"You have just tainted yourself because of disobedience and foolishness." From her room where she sat, working on her laptop she could hear her father's voice as he spoke to Tobi. "And it's your mother's fault also. Because I told her severally not to allow you to live alone."

This conversation had taken place severally since the incident happened and Tobi was back on her feet. She still limped because she had dislocated a bone from the assault and shifting it back in place caused her more pain than she had anticipated.

Ireti was tired of hearing it over and over again but each time she tried to stand up for her sister, it usually ended with her being beaten up. She smiled to herself, knowing that this was the last time she would be in the house. She just felt bad for her siblings who did not get have a source of income. She had gotten an apartment already, close to her school so that she did not have to come home because of hostel fumigation.

Her prayer was that she would be able to maintain a steady income in order to keep renewing rent while saving up for the future, so she'd be able to buy a small apartment after university.

Of course she had not let her parents know about it given the situation that happened to Tobi. The last thing her mother would want to hear was that she was living alone now and would not be coming home for the holidays.

The door opened just then and slammed shut. It was Tobi who flung herself on the bed, shaking and crying silently. Ireti glanced at her sister, not knowing whether to comfort her or if she should leave her sister. She decided on the former and went to her sister's bed, placing a hand on her back.

"He's right though... It's my fault," Tobi sniffed, leaning into her. "For staying back in school. And remember you told me I shouldn't have told him I was living alone."

"It's not your fault," Ireti sighed. "If you had told a normal human being you were living alone during the holidays, he would not have done that. So none of it is your fault."

"I just hate this house. I don't care if they're going to be talking about me, I want school to resume."

"You just have two more weeks," Ireti sighed.

"And you'll be leaving tomorrow, I might as well just kill myself,' Tobi laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Don't say that," Ireti stiffened. "I'd have said you should follow me to Ilorin but you hate travelling by road. I don't have money for flight even for myself let alone you."

"And we can't ask mum?"

"No," Ireti shook her head. She hasn't even paid your fees for next semester. She hasn't paid for Jomiloju and Favour. Jomiloju will be writing exams before all of us... Without fees ọmọ..."

"Plus your hostel won't even allow it."

"I'm not staying in hostel."

"But mummy gave you money for hostel?"

"I added my money and got an apartment outside school. Because of business I don't want to have roommates."

"Is that safe?"

"I'll be fine Tobi."

"Then let me come with you. I'll pack my things now and then from Ìlorin I'll fly to Abuja."

"Mummy won't allow it."

"I'm not staying in this house with that man."

"Pack your things then," Ireti said. She could not even wish her worst enemy to spend a week with her father. He was insensitive and toxic; always believing he was in the right.

"What will you tell them?"

"We don't have to tell them anything," she shrugged, standing up from the bed and going back to her laptop. She had to finish creating the website she was making for her business.

"So... Tomorrow morning I'll just follow you to park? They'll ask about my bags."

"I'll let them know tomorrow morning," she sighed and gave a small hiss when the power was cut off. Her laptop had barely charged.

*+*+*+*+*+*

"What do you mean by that nonsense?" Her father was shouting in the morning. "Don't think I'm going to pay for any stupid transport to Ilorin o."

"No one asked you for transport," Ireti said with hard eyes. "And if nonsense is leaving this house because of having a father like you, then fine, Tobi following me is nonsense."

"You refuse to learn respect!" Her father shouted, slapping her. Ireti did not flinch because she had gotten used to it. Her cheeks stung but she refuses to show that she was in pain.

"Tell your bastard child never to come back to my house!" He yelled to her mom. "I've washed my hands off you completely!"

"You did that several years ago," Ireti smiled.

Gabriel was looking between their father and his sisters. He had tears in his eyes but was not crying. Ireti felt bad that she would be leaving him but she was comforted that he had the least part of his father's brutality. He still catered for him because he was a boy. She gave him a hug and walked out of the house with her sister following behind.

She has already chartered a keke to carry her from the house to the bus park and the man was already waiting outside the gate. They got in, the drive to the park did not take long at all and soon enough, they were on the road to Ilorin.

Tobi seemed genuinely happy for the first time in weeks. She had not said a word to Ireti but she was smiling as she looked out of the window which was different from the Tobi she knew. Usually her younger sister would be cowering as the bus drove in between trailers and tankers but now, she seemed not to have a care in the world.

Ireti still did not know how it happened, but suddenly the car was tumbling on Ogbomosho road. Her screams filled the air, mingling with her frantic prayers as her body was thrown back and forth within the vehicle. She tried desperately to hold on to something—anything—but it was impossible. After what felt like an eternity, the car finally came to a jarring halt.

She was alive.

Something was obstructing her face, making it hard to breathe. With great effort, she managed to pry it away from her mouth. "Tobi!" she screamed, reaching out blindly for her sister in the seat at her front. Disoriented and panic-stricken, she struggled to get her bearings. Finally, she managed to maneuver her way to an open space, her head breaking free to the fresh air outside. She hoisted herself up and jumped out of the car, narrowly missing the main road by mere inches.

"Tobi!" She screamed peering into the car. "Say something please!"

There was no answer, not even from anyone in the car. No groan of pain or anything of the sorts from the car.

"Oluwatobiloba! Where are you!" She continued shouting looking into the car but all she could see was blood and smashed bodies. She could not even sight the clothes her sister had worn.

Three vehicles had approached now, blocking the road as they parked. The driver of one of the vehicles was the first to approach Ireti. "My dear take it easy!" He said, guiding hee away from the bloodied scene.

"My sister... She's inside," Ireti began to cry then she turned to face him. He seemed suddenly taken back when he looked into her teary eyes.

"Ama try láti gbe jade. Kí ló wò?"

"Pink top bayi at black jeans."

"Kúrò lójú titi," he said, taking her away from the scene. "Phone e da?"

"Mi o mọ," she sniffed, her body still trembling. The area was crowded now with people. Some were helping to pull the bodies out of the car, trying to see who and who were still alive. Others roamed, trying to speculate what had happened. Was it a pothole? Did a truck hit them? But none of them came to ask her or even offered her comfort but stared at her and gossiped from a distance. She could hear them clearly— the words were meant to hurt her.

Her blue eyes showed that she was an unclean spirit— someone from the marine kingdom who needed to make a sacrifice so she had killed everyone in the car and of course she was the only one who survived— unscathed.

The FRSC arrived just as she caught sight of her sister's form being extracted from the mangled car. A guttural cry escaped her lips as she ran toward the overturned vehicle. Tobi's clothes were drenched in blood, her neck twisted grotesquely, her eyes wide open in a permanent expression of shock—unmoving. Her legs were bent at unnatural angles.

"No," she cried out, her voice breaking, "Please, no." She desperately wished it was a terrible nightmare from which she would soon wake up from. She clutched her sister's hands. They were cold and stiff— the warmth of life long gone.

"God!" she screamed, collapsing to the ground. Her vision blurred, and she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness, the world around her fading to black.

She woke up hours later a needle in her wrist and the lights of the hospital suddenly blinding her. There was a nurse to her left and then at the other side of the bed an FRSC Member stood.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded, feeling weak and drained. She could still feel herself tumbling, still see her sister's dead body and still hear the accusations of her being an unclean spirit.

"Are those your real eyes?" He asked.

She nodded again, feeling annoyed at the question.

"What was your mission?"

"I'm confused." Her voice was croaky and hoarse, the aftermath of her tears. She was still crying, tears dripping down the side of her face but silently.

"Your mission," he snapped. "You can fool everyone but not me. I know you are responsible for those deaths. You and your marine people needed blood to—"

"My sister died... I had an accident and those are the first words you can think of? A police man like you?" She was sniffling now and not crying silently. "Do you think I would even want to put myself through that?"

"Don't try to make me feel sorry for you!" He shouted. "I'm an elder in my church, I have children and grandchildren. I've seen things like this before. I've had to deal with criminals who use spiritual things so—"

"God, no wonder you are where you are in life," Ireti spat in disgust. "You sound highly uneducated. Because I have something strange about me you immediately conclude that I'm a spirit?"

"Watch your mouth young girl or I can make you sleep in a cell."

"Officer I suggest you leave," the nurse began looking between the two of them.

"I'm here to do my job," he hissed at the nurse. "Remove that needle from her hand and let her identify her property and the sister she's talking about."

The nurse removed the needle and gave Ireti a look of pity. She stood up, her body aching all over as she followed the lanky old man in blue uniform out of the ward. She could feel all eyes of the hospital staff on her and even hear the whispers of her being the only survivor of an accident.

He led her to the parking lot and she realized they were at LAUTECH hospital. She could spot her travelling luggage and that of her sister. They were the most of all the luggage packed there.

Two other policemen were waiting by the car, holding a bunch of phones— most of them with cracked screens.

"That's my phone," she said to the yellowish man that held the phones. "The Samsung S4."

"Unlock it. Let's be sure."

She took the phone from him, ignoring the old man who spoke sharp Yorùbá to his colleagues on how she had disrespected him. There had been several missed calls from her mother and a text message.

The situation was dawning upon her clearer than day. She would have to be the one to break the news and return home with a body.

With shaky hands, she dialed her mom's number.

"Ireti! I've been calling you and Tobi since morning but e gbe call! E ma tí dé Ilorin abi?"

"Mummy," she wailed. "Our car had accident, out of eight people I'm the only one that survived! Ah God mummy!"

The other end of the line was silent for far too long.

"Are you okay? Hope you're not injured? Where are you now? Will you be coming back to Lagos or are you already close to Ilorin?"

"Mummy are you not listening to me? The car we took had an accident and I'm the only one that survived, Tobi is dead."