Yemisi

Albert arrived immediately after I asked him on the phone call to meet me at the basketball court. It was as though he had been close by all along.

After contemplating for a while, I decided that Albert's dormitory would be the appropriate place to keep Gaius momentarily. I didn't want to give him the comfort of staying somewhere that wasn't prison but at the same time, I didn't want him to suffer unnecessarily.

Albert's dorm was a perfect balance needed to fulfill that criterium. Keeping him there was the safest assurance from every imaginable insecurity.

I had to spend the night at Albert's as well because we had so much planning to do concerning the whole friction that came with Gaius' case and what to do with him in the next couple of days. Although we came up with feasible plans and schemed solutions for every problem that could arise, I was unable to sleep that night.

I kept thinking about Gifty, my husband, and everything. My life. How did it all crumble? And why?

Unrest in the state of mind was like an imaginary intertwined stairway. You don't know your way around. So you place your foot on any stairway with hopes that it leads you out of the jalopy but unfortunately, it's just another stairway. A frustrating one.

Just like the several, numerous others that plunge you deeper into the realms of restlessness. I found myself recalling the death of my first husband, Ken.

I was stepping out of the kitchen that fateful afternoon with a small napkin between my fingers. The potatoes were almost done and I was about to tell that to my children. I wanted them to have some appetite.

Gifty was a lot younger then. Easy to pacify with a plate of food, unlike an older teenager. I wanted them to feel a bit okay that afternoon even though it was tough and the wounds of grief were still fresh.

The knock at the door that came at the exact time I was about to talk seized the words from my lips. The knocking was very fierce and loud. One would think I was an irresponsible tenant owing a five-year rent from her landlord with the way the knocks sounded.

Quickly, I rushed to open the door and I met my in-laws, my husband's mother, and his two brothers. With terrible frowns on the creased lines of their faces. It was a form of anger that terrified me greatly as I stood and maintained eye contact with them. Shadow contact rather because suddenly, they looked so mighty that it made me cower.

"Umm...Good afternoon my dear in-laws. How may I be of help?"

I wasn't sure if those were the right words to say then but I didn't want to address my fears directly. Irrespective of my decent question, I got a slap on my cheek as the answer. Next thing, his brothers pushed me aside in the most aggressive manner.

My head would have collided harshly with the wall if I hadn't managed to hold on to the doorknob. Gifty and Zion ran to my side immediately out of fear as my brother-in-laws marched in like terrorists and policemen walked in right after.

How had I not seen them when I opened the door? What was going on? Tears nearly streamed down my eyes from the stinging effect of the slap but the sight before me was a lot more shocking.

I wanted to bump fists with my brother-in-law and the policemen for raiding my matrimonial home and throwing all of our luggage from upstairs, many of my children's clothes flying through the air but I held my children beneath my embrace, scared of letting them go. I was afraid that if I let them go for a second, the policemen or my brother-in-laws would harm or shoot them.

So I turned towards my mother-in-law and stared at her in unbelief. I couldn't believe she'd slapped me and was watching all of this happen.

"You are a stupid witch! You killed my son. You gave him high blood pressure you wicked woman! Get out of this house and don't even think of claiming any of the properties. I don't care if you are a lawyer. I will ruin you if you make any stupid move. Take those demons you call children away from this house. I never liked you anyway but I pretended to for the sake of my son but you've successfully killed him now. I hope you feel fulfilled!"

I was dumbfounded that day. I didn't even get to bury my husband the proper way. I thought these people truly loved me. I never saw signs that they didn't. So how did it all crumble? How could she accuse me of killing my husband? What in the world was the correlating or causative factor that could have made her come up with such a thesis?

What did I ever do wrong? Was it time that I failed to invest? Or my love? I created enough time for Ken despite the demanding nature of my career. So why? Why was it so easy for my life to become so difficult? I never got the answers I deserved even as I sought the way forward for me and my children.

I had to be the Dad that my kids no longer had and I had to keep my tears at bay so I could be a shoulder to lean on even on days when I just wanted to cry myself to sleep.

Why did the same process repeat itself? And why did I have to play the role of a strong woman again? Should I have left Christopher to do all the work? Maybe I should have left from the very first day his mother came and spoke about the betrothal. Maybe I should have left so I wouldn't have to ask the same question twice without getting any answers.

Because why wasn't anyone loyal to me when I stood by them all their lives? My daughter, especially. I treated this girl like a golden egg for so many years. So why?

I cried so much the previous night that I woke up feeling sore. The blasting ringtone of my phone didn't help matters either especially with the painful headache I was feeling. But when I peeped at my phone screen and saw that it was Myron calling, I couldn't remain angry because her call was very important.

"Hello?" my voice came out cracked.

"Yemisi, I have news for you and I didn't believe it would come this quickly."

"Is there an update about the limping man?" I asked lazily and still unenthusiastic.

"Yes! Would you believe me if I told you that the limping man we were chasing on the streets the other day - that 'high school student' I saw once we came out of the police station is the actual criminal we've been looking for?"

"What?!" I opened my eyes now and my voice took on a new pitch. "Are you—how? So...that was Geoffrey?! But-but he didn't even walk like he was being chased that day!"

"I thought so too! I didn't even know he was wearing a school uniform until I approached him and he told me he was a high school student. Nothing was suspicious. I even forgot about him but it thanks to Miss. Rico. She's a flipping genius!"

"Oh my God. Is she with you? Can you put her on the phone?"

"No."

"I'll have to say my thanks later on then. So...give me the full details. How did you guys get him?"

"I was having a random conversation with Miss. Rico one day and one thing led to the other. She made me talk about every limping man I'd ever seen since the commencement of the investigation. They were many. Old men mostly. But she made me talk more about the high school once I made mention of him.

Then she insisted that we go back to the avenue where I saw him. I had to disguise myself as a high school junior boy because she made me do that as well. Permit me to quote her signatory phrase: 'to catch a criminal, ye gat to act like one or ye've gat to act like an idiot.' so I walked down the streets where I ran that day.

Then I found a school in that street and saw the students wearing something similar to what I saw the limping guy wear that day and I realized that it was truly a school uniform. Which means he stole it. So I had to act like the 'boy' whose shirt was stolen so I could get the students to talk to me. This is where I must give thanks to God for my petit body frame.

They still didn't believe I was a student though since they have never seen me before but I lied that I was a freshman and I took my uniform off for a bit so I could put on my sportswear. They easily believed me that way. Heck! I even had to act like my 'mother' was going to punish me for displacing my uniform.

So...one of the seniors who saw the guy that day told me that the guy looked strange picking up a uniform from the fence, wearing it in seconds, and changing his hairstyle even. Luckily, the senior followed him for a bit and saw him go to a train station. Miss. Rico and I traveled to Berlin by train.

It took us five days to find him. We saw a walking stick by the entrance of an old house and we decided to walk in and check. A few people knew him luckily for us but we still had to try our hardest. He shot Miss. Rico's leg in the process of trying to escape from us but I was still able to get him, thanks to my athletic skills. Miss. Rick gets the major credit though because if she hadn't insisted, I don't know what would have happened."

"How is she doing now?"

"She's recuperating fast at the hospital. I went there to check on her this morning."

"Wow. This is a lot to take in, " I rubbed my forehead. "That means those crackhead policemen were covering up for him. They knew what he was doing and let him run away. He probably came that day to ask them to protect him again when he saw us coming and took flight. Little wonder why the policemen looked so afraid that day."

"I don't agree. The policemen gave us details. Remember if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have known that he stays in Berlin. They even knew he was a rapist and a murderer and they told us about it."

"Oh...yeah that's true, " I rubbed my forehead with my palm again as though it would make the headache vanish. "Please pardon my slowness this morning, so...where is the bastard now?"

"At the police station of course. Not the same police station we visited though. Looks like he's going to get a death sentence as a verdict. Turns out that your shader and the old woman's granddaughter aren't his only victims. He has a few other cases."

"That's perfect and well-deserved, " I sighed in relief. "I should pay you and Miss. Rico for completely understanding the assignment because I'm so impressed."

"Come on! Don't do that!"

"Is this coming from you Myron a.k.a Universe's most miserly? When did you change so much?"

"I didn't change. You were just favored. You needed my help beyond what my transactional mindset could conceive. Otherwise, I would have charged you for all the motor rides and nights you spent at my house."

For a moment, I laughed heartily. It was unbelievable considering how heavy my heart was.

"Are you okay though? How are you faring with the current issues?"

"I'm not okay, to be honest, " my heart became heavy again knowing that I was about to discuss issues that bothered me terribly. "And I'm still so pissed at my daughter. Like...everything is just a mess for me and it makes me wonder if I should fight for anything at all. I try so hard to put everything in place and the people who are supposed to help me rise when I get tired, left me on the ground. I can't even explain how crestfallen that makes me feel.

When was the last time Ebun even came home? Despite how much I promised to catch the rapists for her. It doesn't even look like she cares whatever I do for her. My daughter too, " I wiped my tears away. I didn't even know when they fell down my eyes. "I'm already saying stuff you are clueless about so I'll just stop."

"I understand and I want you to know that you will be fine. You are not fighting in vain. I can promise you that. You're just feeling very overwhelmed right now because you've not had time to feel your feelings for the longest time but when you eventually feel better, you'll see why you had to fight all along.

Turbulences can be overwhelming. That's why it's an uncontrollable wavy storm after all. Also...why don't you try calling your sister to give her the latest news. You were able to get four out of the six culprits. And three are in prison as we speak. That's a splendid job you've done right there if you don't know. That information can make her come home."

After the liberating phone call, I thought about her words carefully and realized she was right. The news also made me think about Barrister Peret and our deal. He was right about the culprit being in Germany which was a huge form of help he'd rendered to me.

Maybe he had a side of the story that I hadn't listened to but either way, the fact that he was right about this made me want to forgive him.