Tree That Shades

Tola writhes in stomach pain while his mother Moji presses holy water to his lips instead of calling a doctor. When she finally rushes him to the hospital the doctor diagnoses a peptic ulcer and asks for a forty five thousand Naira deposit. Moji has nothing so she begs until her friend Abigail arrives and pays forty thousand to secure his admission. Back home Tola confronts Moji about the food and money she gives to strangers and church members while he goes hungry. She tells him the spirit leads her to help but he asks why she always forgets him. The pattern hardens when Moji gives the last food in the house to neighbor children and Tola erupts again. An older woman named Angelica moves into the estate and praises Moji as a tree that shades then warns that a tree giving shade to every traveler may find its own roots thirsting. Tola's school demands exam fees he cannot pay and the administrator tells him to ask his mother. Moji has lost her job and prays fervently then gives her last savings to a visiting pastor who preaches sacrificial giving. Tola desperate and hungry wanders the streets and falls in with a group of street hustlers led by Fred who share their own traumatic family histories. Tola's condition deteriorates until he collapses in agony and is hospitalized with a ruptured peptic ulcer caused by prolonged hunger stress and the discovery of high alcohol and codeine levels in his system. The hospital demands a one million Naira deposit for emergency treatment and detox. Moji begs her pastor but the church accounts are closed for the financial year. She pleads with friends but they either refuse or cannot help. In a moment she finds alcohol and cigarettes in Tola's room and realizes her neglect drove him to substance abuse. Angelica reappears and delivers a stern lesson that giving must be done with wisdom not until the well runs dry.