Chasing Shadows (Episode 7)

She stared at the bottle of Merlot and was torn in between picking or dropping it. She stared one more time and shook her head. She had to stop drinking. She was in this mess because of the habit. She raised her head from the bottle and saw someone she thought looked like him. She sighed once she realized she was only imagining things.

No one cared to ask how she was coping with her brother’s demise. Staying with her aunt did not help matters. Her reckless lifestyle was the area of concentration for both morning and evening devotions for about two weeks after she arrived. She felt judged and she knew she deserved the treatment she got. Her aunt distrusted her with everything – everything, including taking her cousins to school. They attended the International School Ibadan, and after following her aunt on several occasions to drop them at school in the morning, she felt she could take that burden off her shoulder. Her aunt was a busy person, and even though she could afford a driver, she did not get one.  She had yelled at her the day she suggested taking the kids to school with the other car parked in the garage.

Her aunt’s husband seemed to be the only one that cared about how she was faring. He was a pastor at one of the RCCG churches at Awolowo. He had counselled her and told her not to beat herself over the loss of her brother, to give everyone (including her parents and aunt) enough time to heal, and to get closer to God. God was a myth – she told him. But he explained patiently how all she needed was God’s love, and how unfailing His love was. He opened tons of bible passages to buttress his point but she just stared into nothingness, with her mind wandering till he finished. She wondered how much of God’s love her aunt had and if the way she had been treating her was the best way to show that love.

Her aunt had returned from work that Tuesday evening and called her into her bedroom, scolding her for trying to mess up her family, trying to get unnecessarily close to her children and now her husband. Her eyes bulged out in shock and her mouth stayed opened for a long time. She searched for the right words that would exonerate her from all the accusations to no avail. She was the black sheep of her own nuclear family, and probably the black sheep of her extended family. She couldn’t help the tears that began to pour. She found herself doing things she won’t normally do. She knelt down, and grabbed her aunt’s legs. Someone had to believe that she made a mistake, a mistake she would probably continue to pay for, for the rest of her life. But her aunt pushed her away, warning her to keep her distance. She (her aunt) had made plans. An estate agent would come by the house the following day to take her to see some places where she could live. That was the last thing she said before leaving her in the room, seated on the rug and still crying.

She had wiped her tears and gotten up not long after her aunt left the room. She heard the happy family chatting away in the living room and her aunt singing holy songs in the kitchen as she prepared dinner. She shook her head as she packed a few things into her bag. She was tired of the hypocrisy but she couldn’t blame her aunt. Her own parents had sent her away because they couldn’t bear to have a murderer in their house. A murderer – she sobbed as she thought of what she had become. She took her handbag, walked to the living room, and informed her aunt and husband that she had to dash off to the mall and would be back soon. She ignored the look her aunt gave her, and shut the door behind her. She had no intentions of coming back to the house.

***

She knew she had been staring at the bottle of wine for an unusually long time, and wondered if the person behind the CCTV camera was also watching. She eventually dropped the bottle back on the shelf and made her way to the chocolate section of the mall. She had no friends in Ibadan. It made everything more difficult for her. It was just Mosun, her churchy roommate back in Uni days and she wasn’t ready to get in touch with her – not yet.

She smiled to herself as she thought of what her aunt said about the estate agent. Then she hissed. She would be out of her house by morning. She should be able to get a place of her own. Getting a house in Ibadan could not be that hard, and she had enough money in her account – she thought to herself.

She joined the long queue of people waiting to pay at the till and she nodded to the music that oozed out from her earpiece into her ears.

He tapped her a second time, then stretched the bottle to her.

“Hi. I think you dropped this.”

She looked at him in disgust. What business did this person have to be monitoring what she dropped or did not drop in a supermarket? Of course, she dropped it. She couldn’t help eyeballing him yet again.

“Of course, I did. How is that your business?” She hissed and turned back to her previous position.

She was irritated. She couldn’t be bothered if the stranger’s ego had been bruised. It would teach him a lesson to mind his own business next time, she thought to herself.

As much as she wanted to go to some place different, she found herself boarding one of the mall taxis back to her aunt’s place.

She barely slept all through the night. By the next morning, she had all her belongings packed neatly into her suitcase, in anticipation of her escape plan. She was going to go with the estate agent and lodge into a guest house till she found herself a house of her choice. That was the only plan she could come up within the short period of time she had to plan. She was sure about one thing though. She would not be returning to her aunt’s place.

Her busy aunt had miraculously found the time to stay at home on a Wednesday to wait for the estate agent with her.

They (the estate agent and a fine young man) had arrived at 11.00am prompt. She welcomed them into the house, after which she placed a glass of juice before each guest as instructed by her aunt. She pulled a seat for herself at the dining table, close to where her aunt and the guests sat to discuss her transfer out of the home. The meeting was brief. Her aunt had beckoned to her to go with the gentlemen that would show her a few places. She assured her that the estate agent was a trusted family friend and the company he represented was a reputable one. Sade nodded and smiled at her aunt. She picked her handbag and her already packed suitcase and followed the men.

She deliberately dragged the box out with the hope that her aunt would query her plot to move out. She was both shocked and satisfied that she didn’t object to her moving out.

Without looking back, she hopped into the car of strangers and the search for her place began. She immediately told the estate agent the kind of place she would like, to save them the stress of going in circles. She requested that they check out guest houses where she could spend the night first, just in case the search for a flat would not yield any positive result that day. They branched into a hotel just around Osuntokun, where she made her reservations before they all continued the search.

***

He took breaks from his conversation with the estate agent to look at her from the side mirror. She had her earpiece plugged all the through the ride. He couldn’t believe that she didn’t recognize him, the guy she rudely talked back at the night before. He smiled mischievously at himself. He was going to find out more about this girl, he told himself.

As expected, their search didn’t yield any result the first day. He drove the agent back to the office before taking Sade back to the hotel she had booked in Bodija. She had been quiet all through the ride. This was his chance to get to know her, he didn’t believe in fate. He broke the silence by talking randomly.

“You didn’t have to snap when I pointed your attention to the bottle you dropped.”

“Excuse me?” Sade turned. She wasn’t sure she heard right.

He repeated himself and went ahead to introduce himself as the guy she snapped at in the mall the previous night. Sade was embarrassed.

“That was you? ... I’m sorry.” She didn’t mean to apologize. After all, he was the monitoring spirit that deserved what he got. But she apologized all the same.

“No, it’s fine. I guess you were not…”

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t know anyone noticed me staring at that bottle for so long, let alone think I mistakenly dropped it and needed it back so badly.” She cut in.

“So, you’re an estate agent too or an intern or a driver? Which one?” She hurriedly changed the subject.

He laughed, and introduced himself properly. He was a builder, he worked with a construction firm that had its own team of estate agents. Her aunt was one of their esteemed clients. He assured her that she was in safe hands. 

That was the beginning of their friendship.

He helped her settle in Ibadan properly. She ended up reconnecting with Mosun faster than she planned. At first, it was just random visits to the mall, the movies and to Mosun’s place, but she told herself she had to get busy with something tangible. She picked interest in the aso-ofi business that had begun to trend, and together with Mosun and Siju, she gradually built her customer base.

He was kind-hearted and patient with her. She felt at peace anytime they were together. She also found it quite easy to talk to him, especially since he was not judgmental in anyway. It was on one of their dates that she told him about her brother. She had cried on his shoulders and all he did was wipe her tears and pat her on the back. He was even more supportive after that night. It was only after that night that she told her mum about the new guy she was now seeing.

He proposed to her on her birthday, at an intimate dinner date with just the two of them and the waiter who helped with executing the proposal plan. She couldn’t express the joy that overwhelmed her. Of course, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with the only person that understood her, and had contributed to making her a better person.

Discussions of wedding plans commenced almost immediately, and she was elated that he shared the same ‘small wedding’ idea with her. Since they literally had no particular church they were committed to, they decided to go for the registry and reception option. The plan was to have a proper wedding whenever her parents accepted her back at their child. It wasn’t the best of plans but she knew she couldn’t put her life on hold and continue to punish herself for her mistake.

She had informed her mother about the proposal and was thankful that her mother pledged her full support for the small intimate gathering. She however assured her that her dad would come around before the wedding and a proper ceremony would be organised for her.

***

Mrs Bello took off her glasses, and wiped her face with her handkerchief. She had spent the last 30 minutes listening to her scared daughter, without interrupting. She felt bad that she had left her daughter for so long to grow up and make serious decisions by herself without any guidance. Her phone rang but she ignored the call.

She stood up from her seat and walked to the other side of the table where her daughter sat.

She started calmly.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry it seemed like we threw away the baby with the bath water. I’m sorry you’ve had to survive on your own and make all these decisions. I’m sorry my baby”

She held her daughter close and they both sobbed for a while.

“Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. Let’s think of a way forward.” 

Mrs Bello broke free from the embrace, switching from the emotional to the serious talk.

“Okay… ” Sade said slowly.

Her mother’s phone rang again. This time she picked it. It was her sister calling from Ibadan. She told her Siju came looking for Sade at her place. Mrs Bello told her Sade was with her. She thanked her and promised to call back later, before dropping the call.

“First things first. You’re coming home with me.”

Her mother said as she walked back to her seat.

“But, mummy…” Sade was skeptical. She wasn’t sure her father would be pleased to see her back home.

“It’s fine. I already told your father. He’s expecting you.” Mrs Bello smiled as she put on her glasses again, typed a few things on her macbook and began packing her bags to leave the office.

Sade sat confused. She wasn’t sure of what to expect. In the meantime, she had to be prepared for whatever was going to happen next.

***CHASING SHADOWS by Faith Tunde-Yara

*** Photo credit: www.eurocheapo.com

***I apologize for the delay. Laptop troubles. Please share with friends and drop your comments after. Thank you.