WHISPERS IN THE DARK
CHAPTER 3
The next day, I explained everything to my mum. I told her about Addie’s intentions of helping me. My mother was at first scared and skeptical. However, after I explained everything to her and how Addie and I planned to make it work, she grudgingly accepted. I had succeeded to convince my mum about going to school under Addie’s sponsorship, now, I was still left with Elvis. I didn’t know what his reaction would be. My first compulsion was to keep it away from him. However, I figured that one way or the other, he was still going to find out and it would seem like a betrayal. So, I decided to tell him. A mistake that would cost me dearly later.
“I will be going to the city to begin school.” I told him when I went to visit him the next afternoon.
“Really? That’s cool.” He said offhandedly. There was jealousy in his eyes.
“Is anything the matter?” I asked.
“No, nothing.”
“What?”
“Nothing, I said nothing.”
“Okay, Addie will be going with me.” I revealed.
“What? Are you guys dating already?” He asked, surprised.
“Yes, we are. Are you surprised? You should happy.”
“Happy about what? She is such a cheap girl. She didn’t even give you hard times. She just accepted you immediately as if she was waiting. I regret bringing you both together.”
“What? Are you okay, Elvis? What has come over you? I thought you would be happy to hear this.”
“Happy for what? Let me tell you truth. I had no intentions of getting both of you together. I wanted her for myself. But when I confronted her, her beauty intimidated me. I developed cold feet and I was lost for words. In order not to feel humiliated, I had to quickly lie that you sent me to chat her up for you. Yes, that was how it happened. I was hoping that she was going to refuse you. Instead, she foolishly fell head over heels in love with you as if she was waiting.” He explained.
“Well, that doesn’t change anything. It’s unfortunate about what happened to you. But I didn’t ask you to go call my name. What has happened has happened. We are lovers now and we are both going to the university.”
Elvis didn’t come from a rich family. His father was a local farmer and his mum worked as a domestic servant at Addie’s home. That explained why he had easy access to talk to Addie. He had also passed the Advanced Level but didn’t have the money to go to university because his parents couldn’t afford it. He had found solace in the fact that I wasn’t going to the university too. He had figured that we would both be in the village and hustle like two village dropouts. Now, my fortunes had changed, and he wasn’t very happy about it.
Two weeks later, Addie came to me and handed me the sum of seven hundred thousand. I was shocked when I saw the money. I had never seen such an amount of money all my life. It was just seven hundred thousand but to my eyes, which were untrained to seeing that kind of amount of money, it seemed like seven million. Addie saw the look in my eyes and smiled.
“I want you to take this money and go to the city tomorrow. Look for a hostel that is close to the school. Get us a good room with internal toilet and kitchen. I have already called my cousin, Roberts. He will help you. Pay for the room and keep the remainder of the money. When you are done, ask Robert to call me and let me know.”
“Addie, we will talk about the money later. But for now, how do I go about it? I am a typically village guy. How do I navigate the city.” I asked, my hands shaking.
“Don’t bother about it. Roberts will help you. Besides, you have to man up. This is the beginning of a new life for you. You have to start getting used to city life.”
“Can’t we just go together?” I asked.
“Nope, I still have some stuffs to put together. I will join you later. Please, be careful with the money and let no one know you have such a huge amount of money with you.” She said and left.
That night, I packed my best clothes in my bag and got ready for my journey to the city. When I was sure my bags were ready, I went to my mother’s room and told her that I would be leaving the following morning. She had a mixed feeling about the whole thing. She was happy that I was going to the university, but she also felt a little bit of inferiority complex because she wasn’t the one responsible for it. She told me to keep everything secret. She reminded me that my neighbours were jealous of her because her children were smart in school. She therefore decided that I would leave very early before my neighbours woke up.
There was one particular neighbour whom everyone suspected to be a witch. Several times, she had quarreled with my mum over my mum’s early morning prayers. My mum had a habit of waking up in the early hours of the morning and pray loudly to the hearing of everyone. It angered most of the neighbours but they couldn’t do anything about it because asking her to stop would be like fighting God. That particular woman, however, didn’t care if God got angry with her or not. She had always complained about my mum’s prayers. Mama Anthony as she was called was a good friend to Elvis’ mum.
The following morning, I woke up around 5:00 AM, bathed and got ready. My younger sisters all woke up to say their goodbyes. I planned to leave by 6:00 AM at the latest. However, when I went to my mother’s room for her to give me her final blessings, the blessings transformed into prayers and the prayers extended up till about 6:30. When she finally finished praying, I opened the main door, stepped on the verandah and froze. Right in front of me, and I almost stepped on it, was a dead rat that I hadn’t seen when I came back from bathing behind the house. I ran back into the house and told my mother what I had just seen.
My mother, praying seriously, took a stick a pushed the rat far away from our verandah. She then took me into the house and prayed for another fifteen minutes. By the time she was done, all the neighbours had woken up and my departure could no longer be a secret. Mama Anthony was already up, and she looked at me suspiciously. One of our neighbours was a bike rider. He was the one who carried me to the park where I intended to get an early morning bus to the city.
Luckily for me, as soon as we got to the park, we met a bus that needed just two more passengers to be full. There was one woman with her baby in her arms. She was negotiating the fare with the driver, and it seemed she didn’t have enough money to pay. The driver refused to carry her, and the woman looked downcast and frustrated. I walked up to them.
“Driver, how many more people do you need for us to go?”
“Just two, chairman.”
“That means you are full already because there is this woman and me.”
“No, that woman doesn’t have enough money to pay. She is not going with us.”
“How much is the fare to the city?”
“Five thousand.”
“How much does she have?”
“Three thousand.”
“It’s alright chauffeur, I will pay her fare. Let her in.”
“You will?” The driver asked in disbelief.
“Yes, I will. Now, let her in. Madam, please, get into the car with your baby.” I told the woman.
“God will bless you, my son. Only good things will follow you for the rest of your days.”
“Amen, Mama.”
The driver brought the engine to life and the journey began. I checked the money I was carrying in a small bag to make sure it was still intact. Assured that the money was safe, I settled down to enjoy the trip to the city. I had often heard that drivers who plied that road were notorious for driving at top speed. That was exactly what our driver was doing and that led to him quarreling with several women passengers. I didn’t have any problem with the pace of the car. I loved it because I needed to get to the city as quickly as possible. I couldn’t wait to see it’s beautiful sights and tall buildings.
Mama Anthony was standing directly in front of the car. She was n***d and she seemed to have grown in size. Our driver who had just taken a break from quarrelling with the women passengers tried to swerve the car to one side so as to avoid running her over, but it was too late. He hit her and the car screeched to a halt. Mama Anthony vanished in front of everyone’s eyes. All the passengers stepped out of the car except me. I heard women screaming and crying.
“He’s dead, he’s dead. That young man who paid the nursing mother’s fair is dead. Oh my God! We have just been involved in an accident. Someone, please get him out of the car.”
That was when I woke up. I had dozed off and was dreaming. When I woke up from my sleep, I realized that we had indeed been involved in an accident. They said the driver almost came into a head on collision with a truck driver. However, he expertly swerved the vehicle to one side and only grazed the truck. The truck driver and his truck ended up in a valley. Everyone had got out of the car except me because I was deep in dreams. That is why they thought I had died. When I woke up, there was a general round of applause and great rejoicings from everyone.
The driver, some male passengers and some bystanders, went into the valley to see the situation of the truck driver. When they got there, they found neither him nor his assistant. They had both vanished. They all returned back to the road and reported what they had seen. One old mama said they shouldn’t bother. She said most of those truck drivers are from the North. They have charms that enable them to disappear whenever they were involved in accident. That was why they drove recklessly. She said we shouldn’t bother. The truck driver will be ok.
The rest of the journey was very smooth. I got to the city, met Roberts at the bus stop waiting for me. We went to his house, kept my bag, went back to town to get a room for Addie and me. When we had succeeded, we went back to Roberts’ house for the night. That night, I called Addie through Roberts’ phone.
“Hi Addie.”
“Can’t you say, ‘hi babe’? You are very unromantic.” She laughed.
“Ok, hi babe. How are you?”
“I am good, my love. How are you enjoying the city?”
“Very well, Roberts has been so helpful. I got the house already. You need to see it. It’s so beautiful and it’s close to the school just like you wanted it.”
“Wow!! Good boy. Thank you. Say thanks to Roberts too.”
Two days later, Addie came to the city with all her stuff, and we moved into our new home. Among all the members of their family, only Robert was aware that she was going to be living with someone; with me. Addie made him swear not to tell anyone for no reason.
During our first night together, I tried to make love to Addie, but she refused. I was confused. She had proven beyond doubts, in fact, beyond reasonable doubts that she was into me. Why was she refusing to give me what should now rightfully be mine?
“Now, what is the problem, Addie?” I asked. “You know I need it nah.”
“I am a decent girl. I can’t date two men at the same time.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t tell you. I was heartbroken when I came to the village. I was dating one looser here in the city. He treated me badly and slept with my friend. However, I haven’t officially broken up with him. When I do that tomorrow, You and I can begin dating officially.” She explained.
The next day, she went and broke up with the other guy. I was very happy and wanted to have her that same moment, but she declined. She told me not to worry and not to be in a haste. She got some money and went to the market. When she got back, she prepared a delicious meal and served me a hefty quantity. When I had eaten, she asked me to go and bathe. When I was done bathing, I walked back into the room and froze. She was lying on the bed, n***d.
“Now, Mister, you can come and have what you have always wanted.” She spoke.
TO BE CONTINUED…
