FOR MARIA EBUN PATAKI

By Damilola Orimogunje

After the complicated birth of her first child Maria, Derin becomes withdrawn from family life, unable to engage in the celebrations around her newborn. Her bewildered mother in law insists that she is not a good enough parent, while her increasingly worried husband Afolabi watches from the sidelines as she becomes a shadow of herself. Struggling to come to terms with what it means to be a mother, Derin fails to bond with her baby and ultimately loses the most precious gift of all.