The Silent Vow
EUNICE ANSAH-AGYEMAN
THE SILENT VOW
Sedinam entered the plush offices of one of the top oil and gas companies in the country. Her nerves were short that morning. The receptionist ushered her into the waiting room when she stated her purpose for visiting.
Thankfully, it was empty.
In her desperation to get back into the corporate world, she had thrown her CVs around, and this was her first interview after staying home for five years.
The receptionist brought her a bottle of cold water on a tray. She also mentioned the coffee-maker in the corner of the waiting room had coffee in it if she cared for some.
Â
Sedinam muttered her thanks, and when she was alone, took a sip from the bottle of water.
After what seemed like forever, another lady came to escort her to the conference room.
Sedinam had never seen a room that was a sight to behold and also so intimidating. It was a long room with impeccable furniture and other accessories. It had one of the longest tables she had ever seen, and from what she saw, the table could seat about thirty people at a time. The table was made of dark wood and was superbly polished. About ten chairs were around the table at the two heads. The chairs were arranged in two semi-circles, one at each head of the table.
Â
Seated in the semi-circle farthest from the entrance were four men and a lady. They all behaved as if they were wearing masks when Sedinam greeted them from where she stood. Their unfriendly faces just stared at her with no attempt whatsoever to make her feel welcome.
Unperturbed, Sedi stood and stared expectantly until the lady felt uncomfortable and asked her to take a seat, pointing to the chairs in the other semi-circle close to the entrance.
Sedinam took a seat as her eyes went around the room to admire the small flower vases with what seemed like fresh flowers hanging from vantage points in the room.
Â
They touched on the basics and talked mostly about the position she had applied for. Questions came from all of them. Sedinam was surprised she was still on top of things and answered the questions as best as she could. This went on for a while, and just when she thought the worst was over, the medium built gentleman with the meanest eyes she had ever seen cleared his throat and looked intently at her.
“Miss Hodasi, I see a break of about five years in your work experience, would you mind telling us why?”
Sedinam tried to speak, but nothing came out. She felt as if there was a lump in her throat. It was not like she did not know this particular question would pop up. The fact was, she had played around with this question in her head for a while before the interview. She was not sure whether she should tell the truth, or find something unverifiable to say.
Â
The young man who asked the question cleared his throat again to catch her attention when it became clear that she was stalling.
“It was for a very personal reason,” she answered, her discomfort reflected on her face.
The young man chuckled, and she knew this was not over yet.
“I’m sure we all understand what confidentiality means. I would appreciate it if you answer the question, please.”
She could feel the eyes of all the other panel members on her too. She felt a heatwave come over her and had to take in a deep breath before she continued.
Â
“I took it to try to have a baby,” Sedinam spat the words out as if they were choking her.
“Then you must have a dozen of them swimming around the house by now,” he pushed, even though the others were uncomfortable with the way he was going at it.
“Unfortunately, not even one survived,” she replied, looking down at her hands.
The lady in the group might have felt her pain because she muttered her apologies and offered her sympathies.
The gentleman at the far end got to his feet and walked over to Sedinam’s seat and patted her on the shoulder.
Â
“I know just how that feels. I lost my girl at week thirty a couple of months ago. It is still something I don’t talk about, even with my best friends.”
Tears formed in Sedinam’s eyes when she thought about what his wife might be going through, but she fought it down so hard not to break down before them.
“Are you sure you are emotionally capable to work here or anywhere else for that matter?” the young man continued, unabated.
Â
“Losing a child is not something anyone gets over. That’s a fact, but I believe there’s time for everything in this life. I’ve mourned my loss for over a year, and I know I am ready to move on. At least, I know I gave it a shot and things didn’t work out.”
Bravely, she answered that she was ready to give it a try, and give it her best shot if allowed to work.
After a while, when there seemed to be no more questions from the panel, the interview ended.
Surprisingly, the young man saw her off to the reception area and assured her he was not trying to make her uncomfortable.
Â
Dressed in a grey skirt suit, Sedinam stepped out of the magnificent office complex into the scorching sun. She felt drained suddenly and squinted when her eyes came face to face with the rays from the sun.
She had spent the past couple of weeks looking for job opportunities everywhere, and she had been lucky to be called up for this interview. The interview, she thought, went well and as she stepped out of the big conference room, she had been hopeful even though the latter part of it was a bit stretched. She was just happy she stuck to the truth and somehow, talking about her ordeal did lift a heavy burden off her shoulders.
She had parked her car at the office car lot across the street and was waiting for the traffic guard to signal for her to cross when she saw a car pull up. The driver was trying to catch her attention with persistent honking.
Â
The driver rolled down the power windows and yelled out her name, causing passersby to stop and look at her.
Sedinam was pleasantly surprised to see Rose Nyawuto Acquaye behind the wheel. Rosie, as everyone called her, was one of her immediate supervisors at the bank she worked before resigning. They had hit it off quite well and had been friends.
Sedinam knew she had not been the good friend she wanted and felt a bit shy as she walked up to her. Stress, she thought, could really do a lot of things to a person’s soul.
Â
Suddenly, Sedinam was feeling exposed and anxious all over again. All the pain she had gone through resurfaced, and for a moment, she felt like changing course and pretending she had not seen her. Rosie, as if reading her thoughts, opened her car door and stepped down, waving at her fervently.
Sedinam crossed to the other side and walked into the open arms of the one person she had deliberately avoided all these years.
“Look at you, you look amazing,” Rosie said, her excitement reflecting in her eyes.
Â
Sedinam felt like crying now. That always happened when she met familiar faces, people who knew what she had been through, and that was the reason she kept away from familiar faces. She always felt bashed and depressed around people who knew about her predicament.
The two friends shared a bear hug, and when they pulled apart, Sedinam felt the hug was the medicine she needed that very moment. It calmed her ragging nerves, and before long, the two friends settled into a heart-warming conversation.
Â
When Rosie found out she was out looking for a job, she gladly indicated an opening in the bank she worked at now and wanted Sedinam to give it a shot. Rosie knew she would be perfect for that position.
She was able to convince Sedinam to have lunch, and the day turned out to be the best Sedinam had ever had.
Rosie was a gem inside and out. She made sure Sedi was comfortable throughout the time they were together. She never brought out the issue of the lost babies but talked mostly about the times they shared in the bank they both worked at then.
Â
By the time the two ladies went back to their cars and left the restaurant they had just had lunch, Sedinam felt refreshed and happy. She did not realize she had missed human company for such a long time.
There was only one more thing she wished for, and that was to see Sefa again. He was the shadow to her light, and she yearned to see him desperately.
Sometimes, it felt like he existed only in her mind because she had lost every physical memory of him when their house burnt down completely one Sunday when they had travelled to see her grandparents.
Â
There weren’t many phones at the time then, and she had not owned one. Maybe that was why it became so difficult for Sefa to contact her when he travelled. She did not understand why it seemed like he had vanished from planet earth.
Â
The Silent Vow, Eunice A, The Silent Vow, Eunice A. Eunice A, The Silent Vow, Eunice A, The Silent Vow . The Silent Vow, Eunice A, The Silent Vow, Eunice A. Eunice A, The Silent Vow, Eunice A, The Silent Vow. The Silent Vow, Eunice A, The Silent Vow, Eunice A. Eunice A, The Silent Vow, Eunice A.Â
Premium Story:: THE SILENT VOW :: EPISODE 7
[stextbox id=”info” caption=”JOIN US ON DISCUSSION“]
Do you want to join other fans to discuss the story you read here?
Learn lessons and chat with others on our WhatsApp Discussion Page.
Click here to join KLEVER WHATSAPP STORY DISCUSSION GROUP
[/stextbox] [insert-comment-form] Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2020 Aaron Ansah-Agyeman
Im in kenya and i would really love to continue with the story
So how do i pay
Im not reaching you on WhatsApp
U will meet Sefa soon and u will get the job for sure. This will release some tension
I hope sedinam gets a job soon. It will help her in recovery
I pray she gets the job.
Sefa is coming like kakai and Eli will have a reason to be jealous.
Chai, can’t wait
There’s light at the end of the tunnel
Ohh Sedinam.. I have a strong feeling that her fortunes have turned and she’ll soon be on her way up