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It is evening time and about twenty metres away from the centre of a residential compound, two individuals are standing opposite each other, under the looming shade of a Dongoyaro tree whose numerous flexible branches and serrated leaves are slowly grazing each other and chiming canorously to the song of the wind. These sounds although a natural disturbance, never cease to carry with them, an ambience that is infinitely soothing to the mental milieu of anyone who is fortunate enough to be under its shade. If only the young adult boy and girl beneath it were not currently in an incandescent brawl, perhaps their nerves too would benefit from the unique levels of cosmic ecstasy that this jewel of nature provides. It was sunset a few minutes ago and with each passing moment, the weather starts to get both windy and cool. By standing just a few inches apart, they both seem to be sharing from each other's dissipating warmth. Nancy wraps her arms firmly around Shola's torso and tries to make eye contact with him, but to no avail. Shola looks away and begins to untether himself from her grasp.

"I know, Shola.. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I promise, I'll never do it again. Please, let's start over." she proposes whilst breathing heavily in an anxious state of biting regret.

"It's over." he responds.

"Nooo.. Shola, don't do this to me."

Then in grave annoyance, Shola turns to look down at her and whispers with a disposition that appears to be a mixture of both passion and disappointment, "To you? Are you mad?? Can you hear yourself right now? You went out with my friend. One of my best friends.. And people saw you guys kissing. You were letting him touch you and doing all sorts of things with him. And now, you're telling me not to do this to 'you'?"

"I thought you were going to go! I thought you were going to travel and abandon me!" Nancy echoes with thick streams of tears flowing down her cheeks and more heat effusing from her eyes.

"I can't believe I ever loved you.. and that I gave you so much of me. I had heard that you were that kind of girl, but I didn't believe it."

"Don't say that. Shola, don't say that." Easing her grip on his torso, Nancy leans in to place her forehead against his chest and cries with greater intensity. Shola looks up in frustration and begins to take heavy breaths of emotional dissaray. He feels incredibly hurt by Nancy, her behaviour and her actions, but at the same time, like the bad guy for now making her cry this way. Subsequently, she proceeds to hold onto his shirt and begins to press her clenched eyes against him, in a bid to soak him with her tears and in some way, make his heart feel how truly sorry she is.

After a few seconds, Shola turns from his upward gaze and then looks at her, "I trusted you too many times. But never again. I deserve more than having to put up with you."

"I can't live without you, Shola. You know I can't. You know I can't! You're my baby and I am yours. You'd better just kill me now."

"Let go of my shirt."

"Nobody can love you like I do. Nobody will ever love you more than me."

"Nancy, you can keep telling yourself that. The only thing I care about right now is that I am done. I'm done with your lies. I'm done with your manipulation. And I'm done with your nonsense. If you are looking for a loyal fool, you will have to look elsewhere." Pushing her aside and away from clinging onto him, Shola walks away.

His words gradually sink in and begin to rupture the entire fabric of Nancy's mind. The fact that he is now also walking away from her tears even more at the depths of her anguish. In a viscerally rabid response, she takes off one of her wedge peep-toe sandals heavily clad with a wooden sole and throws it at him. Unfortunately, she misses her target and it lands on the sandy floor. However, within split seconds, she makes another move, removing the second heavy shoe. And taking an aim, she throws it with force to successfully hit him, just before he reaches the middle of the compound.

Upon feeling the projectile impact on his upper back just below his fourth cervical spine, Shola winces in shock, and in vicious anger, turns back to look at her with eyes as livid as a volcano. In an unbridled bout of extreme fury, he begins to run toward her and almost inevitably, the chase starts.

Nancy rapidly sprints out of the unfenced compound and then into the narrow street. Shola follows behind with lightning speed. Progressively, the wind becomes heavier, the breaths more galloping and the humid draft nearly ferocious, with clumps of mould-like sand from the surface of the untarred road grazing the arches and heels of both their feet with every fleeting step. Sticks, stones, shards of indiscriminately dispersed glass, dingy dirt and whatnot are likely buried within this crude floor's loose crust, but Nancy does not care. She keeps running to save herself from Shola's current anger and animalistic verve; to somehow find a way to evade him but at the same time, in some twisted way, she wishes that he will eventually decide to take her back once they've reached the destination of this chase and once this episode of adrenaline rush that she created is all done. Outrunning her like a pro-athlete, Shola vigorously catches up and reaches out to the helm of the back of her top, to drag and stop her, nearly ripping off a thin portion of its edge in the process. However, Nancy, after making an unexpected temporary stop, twists abruptly, maneuvers backwards and changes course into another unfenced compound about three houses away from Shola's. Considering the time of day and since the rationed metropolitan power supply is currently off, as is the usual tradition, there are a lot of tenants currently sitting outside the house on short benches and stools, with children singing, dancing and playing their usual moonlight games. Despite knowing all this, Nancy does not stop. Instead, she all the more vigorously breaks into their midst, disrupts the whole affair and runs towards the backyard of the house, with everyone else very quickly erupting into disarray and horror at what on earth is going on.

"Wetin dey happen!!!" one tenant screams.

Mad and temperamental Shola does not respond but continues to chase down this girl. Despite the ruckus being created and other people now becoming involved and stirred up, he slows down to regain his footing but does not stop.

After getting to the backyard and partially disrupting the cooking of some women using their kerosene stoves or firewood yet thankfully not hitting any of them, Nancy sprints into the centre passage of the house and enters into one of the rooms to hide. This happens to be her cousin's room; the much older cousin whom she grew up with and whom most people call 'Sister Ehis'. Sister Ehis is currently out of the room and by the front yard of the compound along with the other tenants. So Nancy enters, bolts the door and takes cover behind the bed at the centre of the room. Her heart keeps pounding profusely and to some extent, she is afraid of what Shola might do, but at the same time, she also sort of feels proud of herself for outrunning him and for successfully pulling another reckless yet entertaining and boundary pushing stunt.

Halfway down to the backyard of the house, Shola gradually begins to return to his senses and slows down, realizing now how much more people have become involved in this madness than he hoped. Also, knowing Nancy, he gathers that she may try to find ways to turn this situation against him and to turn the now teaming crowd of older people in her favour.

'Oh my! What was I thinking?' he thinks to himself as he stops by the backyard.

"What is wrong with me?" he verbally whispers this time almost audibly.

He begins to imagine what could be worse than a public scenario where an adult boy were chasing a girl who was barefoot and with part of the hem of her top partially torn?
Immediately, he decides to go into crisis management mode and think of ways that he can put out his own side of the story before Nancy comes out and starts to spread her own narrative.

"Nancy!! Are you insane!! Why would you stone my neck?? Is something wrong you!!" he yells to everyone's hearing.

"She stoned your neck??" a woman asks.

"Yes, she stoned the back of my neck twice!" he responds.

"Ah ah! For what reason??" another man inquires.

In bewilderment, two men with cloth wrappers tied around their waists also add in distant conversation, "I tell you sey dis girl.. e get as she dey behave. Very rude and wayward. Greeting sef no dey comot for her mouth."

Finally, Shola screams again in loud anger by the side pavement of the house just behind the window of Sister Ehis, knowing that very likely, Nancy has taken shelter there, "Don't ever try that nonsense with me again! I am not your mate!"
He storms out.

Gradually, to his delight, most of the crowd begins to take his side. Unlike the older teenagers and younger adults in their neighbourhood, a lot of people did not know much about their relationship. Many members of the community have always thought that they were friends or acquaintances, like the many acquaintances and friends who Shola seems to have both within the neighbourhood and across town. Shola is a very popular individual. And despite his very humble background, he tends to stand out as a somewhat unique 'man of the people' not only because of his sociability and outgoing persona but also because of his charismatic carriage yet humble disposition towards all that he interacts with. At least to the best of everyone's knowledge, he is known to be quite decent in behaviour and a dedicated contributor to whatever collective act aims to serve the community. Considering his fundamentally glowing reputation and his ability to control his emotions before taking more regrettable actions, it is safe to say that today, he has successfully contained a controversial situation and won the public aspect of this round against his now ex-girlfriend, Nancy Osayi. However, the chances are that from Nancy's adrenaline pumped, partially scorned and very elusive end, this short-lived episode may be far from over.

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Glossary:
"Wetin dey happen!!!"- "What is going on!!!"
"I tell you sey dis girl.. e get as she dey behave... Greeting sef no dey comot for her mouth." - "I told you before that this girl acts really weird... She barely ever even greets any one of her elders."

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