TEMPTED SOUL

“Why are you finding it difficult to help me? Remember, it’s me, your love. Please do this for me, and I assure you. You will never live to regret this, I swear. If you know you don’t love me, why did you accept to be my girlfriend? Why do you want to disappoint me at this time when I need your help most? Why would you allow the devil to steal the love you have for me now? Why would you give the devil a chance? Tell me why?” Alfonso muttered faintly.

I was short of words. I didn’t know the right word to say again that would gladden his mind. I was speechless for a while, searching for the right word to say.

“Please stop saying that. Why can’t you also understand me? Why are you pressuring me to take what does not belong to me? This is very risky, you know. I am scared because I don’t want to have a family issue with my elder brother. He would deny me and kick me out of his house. I am too young to start begging. I am too young to go into the street and live like I don’t have a home. Please, try to understand my point here,” I said, trying to stand my ground.

“If anything happens to you, you don’t have to worry about that when you have someone like me. Consider my home to be your home, and consider me to be your father, brother, and another family at heart. I can’t watch you go into the street and suffer. Instead, you will park into my house and stay. I promise you, you will never regret this act of kindness. Just give it a try, please baby.” Alfonso replied.

“Please, I am so scared of doing this. Just give me some time to think about it and see what I can do.” I assured him.

When we ended the call, I was lost in deep thought concerning what Alfonso told me. I didn’t know what else to do because the business didn’t belong to me. Besides, Alfonso is the only guy who I have fallen in love with. I love him so much and I didn’t want to lose him either. Seeing him in such a critical situation made my heart shatter into tiny pieces. So I thought of a way to help him, but not particularly with the 10 million naira that he requested.

I also thought about what if he doesn’t pay back. What if he runs away with the money and changes his line? So many things pondered in my mind that I could not understand. I also thought about what my brother would do to me if he found out about it.

I know my brother to be a hot-tempered person. He may kick me out of his house or may not train me in the university as he has promised to. He was already on the verge of fulfilling that as soon as I gained admission. To me, this was a temptation. My soul was tempted.

A lot of things came to my mind. I was scared and confused at the same time. While I was still thinking, I fell asleep on top of the sofa I was sitting on. I had a horrible and confusing dream.

A woman, dark-skinned woman, was chasing after me with a long cane. The woman looked so ugly, tattered, and helpless. She wanted me to help her with some money. According to her, if I did not help her, She would keep chasing me, and disturbing me till I made up my mind to help her.

“I can’t help you. I am still a child. I don’t have any money to help you. Please stop chasing after me and leave me alone.” I pleaded with her but she was merciless. There was no sign of pity in her dictionary.

’You have so much money, you are rich, but you don’t want to help me. I will make sure that you have no peace of mind until you help me. I will keep tormenting your life if you don’t help me.” She said.

I was scared. I looked at myself and wondered why she said I was rich. What did she really see in me that made her even think so? It was hilarious. Even though I was a rich person, was it by force to help someone? I didn’t see the reason why her own case was different. To be frank, I haven’t seen this kind of person in my life before.

I started running, but the slippers I was wearing seemed to slow me down; they appeared to be a barrier. So I pulled it off and held it in my palm. Then, I continue running, while she keeps chasing after me. Twenty minutes later, I was exhausted. My legs were hotting me badly. My throat longed for water, but there was no water available for me to sip.

So I continued running faster, while she kept chasing after me. She didn’t relent, and I too didn’t relent. I kept running for my dear life. At one point, I fell to my knees and was breathing heavily like a starving dog. As she was approaching me, I stood up and started running again. I was scared of the cane in her hand because I didn’t want to be flogged.

What baffled me most was that even though I tried as much to increase my ease, it seemed as though my legs were held captive. I couldn’t run faster than my shadow despite all my effort. I found myself tip-toed, hit my toes on a stone, and stumbled to my feet.

I was completely laying helplessly on the dusty ground as the woman ambled towards me with rage. I could see her eyes turning to different shapes of colour which I couldn’t identify. My heartbeat increased; it was beating hard like a hummingbird.

“Since you want to prove to me that you’re stubborn and you don’t want to help a poor woman like me, I will show you that a stubborn fly always follows his ancestor to the grave.” She said as her eyelashes fluttered.

Then, she raised the cane in her hand above her head to lash it at me. I could not stand up and run. It seemed as though my body was tied to the ground. At that moment, I felt like the ground should just open up and swallow me so that this woman would not lash the cane on my skin.