Chapter 27: August Visitor
'Felix dear, listen to me. I have a really interesting story to tell you . I believe that it will go a long way to explaining what happened to us and why I don't really feel like I betrayed you. How could I when I was not in my right senses?' Gift pleaded.
'Oh, I see you must have been drunk when you did it. That's why you should not be held accountable. Right?' he asked sarcastically.
'Oh please, you know what I am talking about. But promise not to interrupt me until I am through with my incredible story except where absolutely necessary', she implored.
Felix felt there was really no need for that since she owed him no explanation but he had often wondered what had gone wrong with the sweet relationship they had. He had often secretly blamed himself, thinking that he had not satisfied her as well as he had thought he had and the way he had been prideful of doing. So if for nothing else, he just wanted to satisfy his conscience and male ego, that the fault had actually not been his. And if it were his fault in any way, he still wanted to know for posterity purposes.
'You don't owe me any explanations', he said 'its your life and you are free to live it as you deem fit but if you insist and if it is any consolation, I am all ears and I promise not to interrupt you till you finish with your narration', he volunteered.
'I met Samuel, that's the man who took me from you, in a drug store just off he road leading to our village. He owned the shop and my elder brother Alex had sent me to get him some drugs from Sam's drug store. Sam smiled at me and made some jokes which I humoured him by laughing at just to be polite. After that day, anytime we saw, he would make one joke after another. I did not take these meetings and jokes seriously. To me they were harmless and the meetings coincidental. One day after getting some drugs from him, he refused to take money from me and explained it out as a friend helping out another. When I told him the drugs were not mine but my brother's, he said it all amounted to the same thing since my brother has the same blood running through his veins as I. He offered me some sweets when I accepted the drugs from him without payment. He said the sweets were a token of his friendship. I took the sweets and left the store with the drugs I had come to buy. Along the way, I saw Amanda, my friend. We started chatting and I forgot how I got the sweets and my plan of giving them to some children in the compound where I lived and I threw one into my mouth and offered Amanda the other'.
After that I realised that I was no longer feeling indifferent towards Sam and even Amanda had nice things to say about him. Amanda who was adamant I should marry you and no one else started singing glowing praises of the man and having been made to feel favourably towards him, I welcomed all suggestions that favoured him and got angry at who ever spoke against him. That was the begining of my tale of woe. He reinforced my vulnerable state by being extremely generous to me and I started competing with the big girls in school and everywhere. I wore the latest and most sophisticated clothes. He made me believe that my beauty had been hidden so long with the drab clothes I wore and he wanted to spoil me silly'.