Chapter Thirty Nine
IMMEDIATELY Priceley had left the house for work, Sharuna sprang up from her sick bed, suddenly agile
Sick indeed
She had lied to Priceley that she was feeling a little sick and so, wouldn’t be able to go to school
She had planned to confront the supposed Kesmanee and know why he’s been hiding his identity
She came out from her room and rushed downstairs
But wait
She didn’t even know his room, so where in particular would she find him
Anyways, she shrugged and went outside, hoping to find him there
Fortunately for her, there he was, at the parking lot His head was resting on one of the cars
He was backing her, so he couldn’t see her coming
She smiled and walked quietly to him, getting ready to startle him
She got right behind him and camouflaging her voice, she called his name
“Kesmanee”
Gosh!
He turned back immediately without thinking
And yes, her trick had worked; it was him
“I said it that it’s you”, she shouted and walked closer to him
“Excuse me?”, he found his voice
She scoffed
“Excuse you? But you are Kesmanee, right?”
He didn’t say anything, he just watched her in awe, fighting the tears that were rushing to flow down
“But why you hiding if I may ask? It’s really you”, she pressed on
Then she came to his front and stood, her hands folded
“If you think I’m not smart enough, then wait for me”, and she rushed back into the building
What was she up to now?
Let him just watch
She came back minutes later with her sculpturing materials
What!
She placed them all on the floor and not minding either, she knelt down and set out to work
What was she doing?
Then it dawned on him
She was trying to make him in a sculpture form, to reproduce that gift she had once done for him
Would she get this now?
At first, she was failing in her attempts She tried and tried, it wasn’t just working
“Hmm”, she fumed
What was happening? But she once did it What was wrong
Then she tore off her sari and used it to tie her eyes with it
Kesmanee watched the girl; his wonder girl in utmost shock
Now blindfolded, she got down to work
And phew! How excellent
She got it!
Just exactly like the one she did
As soon as she was done, she removed the sari from her eyes to look at her work
She smiled
She got it
Then she turned to Kesmanee
“I once made this for you remember? For your birthday? Yes, I did it”, she yelled
Kesmanee couldn’t hold himself any longer, he let the tears flow, and they streamed his eyes
She was moved and tried covering the distance between them when a car horn blared from a distance
They both turned to look at the direction of the coming car and Jeeze, it was Priceley’s
She immediately packed up her materials from the floor, including the sculpture she had just made and turned to leave
“I will be back for you”, that was her last words and she ran into the house
He placed his head back on the car and cried, for a man of his age to cry
He really loved that girl
*
*
*
Sharuna looked at the big wall clock on the wall, 7:30, it read
Almost dinner time
She quickly dashed into the shower and had a rush bath
Then she changed into her pyjamas
By the time she was through, it was already 8:00 pm, time for dinner
She had to rush downstairs to the dining for one thing Mr Bennett hates, was lateness
The whole family was already sitted and ready, except for Mrs Bennett, Mr Bennett’s wife
She walked up to the dining and sat close to Priceley
“Hey Prag”, she waved at the young teenage girl sitting closer to Kesmanee
She was Priceley’s only sister, then it dawned on her that it was Friday, the marriage was just two days away
She gasped
Prag attended a weekly boarding school and always comes home every Fridays and goes back on Mondays
“Good evening Miss Sharuna”, Prag greeted, smiling
“How’s school?”, she asked after sitting
“Fine, thank you”
Then the maid came and served the food, prayers followed and the family began eating
Silence followed as they ate
“Kesmanee? Are you okay?”, Priceley asked, breaking the silence
Wait
He just called him Kesmanee, she had no doubt, it was him
Kesmanee looked at him and nodded
“I’m fine”
“Really? You have been looking worried these days, I must say”, he said
“He said he’s okay, so what’s your problem?”, Mr Bennett chipped in
“I’m ok bro. Er……. where is momma?”, he asked to change the discussion
Priceley shrugged
“She’s kinda sick. She gonna have dinner on bed”
“Okay”
Soon Priceley finished and got up
He then retired to his room
Sharuna purposely dallied behind, playing with her food
She needed to leave once Kesmanee leaves, thank God Priceley had gone
Then Mr Bennett got up, Kesmanee followed
“Just the ladies left”, Prag said and they laughed
“I’m leaving too”, Sharuna said and also got up, trailing Kesmanee
***********************
As soon as Kesmanee left the dining, he wanted to retire to his room immediately
But as he was walking along the windows to his room, the moon and stars on the dark sky caught his attention
And he diverted to the balcony, to watch the sky
Wow
It was a beautiful sight to behold
“Admiring the sky?”, a voice startled him
He couldn’t mistake it at all
It was his lady’s voice
He turned and saw her at the door, in her full bloom of beauty in pyjamas
She smiled and shook her head slightly
“I asked a question”, and she walked up to him standing closer
They were now both standing very close to each other
He sighed and ran his hands through his hair “What you doing here? It’s late”, he said softly
She smiled
“I came to watch the sky with you. Look how the stars sparkle”, she commended and they both turned to look at the sky together
“Look how they twinkle like the love we have for each other”, he turned to look at her,
“Look how the moon stands in their midst, to protect just like the way you protect me”
He turned to look at her again, and this time, their eyes met
Love flowed, messages were passed
She brought her hand close to his face and caressed it
He was already lost in world of love
Then he realized himself and brought her hands down
“You need to go to bed now”, he said
“I want to be with you”, she pouted
He pretended not to hear and they both walked into the house
Suddenly there was a power outage and the lights went off
Everywhere became dark
Sharuna always had phobia for darkness since she regained her sight It was like she was blind again whenever darkness comes
So immediately everywhere went dark, she screamed and embraced Kesmanee
He held onto her
They were now in a hot embrace
As suddenly as the lights went off, it came back in full force
And there was Priceley, standing by the door
He saw them both in an embrace
He smirked and walked away.
Ndozi Nuellitta
To Be Continued
I asked myself, aren’t you sure it was Priceley who put off the light??
He’s becoming suspicious now
Love y’all
Married
Twice