RED APPLE
#Episode 6
There was no way I couldn’t have seen her if she really came out of the room. I quickly jumped aside as she stood behind me in tears.
I was so afraid; her face even looked pale as she started crying. It was as if something had been harbored in her heart for long. I knew there was something not right about this girl and the thought of that alone made me very scared. How the hell did she get to know my wife? No wonder I never knew her till now.
Speaking of my wife, she came to my rescue. I felt relieved as soon as she came back. Just then Mary began wiping off her tears so my wife didn’t even notice. Emefa as usual came rushing towards me with a hug, I carried her and left Mary and my wife there in the sitting room where the clock fell. From where I was I could hear them talk. “What happened to this wall clock” My wife asked her. “There is no use of it anyway, who needs time when your time is limited.” Emefa said as I heard her walk away. Ah! what is it with this girl, she speaks and acts strangely. I needed to know how she got to know my wife and the only way to do that was to find out from my wife herself. My wife came to the kitchen where I was and right there and then I began interrogating her. “For how long did you say you know this girl? I asked her. “Why that question, she is my friend, why, don’t you want her here anymore?” She said yelling. I couldn’t believe her, what did I even say that got her mad in the first place and the worst of it all was she was able to just walk out on me without answering me. That was a behavior I had never witnessed in my wife before. Perhaps she had a bad day when she went out so then I just decided to overlook things and leave it as they are. My only consolation was to hang around my daughter Emefa. For that whole moment, she took away the memories of what had happened in the day, talking of Eugene and Emefa’s confrontation, the falling wall clock and my wife’s outburst. It had been three days since Mary came in. Well I knew it hadn’t been long though, but I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with her stay. She hardly looked me in the eyes and even my wife who claimed her as a friend barely spoke a word to her. Like I said, it’d been just three days since she came to stay under my roof and since that time, my wife hardly stayed home. I didn’t really know where she went to but she always made me think that she had something to do at the market. Food stuffmades were in abundance so that didn’t have to be her excuse. During one of her absence, I decided to engage in a friendly conversation with Mary again. I knew it would be difficult but I decided to go ahead with it anyway. We found ourselves both in the kitchen. She stood closer to the fridge and poured some juice for herself. Before I began talking, it seemed she already knew what I wanted to say. “Before you begin to talk about me, I would like you to answer this question? She said. I just looked at her and wondered how she knew what I was thinking but I had to keep my composure. I didn’t want her to know I was a bit scared of her. “Interesting, hmm what question do you have for me” I asked. “Why do you keep thinking of Emefa” She asked. “What is wrong with me thinking of my daughter all the time” I asked back . I could tell from her looks that she wasn’t happy about what I said. “Don’t try to play smart with me Selorm, your daughter indeed! I’m referring to Emefa, may her soul rest in peace” She said. Now something about her kept irritating me, she had this weird way of relating with my daughter. Anyway, she was right, I never stopped thinking about Emefa. I couldn’t answer her question but I had to just stay there and listen to her. “I know you miss her, she misses you too though. But have you even wondered where your wife is at this moment?” She asked. I didn’t answer, I was getting upset because I felt she was going beyond her boundaries. “I don’t care if you are upset or not, but know that this very moment as your wife approaches, she is not wearing the wedding ring you placed on her finger” She said. Like a prophet! I heard the door open and to be surprise my wife came in with my daughter. I quickly watched her hand from where I stood and just as Mary had said, there was no ring on her finger.
TO BE CONTINUED
RED APPLE
#Episode 7
I quickly watched her hand from where I stood and just as Mary had said, there was no ring on her finger. What could have possibly been her reason for not putting on the ring? I got upset and even ignored her when she tried to talk to me. I just went to the bedroom and shut the door behind me. Later on, I noticed she had placed the ring back on. “So those rings are only meant to be worn at home right? I asked. She tried explaining but I guess I was too upset to even listen to her. I was just not in the mood for that. I had to step out to get some fresh air. I sat in the car and drove off to nowhere in particular. I was just driving. From all these happenings, I knew my wife was hiding something from me. Something Mary knew. I didn’t know her to be that type. How I wished Emefa was alive to assist me in this. No one is ready to tell me what is really going on. It was through Emefa that I met my wife. Come to think of it, I have never been upset or even gotten jealous over anything. Not that she didn’t give me a reason to but I really didn’t bother. Unlike Emefa, though we were just friends, we fought most of the times, especially when I saw her hanging out with male friends that I didn’t know of. There was one time, back in school that I picked a fight with this guy who always bought biscuit for Emefa. I thought she was taking her friendship away from me. I picked the fight and ended up being beaten. But it really didn’t matter, at the end of the day I got the girl. That didn’t stop there, even before she died; I had a heated argument with her just because I felt she didn’t have enough time for me. The reason behind this was when I went over to her place and noticed that she was so glued to her phone instead of paying attention to me. I didn’t know if this was love but there was no way I would even admit it. That was why I got married to the very friend she hooked me up with and even with that nothing really changed. Along the way, I heard a phone ringing in my car. I didn’t know where it was coming from so I had to quickly park and search for it. The ringing tone was not a familiar one so I wondered how it got into my car. I was sure it had something to do with my wife because she was the one who used my car that morning. I was able to find the phone. Strangely, I had never seen this phone before; it didn’t belong to my wife. There was a text message on it, so I decided to go through it just to kill my curiosity. At the first glance of the message, I was shocked. The message read “Hey, I hope you are home now. Get back to me when you are free. MISS YOU LOVE”.
I checked the sender, it was an unknown number. There must be an explanation to this; I didn’t want to believe that my wife was cheating on me. I needed to get to the bottom of this but to be honest, it really didn’t bother me. I just needed to find out who the phone belonged to. But trust me, if it was to be Emefa, I wouldn’t have taken it easy at all. Why do I keep talking about the dead as if she was still alive? “Let me get home to fix this”. Whatever I did, she was my wife and she was alive. “Let me go and make things right”. I then quickly turned around and went straight home. Ever since the confrontation between Eugene and Mary happened, I had never heard from Eugene. That wasn’t usual of him. Why would he distant himself from me over some stranger we barely knew?. On my way back I then decided to give him a call, strangely, he was just hanging up on me. I called more than four times and he kept hanging up on me. What was even wrong with him for him to show up that behavior? That was not how Eugene was. This really got me worried. Eugene of all people should know that whatever the issue may be “Hommies over Divas” thus, guys will always put their fellow men first. In no time, I got home. I parked the car and took along the phone with me. Before I got closer to the door leading to the sitting room. I heard Mary yelling at my wife on top of her voice. “Tell him the truth about your child, or I will” She said.
TO BE CONTINUED
RED APPLE
#Episode 8
I parked the car and took along the phone with me. Before I got to closer to the door leading to the sitting room. I heard Mary yelling at my wife on top of her voice. “Tell him the truth about your child, or I will” She said. I wondered what was with my child that I didn’t know of, what could Mary possibly know about my little Emefa that I, the father had no ideaabout. I really needed to find out what was going on. I then rushed into the house and that was where i saw my wife soberly seated down while Mary stood in front of her yelling at her on top of her voice. “What is going on here? I asked. “Mary what is it?” I kept asking yet none of them was ready to give me an answer. Mary on the other hand gave me a wild look that scared me. I could tell she was so filled with rage and hatred. “Ask your so called wife” Mary fumed. and just then she walked out and went into the guest room which was now probably her room. Now it was just me and my wife. She had a lot of explaining to do with what had just happened not forgetting the phone I had seen in my car which I was currently holding in my hand. “Now will you tell me what’s going on here” I desperately asked. She looked at me as if I was not supposed to ask that question in the first place. Then the least I expected happened. She stood up and walked towards me, she was really standing close and facing me. The last time I remember she stood directly close to me was when we were about to exchange our vows which was followed by a kiss right away. However, right at this moment, she dared not think of doing what I was thinking; I was soo not in the mood for that. But I suspected she was in for another thing. “I need Mary out of this house right this moment” She ordered. Trust me I wasn’t really expecting that. It would be so cool if Mary was out of the house but not until my wife answered my questions. “You brought her here, so you definitely don’t need my permission to pack her out, besides that’s not what I asked, what truth do you need to tell me about my child” I asked again, this time around being more specific. I was not ready for any other answer, so she had better get on with it.
“Tell me” I shouted at her. “Hey don’t yell at me” She said. That was so surprising, my wife had never spoken to me in that manner before. Nevertheless, that didn’t deter me from getting my answer. “Look, I don’t know why you are making an issue out of this, this is a conversation between Mary and I” She continued. “Oh yeah! a conversation that involves my child? woman!” I angrily said. Now she was really getting me upset about this whole thing. “Hey take it easy, Emefa has just been a little sick and has been skipping school for some time now. I just didn’t want to bother you with it because I didn’t want to worry you. But she is improving now and doing well at school. Mary just wanted me to tell you this, that’s all.” She answered. But why would she keep that from me? I thought my wife could be so selfish at times. Then again I switched on to my next worry. “Saw this phone in the car, who does it belong to” I asked. As if she knew I was going to ask her that, it seemed she had already prepared an answer for me. “You found it… Aunty Mercy has been calling me for it, you know the lady who sells at the shop across the road, I gave her a ride to the market this morning and she left it.” She answered. That sounded convincing. There was nothing more I could ask. I guess my wife was truthful after all. But I still didn’t get why she all of a sudden wanted Mary out. It wasn’t really my concern though because that was her friend, she should be able to deal with her. That afternoon, I found Mary walking around alone on the compound.That was where I decided to engage her again. Then she started making vague statements. “You really believe in the things your wife tells you. It’s just a matter of time Selorm” She said. “What do you mean by that” I asked. “Don’t worry, but if I were you, I will try finding out why Emefa didn’t show up at your wedding.” She said and left me there while she went to her room even though I tried to hold her back. Just when I thought everything was quiet calm, my wife started pushing me to make Mary leave. She was so keen on this that she even woke me up after 12 am just to confront me on this. Out of anger I got out of the bedroom and to what seemed like both a trance and reality. I saw Mary in her white silk night gown rigidly standing right in front of my daughter’s bedroom door. She stood as if she could see through it. Then again, I began smelling Emafa’s perfume. I was so shocked that I shouted her name out. “Emefa!” I called out. She turned her head sharply to my direction. I freaked out as I couldn’t see her pupils. It was all white.
TO BE CONTINUED
RED APPLE
#Episode 9
“Emefa!” I called out. She turned her head sharply to my direction. I freaked out as I couldn’t see her pupils. It was all white. Now I was totally freaked out now, I didn’t know what to do. At this time, my whole body was so cold that I could barely feel my own skin. Just then I fell down on the floor. I didn’t know what happened again. I was lying helplessly on the floor now. All I knew was that I woke up the following morning at about 8:00am in the comfort of my bed. I just didn’t know what happened but I was so sure of what I saw and kept thinking of it. Then suddenly, whiles on my bed trying to figure out what really happened to me, I heard voices coming from the sitting room. I tried getting up but my head began to ache severely. It was so painful that I had to move slowly to get myself out of bed. Getting up, I looked myself in the mirror, my lips were looking heavy, I noticed there were some tiny sores on it. I must be sick then, I just hoped this had nothing to do with what I saw that dawn, which I intended finding out. I slowly walked out of the bedroom to the living room were the voices were coming from. There I saw my wife, my daughter and Mary happily engaged in a conversation. As if nothing had happened, Mary greeted me as she would usually do and my daughter came running to me. I couldn’t even respond when Mary greeted, I was so scared, thinking about what I went through that dawn. “Hey Honey, you had a good sleep? Mary and I were just catching up on our school time memories. It is so amazing how time flies you know.” My wife said. At this point, I was just shivering to the point that I couldn’t hide it. “Dear, is something wrong with you, you look sick” My wife asked. I completely ignored her and gathered courage to confront Mary. “What are you?” I asked her. “Excuse me?” Mary asked as if she didn’t know what I was talking about. My wife who was by then surprised about my question jumped in. “Is something wrong Selorm” She asked. I didn’t even notice my wife neither did I give ears to what she was saying, all I was interested in was to get to the bottom of this matter. “What were you doing at my daughter’s door this dawn, tell me” I asked her. “Me? Your daughter’s door” Mary asked. “Yes, you know what I’m talking about, don’t pretend” I kept asking her. Then suddenly my wife again came to her rescue. “Selorm, Mary wasn’t here last night, she spent the night out, she just arrived about an hour ago. What are you talking about” My wife said. “Yeah, I couldn’t tell you because it was an emergency, I wasn’t here, I only came in this morning” Mary said. What was wrong with me? Was I going crazy or what? I couldn’t believe my ears. I can bet my life that I saw her and that led to my passing out. Was it a dream or something? I couldn’t believe it. “Honey, come on, I can see you are not well, follow me to the kitchen, let me prepare you some tea then get you some drugs” My wife said, then she stood up and came towards me, held me by the hand and went with me to the kitchen.
I was still contemplating on what had happened. If indeed it was a dream, how could it have looked so real that I could practically feel everything that happened. I really just don’t get it. “Honey there is something I need to tell you” My wife said when we got to the kitchen. I was still lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even hear what she was saying. It got to the point where she had to tap me to get my attention.
“Sorry, I have a lot on my mind now.” I said.
“hmm, I will be away for some few days.” She said. I was surprised, I wasn’t expecting that.
“Where to? I quickly asked. “My mum just called me from the village, apparently she is sick. Its so urgent that I have to go this afternoon. Mary will take care of the house in my absence” She said. Well what more could I say, it was her mother’s health we were talking about. I just had to let it go. We began preparing and packing her stuff as she got ready to go. I was feeling weak so she did most of the packing by herself. Now it was about time for her to set off so I slowly walked her to the door with Emefa my daughter. Before I could say goodbye to her. Her purse began vibrating and eventually fell from her hand. She was so much in a hurry to pick it up. Eventually the phone fell from the purse whiles she was trying to pick it up and guess what, that was the same phone she claimed belonged to “Aunty Mercy” or whatever the name was.
TO BE CONTINUED
RED APPLE
#Episode 10
Eventually the phone fell from the purse whiles she was trying to pick it up and guess what? that was the same phone she claimed belonged to “Aunty Mercy” or whatever the name was. “What is someone’s phone doing in your bag?” I desperately asked. She pretended she didn’t hear me and quickly rushed out of the house. I called her back only for her to tell me that she was running out of time. That was when I began to doubt my wife. It was obvious that she was lying to me. It was just a simple question which needed no time in answering. But the truth shall always remain one no matter the time you tell it, it shall always remain the truth. Now, I had every reason to believe that she was cheating on me. What could possibly be her reason for doing that? There had never been any circumstance that I had treated her badly. She hardly complained and besides even if I had done something wrong, it didn’t justify her cheating on me. In as much as I was so concerned about this, I wasn’t really hurt but was just wondering what could be her reason. But then again, ever since we got married, she hadn’t done anything suspicious for me to even doubt her. Everything began to change when Mary, her friend, came in. She began feeling uneasy almost all the time, she mostly fumbled whenever she talked to me in Mary’s presence. It was like the survival of our marriage now depended on Mary. Now, about Mary, she seemed to know a lot about my marriage than I even did. Now that my wife was away, this was the perfect time for me to get to know her, get to know what she knew so I could take it from there. Trust me, I was still scared of her, but I had to keep my composure. I had to engage her in a deep conversation. That was the only way out, the only way I could get to the bottom of the problem. I went to my room just to have some time for myself, in other words to think. I laid in my bed, trying to remember everything, the “trance”or “dream” or ”reality”, I just didn’t know. I looked for all the signs but I couldn’t get. Before I knew it, night had already fallen and I was in a deep sleep. I was woken up by a knock on my door. I then quickly rushed towards the door and opened it, only to find Mary standing there. She was sobbing and from what It seemed, she had been crying for long. “Hey what is it, are you okay? ” I asked her. “Selorm, I need to talk to you” She said. We then moved to the sitting room where it was convenient for us to talk. I checked the time and it was already 10:00pm, then I also noticed that she had packed some of her belongings.
“Where are you going to, with all these bags?” I asked. Then she began speaking, making statements that I couldn’t read meanings into. But she expected me to understand. “I can’t do this anymore, it’s no more my fight but yours.” She said amidst tears. “What do you mean, Mary, you really need to open up to me and tell me what is going on. What isn’t your fight? I asked her. She gave me that “really” look making me feel very dumb that I didn’t realise that it was obvious. “Red Apples” She said. “You remember her favorite food, it was through it that she died” She said. Just when she said that, I knew she was talking about Emefa. Emefa, would do anything to get an apple each day. She normally preferred the red ones and anytime I went to visit her, I would get some for her. That was the only way to get her attention when she was worried. However, for her to have died for eating red apples, that was something new to me. All what I knew was that she got sick and eventually died, it was food poisoning. I didn’t see that coming. “Emefa died of sickness, why won’t you let her rest in peace” I said. At this time, her attitude was beginning to irritate me. “You are talking about peace, Selorm, she will only rest when you find things out yourself. Why don’t you check up on your friend Eugene.” She said. Having said that, she then took out a diary from her bag and handed it over to me. I saw that diary in Emefa’s room every time I went there, I wondered how she got hold of it. “I suppose you know who this belongs to, all the answers you seek are in here” She said and then took her bags and headed towards the door. “It has to end now and that’s what I’m going to do” She said and left. I was just speechless as I held the diary in my hand. Then I came back to my senses, I couldn’t allow her to leave like that, it was late. I quickly rushed outside to catch up with her but another strange thing happened , she was nowhere to be found. There was no sign of her, neither did it seem like the main entrance had been opened. It was locked. Then I went back in, grabbed my car keys and drove off to Eugene’s place. I thought he was in danger or something. I was driving at top speed and in no time I got there. To my surprise, Mary had already gotten to Eugene’s end and was standing at his main entrance. I freaked out when I saw her at the entrance.
“What took you so long Selorm” She said. “How …How…” Before I could ask her any question, she just shushed me. She then opened the door for me, and told me to open the door leading to Eugene’s sitting room. At this point in time, though I had so many things to ask her, I found myself following her orders. I then opened the door as she said, that was the last time I saw Mary, I didn’t see her again, I didn’t see where she passed. As I opened the door and entered, there was my wife comfortably lying on Eugene’s lap, while they both watched television together. Eugene was just in his boxer shorts and my wife, just in her brazzier and underwear.”
"If you are Selorm, what will be your actions or reactions."
TO BE CONTINUED
#Episode 6
There was no way I couldn’t have seen her if she really came out of the room. I quickly jumped aside as she stood behind me in tears.
I was so afraid; her face even looked pale as she started crying. It was as if something had been harbored in her heart for long. I knew there was something not right about this girl and the thought of that alone made me very scared. How the hell did she get to know my wife? No wonder I never knew her till now.
Speaking of my wife, she came to my rescue. I felt relieved as soon as she came back. Just then Mary began wiping off her tears so my wife didn’t even notice. Emefa as usual came rushing towards me with a hug, I carried her and left Mary and my wife there in the sitting room where the clock fell. From where I was I could hear them talk. “What happened to this wall clock” My wife asked her. “There is no use of it anyway, who needs time when your time is limited.” Emefa said as I heard her walk away. Ah! what is it with this girl, she speaks and acts strangely. I needed to know how she got to know my wife and the only way to do that was to find out from my wife herself. My wife came to the kitchen where I was and right there and then I began interrogating her. “For how long did you say you know this girl? I asked her. “Why that question, she is my friend, why, don’t you want her here anymore?” She said yelling. I couldn’t believe her, what did I even say that got her mad in the first place and the worst of it all was she was able to just walk out on me without answering me. That was a behavior I had never witnessed in my wife before. Perhaps she had a bad day when she went out so then I just decided to overlook things and leave it as they are. My only consolation was to hang around my daughter Emefa. For that whole moment, she took away the memories of what had happened in the day, talking of Eugene and Emefa’s confrontation, the falling wall clock and my wife’s outburst. It had been three days since Mary came in. Well I knew it hadn’t been long though, but I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with her stay. She hardly looked me in the eyes and even my wife who claimed her as a friend barely spoke a word to her. Like I said, it’d been just three days since she came to stay under my roof and since that time, my wife hardly stayed home. I didn’t really know where she went to but she always made me think that she had something to do at the market. Food stuffmades were in abundance so that didn’t have to be her excuse. During one of her absence, I decided to engage in a friendly conversation with Mary again. I knew it would be difficult but I decided to go ahead with it anyway. We found ourselves both in the kitchen. She stood closer to the fridge and poured some juice for herself. Before I began talking, it seemed she already knew what I wanted to say. “Before you begin to talk about me, I would like you to answer this question? She said. I just looked at her and wondered how she knew what I was thinking but I had to keep my composure. I didn’t want her to know I was a bit scared of her. “Interesting, hmm what question do you have for me” I asked. “Why do you keep thinking of Emefa” She asked. “What is wrong with me thinking of my daughter all the time” I asked back . I could tell from her looks that she wasn’t happy about what I said. “Don’t try to play smart with me Selorm, your daughter indeed! I’m referring to Emefa, may her soul rest in peace” She said. Now something about her kept irritating me, she had this weird way of relating with my daughter. Anyway, she was right, I never stopped thinking about Emefa. I couldn’t answer her question but I had to just stay there and listen to her. “I know you miss her, she misses you too though. But have you even wondered where your wife is at this moment?” She asked. I didn’t answer, I was getting upset because I felt she was going beyond her boundaries. “I don’t care if you are upset or not, but know that this very moment as your wife approaches, she is not wearing the wedding ring you placed on her finger” She said. Like a prophet! I heard the door open and to be surprise my wife came in with my daughter. I quickly watched her hand from where I stood and just as Mary had said, there was no ring on her finger.
TO BE CONTINUED
RED APPLE
#Episode 7
I quickly watched her hand from where I stood and just as Mary had said, there was no ring on her finger. What could have possibly been her reason for not putting on the ring? I got upset and even ignored her when she tried to talk to me. I just went to the bedroom and shut the door behind me. Later on, I noticed she had placed the ring back on. “So those rings are only meant to be worn at home right? I asked. She tried explaining but I guess I was too upset to even listen to her. I was just not in the mood for that. I had to step out to get some fresh air. I sat in the car and drove off to nowhere in particular. I was just driving. From all these happenings, I knew my wife was hiding something from me. Something Mary knew. I didn’t know her to be that type. How I wished Emefa was alive to assist me in this. No one is ready to tell me what is really going on. It was through Emefa that I met my wife. Come to think of it, I have never been upset or even gotten jealous over anything. Not that she didn’t give me a reason to but I really didn’t bother. Unlike Emefa, though we were just friends, we fought most of the times, especially when I saw her hanging out with male friends that I didn’t know of. There was one time, back in school that I picked a fight with this guy who always bought biscuit for Emefa. I thought she was taking her friendship away from me. I picked the fight and ended up being beaten. But it really didn’t matter, at the end of the day I got the girl. That didn’t stop there, even before she died; I had a heated argument with her just because I felt she didn’t have enough time for me. The reason behind this was when I went over to her place and noticed that she was so glued to her phone instead of paying attention to me. I didn’t know if this was love but there was no way I would even admit it. That was why I got married to the very friend she hooked me up with and even with that nothing really changed. Along the way, I heard a phone ringing in my car. I didn’t know where it was coming from so I had to quickly park and search for it. The ringing tone was not a familiar one so I wondered how it got into my car. I was sure it had something to do with my wife because she was the one who used my car that morning. I was able to find the phone. Strangely, I had never seen this phone before; it didn’t belong to my wife. There was a text message on it, so I decided to go through it just to kill my curiosity. At the first glance of the message, I was shocked. The message read “Hey, I hope you are home now. Get back to me when you are free. MISS YOU LOVE”.
I checked the sender, it was an unknown number. There must be an explanation to this; I didn’t want to believe that my wife was cheating on me. I needed to get to the bottom of this but to be honest, it really didn’t bother me. I just needed to find out who the phone belonged to. But trust me, if it was to be Emefa, I wouldn’t have taken it easy at all. Why do I keep talking about the dead as if she was still alive? “Let me get home to fix this”. Whatever I did, she was my wife and she was alive. “Let me go and make things right”. I then quickly turned around and went straight home. Ever since the confrontation between Eugene and Mary happened, I had never heard from Eugene. That wasn’t usual of him. Why would he distant himself from me over some stranger we barely knew?. On my way back I then decided to give him a call, strangely, he was just hanging up on me. I called more than four times and he kept hanging up on me. What was even wrong with him for him to show up that behavior? That was not how Eugene was. This really got me worried. Eugene of all people should know that whatever the issue may be “Hommies over Divas” thus, guys will always put their fellow men first. In no time, I got home. I parked the car and took along the phone with me. Before I got closer to the door leading to the sitting room. I heard Mary yelling at my wife on top of her voice. “Tell him the truth about your child, or I will” She said.
TO BE CONTINUED
RED APPLE
#Episode 8
I parked the car and took along the phone with me. Before I got to closer to the door leading to the sitting room. I heard Mary yelling at my wife on top of her voice. “Tell him the truth about your child, or I will” She said. I wondered what was with my child that I didn’t know of, what could Mary possibly know about my little Emefa that I, the father had no ideaabout. I really needed to find out what was going on. I then rushed into the house and that was where i saw my wife soberly seated down while Mary stood in front of her yelling at her on top of her voice. “What is going on here? I asked. “Mary what is it?” I kept asking yet none of them was ready to give me an answer. Mary on the other hand gave me a wild look that scared me. I could tell she was so filled with rage and hatred. “Ask your so called wife” Mary fumed. and just then she walked out and went into the guest room which was now probably her room. Now it was just me and my wife. She had a lot of explaining to do with what had just happened not forgetting the phone I had seen in my car which I was currently holding in my hand. “Now will you tell me what’s going on here” I desperately asked. She looked at me as if I was not supposed to ask that question in the first place. Then the least I expected happened. She stood up and walked towards me, she was really standing close and facing me. The last time I remember she stood directly close to me was when we were about to exchange our vows which was followed by a kiss right away. However, right at this moment, she dared not think of doing what I was thinking; I was soo not in the mood for that. But I suspected she was in for another thing. “I need Mary out of this house right this moment” She ordered. Trust me I wasn’t really expecting that. It would be so cool if Mary was out of the house but not until my wife answered my questions. “You brought her here, so you definitely don’t need my permission to pack her out, besides that’s not what I asked, what truth do you need to tell me about my child” I asked again, this time around being more specific. I was not ready for any other answer, so she had better get on with it.
“Tell me” I shouted at her. “Hey don’t yell at me” She said. That was so surprising, my wife had never spoken to me in that manner before. Nevertheless, that didn’t deter me from getting my answer. “Look, I don’t know why you are making an issue out of this, this is a conversation between Mary and I” She continued. “Oh yeah! a conversation that involves my child? woman!” I angrily said. Now she was really getting me upset about this whole thing. “Hey take it easy, Emefa has just been a little sick and has been skipping school for some time now. I just didn’t want to bother you with it because I didn’t want to worry you. But she is improving now and doing well at school. Mary just wanted me to tell you this, that’s all.” She answered. But why would she keep that from me? I thought my wife could be so selfish at times. Then again I switched on to my next worry. “Saw this phone in the car, who does it belong to” I asked. As if she knew I was going to ask her that, it seemed she had already prepared an answer for me. “You found it… Aunty Mercy has been calling me for it, you know the lady who sells at the shop across the road, I gave her a ride to the market this morning and she left it.” She answered. That sounded convincing. There was nothing more I could ask. I guess my wife was truthful after all. But I still didn’t get why she all of a sudden wanted Mary out. It wasn’t really my concern though because that was her friend, she should be able to deal with her. That afternoon, I found Mary walking around alone on the compound.That was where I decided to engage her again. Then she started making vague statements. “You really believe in the things your wife tells you. It’s just a matter of time Selorm” She said. “What do you mean by that” I asked. “Don’t worry, but if I were you, I will try finding out why Emefa didn’t show up at your wedding.” She said and left me there while she went to her room even though I tried to hold her back. Just when I thought everything was quiet calm, my wife started pushing me to make Mary leave. She was so keen on this that she even woke me up after 12 am just to confront me on this. Out of anger I got out of the bedroom and to what seemed like both a trance and reality. I saw Mary in her white silk night gown rigidly standing right in front of my daughter’s bedroom door. She stood as if she could see through it. Then again, I began smelling Emafa’s perfume. I was so shocked that I shouted her name out. “Emefa!” I called out. She turned her head sharply to my direction. I freaked out as I couldn’t see her pupils. It was all white.
TO BE CONTINUED
RED APPLE
#Episode 9
“Emefa!” I called out. She turned her head sharply to my direction. I freaked out as I couldn’t see her pupils. It was all white. Now I was totally freaked out now, I didn’t know what to do. At this time, my whole body was so cold that I could barely feel my own skin. Just then I fell down on the floor. I didn’t know what happened again. I was lying helplessly on the floor now. All I knew was that I woke up the following morning at about 8:00am in the comfort of my bed. I just didn’t know what happened but I was so sure of what I saw and kept thinking of it. Then suddenly, whiles on my bed trying to figure out what really happened to me, I heard voices coming from the sitting room. I tried getting up but my head began to ache severely. It was so painful that I had to move slowly to get myself out of bed. Getting up, I looked myself in the mirror, my lips were looking heavy, I noticed there were some tiny sores on it. I must be sick then, I just hoped this had nothing to do with what I saw that dawn, which I intended finding out. I slowly walked out of the bedroom to the living room were the voices were coming from. There I saw my wife, my daughter and Mary happily engaged in a conversation. As if nothing had happened, Mary greeted me as she would usually do and my daughter came running to me. I couldn’t even respond when Mary greeted, I was so scared, thinking about what I went through that dawn. “Hey Honey, you had a good sleep? Mary and I were just catching up on our school time memories. It is so amazing how time flies you know.” My wife said. At this point, I was just shivering to the point that I couldn’t hide it. “Dear, is something wrong with you, you look sick” My wife asked. I completely ignored her and gathered courage to confront Mary. “What are you?” I asked her. “Excuse me?” Mary asked as if she didn’t know what I was talking about. My wife who was by then surprised about my question jumped in. “Is something wrong Selorm” She asked. I didn’t even notice my wife neither did I give ears to what she was saying, all I was interested in was to get to the bottom of this matter. “What were you doing at my daughter’s door this dawn, tell me” I asked her. “Me? Your daughter’s door” Mary asked. “Yes, you know what I’m talking about, don’t pretend” I kept asking her. Then suddenly my wife again came to her rescue. “Selorm, Mary wasn’t here last night, she spent the night out, she just arrived about an hour ago. What are you talking about” My wife said. “Yeah, I couldn’t tell you because it was an emergency, I wasn’t here, I only came in this morning” Mary said. What was wrong with me? Was I going crazy or what? I couldn’t believe my ears. I can bet my life that I saw her and that led to my passing out. Was it a dream or something? I couldn’t believe it. “Honey, come on, I can see you are not well, follow me to the kitchen, let me prepare you some tea then get you some drugs” My wife said, then she stood up and came towards me, held me by the hand and went with me to the kitchen.
I was still contemplating on what had happened. If indeed it was a dream, how could it have looked so real that I could practically feel everything that happened. I really just don’t get it. “Honey there is something I need to tell you” My wife said when we got to the kitchen. I was still lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even hear what she was saying. It got to the point where she had to tap me to get my attention.
“Sorry, I have a lot on my mind now.” I said.
“hmm, I will be away for some few days.” She said. I was surprised, I wasn’t expecting that.
“Where to? I quickly asked. “My mum just called me from the village, apparently she is sick. Its so urgent that I have to go this afternoon. Mary will take care of the house in my absence” She said. Well what more could I say, it was her mother’s health we were talking about. I just had to let it go. We began preparing and packing her stuff as she got ready to go. I was feeling weak so she did most of the packing by herself. Now it was about time for her to set off so I slowly walked her to the door with Emefa my daughter. Before I could say goodbye to her. Her purse began vibrating and eventually fell from her hand. She was so much in a hurry to pick it up. Eventually the phone fell from the purse whiles she was trying to pick it up and guess what, that was the same phone she claimed belonged to “Aunty Mercy” or whatever the name was.
TO BE CONTINUED
RED APPLE
#Episode 10
Eventually the phone fell from the purse whiles she was trying to pick it up and guess what? that was the same phone she claimed belonged to “Aunty Mercy” or whatever the name was. “What is someone’s phone doing in your bag?” I desperately asked. She pretended she didn’t hear me and quickly rushed out of the house. I called her back only for her to tell me that she was running out of time. That was when I began to doubt my wife. It was obvious that she was lying to me. It was just a simple question which needed no time in answering. But the truth shall always remain one no matter the time you tell it, it shall always remain the truth. Now, I had every reason to believe that she was cheating on me. What could possibly be her reason for doing that? There had never been any circumstance that I had treated her badly. She hardly complained and besides even if I had done something wrong, it didn’t justify her cheating on me. In as much as I was so concerned about this, I wasn’t really hurt but was just wondering what could be her reason. But then again, ever since we got married, she hadn’t done anything suspicious for me to even doubt her. Everything began to change when Mary, her friend, came in. She began feeling uneasy almost all the time, she mostly fumbled whenever she talked to me in Mary’s presence. It was like the survival of our marriage now depended on Mary. Now, about Mary, she seemed to know a lot about my marriage than I even did. Now that my wife was away, this was the perfect time for me to get to know her, get to know what she knew so I could take it from there. Trust me, I was still scared of her, but I had to keep my composure. I had to engage her in a deep conversation. That was the only way out, the only way I could get to the bottom of the problem. I went to my room just to have some time for myself, in other words to think. I laid in my bed, trying to remember everything, the “trance”or “dream” or ”reality”, I just didn’t know. I looked for all the signs but I couldn’t get. Before I knew it, night had already fallen and I was in a deep sleep. I was woken up by a knock on my door. I then quickly rushed towards the door and opened it, only to find Mary standing there. She was sobbing and from what It seemed, she had been crying for long. “Hey what is it, are you okay? ” I asked her. “Selorm, I need to talk to you” She said. We then moved to the sitting room where it was convenient for us to talk. I checked the time and it was already 10:00pm, then I also noticed that she had packed some of her belongings.
“Where are you going to, with all these bags?” I asked. Then she began speaking, making statements that I couldn’t read meanings into. But she expected me to understand. “I can’t do this anymore, it’s no more my fight but yours.” She said amidst tears. “What do you mean, Mary, you really need to open up to me and tell me what is going on. What isn’t your fight? I asked her. She gave me that “really” look making me feel very dumb that I didn’t realise that it was obvious. “Red Apples” She said. “You remember her favorite food, it was through it that she died” She said. Just when she said that, I knew she was talking about Emefa. Emefa, would do anything to get an apple each day. She normally preferred the red ones and anytime I went to visit her, I would get some for her. That was the only way to get her attention when she was worried. However, for her to have died for eating red apples, that was something new to me. All what I knew was that she got sick and eventually died, it was food poisoning. I didn’t see that coming. “Emefa died of sickness, why won’t you let her rest in peace” I said. At this time, her attitude was beginning to irritate me. “You are talking about peace, Selorm, she will only rest when you find things out yourself. Why don’t you check up on your friend Eugene.” She said. Having said that, she then took out a diary from her bag and handed it over to me. I saw that diary in Emefa’s room every time I went there, I wondered how she got hold of it. “I suppose you know who this belongs to, all the answers you seek are in here” She said and then took her bags and headed towards the door. “It has to end now and that’s what I’m going to do” She said and left. I was just speechless as I held the diary in my hand. Then I came back to my senses, I couldn’t allow her to leave like that, it was late. I quickly rushed outside to catch up with her but another strange thing happened , she was nowhere to be found. There was no sign of her, neither did it seem like the main entrance had been opened. It was locked. Then I went back in, grabbed my car keys and drove off to Eugene’s place. I thought he was in danger or something. I was driving at top speed and in no time I got there. To my surprise, Mary had already gotten to Eugene’s end and was standing at his main entrance. I freaked out when I saw her at the entrance.
“What took you so long Selorm” She said. “How …How…” Before I could ask her any question, she just shushed me. She then opened the door for me, and told me to open the door leading to Eugene’s sitting room. At this point in time, though I had so many things to ask her, I found myself following her orders. I then opened the door as she said, that was the last time I saw Mary, I didn’t see her again, I didn’t see where she passed. As I opened the door and entered, there was my wife comfortably lying on Eugene’s lap, while they both watched television together. Eugene was just in his boxer shorts and my wife, just in her brazzier and underwear.”
"If you are Selorm, what will be your actions or reactions."
TO BE CONTINUED
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