GHOST RUN (Part 13&14) – OPEYEMI AKINTUNDE

Part 13
GHOST RUN
Opeyemi Akintunde

I didn’t know what to do, Nonso had tears already pouring out of his eyes…

“ Nonso, please stop this, I cannot do this… I just lost my husband six months ago and you want me to get married to you!” I said with tears pouring out of my own eyes as well

“ I know and I am ready to mourn him with you! Please you are the woman I have been waiting for, I always knew there was a woman for me , and that made me stay this long… Please Adenike , Just Say Yes! We don’t have to get married now. I am ready to wait for you till you are ready!” Nonso said

I looked around and I saw different reactions. His friends were making jest of him, I knew if I said No, they will make his life miserable. I saw Modesta, gazing at me with full blown bitterness. Everyone knew she had a serious crush on Nonso…

I bent down and whispered in Nonso’s ear…

“ I am just going to say Yes for now to save you the open ridicule…” I said and Nonso replied

“ Thank you!”

“ Yes , It will be a great Honour to be your Wife if the Lord Wills” I said as I accepted Nonso’s ring…

For the next 15 minutes before the end of the lunch break, it was a beautiful hullabaloo. Nonso was on top of the heavens. Colleagues congratulated us, we took pictures and even had a surprise cake Nonso had ordered…

The rest of the working hours of that day was a hard one for me. I wanted to run away from the office. The moment it was 3:45, I left the office to the parking lot. I deliberately did not take my bag. I only took my wallet and my two phones. I didn’t want Nonso to know I was leaving!

“ Leaving?” Nonso had shouted from across the room

“ No, I want to get something from the car!”

“ Ok! or should I come along ?” He joked

“ She can walk!” Modesta said as a dry joke

“ That reminds me, I need to pick something from my car as well” Modesta said as she walked ahead of me…

I smelt trouble but I kept walking…

The moment we got to a blind spot of the office ( a place there were no cameras), Modesta turned and faced me..,

“ I know who you are.. You are a witch, you killed your first husband and from what I heard, he was a dummy you pushed around. Your charm was so strong on him, he foolishly followed you to a village where he was slaughtered as a sacrifice for your father’s ministry… Listen well and Listen good, Nonso will not be your new prey. I may not be a witch like you, but I have my ways of doing things, so stay clear!”

I couldn’t breathe…

Modesta accused me of killing my own husband, my AdeYanju, the best friend I ever had… The man I wanted to be honored at all times. It was my craze for him not to be looked down on that made me push him to Mororo…

I walked towards my car like I was walking on hot stones… My brain had shut down because one of my phones fell from my hands and I didn’t realize it… It was a security guard that picked it up and rushed to give it to me as I got into my car…

“ Your phone ma?” He said

“ What?” I asked dumbly while looking at him very clueless

“ Your phone fell … Are you ok ma?” He asked looking very concerned

I didn’t say a word and like someone brain dead, I drove off without collecting my phone.

I kept driving with no destination in mind. My tears were pouring continuously … I began to remember all my memories with AdeYanju, from the day I forced him to define our relationship… I remembered how smart he was. I remembered him helping me with house chores always, He cooked most times, he laid the bed always, He helped me trim my nails, He was even the one who washed my underwears. AdeYanju had the heart of a child in love… How could I kill such a man? If Modesta had accused me of something else, it may not have had a huge effect on me, but killing AdeYanju was the height…

I got to the third mainland bridge in Lagos. I had heard of how people jumped into the sea … The moment I thought about it, I got a reply immediately in my Spirit…

“ You kill yourself, you end up in hell!”.

I parked my car and used the double pointer. I sat still thinking of what to do… Firstly, I removed Nonso’s engagement ring and threw it out of the car…

“ The Adegbile Sisters!” I reasoned quietly.

“ You made Modesta accuse me of Killing my husband… You are both going to pay for this… !”

My second phone started ringing…

“ Nonso !”

I picked up and before he could say anything I said…

“ Nonso, forget the engagement. I just threw your ring out of the window. Tell Modesta , I have taken my hands off you and tell her, I didn’t kill my husband but the witches of Mororo did and it’s high time they paid for it! Bye Nonso!” I said as I ended the call….

With tears in my eyes, I blocked Nonso’s number from reaching me….

I checked the dashboard to see the level of my fuel. It was half full. I drove to a gas station and filled my tank up…

“ Mororo, here I come!” I said without knowing how my journey would lead to events that would launch me into the deep…

Part 14
GHOST RUN
Opeyemi Akintunde

I must have driven half way to Mororo and it was getting very dark and my headlights were failing me, plus my sight was getting blurry. My parents and Nonso had been calling endlessly. Nonso was using my second line that the security had picked up. The rate at which they were calling, my battery would have been dead if not for the car charger.

I was tempted to switch it off, but somehow I was restrained…

My bladder was full and I needed to ease myself.

I halted and got out . On returning to the car , I jumped back in fear at the sight of Bunmi in the passenger’s seat.

“ Jesus!” I screamed

“ That’s a powerful name!” Bunmi said

“ What are you doing in my car? I am not coming for you. I am coming for the Adegbile sisters!”

“ You should come into the vehicle so you don’t get hit by a vehicle. Though you are going to die very soon, it will be a pity if you die now and your family won’t get the privilege of finding your body!”

With that I got into the vehicle…

“ Bunmi, what do you want from me?”

“ Adenike, what do you want from Mororo? You are not a child of the soil so I am wondering why you have such great interest in my village” Bunmi asked

“ The Adegbile sisters killed my husband and I must make them pay!” I said

“ How?”

I didn’t have the answer to that question…

“ I think as the only female child your parents had, It has affected your upbringing. You always act on impulse not thinking about the consequences of your actions… I came here just to give you one last chance… I know you are a good person and you don’t deserve so much unhappiness. Return back to your home, start a fresh life and Let Mororo be the way it is…”

“ I am sorry, I have come half way and I cannot turn back!” I said

“ The Adegbile sisters already know you are on your way and they will do everything to stop you!”

“ Nothing can stop me from getting to Mororo this night!”

“ You think so…”

“ I know so!”

“ Alright… Goodluck!” Bunmi said as she disappeared from my car…

I fired up the engine and increased my speed…

After about 15 minutes of driving, an unknown number kept calling repeatedly… I had a strong urge to pick the call…

“ Hello..!”

“Yes, Good Evening!”

“ My name is Musa from the Federal Road Safety Corps. An accident just happened along Lagos Ibadan Expressroad, and we saw the number as the last dialed number on the victim’s phone. We have checked the ID card on him, It reads Chinonso Arubayi …. He is presently in a comatose state as we have been able to revive him. He was dead as at the time we got to him, but he has been revived…Do you know him? “

“ Ye..eee…sss” I said as I lost control of the wheels… My mind was all over the place…

“The Adegbile sisters and Bunmi must have done this !” I thought silently

“ Are you there?” The FRSC official said

“ Yes …” I said as I managed to park the vehicle.

“ I am with you, Nonso is my frie.. my fiancé, I believe he was trying to catch up with me…. I am four hours away from where you are. Please do everything you can do to save him. I will turn back and return to Lagos. Just keep me posted on the hospital you will be taking him… Please save his life, I cannot lose Nonso too!” I said as hot tears flowed,

I got out of the vehicle in frustration, hitting the car and crying…

“ God, why would you keep watching evil prospering… Why? Why can’t you wipe these evil people from the surface of the earth. Why do the evil people call the shots?” I broke down in tears defeated. If I didn’t want to lose Nonso, I had better turn back. The Adegbile sisters and Bunmi had given me a sample of What they were capable of doing to my loved ones.

With pain in my heart and pain all over my body from the hours of driving, I turned back.

I got to Lagos teaching hospital hours later, in the early hours of the next morning. Nonso had been put in the ICU. The accident had dealt badly with him.

My parents were there before I got there. Nonso had reached out to them after I mentioned Mororo. My father said Nonso had asked for the way to Mororo. My father said out of selfishness; with the hope that Nonso could convince me to return, he had given him the description to Mororo…

Nonso’s aged mother was devastated!

“ God Please, don’t let me lose Nonso, I can’t lose two men in one year…!” I prayed silently