Binyelum

2 - The Haunted House and The Angelic Trespasser

Song: You and I by Onyeka Onwenu

Binyelum

"Yourself and who are going where to do what for who!?" Obi asked so loudly, my coworkers in the shop turned to us.

I lifted my hands from my sewing machine and shushed her. "Obiageli, reduce your voice now!"

"I'm sorry, it just sounded like you said yourself and Jama are going to the haunted Ndubuisi mansion to clean it for them because they're returning to the village." She whispered forcibly. "Are you both mad?"

"It's not a haunted mansion." I told her even though I wasn't all that convinced. "And It wasn't my idea. It was Jama's. He ran into Mazi Udoka outside the compound a few days ago and he volunteered himself to help."

Obiageli — Obi as we fondly called her was my second best friend. The third person in the group. Altough I met her after Jama, we'd all known each other since we were children. We attended and finished from the same school from primary and secondary school.

Obiageli was so beautiful, I envied her for looks and her personality. To me she was like a butterfly that would rivet everyone's attention. She always went out and socialised with people in the village. Whereas the only person I preferred to spend time with was Jama. Obiageli would try to get me to socialise more often, she would even try to matchmake me with boys our age but I would always refuse. Still she wouldn't relent, claiming I was wasting my youth and missing out on life's simple pleasure.

In so many ways, I dulled in comparison to Obiageli. We were polar opposites. She was fair in complexion, while I was a darker shade of caramel. She was standing at 5'9 inches tall, voluptuous with a body that caused an uproar amongst the boys and older men in the village meanwhile I was . At eighteen, Obiageli had broken so many hearts in the village. I even heard two of the king's sons had gotten into a tussle over her. Obiageli was just that special. I would look at her with so much admiration and envy. I wasn't a flat board, I had breasts that gave me discomfort in my back, decent curves but I had a smaller frame. I hardly got any attention from the opposite sex, though Obiageli swore it was because I was so introverted. Jama was the only boy in my life. Not that I wanted any special attention from anyone else. The thought of men chasing after me gave me anxiety.

Obiageli apprenticed at a local hair saloon and I apprenticed at a tailor's shop. Our workplaces weren't too far apart. She would come visit me at work every now and then. My boss wasn't around, in truth she was hardly ever around. It was usually just me and three other girls learning at the shop. I hardly talked to them, they weren't nice to me. I had overheard them a couple of times backbiting me, saying I was stuck up and proud. I never confronted them because I really didn't care.

"Wait, the same Mazi Udoka my neighbour who my parents make me and my siblings help with chores and errands?" Obi asked, wrinkling her brows in confusion.

I answered her with a nod. "He's a distant relative from chief's first wife's side. He's also the only relative the Ndubuisis have left in the village."

"Wow. So instead of talking your best friend out of stupidity, you joined him?" Obiageli asked. "What is wrong with you? Are you people mad?"

"Obi, to tell you the truth I really don't like it." I confessed to her, flipping the fabric I was working on over so I could stitch the other side. "But you know how Jama is stubborn. I tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't listen. So I just want to follow him because I want to make sure he's fine,"

"But isn't that mansion like haunted?" Obiageli said, her pretty face in a grimace. "They've buried so many people there I bet not even three feet of land is free of decayed corpse. What if you people go there and upset some spirits?"