EPISODE 17
My heart bled when Ben who impersonated to be Richard muttered that he'll kill me slowly.
In his words, said, "I regretted picking you from the roadside".
After saying that, he left with fury in his heart.
Then, I explicated my true identity and of course, Ben can't kill his daughter.
"Here is my identity"
I am a child born out of wedlock - Madam's Iron granddaughter.
The woman who begot me was tormented by her mother and she took a dirt nap in anguish and pain.
She too was born out of wedlock by her mother, madam Iron.
She was raped and put into a family by a man called Odenigbo.
Odenigbo was an experienced craftsman who was rich and prestigious.
He was well-known in the town because of his skills in Crafting work.
And he specialized in upholstered furniture.
The sofas and Couches of prestigious men in Onitsha were all built by him and he had workshops in many places.
When he impregnated my mother, Madam Iron wanted to vilify his reputation but her mouth was covered with money - she was silenced with humongous naira notes.
Odenigbo's wife was a sister to the Deputy Governor and he would be punished civilly because such a crime is utterly punishable.
The night he raped Kaima, my mother, the go-away bird sang an elegy at the bough of Iroko.
The sky wailed seeing the countenance of a thirteen-year-old girl being defiled and her pride being taken away.
"Ah!ah!" She was blubbering as her mouth was covered with the palms of this said the man.
"Where was her mum, my grandmother?" I asked a female figure who was seated by my side narrating all these things to me.
The female figure was wearing a white gown with her hair disheveled and her face pale.
She appeared before me immediately after Richard left the darkroom.
Initially, I thought ghosts don't exist but after seeing Ben's wraith entering Richard and the female figure who was sitting beside me, I believed truly that they do exist.
"Her mother left her shop to her lover's home before dawn, leaving Kaima only in the shop Mr. Odenigbo invaded and took advantage of her.
When Madam Iron returned, Kaima told her what transpired but she couldn't do anything as she had been silenced with money instead, she tortured her daughter for allowing a man to rape her."
On the nail, the ghost of a lady vanished when she heard some sounds on the door.
And behold, it was Oluchi.
"Who were you conversing with?" She queried me with her face like a bear with a sore head.
"Nobody, I was just soliloquizing" I answered with butterflies in my stomach.
Then, she told me about Chief Olewe's departure saying that mine would be on new year's Eve and that she would hire some boys who will butcher me so that my flesh would be used as meat for new year's food.
Goosebumps filled up my skin because It was already the 29th of December in that particular year.
She dashed off afterward.
The next day, Richard came to me grinning like a Cheshire cat.
I was perplexed seeing him smiling broadly. I haven't seen him do that before.
Then, he told me that Ifeoma and her family had been eliminated and that he hacked them to death.
My heart staggered and I started shaking.
Richard pointed his index fingers at me and roared
"Your end is near"
To be continued...
