TEMPTED SOUL

The thought of reporting Alfonso to police custody crept into my mind, but I didn’t want to involve the police as I thought maybe he was trying to pull my leg, maybe he was trying to make me feel unsafe and worried. I also thought of reporting the case to my elder brother, but I didn’t feel right relating it to him.

It’s going to sound too pathetic. It could even make my brother grow angry towards me for friending a boy without his consent, even after all he had told me to keep away from city boys.

“When I came to the city newly, I saw a lot of beautiful girls, but I wasn’t moved by that. The only motivation I had was to struggle hard for success. My motivation was to make money. Some boys who started with us ended up in regret because they chose to follow the other way round. They squandered their money on girls and ended up achieving nothing. Even some girls who befriended some boys, after these guys had promised them heaven and the earth, still failed them. They broke their hearts and ran away with their money,” he paused, then continued.

He was distracted by his phone when a text message came in, but he continued while I sat raptly listening.

“Some of them are just there to scam you, take your money, and break your heart. Some will even destroy you. The city is dangerous, so be careful and don’t mind anyone who comes with his silver tongue. You got to open your eyes. I am a guy who has lived and seen all manner of things happening here in the city. I know what my gender can do to a girl, especially those jobless ones.”

“Nobody would tell you this. I am telling you because you are the only sister I have on this earth. You are special to me, and I love you with all my heart, and I am not ready to lose you.” He said with seriousness written all over his face. Though I knew my brother couldn’t make light of such situations and couldn’t tell me lies.

“So, brother, does it mean there are no good guys in the city?” One thing about me is that I love asking questions. Back then in secondary school, my teacher had taught us to always ask questions in the area of things we find difficult to understand for clarity. To me, asking questions has been one of my childish habits, even before I was taught about it in school.

“I didn’t say they are no good guys, but in the city here it is very rare to find a good guy. I just want you to be careful,” he replied.

“So, how do I know the good ones and the bad ones?” I asked again.

“At this point in your life, I will not advise you to friend any guy. You have a future, a life to live and a dream to accomplish. Wait till your time comes, for now, all you need is to focus on your education and self-development because that is what will make you a responsible woman in the future and will determine the kind of men who will walk up to you. At that point, you’ll understand the essence of life and be able to dictate the good and bad ones.”

He explained, my brother was a guy who doesn’t have much time to go deep into details to explain things to you, but if he decides to do it for you. I bet you, my brother would teach you to the fullest and make you understand every point he blew out.

If my parents had had money, my brother would have gone to the university, and by now he was supposed to be working as a professor because of his cleverness and level of intelligence. My brother was my mentor, my professor, and my father.

What came to my mind after recalling what he had told me earlier was how would he feel if I relate the case to him. What will his reaction be? Will he be happy for me or sad?

I feel agitated and frightened at the same time. I know I’ve messed up. I know I’ve failed his conduct and promises. Sleep finally came knocking on the door, and I answered the call. In the morning, when I woke up, I had my daily morning prayer.

Because it was a big market day, I did woke up early by 5:30 to start preparing for the day’s activities. Hence, I woke up at the usual time and got prepared. My brother had left before me and handed all the money to me to bring it to him later.

I didn’t want to waste much of my time in order not to delay my brother and make him feel frustrated in the market, so I hurried through everything I was doing. I put on the same dress I had the previous day and hurried out of the house, bidding my mum goodbye for the day.

As I stepped out of the gate standing at the entrance to stop a bus, this particular black van came to a halt. A guy whose face I couldn’t identify hopped out of the car’s window with a gun pointed directly at my face. He threatened to blow a shot at me as he set the trigger.

“Stop there and don’t move. If you move or make a sound, I will blow off this shot on your stomach.” His angry voice tensed the atmosphere. His voice was capable of pulling down the roof of a three-story building.

My heart sank into my stomach, a chill rushed down my spine, and my legs started wobbling on the ground. I thought of what to do, but nothing came up. There was no way I could escape from this situation. I was still in the state of my thoughts when another muscular figure hopped out of the back seat and grabbed the bag of money I was holding in my hand, then pushed me into the car.

“I don’t want to hear your voice. If you do, you will become a dead person in the next second.” The guy warned, and all I did was nod to his instruction.

They drove me a long distance, to a place I didn’t recognize, a place I’d never visited before. My heart was beating. I felt like fainting because I knew my life was in danger. There was nobody to come to my rescue.

The clouds were still in dark shape and even though I escaped by the grace of God, I would never know the road to my area. What am I even thinking? With what strength will I confront these enraged men, talkless of escaping? We got out of the car when we got to a particular area where there were no houses, just bushy areas.

But there was a big building on the right-hand side, an uncompleted three-story building. They took me into the building and tied my legs together and also tied my mouth with a piece of plastic wrapper while my face was left open. I start wondering who sent these people to me. Did Alfonso actually frame me? Why would he do such a harmful thing to me? Did I even deserve all this from him?