CHAPTER TEN

Patricia thought she would finally have another decent sleep. Unlike every night after the incident, when she has constantly had nightmares. The past few days since she came to Ghana has been good for her mind until tonight. She finds herself in front of the courtyard. Barrister Fasasi is not with her this time; she is all alone. The women are throwing stones at her instead of garbage like the other day. She is running for her life but the women are determined to stone her to death. She ran until she got to an end point; a big wall she could not jump. It was at this point she screamed out of her sleep.

She opened her eyes to find Maame Serwa who was snoring beside her. She reached for the water jug beside the bed but it was empty. She went into the kitchen to take some water then to the sitting room. There she found her brother watching the television. She looked at the time it’s past two. It’s late and he is still watching the television. She walks towards him. She does not want to distract him but she wasn’t smart enough; he noticed her presence.

“Why are you up?” He asked “I should also ask you that too.” She responded “Am sleeping here tonight. Harley and I had a fight.”

“Why?” She asked.

“Because of Sanjana”

“Who is Sanjana?”

Sanjana is an Indian lady, Nana Kwame met in New Delhi when he traveled there. The lady loves Africa so much that she became fond of him and even came with him to Ghana to start a new life there. Though she did not come only because she loves Africa. She also had other reasons and Nana Kwame knows. As an agent, she spied on an Indian Don who deals on drugs. She was spying because the man is committing so many atrocities with no link, trace or proof that would lead to his arrest. She was hired to do the job through a friend who is a police officer. The job was successful but after the whole process, the man and his goons found out her part in it all. They threatened to kill her so she planned her escape. She met Nana Kwame in the process of trying to leave the country.

Harley thinks it’s inappropriate for her husband to be friends with a lady and also bring her to their home. Nana Kwame sees nothing wrong in what he did. He only helped Sanjana fulfill her dream of coming to Africa. Because of Harley, Nana Kwame took Sanjana to his penthouse not far away from the lake Bosomtwe. But women are known to be jealous when they know of another woman in their man’s life other than them. This reminds her so much of how jealous she was when Sammy had Lisa. She did not know much about Harley because they haven’t got the time to hang out or chat.

Harley is volunteering in an NGO. That took most of her time. And whenever she comes back, she assists Maame Serwa in the kitchen. Their conversation about Harley and Sanjana has made Nana Kwame forget he asked a question. She was glad he did because she does not know what to tell him. If she told him about the nightmare, it would probably lead to another round of questioning which will lead to the expose about the secret she is still keeping. She said she did sleep in the living room because Maame Serwa was snoring. They both agreed to sleep in the living room eventually. She slept on the sofa while Nana Kwame slept on the rug. They haven’t even gone deep asleep yet when she screamed out of her sleep again. Nana Kwame jumped and rushed to her. He made her sit, gave her water from the jug.

“Are you okay?” He asked after she became calm.

Patricia shook her head positively. But she is not okay. The nightmare is making her shake. She is getting used to them but this one is different. It was Sammy. Sammy was chasing her. He was stained from head to toe in his own blood. He kept chasing her around the house asking why she did that to him. And asking her to come along with him. She pleaded with him stating that she dint do anything. The dream frightens her that she dint know she was already speaking out loud. “I Didn’t do it,” She said.

“Something is wrong, Akwete.” Nana Kwame stated as he tries to read her expression. “Ever since you came back, I knew something is up. Spill it out right now, idiot.” He said authoritatively.

Patricia bursts into tears burying her face in his chest. “It’s fine, tell me about it.” He added patting her shoulder. She narrated everything that happened in the past few days to her brother and how she could not sleep because she constantly has nightmares. Nana Kwame told her not to tell Maame Serwa or Harley about it. He also helped her go back to sleep. He promised to take her to a doctor in the morning. She was lucky to have come when Nana Kwame took sabbatical leave from work. Had it been when he travels. She would have no one to confide in.

The next morning Nana Kwame took her to the hospital. He told the house he was going to register her for anti-natal. The doctor prescribed some medicine and also advised her to stop being overwhelmed in her thoughts. Those things could make her get more nightmares.