Chapter 1: CHAPTER ONE

It was afternoon already. She walked down the stairs to the courtyard of the guest house to catch glimpse of the full yellow sun. She walked the path to find a seat for herself close to the playground. She would sit there and admire the children’s delight. All she wanted was to sit, stretch her legs, raise her face and enjoy the warmth of the sun. But her wish fell apart when some teens rushed towards her chanting: The witch is here. She became so sad and unbalanced at the sight of this group. The chant continued and soon grew louder as they began throwing garbage at her; not even minding her heavy bump.

“I know you killed that innocent man in a cold blood! And that court ruling was born out of pure injustice,” one of them said.

She became scared and started trembling. She developed chills from within that even the scorching sun couldn’t control. She wished that she could disappear. The crowd soon dissipated but not until every one of them had dropped one or more insults at her. Barrister Fasasi was able to help her the day of the trial. He smuggled her out of the court room on the day of the hearing after the verdict was delivered. He promised her that the real truth would come out to the public soon and everyone would be sure of her innocence.

Barrister Fasasi was instrumental to her victory in the court. The short, bald, pot-bellied man walked her side by side out of the courthouse. He shielded her against the roaring crowd as they tried to attack from different angles.

“Don’t listen to them. This will continue for days. They’re just angry fans of his. Soon they will all understand your innocence.” He silently whispered into her ear as they walked slowly to safety until they managed to reach the car.

The driver speedily drove out as the mob rushed towards them buzzing like bees. The car almost hit an old woman who was trying to cross the road. She held her hands to her chest in shock as if that would save the impact. She rolled down the side window and gently popped her head out of the vehicle to apologize to the woman:

“I’m sorry, ma. Hope you’re not hurt?” She asked calmly. But the woman snapped at her.

“Do you want to kill me the way you killed your husband too?”

Like the Owu waterfalls, she could no longer control the tears spurting down her face. After that scene, she cried so much over the next few days. She wished all that had happened were mere dreams she could wake from.

“I’m not a murderer!” She said to herself to reaffirm her innocence. “I want myself to believe this is all a dream. The reality will soon come to light.” She asserted.

These and many more thoughts she sat thinking in solitude until Barrister Fasasi arrived. She welcomed him and narrated the mob incident to him with tears in her eyes. Barrister Fasasi held her close, hugged her and patted her back.

“All will be well my dear. Stop crying, it might affect the baby. Sammy wants you to be strong for him and the baby, you know.” He persuaded her calmly as usual.

She was amazed that Barrister Fasasi was not as frightened as she was. He had also been accused of manipulating the court proceedings in her favor as though he was the Judge or wrote the Criminal Codes of the land. Because of the assumed closeness he shared with her, people were raising immoral suspicions suggesting he was having a romantic affair with her. But Barrister Fasasi is only a family friend, a loyal friend to her late parents. And he has been so supportive since their departure. As unrealistic as it might be, the accusations Won’t stop coming. She cannot understand why. It all happened too fast; she thought. Just within a very short time frame, she was labeled a murderer and an infidel. How could people who barely know her hate her so much? Nobody wants to give her a fair hearing. They’ve all treated her badly. Even the ones she thought were on her side had turned against her. She was bustled into the police cell and treated unfairly even by the police officers.

She should be thankful that Barrister Fasasi was by her side. None of their friends; hers or Sammy’s, had visited her in the clink. Her best friend, Marie was the first person she called after the whole incident. She had promised she would come visit. She neither visited nor returned the call even after she broke down and was later admitted to the hospital. She had assured her of her full support and also promised to get her out of the mess.

Ever since her arrest, Barrister Fasasi has frequented the police station. Unlike others, he stood by her through the whole ordeal. He volunteered to become her lawyer without taking a pay. It is so unfair to see people treat such a good man this badly. She admits to see reasons as to why she gets labelled the way she does. But Barrister Fasasi doesn’t deserve this.

All she wants now is something to take her mind away from the current predicament. At least, something to make her stop thinking. She had tried to sleep, played music and even tried taking anti-depressants. She turned to look for the radio. Maybe listening to the news and talk shows will work magic this time, she thought. She picked the radio and tuned in. To her surprise, it was her story that was on the news. She is easily the talk of everyone on the street, in the news and also on gossip blogs and headlines. The other day, after leaving the court, Barrister Fasasi had suggested she lodge in a guest house to relax and clean up because of her condition. The distance to her house was also farther from the court premises. She would go home following day after all has been settled. On their way to the Guest house, her pictures were boldly captured on almost every newspaper on the vendor’s stall. One of them read:

JEALOUSY: HOW A POPULAR OAP MURDERED HER CELEBRITY HUSBAND

This trouble her all through the night. Barrister Fasasi had also noticed how deep in thought she had been he arrived. He brought her back to reality when he informed her about his main subject of visitation.

“You have to get some dresses from the market. You can’t keep wearing your old clothes, it kind of exposes your pregnancy, you know.”

“Of course, I will. I think I have some gowns that will work for this purpose in my wardrobe back home. Since, I will be going home soon, I don’t think rushing myself to the market will be necessary.” She replied.

“One of the reasons why I am here is to inform you about the court’s guidelines requesting that the police will intensify their investigation. The police have declared the house a crime scene and will impose a lock down order for further investigation.” He said calmly.

This information saddened her more. She felt disappointed in herself and almost broke down again.

“Where am I supposed to stay?” She asked.

Two months ago she wouldn’t have been asking such questions knowing that she and Sammy made lots of friends here in Lagos who could have accommodated her easily pending the time the investigation lapses. But she’s been rejected by them all. No one was there when she needed them most. “They all hate me now,” she thinks. It is very difficult to prove her innocence to the public. Everyone thinks she killed her husband.

“Well, how about staying at my place?” Barrister Fasasi mentioned with a cheeky smile obvious on his face like he has always wanted it to happen.

She wondered if the Barrister’s family would willingly accept her with smiles. Hopefully they would believe her innocence too? With her face on the front page of news dailies and television screens, would anyone be willing to live with a “criminal.” She decided to put this to test. If she agreed to the Barrister’s proposal, she would need to get new dresses. But how? She couldn’t possibly go to the mall.

If it hadn’t been for the Barrister, she would have stayed in that dress she wore to the concert six days ago. Her hair was obviously unkempt. She had had no access to a comb or toiletries. She would prefer not going to shop at all but Barrister Fasasi insisted. They drove down to the nearest store. She exited the car wearing sunglasses and a scarf to cover her face. She wanted to conceal her identity. She prayed that no one recognized her. The woman at the boutique welcomed her warmly. Either she hasn’t seen the news or she just couldn’t recognize her from the disguise. She went into the changing room to try some dresses and selected a few. The Barrister was also there by her side to help her select and sort the bills too.

Back in the car, she told Barrister Fasasi she would like to go to her house. The Barrister wasn’t cool with the idea but she convinced him. She also suggested that she went alone. According to her, there was a route that leads to the back of the house that only she and Sammy knew about. She would be able to enter the building unnoticed. She thought of the garden. Her precious flowers might have died over the past few days. The Clove Pink is a rare flower which grows only on Asian soil. Sammy brought it back from one of his tours to Korea. Sammy had been a famous performing artist and his music took him around the globe. He loved the sight of the flowers; the bright colors, the smell, and the symbolism of them.

The Clove Pink is planted in a beautiful flower pot on the rooftop. She would dedicate time to water it every morning. Sammy once found her watering the pot one morning. He asked why she would always give so much attention to the flowers. She told him how much she loves them, and she told him about her brother and grandmother too. Patricia rarely talked about her relatives to anyone but she did that morning. Opening up to Sammy always came with ease.

Dora, Sammy’s cute puppy must have been starving too. Sammy would not have liked that either. The poor dog would always jump and play around in amusement whenever Sammy was around. He would pamper and treat the puppy like a gift from heaven. As Pat walked into the house quietly, an odd silence resonated with every step she took. Sammy’s stereo should have been blasting loud and wild. Amanda, their house help, should be singing along to the music loudly.

She started to reminisce those sweet memories attached to the house itself which made her feel dizzy. She held the wall for support. The little puppy crawled out of its mini castle. It was so weak and frail. She bent to gently stroke the puppy; reached for its cookie jar and poured snack in its plate. The poor dog hurriedly grabbed the meal. He had been hungry for days. Gently, she walked into the bedroom.

She sat on the bed and it felt like usual. As expected, the room was untidy. Her pink blanket, a gift from Sammy’s mother, Mellissa was on the floor. She remembered choosing it the other day because it matched the bed spread. The pillows were still on the floor. She remembered throwing them in rage from the bed when Sammy came knocking on the door several times that night. She gently picked them back up Now she bit her finger in regret. She should have just opened the door that night to hear him out.

She thought she needed some time to herself. She wanted to kill that jealousy before facing him. It was hard seeing him with another woman after he had promised never to cheat again. He said he was done with Lisa or any other girlfriend at that. He was serious with Lisa until they had a sudden fight. From all indications, he had an underlying intention of taking her as his wife someday. He was so in love with her that he failed to commit his heart to another woman not even Pat. The other girls? They were just for the PDAs. As a celebrity, those ones are bound to be around him.

May be he never even loved Patricia. She walked into the story as a result of his parents” demand. Perhaps, it was because of the sudden pregnancy, perhaps even because of her own desperation. Either way, one thing stands; the fact that he loved Lisa more.