Grace of fear 2

 The bikers rode around yelling at each other for about 10 minutes and left. When all was clear Baaba looked for her keys and made a run for it. Luckily for her they didn't return. She breathed a sigh of relief when she entered her Auntie's house. Her hands were still trembling with fear when she laid down to sleep. After another 30 minutes she managed to fall asleep.

 Baaba went about her morning chores very quickly the next day. It was Saturday and she wanted to tell Ralph the good news. As she did her usual trip to the market for her auntie, she was so tempted to buy herself a thing or two with the money. She knew her Auntie would suspect her if she did so she left praying that where she hid the money was still safe. She called Ralph and asked him to meet her at the market. When she saw him she smiled and told him to guess the good news she had for him. He didn't seem amused at all. In fact he was quiet unhappy. This was strange.

   Ralph liked meeting up with her and was usually happy when she initiated it. "Ah, what's wrong? Did Bra Yaw ask you to pay for something again?" Baaba asked concerned. Ralph shook his head and shrugged. Bra Yaw owned the fitting shop where Ralph worked. He was very stern and would make his workers pay for every tiny mistake they made. Bra Yaw was another reason why Ralph wanted to leave for Kumasi. "What is the surprise? I have a lot of work to do." Ralph snapped. Baaba felt offended. Why was he taking all her fun away? Just then, Ralph's phone rang. He signaled at Baaba and walked away to answer the call. He was speaking very low so she wouldn't hear what he was saying. When he walked further away and turned his back to her she left. "I'll keep everything to myself then." she muttered as she walked away, a little heart-broken. B

 Baaba took the long route on her way home. She wanted to think. It was hard to think with her auntie yelling and screaming in the house over trivial things. As she walked home she couldn't help thinking about Ralph. He was the first friend she made when she moved to her auntie's house. She enjoyed his company because he was always full of smiles. He would always listen to her complain about her auntie and reassured her. Baaba didn't understand why he was acting strange. Maybe there was another girl. One who entertained his leaving town plan more than she did.

As she walked, she saw a large number of people in front of a house. She recognized one of the people, Agnes. Agnes used to work at the bar with her. Baaba walked to her and asked what was going on. "Some people robbed the man who lived here yesterday oh. They said the robbers used a special key to open all the doors. We are not safe anymore oh. The man and his daughter were asleep kwraa. They stole some plenty money the man had and shot him too." Agnes narrated. Baaba listened. "Ei, is he dead?" Baaba asked. "No he's been sent to the hospital. I feel sad for Nasara, his daughter. Her mother left the father last year. They said she preferred the father. Now she'll be forced to live with the mother. That woman is terror." Agnes continued. Baaba's heart sunk. She knew what living with a terror woman felt like. She noticed the time and rushed home.

 When she got home she was scolded for leaving a single plate unwashed. Baaba could not take it anymore. She was leaving, with or without Ralph. She went to her room after cooking the evening meal. She noticed Ralph had called her a number of times. She rolled her eyes and put the phone aside. She took out a pen and paper to write a list of what she needed to run away with. Then she locked her door and took out the money. She hadn't even counted it. The piece of paper around the money had something written on it. Baaba noticed it was a list. It read, "tomatoes, fresh fish, cabbage, light bulb, story books for Nasara..." Baaba froze.


 To be continued ...

Grace of fear

  Baaba kept her head down as she walked home. That part of the road had so many potholes. She had to watch out for them before she tripped and fell. She had fallen before. It was darker that night than usual because she stayed an extra 4 hours at work. It was because her head was down that she saw it, a bundle of 50 cedi notes and a piece of paper attached to it.

   At first she wasn't sure it was money so she bent down to take a better look. She gasped and picked it up. She instinctively looked around. The lonely street was just as it always was at 2 am. She put the money in a secret compartment she had in her bag. She made this compartment for her money just in case she met any robbers. Luckily for her she hadn't met any yet since she started working at the bar but today it was very late so she didn't feel safe.

 Baaba walked faster now, completely forgetting the potholes. She was busy imagining what she was going to buy with the money. She was sick of working around drunk men. She guessed the money would be at least 2,000 cedis. When her house was in sight she broke into a run. She was planning what to do next. She would hide the money inside her mattress. There was no way her auntie would find it. Then she would run to Kumasi with her boyfriend, Ralph. He had been bugging her about running away for so long. She smiled as she run.

 She was just five minutes to her house when she heard the sound of motor bikes moving in her direction. Baaba was so startled that she missed her step and her bag fell. She picked it up quickly. Bikers at this time was never a good thing. She turned and looked in the direction of the sound. She saw shadows and lights getting brighter. They were moving very fast but she knew they couldn't see her yet. She dug her hand in her bag trying to locate her keys. There was a chance she could rush in before they saw her. When her shaking hands couldn't find the keys she shook her head and dashed into a bush nearby.

 In seconds they were on her street. She could hear them talk but couldn't make out what they were saying. They went up and down the street slowly. Baaba just sat in the bush with her heart beating faster and faster. She clung on to her bag like it was her baby. From where she was squatting all she could see were their feet. One had a tattoo of a snake around his ankle. Baaba closed her eyes tightly and prayed he wouldn't come any closer.


 To be continued...