With The Devil

Episode 12

The keke moved and I kept staring at her,not knowing whether it was really her in the flesh or I was seeing her in another persons face.
She looked in straight with a permanent smile registered on her face,a sign of the fact that she was viewing or rather,observing me from the corner of her eyes.

As the keke was about to enter Okigwe road and had to briefly stop in order to be able to join the other side of the road, she turned to me and told me gently to my ears:
“You lack social skills!”
I started laughing and she continued her smile.

In my mind I was like:
“Imagine! Where will I even start? How will I even start? Am still trying to ascertain if am not going insane myself, imagining things that no one else could believe or see; and she is telling me I lack social skills. what was I supposed to say to her immediately? Probably start ascertaining whether she is Pretty in front of those people? One thing is certain though,she just told me her inability,making it sound like mine!”

After coming out of my temporary reasoning,I spoke to her ears only:
“You know am following you to your place right?”
She turned and faced me and said:
“Really?” as if she is unaware its what she had intended.
“Yes” I replied firmly.
“No problem!” She politely said.
Immediately the driver entered Akalanna street and drove for some seconds,we alighted. I followed her like my whole existence that moment depended on me following her.
We crossed a street and arrived at her place within seconds.As she opened her door and let me in to the room,she uttered:
“Welcome to my humble abode!”.
“Thanks !” I said.

The room was richly decorated, even though its richness was also made to appear in a very simple form,with everything that you will find in a normal rich student’s selfcon room….Well,except that she wasn’t a student!

After keeping her handbag and sitting in the bed,she inquired to know what I will eat.I told her not to bother.

Apparently, I shouldn’t have said that.
She insisted though, and I obliged her.
After drinking the holandia Yoghurt she offered me,I got myself mentally prepared for the conversation that lay ahead.
“Hope you don’t mind?” She looked at me,inquiring that she hopes that I don’t mind her removing her clothes in front of me.
“Hope I don’t mind?” I asked my own self in my mind,with my gaze fixed at her as she simply turned away smiling while she removed the perfectly body fitted gown she wore.

She brought out a basketball attire and wore, and then came back to the bed,the only sit-able place in the room outside a small wooden chair there.
“So,how far?” She asked me with her permanently fixed laughter registered on her face.

I was like,”d–n,Pretty is really pretty o!”
“Seriously,this your consistent staring is becoming awkward” she said.
“Am not sure you will understand my state of mind right now” I replied.
“So,are you here for us to start peering into your state of mind in order to understand it or you are here for something else?” She retorted.

“No no no! But,there are other things on my mind right now.” I said.
“Like?” She asked.
“Like how you came into my life?” I replied back.

She smiled at me,and said:
“I didn’t ask to be in your life Mike,you invited me into your life” she replied me.
“That’s the part I still don’t understand.” I said.
” And am not sure you actually will,believe me.” She replied back.
“That’s because you don’t want to let me understand!” I answered back at her.
In an effort to show her that I was not afraid of her or what she is,I shifted closer to her end of the foam and used one of the pillows there to adjust and sit comfortably at the wall,beside her,with my body touching her.
“You really should be afraid of me!” She said outrightly, understanding what the intention behind my little act is.
“I don’t believe you would harm me,at least I have not given you any reason to do so!” I said out of innocence.
” Really? That’s really bold of you to say,which am sure you wouldn’t say if you actually knew who I am!” She replied me,and her ever present smile disappeared.
” And now you are trying to get me scared?” I asked her.
“Not really,and am sorry if you were beginning to feel that way.” She said,and then faced me and continued her talk:
“I would never harm you!”
I smiled.
“Well,I just want you to not give in to the notion that am afraid of you like am really supposed to be afraid of you.” I said firmly.
She smiled at me.
“Well,am happy to know that.Its a good footing to start on!” She calmly said.
“For my sanity sake,I won’t ask you any background info” I went on to say.
“But I expect you to ask me that” she replied me.

“Really,why would you expect that from me?” I asked her.
“Its the sane to do!” She replied.
Hell,I know its the most sane to do,but I didn’t want to directly raise the questions. So,I did it in the best way I know I can use to insert the said subject matter into our discuss,hoping she will buy into it; whilst also fearing the result and influence of what I was going to hear will have on me.I just did one on her,and she didn’t even know it.
“Well,the basic thing to know is that my existence in this plane is just a brief one” she said finally.
“You know,I started reading a lot about the supernatural from a very early stage.So which of them are you?” I asked her.
She started laughing out loud.
“Why are you laughing na?” I queried.
“Do you believe those things?” She asked me.
“Well,am a Catholic and a Christian, what do you expect?” I asked.

“You didn’t answer me!” She said.
“I believe in certain things shaa.” I replied.
“Like?” She quizzed on.
“Like reincarnation, other beings outside of humans,God,Jesus,and despite being a Catholic, I have stopped believing that a loving God will burn his children in hell for slight wrongs they did.That’s why the concept of purgatory makes sense!” I replied.
“Well,at least you are sincere in your beliefs.One thing am sure about you is that in the future,there are a lot of things you are really going to stop believing about all your present belief system” she replied.
I laughed.

“And you are now making the discuss about me?” I asked.
She smiled.
“Not really anyway,and you know exactly why.” She said.

“I don’t know anything o!” I replied.
” Well,at least you know am not really human,and there is no right way for me to actually explain nor tell you who i,am really are.” She replied me.

It was at this point that my phone rang and it was my mum calling.She informed me that her niece and my cousin Ifeyinwa came. I told Pretty that I have to get going,and she told me to come back to her place the next day,and I replied:

“I will try and come!”
“Don’t try,just come” she said.
“Okay,I will call you when am coming” I said.

She smiled,and quizzed in:
“How are you going to call me?”
I started laughing too.
I ended up collecting her number before taking my leave.