Tomi
The letter slowly slipped out of my hands, my face was drenched with tears and i wish i could see Dantata right then to give him a tight hug. He had been through so much in his young life but he doesn’t wear it on his sleeve. If he could go through all that and still maintain a smile on his face then it was time i stop seeing myself as a victim. The world owe me nothing and it was time i stand by my resolution. I wondered if it was too late for me, i wondered if Kelvin and i still had a chance, i grabbed my purse and ran out of the house. My mother was right, she had tried to speak some senses into me. Her words kept ringing in my mind.
” Tomi i know that you are lazy and you like to take your time when doing things but you can’t go about a relationship in such manner.” She had said, ” You don’t run at the first sight of trouble , it’s not a garden or bed of roses there’s bound to be obstacles and challenges but in the end all that will bing you both closer and it will make your love for each other wax stronger”
” Mom you don’t even know half of it or how complicated it is” i replied.
” Do you love him and has he been good to you?”
” well……”
” Yes or no?”
” Yes mom.”
” Then what are you still waiting for? we African women we fight for what belongs to us and we don’t mind getting some dirt on us to keep what is ours”.
I snapped out of my riverie. If Linda can fight dirty to get what she wants then i will too and by God i am not going to back down without a fight this time around.
” Please can you go faster?” i asked the cab driver.
” OK ma.” He answered.
*********************************************
I jumped out of the cab and raced for the gate. I pounded on the gate and it was opened by the gate man. I ignored his greetings and raced to the house, i ran into someone and stumbled backwards. He reached to steady me and instantly let go of my hand, his eyes widened in shock or fear.
” To…..Tomi” he stuttered moving backwards.
” Tosin, i mean Mr.Williams ” i said.” I am here to see Kelvin”
” God! Am i going mad?” He exclaimed. ” What are you doing here? how…..how could this be?” He kept moving backwards.” I am definitely hallucinating ”
” I don’t understand what you are saying. But i suppose you angry with me because i stopped coming to work without formally resigning. I apologize, i planned on bringing the letter this week”
” You…..you are not dead?”
” Dead?” I repeated. ” Why would you think so?”
” There….. there was an accident. The….the bus caught fire.”
” Accident? Fire? When?”
” My God! I …..I saw your…..your…..corpse with my own eyes”
” God forbid ” I shouted.” Tosin are you……are you alright?”
” You are…..you are not dead? then what the hell happened?”
” Where is Kelvin?” i asked.” Maybe you should explain what you are going on about to me”
” You ran out of here on that day, Kelvin and i followed you and we saw you got into a bus” he said, expelling out air. ” we followed the bus and the bus hit a lamp post and went up in flames”
” Oh my God!” I exclaimed, covering my mouth with my hands.” Yes i was in the bus but we were stuck in traffic and i got a call from my mom so i got down from the bus and took a bike instead. You thought that i was dead?”
He moved closer and drew me into his arms fiercely.
” Oh Tomi…..I am so relieved that you weren’t in the bus.” He abruptly pulled back.” We came to your house and we were told that you were being buried in Ibadan by two little boys”.
” Awww that was my aunt! i was named after her. No wonder Kelvin didn’t try to reach me.” I moaned.” Where is he?”
” Tomi a lot has happened in the last three weeks.”
” Is….is he alright?”
” He almost went crazy and….” He trailed off.
I made to run into the house but he held me back.
” Please tell me he’s fine!”
” He’s fine but he’s not here” he assured me.
” Why didn’t anyone contact me?”
” Tomi we thought you were dead! that would be the last thing on our minds but i tried your number for days to no avail.”
” Where is he? where?”
” On his way to the church”
That was when i took in what Tosin was putting on. He was dressed in a navy blue suit and he was groomed like he was going for his wedding.
” Why?” i cried out.” What is going on?”
” Come. Come with me, it is not too late after all”. he said.
To be continued..
