12/02/2025
When A Strange Girl Knocked On Our Gate And Turned Our Peace Upside Down.
I still remember the very first evening she arrived. It was a warm Friday in early harmattan, the kind of evening when breeze blows gently and makes you feel like the whole world is finally calm. Our compound was quiet, the sun already sinking behind the old mango tree near the fence. I was in the kitchen, rinsing rice for dinner, when I heard someone knocking the gate gently, as if the person was unsure whether to knock or walk away.
At first, I ignored it. In this area, children liked to play rough, and sometimes they hit the gate by mistake. But the knock came againâthis time softer, almost like a plea. That was when Samuel, my husband, stepped out of the living room and looked through the window beside the door.
âWho be that by this time?â he murmured, sounding distracted, as if he wasnât fully interested yet.
âI donât know, maybe someone selling something,â I replied, wiping my wet hands on my wrapper.
The knock came again, followed by a small voice. A girlâs voice.
âPlease⌠anybody home?â
There was something unusual about the tone. It wasnât the sharp voice of a person selling groundnuts. It wasnât the bold tone of a messenger from church. It was soft, shaky, and unsure. That kind of voice that sounded like it had travelled a long distance before reaching your ears.
Samuel sighed, pulled the bolt, and opened the gate.
The girl standing there didnât look more than nineteen. She wore a simple gown, dusty at the hem as if she had walked from a very far place. Her slippers were almost broken. Her face was beautiful, but tiredâlike someone who hadnât slept properly for days. Her eyes were big and brown, carrying the kind of sadness that makes you pause.
âGood evening, sir,â she greeted with her head bowed.
Samuel didnât answer immediately. He just looked at her for a few seconds.
âGood evening,â he finally replied. âWho are you looking for?â
âIâm⌠Iâm looking for Madam Kike,â she said. âThey told me she lives around here. She used to work with my late mother.â
When I heard my name, I stepped outside too. The girl turned to me immediately, her eyes lighting up slightly.
âAre you Madam Kike?â
âYes. Who are you?â
She swallowed hard, like something heavy was inside her throat.
âMy name is Lami. My motherâs name was Mama T**i⌠she used to wash clothes for you in the old area before she fell sick.â
I froze.
I remembered Mama T**i. A cheerful woman who used to sing while washing clothes for people. When we moved to this new area, I lost contact with her. I didnât even know she had passed.
Samuel looked at me, waiting for me to confirm or deny. I nodded slowly.
âYes⌠I remember her.â
Tears filled the girlâs eyes immediately.
âShe told me to find you⌠if anything ever happened to her,â she said, voice trembling. âPlease⌠I have nowhere else to go.â
Her words hit me like a stone. My heart squeezed, and before I knew it, I opened the gate wider.
âCome in, my dear.â
And that was the beginning of everything.
As she stepped inside, the first thing I noticed was the way Samuel was staring. Not in a bad way, not in a wrong way, but in a surprised way. Like he had not expected someone so young and soft-looking to be standing at our gate asking for help.
Her presence shifted the air in our compound. Even the evening breeze seemed to pause. I didnât know why, but a strange feeling sat in my chest. Something told me our peaceful life was about to change.
Inside the house, I asked her to sit on the sofa while I got her a cup of water. She drank it fast, like someone who hadnât had clean water in a long time. Her hands shook slightly.
âWhat happened to your mother?â I asked gently.
âShe became very ill three months ago,â she replied. âI tried to take care of her, but I couldnât⌠Iâm sorryâŚâ she whispered, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. âBefore she died, she said I should look for someone kind-hearted who once helped her. Someone named Kike.â
The room felt heavy.
Samuel cleared his throat. âSo⌠where have you been staying?â
âWith a neighbour. But their landlord said I canât stay there again since Iâm not paying rent,â she said, voice breaking. âThatâs why I came here today⌠I donât even know where else to go.â
Her eyes looked so helpless that I felt a strong pull in my heart.
âYou will stay here for now,â I said before thinking twice.
Samuel turned to me sharply. âStay here?â
âYes,â I replied firmly. âWhere do you want her to go? The girl has nobody.â
Samuel didnât argue immediately. He simply nodded slowly.
âOkay. For now,â he said, but I noticed his eyes still observing her quietly.
I took Lami to the guest room. She entered slowly, almost scared to step on the tiles as if they were made of glass.
âThank you, ma,â she said softly.
âDonât worry. Youâll be fine here.â
She looked around with grateful eyes. Then she whispered something that made me pause.
âI didnât think anyone would open their door for me today.â
I smiled faintly, patting her shoulder. âRest. You need it.â
As I closed the door behind me, that strange feeling returned. I told myself it was only pity, nothing more. But deep down, something else whispered in my heart:
This girl⌠this girl will change everything.
Later that night, after dinner, Samuel and I sat alone in the living room. He looked at me with a curious expression.
âYou didnât even think twice before telling her to stay.â
âSheâs just a child,â I replied.
He nodded. âTrue. But⌠be careful.â
I frowned. âCareful how?â
âPeople change when you open your door too wide.â
His words hung in the air like smoke. I didnât fully understand what he meant.
Not yet.
Because at that time, I didnât know that the girl sleeping quietly in that guest room would bring storms into our home⌠storms we were completely unprepared for.
I didnât know that in just weeks, people in the neighbourhood would start whispering about her beauty. I didnât know that her presence would awaken doubts, secrets, and hidden weaknesses inside marriage.
I didnât know she would light a fire that neither Samuel nor I would know how to put out.
All I knew was this:
A girl had knocked at our gate.
And our lives would never remain the same again.
Who exactly is Lami, and why did her mother insist she find me?
Is she truly an innocent girl in need of help, or is there something else hidden in her past?
And how will her presence start affecting my marriage in ways I never imagined?
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NOTE TO READERS:
Read episode 2 to 12 in the link above.
This is just episode 1 out of the full 12 Episodes. All episodes are available for free on StoryTera.
Note: This is 100% Fictional, and not having resemblance to any true events or characters.