The Letter She Never Wanted Him to Read

Damilola slowly turned around, the brown envelope still in his hand.

“Mummy… what is this?”

Mama Bose didn’t answer immediately.

She walked over, took the envelope from him with trembling fingers and hugged it tightly against her chest.

“It’s nothing.”

He frowned.

“If it’s nothing, why are you shaking?”

“I’m not shaking.”

“You are.”

She forced a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“It’s just an old letter your father wrote before he died.”

“Then why have I never seen it?”

“I forgot about it.”

Damilola stared at her.

His mother had forgotten many things over the years.

Birthdays.

Where she kept her glasses.

The PIN to her ATM card.

But she had never forgotten anything that belonged to his father.

Not once.

…

That night, sleep refused to come.

Damilola lay on the bed alone, staring at the ceiling.

The empty space beside him hurt more than he expected.

Every few minutes, he picked up his phone.

No message from Fiyin.

He typed.

“Can we talk?”

He deleted it.

He typed again.

“I’m sorry.”

Deleted.

Finally, he sent just three words.

“How are you?”

The message showed delivered.

Minutes passed.

No reply.

He placed the phone on his chest and closed his eyes.

Instead of sleeping, memories flooded back.

…

About a year into their marriage…

It had been Fiyin’s birthday.

She had booked a quiet dinner for the two of them at a rooftop restaurant in Victoria Island.

Nothing extravagant.

Just good food, music and uninterrupted time together.

She had been looking forward to it for weeks.

As they were getting ready to leave, Damilola’s phone rang.

“Mummy.”

He answered immediately.

“Hello, Mummy.”

Fiyin continued applying her lipstick while listening.

“What?”

He sat upright.

“You’ve been feeling dizzy?”

He looked at Fiyin.

“I’ll come now.”

The call ended.

“What happened?” Fiyin asked.

“Mummy isn’t feeling well.”

“Serious?”

“I don’t know.”

“We can stop by after dinner.”

He shook his head.

“No… we’re going now.”

“Dami… the hospital is fifteen minutes from the restaurant.”

“I can’t risk it.”

She smiled gently.

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t go.”

“I’m just saying…”

“My mother comes first.”

The words escaped before he could stop them.

The room became painfully quiet.

Fiyin slowly put down her lipstick.

“I see.”

Within ten minutes, they were driving to Mama Bose’s house.

When they arrived, they found her sitting outside with neighbours, laughing over a Yoruba movie.

She looked perfectly fine.

“Dami!”

She stood up happily.

“I thought you said you were dizzy.”

“I was.”

“What happened?”

“I drank glucose.”

“And?”

“I became better.”

Fiyin didn’t say a single word throughout the visit.

That birthday dinner was never rescheduled.

…

Back in the present…

Fiyin finally picked up her phone.

She had seen Damilola’s message an hour earlier.

“How are you?”

She laughed bitterly.

Three simple words.

After everything.

She locked the phone without replying.

Across the room, her younger sister, Tolu, watched quietly.

“You still love him.”

Fiyin sighed.

“I do.”

“So why leave?”

“Because love isn’t enough.”

Tolu sat beside her.

“Do you think he’ll change?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’ve always defended him.”

“I know.”

“So what changed this time?”

Fiyin looked toward the window.

“The day I realized I was no longer asking him to choose me.”

Tolu frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I was only asking him to choose our marriage.”

…

The next morning, Mama Bose was already awake before sunrise.

She unlocked an old wooden box hidden beneath her bed.

Inside were photographs.

Hospital receipts.

Old greeting cards.

A faded wedding picture.

And another envelope.

This one was addressed to her.

She opened it carefully.

Her late husband’s handwriting stared back at her.

She didn’t read the whole letter.

She already knew every word by heart.

Instead, her eyes stopped at one sentence.

“When Damilola becomes a husband, don’t make him carry the burden I carried.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“No…”

she whispered.

“I couldn’t help it.”

She folded the letter again and returned it to the box.

Then she heard footsteps.

Quickly, she wiped her face and locked everything away.

Damilola entered the room.

“Mummy.”

“Good morning.”

“I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?”

“I want to visit Fiyin today.”

Mama Bose forced a smile.

“That’s good.”

“And after that…”

He hesitated.

“I want to read Dad’s letter.”

Her smile disappeared.

“There is no need.”

“There is.”

“It won’t change anything.”

“I deserve to know what he wrote.”

Mama Bose looked at her son for a long moment.

Then she quietly said,

“Some truths don’t heal people.”

“They destroy them.”

Before Damilola could respond, someone knocked loudly on the front door.

Three hard knocks.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Mama Bose frowned.

“Who is that this early?”

Damilola opened the door.

Standing outside was an elderly man in his seventies, leaning on a walking stick.

The moment he saw Damilola, he smiled sadly.

“You must be Damilola.”

“Yes…”

“I’ve been looking for you for twenty-eight years.”

Damilola’s heart skipped.

The old man looked past him…

Straight at Mama Bose.

Her face turned completely white.

She whispered just one word.

“No…”

To be continued…

Engagement Question: Who do you think the old man is, and why has Mama Bose been afraid of the letters for so many years?