Broken Idols - Season 1

Episode 10

Ruky waved Asieduwaa off and stood facing the door alone in silence. She was so gripped with terror and the shock of being visited by the “tattooed man in red”, that she did not find any will within her to enter her own room. ‘How did he find me? Who told him I was in Kumasi? What does he want from me?’ she thought. She turned around to check the street and saw Asieduwaa buying porridge near a taxi rank at the junction at the end of Sarpong Drive. ‘’He won’t harm me if I have company,” she told herself and shook her head. “I don’t think so. Yes. I should call Asieduwaa back.” She called Asieduwaa on the phone and waited for her to answer, but a question hit her and she hesitated.

“What if it’s not ‘him’?” she muttered to herself. “What if it’s just some coincidence?” Unfortunately, the words she was telling herself were nothing compared to what had registered within her. Deep inside, she feared her guess about the identity of the guest was very right. Instantly, she devised a plan.

“Asieduwaa,” she said when Asieduwaa answered the call. “Are you returning anytime soon?”

“Ah! Why are you calling me on the phone when I am not far away?”

“Listen to me. I am not sure all is well under my roof.” Ruky kept silent for a moment and listened. She heard a table move inside her hall. “If you hear any sound – anything strange, unusual or alarming, please don’t hesitate to come to my aid or call the police. Please don’t ask any questions. Just do what I’ve told you.”

Asieduwaa paused for a moment before replying, “OK. I’ve heard you. I wish I knew what was going on. You’re scaring me. I hope it’s not a joke.”

“Please look out for me. Please,” Ruky quickly whispered and hung up. The next thing she did was to call Mike, but there was no reply. She left him a message asking him to call back, took a deep breath and opened the door.

The lights were out and the curtains had been pulled down to block the lights from outside the windows, casting the room into darkness. Ruky’s heart was beating fast as she stood in the doorway blankly scanning the darkness with dilating pupils. She groped around the wall searching for the switch, but froze when a slight movement caught her eye. Whoever was in the room was breathing loud, and Ruky thought she heard the sound of knuckles cracking one by one. Another movement caught her eye, and this time she saw a silhouette against the little light glowing in the curtain before her – a silhouette of the person sitting slowly in the sofa near the wall before her.

The table moved again, and the screeching sound startled Ruky. Suddenly, she felt her sweat pores opening and a bead of sweat slid down her forehead and onto her nose. She gulped and shut her eyes, silently praying. An uneasy silence that lasted for three minutes followed, and by the time it elapsed, Ruky was already sweating profusely.

“Don’t you care to see who is in your room?” the man’s deep voice broke the silence. “Turn on the lights. Close the door”

Ruky sighed, shut the door behind her and slowly pushed the switch. The effect of the light on the man appeared to her as though he had just appeared in the room out of nowhere, and she yelped and stepped backward. It was even eerier because her eyes met his gaze as though he had been watching her in the dark all along. “You…” she whispered at ogled at the man in shock. “So it’s you.”

The man blinked and stared back. “You have no idea how mad I am at you,” he boomed and sat up with a menacing look in his eyes.