Improvised Plan #ProjectNigeria

24- Bared

Songs: Feel by Fireboy DML; Lips on You by Maroon 5; Lust For Life by Lana Del Ray x The Weeknd; whatever song you feel will suit this chapter, suggest it right here!

Saheed:

"Hi, there," Ola greets me with a half-smile.

Her hair is still in the bun, except that there are now a few rogue strands curling upwards. Make up wiped off, jumpsuit gone. The matching green checkered pajamas she is wearing reminds me of mine back at the hotel.

"Can I come in?"

She steps away from the door, allowing me to cross over the threshold. I shut the door behind me and stand right in front of it, asking myself if I am intruding or not. The questions are valid, considering how I had brushed her off nearly two hours ago.

"I'm sorry."

She seats herself on one of the sofas facing me. Her expression is a mix of amusement and curiosity. "For what?"

We both know what I'm talking about, but it seems Ola will not let it slide easily.

"For the way I acted towards you. You were trying to help, but I was too bent on being an asshole."

"Is that what you came all the way from Lagos Island to the Mainland to tell me?"

"I want to explain myself to you, Ola. What David said I did was true, but I was unaware of the relationship."

Ola folds her arms, her face now thoughtful. I stand there, feeling like a specimen under the scrutinizing, magnified gaze of a microscope.

"I don't know what to say, Saheed."

Isn't that worse, her silence? Won't her words, whatever side they lean towards, be better?

Ola, judge me. Please.

"Won't you have a seat?"

"That would be nice, yes. Thank you."

Seated on the sofa opposite her, I lean forward. We watch each other for a minute, saying nothing. I know she is waiting for me to say more, but what else do I have to say? I feel like somehow, she is already thinking the worst of me. So, I might as well tell her as it is.

"I admit I tend to live life on the edge sometimes. It was the only way I could feel alive."

"At the expense of other people, sometimes," she says softly.

"My parents, my sister Amina, Maduka and Nwanyieze, David and Chidera. And Lord knows who else is out there."

"Is everything okay, Saheed? Besides this debacle with David tonight? You didn't seem to be yourself today."

This surprises me. I hadn't known she had observed. When did I become so easy to read?

"Do you know why I wore black today?"

Ola shakes her head.

"Today is Ibrahim's death anniversary. Today, eighteen years ago, my brother gave in to my pleas and disobeyed our mother with me. It cost him his life."

Ola senses I do not want to be interrupted, and so she remains silent.

"After my brother died, Ma started acting strange. First, she went mute, and then she started talking to herself. She'd cook meals and still leave a plate for Ibrahim. She still stood at the bottom of the stairs to call him to come down for his meals. Some days, she would tell me, to go and find him. 'Find your brother, and don't come back to me without him. His food is getting cold. His assignments are undone. His dirty shoes need to be cleaned'. Other days, she seemed to look past me. Baba stayed out more often, and started coming home late."