Chapter One

Dele stared at the front porch of his house, wondering if the neatly trimmed appearance of the red roses lining the front yard could make him smile. He turned off the car’s ignition and stepped out of the car, sighing heavily. He took a glance at the royal blue bag that sat at the backseat, his mind traveling back to the announcement the doctor had welcomed him with upon arriving at the hospital.

“We couldn’t save her.”

Dele slammed his fist against the car’s bonnet, raising his head immediately to see if he had perhaps alerted anyone nearby. The entrance door to his apartment creaked open, and the warmth smile dressed on his mother’s face set his heart at ease. Always the first to welcome him back home after the day’s work, Dele never forgot to plant kisses on her forehead every evening; not until he had knocked off the lady whom he had later found to be a journalist named Sonia Martins. 

He slammed the door carelessly and walked up to the porch sluggishly, his hands brushing past the sunflowers that lined the entrance from the main gate to his apartment. For some moments, he was grateful to have secured the apartment on the base floor, for it was always easy to run out into his car whenever he forgot to start off the day earlier than the previous. 

“Wasn’t today any better? Your eye socket looks sunken, my dear.” his mother commented, pulling him close into a warm embrace. A feeling of calming waves courses through Dele’s mind, and he wished he could bring himself to tell her exactly what had happened with Sonia. He pulled away from the hug and stared at the door, catching a glimpse of Moana—his youngest sibling—running past the living room. He pulled away from the embrace and urged his mother in; pressing down on the car’s controls so as to lock the car doors.

“It was okay, but I had a tough time on the roads.” Dele murmured, staring at the living room like he was stepping into his home for the first time.

“You have been saying the exact same thing for days now, my boy.” his mother snapped, gesturing to him to take a seat. “Get down here, Moana.” she called out. “And do come along with a glass of water.”

His mother settled down beside Dele, staring his face cursorily. “I’m guessing you are stressed about the wedding. That’s what you have been bothered about, right?” she asked, her gaze fixated on his face.

Dele knew breaking the news of Sonia’s death to his mother would also earn him a spot six feet below the crust as she was going to strangle him out of shock. He tittered, bobbing his head in agreement. “I’d agree to that, Mom. I never imagined myself being in this position a decade ago, but hey,” he collected the glass of water from Moana who smiled at him sheepishly; her way of welcoming him back home. “There’s nothing love can’t push us to do, right?”

“Marriage is essential, Dele.” his mother emphasised jokingly. Dele rolled his eyes unsatisfactorily.

“What about after the marriage, mother?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“The increased struggles, mother.” Dele wailed, resting his head on his mother’s shoulder. “From taking care of the house to having to feed an additional mouth … I forgot about kids! I probably wouldn’t think about having any—“

“You dare not, Dele.” his mother cautioned, her expression stern. Dele laughed and placed his hands on his mother’s, stoking them gently.

“I was only kidding, mother.” Dele said reassuringly. The frown on his mother’s face slowly reverted into a smile as she hit Dele playfully by the shoulders.

“Silly boy,” she cooed. Dele dropped the glass on the center table and craned his neck backwards, resting it on the sofa. He stared up the ceiling and purred,

“I really love her, mother. I really do.”

His mother smiled and patted his head with care. “I know you do, my dear, and I love her just as much. I can’t wait to have here here with us …” Dele coughed instinctively, disrupting his mother’s speech. He reached for the glass of water and filled his mouth. He coughed up the water as he couldn’t control himself. His mother stared at him in bewilderment as she rubbed his back gently.

“Sorry.” she whispered. Dele nodded curtly and dropped the glass, wiping his mouth with the back of his palm. His biggest fear remains unknown to his family as they continued to assume he wasn’t ready for what comes with marriage despite proposing marriage to Bella, but what they didn’t know is a problem that kept reminding his conscience everyday what was going to happen if he spilled the beans. 

A problem that arose from the decision he had taken—telling a ‘small lie’.

“It’s fine,” he managed to say, trying to sound okay to his mother who wouldn’t stop staring at him cautiously. She called upon Moana to get the floor wiped clean. Moana stormed in, her face expressing how unsatisfied she was. It was easy to guess that she either must have been chatting with her friends, or watching her immediate elder brother—Richie—playing video games. She grumbled as she returned with a bucket and a mop, dabbing and sliding it across the floor.

Dele got up from the sofa, dragging his lazy feet towards his room.

“Don’t you dare go to bed without having dinner, Ayodele.” his mother cautioned loudly. Dele feigned a frown, his eyes half-closed. 

“It sounds ugly when you call me by my full name, mother.” Dele mumbled. Moana walked past him, mop in hand. She nudges him out of the way and hisses loudly.

“Go and blame Grannie for christening you by that name, Doe.” she teased.

Calling him by the name of the restless pig which belonged to his neighbour would have gotten him chasing after his sister, but not today.

Not when he had the face of a dead woman to haunt his dreams. Not when he had to take responsibility to find out about her family; now that he had brought about her demise. He collapsed onto his bed lazily, as images of Sonia’s pale white and peaceful face clouded his mind.

••

Emily stared at the door to Sonia’s apartment, running her hands through the three stripes of blue tape stuck to the door. It had been two days ever since Sonia got sacked from her place of work, and even when she reminisces about the moments Sonia would joke about being dismissed from work, she knew very well just how much it would affect her.

An example was Sonia not responding to her calls for days—or was she?

Emily ran her hand through her hair, confused as she had no other ideas on how to get to her best friend. She had tried to intervene with the supervisor—who allegedly had delivered the letter to Sonia's office door—and inquired about the reason for Sonia’s dismissal. All she got as a response was a threat, warning her to stay off the matters relating to Sonia; else she’d be dismissed also.

“I know you’re in there, Sonia.” Emily called out, pounding her fists on the door. “Can you please step out now?”

She knocked on the door repeatedly; all to no avail. She knew very well how much it was of a custom for Sonia to get rid of the tapes and dump them in the trash just outside her apartment, but the fact that they were still there registered a sense of realization in Emily’s mind.

Sonia had not returned home.

She grunted out loudly, turning around and leaning her back against the door in defeat. She had racked her brain to figure out the locations, restaurants and lakes that had mattered to Sonia the most and had visited them all in a space of two evenings; yet Sonia remained unreachable.

“She’s not returned for days, Emily.” a frail voice startled Emily. She looked up at the familiar face of Mrs Duke glaring down at her, a pan of pastries in her hands. She stood erect and propped her leather jacket, feigning a smile. “You were the very one I was waiting for. Have you heard from my dear Sonia? My pancakes had no one to devour them for days now.” she lamented in a sulky tone; her shoulders hanging low.

Emily recalled several moments she would walk into Sonia’s office as she settled her bag down on the office desk. She’d often pluck out a wrapped piece of buttermilk pancakes and coffee, taking huge chunks out of it before responding to Emily’s greetings. 

“Wow!” Emily smiled wryly. “I was well aware of the times you would drop a bowl of food for Sonia when I come visiting sometimes, but … the pancakes? I had no idea.” she admitted, chuckling softly.

Mrs Duke smiled sheepishly, her heart swelling. “Of course, that’s me.” she beamed, her cheeks raised proudly. “I can always tell Sonia to save some for you whenever she is about to leave for work.”

“That wouldn’t be necessary.” Emily reassured, engulfing her demeanor with a plastic smile.

“I’m just worried about the fact that …” Sonia trailed off, realising how wrong it was to disclose the news of Sonia’s weird disappearance to Mrs Duke. Though she only visited Sonia’s apartment once in a while, she knew the popularly withheld opinion about Mrs Duke—she makes a mountain out of a molehill.

“Worried about Sonia?” Mrs Duke inquired, her eyes widening with curiosity. 

“It’s …” Emily stammered and took slow steps backwards. “… it’s nothing.”

She turned around and trotted towards the main gate. Her heart began to race wildly as she began to think of the possible things that could have happened to Sonia. Understanding how poorly Sonia reacts to discouraging situations, Emily tried to fight against the urge of assuming she had been kidnapped.

Or raped. Or killed.

She shook her head violently, muffling a shrug as she exited the building; her conflicted thoughts wondering about where next she was going to search for Sonia.

••

Dele stirred his eyes open lazily, squinting them as he tried to peer into the dark. He closed his eyes, succumbing his vision to the phosphenes. He fluttered them open again, and that was when he realized it was night time. He looked around and noticed his seatbelt was still strapped across his shoulder securely. The car’s ignition remained on and the engine throttled slowly.

He stared through the car window and realized he was actually moving. His hands were off the steering wheel, and his legs weren’t on the accelerator either. He took notice of the road he was driving along, and his eyes caught a glimpse of a steel bench by the right side of the road.

“Oh shit!” he cussed in a hush tone, finally realizing where he was. He stopped on the brake harshly, but his efforts proved abortive. He stared at the road and down the brake pad repeatedly as he continuously stepped on it.

That didn’t stop the car from moving.

He looked down the road and noticed a figure clad in a white gown crossing the road and towards the other side. He remained still, beads of sweat dominating his forehead. Suddenly, the car stopped moving. He stared at the steering wheel and then the brakes, surprised by the bizarre situation that had just occurred. He stared up and noticed the figure standing just a few feet away from his car, its eyes which were actually sunken holes of a dried skull staring at him; the void in its hollow eye sockets swiveling into total darkness.

Dele screamed as he jerked right up, a cold sensation engulfing his entire body. He stared down at himself and realized he was shirtless. It took him a while to realize it was all a dream, as he kept inspecting his body. His skin has excreted so much sweat it has bathed his entire body and also got the bedspread wet. He stared at the window, heaving a sigh of relief.

“How did I fall asleep?” he thought aloud as he got up from his bed, tiptoeing towards the kitchen. Having his mother walk up to him in the kitchen and scold him for not having dinner before dozing off was a scenario he was trying to avoid; hence the tiptoe.

After a successful attempt of dishing his meal, Dele settles on the sofa and turns on the TV. His hand toyed with the fork as it poked through the deep dish pizza. Sonia wasn’t in any way going to leave his thoughts or his dreams anytime soon and he was aware of that. His mind raced back to the bag he had retrieved from the hospital which the doctor had said to have all of her belongings in it.

“Just maybe … I might find a lead.” he soliloquised, still toying with the pizza with the cutlery in hand.