MFON

“This is dirty. So is this. And this, and this and these and this!”

Mfon is throwing clothes out of her wardrobe and her bewildered, but loyal servant, Alero is doing her best to catch the clothes before they reach the floor. She wonders what has gotten into her madam, she is throwing out her clothes and muttering under her breath. Alero is frightened and wishes that the madam's friends will breeze in like they usually do and catch their friend in this act of insanity. 

Mfon is clearing her closet, her hands search, grab and throw out, over her shoulder. Dirty! Her mind screams, and she nods in agreement, they are all dirty and must be thrown out. She is oblivious to Alero's slightly panicky movements, all of her focus is on these clothes. These clothes have cost her family, her real friends, and her child. 

She pauses in her frantic muttering and bends over. Alero later describes the howl as the most haunting she has ever heard. She says Mfon bends over, wailing, and clutches her knees, swaying from side to side. The clothes are now forgotten, Alero begins to cry too, she wants to comfort her madam but madam does not like to be touched. 

She takes a tentative step forward, wets her lips, tries to say something, but the words refuse to come out. She clears her throat and tries again, still, the words do not come out. Alero wishes there is someone she could call for the madam, someone that the madam likes. She knows her madam hates her friends, the ones that come into the house unannounced, their heels click-clacking on the marble floors, their breasts spilling from their too-small dresses, and their perfume enough to cloy the air. Madam often has a scowl on her face when they arrive, asking for a drink and her tickets to all the events happening in town that weekend, after all, madam is a famous recluse and will only go out when she wants.

Mfon cries and cries, her breathing is erratic now, she is starting to be hysteric. She grabs the first thing she sees, with her hands of course, for she can scarcely see through the blur that is now her vision. And it is so soft. She cleans her face slowly and she sees it is a pink fur coat, matted, and smelling like mothballs. Her eyes cloud over with tears again, she holds the coat to her chest and allows the tears to fall. She bites her lip to keep any sound from escaping because she fears that if she does, she will spill her deepest and ugliest secrets, and to one who is scarcely worthy of hearing them. 

She laughs through her tears, a weak laugh, imagines telling her secrets to the simpleton that washes her clothes, cooks her meals, and hovers like a mother hen when she can hardly lift an arm and is lying helpless in bed. Mfon chuckles even as the tears fall, her servant is a rare breed, apologizes for everything, serves small portions to her friends, and hides all the drinks when the vultures come around. She insults them in her Efik tongue, and sometimes sprinkles blessed water around the house, convinced that the statuettes and busts and masks scattered around the house move at night. 

Mfon is wheezing as a result of laughter, but Alero only sees her gasping for breath, for she is unaware of her madam’s thoughts. She throws the pile of clothes on her hands onto the bed and is by her side in two quick steps, blowing air over her madam’s face. Mfon opens her eyes, they’re deathly white and Alero nearly drops her in fright, but she sees it’s nothing to be frightened about, her pupils are back to their normal position. Alero moves to ease away from her side but Mfon curls into her, clutching her sides and muttering, “stay, stay, stay” over and over. And so Alero stays there, holding her sister and wishing desperately for a miracle.

The End?

Gotcha! It's the end.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as Multi Personality Disorder or Split Personality Disorder does exist in our corner of the world. It is to a large extent, undiagnosed and thus those who live with it are often misunderstood, stigmatized, humiliated, and confused, while those who live with them, are left to watch helplessly as their loved ones switch back and forth, not remembering anything and finding it almost impossible to get well. 

I know there are a lot of holes in this story such as what triggered Mfon's switch, what secrets does she keep, how many alters does she have, is Alero her sister, why does she have so many clothes, is she famous or is that her alter and a lot more that I haven't seen yet. It is why I need you to do your research on DID, and then fill the holes as you like. You could share them here in the comments section, too.

Have fun researching!

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