Sunday 1 May 2016

CHAPTER 2 (THE FATE THAT NEBER WAS)

CHAPTER 2

Blessing looked out of the window as she sat on her bed that was also by the window. Her stare was firm and long, but she was not looking at the anything in particular. Her mind was long gone in thought and worry; she has refused to touch her food and this worried her friend, Bukky, who sat beside her all day, watching her cry at intervals.

Blessing held up her phone to her face again and appeared to be dialing a number. After a while, as Bukky had expected, Blessing started to cry again. Bukky was now getting impatient.

“He refused to pick my call again. This is the third day, Bukky, what have I done to deserve this?” Blessing asked her friend amidst more tears.

Bukky wasn’t ready to comfort her anymore. She had tried to make her eat, make her take her bath and make her stop starring at the widow, all to no avail. Bukky hissed and looked away.

“I know you have tried,” Blessing continued, “but if Ade had treated you this way, I would have stayed by you…”

“What else do you want me to do?” Bukky asked, slightly angry. “Your boyfriend texted you that it was over, refused to pick your calls and almost got my boyfriend beaten at the plank when he tried to talk to him.”

“He what?” Blessing suddenly got interested.

“Listen, I shouldn’t have told you this but Ade asked not to compound your issues. He said that your boyfriend walked him away from the plank, two days ago when he tried to talk to him. He said he was dead drunk too and…”

The sound of Blessing’s phone that dropped on the ceramic floor of her hostel room cut through Bukky’s speech. Realizing that Blessing was lying back down on her bed, she believed she has fainted. Bukky rushed to her side and shook her frantically. Blessing responded with a high pitched scream before settling for proper crying. Bukky was relieved but annoyed.

“What is the meaning of this?” Bukky asked as she helped her friend to her butt.

“What did Emeka say I did that warranted this actions against me?”

“He never told Ade you did anything. I think it was a personal problem. Maybe he didn’t want to bother you with it.” Bukky said.

Blessing chose to believe what his friend said- partly because it reduced the burden of her thinking she had offended Emeka, her boyfriend, and partly because she didn’t want to believe that his boyfriend was leaving her.

“Did your boyfriend say exactly what the problem was?”

“You mean, Ade?” Bukky asked and Blessing nodded. “No, he didn’t. He only said Emeka said it was a personal problem.” She lied.

“But, he should have picked my call.” Blessing said. She started to reassemble her dissembled phone.

“Why don’t you just send a text?”

Blessing said she had sent hundreds of text messages. She tried the number again and it was just ringing out. Bukky has had enough, she said she would no longer miss the lectures by staying with her- she already missed two.

“Don’t worry about me. If I didn’t see my love, I am not going to the lecture room.” Blessing said.

“Are you okay?” Bukky couldn’t believe her ears. “May I remind you that both Emeka and Ade are in their final level? We are just at the second level and…”

“Go!” Blessing insisted.

“You need to think this through. Making a rash decision may hurt you for life.”

“I know.” She replied, nonchalantly.
Her phone rang and she was half excited. “He called back.” She whispered to Bukky as she picked the call.

“My love, why…” She was suddenly silent. But it was apparent by her countenance that she wasn’t listening to a pleasantries from the caller.

Bukky, having seen that there was a relief, gestured to leave. With her left hand, Blessing asked her to go, while holding the phone with the right.

“Is everything okay?” Bukky bent down to ask in a whisper, noticing the blanket of frown on her friend’s forehead.

Blessing nodded and Bukky stood up to leave. She had nearly gotten hold of the door latch when a crashing sound visited her ears- she turned around to face her friend just in time for her feet to stop the phone battery that was screeching to a stop. The pieces of Blessing’s phone graced the whole floor- all in different direction. Blessing covered her head with her bed sheet and sobbed uncontrollably.

Bukky checked her time by her wrist watch- lecture was in fifteen minutes, she could no longer help her friend. She left.

END OF CHAPTER 2

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