Broken 8

After a few more hours of drinking and chatting Kevin decided it was time to leave. He took me to my place. He told me there was a really good movie he wanted us to watch. I smiled and politely turned the idea down. "I have work in about 3 hours so I need to sleep for just an hour and go. A system maintenance procedure. Maybe over the weekend." I lied. He wanted to come in for a while but I told him it wasn't a good idea. I kissed him and said goodnight.

When I got inside my head was racing. A part of me wanted to call Daisy or Kevin and ask what was going on but I wasn't sure they would tell me the truth. I called Pablo instead. I told him what I heard and he calmed me down. "Don't over think it. It's probably something irrelevant. We can talk about it tomorrow, just go to bed it's late." He said. He was right. It was very late and I was probably worried about nothing. I took a shower and went straight to bed.

The next day when I got to work I walked straight to Pablo's office. I followed his advice and tried not to ask Daisy or Kevin what was going on. Pablo was having a cup of coffee when I got in. "So I'm here, let's talk." I said when he saw me. He shook his head and asked me to come and look at something on his computer. I walked to him reluctantly and looked at it. It was code. He had found the glitch in a programme the whole team had been working on. He had fixed it too. It was very impressive. "Wow how did you do this?" I asked, inspecting it even closer. He smiled and promised to show me how he did it. I gave him a high five.

Our boss then walked in and asked what was going on. "Maggie and I have fixed the glitch." Pablo said. I looked at Pablo and he smiled. Our boss was very glad. She gave me a smile, congratulated us and walked out. This was the first smile I had got from her in the past 3 months! Just like magic I had completely forgotten about Daisy and Kevin. "Hey sit down and let me teach you how I did it before you blow our cover." Pablo said and we both laughed. "Not so loud, jeez." I teased.

After work Pablo suggested we stay late so he can teach me some more coding and I gladly agreed. When I was packing my stuff to go to his office a coworker Maxine smiled at me. "Is it official yet?" She asked. I. Wasn't sure what she meant until I saw her glance at Pablo on the other side of the hall. "No no we are not going out. Just friends." I said. "Oh ok, he asked me to have a drink with him on Saturday night but I thought you guys were dating so I told him I'll think about it." She said. "Oh. Really? Well errm so well you can go then if you like, I guess." I stuttered. "That's good news." She said with a big smile on her face. I nodded and grabbed my bag.

For some reason I wasn't interested in taking Pablo's' tutorial class' anymore. Just then Pablo walked to my desk. "Are you ready?". He said. I had almost no choice now. I nodded and grabbed my bag. Pablo spoke to Maxine for a few seconds and followed me to his office.

When I got to Pablo's office I set up my laptop next to his and sat down. He sat next to me and got right to it. We were less than 5 minutes in when Daisy walked in. She said hi to Pablo and smiled at me. I knew exactly what the smile meant. I shook my head and walked out to talk to her.


To be continued... 

Broken 7

"What about this?" Daisy said holding up a dress. We were in a shop trying to pick a dress for her to wear to a friend's party. Daisy was a serial shopper when it came to clothes. The best part of shopping with her was that sometimes she felt very generous and bought stuff for me too. I nodded at her but she didn't really like the dress so she put it back on the rack. Just then my phone rang. It was Kevin. I answered it. He wanted to pick me up so we go to a pub. I couldn't help myself from smiling. After the call Daisy winked at me. "Was that our Spanish boyfriend? The way the girls in HR are jealous of you eh?" She said giggling. I shook my head and told her it was Kevin. Her smile vanished immediately. "Maggie, are you still entertaining him?" She said. This was the very reason why I didn't want to tell Daisy anything. Luckily the shop attendant brought her a dress she had requested for in a bigger size and that ended that conversation.

When Daisy was done shopping I looked at the time. Kevin would arrive at the mall any minute. I hoped Daisy would be gone by that time. I walked Daisy to her car and waved at her as she drove off. I noticed Kevin's messages saying he had arrived. I went to him and we were off to the place. It was nice spending time with Kevin even though we would most likely be with some of his friends. It was still cool. We were finally trying to get back. 

The pub was very busy and a little crowded. His friends, PY and another guy were already sitting at a table so we joined them. They ordered drinks and some finger foods. I sent a text to Pablo and told him I was sort of on a date with Kevin. "Mag, a night with the boys is not a date but whatever rocks your love boat." He said. I giggled and kept texting him. Pablo was such a goofball!

 Kevin got up and went to the bathroom leaving me and his friends behind. It was a bit awkward so I continued chatting on my phone. I felt a vibration on the table and realised Kevin had left his phone. Someone was calling him and my heart skipped a beat when I recognized the number. It was Daisy! Why was she calling Kevin? Did she know we were together? Why didn't she call me instead?

I saw Kevin return and calmed myself down. He picked up the phone, saw the number and walked out to take the call. I was just too curious. I followed him and hid behind him to eavesdrop. "What is it princess Daisy." Kevin said sarcastically. "You need to calm down. I'm not forcing her to do anything. Are you jealous? How will she find out? You worry too much. Look, I need to go. Later." he said and hung up. I turned around and rushed back to my seat.


To be continued... 

Broken 3

I woke up very late the next morning. It was a Saturday so I wasn't worried at all. I rushed for my phone immediately after my morning devotion. Just like I suspected I had two messages. One was from Kevin but the second wasn't from Pablo but Daisy. Daisy wanted to know how the night went. Kevin's text was the surprising one. He invited me to come over to his place that afternoon to talk. That was all he said. He didn't even say what about. I told him I would be there. There was only one thing he was likely to say, that he wanted us to get back together. So all it took was a night out with a Spanish guy? I smiled and went to look for breakfast to eat.

Daisy called me that morning. She wanted to hear all the juicy details. I told her the story excluding Pablo's kiss. "Kevin almost caused a scene." She said. I shook my head. She wasn't getting the point. "He sent me a text today. He wants us to talk. I will be going there around 3."  I said. Daisy didn't like the idea at all. "What does he want to talk about? You shouldn't go. I mean now that you are moving on he wants you back? This guy is so annoying." She said. I wasn't happy with the way she was talking. "Daisy is there anything wrong with him wanting me back? We can make it work." I said. "Maggie, I'm just trying to remind you that he hurt you. He cheated on you..." She explained but I wasn't amused. "People work out their issues and go on. If Lawrence cheats on you will you leave him?" I said. There was a brief pause. "Wow, you know what? Do whatever you want." Daisy finally said. I could tell she was upset. She made an excuse and got off the line.

That afternoon when I got to Kevin's place I couldn't help reminiscing. His car was parked at his usual spot and dirty as hell. I was the one who always insisted he wash it. So much so that we had a car wash party every other Sunday afternoon. We would play loud music, wash the car and eat a heavy meal afterwards. It was fun. I called him when I got to his gate and he opened the door instead of picking my call. It startled me a bit. "Hey." I said. He signalled for me to come in.

His place had changed a little since I last visited. It was obviously a mess but not that bad a mess. I sat on the couch and looked at Kevin. He seemed a bit disoriented like he had just woken up from sleep. "If this is a bad time I can come another time." I said. He shook his head and told me it was fine, that he just dozed off a bit.

When I first met Kevin I was instantly attracted to him. It wasn't just his good looks that had me sprung, it was his way of life. He was very relaxed, took things a day at a time and really liked to have fun. That was the exact opposite of me but somehow I felt we could create the perfect balance together. He felt the exact same way, well at least that's what he told me. He said all his previous relationships with bad, free spirited women never lasted long. He wanted to commit to me because I was different and that was it for me. I fell for him. Surely it sounds foolish of me but when a person who doesn't care much for a lot of people shows that he cares about you there's something you feel inside. Daisy warned me not to date him and that guys like him came with lots of baggage but I didn't listen. I had found Romeo and that was all that mattered. It's hard to explain how special Kevin made me feel. I was smitten.

After our first few months of dating I could have sworn we would get married! The problems came after the 5th month. Kevin started going out more without me. He called me less. He was doing a course at the same time so I felt studying and working at the same time was taking a toll on him. Daisy one day suggested we pay him a surprise visit. Just to prove to her that Kevin was faithful I decided to do it. To be honest I also wanted answers myself. So we went to his place. He was surprised to see us.

That day he was awfully weird. He kept texting. Then there was a knock at the door. Kevin  quickly went to the door. All I could hear was whispering. Daisy turned to look at me. "Go and see who is there." She said. That my friend is such a spy. I nodded and walked towards the door. When I got close I heard a lady say "So who should take me? That wasn't what we planned Kev".

Kevin noticed me too late. "Hi!" I said to her. She looked like a student and was holding what looked like a weekend bag. It angered me that she was younger than me. She looked exactly like the type of girl Kevin said he didn't want anymore. "What's going on? Is this your girlfriend? Should I tell her everything?!" She asked Kevin angrily. He tried to close the door but I just shook my head. Kevin yelled at the girl and told her to leave. This made her even more angry. She wouldn't allow him to close the door. At this moment I had seen enough. I went for Daisy and told her we should leave. There were already tears in my eyes. As we left Kevin came to me asking me to stay and that it wasn't what I thought. He said if the other lady meant anything to him he wouldn't be begging me to stay. We left and I never came back until this day.


To be continued... 
Don't forget to follow my blog :) 

Crush by Audrey Harriet Kumordjie

It was bedtime again and Jonas dreaded his usual last thoughts just before sleep overtook him. It had become a ritual now; that no matter where he was or where his bed happened to be, the same images lulled him to sleep. The images weren’t pretty, they were one of his embarrassing moments yet and even he couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t stop thinking about them.

Bella! It always came back to Bella. When he joined the Scripture Union (S.U) during his first year in High School, it was because of his “school father” the chaplain but it was his crush on Bella that made him stay in the group even years after Edward, his school father had left. He stayed to his graduation day.

His very definition of beauty was Bella, the standard to which he held every lady.  During their school days, one of the moments he found her most irresistible was after she’d gotten a haircut. Her sideburns were often pronounced then as her barber always shaped them up. Her slightly protruded forehead was the only thing he wished he could change about her features but six years later after High School when it was okay for the female species of his generation to “have their hair done”, he would see her again and admit to himself that her forehead had become her most alluring feature yet; more so when she had her hair in a ponytail. She had the darkest skin on campus and even her gums had melanin which made her already white teeth seem whiter.

Her small, well shaped and soft lips which he never had the opportunity to touch to confirm his perception always seemed to beckon to him. She had a perfect bust to butt ratio. The fact that she was petite was often overlooked by many because she seemed to be EVERYWHERE all the time, almost like she never wanted anyone to forget that she’s around. She needn’t worry though, because he doubted anyone who’s met Bella ever forgot her.

She was a popular girl, he wasn’t a popular guy; with a name like Jonas, who would be surprised? His parents definitely didn’t do him any favors with that name.  He was easily overlooked. He was a very shy guy and he never played himself into thinking a girl like her would ever notice a guy like him. His bedtime companion was a replay of an incident that happened in their second year in High school. He had just walked into the Assembly Hall where they normally have their S.U meetings, ten minutes before time. He loved doing that because it provided him an opportunity to stare at her as she walks in or to spend the first few minutes with her in the same room before the other members arrived. He got in and sat down at the back of the hall. Bella was chatting with one of her friends a few rows ahead.

There was just one other guy; a junior in the hall and he was making a show of rearranging the chairs in the hall in preparation for the meeting. He felt a bit guilty that the poor guy was doing it all alone so he got up and started helping. Of course he started at a place nearer to the girls, the most natural place that would make it quite alright for him to walk up to them and say; “excuse me”. He worked his way up to them as planned and said it. The girls got up without even giving him a glance, much like one would treat an invisible person and left but not before he saw Bella raise her left palm to her nose in a gesture that looked like she was trying to cover it from some odor. He felt like he could die on the spot after that, but it was the burst of laughter that came from the other girl seconds later that hammered the nails to his coffin. He never went near Bella again till they left school.

Six years later, he was leading opening prayer at his local church when Bella walked in…………..




Audrey is a vary interesting writer. Her pieces are always relatable downright realistic. She has a blog where she writes stories and poems too. Check her blog out and enjoy binge reading :) Here's the link http://hakspass.blogspot.com

Closure 5

"So how long till you start dating? From the sound of that kiss we are looking at minutes right?" Mawuli said. He was leaning over my desk at work. I told him about Frank and he had been smiling ever since. "I'm not sure that will happen. He said he doesn't trust women remember? Plus I'm not sure I'm ready for a relationship again." I confessed. His smile faded. "Vanessa you are too young and good looking to be saying such foolish things. You are very ready." He said. He tried to convince me to forget about Eddie and move on. I knew he was right but it didn't sound as easy as he was saying it. Just then the phone on my desk rang and our little chat was over.

Frank and I chat and talked for a couple of days after the kiss. None of us brought it up though. We just acted like nothing happened. I honestly didn't have a problem with it at all. The calls got more frequent and so was the texting. They say when you start climbing the hill of happiness a rock or two fall your way and try to destroy it. That's what happened to me one day at a meeting at work.

The bank was going to have its annual awards ceremony and as usual the planning committee meet to discuss the details. When I was called to this meeting I wondered why. I was never part of that group. "Vanessa we have a task for you. Can you speak to the singer Eddie to perform at the awards night?" The manager of the bank asked. I wasn't in anyway prepared for that question.

"Sir, I'm sorry I don't understand." I managed to say. He put his pen down, sat back in his chair and looked at me. "You know him personally right? Find out what his quote is and his availability but more importantly ask him for a discount. I think we are done" He said. Then he smiled and walked out. I wondered whether I was day dreaming or it was real. "He wants it by tomorrow oh." One of my workmates said as she left the meeting room and my heart skipped a beat.

"Did you call him? What did he say?" Mawuli whispered leading me to the kitchen, the next day. I just submitted Eddie's quotes the boss requested. I shook my head and Mawuli almost went crazy. "Nessa I hope you didn't send some fake exorbitant quotes you conjured." He said. "No!" I scolded. I explained to Mawuli that the quotes were real. I called his manager instead. "Smart move." Mawuli said smiling. I smiled back.

Mawuli knew I decided not to talk to Eddie and since he knew our history he understood. "What are you going to do at the awards night when he's there? You really need to get over him." Mawuli said. I knew he was right but I had decided to avoid him and so far it had sort of helped.

That night I wanted company. Wendy was out with her friends doing her usual Friday ritual. Mawuli was also out of town. I thought hard about Frank. I could almost be certain we would kiss again if we were alone together. Not that it was a bad thing but I wasn't sure it was healthy either. I shrugged and grabbed my phone to call him but just then my phone rung and it was none other than Frank calling. I giggled and answered the call.

To be continued... 

Zaky 2

"Are you OK? " I heard someone ask. I looked up, parting my braids to see who it was. It was him, Zaky! He was looking down at me. "Me? I'm fine. Just moving to some music " I lied with a smile wider than I would have liked. He smiled too. "ok." He said and sat down. "Were you going to tap my shoulder earlier?" He asked and I noticed I had forgotten what I was going to say to him. Yikes! "No" I lied again. "Yea? Because I could have sworn I saw ur palm on my shoulder." He said looking straight at me. His brown eyes looked even more attractive up close. "Ermm yea it was this, spider thing there." I said.

This was not going as I planned it at all. Surprisingly Zaky laughed. Then the bus stopped. This was his stop. I had blown my second chance! "Did you see where the spider went?" He teased. I nodded. "It dropped." I replied. "Ei where,  at the stop before this one?" He asked. I giggled too. I realised he was preparing to leave the bus. "Yes didn't you see it?" I played along. I smiled when the bus started moving again. Someway God had saved my incredible mess up. And almost instantly I felt comfortable around him.

"Anyways I'm Zaky." He said. "I'm Spider woman." I said pretending to be shooting webs. He laughed out really hard. He got up and sat next to me. "Zaky sounds like a nice name for a psychic doesn't it?" He said and we both laughed. We goofed around some more and he asked me why we had never met. "You are really funny. That's rare around here." He confessed. We talked and joked some more. "I'm going to this party at the Head office. Do you want to come?" He asked. I couldn't believe it. Wow that was fast. All because of my silly, sloppy humour. I nodded without a second thought. I could hardly believe what was happening.

When the bus stopped at our company's head office Zaky and I got off and walked into the building. It seemed too good to be true. I mean in all technicalities we spoke for barely an hour and we were already on a date? Well it wasn't exactly a romantic date but he asked me to go somewhere with him so he obviously enjoyed my company. I wanted to ask him why he brought me along. Why he picked me instead of all the ladies at work. I was honestly the least fancy one, with glasses and all but I didn't want to jinx it. Maybe he did ask them and they were all busy.

The party wasn't anything big. It was held in one office. The Operations Manager was celebrating her 50th birthday.
Just before we walked into the party place Zaky grabbed my hand and pulled me to the side of the door away from everybody's sight. He looked me straight in the eye. His face was so close to mine my heart skipped a beat.


To be continued... 

Just like Adel 5

"I don't know if I'm reading wrongly into this but I'm not sure I'm ..." He started and from nowhere at all two men on a motor bike appeared with cutlases. They where near us before I could get into the car. "Shit." Henry said. "Bring your phones, wallets and the car keys now!" one yelled. "My phone, you don't know I'm a police women eh?" I said and pulled out a gun from my bag. I pointed it at them and they fled without saying another word.

Henry turned to look at the gun and back to me. Don't worry it's not real. It's a prop. My cousin is a director, I got it from him. " I said smiling. I showed him the sticker behind the gun." What? Goodness even I fell for it!" Henry said and we both laughed. "That's really cool. You should get me one but it will probably be useless soon." He said taking the gun from me and examining it. "What do you mean?" I asked. He just shrugged but his expression had really changed.

"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. Henry turned to look at me. "I don't know how to say this." He started. "You don't like me. There, I said it for you. It's kind of obvious." I cut in. He froze. "It's not that. Its just that you look..." He explained then I realised Gilly was right. He couldn't date me because I looked like his little sister. "Hey I get it. Anyways you need to go. I may not be able to pull this trick off twice." I said collecting the gun from him and putting it into my bag. He wanted to explain but what could he say? "Yea sure. Err, goodnight then." He said and left. Maybe it was for the best.

I warned Dean not to talk about Henry anymore. I didn't want to hear about Adel either but that was just impossible. One evening when we closed from work I was just about to leave the office when I saw Adel. I smiled and said a friendly hello. She nodded and signalled to have a word with me. "Dean is in the bosses office." I said. "Yes I know. I'm just waiting for him here. So I hear things didn't work out with you and my brother." She said.

I stared at her for a while. For some reason she looked unhappy but it made sense. Since I'm not with her brother she still has to worry about Dean. So petty, this girl. "Nope." I said, taking a step closer to the exit. I really wasn't interested in discussing my rejection with her. "So what now? Are you guys going to remain friends though? " She asked. I wondered what she thought her words would achieve. "Who knows. You know what, I'd like to chat but I really have to leave. " I said. Adel didn't seem happy at all. She nodded and I stormed out of the office.


To be continued... 

Just like Adel 4

When I got to work on Monday I went straight to Dean's desk. He hadn't arrived yet so I sat in his chair and waited. I turned on his computer to play a game. Just before I started playing I saw an instant message from Adel. "Hey hun, are you at work already?" it read. I was just about to type a reply when another message came that made me freeze. "Is Dores around? I'm not playing about what I told you about her. Don't even think about it. " It read. Just then I heard Dean's voice. I turned the computer off instantly and left his desk.

Maybe it was me but it really felt like Dean was acting strange the whole day. After lunch I couldn't take it anymore and I guess he felt the same way too so when I walked up to him after lunch he said sorry. "For what?" I asked. "For not telling you that you looked like Adel. I guess you are passed off too." He added. I raised an eye brow. "What did she say?" I asked curiously. When Dean dragged his words I knew he didn't want to talk about it. I told him I had gotten over it. Somehow he thought we would both be amused. "She thinks you may like me too because we look alike right? Tell her not to worry, you are not my type." I said frankly and walked away. I heard him call out to me but I wasn't in the mood to listen to him. Dean and his girlfriend had never appeared more childish to me.

That evening as I went home I noticed Henry's car parked in front of his office. I really considered paying him a visit but I honestly didn't know what I would say then I remembered a trick I read online. I dropped off at his office and after explaining a good deal to the security man he finally allowed me to see Henry. "I didn't know I had to go through so much to see you." I said trying to sound casual but not quite getting it right. "I'm a big deal." He said and smiled. He was so charming. Even with his reading glasses on. He got up and walked towards me. Was he going to kiss me? I asked myself with my heart slightly racing.

He walked past me to his cabinet and picked a file. I shook my head at my wishful thoughts and sat down. It was time to act. "I think I dropped something in your car the other time." I said. Before Henry could say anything a tall guy walked in. He looked at me and nodded when I said hello. "Gilly as you can see today I'm a bit busy." Henry said, looking at me. Gilly looked at me again and just stared until Henry laughed and introduced me to him. "My goodness I almost swore you were Adel." He finally confessed and I giggled. "Do you have any plans for the evening?" Gilly asked. I shook my head and Henry frowned. "That's good. So you can join us. We are getting Henry drunk tonight." Gilly said. Henry didn't look very amused. "Doris needs me to do some stuff for her at her place. Gilly we can do this another time." He protested. I decided to play along. Gilly just shook his head and took a reincheck. Before he left the office he turned to me and said "Henry has a second sister now. Whoosh!" Henry threw a paper ball at him and he laughed.

We walked to the car park to look for the thing I 'dropped' in Henry's car. I learnt this trick about a year ago. You leave something at your crush's place and either have him bring it to you or go for it. In no time at all I found my little note book. Unfortunately I didn't remember what to do after I retrieved the item. "Found it. Thanks." I said awkwardly. Henry nodded and locked his car. "I'll see you later then." He said. "That was cold." There was a nice side to him but his cold side wasn't fun at all. I looked at my watch. "It's almost 9pm. How about you walk me home? " I asked. He shook his head and got into his car. "I'll drop you off. I need to come back and finish some work." He said. It wasn't what I expected but it was better than nothing. I hopped into the front seat and we were off. I saw some papers on the seat and turned them over to look at what was written on them but before I could read anything Henry snatched them from me. "It's just work stuff. So which way do we go?" He asked looking straight ahead. This was getting worse by the minute thanks to Mr workaholic.

In less than 5 minutes we were in front of my little apartment. "Thanks." I said when Henry turned to look at me. I opened the door and walked out. My plan didn't go well at all. "Doris." Henry called. I turned around swiftly. He got out of his car and walked to me. "I don't know if I'm reading wrongly into this but I'm not sure I'm..." He started and from nowhere at all two men on a motor bike appeared with cutlases. They where near us before I could get into the car or my apartment. "Shit." Henry said.



To be continued... 

Just like Adel 2

"Henry?" I asked. He looked up at me, clearly surprised. "Hi, what are you doing here?" He asked, taking off his glasses. He signalled for me to have a seat and I told him my mission. I realised now why Dean conveniently wanted me to come instead of him. He must have known. Henry answered all my questions sharply. It almost felt like he was in a hurry for me to leave. I told myself he was doing that because I told him my time was limited. I left immediately I got what I needed ignoring the temptation to take his number, for work purposes of cause.

After we presented our documented ideas to the boss Dean and I came back to our desks. We were so late we hadn't talked about Henry yet. Dean brought him up the minute I sat down. I told him in all honesty that if there was any proof that he wasn't interested in me it was our meeting. Dean shrugged and ended his probing by saying I was exaggerating. When he grabbed his phone I knew he was going to give his girlfriend the report. I couldn't wait till the next day when she finally arrived so I could tell her how annoying her boyfriend was.

I noticed as my taxi pulled over in front of a really big restaurant that I was probably under dressed. Looking at the type of cars around my black trousers and blue sleeveless top may not have been very appropriate. I remembered I had a necklace in my bag and put it on to add some style to my plain look. I got out carefully in order not to damage the cake I was holding. Dean tasked me with delivering the cake he had ordered for Adel at her welcome dinner. She had finally come back!

I rushed into the restaurant after paying the taxi driver. Dean had called me a thousand times because I was late. He said Adel was a bit jet lagged so he didn't want her staying up so late. I smiled when I saw Dean waving at me. He and about 5 other people where sitting at one table. I walked to them and put the cake on the table with a smile. "Everybody this is Doris, my coworker who loves being late." Dean teased and I heard some giggles. "Finally I get to meet Doris." I heard a familiar female voice say. I knew it was Adel. I turned to look at her and froze. I thought I was looking in a mirror. She looked just like me!


To be continued... 

Just like Adel

Dean walked to my desk and when I saw the look on his face I knew he wanted me to do something. "What do you want this time?" I asked turning away from my table. He led me to his desk and asked me to fix an issue on his computer. Dean was so bad with computers it wasn't funny. "So did Henry call you?" He asked. I shook my head. "Chale I don't think he's interested oh." I replied getting up from his desk. Dean frowned. He was just about to talk when our boss walked into the office. I turned around immediately and went back to my desk.

Henry was the older brother of Dean's girlfriend. I thought he was cute the day I met him and Dean gave him my number. That was a month ago. I hoped he would call judging by his wide smile when we met but after a week I just gave up. "Doris I have a new job for you."  my boss said and signalled for me to come to his office. I walked briskly behind him. He handed me a file and said it was a pharmacy advert I was to work on it with Dean. He made it clear that they were a big shot client and so I had to bring my sharpest ideas. I smiled and rushed to Dean's desk. I'm a copywriter who loves her job and challenges excite me. My thoughts of Henry disappeared just like that.

Even though we were nowhere on our project Dean suggested we go to a coworkers wedding. I tried to play the workaholic card but he would have none of it. I finally agreed and we went. It was a beautiful wedding I must say and it really refreshed me. We sat on the same table with Sedem another lady from work. Half the time Dean was on his phone most likely chatting with his long distance girlfriend Adel. He always kept in touch with her and talked about her all the time. My buddy was smitten. It made hanging out with him so much easier because I knew there were definitely no strings attached. "Guess what?" Dean asked as I stuffed my face with a huge slice of wedding cake. "Henry said he lost your number. Adel just told me." He added. I wiped my lips with a tissue. "That again? I thought I told you I was over him. Crushes don't last remember?" I said. Dean just ignored me and kept on typing. Sedem was interested in the topic all of a sudden. Dean told her a very badly fabricated story of the day Henry and I met. I rolled my eyes and looked out for another person serving cake.

Just then a guy came out of no where and shook Dean's hand. They laughed and joked for a while and he turned to me and shook mine too smiling so widely. "I didn't know you were around." He said to me. I stared at him not sure what to say. Then he continued. "You two are not matching colours this time?"  then it hit me. He thought I was Adel. This wasn't the first time. Before I could correct him Dean jumped in and did me the honours. The guy stared at me again and apologised. "Wow, this is.." He started but the phone in my pocket vibrated and I jumped to answer the call.

After talking to my boss over the phone I realised we had less time than we thought to finish the project. We had until Monday afternoon to come up with 10 scripts and Dean hadn't even taken a look at the file. Even though I insisted we leave to do our work Dean still managed to let me stay. "We haven't met with a representative from the company yet even." I nagged. "Don't worry. I'll do that on Monday morning. Have I ever failed you before?" He asked. I shook my head. He was right. I looked around and took in the beautiful environment with my glass of champagne.

Monday morning Dean and I got to work very early. I gave him the file to read while I finished up on a script I had written the night before. "Heh for real?!" He shouted. I turned and looked at him confused. I rushed to him and asked if there was a problem. He shook his head. "You know what? Let me stay and finish up the scripts while you go speak with them." He said and quickly turned over to his computer without even bothering to listen to what I had to say. I complained a little and just left when he didn't badge.

When I got to the client's office I was asked to wait. It was one of the biggest pharmacies in Ghana. "Hello, Mr. Brock will see you now." The Secretary said. I smiled and walked into his office. It was a very big office with very beautiful decor. I wondered if I was going to meet Lestor Brock himself, the CEO. I noticed the man sitting at the desk didn't have grey hair. As I got closer I noticed he looked familiar. "Henry?" I asked. He looked up at me, clearly surprised. "Hi, what are you doing here?" He asked, taking off his glasses.


To be continued... 

The good life

Pic from blakevond.com

I signalled the waiter to bring me another glass of whiskey. The football match I was watching wasn't as exciting as I had hoped. The teams that were playing were not exactly the strongest but it was either that or staying at home to listen to my wife nag about this or that. That was when I saw her. Samira, the girl I had the longest crush on. She was just as pretty as I last saw her in university. Her long hair was flowing on her back as usual. When I saw Samira's mother I knew where she got all her looks from. She was with two other ladies, coming from the VIP part of the pub. I waved at her and she smiled when she saw me. She whispered something to her friends and walked to me.

"Peter, I haven't seen you in forever." Samira said joining me at my table. I nodded and asked how she was doing. She was still witty. I really liked that about her. After some small talk she informed me that it was one of her friends’ birthday and they came to chill out a bit. She made me think about my own social life. Well,if watching football matches in pubs counted then at least I had one but unfortunately I had a curfew. 10pm and Afua would call me. Samira made me envy her more when she told me about their plans for later that evening. She was clearly living a fun life. She froze all of a sudden and looked at my wedding band. She congratulated me and I managed to smile. There was a time I would smile much broader when someone congratulated me but now with the baby, things were very different. Afua barely noticed me. All her attention was on our baby but who was I to complain? After all, she was the one taking care of the baby most of the time so I had no opinion even in my own house.

Samira invited me to join her on their chilling spree. I was extremely surprised she asked. To be honest it seemed like she was flirting with me. I was unsure because all the years I had known her she never showed much interest in me. Hey who knows maybe she preferred married men. Her interest made me very excited. There was no way I was going to refuse. She made all 4 of us leave in her car. She insisted on me leaving mine behind. "It'll be more fun if we are all together." She said and winked at me. I almost believed the whisky was making this all up. When I saw Samira's Land Cruiser I realized life was good for her. She drove just as crazy as her personality. My wife was a fast driver but Samira was on a different level. Her friends seemed just as wild because I was the only one clinging to my seat belt. We arrived at a huge mansion. Was this her house? I remember her parents’ house from back in the day. It wasn't half as big as this. She seemed to read my mind when she said, "This is a friend of mine's place. He's out of town for a while so he said we could use it." I nodded.

The interior of the house was like one of those fancy homes you see in decor magazines. Samira turned on some music and they did some dancing. The birthday girl called a couple of friends and asked them to come over. In less than 30 minutes there were about 9 more people in the house. There was music and drinks all around and a tennis Wii game going on. In the midst of all the fun I noticed my curfew was drawing near. Why couldn't Afua organize little parties like this once in a while? Just when I spotted Samira and was going to tell her my plans to leave she grabbed my hand and said she wanted to show me something. I walked with her to the back of the house. There was a beautiful pool there. "How about a swim?' She offered. "What, like now?" I asked. She laughed and nodded. Before I could say anything she took off her dress. The Lord knows all sorts of things rushed through my head. She got into the water and asked me to join her. I fought hard to refuse. Half of my mind was focused on Samira in her underwear floating in the water and the other half was on my wife and our daughter. "I have to leave." I managed to say. Samira's face dropped. "Is it because you are married? Why shouldn't married people have fun huh?" She asked. I wasn't sure what to say.

I sat down by the pool with my trousers folded up and my legs in the water. I just watched Samira swim, extremely considering joining her. I knew I couldn't resist her for too long. "You know that ring you are wearing is like a prison." Samira said. I shrugged. "That's why I'm free." She said giving a backstroke. "When you find the right guy you'll think differently." I said. She stopped and turned to look at me. "I don't think so. I don't see what marriage or love can give me that I can't have." She added. I thought about Afua immediately she said that. I tried to list the things she added to my life. The list was so long I smiled. Afua was the right person for me. I mean I was here in a place I would have died to be in some years ago, thinking about my wife. Samira asked why I was smiling. I told her and she got a bit upset.

Samira got out of the pool and grabbed a towel. She wore some clothes and without saying anything grabbed her car keys to drop me off. On my way back still in silence, Afua called. I expected to hear 'where are you' but instead she said our daughter said daddy. I laughed as we made fun of our little girl over the phone. When I remembered where I was quickly wrapped up the call. "It's worth it huh?" Samira asked. She was driving much slower. I nodded. I really didn't want to go talk much about how much I loved my family. "But you looked so miserable at the bar. Married people look all sad but they always go back to their wives." She said. Her tone had changed. "Loving someone doesn't mean you won't have problems with them. It just means you'll always be there for each other. I guess that's one beautiful thing about it." I said. She turned to me and smiled. When we got to my car she dropped me off and waved as she left without saying another word.

When I got home the first thing I did was look for Afua and gave her a deep kiss. She smiled and asked what we were celebrating. "My baby called me daddy. It's official, I'm her daddy." I said. She laughed and held her mouth to muffle the sound in order not to wake the baby up. 

Blind date

I looked around for a black t shirt. I was about to text Aziz to ask where he was when I spotted a fine guy in a black Tshirt. I smiled and put my phone back into my bag. I walked up to him. He looked really cute. Paulina told me he was cool. She was probably being her usual modest self. Then it hit me. Would he think I was cute too. I paused and turned to look at my reflection in one of the glass windows of the bar. I tossed up my hair a little and continued walking. My heart started racing when I got to his table. I smiled. He smiled back too but not as broad as mine. "Aziz right? It's good to finally meet in person." I said.

 "How are you doing?" He asked to break the awkward silence after I sat down. I said I was fine. A waiter came up to me and I ordered a drink. Immediately my drink came a guy walked up to us and spoke to my date. "Hey we are going to play pool do you want to join us? I didn't catch your name. I'm Kofi." he offered. I shook my head. "Not really, I don't know how to play. I'll just make him lose. I'm Selina." I said smiling. They didn't seem to take no for an answer so I gave in.

Aziz gave me a cue and a quick tutorial. "It's really not that hard. Besides no one on earth is as bad as Kofi's girlfriend in pool." he teased. I giggled. "Easy like you driving your Range Rover eh?" I asked. "Err more like me brushing my teeth, super easy." he said and gave a goofy smile. I laughed again. We were beginning to get along well. He was much more interesting in person. Kofi played first, then Aziz. When Dora, Kofi's girlfriend played I realized what Aziz was trying to say all along. He winked at me and I giggled. It was finally my turn and my coach walked up behind me and showed me how to position my cue. He was rather close but I wasn't complaining. Surprisingly, I didn't do badly at all. As the game went on, Kofi kept asking me if I had really never played before. When I potted my first ball I couldn't help jumping up and down. Aziz run to me, raised me up, spinning me in the air and said I was the best student ever. I laughed my head off when we turned back to look at Kofi and Dora's faces. Their expressions were priceless.

Right after the game, which of course Aziz and I won, we went to sit at the lounge area. The chemistry between Aziz and I was just perfect. The kind where we felt perfectly comfortable around each other. We spoke about the new movies we had all seen and Aziz and I were glad we had the same taste in movies. We even planned to see a new movie sometime. I took out my phone to send a thank you message to my match maker when I noticed 15 missed calls from Paulina and Aziz. I ignored his guessing they were from earlier and rushed to the bathroom to call Paulina back.

"Hey where are you?!" She asked immediately she picked up the phone. I giggled. "Oh say a blind date maybe?" I teased. Paulina wasn't moved. "Ah have you met Aziz yet? He said he couldn't find you. Where have you been?" She asked. I rolled my eyes. "Calm down I'm in the washroom. I was just a little bit late but I've seen him now." I replied. "This your lateness dierr." Paulina said finally calm. She said she had to go and hung up. I looked in the washroom mirror, straightened my dress and walked out. Just before I got to my seat a tall dark guy in a black t-shirt walked up to me. "Hi, Selina right?" He asked. I nodded wondering how he knew my name. He noticed I was a bit puzzled and said. "I'm Aziz, I've been waiting for you for so long. I would have left if it wasn't for Paulina. We said we'd be meeting outside." He explained and I froze. I didn't know what to say. I turned to look at the table I was sitting and saw Kofi and Dora laughing hard. The fake Aziz was staring straight at me. It was like he knew. I turned to Aziz and smiled. "I'm sorry about that." I managed to say. My date said he didn't like the food at the pub so he suggested we go to a Chinese restaurant. I nodded. I turned back to look at the table. "Are you coming?" Aziz asked. I smiled and walked out with him.

Aziz opened the door to his Range Rover when we got to the parking lot. I sat down quietly. "You like Chinese food don't you? Even if you don't, you'll like this particular one. They are the best." He said as he sparked the car. I was barely paying attention. Too many things were running through my head. Then I saw him. He was walking alone.   I turned to Aziz. "I'm really sorry I wasted your time but I'll be wasting more of your time if I go with you. I have to go." I said, opening the door and getting out. "What? What are you talking about?!" He asked furiously. "I don't think this date is working so I'm ending it before it gets worse." I added and ran off. I heard him swear and drive off fast.

I broke into a run in the direction I saw my fake Aziz go. When I saw him standing beside his old car I yelled, "hey!". He stopped and turned around. "Why, why did you lie about being Aziz?" I asked when I caught up with him. "I didn't lie. I just didn't say I wasn't him." He said. "Yeah? Well on this planet it's still lying." I replied. "Oh, is it that obvious I'm not an earthling?" he joked but my expression didn't change. "I'm sorry, what I did wasn't right. I just really wanted to get to know you. I couldn't get myself to tell you the truth. I'm sorry I ruined your date. I won't be causing any more trouble, I'm leaving." He said. He sounded so genuine. If he wasn't, he was the best actor in the world. There was something about him, something very nice. "You didn't ruin my date. Well, technically you did but I still had fun." I said. A smile slowly formed on his face. "We can play another game of pool if you like. I won't mind a few tips." I said stretching out my hand. He took it. "Yes, yes let's play." He said and we walked back. "So what's your real name Fake Aziz?" I teased. "I'm Paul Mensah. Yup, sorry to disappoint you. I have a nice and boring name." Paul said. I laughed again. Paulina wasn't gonna like this at all.

 The end

My crush on Jude

 

"Relax you'll be fine." Sayram said. I nodded and managed to smile. "How do I look?" I asked with a goofy pose. Sayram laughed and told me never to do that again. I giggled. I was getting relaxed now. In no time at all we heard the guys walking to us. My heart started racing. Sayram stood up and glanced. "They are coming!" she said excitedly. I saw Jude, first or maybe my eyes chose to see him first. He was in a yellow t-shirt and black shorts. His football boots were in his left hand. His head was down as he walked. Then I saw Selassie and Henry too. It looked like Selassie was telling his jokes as usually because they were all laughing. Then Jude looked up. When he saw us he smiled. I felt every bit of his smile. Then I turned to Sayram. "Eish, I can't do this oh." I said. She shook her head.

     "My goodness Mavis are you wearing makeup?" Selassie asked immediately they got to us. "Sela, don't be a fool." Seyram said and we all laughed. Sela walked closer to me and stared at me. "Oh but it's not bad oh. Come for a hug." He added. "Eww, take your sweaty self away." I teased and moved away from him. Jude came to sit next to me. "Sela is right. It suits you." he said. I smiled. I noticed Sayram was giving me a weird signal. She handed Henry a drink and they started talking. "Where's my drink?" Sela said walking to her. I turned to Jude. He was stretching. "I'll get you a drink." I offered and picked a coke from Sayram for him. "Ask the boy la." she whispered to me. I nodded and walked back. Jude was smiling when I came back. "What was all the whispering about?" He asked and took his drink. He looked at Sayram and turned to me. Sayram turned away quickly and he giggled, yawa. This was pretty awkward.

   You see, Jude isn't one of those hot guys you just see and have a crush on. I mean he's the best player on the football team but that's not it. I've known him for 2 years. We were so close so many people thought we were dating but we weren't. I must say he is one of the reasons I broke up with my last boyfriend. My ex didn't like the fact that Jude and I were so close. He claimed I had feelings for him. Maybe he was right. A lot of feelings can stir up when you and someone spend a lot of time together. I can't blame Jude though. I mean we are both on our Uni football team, cancer awareness club and hostel. It wasn't normal of me to ask a guy out but Sayram told me she heard from Henry that there was another girl trying to make wild. So yeah, here I was about to tell him I liked him and face either acceptance or rejection. According to Sayram, anytime she spoke to Jude he mentioned me. That was comforting but really I was one of their few common friends. Mavis you can do this!

   "Oh don't mind Sayram. Sela's silliness has caught her too." I joked. We turned to look at her. She was holding Henry's drink away from him and he was stretching for it. I laughed. "See what I mean?" Jude laughed and nodded. She saw us and winked. Henry got hold of the drink now. As usual we split up and walked back to our hostels. As Jude and I walked back I played the words in my head. We were talking about a new movie that was released. Then from nowhere at all we both said "There's something I want to tell you." at the same time. Was this fate. We giggled and played the 'you go first game'. "Ok how about we write it on a piece of paper and read it at the same time. Jude squinted. "Isn't that a bit too dramatic?" He asked. I shook my head. "Well, but it's fun. Come on." He agreed so I brought out a piece of paper from my bag. I split it into two and gave him one and a pen. "Go ahead, write it." I said. He did and gave the pen back. I smiled and wrote, "I think I like you. Is the feeling mutual?" Not romantic at all eh? I know!

   We stood in front of my room with each other's note nicely folded. Just then, Jude's phone rang. He answered it. It was his roommate. The annoying guy had lost his keys so he needed Jude's set. He told me he had to go and he'd read it when he got to his room. "You know what, don't open it. I'll call you when I get to my room so we can do the reading thing. Cool?" He suggested as he walked off. I nodded. When I got into my room, I feel on my bed and watched the note in my hand. I turned and looked at my 'not ringing phone'. I shook my head and unfolded the note. So it read...

  My heart sunk. My eyes teared up. Why? I dropped the paper on the floor and closed my eyes. Just then there was a knock at the door. I wiped my eyes dry and opened the door. It was Jude. "Yes, May the feeling is mutual." He said and walked in. I couldn't help it. My tears betrayed me. Jude saw his note and hugged me. He wiped my tears with his thumb and kissed me. Someway somehow I wished his note had said he liked someone else. At least that way I'd still have him around as my friend.


 Can you guess what Jude's note said?

Eli's wife 9

 

Eli folded his arms and watched his father. His father pulled the appropriate golf club and walked to his ball. "What is this I hear about you talking with Richard?" He said after his swing. Eli shook his head. "I knew this wasn't a father and son leisure activity. Why didn't you just call me to ask me about this?" Eli said. His father kept looking in the direction his ball went. He signalled to his cabby and they wtalked that way. Eli followed reluctantly. "It is very unfortunate that Tina passed away. You need to let it go." President Tamakloe said as they walked. Eli explained to his father that he would not rest until he found out the truth about his ex girlfriend. President Tamakloe pointed to Sena, who was on the other side of the golf course playing mini gulf with Afi, Eli's sister. They were both laughing. "That is one of the strongest and most influencial women in this whole country. Love her and she will get you straight to the top." He finally said. Eli knew how amazing Sena was. He had known that since they were little. There was even a time he felt she was out of his league but Tina's death left a hole in his heart.

  On their way back Sena asked Eli what the conversation with his father was about. Eli shrugged. She stared at him for a while. "I think your dad may have something to do with Tina's death." She finally said. Eli turned to look at her like she was mad. "What? Are you crazy? My dad is a lot of things but a murderer is not one of them." He shot at her. Sena expected this reaction. She told him to put the evidence together. Eli just shook his head as he parked inside their garage. He told Sena he was too tired to listen to her nonesene. Just before he went to his room he said, "My dad really likes you. You on the other hand...err goodnight." He said and slammed  his room door shut. Sena felt bad. She felt like talking to someone about it. She called Charles but he didn't answer. He hadn't returned any of her calls for two days. She sent him a text message.

  The next day Eli called Sena when she was at work and told her he spoke to the doctor who took care of Tina. The doctor said the unknown compound he found in her was confirmed to be fentanyl a strong pain killer and that amount couldn't kill her. Eli added that he knew Tina was self medicating because she had a  knee problem. He told her not to bring up his father taking part in Tina's death anymore. Sena politely apologized.  

It had been a whole week since Sena heard from Charles. She drove over to his apartment to see if he was ok. When she got there she knocked on his door. He came out  and stood at the door staring at her. He wouldn't let her in. "Why what's wrong?" Sena asked taking a step back. Several thoughts went through her mind. Is there another woman in his room? Did he finally find out she was married? He looked at her sternly. "Sena I'm sorry but this, what we have, is not working so let's just end it here." Charles said. Sena looked into his eyes. For a moment she didn't know what to say. Then it hit her. She asked him if it was because she wasn't ready to sleep with him. He shook his head and later told her to leave. He had the courtesy to say he was sorry and closed the door. Sena stood there without words for a few minutes. Slowly tears fell from her face. She wiped them quickly and rushed off.

  Sena met Eli sitting in the living room with a glass of Vodka. She sat next to him. Before he could say a word she collected his glass and drunk everything in it. Eli turned and looked at her. She signalled for him to pour some more into the glass. "Whoa, are you sure? Someone had a crazy day today." he teased. Sena put her hand in her pocket and brought out her wedding ring. She put it back on and stared at it.

  Eli watched her as she drunk some more alcohol. He cheered her on and Sena laughed. He had clearly never seen this side of her before and neither had she. "Eli is there something wrong with me?" She asked. Eli looked at her in surprise. "Of cause not. What's wrong? Everyone loves you. You are amazing." Eli said. "You think I'm amazing?" She asked. Eli nodded. "Yea, why do you think I married you?" He said. "You were forced to marry me, silly." Sena said hitting Eli with a pillow and they both laughed. After a moment of awkward silence Sena leaned over and kissed Eli. For the first time in a long while Sena felt no guilt at all. She was making out with husband and it felt amazing.

 To be continued...

Eli's wife 8

Sena turned to look at Eli. He was deep in thought. She could tell. "I hate hospitals." She said to break the silence. Eli didn't say a thing. Just then a middle aged nurse walked up to them. "Eli." she said and hugged him. Eli lit up and smiled. He asked about how she was doing and she cheerfully answered him. Sena just nodded with a little grin. The woman wasn't very receptive towards her. She spoke a little about how sad Tina's death was and how she was off duty the last time she came to the clinic. "Are you two expecting already?" she said giving Sena a hard look. "Expecting? Oh no, not at all. I just came to see Uncle Richard. We heard he has tons of patients today so we are waiting." Eli quickly replied. The nurse told them. "Don't be silly, Eli. I will go and tell him you are here." she said and walked off. Eli tried to tell her he didn't mind waiting but he would have been lying. When she was gone he turned to Sena and apologized. He said she was very fond of Tina that's why she was a bit rude.

In time at all the nurse came back and signaled for them to go into the doctor's office. Sena held Eli's hand just when he was about to get up. She asked him what he was going to say to his doctor. "I'm going to tell him about Tina's autopsy and ask him what happened when she came to see him." he said. Sena. "Wait for him to mention her visit himself alright?" She added as they walked to the office.

Doctor Richard, a tall half cast man in his late fifties was a little surprised to see them. He congratulated them on their marriage and apologized for not being able to make it to the wedding. Sena watched him very closely while Eli did most of the talking. Richard mentioned how sorry he was about Tina's passing. The couple waited to see if he would tell them about her visit but he rather asked what brought them there. Eli turned to look at Sena. She nodded and he told him the story. "Ah yes she was here…err…" He stuttered. "We know she was pregnant." Sena said and there was a brief silence. Richard nodded. "She asked for an abortion but I said I wouldn't do it and she left." he finally said, his tone a little different. "Why didn't you tell me?" Eli asked. "I'm sorry, Eli. I should have told you." He replied. Just then a siren went off and a bunch of nurses rushed to the gate. "I have to go." Richard said rushing towards the entrance of the clinic. A man with multiple stab wounds was being carried in from an ambulance. Eli and Sena left.

"Hey, are you alright?" Charles said, sitting next to Sena. She was visiting him. She felt the need to be close to someone after all that happened in the hospital. "I'm alright it's just my...a client of mine." she lied. Charles handed her a cup of ice cream and asked her to share her burden with him. She explained Tina's case to him. Using fake names. He listened to her attentively. "So who do you think killed her because her car wasn't tempered with right? And where is her body now?" he asked. Sena thought for a minute. "Honestly, I think it's his father. He could have manipulated the doctor to inject her with something. She's been buried now. It's just sad that I don't know how to tell my client." She answered and Charles smiled. He hugged her and told her not to worry.

Doctor Richard closed the door to his office and picked up his phone and called the President. "Sorry to bother you but there's something you should know. Eli and his wife were here to find out about Ernestina's death." he said. President Tamakloe was worried. He asked Richard what he told them and he answered with exactly what he told them. The President told him to keep it as it is and hung up.


 To be continued...

Eli's wife 7

Sena was reading the article the journalist wrote about Eli and his ex. She was so busy that she didn't notice Eli enter her office. She almost jumped when she saw him. "Easy, it's just me. Your secretary left her post." He said. Sena nodded. She looked down at the paper. She closed it quickly and looked up. He read her expression. "I'm sorry for invading your space but I need a favour. You don't have to hide the paper. My dad has told me about the articles. I really don't care about them." Eli said, sitting down. He sounded different. Sena was surprised. Almost speechless.

"The doctor who took care of Tina called me an hour ago..." Eli started. His eyes started to water but he fought the tears well. "He said…he said Tina was 3 months pregnant. She didn't tell me. I had no clue but he said the autopsy suggests that her death wasn't natural," he finally said. Sena's mouth opened. "You think someone killed…you think she was murdered?" she asked. Eli nodded. "I want to find who did this but I can't trust anyone. If I pursue it myself my father will be on my case. You are a lawyer. No one will suspect anything. Please Sena." he said. Sena agreed to help. He deserved to know the truth. Everyone did.

 The next few weeks Sena got a few detectives to delve into Tina's death. She and Eli even had a party at their house and attended more events together to throw their parents off. They acted very much like a real couple. Enyonam was very pleased and so were her parents. Sena was almost at peace. The only thing bothering her was Charles. He was even more persistent about them taking their relationship a step further. It used to be just a little reminder here and there but recently he had become a little more persistent. She sort of understood him but she couldn't bear the guilt now that Tina had died and Eli was a mess. Just a little longer. His love just had to endure a little longer.

   "Tina's parents didn't know about the pregnancy. It looks like she didn't want anyone to know about it, but her best friend found the tests she used in the trash. She told her not to tell anyone because she was going to abort it but I'm guessing she didn't. The doctor probably refused to do it." Detective Kwei said. Sena thought hard. He added that he didn't know who the doctor was. He added that the car was not tampered with. Sena nodded and handed him his cheque. Sena took out her little notebook with all the evidence her detectives had collected. She added what she just found out and tried to make sense of it. Then her phone rang. She smiled when she noticed it was Charles. He insisted in taking her to dinner saying she worked too late all the time. Sena couldn't resist him.

"Good morning." Eli said when Sena walked into the kitchen. They planned to discuss Tina's evidence when Sena got back from work but her little dinner with Charles turned out to be longer than she imagined. She apologized and handed him the book. "Do you know Tina's doctor? Or a doctor she used to trust? Maybe family or a friend?" she asked. She poured herself a glass of fruit juice. "I don't know about family or friend doctors...but my doctor used to help her out with some notes for work when she needed a day or two off. Doctor Richard. He's our family doctor. Whenever there's a crisis..." Eli started and looked straight at Sena. "No but if she went to him he would have told me." Eli said completely forgoing his bacon and eggs. Sena nodded. "Which hospital does he work in?" Sena asked picking up a piece of bacon from Eli's plate to quiet her noisy stomach. "He has his own little clinic at Labone." Eli answered. Sena looked up at
him instantly. "That's where she had the accident." Sena revealed.

 To be continued ...

Dirty blood

“This is stupid.” I said to Andy. He took my hand and smiled. “Isn’t love stupid?” He said in a Shakespeare kind of voice. We both laughed. I turned around and took my position. He had drawn a star and a circle inside it on the floor with a chalk. I stood in the circle. He grabbed the book he claimed to be an ancient spell book and joined me in the circle in the middle of the star. “So don’t mess it up oh. You dierr I know you.” He teased. I hit him lightly in the arm and he giggled. “Alright so when I finish reading the spell you will use the pin to prick yourself…” he started. “Yes, yes lick the blood and kiss you.” I ended, rolling my eyes. “Have you read all the conditions” I asked. He shrugged. “Oh come on, it’s a spell. What’s the fun in that?” He asked. This was supposed to be a spell that will make us love no other partner but each other. I didn’t think it would work but then again if it did I didn’t mind because I loved Andy and so did so many ladies in school. He was hot!

Andy was about to read the spell when my phone rang. I looked at him with a silly expression. I took the phone out of my pocket. It was my mother. I signaled for him to hold on. “Hello mum.” I said in the most angelic voice. “Marie where are you?” my mum asked. I looked around. “I’m in school.” I lied. “Really? I went to your hostel and your roommate said you hadn’t been to the room since yesterday. Are you at that Andrew boy’s place again?” my mum said. She wasn’t at all pleased. I walked a bit further away from Andy. “Oh Mum, I just had some assignments to do so I stayed at my course mate Pat’s place.” I lied. “Ei Marie! Be careful. I know now you have all the freedom to do whatever you want. Just be careful what you do. Especially with boys…” She started nagging. I turned to look at Andy. He smiled and waved shyly. How could he harm me? “Mum, I know. I’m just doing schoolwork. The rest of the group is calling me. I have to go ok? Bye.” I said and hung up. I could hear my mum busy nagging in the background. It’s not that I don’t think she has a point oh, it’s just that she’s not always right.  

“You ready now?” Andy asked. I smiled and nodded. For some reason I was very nervous now but there was no turning back. He read the spell in Latin. We both pinned our thumbs and licked the blood. Then we moved in for the kiss. My heart was racing but it felt really magical. When we kissed I tasted his blood and all of a sudden I felt butterflies in my stomach. I felt a cool breeze like we were at the beach. It felt really good. “Wow.” I said when we were done. “Marie, you are amazing.” Andy said. I smiled like a sheep. “So did it work?” I asked sitting on his bed. He took out a towel, sprinkled some water on it and wiped the chalk marks. “After that killer kiss, of cause it did!” he said. I giggled.  

When Andy was done cleaning he turned to look at me. “I want you.” He said and walked straight to me. He kissed me aggressively. “Whoa, calm down.” I said after he bit my lip the first time. “Sorry, you are just too amazing.” He said as he kissed me some more. He held me so tight it begun to hurt. “Andy stop!” I said and moved back. That was when I saw his eyes. They were violet. I covered my mouth with my hand. “Andy look at your eyes!” I screamed. He moved closer to me. “Marie forget about my eyes. Come here. Come to me.” He ordered. My heart was racing now. He rushed towards me but I swerved. The spell book was at my feet now. I picked it up to read the spell and find out how it could be reversed. Andy rushed for me again. This time I couldn’t swerve fast enough. He grabbed my hand and started kissing it. I tried to pull away but he wouldn’t budge. “Marie, I love you Marie…” he kept mumbling. I hit him with the book and run into the bathroom. I locked the door behind me, sat on the floor and tried to read the spell. Andy was banging on the door. 

Everything the spell said we had done. Then I saw a little text at the bottom. The heading was dirty blood. “Spell will turn participants into violet eyed love demons if they lie with another a fortnight before the spell.” I read aloud. “ Cheating Bastard!” I shouted. All of a sudden I heard a ripping sound and a cry from the room. I shook and moved away from the door. The book fell and opened to the next page where I saw a full colour picture of a love demon. It was horrible with violet eyes. My whole body was shaking now. There was a pound on the door again. This time it was much louder. I moved back till I hit the wall. There was one final pound! And the door came off. “Marie, come lie with me. I love you.” The demon said. “Mum, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.” I whispered. I looked around and saw a shaving knife. I grabbed it with my shaking hands. I had two options, his throat or...mine.

I love a man

I love a man who looks straight at me when we talk
A man who listens to what I say and gives it some thought A man who is not afraid to show me his weakness
I love a man who knows I love him and loves me too.    

I love a man who understands my dry jokes
A man who can make me smile when I'm a mess
A man who holds my hand in public and flirts like we just met
I love a man who proudly tells everyone I am his girl  

I love a man who can finish my sentences any day I love a man who just knows the right things to say A man who believes in me as much as I do him I love a man most importantly who knows he can't be all these but never gives up trying.

Just my luck 4

This girl was so strangely scary and sexy at the same time. She seemed a lot more scary now though. "Me, kitchen…not like…no never." I stuttered. She giggled and said. "I did it with my boss once. He is old or should I say was old." She added and giggled. "Was?" I asked moving back. My back hit the kitchen cabinet. That wasn't good. "Well I didn't check whether he was still breathing before I left." She explained! Now my heart was racing. Sexy murderer alert! "Oh stop asking me questions and kiss me. I know you want to." She said. I faked a smile. She kissed me and I pulled her away. "Did you hear that?" I think my phone is ringing." I lied. She paused for a while. "No, it’s not." She said. Yiee, what is all this? I thought to myself. "Oh I heard it. Let's go back to the room." I said. I had a plan. I would take her to my room, lock her up inside and call the Police or something because this crazy girl dierr I can't keep here around.

I took the lead to my room. She walked slowly behind me. I took a deep breath and remained calm. I held the door knob and signaled for her to enter. "After you." I said with a smile. She walked in and then I quickly locked the door. "Hey, what are you doing?!" She yelled. My heart was beating like crazy now. "I'm trying to help you by getting you to do the right thing. You need to confess to the Police." I replied. I searched my pockets and realized my phone was in the room. She kept banging the door and raining insults on me. "The land line " I said and run to the hall. "Are you mad?! Open this door before I break it down!" She yelled as I left. I called my uncle who was a Policeman and told him Agnes wanted to report an attempted rape case but was afraid. He said he would be here in no time because he was close by. When I hung up, I felt proud of myself. I walked back to my room. "Agnes I'm sorry I had to do this but it's for your own good." I said leaning next to the door. "I think you might have a condition that needs attention." I added. "I called my uncle. He will be here soon and everything would be fine ok?" I said. She didn't respond. Just then I heard the doorbell. I smiled and rushed to the door. "She is upstair..." I started but froze when I saw who it was.

Agnes was standing outside. She had bruises all over her left hand and some leaves in her hair. She was fuming and I saw a small knife that was lying on my table in her hands. My heart raced. I rushed to close the door but she was just too fast. She jumped inside and tried to stab me with the knife. I screamed and grabbed her hands. She was much stronger than I thought. I moved back and tripped on a coffee table. We both fell and the knife fell away from us. We both looked at it. She tried to crawl for it but I grabbed her leg. She kicked me with her other leg but I still wouldn't let her go. She froze and turned to face me. She sat on top of me and grabbed my neck with both hands. It happened all so fast. Breathing was beginning to be a problem. "My God, what is happening?" I heard. It sounded so far away. The pressure around my neck reduced and I thought I saw another person but it was blurry.  The next thing I remember was my uncle slapping my face. I heard some laughter in the background too. I turned around and saw my friends. Why were the boys here? This was more than embarrassing. All I could say was "Chale, it’s a long story."

The End...

Just my luck 3

“My boss came around and saw that I was the only one left. So when I was done he gave me a ride home.” I wanted to ask her why he would do that since she had a car but I really wanted this story to be over so we could get busy. “He said he had some files to show me so he took me to his house. Then from nowhere he started touching me. I didn't like it.” She went on. I almost choked on the popcorn I was eating. “I told him I had to leave but he grabbed me and started kissing me. That kind of felt nice. Then he took off his clothes.” She had all my attention now! She went on. “He is so violent eh? Well I mean he was.” She giggled. I didn’t catch the joke but she went on anyway. “Ok, so he almost rips my dress off and turns me around. Can you imagine?!” Her tone was rising now. I was so shocked I couldn't even speak. To make matters worse she was smiling. Why was she smiling? 

“So I said to him, Sir this is not right. I have a boyfriend.” She narrated. What?! “You have a boyfriend?” I asked, confused. She giggled and shook her head. “No, silly.” She replied. “Oh you just said that so he would stop right?” I added and sat a bit further up. “That’s right, but he said he didn’t mind so I pushed him away.” She said.  “You did the right thing.” I said, calming down now. She smiled. "I know. I should have gone to the police but I was scared." She said, looking away. "Oh don't be worried. It's ok. You can do that later." I added with a smile. I looked at the wound again. "Did you get hurt when he got all over you?" I asked. I turned to get a tissue from my bedside table. She took the tissue and wiped some blood off the wound without saying a word. "Don't you think I am sexy?" She finally said out of the blue. "Of course, you are. You are one of the hottest girls I have ever seen." I confessed. I wasn't sure I should have said all that but I was just being honest. She smiled mischievously  My heart was beating so fast. I took the tissue from her and put it in the dustbin. "You didn't tell me how you got hurt though." I said. She giggled again. "I'm thirsty." She said, touching her throat. I nodded and we walked to the kitchen. As we left I heard my phone ring. I knew it was the boys. I intentionally allowed it to ring so they would think 'wide', if you know what I mean.

I poured Agnes a glass of water and watched her drink it. I looked away when I started getting ideas. She put the empty glass down. "Ahah, so I pushed him away ok?" She said dramatically. I leaned on the wall and listened as she went on." He almost fell. Then he got angry and called me a childish brat. Can you imagine?! So I walked over to him and told him he was an old fool. The insults went on for a while and then he did it." She said with her eyes fearfully wide open. "Did what?" I asked immediately. "He slapped me." She replied. I covered my mouth with my palm. "Oh no." I added. "Exactly! I was so furious I picked up a flower vase and knocked his head with it. No one slaps me and gets away with it!" She thundered slamming her hand on the table. Which made me jump. "Eish!" I yelled in my head.

 "So what happened?" I asked unconsciously filling her glass with water again. "I grabbed a flower vase and smashed it on his head. Some of the glass cut me. She said, pointing to her wound. At this moment the water was pouring out of the glass. I noticed it and grabbed a napkin to clean it up. "So he fell down. Stupid man. So I kicked him a few times and left. Since he had wasted my time I took his car." She went on. I just stood there staring at her. To make matters worse she was smiling. "God please let her be joking." I prayed silently. She walked over to me and leaned over. "Have you ever done it in the kitchen before?" she whispered. I felt a shiver. 

To be continued...