#CASSANDRA
Episode 5
After Cassandra left my house that fateful Sunday, I began having double mindset over the huge amount of money I gave her. A small part of me felt that I had been conned while a greater part of me felt that I did the right thing.
I kind of became uneasy and had no choice than to open up to my friend Chinedu who was the only closest friend I had in the city..
Chinedu popularly known as ‘’EDU ELECTRONICS” was a big electronics dealer. He had three big shops in the city and equally sourced his merchandize directly from his contacts in china. Unlike me, he was a university graduate but due to the high level of unemployment in the country had no choice than to start up a business with the help of his brothers.
He was the only person that welcomed me with open arms when I newly got a shop in his area and soon we became close friends, behaving as if we were even from the same community. Just like most guys, we hid nothing pertaining romance and relationships from each other. He always shared stories of his affairs with ladies to me and he equally was the first person I told about Cassandra when I returned to the city after Christmas.
‘’so my guy, that was how I parted with N95,000 yesterday’’ I explained as we settled in his shop the next day. He breathed deeply and shook his head.
‘’it isn’t bad to help out a girl , especially someone you value so much, but I kind of feel that it is too early for her to demand such amount of money from you’’ he said seriously.
‘’so supposing you had no such money with you. I bet the relationship would have ended as she left your house’’ he added, drawing out a little fear from me.
‘’seriously?, but she never forced me though’’ I defended.
‘’yes I know she needs the money quite alright but assuming you couldn’t afford it, she would have moved over to another one of her contacts. She’s definitely ready to do anything to get that money. That’s how most campus girls behave bro. They do anything for money, especially when in need of large sum’’ he summarized.
‘’well no body is a saint frankly. But I believe if I can show her enough love, she wont have any need to notice other guys. I so much love the girl’’ I confessed.
‘’hmmm love is a beautiful thing bro, but In Nigeria a girl has to prove that she loves you beyond reasonable doubt or have gone far with you before you invest more than N20,000 on her head. She has to prove her love man. If not you are on your own’’ he advised.
‘’I guess you mean, I should try and have s-x with her?’’’ I asked like a school boy. He burst out in laughter.
‘’s-x?, come on s-x is nothing. Girls give it out for as low as N400 ($2) or even for free. Since you are very serious about marrying her, you can simply tell her that you are ready to introduce her to your family to see her reaction. The money you even gave her is enough to pay her bride-price. It’s not as if I’m against you helping out a girl but in this case you are helping because you want her as a wife, so it should be 50/50. Moreover the bad girls are way more than the good girls nowadays, making it difficult to know the right girl. So get her to know your family, let her introduce you to her family as well, create a strong relationship, after then you can be sure of what you are paying for.’’ He advised strongly, leaving me shaking my head in agreement.
‘’so how about Nora?’’ he suddenly asked, changing the topic and leaving me a bit thrown back with the question.
Nora was my neighbor. A hair stylist who lived next door with her younger sister. She was very beautiful, well mannered and fond of me. I saw her as a friendly neighbor and nothing more. I never was attracted to her though sometimes as a guy the urge to make sexually advances to her did come in the past but I suppressed them. She always helped me whenever i needed help, especially in cooking.
However she was yet to return to her apartment since last December she traveled home for Christmas and as a friend it was my duty to call and ask what was keeping her in the village but I was yet to do so. Which made Chinedu’s question to leave me a bit uncomfortable.
‘’I haven’t heard from her since this year. She’s yet to return from Christmas holiday.’’ I answered.
‘’hmmmm that girl loves you but it’s unfortunate you are yet to realize it’’ my friend chipped in.
‘’well you know what I want now is marriage. I cant go on to deceive a good girl like her, waste her time and end up marrying another person’’ I explained.
‘’you know your problem?. You have such a high taste and it isn’t good. Supposing Nora is a graduate you wont be saying this’’ he said as if he was in my mind while I shrugged, saying nothing.
———————————————————–
8pm, David’ house
I barely had settled down to enjoy my night meal. A plate of garri with the wonderful soup Cassandra cooked for me when I heard a gentle knock on my door. I lazily left my food and opened the door to see Nora smiling at me.
I swallowed hard with shock and guilt, not knowing what to say because I still failed to call her like I had wanted after chatting with Chinedu earlier in the day.
‘’hmmm I see you are eating. The aroma is quite tempting. Don’t tell me a lady is in there?’’ she asked with a quick smile, which covered the pain in her eyes but I still noticed.. i tried saying something but lost my voice.
”i guess i’m no longer welcomed. no wonder you never even bothered to call and ask what was keeping me at home. it’s okay. Thanks for being a friend” she said with a voice that touched me, tears quickly forming in her eyes.
She quickly turned and backed me as soon as she realized that i noticed the tears.
”Nora” i breathed, clueless on what exactly to say to her. But i had no chance to say nothing more because she quickly headed to her apartment without another word.
”Nora wait please” i called again and again. She never stopped nor looked back.
To be continued
