Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Salamat woke up to the beep of her phone. It was half-past 5 am. She opened her message box and saw that the first one was from the network provider while the second and third was from a strange number.

She remembered what happened the night before and felt cold all of a sudden.

She opened the message and it reads, "Salamat, thank you for today. I want to see you, there is something I must tell you and it's about Raliat. It is a matter of life and death. I would really appreciate it if we can see as soon as possible before it is too late. I will send you the address in the next message."

Salamat was agitated. The message must be from Ayoade. She quickly jumped down from the bed and rushed to the bathroom. She eased herself, brushed her teeth, and performed ablution before going back to her room to observe her morning prayer.

Immediately after her prayer, she rushed back to the bathroom to take her bath. By the time she was done, it was already 6:30 pm.

She picked up her school bag and her big traveling bag and went out to the sitting room. She didn't want her parents to know where she was going. She was going to tell them she was going to Shika. After leaving Ayoade's place, she would leave for Shika afterward.

She knocked on her parent's door and told them she was going to Shika already, without opening their door.

"So early?" Her mother asked

"Yes, mum. There is something I need to do there", she lied. The very first time she would lie to her parents in a while. Her mother opened the door and hugged her before badding her goodbye.

Her father was still sleeping.

She took a commercial bus to the school main gate and took a bike to Cochin church according to the address. She alighted from the bike and paid the bike man, then carried her bag and moved close to the big gate by the other side of the junction.

She checked the message again and confirmed that it was the place. The gate was painted in deep green. She knocked on the gate and discovered that the small gate was open.

She pushed it open and ventured into the big compound. All the apartments were numbered and there were just 4 apartments altogether. She checked the message again to confirm the room number.

It was the first room. She knocked on the door of the apartment while admirring the uniqueness of the building and also the display of different kinds of flowers in front of the second apartment which was beside Bimpe's.

There was no response, so she knocked again.

She unlocked her phone and dialed the number that sent the message but it was unreachable. The compound was too quiet for her liking and she felt uneasy again, just like the day before.

She touched the doorknob unconsciously and the door opened. She felt relieved and carried the bag she dumped on the floor before moving to enter the apartment.

"Brother Ayoade", she called as she closed the door behind her.

Ayoade was laying on the bed with his back to the bed. The room was dark and she moved closer. Then she noticed he was in his shorts only. She didn't know what to do. She stood still and was about to call him again, but this time more loudly when she noticed the redish colour on the bedspread and even on the floor.

In fear, she rushed to the bed and saw the several cuts on Ayoade's neck.

"No", she said repeatedly as she trembled. She shook his body but there was no response.

His body was cold and stiff.

"No", tears spilled from her eyes as she screamed and fell on her buttocks.

*****

Bimpe looked at the watch on her wrist. It was 7 am.

She stood up, stretched, and yawned loudly, attracting the attention of the two students in front of her and the guy sleeping beside her.

She was in one of the small classes in her department. She had gone there the night before to read for her test that morning without distraction.

The test was at 9 am and she needed to be home on time in other not to be late for the test. She packed her books after glaring at the guy who hissed at her for interrupting his sleep with her loud yawn.

She was tempted to insult him, but she gave it a second thought. She was in no good mood for that.

The guy had entered the class after she had settled down to start reading. Bimpe observed that he only read for an hour or two before laying down on the bed, where he slept all through the night.

He woke up around 5:30 am for the early morning prayers and read for 30 minutes again before laying down again on the bench to sleep.

Bimpe wondered if he had sleeping sickness. What then was the essence of coming to class when he knew he was going to sleep? She asked within her.

Bimpe suddenly felt proud of herself. She had done TDB (Till Day Break) without sleeping a wink, even though she felt the urge to drop her book and have a good sleep around 3 am.

All her body ached but the two guys in front of her were motivating her to keep going from the way the two of them were seriously flipping through the pages of their handout every minute.

She put her books inside her bag and her earpiece which was on the table. The earpiece had assisted her in blocking the unpleasant snoring coming from the obnoxious guy beside her. She played some music on her phone and inserted the earpiece.

She remembered what happened at that instance and hissed as she moved away. She couldn't help but voice out the insult she had been holding in.

"Snoring animal", she muttered as she walked out of the class.

As she stepped out of the class, she noticed the sun was already out, which shows how sunny the day would be.

She trekked to the school main gate so she could take a bike home. She was unable to secure a bike on time and she hissed severally in frustration.

Ten minutes later, a bike man stopped in front of her with a grin.

"Where to?", he inquired, still grinning, showing his kola nut-stained teeth.

"Cochin church", Bimpe replied, looking at him suspiciously.

"Muje (Let's go)" he told her.

Bimpe was hesitant. "He seems harmless. Maybe he just likes me."

She discovered that men that were out of her league were the ones showing interest in her and it always infuriated her. She was still thinking of how to use the situation to her advantage.

She smiled back at him and board the bike. She knew within her that she was an opportunist lady.