PERFECT FLAWS

Carol

'I know you're Secret Siren. ' I announced, breaking the silence that surrounded us a while after the accident. 

Carol was overwhelmed with fright after I'd pulled her out of the road just in time before she could have been turned into a mushy mass by the fast-moving bus.

Soon after we recovered from our awkward position on the ground, no words were spoken between us. 

Until now.

Her breath caught as she whipped her  head to face me for a second before looking away.

'How did you find out?' She asked, rubbing her forearm slowly as she stared straight ahead. 

I went on to tell her about the dinner with my parents at Kelly's lounge.

'Honestly, of all people I expected to be there that night, you were the least of them.' Carol said when I was done narrating. I did well to leave out the details of my dad being on the run and the entire Seyi Badmus saga by keeping the explanation short and simple, but somehow, she didn't seem ready to let the matter go.

I replied, 'I know that. Actually, that was the first time I'd been to Kelly's. I'd love to go there again sometime though. '

'Maybe you could convince your parents to have another family night's out then.' Carol suggested, turning to look at me.

My face fell. If only she knew it wasn't as easy as it sounded. We would have family night's out every night if we could.

But we couldn't. Dad had to stay in hiding. Mother had to remain low-key and so did I.

Carol appeared to notice the change in my demeanor and asked, 'Hey. Did I say something wrong?'

'No, not really. Just... It's nothing. ' 

To steer the conversation away from me, I turned to Carol and asked.

'So, how did you become Secret Siren anyways? '

Carol and I walked on quietly for about a minute, my question left hanging in the humid air. I knew she heard my question and understanding how personal the question was, I knew it was better to let it go than pressuring her to reveal more than she was comfortable sharing.

Finally she spoke.
'I told you I live with my grandma, right?' 

'Uh-huh.' I nodded, urging her to go on.

'I've been living with my grandma for as long as l remember. All I have is a vague memory of my parents. When I asked my grandma about my parents, she told me they died in an accident when I was little. I remembered how broken I felt at the news. ' She relayed mournfully.

' It hasn't been easy, really. She'd always kept me hidden, locked away in the house like she was ashamed of me—ashamed of being associated with me.' 

I looked at Carol's sad face and glanced away. I wonder how hard it was for her, being locked in like that, like a prisoner, without any social interaction— all because she looked different. 

She cleared her throat and continued.

'She'd take me from churches to churches and from herbalist to herbalist every weekend and every other day. I drank different concotions, ate different herbs and different marks were incised all over my body. Strange relics decorated my waist, neck and wrist and most times I was left writhing in pain after being flogged with brooms during exorcism by different priests so the so called "demon" responsible for the growing patches in my skin and hair would leave my body. '
Her hand trailed a fading scar on her wrist, absentmindedly rubbing it while she spoke.