Dear Anita
Episode Eight
After the encounter with the police,I quickly packed my things and Liam’s things preparing to run back to Lagos.
I woke Liam from his sleep and we took the first bus at 6:00 am back to Lagos but we stayed in a hotel.
I couldn’t go back to the house because it reminded me of a lot of things I had to go through as a young girl.
we arrived at night and booked a hotel to sleep for the night.
The next day, after I have unpacked my bags, I noticed a picture in my bag.
It was a picture of dad and it was the only picture of him I had.
I held the picture close to my chest, feeling his hug for the last time.
He was such a great hugger, always there to comfort me when I had problems in school and would cry.
As tears dropped from my eyes, I examined the pictures closely.
Then I noticed Liam was staring at me, and I quickly wiped away the tears that were welling up in my eyes.
As I sat there, thoughts raced through my mind about the possibility of being arrested and thrown in jail if the police found out anything.
The question “Who will take care of Liam?” echoed in my thoughts.
I tried to disconnect every thoughts on my mind as I laid to sleep.
I woke up to a missed call from a strange number, so I had to return the call. However, there was no response
Then, someone knocked at the door, and it sent cold shivers down my spine. I asked, “Who is that?”
“It’s the hotel attendant, Ma,” he responded since it was still morning.
I asked Liam to open the door, he reluctantly moved to open the door dragging his feet on the ground.
“Ma, do you need anything?” he asked with a broad smile.
“Rice and stew for me, please, and the same for my brother.
We’ll be stepping out soon so you can clean our room,” I responded.
He left to bring our orders and shortly, he came back with the orders and we ate to our satisfaction.
When we both finished eating, I asked Liam to accompany me to the beach for sight seeing.
I needed a place to rest my head and think about something else for once other than my predicaments.
We took a stroll on the street, and I noticed a car following us from behind, but I didn’t pay much attention to it until we got to the beach.
We sat on the shore, enjoying the blissful wind.
Just then, two strong men dressed in polo shirts, trousers, and jungle boots approached us.
As they got closer, they looked even scarier than I had imagined.
I thought about running away, but I knew they would catch me if I tried.
“I’m Officer Jamil,” the one on the left said, showing us his ID card.
My heart skipped a thousand beats, and I knew it was over.
“You are under arrest for the murdēr of Mrs. Janet and her husband.
Anything you say will be used against you. It’s better for you to remain silent,” the officer declared.
Liam wanted to speak, but I quickly silenced him.
“Go back to the hotel and wait for me. I’ll be back by the grace of God,” I said with a cracked voice.
His eyes were already filled with tears, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.
I watched as he walked away from the beach, taking the road that leads to the hotel, which was just a stone’s throw from the beach.
They took me from the beach to their Hilux, driving to the police station, my heart sank.
When we arrived, I saw them bundling a thiēf and throwing him into a cell.
It felt like my world was crashing down, and I knew they would do the same to me.
“As you small reach, you get mind kiłl human being like you”.
The female police at the counter said landing a resounding slap on my head.
The slap made me numb for a moment”, the other officer gave me a book to write a statement. ”
You think you can run eeh, we have been tracking you for a long time now and we finally found you”.
The woman that slapped me before said giving me a bad glance.
While the other officer who gave me the book looked at me with pity, she shook her head as she carried the statement and read.
I was made to stay at the counter all day, and at night, they took me to an empty cell and threw me inside.
With nothing to sleep on, I slept on the bare floor.
All I could think about was how Liam would survive alone.
I felt like I had failed him as a sister.
Thessycute Ekene