Kora

I approached the tall blue building with long white rooftops, my eyes glued to the large black gate as I got closer, noticing the older woman in a long black skirt and almost faded purple top walking to the gate with a big bag. I knew her. I knew exactly who she was.

"Aunty!" I called her as loud as I could, hurrying to meet her. "Aunty Patience!"

I watched her turn slowly at the sound of my voice like she recognized it. Of course she did. She had to. My voice wasn't exactly the one to forget, especially since she was so used to hearing it for years. She glued her eyes to me, forcing a smile on her face. She smiled just like him, just like Luke. I looked up to make sure I hadn't disturbed the owners of the house. It would have been a shame to get Luke and his mother into a lot of trouble with their employers because I couldn't control my emotions.

I hurried to her and offered to take the bag from her.

"Let me help you with this." I volunteered.

"No it's okay Nwam," she pulled the bag back from me. "I fit Carry am."

My pidgin English was a bit rusty since I had left the hood years ago but I could understand what it was she was trying to say. I could understand anyone that came to my face speaking pidgin since it was a language every one could relate with. If I was going to be together with Luke one day, I figured I had to at least try to communicate fine with his Mother.

The smile she had on her face was so genuine. She always expressed how much she loved being around me, even as her english was really horrible.

"I insist Aunty." I tried to take the bag again from her.

"Leave am." She told me, pulling the bag back. "No worry yourself. I fit carry am. E no heavy at all."

She was being too stubborn now. I just had to give up. If she said she had it, then I believed her. I tried to look into the house, trying to find traces of him inside the big compound I could barely see. There was nothing. Nothing at all.

"You de find Luke abi?"

I returned my gaze to her. She noticed. I nodded.

"Yes Aunty." I bit my lower lip hard. "I heard he was home on a short break and I wanted to see him." I smiled at her. "Is he home?"

I watched the smile on her face fade for a bit. She turned like she wanted to head back in. Why was she leaving? I gently grabbed her arm to pull her back.

"Aunty Patience?"

She slowly turned back to me. She shook her head.

"Luke no de. Him talk say he no de come house for holiday."

"What? He's not coming home?"

That wasn't right. Luke wouldn't miss a chance to be back and take care of his mother twice in a row. The Luke I knew, his mother was everything to him. He always worried about her, even when our school was a few blocks from his house. There was no way he'd miss another chance to be with her. Something was wrong, something about the look in her eyes. She kept trying to avoid eye contact with me like she was scared I'd find out. Like she was scared I'd find out she was lying to me, she was definitely hiding something.

Was it true?

Were my fears coming to past now? Was mum right? Had Luke forgotten about me? Forgotten about our promise? Why was he doing this? Why was he doing this to me? I clenched my firt. I needed answers. I needed to get them directly from him so I didn't have to worry anymore. If he wanted to throw me away, I wanted him to look me in the eye and do it.

She saw. With the way his mother looked at me, it was like she knew exactly what I was about to do. She opened her mouth to say something but she wasn't fast enough. I stormed into the compound through the gate.

"Kora!" She rushed in after me whispering my name so I didn't cause a scene. I knew I didn't need to cause a scene. If I wanted to find Luke, I knew just exactly where he'd be. "Kora!"

I hurried to the back of the house. The staff quarters where all the smaller houses were. I didn't care about anything else. I just wanted to see him. Even if it was just for a minute. I knew what house was theirs out of the three small houses. It was the first one by my left. I hurried to it as fast as I could.

I stopped the moment I got to the door and saw him walk from behind the house, his eyes glued to his phone with a huge smile on his face. He was texting and walking. He had no idea I was standing right there.

"Kora!" His mother yelled my name now as she got closer to the house. Now, that got his attention. I watched as Luke slowly raised his head like he was trying to understand why his mother had called my name. He turned to the door the moment I let out a scoff, a dashing look of surprise covering his face. He looked so surprised to see me and I had no idea why.

"K-kora." He didn't move. He just kept his eyes on me.

Breathe kora. There had to be some explanation to give. Something he'd have told me, anything at all to explain why he wasn't taking my calls or text for the past four months. Something to explain why he had not told me he was back. I didn't let my emotions get the best of me. I couldn't. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. I had to at least give him a chance to tell me what happened.

I smiled a little bit and walked towards him.

"Luke." I hugged him so tight the moment I got close enough. The tears in my eyes now were almost beginning to fall. "I was so worried about you. I'm so glad you're okay."

He was hesitating to wrap his arms around me. I could sense it and when his hands finally came in contact with my arm, it was to pull me away from him gently. I raised my head to his.

"What happened?" I finally asked him taking a good look at him. "You've lost a lost of weight?" I pulled his arm gently from side to side. "Did you really have a hard time studying at NAUN?"

"Kora, what are you doing here?"

I paused just so I could understand his question. Did he just ask me what I was doing at his house? He never asked me that? I turned to look at his mother, confused and she just stood there, watching us with a look of fear and disappointment in her eyes. She looked like she didn't want to stay there with us any longer or be a part of our conversation. I watched her leave.

"I-I came to see you." I returned my gaze to him. "I heard you were back. I figured you must have forgotten to tell me, or you were trying to surprise me." The smile on my face managed to stay. I didn't want to ask him if my theories were facts. I was scared to know what he'd have said.

"Kora-"

"No need." I told him shaking my head. "You don't have to explain anything to me. You already did. I know how busy you must have been at school, especially with the sponsors exams coming up. I know keeping in touch must have been very difficult for you. I know you needed to concentrate. I'm not angry anymore. Now that I've seen you, I'm relieved."

I exhaled.

"I'm not upset anymore."

"Kora, I have a sponsor now." He cut me off before I could even take another breath. I was dumbfounded for the first three seconds. I didn't know what to say at first. That was a huge news, good news. A news I hadn't expected to hear so fast.

"What?" I asked him as a huge smile covered my face to show my excitement. "Really?"

"Yeah." He nodded, not taking his eyes off me.

"Luke, that's good news. You didn't have to wait till after the sponsors exams. H-how did this happen?"

"Let's just say God has been really awesome. I just met this person-"

"Who?" I asked him. I was eager to know who it was. Who our savior was. I wanted to know, I wanted to know so I could find a way to show how grateful I was to whoever it was. I watched the frown on Luke's face worsen. Had I asked the wrong question?

Was I being too inquisitive? Maybe he wasn't ready to talk to me about it yet. He just got back. I shook my head.

"You know what, you don't have to tell me." I told him. I wasn't in a hurry to know who it was anyway. I was just fine with knowing his dreams were finally coming through. I clapped my hands twice to show how excited I was. "We honestly need to celebrate. Why don't we go out? To the park? Just like we used to? I have a lot to tell you. I can't wait to tell you everything that has happened since you left-"

"Let's break up."

I stood still that instant. It was like time had stopped the moment I heard those words escape his lips. Why? Why had he said those words to me? Why ?

"Its been a really hard year for me. With the sponsors exams coming up and all the other responsibilities, Kora I need to focus. I need to go all in. I need to concentrate without any distractions."

Distractions? Did he just call me a distraction? How was this even about me? I never stayed in his way. We barely even talked since he got into NAUN.

"Kora." I felt him reach for my hands as I just stood there, staring into his eyes. Numb from head to toe.

"W-why?" I could barely get my thoughts together or stop my heart from racing. I didnt understand. I didnt understand any of this at all. I could feel sweat all over my palms as my hands began to tremble. He wasn't serious, he couldn't be. It had to be a prank. He had to be playing. "Why are you breaking up with me?" I honestly wanted him to answer. "What did I do? Did I do something wrong? Tell me and I'd stop."

I pushed myself closer to him. Yes, I was that desperate.

"Tell me whatever it is you want me to not do and I'd listen, I'd do it. I'd stop calling you, I'd stop texting you. I'd wait for you to do all the calling and texting and I'd never nag or complain ever again. Just-" I held my breath as tear drops began to fall from my face. It didn't feel like it was a prank anymore. "Dont leave me. You cant leave me. " I pushed myself even closer. "How can you leave me? You're all I have. You're everything to me-"

"Kora-" he tried to push me back but I kept pressing forward.

"Please Luke, don't do this to me please." I couldn't stop myself from crying. I was barely even concentrating on his facials. How could he even think it? How could he even leave me? I wouldn't be able to take it. I wouldn't be able to survive without him. I had made every part of my life about the man standing in front of me. I didn't think I could stay apart from him. "Luke you can't do this to me. You can't leave me please. You promised."

"Kora," he managed to stop me from pressing so hard, holding on to both my arms and keeping me in place.

"Luke-"

"Kora this is not about you, this is about me, about my future."

"What about our future? Didn't you say you love me? That you wanted to be with me?"

"And I still do." He cut me off. "I don't think I could ever stop loving you Kora but it's not working anymore. There are some things I'd have to sacrifice to get to where I want to be, to where I've dreamed of , this is one of them, us, you and me. I can't love you and chase my dreams, I can't give up on my dreams. You know just how important it is to me. I am my family's last hope, my mum's only hope. I have to be better for her."

I took a deep breath and exhaled, pulling my arms away from his hold.

"Kora-" he tried to reach for me again but I cringed backwards. I could see it, the look in his eyes. It had changed. The way he used to look at me had changed and I just didn't know the boy standing in front of me anymore. I shook my head like I couldn't believe it because I couldn't .

"Kora-"

He kept calling my name but I couldn't. I couldn't understand any of the things I had just heard. I wanted answers, I needed answers. I turned to leave. Cleaning my eyes as fast as I could, hurrying away from the small houses. I could hear him call out my name once, but he wasn't coming after me. He just stood there and watched me leave.

He did nothing, and at that moment I felt it. I knew it. He really wanted me gone.