A Story Of Deceit

Episode 40

I thought of what to do, I was freaking out. With so much blood everywhere, there was no way, I could think straight. whoever did this to David, was obviously after that briefcase because seeing that bundle of money meant there was a lot cash in the suitcase. I knew that selling car parts wouldn’t give him that kind of money in a short while which meant David was into something illegal but I didn’t care to know.
David, the love of my life was lying dead on the floor and I had no clues on what to do. Days ago, I would have sworn I could kill David which was why I even had the effontery to hit him with a pan now someone had brutally murdered him probably because of that suitcase. I knew that it was either to run or take the fall for his death. Then, I picked an option, the longer I stayed there, the more, I’d implicate myself. I knew it was selfish but, the last thing I wanted was anyone calling my uncle that his niece was in prison. I thought of packing my things but, I thought, ‘if the neighbours sees me moving out with my things and later find his body, they’d think, I did it’. I had pity on David, I figured it was one of his numerous side flings that did it, maybe Tope but as I said, there were numerous girls so, I couldn’t actually point my finger at anyone.

I ran out of the house immediately, making sure, I didn’t touch anything. I stood at the bustop for a while, thinking of where to go. I didn’t kill David but I felt guilty about his death. I remembered, I was probably the last person, he called for help and I didn’t help him. ‘Wait, I was the last person he called’, I said to myself. If I was the last person, if the police found his body, then, they’d also find his phone, then, they’d see my number, which meant, I’d get a call from the police and if I’d get a call from the police, Lagos would not be a safe place for me. I quickly brought out my phone that morning and dialed my mum’s number. ‘Mummy, mummy, I’m coming to Boma today, I’ll call you when I get to the bustop with another number’, I said. ‘What are the problem?’, she asked. ‘Nothing ma, just expect me ma’, I said hurriedly. ‘You telling your uncle?’, she asked. ‘No ma’, I said and ended the call. I didn’t want anymore questions from her. I went to the closest bank there and withdrew a large sum of money which I enclosed safely in my hand bag.

Then, I took a bus straight to the park where I first arrived in Lagos. I bought a bus ticket and equally requested for a pen and a paper.

I copied out just my uncle’s, my mum’s, Ngozi’s and Uwa’s number. Others were less important. Afterwards, I took out my SIM from my phone and broke it. The people there stared at me like I was crazy but I ignored them because, they all had no clue of what was going on in my life.

It wasn’t until the bus had gone halfway through the journey that I began to think of my life in Lagos. I was just so desperate to leave Boma before and at that moment, I realized, I was also desperate to leave Lagos.
Looking at the bright side, Coming to Lagos wasn’t a bad idea, I met my uncle, got a better life and I learnt a trade even though, I hadn’t completed the training but I still wasn’t happy. I didn’t know, if David’s body had already been found, I felt really sympathetic but I somehow blamed him for his death. Though, he didn’t deserve it but, he called for it. I couldn’t hold back the tears, they just flowed freely, some people in the bus noticed and out of care, they asked, ‘Aunty, why you dey cry?, hope no problem?’, ‘no, no problem’, I said trying to push the tears back in.

As soon as I got to Boma, I went to a call center to call my mum. Not long after I called her, she arrived. I ran right towards her and hugged her tightly. ‘Uwa, what are do you?, where is you things?’, she asked.
That’s when I realized, I came back to Boma without any property. ‘Mummy please, let’s get home first’, I said. ‘Uwa, Uwa, Uwa’, she called severally. ‘Ma?’, I replied. ‘Let’s get home na’, I said..

My mum stayed at Boma town where she owned a supermarket, I was really happy for her, her new home was comfy. I didn’t want to lie about what happened. I told her what triggered my hurry to leave Lagos for Boma.
She had a really sad look on her face.

She said, she pitied David but he deserved it for hitting me and cheating on me, ‘Ah, ah, mummy’, I said. ‘What?’, she asked. ‘He are a stupid boys, it’s good you leaved there, if not people will have call you killer’, she said.

Boma town was the new heaven for me, it was peaceful, much more peaceful than Lagos. However, it was in Boma I discovered that, the unprotected s-x I had with David had made me pregnant. My mum was furious at first but on the long run, she came to accept it. I got a new SIM where I’d save only my family members contacts and the contacts of some people who worked at my fashion store. Seven months after I discovered, I was pregnant, I gave birth to a girl who looked just like David. My mum’s joy knew no bounds, ‘So, I are a grandmother’, she said joyfully.

Yes!, I’m doing well, my uncle still sends a certain amount of money every month, I have a beautiful baby girl, yet I wish, I wasn’t in a hurry to find love. Dayo and David were scums that didn’t deserve me. If I wasn’t always depending on anyone for happiness, maybe, I’d be in Lagos doing so much more than having a shop in Boma, raising a child as a single mom and sharing the same house with my mum. I’d maybe go into another relationship someday, maybe after I’ve trained my daughter. But all, the same, I’m happy that my daughter won’t have to suffer the way I did or make the same mistakes as I did.

THE END.