Withered Flower - Episode 12

She squatted, hoping the tall grasses will shield her from her pursuers. She could hear them moving about and speaking to each other. Something crawled on her leg and she closed her eyes praying that it would be anything but a snake. She pressed her hand against her mouth so a scream doesn't escape her mouth.

Slowly her eyes opened and she saw a big snake crawling across her leg. She was about to let out a scream when strong hands grabbed her and she screamed and jerked awake.

It had been three weeks since she escaped from where she was being held by people she didn't know. For fear of what might happen next, she had remained in Kene's house. He had moved all her things to his house and she didn't mind as she had a month before her rent was due. She had tried reaching out to Chief but he had still refused to answer her calls.

She stood up and went to the bathroom. As she looked in the mirror, the events of the night she escaped kept replaying in her mind.

The hole she made was large enough for her to squeeze through. In the process, she had injured herself and blood started gushing out of the deep gash on her arm. The moment her leg touched the ground, she started running and only stopped when she got to a busy Street.  A lot of people thought she was crazy but she wasn't perturbed.

The Taxi man didn't ask questions and she was glad about that. She just wanted to get to where she was going and wasn't in the mood for small talk. Besides, she was very tired, having not eaten for a week. If anything good came out of this whole episode, she was sure she had lost the last 10kg her body was holding on to.

Entering into Kene's Street was a major relief to her, even more when she staggered into his arms. The guy was such a nice person and has actually been looking for her.  Maybe it was that singular act or the fact that Chief has been ignoring her that made her finally agree to date him.

She picked up the home pregnancy test. The package said that a double line indicated that the person taking the test was pregnant. Here she was, holding the strip with all indications that she was pregnant. How was she going to tell this to Kene? How will he react? How did this happen, as she had always been very careful. She tried to count backwards but gave up and decided to get a proper test done before speaking to Kene. The only problem was how she was going to leave the house without his knowledge.  She has been very scared of going out since her escape. 

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"How is she doing"?

"How is it that you keep asking me about your friend? Can't you call her? Even better, go and visit her, after all you know where she is"

Nkem had barely closed the door when his wife asked him about Iyeke.  She has been doing this since Iyeke was kidnapped. He had asked her if there was a problem between them but she had denied it.

"You better sort out what it is between you two. You have been friends for too long to allow whatever it is keep you apart".

"Mbok, I just asked you a simple question and not a lecture" Emem responded in anger.

She had not spoken to Iyeke since the day she revealed that she knew about her and Nkem. She was also sorry about what happened that day but she was very upset and jealous of her friend. It was no doubt that they have been “Cat and Mouse” from when they were young.

Iyeke was always the pretty one, getting all the boys, including her husband. Seriously, how could one person be that beautiful? It is true what they say that “Life is really not fair”. Iyeke was tall, long legs, Beautiful pointed nose, full lips, a head full of hair etc. She could go on and on but to what purpose. The fact remained that Iyeke was beautiful and she was not.

“At least one thing came out of this, the ugly girl got married before the beauty queen” She muttered lowly to herself.

Looking at her wrist watch, she picked up the phone, scrolled to the number she needed and dialled. The phone didn’t ring for long before the receiver at the other end picked. They spoke for a bit and agreed to meet in a few hours.

She had to find an excuse to give to her husband and one was already forming in her brain. She smiled as she made her way to the room to prepare for her outing.

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Ogochukwu sat by the fire place and looked as the red flames crackled. She had been in Benin for the past three weeks and hoping that Iyeke will call and she could move on from this.

A sharp pain in her heart, caused her to double over and she threw her hands out and used the wall to break her fall. She tried to take in small burst of breaths till the pain subsided. This episode was more painful than the rest, the “doctor” had said that it will get even more painful and there was telling the one that will eventually send her to the grave.

She got up from where she was sitting and decided to take a walk. The “doctor” had said that walking could help in alleviating the pain but that would only buy her a little more time. A silent prayer escaped her lips, as she asked God to keep her alive until she had spoken to Iyeke. She could feel that there was no time on her side but Iyeke had to know this secret.

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Room 528 held memories for Emem and she was about to make even more memories. She walked straight to the girl at the reception, spoke to her for a few minutes, then collected a key card and started heading upstairs to the room.

She went straight into the bathroom to take a shower. Thank God it was a warm shower and she didn’t need to call anyone in to see if the hot water faucet was bad.

“Great, they are beginning to listen in this hotel”. She said to herself.

Walking back into the room, she went straight to the Air Conditioning socket to switch it off. The cold was unbearable. She took out a pink teddy gown and the accompanying panties from her handbag and laid them on the bed. She will put them on after she perfumed her body.

She had barely finished dressing up when the door to the room opened and in walked in her companion.

“Hello Chief” She said and walked towards him to give him a deep kiss.

Chief Mezu held on to the small statured girl and returned her kiss. Oh how he missed this body and even better, the “Calabar” sex with her. He allowed himself to be guided to the bed.