The school isn't far away from home so we got there on time. The students had just finished their morning assembly. The students looked professional and smart in their uniforms. I was impressed. We headed straight to the Principal's office. I noticed that most of the girls we passed were staring at Richie. With his good looks he is gonna get so much attention, I thought. He seemed shy because he kept looking at his feet not paying much attention to the environment. Or maybe it was just his mood.
The principal was a nice man and he was so happy to receive Richie. He gave me some forms to fill. Once filled, we were directed to the administrative block where Richie would take his entrance exams. The Officer in charge was equally happy to receive us. It must be the influence of my name, I thought.
He finished the exams on time. I sent the driver to make the payments while I waited for Richie to finish. The exam would determine which class he would go to.
When he finished, the results were ready after a few minutes. He performed wonderfully. The Officer in charge said he would be in SS2 B, science class, and he was to resume the next day. I made sure I finished all the registration processes before we left. His books would be given the next day and his uniform also.
I was so excited to finally have someone I can call my son. We left the school and headed to the mall for Richie's school shopping. I asked him to pick anything he wanted. He cheered up. We bought a lot of things. Shoes, clothes, hoverboard, skate board, iPod, anything he picked, I paid gladly. He was beginning to warm up to me.
We left the mall with a trunk full of stuff. He couldn't wait to tell his dad. Seeing him happy made me happy also. We were late for lunch. Richard made a reservation at a restaurant around 12, expecting us to finish by then but unfortunately we couldn't make it on time so he had lunch without us. After eating I went to the office with Richie. I could see the look of surprise on people's faces when they saw him. One of them walked up to me and asked if he was Richard's brother. I laughed and told him No, but I didn't say anything else. All eyes were on us as we passed the lobby. We hurried to my office and I went through some files then we went to Richard's office.
"Hey sorry we missed lunch" I said to him.
"Oh it's okay. Hope you two had fun?" he asked.
"Yeah sure". I replied and let Richie narrate how our day went. He was glowing with happiness. I told Richard that he's moving upstairs and we'll redecorate the baby's room for Richie. He welcomed the idea.
Richie was marvelling at the view from the window. "I want to have an office like this one day" he said to me.
"Ofcourse you will but you have to study hard in school to achieve that" I replied and smiled.
We went home together in the evening. I cooked a nice meal and we watched a movie. At 10pm I asked Richie to go to bed because he was resuming school the next day. I didn't even think of Blessing through out the day. I was so happy. Richard and I also went to bed early.
I slept off immediately my body made contact with the bed.
******************************************
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Blessing was chasing me with a cutlass, pure rage and hatred in her eyes. Her hair was scattered and she looked mad. "I will kill you!" she screamed at me. I kept running. It was a dark street. How did I end up here? I wondered. My heart was beating fast and I was sweating profusely. I turned to look at Blessing. She was gaining on me. I have to run faster. I thought. "Help! Somebody help me!" I screamed. She was right behind me. I tripped on something. It felt like a human body. I looked down. Richard was lying face down in a pool of blood. Or was it Richie? Just then Blessing raised the cutlass and prepared to strike me. I screamed.
Someone was shaking me, bringing me back to reality.
"Ally it's me! Wake up you're having a nightmare" Richard was trying to wake me. I was shaking and sweat was pouring down my body. I started crying. He held me to his chest.
"Hush baby. I'm here for you. It's just a bad dream." he whispered in my ears and kissed me. Gradually my sobbing subsided and Richard slept off. I checked the time. It was 3AM. I went to the bathroom. My eyes were red from crying and there was a red mark on my neck, the same place where Blessing's cutlass would have struck me in the dream. I was scared and confused. I couldn't even tell Richard. What bothered me most wasn't that blessing was trying to kill me, it was the dead body I saw. This was the 3rd time I had a dream like this but this was the scariest. I stripped and filled the bath tub with hot water. I lay down in the tub and closed my eyes.
"You will not take my son away from me" Blessing's voice kept ringing in my ears. I was so scared. Then I was choking, drowning. Water was everywhere, then it turned into blood. It was as if there was a heavy object on my body. I couldn't come out of the water. Then I heard Blessing's wicked laugh, then Richard's blood covered face was staring at me. I screamed and jumped out of the tub. It felt so real I didn't know it was a nightmare. My head was pounding. This is getting too much. I'm just being paranoid. I said to myself. I toweled myself dry and left the bathroom. I watched Richard sleeping peacefully, even snoring a bit. I smiled. I wished it was me. I checked the time. 5AM. Well,no more sleep for me. I thought. I decided to make some tea and read a book before 6.
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I started reading the book and sipping my tea. Bola the maid soon came to the living room to clean.i kept the book and moved to the front yard. I stood there gazing at the pink sky. It was almost sunrise. Nature is beautiful, I thought as I glanced some birds in the sky. The gardener came out and started trimming the flowers. We greeted each other.
I went inside because I had started feeling cold. Richie was already eating cereal at the dining table. He was already dressed. I could tell he was excited about his first day at Brains academy.
"Good morning mum" he greeted me when he saw me.
"Morning Richie. I see you're almost ready for school. Eager to go huh?" I asked. He smiled. "Yeah I can't wait to be in class again." he replied. Then he looked at me and frowned.
"What's wrong? Are you sick?" he asked.
"No Richie I'm fine I just had trouble sleeping that's all. I better go check on your dad, he's gonna be late for work" I quickly left him before he could ask anymore questions.
Richard was dressing up in our room.
"Good morning honey" I greeted him. He came forward to kiss me when I entered the room.
"Morning baby. You look terrible. Are you sick?" he asked with concern. Gosh do I look that bad? I thought to myself.
"I'm fine." I lied. Because my head was still aching.
"Well you don't look too good. Are you sure you don't need a doctor? Take a look at yourself. By the way this shirt looks so sexy on you. If you weren't looking like a zombie I'd have ripped it off you by now". We both laughed as he turned me to face the mirror. Damn I really look terrible I said to myself. My eyes were red and I had dark circles. It must be the lack of sleep, I thought.
"I'll be fine honey" I said to him.
I changed into a dress and we went downstairs to eat breakfast. Richie was already done. I wanted to follow Richie to school before going to work but Richard said I should stay home and rest, get some sleep if possible. I obliged after much persuasion. Richie was assigned a driver and they left with the black X6, while Richard took the white audi. I kissed them both before they left. "Have fun at school and be good. Try and make some friends too. I'll have a surprise waiting for you when you get back" I said to Richie.
"Bye mum. He waved at me from the back seat" I blew him a kiss.
I went inside the house thinking of how to keep myself busy then I decided to call Delilah and tell her what has been going on with me.
*******************************************************
I talked to Delilah for a long time. It made me feel better. She advised me to go see a doctor if the nightmares persist. When we finished talking I called my P.A and asked her to contact the best decor establishment in town. I wanted to have Richie's room redecorated right away.
Few hours later I was in the garden when Bola came to me.
"Madam some people are here to see you" she said.
"Oh it must be the interior decor team. Let them in. I'll be right there." I replied her.
"No ma, they are just two. A man and a woman. I only saw the man. I didn't see the woman's face." just then my phone rang. It was Richard.
I picked "hey honey"
"Hey babes. Hope you're good?" I signalled Bola to leave. She left.
"Yeah I'm fine. How's work today? I'm missing you. Hurry and come home" I said teasingly. He laughed.
"I'll be home soon. I just called to check on you." he said.
"Thanks baby" I replied.
"Oh and by the way, I just found out that Blessing did not go to Lagos. I asked someone to track her, we are yet to know her whereabouts. I've to hang up now. Take care of yourself" he said to me in a rush and hung up. I sighed. If Blessing is still in town, that means trouble.
I stood up and went inside the house to see who was looking for me. A strange man was sitting on the settee with a woman standing behind him. Lo and behold! It was Blessing. My heart skipped a beat. What does she want? I wondered. To avoid any trouble, I faked a smile.
"Hello, Blessing what a surprise! How may I help you?" I stood where I was. She frowned.
"I don't need your rotten help. Where is my son?" she barked at me.
I smiled. "Last time I checked you were supposed to be in Lagos. So what brings you here? And mind your manners because this is my house. I can easily throw you out"
She laughed. "Your house indeed" she turned to the man sitting.
"I hope you're recording this" she said to him. He nodded. I was shocked. Was he a journalist or a lawyer or even a detective? I wondered.
"Good. Now I'm going to ask you again. Where is my son?" she asked me. I remained silent.
"Are you deaf or what? Where did you keep my son?" she asked again. I just stood there looking at her. She made to move past me in an attempt to reach Richard's room but I blocked her path.
"Junior! Junior!" she called out. Ofcourse there was no response because he was still in school. I was thankful for that.
"You have no right to come to my house and talk to me anyhow. Please Leave. The both of you." I said to her.
Before I knew what was happening, she was hitting me. She slapped me first, then she hit me in the stomach. It caught me off-guard and I slumped and fell. She started raining slaps on me and kicking me. I couldn't fight back. "You will not have my son" she kept saying. I tried calling for help but nobody came. She removed her shoe and hit me on the head. She punched me in the face and my nose started bleeding. I started crying. "Stop it please" I begged weakly but she didn't stop. Before I knew it her hands were on my neck. She was strangling me and I was choking. I couldn't breathe and my vision was hazy. I glimpsed Bola behind her with a turning stick. She hit her with it before she released me. I was so weak and I felt pain all over my body.
Bola managed to wrestle her off me. I was still lying on the floor.
"Let's leave this place" Blessing said to the man out of breath. "It's not over. I will have my son and my husband back. You just wait and see. Pathetic fool" she hissed and they left.
As soon as they left Bola helped me up. My body felt numb with pain. My head was pounding, my nose was bleeding and I couldn't open my left eye. She brought me hot water and towel and dabbed my body. It hurt so much. I called Richard and told him what happened. He was so furious. He asked me to go to the hospital, that he would meet me there. I asked Bola to call the driver to take me to the hospital. He came and they helped me get in the car.
I wondered what I ever did in this world to deserve this misfortunes. From one thing to another. Since I moved back to Nigeria my life hasn't been pleasant although there have been some brief joyful moments, they never last. My 5years in Nigeria have been like hell but I was still thankful I had Richard. And now Richie, that's something to be thankful for even though someone is trying to take them away from me. I thought.
To be continued 16th Jan 2018......
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By: Marsy
Aadammaryam95@gmail.com
This is indeed getting out of hand. What will be Richard's reaction? Let's hear your thoughts and comments as you anticipate subsequent episodes.
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