For the first time in their lives, Ayo, Ola and Semi felt like something was finally complete.
They had found their father.
The man they had spent years asking their mother about was no longer just a name they barely knew. He was real, and now they could finally call him Dad.
At first, their mother didn't say much.
She watched them carefully as they became closer to him.
She noticed the excitement in their eyes whenever he called.
She noticed how they couldn't stop talking about him.
“He's really nice.”
“He told me about his childhood.”
“He said he'll take us somewhere nice next weekend.”
Their mother listened quietly.
She wanted to be happy for them.
She really did.
But something inside her wouldn't allow her to relax.
She knew things her children didn't know.
One evening, she finally decided to talk to them.
The three sisters were sitting together when their mother walked in and sat opposite them.
I need you three to listen to me be careful with your father.
They looked at her and said why.
Their mother hesitated.
There are things about him that you don't understand yet.
“But he's our father,” Semi replied.
“I know.”
“Then why are you acting like he's a stranger?”
Their mother took a deep breath.
“Because I am your mother. And I'm asking you to be careful.”
They didn't understand.
To them, their mother was simply being overly protective.
They had finally found the person they had spent their entire childhood wishing for, and now she wanted them to stay away from him.
They couldn't accept it.
Their father, on the other hand, never made them feel unwanted.
He gave them attention.
He listened to them.
He bought them things.
He asked about their lives.
He made them feel like the years they had spent without him could somehow be recovered.
And that was what made it difficult for them to listen to their mother.
They were happy.
Really happy.
For the first time, they felt like they had the family they had always wanted.
Soon, they began spending more time with their father.
Sometimes they went out with him.
Sometimes he visited them.
Other times, they secretly went to see him without telling their mother.
Their mother's worries only grew.
One afternoon, she found out that they had gone to see him again.
When they returned, she was waiting for them.
“Where have you been?”
Nobody answered.
“I asked you a question.”
Ayo finally replied.
“We went to see Dad.”
Their mother closed her eyes briefly.
“I told you not to do that without telling me.”
“But why?” Ola asked.
“He's our father!”
“He is still your father,” their mother said quietly. “But that doesn't mean you should ignore everything I'm telling you.”
Semi became upset.
“You don't even want us to know him.”
Their mother's expression changed.
“That isn't true.”
“Then let us have a relationship with him.”
She looked at her children.
She wanted to tell them everything.
She wanted to explain why she was afraid.
But she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Instead, she simply said,
“Please trust me.”
But the children had already made up their minds.
Their father's affection had become something they desperately wanted.
They didn't want to lose it.
And slowly, their mother's warnings became easier to ignore.
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into a month.
Their father became a bigger part of their lives than ever before.
He knew exactly how to make them feel loved.
Exactly how to make them feel wanted.
Exactly how to make them forget all the years he had been absent.
Their mother watched it all happen.
She watched her children drift further away from her.
Yet she still said nothing.
She only prayed that she was wrong.
One evening, their father made them an offer.
“Come stay with me for a while.”
The sisters looked at each other.
They were excited.
But when they told their mother, her face immediately changed.
“No.”
The three of them stared at her.
“But why?”
“Because I said no.”
Their father had never given them a reason to fear him.
At least, not yet.
So they couldn't understand why their mother was suddenly so against them going.
Ayo looked at her mother.
“We're going.”
Their mother's heart sank.
“Please don't.”
But they had already made their choice.
They packed their things.
And despite everything their mother had said, the three sisters left with their father.
Their mother stood at the doorway watching them disappear.
She didn't chase after them.
She simply stood there with tears in her eyes.
Because deep down, she knew something her children didn't.
And as the car carrying her three children disappeared from her sight, she whispered to herself,
“I pray I am not too late.”
167
