One dark and stormy night, the wind howled through the trees like an angry spirit, and the rain lashed against the earth with relentless fury. Broken only by intermittent flashes of lightning, the twisted shapes of the gnarled branches outside were illuminated, enveloping the sky in inky blackness. The air was heavy with the scent of wet earth. Contributing to the ominous atmosphere was another distant rumble of thunder.
The darkness seemed to swallow all sound, creating an eerie silence interrupted only by the occasional passing vehicles. It was a night that seemed to carry the weight of untold secrets and hidden fears, a night when one’s imagination could run wild with the possibility of unseen horrors lurking just beyond the edge of visibility.
Kanye drove smoothly through the road. He took a swift turn around the roundabout to the right, passing the City gate, which led to the central area of Abuja.
The streetlights highlighted the sheets of rain sweeping sideways in the wind.
Kanye sat in the driver's seat while he drove. His eyes focused on the wet, empty road. The streetlights glimmered through the tinted window glasses.
Micheal sat next to him in the passenger's seat. The thoughts of Susanne's wife scattered his mind in a riddle as his empty eyes focused on nothingness. Micheal could not understand. It baffled him how she knew he went to see Camilla. It must be Cryst. He guessed. Knowing how nasty his younger sister can be. But that wasn’t the bone of contention. What disturbed Michael even more was Camilla. They searched the airport and didn’t meet her. Her phone was also switched off. It had been hours, and he didn't know about her whereabouts. Not even a call or a text. However, Micheal left her a couple of messages.
A loud rumble of thunder hit the sky as a sky quakes from heaven's roar in the distance, flashing like paparazzi taking unexpected photographs. Looking through the transparent windows, Micheal’s gaze caught the streak of lightning but he didn’t hear the thunder because it was too far away.
The air was heavy with the scent of wet earth and the distant rumble of thunder added to the ominous atmosphere. Somehow, the lightning threatened to take out an old oak tree that stood by the side of the road.
“Sir! Don’t sleep. Sir!” She tapped him on the shoulders while Micheal tried opening his eyes but he only gasped in reply.
“Sir, wake up. We can still make it out alive. Don’t sleep, sir!” Susanne yelled at his hearing. With all her strength, she pulled his body from his smokey car, but while doing that, a single bullet whizzed at her. She turned back, and it struck her in the back.
“Kanye.” Micheal gasped. A single tear rolled down his eyes.
“Uh?” Kanye replied, still focused on the driving.
“Stop the car, please.”
Kanye stepped on the brake, and the car came to a halt. He couldn’t help but worry about his friend Micheal, who watched the wall of trees as they danced to the tune of the wind.
The darkness seemed to swallow all sound, creating an eerie silence interrupted only by the occasional creaking of the trees and roaring thunderclap.
“Does it bring your memory back to that night's incident?” He asked. “How was Susanne 3 years ago?”
An endless swath of vibrant blue and a temporary break in the humidity suddenly made him feel like Susanne stood there. He couldn’t help but remember the first day they met. How she shivered helplessly under the rain. How she defended him from the impersonators and shot their legs. Micheal remembered vividly, just like yesterday. How she took a bullet for him. He wondered how that selfless girl had now grown into a greedy witch.
The memory came as a flashback.
A stifling wave of fear swept over Micheal, while his knee trembled below. Kanye didn’t notice. Only Micheal felt the shivering in his bones. Once she passed out, he remembered vividly that the ambulance came for him. And when Micheal woke up in the sick bed three days after the incident, he met himself alone in the ward.
“Oh, he’s awake! He’s awake!” A petite nurse checking on his drip, calmly blushed.
She turned to call the doctor when he clasped her hand. Like his life depended on her.
“What? What is it, sir?” she frowned upon him.
Her eyes searched his for quick answers. Micheal had been in a vegetable state for 3 days. She wondered why he was yet, so strong.
“You.” Micheal looked at the strange nurse as though she was the one. But she wasn’t. “Where is that lady?”
“Which lady?” the nurse scowled.
“The one that saved my life at the incident.” He held onto his head as a sharp pain struck him hard. She was in a wet, white dress. Yes, he remembered.
“You were alone at the incident. They found two police impersonators shot in the leg and they’re arrested now. There was no lady at the scene, sir.” The nurse finally let go of her hand. His grip loosened to the last word she uttered.
As Micheal took a sharp breath in, his heart exploded in his ribcage. It was unbelievable. ‘Was she still there? Or did someone else find her?’
Micheal’s chin trembled as tears filled his eyes, unable to wrap his mind around the situation. His vision turned blurry. She was a stranger. He didn’t even know her name. They only met briefly, but Michael couldn’t pull the tears back, though he tried hard.
“Don’t worry, just lay down for a bit. I’ll call the doctor right away.” She helped him lie on the bed and hurried out to alert the doctor on duty.
Tears poured from Micheal's eyes like a thunderstorm when he found out she wasn't at the hospital. Drenching his cheeks and leaving him gasping for breath. The thought of Susanne dying haunted him for weeks. After being discharged, Micheal began searching for her until he eventually located her.
“Susanne must have forgotten everything.” Micheal watched the silent night through the window as he explained and sighed. “Sometimes, I wonder if she didn’t remember me or if she’s just a different person. But Susanne was the lady... And she has forgotten.”
Tears stung Kanye’s eyes, but he dared not to cry. He silently pondered, his jaws tightly clenched.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Micheal said with a sigh and looked away. “Let’s go.”
Later that evening, Susanne sat in front of her three-faced mirror, gently combing her hair. Her reflection on it looked as beautiful as ever. In front of the standing mirror were her body lotion, perfumes, and some makeup kit.
After she came back from Jabi Late, Susanne came home, had a shower, and ordered Musimbi to prepare pounded yam and Egusi soup, which was Micheal’s favorite. Then she sat in the room, hoping he would return home. Susanne was a pretty lady with a novel structural face and pretty enormous eyes. It was because of her magnificence and connections that got an offer from a multi-billionaire fashion and beauty company. Even as a model, and a wife of a billionaire, she still felt something about her was amiss. The thought that Micheal went after other women tormented her. And there might be no way to break through. “What if he sends me out and packing? What if Micheal divorces me?” Susanne contemplated, staring at her reflection.
She swallowed on her saliva, and her slim, long fingers crawled to her chest of drawers. Susanne pulled out one and there was a picture in it. A picture of a lady with a sticking resemblance to her. One would think it was Susanne in her younger years. The only difference was that Susanne had braided her natural hair in cornrows, and the lady in the picture appeared a bit more miserable than elegant.
Susanne picked up the picture and gazed at it a little more. She looked prettier even without makeup products on. Lost in thought, Susanne’s gaze rose to the mirror, watching herself. The boney-tail wig on her made her look like a foreign woman. The red lipstick she was addicted to was also just a fortune.
“Fortune,” Susanne emphasized with a smirk of self-confidence. “That is what makes me unique.”
YOU ARE READING
Replica: Crazy Versus Smart (Nigerian Story)
Mystery / ThrillerSusanne Fashorun, a woman who marries into the wealthy Balogun family, is rejected by her arrogant CEO husband and treated as a slave. Despite being his wife, Micheal Balogun refuses to share his bed with her, leaving Susanne to accept a life of lux...
