공유
Epilogue
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Her Paper Marriage 01
Life is a constant stream of experiences. While some are exciting and beautiful, others are agonizing. As you live through them, your heart feels like it is being torn into pieces. For me, one of those was my sister's murder.Leni was two years older than me and had always been my guardian angel. She had a sunny disposition and her happiness was infectious. She spread it wherever she went, warming even the coldest of hearts. My life turned upside down when her body was found in a ditch, battered as if she was some dangerous thing that needed to get flushed out of the world.Losing someone you love and not knowing what happened to them is one of the most painful things in life. The police said they were conducting investigations but whenever we went to them, they had nothing, not even a single lead. It was disappointing, but not surprising in a developing country like Uganda. So many cases went unsolved, especially because most
Her Paper Marriage 02
“Good morning, Lena.” The man named Tobias said, placing his big arms on the arm rest of his black leather chair. He leaned back, making his pot belly protrude. He was a short man, brown skin with an air of importance around him.“Good morning.” I said, taking a seat without being asked.Tobias shrugged and glanced at the paper on his desk before turning to me. “Your aunt said you arrived yesterday and in fact your accent confirms that. It hasn’t changed at all”My lips parted but I managed to restrain myself from voicing out my thoughts which could've had a poisonous effect. What was the point of bringing up my accent? I knew that there were many foreigners in the states with different accents. So, why had the few people I'd spoken to given me weird looks when I spoke? Perhaps, they were trying to discern if they'd heard my kind of accent before. This was even strange considering I didn't have a heavy accent. It wa
Her Paper Marriage 03
If I had known that this was going to be such a disaster, I'd have gone to another country. Jeff and I were so different and the only date idea we'd agreed on was to take a walk on along The Riverside Trail on the west bank of St. Joseph River. It felt so strange, hanging out with a stranger that hadn't impressed me at all. The good thing was that I loved the beauty of the place we were at.“I love black women,” he said, his eyes scanning my body in a way that looked almost perverted. He didn't have to say sweet things to me because I knew he was doing this mainly for the money. There was no need to try and sweeten me up because I’d never let him touch me. Looking at his clothes, I realized he really needed that money. In any case, I was doing him a favor.“I think I should go home now,” I said. I did not want to go home to my aunt and cousin but that seemed more preferable compared to chatting with Jeff.“But we ju
Her Paper Marriage 04
“I've seen almost everyone who lives in this town,” he said after I'd told him my name. His name was Noah, one of my favorite names for males. “I guess you're new here. Are you African?”I nodded, feeling the rhythmic vibration on my phone. I fished it out and checked the caller ID. Aunt Caro. Jeff had probably told her what happened so I decided to ignore it. I was not in the mood for any kind of scolding or reproach, particularly in front of Noah. If I received the call, I’d have to move away from him to explain myself. What if he walked away while I was doing that? He was the first person of my age to talk to me in south bend. I needed some peer to peer interaction.“Nice to know that you're African,” he looked at me as if he was studying my facial features. i wished I could know what was going on in his mind at the time. After some seconds, he spoke again. “Can I show you around?”My face was suddenly warm. I could not believe t
Her Paper Marriage 05
I liked the idea of marrying Noah but aunt Caro didn't want to hear of it. “At this point you can't reject Jeff.” She said after I spilled the news of Noah’s proposal the next day. She continued to cut the newspaper pages into four equal parts. “He knows about our plan and could ruin the chances of making any other marriage look real.”“I know but a marriage with Jeff wouldn't even look real.'“ I insisted. “I know I'm not perfect but who is going to believe that I fell in love with a man like him in such a short time? All he seems to do is eat, drink and watch TV all day. Have you been to his house? I didn't want to be there a minute longer.”I remembered the kind of dump it had looked like. I shuddered thinking of having to live with that dirty man.My aunt arranged all the cuttings on the table in a neat pile. “Listen here, little girl. I know these things. In this country, things are not like where you came from. When you're of a
Her Paper Marriage 06
I had never loved anyone as much as I loved Andrea Beza. Even though I had dated a number of girls before her, I still considered her my first love. I could never forget her because meeting her changed my life. It was during and after the relationship that many things became clear to me, things I had never taken time to think about. I realized who truly loved me, unconditionally.She was twenty at the time and had the most breathtaking brown eyes I'd ever seen. Ever since I was a teenager, the first thing I noticed on people’s faces were the eyes. This was probably because I was very insecure about my left eye -it had a brownish blemish. I think I was always looking for signs of imperfection in other people’s eyes. Andrea’s round face was over loaded with cuteness which made her look almost like a child. She was wearing a blue tank top and shorts. We were both waiting for our room keys at the reception when she glanced at me and said 'hello'. I replied with the same
Her Paper Marriage 07
“Who are you?” Aunt Caro asked Noah with her coolest stare. He was wearing a white shirt and dark blue jeans that fit him like they were custom made. His short hair was brushed to the back and he looked so fresh I thought I could eat him up.“Noah Elliot,” he said, standing tall with confidence. Now that was a real man, not afraid of anything. “I'm Lena's friend.”Aunt Caro glanced at me and I nodded. She turned back to him. “So, you're that boy? What are you up to? I doubt you'd marry a stranger just for the sake of helping. She's probably not even the kind of woman you usually go out with. What kind of prank is this?”“I came to explain to you both why I'm doing it,” Noah said, glancing at me.“Well, I was just leaving so I'll leave you to talk, after she feeds my daughter.” She was about to step out but hesitated. “Wait, I cannot just leave a stranger in my house. I've seen you around and I know that t
Her Paper Marriage 08
“You’re not from here, are you?” Carla asked. She crossed her arms and offered me a death glare.“Were you following me?” Noah asked in a matter of fact tone. He didn't look too ecstatic to see her.“I would never do that,” she said but looking at her gave me the impression that she'd do it. She was wearing a white crop top and black leather pants with a resting bítch face. She was the personification of pretty but psycho. Considering my situation, I didn't want to have her as an enemy although I was sure she considered me one. Had I been a citizen of the United States, I'd have stood up to her to show I wasn't intimidated by her. For now, flight was my best alternative. Like they say, cowards live longer.“Noah, I think it’s time for me to go.” I started to walk away but he grabbed my wrist, forcing me to stand. I sighed. He wasn’t making things easier.“Carla, meet my girlfriend.”
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