17/02/2023
The girl screamed, abandoned the bus, and ran out of the motor park, causing a strange commotion, while some people scampered for their safety. She thought she had seen a ghost.
Idara hid her face in shame, turning away from the crowd. Her encounter with her schoolmate scared the girl away, thinking she was a ghost. It was barely two weeks after her funeral service, and her schoolmate was present in the sad event, conducted at her residence.
Idara was believed to be dead and her body razed, yet she roamed in a sister state, alive, homeless, and hungry, unable to return home.
All her life, she had been under the strict watch and control of her rich but cagey parents, especially her father who was quite over-protective of his children. They were just three but never allowed to go out on their own.
After she graduated from a privately owned university which was as cagey as her home, she was caught up again in boredom at home, with no one to talk to, except their housekeepers who were always busy with chores. Besides, they had nothing interesting to talk about. Her siblings were in school and she was always alone all day watching tv and lazing around.
She began to crave for company, within or outside their prison-wall fence.
One evening, when she offered to check on the visitor at their gate, Essien, her school mate strolled past their house at the same time. She greeted him as if they were old friends, stunning him. In a minute, they exchanged pleasantries and she gave out her number to him. He promised to call her.
Essien lived in the neighbourhood with his uncle. They have been neighbours for years without knowing each other until their last year at the university.
Two days passed by, and there was no call from him. On the third day, he called in the afternoon while she was having a nap yet, a rush of excitement coloured her cheek.
At first, it was a mere chitchat between them. Slowly, they became fond of each other, speaking every minute on the phone till they were overtaken by their feelings for one another. Eventually, they fell in love and craved to spend some time together.
But Idara was restricted from going out, not for any reason, except for church services which had the company of her parents. So they spent every night in secret on the phone till dawn.
As their desire to spend some time together grew stronger, they waited and hoped for the slightest chance to come by. But the chance did not present itself, instead, Essien’s uncle relocated from the neighbourhood to a remote area, and the outskirts of the town – something that broke their hearts.
They kept in touch as usual. Essien was allotted an apartment at the boys quarters, and the privacy excited him. His longing for her company rose above the meter. So he gave her an invitation to his apartment. It was all the invitation she needed despite her restriction, and she promised to visit him someday.
Idara came up with a plan when her professional body had a conference in a distant State. That morning, a feeling other than anxiety washed over her. She waited in the car for her father to drop her at the park before going to work. When her father stepped into the car, he glimpsed around her and was convinced by her readiness. Then he drove out of the compound, and her anxiety was greater than joy.
At every street they passed behind, her anxiety increased, and she kept her phone aside, winning her father with her focus.
As soon as they arrived at the park, her father helped her into the vehicle which had her name on the passenger manifest. He stayed back in his car until her vehicle took off. When the vehicle zoomed off, she waved emotionally at her father, and her gap tooth displayed a sweet smile. He waved back and drove out of the park, gasping a sigh of satisfaction.
A few minutes after leaving the park, she told the driver to stop as she discontinued the journey. She stepped out of the vehicle amid disgruntled passengers.
Quickly, she called her anxious lover over the successful plan. Then she boarded a taxi and started on her way to meet him. She curled in the backseat, her body buzzing with lust and anticipation.
Half an hour later, she arrived at his house and Essien presented himself outside. He entangled her in a warm hug, his arms wrapped around her and his chin on her head. Then a quick hand at the door k**b and Idara disappeared into the bedroom of her lover.
They jumped on one another and later, the air of the dim light room smelled of s*x and hot breath, and their naked body lay side by side having a delightful talk. Then, Idara stretched out reaching for her phone which was dumped underneath the pillow, and was shocked at the multiple missed calls from her parents and others. Her phone was on silent mode since she left her house.
She panicked wondering what the calls were all about. By her calculations, the time she spent with her lover was not long enough for her to reach her destination.
Unknown to her, the vehicle she boarded and abandoned had caught up with fire along the road and everyone was burnt to death.
She screamed, jerking Essien off the mattress as the news appeared on her phone screen. She showed the phone to his face shivering with fear and found the situation extremely frightening. Undoubtedly, it was a great deal of trouble with her father and she knew it. Her lover’s words were ineffective in calming her fears.
At last, she was calmed as he promised to cook up a story. He advised her to switch off her phone and she did. Together, they tried several tales but none could explain why she abandoned the vehicle.
As time passed by, she opted to call her parents, accept her fate and live again, but he feared more for himself and rebuked her. She had no trouble understanding him, so she decided to remain a mystery for a while.
A few days later, Essien considered that the risk of accommodating her would not pay off well. He lied to her that his uncle was suspicious of her presence in the compound, and that was detrimental to him. So he sneaked her out in the dark to the guest house in the neighborhood.
One night, the guest house was robbed and raided by robbers, and she lost her phone and credit card to them. Her life was never the same again, as she couldn't reach anyone or took care of herself. Essien did not return to her anymore, he got tired of her and felt that she was a burden and danger to him.
She was broke and at the mercy of the guest house attendant who shared his food with her and permitted her to stay on. He flattered her with lies that Essien would return and she became comfortable with him. Then a problem arose.
He began to subject her to s*xual harassment every night, threatening to kick her out of the guest house, unless she succumbed to him but she pleaded with him. One night, after his last attempt at her failed, he kicked her out at dawn.
She cried.
Before sunrise, her tummy was itching for food. So she sold her wig which was the only thing of little value to her, took a little snack, and wondered elsewhere to go. Instinctively, she found her way to the park hoping to find help.
Suddenly at the park, she met her schoolmate who ran away at the sight of her, thinking she was a ghost. It was barely two weeks after her funeral. Idara was looking quite unhealthy and miserable. She couldn't believe it. Then she hid her face in shame and self-pity. "I am not a ghost, I am not a ghost!” she wept uncontrollably, attracting the baffling crowd to herself. At that moment, she was broken and willing to be rescued!
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