#CASSANDRA
Episode 18
‘’hmmm fine but I don’t know if you will believe this’’ my sister finally muttered after a brief hesitation. I curiously stared at her with a fast p******g heart.
‘’you see there was this rumour years back that Cassandra got pregnant for an older man who denied her pregnancy, leaving the poor girl demoralized and troubled. It was the period I first met her, but I really don’t know what happened to the pregnancy because she soon left school for about a month and returned, looking fresh and changed. She returned a different person . The change in her was so obvious that even her close friends couldn’t make anything out of it. Her lifestyle completely changed to that of a snake. She now wears different look and character as she deems fit’’ she slowly narrated, leaving me quiet for some seconds.
‘’so you really want me to believe this story?. How am I sure you didn’t cook it all up?’’ I asked with disbelief.
‘’I have no reason to lie to you brother, but please if you still want to carry on with her, do take out time to study everything about her’’ she added, stood up and left.
I feel back on my bed, greatly troubled and confused.
‘’dear lord, help me’’ I prayed…
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The month of April ( that fateful year) turned out to be a very difficult one for me. One of my shops in Onitsha almost got burnt and business wasn’t really booming like the previous months. I was left with no choice than to leave everything and concentrate on my business. I shuttled from Owerri to Onitsha almost every week, and really had no time for myself nor even time to focus my attention on Cassandra.
Luckily for me, by mid May, God slowly rewarded my efforts and things started picking up fine for me again. I soon had the much needed time to think and plan ahead concerning my relationship with Cassandra.
I planned doing as my sister requested. I planned asking Cassandra to come visit and at least spend a week with me, to enable me watch her more closely. I equally planned paying a visit to where she lived. I felt it was the real thing to do and equally the only way to be sure of everything.
However the month of May slowly wrapped up without me doing even a single thing in my list of plans concerning Cassandra, but I wasn’t worried about it because I still had many months to go on with it.
On last Sunday of the month, Chinedu paid me an unexpected early morning visit. The look on his face clearly told me that all wasn’t fine. My skipped a beat as I stared at him, uncertain of the grave news he came with.
‘’did someone die?. Did his shop burn or what?’’ I wondered as we shared a bottle of alcoholic wine.
‘’I was with Nora’s friend yesterday’’ he slowly opened up, leaving me more curious than ever.
‘’you know the Enugu girl that runs a restaurant down the second street?’’ he explained while I nodded.
‘’well I was with her yesterday and she confided in me that Nora is pregnant’’ he added, throwing me off balance with his words.
‘’what!!!!’’ I exclaimed with great shock.
‘’yes she is pregnant and apparently the baby is yours’’ he affirmed strongly, leaving me very shaken and speechless as a thousand and one thoughts ran through my head.
To be continued
