Dedicated to goody_bae for the votes.

ADIMCHIMPKA WAS EXHAUSTED. He had dark circles and large bags under his eyes and he had only slept for a total of four hours in the past two days.

He was literally a walking dead.

He remembered how Chioma had rushed into his room on Sunday night to tell him that Chinyere had called.

He had made a trip to the police station early the next morning and reported to them that they had received a phone call from Chinyere.

He washed his face and dried it with a towel before making it to the kitchen.

His wives were in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

"Ututu oma m, di m," his first wife, Adaiba, greeted him.

"Good morning," he responded.

His two other wives greeted him as well and he nodded in response.

"Have the police found anything?" Adaiba asked.

Adimchimpka shook his head, "No. Not yet. I just want to know how she found herself in Ebonyi state."

"I also wonder oo," Adaiba said.

"She told me that she was kidnapped," Chioma stated as she placed a plate of akara for him on the dining table in the middle of the kitchen.

"What was she thinking by leaving the house at night?" Adimchimpka asked no one in particular as he took a seat at the dining table.

"I don't know but she's not one to leave home without asking for permission," Adiaba said.

"Am I at fault?" Adimchimpka looked up at Chioma. "Was I too strict when I told her to lock herself in the room?"

"You didn't mean any harm," Jane, his second wife, said. "You just wanted to punish her for not following our family rules."

Adimchimpka sighed and buried his face in his hands.

He remembered how shocked he was when his eighteen year old daughter, Florence, ran to him and told him that Chinyere was no where to be found.

He wondered what made her leave the house late at night. He knew that she was rebellious but she had never gone that far before.

This night would mark one week since she went missing.

He was overly protective of her because she was his youngest female child and a beauty. Many young men had already come to ask for her hand in marriage but he had never told her.

"Did she tell you anything else on the phone?" Adimchimpka asked Chioma.

"She said that she was sold and she's living in a house and the gate is that of the Nigerian flag," Chioma said and placed a cup of tea beside the plate of akara.

"There are many gates like that," Jane said. "Are we supposed to travel the entire Nigeria to find that one house? Biko, did she tell you anything else?"

"She was saying something before the phone call was cut," Chioma said in realisation.

Chioma had forgotten that part because she didn't think that it was important.

"What did she say?" Adiaba asked, eager to know whether or not the information would help them.

"She mentioned someone's name before the call ended," Chioma sat down. "I think it was Amanda."

"Who's Amanda?" Adimchimpka asked.

Jane shrugged, "Maybe we should ask Florence. She and Chinyere share a room, so I'm sure that Chinyere must have mentioned this 'Amanda' to her."

Adimchimpka nodded and called out Florence's name, "Florence! Florence!"

Florence rushed into the kitchen, "Yes, Daddy?"

When she noticed that she was before her elders, she greeted them with a small bow, "Good morning."

They nodded and she went to stand by Jane, her mother's side.

"Do you know anyone by the name of Amanda?"

Florence scratched her head and thought hard before shaking her head, "I don't think so."

"Does that mean that Chinyere had never mentioned anyone named Amanda to you?" Jane asked her daughter.

"Oh, that Amanda. Chinyere told me that Amanda was one of her close friends but I've never actually seen the girl," Florence replied.

Chioma sighed and ran her hand down her face, "What are we going to do now? We don't even know what the girl looks like."

"You can leave now," Adimchimpka said.

"I have a feeling that Tunde might know her," Florence added quickly.

"Tunde? Who's that?" Adiaba asked.

"Tunde Alade," Florence said. "He's Mr. Alade's son. He and Chinyere are in the same friend group."

"Oh, Mr. Alade's son," Adimchimpka said in realisation. "That young handsome man."

Adimchimpka and Mr. Alade were friends. They had met during a Parent-Teacher's Association meeting a year ago and instantly became friends.

He had also met Tunde Alade and he loved how the boy had been brought up. Mr. Alade was also the one investigating Chinyere's case.

"I think I'll have to go and see the Alades," Adimchimpka stood up to leave but Adiaba stopped him.
"Eat something before you leave," Adiaba said, "and you have to baff first."

"Alright," Adimchimpka sat back down. "In the meantime, Florence, go and baff Destiny. I want to go with him. I haven't taken him out in a long time."

Florence, who had been listening to the conversation, couldn't keep it in anymore, "Ah ah, na. It's bath not baff."

Adimchimpka and Adiaba sent Florence playful glares and she ran out of the kitchen.

Adimchimpka laughed as he watched her run out. He couldn't wait for his daughter to be found.

He wanted to scold her and then give her a hug. He wanted his family to be reunited once again.

He also had to pay a visit to his father in the village. The eighty something year old man was sick and Adimchimpka feared that he would soon kick the bucket but he couldn't visit him until he found his daughter.