Umari Ayim: An angel and a reflection- Episode 14 (Y! Fiction)

by Umari Ayim

sad-black-woman

The sound of the door opening cuts me short and I turn towards it. I feel the familiar flutter of my heart at the sight of Richard at the door. I give him a smile but he does not see it. His eyes are on Jude and he is regarding him coolly. Too coolly infact.

– Read Episode 1 of the compelling story HERE.

– Read Episode 2 of the compelling story HERE.

– Read Episode 3 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 4 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 5 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 6 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 7 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 8 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 9 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 10 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 11 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 12 of the compelling story HERE

– Read Episode 13 of the compelling story HERE

Episode 14

The Foot Massage And The Dream

 

The phone cackles with static and I wait for Chika to return to the phone. When she does, her voice is clearer than it was when we were speaking earlier.

“Sorry about that,” Chika says with a tired sigh. “I can barely keep down food these days.”

I tell Chika that the morning sickness will only last for the first trimester. She groans and tells me that she can’t put up with another month of throwing up.

“So, as I was saying,” Chika says, returning back to the conversation we were having before her dash to the bathroom. “That night I had two dreams. In one of the dreams, I saw myself asleep on my bed with people standing around my bed.”

Chika tells me she wakes up after that dream and performs a prayer before going back to bed.

“And then I dream again.”

Chika describes what sounds like a baby nursery.

“I don’t know but it felt like I was in your house…in your baby’s room.”

“So what happened?”

“I saw people standing around a baby cot just like I had seen in my first dream.”

I toy with the love pendant on my gold chain and wait for Chika to continue after a small pause.

“It was as if they were trying to do something bad to the,” there is another pause before Chika adds, “to your baby.”

I push back my chair from the desk and turn it to face the window. Chika is still talking about the dream.

“It was pretty terrifying. I woke up immediately and began to pray. When I checked the time afterwards, guess what time it was?”

“A few minutes after three.”

Chika lets out a gasp of surprise and asks how I managed to arrive at the right answer.

“Let’s just say I am good at these things.”

“I can’t fight the feeling that there was something evil around that day.”

I think of Paulette and ask Chika about her.

“Oh, she is doing great,” Chika says, affection in her voice. “The darling has been an asset. You won’t believe how early she wakes up from bed to work around the house.”

I uncross my legs, feeling a restless urge to tell Chika what I know about her cousin’s daughter, but a knock on my door causes me to abandon our conversation for a few seconds. My secretary walks into the office, stopping to turn towards the door and pushing it close with utmost care as if she is afraid that the door might shatter into tiny pieces if she attempts to close it any other way. I end the call with Chika after promising to call her back later. My secretary reaches my desk and stops beside the chairs opposite me.

“Good afternoon.”

I nod at her with a smile. “Good afternoon Rita.”

Rita gives me a nervous smile and places a hand on the top of one of the chairs.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I need to talk to you about….something.”

I wave her towards the chairs. “I think you should sit down.”

Rita nods and thanks me. In the same careful movements, she pulls a chair back and sits down gingerly on it.

“I don’t know how this will sound…but I think Miss Tokunbo is up to something.”

I nod at Rita to encourage her because I know she is struggling with herself at that moment. Her mind is full of second thoughts.

Is it the right thing to do? What if she talks to Tokunbo and mentions my name?

“Don’t worry about it Rita. Whatever you tell me stays between us.”

My words reassure Rita and she gives me a grateful smile.

“Thank you.”

“So, go on.”

“Well, one night…” Rita stops and bites her lower lip in a bid to remember. She continues with a nod seconds later. “A few days ago, maybe Monday…”

She looks away from me to her laps. I have this mental picture of her twiddling her fingers.

“Okay?”

“I stayed back late at the office…because I was trying to avoid getting stuck in traffic.”

“Okay.”

“But I also used to opportunity to work on the papers you gave me to file.”

There is another pause. At this point, I want to reach across the table, grab her by the shoulders of her red puffed sleeved button up shirt and shake her with a shrill ‘just go ahead with the story for God’s sake!’ but I manage a smile.

“Okay?”

“I was concentrating on what I was doing, but I heard a sound and when I looked up, I saw Miss Tokunbo standing in the office.”

I watch as Rita’s hand flies to her left breast. “I almost had a heart attack.”

“Did she tell you what she was looking for?”

Rita lowers her hand from her chest and shakes her head. “No.”

“So, she did not say…anything?”

“She asked if you were around or something like that.”

I think this is odd because everyone in the office knows that Richard’s driver picks me up by five every day.

“There was this look on her face when I first saw her.”

I tell Rita to describe it and she tells me it was a look of surprise.

“It was as if she did not expect to meet anyone in the office.”

“Interesting,” I say with a nod, remembering the night with Richard in the parking lot and Tokunbo’s presence in the office premises. Had she been hoping to get into my office?

I ask Rita if she always remembers to lock up my office at the close of work every day and she says yes. I tell her to continue to report anything she finds strange.

“Okay ma.”

There is palpable relief on Rita’s face as she stands up from her seat. She thanks me for my time and walks with baby steps to the door, her tight A-line skirt restricting her movements. My thoughts still on what Rita told me about Tokunbo, I almost miss the image of Jude standing with his right hand balled into a fist and held out before him as Rita pulls the door open to walk out. Rita starts and steps backward.

“Sorry,” Jude says, giving Rita a smile. My secretary nods and hurries away. Jude closes the door after her and strolls towards me, a sheaf of paper held in his left hand.

“Hello.”

“Hi there Jude.”

“You look great,” Jude says, pointing at my fitted green silk shirt.

I thank Jude for his compliment and ask what he has in his hands.

“Papers.”

“Well, obviously,” I say with a laugh and then turn serious. “Are they work related?”

“In every way.”

“Can I see them?”

Jude obliges my request and hands the papers over to me, but he still goes ahead to explain that they are records of company account since the beginning of the year.

“The editor seems happy to co-operate.”

“Have you noticed anything unusual in the accounts?” I ask Jude, flipping through the papers.

Jude shakes his head no. “And I made sure I was thorough.”

I can’t hide my disappointment. “I see.”

“But I have moved to the investigation stage, so, we just have to wait and see how things go.”

“Okay.”

Jude abandons office talk and asks if I still do my evening walks. I tell him I have not done any walking for some weeks now.

“You should stick to it, there is so much to be gained from being active.”

Jude begins to list the countless benefits of regular exercising. I listen to him with a smile and we are soon discussing food.

“My culinary skills are second to none.”

I express surprise at Jude’s claim and tell him he looks nothing like a man who knows his way around the kitchen.

“I should treat you to a dish one of these days.”

The unspoken request in his words make me squirm a little in my seat.

“I am sure that will be –“

The sound of the door opening cuts me short and I turn towards it. I feel the familiar flutter of my heart at the sight of Richard at the door. I give him a smile but he does not see it. His eyes are on Jude and he is regarding him coolly. Too coolly infact.

“Good afternoon Mr. Wellington.”

Jude rises to his feet and approaches Richard with a smile. “Good afternoon Mr. Abidemi.”

There is an offer of hand. A taking and then, Richard stuffs his hands into the pockets of his pants.

“Are you done with today’s work?”

Jude responds with a shake of head and then turns towards me. I lift up the papers I had been studying. He collects it with thanks.

“I was looking at this and decided to show it to someone,” Jude says, holding out the papers to Richard.

“I remember asking that all reports on your work here should be submitted to my office.”

Jude talks about being turned back at Richard’s office by his secretary because of a meeting. Richard tells him that it is okay to leave any documents with his secretary.

“I will do so next time.”

“Thank you.”

“I should leave you both alone now.”

“I will appreciate that very much.”

I open my eyes in surprise at Richard when we are alone. “What was that for?”

“I don’t understand your question,” Richard says, walking to the conference table and pulling out a chair. Once he settles into it, he leans back and pulls the next chair behind him until it slides to the front of him.

“Come and sit here with me.”

I meet him at the conference table and sit on the chair he has now turned to face him.

“I still don’t think that was necessary.”

“What are we talking about now?” Richard asks, picking my legs off the floor and placing it on his laps. The red low heeled pumps on my feet fall to the rug and Richard begins a slow massage on my left foot.

“I am talking about the way you dismissed Jude.”

Richard pauses his massaging for a fraction of a second and raises his eyes to mine.

“I don’t like that I find him here every second.”

“I am the only familiar face he knows.”

Richard goes back to massaging my foot. “I am not paying him to look for familiar faces. I am paying him to work.”

I decide to leave off trying to defend Jude and focus on what Richard is doing to my feet. I moan in pleasure as he places his hands on each side of my right foot, and moves his thumbs up and down the middle of the foot in small outward movements.

“Where did you learn to do this?”

“At the university.”

“Really?”

“Yes…a Chinese classmate of mine told me that there were pressure points in the foot that could heal certain parts of the body.”

I wince as Richard pushes his thumbs into my balls of my feet.

“Do you think it works?” I ask when he reduces the pressure.

“I don’t know,” Richard says with a shrug. “But I used to practice on my girlfriend, and she always talked of feeling better afterwards.”

Richard does not notice my frozen state because he goes on talking about other forms of massage. It is only my lack of contribution that makes him look up minutes later.

“I had to look up to see if you were still here.”

I exhale slowly and ask if the girlfriend he made reference to was Tokunbo.

“Yes.”

“Great,” I tell him with a forced smile. “I’d really like my legs back.”

“No,” Richard tells me, shaking his head slowly. When he stops the shaking of head, he wears a contrite look. “If that made you upset, then I am sorry.”

I refuse to be pacified and go for spite.

“I am sure I am supposed to be comparing notes with Tokunbo over your sexual prowess.”

“Stop it Tamisho.”

“Fine, give me back my legs.”

Richard relinquishes his hold on my legs and relaxes back in his chair. I pull myself up in my chair and throw my legs back to the floor. Once my shoes are back on my feet, I walk away from the conference table and Richard. After a few minutes of trying and failing to get my attention, Richard decides to leave.

“See you later.”

I ignore him again until the door closes. I spend the next ten minutes fuming and then bury myself in work to forget Richard’s massage admission.

 

**************************

 

“Why are we here?”

The driver stops the car in front of the entrance of the hotel and turns to me.

“Oga Richard asked me to bring you here.”

I search for my phone in my bag and call Richard. He picks after the first ring.

“I am at a place called…” I twist in my seat to look backwards at the sign we passed on our way in. “Radisson Blu, and Mr. Segun says you asked him to bring me here.”

Richard confirms the words of his driver and asks me to meet him at a place called the Voyage Restaurant inside the hotel. I leave the car and Richard’s driver finds a spot in the crowded parking lot. The uniformed security guards standing in the lobby of the hotel are helpful and point out the restaurant to me. I spot Richard immediately I push the glass door of the restaurant open. He is sitting three tables away from the door.

“Hi.”

“I am happy you came.”

I roll my eyes at Richard. “Like I had any say in the matter.”

Richard surprises me with a laugh. A very deep infectious laugh. The corner of my lips twitch in answer and I pick up the menu on the table and focus hard on the prices of drinks listed until the need to laugh with Richard passes.

“You know, I am glad we got married,” Richard says, reaching to cover my hand on the table with his own.

There is a loud crash as the defence I have been building up all afternoon comes crumbling down. I melt shamelessly before Richard’s eyes, and self consciously reach for a strand of my hair to push behind my ears.

You are acting like a school girl.

I drop my hand from my hair at the thought and look into Richard’s eyes.

“Thank you.”

Dinner is slow and neither one of us want it to end but it eventually ends one hour later when we remember Toju. On the drive home, I pucker up to Richard repeatedly in the backseat of the car. It is only when I am preparing to sleep that I remember the massage dilemma.

“But he married me,” my reflection says with a satisfied smile. “She only got massages.”

“I am going to tell Richard about her snooping.”

“Not now.”

“Why not?”

“You know how Richard believes in hard evidence and all.”

My reflection helps me think, and then comes up with the camera idea.

“You place it somewhere in the office to catch her snooping.”

“I already told Rita about locking up the office every day.”

My reflection shrugs and says, “We still need a camera.”

“Goodnight.”

Richard is still sitting on the sofa when I return to the room. He tells me he will join me in bed in a few minutes. Soon the tap tap of his fingers against the keyboard of his laptop sends me to sleep.

I am walking down my street, enjoying the clean crisp evening air. I throw my head back and inhale deeply. There is something joyous and free about the moment. Even the headlights of the cars driving on the road seem to blink happily at me. I draw to a stop at Chika’s gate, surprised to see Richard standing there. I run to him and fling myself in his arms. We decide to complete the walk together and he takes my hand.

We have just passed the next house when the sky grows completely dark and the wind begins to blow with the strength of a small storm. Richard and I break into a run towards the house. I hear loud shrieking behind us and look back to see dark ominous shadows bearing down on us. I scream and try to run faster but the shadows gain on us. Just when I think it is all over for us, the gate to the house opens. Richard and I rush inside, locking the gate against the shadows.

The house is quiet when we enter it. I am shocked to see how different the living room looks. The sofas sit in a haphazard fashion around the coffee table and I turn to tell Richard that I think the house has been burgled. I am shocked to see Paulette standing just where Richard was standing. Her eyes glow darkly at me and she snarls at me, exposing sharp teeth.

“Stay away,” she hisses at me, walking menacingly towards me.

I make a face at her. “I won’t. I am going to save Chika.”

A look of uncontrollable rage on her face, Paulette reaches for my neck and begins to squeeze.

I sit up with a start in bed, my hand crawling to where I felt the pressure on my neck a few seconds ago. I look at the foot of the bed and see the remains of a shadow disappear. Throwing the covers back, I dash to Toju’s room. Nothing. No shadows. No Shadda.

Toju is asleep on his back in a red sleepsuit  a small smile on his face. I bend over the cot and turn him to his side. Back in the room, I check the time.

“Three o’clock.”

After fifteen minutes of quiet pacing while Richard sleeps on the bed, I leave the bedroom for the ritual room. Striking a match, I light the incense in the censer and watch as tiny waft of smoke begins to escape from it. I sit down and breathe in the frankincense to calm my spirit. My chant invites the light and it settles down on the hand I hold out towards the Eastern part of the room. Satisfied with the amount of energy in the room, I rise to my feet and begin the protection chant.

From the East to the West

And the South to the North

Let the light surround this home

Let the guardians who come from it

Take positions round about it.

Let dark forces no more prevail against it

Let fear no more reign in it.

Amen.

Shadda walks into the room as soon as I finish the chant. She is dressed in a loose fitting white dress that boasts a small train.

“You called me,” she says, stopping before me and taking my chin in her hand to turn my face around. “Bad night?”

I nod and step away from her. “I got pressed down.”

“You should have called the light the day after the dark forces went to Toju’s nursery.”

“I forgot,” I tell them, stifling a yawn.

Shadda shakes her head and marches through the wall. I almost follow her and remember just in time that I am not a spirit. I use the door and rush to catch up with her as she climbs the stairs.

“Can you help me watch Toju?”

Shadda pauses at the nursery door and rolls her eyes at me. “What do you think I am here for?”

“Thanks.”

I want to ask Shadda about the others but she disappears into the nursery. Richard opens his eyes when I climb into bed.

“Where did you go?”

I pull the covers over me and move to snuggle against his chest.

“I went to check on Toju.”

Richard nods, holds me and goes to sleep. I still think of the others so I ask Shadda with my mind.

Where are they?

In the positions you called them. Go to sleep now.

I obey Shadda and close my eyes. Sleep comes in an instant. This is what happens when the guides descend. Peace. At least for tonight.

————————–

Umari Ayim is the author of ‘Twilight at Terracotta Indigo’ and ‘Inside my Head’ both winners of the 2011 ANA NDDC Flora Nwapa prize and 2012 Poetry prize respectively.

Umari blogs at www.umariayim.com and tweets from @umariayim

 

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail