Away with my heart

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Growing up in my neighborhood, there's this lady I have always looked up to because of how hardworking and resilient she was and still is. Let us refer to her as Juliet.

Juliet started working as a hairstylist in one of the popular Salons back then. In fact, due to how good she was with her craft, she made the salon more popular.

I started going there as a teenager to make my hair, and I'll see how different girls would come to get their hair done for their night jobs at the club. Not just this category of girls but other well-to-do women in the area too. People literally come a great distance just to have their hair done by Juliet.

Every so often, I will hear these night workers try to convince Juliet to come join them at the club, but she'll joke about it and politely decline their invite.

You know, I have a great deal of respect for women who are bent on earning a decent source of living. Despite really being beautiful with a banging body, she stock to her craft and paid no attention to the advances men made at her. Come rain, come sunshine, she's working even on public holidays.

Juliet's hard work paid off eventually as she finally got a place of her own at the next street of my residence. Her work continued to boom and I'd go there to get my hair done, I'll see men who come to visit her and she'll barely have their time till they get the memo and stop coming.

When I eventually got into the Uni, I would travel back home to get my hair done, as the hair stylists at Uni almost damaged my hair. Gradually, Juliet became like family as every female in my household patronized her.

One day, I visited Juliet's salon to get my hair done, after a long while of being held up back at school with plenty of activities. I noticed she was pregnant, but I dared not to ask her about it because for starters she is way older than me. Despite it not being my business, I was concerned and wanted to know the father.

The moment I got home, I told my mom, and she too was surprised which also came as a surprise to me to abecause I mean, “you've been in the area and not know Juliet was with child?” I had queried my mother.

“So I should be going about the neighborhood acting like a surveillance camera to know whose pregnant and whose not? I am that jobless to be poke nosing in people's affairs?” My mom fired back and we laughed about it.

Fast-forward to later time, Juliet delivered of twins, both girls and that was the beginning of her life challenges.

“Are you ok?” I had inquired from Juliet, who seemed lost in thought. I had been standing in front of her as I wanted to make my hair, but she seemed not notice me.

“I am sorry dear, my mind went far, you want to make hair?” Juliet questioned as she got up and brought out a chair for me to seat.

“Yes please, I would want to wash my hair and then roll it”

I sat and Juliet started with my hair, but she wasn't her usual work self. She kept using a comb to part my hair and at a point, I had to remind her that it's washing that I wanted to do to my hair. After washing my hair, I wasn't satisfied as my hair still felt greasy.

At a point, I was upset with her services but when she started telling me about her situation my heart melted. She narrated how she gave birth to her babies prematurely and how all her earnings were going into payment of incubator space for both babies.

She was even selling some of her work assets to meet with the daily incubator payment, which made her salon somewhat empty.

Good new is, the babies eventually completed their term in the incubator and were released to her, after which she moved in with the person responsible for the pregnancy and his family. That was how we knew who got her pregnant, as he happened to be the son of Juliet's landlady, living in the same compound where Juliet had her salon.

Juliet moving in with the boy came as a shock, it was even more shocking because she's way older, and we all felt that the boy had nothing to offer her.

But then, Juliet was happy, so we had no choice than to keep shut with our opinions.

I relocated and once in a while, when I get on the phone with my mom, I'd always ask after Juliet and how she's fairing. I was always getting positive feedbacks until I got home on a visit. I needed to make my hair, but I had noticed that Juliet's salon was always locked, which was highly unlike her.

I asked my mom about it and that was when she told me that Juliet, at the time, was mentally unstable. My mouth was wide open like, "how? What do you mean mentally unstable?" I had questioned my mother, but the words felt too heavy for her to string into a story as she kept sighing.

"What do you mean Juliet is mentally unstable?" I repeated again.

"Well, her baby daddy hit it big with internet fraud and then suddenly realized that Juliet was too old for him. He went ahead to marry someone younger and Juliet was sent out of the house with her children.

Her salon was also taken away and I think the shock was too overwhelming because Juliet started acting funny.

She no longer recognises her children or even her family, she started loosing touch with reality as she would seldom go to her salon and want to gain entrance to start work.

Several times, they would call her family to come carry her from the salon.

It's really sad though but that's how Juliet ended up." My mom concluded.

"Where is she now?" I asked almost in tears.

"Well, last I heard, they took her to the village in search of a cure as she became violent".

My heart broke and words failed me but every day since I heard what happened to Juliet, I kept her in my prayers and like God would always come through, my mommy told me one day she bumped into Juliet.

My heart leapt with Joy and the first question that came out of my mouth was, "has she started making hair again?" My mom laughed and responded no.

She added that she got Juliet's contact, as Juliet said she's available for home service.

I didn't pretty much call Juliet but recently, I started seeing her children with their father.

Pretty girls are all grown up and then one evening I was going home from work, I heard a familiar voice call out, "hello beautiful", I turned to confirm who it was, lo and behold, I saw Juliet standing at the other end of the road.

She was ever so pretty, looking better than I have seen her. She was just coming from seeing her children.... The way I ran to hug her?

My happiness knew no bound and like she told my mom, she said to me, "I'm available for home service whenever you need to make your hair".