looked around at her friends, her heart feeling just a little lighter. In her time of grief, she was comforted by the realization that with them by her side, she wasn’t alone.

Not now, not ever.

Chale, that was a heartbreaking start. It’s good to see that the squad is there for Becky, though…