GHOST (The Shadow in the Dark)

Part Thirty Eight

    I felt heat all over my body. I hoped I survived the night without breaking my promise to grandma. I bent my head feeling shy that he must have seen my reaction to his statement.
“I want to make you legally mine Ella. Marry me.”
“Things doesn’t work like that Saheed, your sister called you Saheed.”
“How do things work?” He ignored the name I called him and focused on the first thing I said.
“I need to see your face first, let’s start with that.”
“I want to show you my face but I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because you need to learn how to use your gift.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My Kung Fu master once told us about an ancient Chinese belief. He said an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break. Most times, they recognize each other when they meet. Ella we are connected by that invisible thread and your body recognised me immediately we met. Your body is powerful and you need to see it as a gift and learn how to use it.”
“Are you saying I’m not normal?”
“Every human being has a distinctive feature, some are minor while some are major but only a few percent discover that thing that makes them unique and a fewer percent see it as a gift, while most disregard it. Your body is very powerful and it has a voice, you need to learn how to listen to it.”
“So you want me to accept your marriage proposal and marry you without seeing who I’m marrying?”
“No, I want you to allow your body speak, accept the proposal based on what your body says and you will see me. You need to trust your body and I promise you will be happy you did.”
“I don’t want to lie or pretend to you. My body is already screaming yes, my body even wants to be enclosed by you. I feel we are right now far from each other and my body cannot imagine a life without you, but it sounds scary. I have to accept to marry who I can’t see, what if you are ugly?”
But he started laughing.
“So you are no longer about the tribe but my face. If you see me and discover I’m not as handsome as Ken, then I can wear a mask and you can pretend you never saw me, but can you just listen to your body, trust that your body knows you will accept my real face. Emmanuella, you need to use this gift.”
“I don’t know, it’s scary.”
“That’s why I have to introduce you to my world. I want to let you see how my world looks like, see it and decide if you can live there, that should be enough to convince you and remove your fears.”
“How? You are taking me to meet your family?  I don’t think that’s a good idea. They hate me.”
“No they don’t.”
“They do Ghost, your sister will never accept me, she…”
He pulled me to him and made me sit between his legs.
“I know, somehow, I was aware of what was happening around my environment. I was relieved when Wild told you to run. I wouldn’t have survived if she had hurt you. I’m sorry for her behavior, she is also very protective of me.”
“I hope you did not quarrel with her?”
“No. We quarrel a lot but not concerning something like this.”
I did not know the answer to expect but I just did not like his answer.
“So you would have been okay if she had killed me?”
“No, I would have not survived to start with. The reason I fought to stay alive was because of you Emmanuella. Everyone has a way of reacting to situations. I’m happy Mark stopped her.”
“She came to the river yesterday…”
“I also know that. I read your message and it was same for me. Life was meaningless without you. I am happy you sent that message because it was what prompted Wild to send them to check up on you. I was not allowed to move out, even now they are still concerned that I left. I only survived because I could still monitor your activities.”
“How?”
“Your phone and my eyes in the sky?”
“What’s that?”
“Emmanuella, the important thing is that they were there in time to save you. I would have made their death painful if they had touched you.”
He had ignored my question again.
“But you don’t get it. She almost attacked me again and she crushed the little hope I was hanging on.”
“I know Emmanuella, she was still angry because I wanted to come when you sent that message. I was restrained and they were sent instead of me. She was pissed off because I’m still not hundred percent back but they all gave up restraining me after you landed at your school health service and after I told them how much you mean to me. I had kept it away from them because I wanted to tell them on the day I will introduce you.”
“I don’t understand what you mean by how much I mean to you.”
But he still ignored me.
“My sister wants to meet you and apologize and give you back your hand band.”
“I don’t believe you.”
He kissed my hair.
“Tell me more about yourself.”
“No, you said you were going to introduce me to your family, today is about you.”
“I know what I said, but first tell me more about your dream.”
I paused to gather my thoughts.
“I just had only one dream and still have it, just a bit confused if I will still pursue it.”
“Tell me.”
“Ibrahim wanted to become a lawyer and help the poor by defending them in court. After he died, it became my dream to fulfill his dream. I wrote Jamb thrice but always got another course. I had to accept the last one because I wanted something to distract me, but with the mind to switch to law. But I’m feeling it’s time to let Ibrahim go.”
“Why?”
“Are you seriously asking why?”
“Yes, cause I don’t know.”
“It’s because I met you, you filled my emptiness more than Ibrahim. I have not yet decided but that was my dream, I have no other…”
I paused.
“Now I want to be with, just confused about the part where you are still a stranger.”
He did not reply but brought out a big tablet from his legendary back bag. He inserted something into both my ears.
“It sounds better with two ears.”
He played a video and gave me the tab to hold.
“Meet my family and my world. I am about to show you my weakness, I will rather show you my face than show you my world when I’m not sure if you will want to be part of it. But I’m doing this because you have to know the only reason I don’t want to show you my face is because you must learn to allow your body speak. This is like revealing my nakedness to you, I’m giving you the only weapon you can use to kill me Emmanuella.”
He had paused the video when he was talking. He played it again.
  The first thing I saw was what looked like a hospital room.
“That’s one year and some months ago. The arrival of AI, the first of her kind.”
The room was large but the masculine filled room was making it look crowded. I could see their faces, unlike that night when events clouded my sight. There was a lady resting her back on the bed. One of the huge men was carrying the baby
“That’s the dad.”
I turned to look at him.
“This huge man is married to this lady?”
He chuckled.
“Beast you have been staring at her for like thirty minutes, what’s up?”
I was sure that was Wild.
“Yes he is Wild.”
He was different from Beast. Beast was fair but Wild was dark. They were all surrounding the baby. I tried to locate Ghost, he must have forgotten he was there but I was disappointed, his face was blurred.
“Well done.”
“Thank you” he replied my sarcasm.
“She is mine right?”
Beast also had a baritone voice but it sounded emotional.
“No, she fell from the sky.”
It was the dark and beautiful lady on the bed who replied him. She was Hausa. Her face said it all.
It was as if the camera was placed to oversee the room but shifted like someone was videoing them. I wonder how they did it.
“Beast can I?”
“Fast” Ghost said before I could ask.
I was right, he was neither huge nor lanky, muscled and in-between, his brown T-shirt clung to his muscled chest. He was the only one with little beards. He was also dark.
“Don’t touch her” Beast warned.
“Wild do something, which kind wahala be this?” Ghost said.