Friday, 8th January, 2016.
I received a call from my mother. I rarely received calls from her on my personal line when I was at work so I was surprised.
"Good afternoon, maami."
I sat up in my chair and wondered if he was about to announce their divorce. I couldn’t say that it would come as a surprise to me but I wondered how Laide would cope. I took in a deep breath and slowly released it. “I’ve been diagnosed with Hepatitis, it is a liver infection.”Dad and mom glanced at each other before he continued.
Saturday, 5th February 2016.I could not bear to suffer alone in silence at my house anymore. I decided to visit Lara, she lived not too far from my place. I laid on her sofa with my head on her knees as I cried miserably. I told her about my father’s diagnosis and she was just as shocked as I was when I first heard of it. “I don’t e
Meanwhile, somewhere in Lagos.Bayo ignored the first few rings of his mobile phone and focused his attention on the TV screen. His phone rang again and he groaned in annoyance. “What is it, Tega?” He growled when he picked up the phone.
Wednesday, 17th February 2016.I had walked as far as possible but I couldn’t find her. I hoped Laide would come to my place that night but I couldn’t just sit around and wait for her to show up. I sighed and ran my hands over my face as I fought back tears. I couldn’t imagine where she could be. She didn’t go out often so there weren’t many places she could’ve gone to.
Later that night, I sat down for a long talk with Laide after the disappearing act she pulled. I knew it was a difficult time for the whole family but she needed to learn how to handle problems with more maturity than that. She narrated her ordeal, about how she wandered and got stranded in an unfamiliar place without money. She met someone who helped her get home and I was grateful to the person.
I tried hard to believe her, I really did. She pushed me towards the kitchen where we grabbed a pack of juice to go along with the snacks and watched a few episodes from a comedy series to get rid of the gloomy mood. When we were through, I returned to the bedroom to finish packing my suitcase and Lara joined me. "What're you up to?" She asked“My boss has to be in Abuja by Sunday and I
Saturday, 20th February 2016. I stared down at the envelope I held in my hands. I couldn’t believe that he had the nerve to ask such a thing of me.“Please, I want you to think about it. We were friends once before we tried to be more. We can remain friends, can't we?” He pleaded.
Sunday, 21st February 2016.The Murtala Mohammed Airport was full of travellers that day. When we got through luggage check and had gotten our boarding pass, I waited anxiously for the time to board the plane. “Attention please, this is the last call for all passengers headed to Abuja, please proceed to the gate.”