Adaeze and Natachi are Ijeoma's beloved nieces, Chika's daughters. I saw them a few days after the tragedy, silent and subdued with grief. Two young girls dealing with feelings, thoughts and emotions that even grown adults struggle to cope with and my heart went out to them. I remembered a funny story involving them, Ijeoma and I. They were a little younger, a few years ago, Ijeoma had already relocated to Nigeria and was a permanent fixture in their daily lives. I was visiting Nigeria from the UK and as usual, hung out with Ijeoma, running errands generally. With all she had to do that day, Ijeoma was conscious that she had promised her nieces she would drop by and did not want them waiting anxiously for her. Infact, they called every 5 minutes (not an exagerration), wondering where she was, asking her when she'd be there. Ijeoma said jokingly "these children will run down my battery" and truly, by noon, her phone was dead after 2 hours non-stop calling from Adaeze and Natachi. Shortly after, we arrived at their home in VGC. Hearing the gates open and shut, they ran out of the house squealing to meet her. Then they froze in their tracks as they saw me. Hugely annoyed, in the cute way young children can be, that they'd have to share their time with Ijeoma with me as well. Ijeoma laughed, forced them to greet me nicely after which they took her hands, we all went in and the girls promptly ignored me for the rest of the visit. I was very amused; despite the fact that she saw them several times a week most weeks, they were that possessive of their Aunt, not wanting to share her. And in their innocence and honesty as young children, they could not hide it. Ijeoma loved those girls like they were her own. They were her own actually and anyone who knew her, knew them or knew of them. I know the love they shared will never die, Ijeoma will be just as part of their lives, their decision making, their future as she ever was. Omara