I was once again back in my parents' house, and it bothered me. Sitting at the dinner table with them, I kept wondering what my life would be like from now on. Would I go back to my house, the very house I shared with my deceased husband? This question alone bothered me more than anything else.
What became of the house after Ola's death? Apparently, it was something that seemed to be tied into the mystery of Ola's death. As I quietly ate, my father looked up at me from time to time. Then as if knowing I was bothered by something, he placed his hand on mine. It startled me and I looked at him.
"My big girl, you'll get through this, okay?" I nodded. "It might not be an easy feat, but I know you are strong." My father was right. I was strong, just like my grandmother-his mother, was.
Thinking back at what the stranger had told me, I couldn't tell if I was luckier than she was to have survived, or unfortunate because I couldn't save the man I loved and got married to.
"I know, just like grandmother." I said without thinking. My mother looked up from eating.
"Tola, what has your grandmother got to do with what your father said?" She asked, looking seriously at me. I stared at her shocked to have even mentioned the word grandmother. And she perhaps thought it was her mother I was referring to. I had to quickly come up with an answer to make it look so.
"I mean, she's out there in the village all alone. Perhaps I could go there and stay with her for some time."
"Tola why do you want to go to the village to stay with my mother?" She asked me.
"Maybe I could go there and relax myself a bit. I mean, it could help me overcome my loss."Â Looking at her, I had a feeling she didn't believe me. But my dad quickly came to my rescue.
"Tola, if it is a distraction you want then follow me to my office in the morning. I'll find you something to keep you busy."Â I was relieved to hear my father say that and could only nod my agreement.
But this didn't satisfy my mother who looked at me suspiciously. She perhaps was thinking that there was an underlying motive in my bringing up the idea of going to stay with her mother. Seeing her looking at me suspiciously, I decided to face my father and ask him about my job; the one I had before Ola's death.
"Oh dad, I still have my job at the security firm." I told him. My father looked up from eating and observed me. Then he said,
"As a matter of fact, I talked to the manager and told him to terminate your appointment." I was about to drink the glass of water I held in my hand when he said that. Holding the glass to my mouth, I stopped and looked at him. I then slowly put the glass of water down.
It was hard to believe I didn't have a job anymore. But more difficult it was, to believe that, my father could just walk up to the company manager and tell him to fire me.
Thinking of all that happened and this latest development, I came to realize that I had no control over my very own life. Everything about my life was being controlled by others. I was only the puppet they were moving up and down as they wished. It saddened me a lot but I tried to remain calm.
"So are you saying I can't go back to the company anymore?" I asked him
" No, not after what happened." He replied. I couldn't go back to my job and as much as I wanted to, I knew even going back to the house was completely out of the question. But I had to be sure about it.
"And what about the house, I hope I can still go back?"Â He looked up from his food and stared at my mother. Then they both stared at me.
"My big girl, that house has been auctioned off." He sighed, as if I was asking him too much.
"What?!"Â I shouted much to their surprise.
"Tola, that house has been sold off. Your father is telling you the truth." My mother repeated. I couldn't believe it. My parents were totally relaxed about my plight. This angered me a lot.
"If it was sold off, then where is the money, where are my belongings, and where is the body of my deceased husband?!" There was complete silence when I asked that question. My parents ignored me and kept eating their food quietly.
"Dad, mum? I asked a question and all I get is silence from both of you?!" I got up from the dinner table. My dad asked me where I was going.
" It's quite strange that nothing about my life matters to any of you. I don't have a house and I don't have a job. My husband was shot and killed and I don't even know what happened to his body." I left them and went into my room, more angry than ever.
It was quite late in the night and as angry as I was, I wanted to leave the house but had no place to go. My one thought went to Nancy, to call her up. But I figured she could be out there chasing criminals. I took my phone out of my bag and switched it on.
Sitting on the edge of my bed I scrolled through the contact list and found her name.
I looked at it for a few seconds and then continued to scroll until I found Kemi's number. I lightly touched it and accidentally dialed the number. It rang immediately. Then suddenly the picture which she took with Ola flashed through my mind and I quickly cut the call and placed the phone back on my bedside drawer.
I had just put the phone down when it rang. Wondering who it was, I stretched my hand out and picked it up again. I looked at the display and found the name of the caller-it was Kemi. This somehow baffled me because of all the people in the world, I least expected her to call me. I left the phone ringing for a while before I cut the call, and switched it off.
I then lay in bed with my mind filled with what my parents had told me. I realized there was a bigger mystery surrounding Ola's death. But what exactly was it? And why all the mystery? I asked myself. The stranger I met at the pub, had told me to live with what I was being offered. While his words made sense, I still had a burning desire to seek out the truth. And the desire was so strong, that living with what I was about to be offered, wouldn't be enough to stop me from finding out what really happened.
The truth had to be out there somewhere. I still remembered the words of the stranger when he said that, when no one was telling me anything about Ola, that was a warning sign that something wasn't right.
I was beginning to understand what he really meant by that. From my parent's behavior, I truly believed that in fact, something truly wasn't right. But I had to find out. And that meant meeting the very same people who knew Ola. From Nancy to Kemi and even their common friends at the University. I had to get something out of these people one way or the other.
But this meant moving with caution. And I had to move with caution, as not doing so, could prove to be dangerous. However, I was prepared for whatever would come out of it. I couldn't leave Ola's death just like that.
Nancy, the hotel manager, my parents, they had all told me not go further in my search for the truth. But I had to ask questions. And here, I had the chance to talk to the one person that perhaps,was closest to him after Nancy-Kemi.
The following day I told my dad I would come a little late to the office. While he was hoping we could go out together, he allowed me to come when I wanted to.
"Just don't come at closing hour." He told me.
"I won't." I responded.
"Okay." He said smiling. I watched as he got into his car and left the house. I went back to my room and immediately dialed Kemi's number. It took a while before she answered.
"Hello?" She said, as she picked up the call.
"Kemi, it's me Tola. Did you call?" I asked my heart beating fast.
"Ah, Tola? I've been trying to get in touch with you."
"I only saw your missed call this morning. Hope everything's okay?"
"I was about to ask you the same question." She said.
"Well, what can I tell you? You may have heard what happened."
"Yeah, it's so shocking. I was surprised myself." I wasn't happy with seeing her in a photo with Ola. The thought of it was so strong I wanted to tell her about it. But I reasoned it was better to meet her in person.
"Didn't you say you wanted to see me Kemi?" I asked her, hoping she would say yes. And in fact she did.
"Yes I did. But with all that happened, I wasn't sure if it was the right time."
"Hope there's no problem?" I asked her.
"No, IÂ just wanted to see you and perhaps discuss a few things."
"Is it serious?" I asked.
"Till we see. I mean if we can see anytime today."
"I'm okay with meeting you. But where?"
"How about you come over to my place then we can think of where to go?"
"Okay, I'll see you then." When she hung up, IÂ prepared myself to meet her. I wasn't excited about meeting her, but if she knew something about Ola's death, I needed that information.