by Omolara Abimbola Mark-one We met at the UME center,he was the last candidate to enter the hall,all the seats were already occupied except one....."Good morning sir." he greeted the invigilator who sat at the entrance of the examination hall..."your photo card"..and he showed him..."here is your computer sheet,pick question paper from that table and start immediately."...."OK sir."...i raised my face to see who it was and our eyes met,we could still recognize each other,he was my seat partner back in primary school,he came to meet after the exam and we spoke for a long time,he told me about how he had lost his both parents and that he has been living with his uncle even though his wife often maltreats him,i felt for him but there was nothing i could do at that moment,i asked if i could get his phone number but he doesn't have a phone so i gave him my number as well my address cos he was a very good friend back in primary school.
A week after the exam he came pay me a visit,i was very happy because my dad was around,i entertained him and introduced him to my dad cos i had already told dad about his plight,we spoke together for a while before he eventually left then i got to know we chose the same institution but different courses.The result came out and we both got 200 above,not to beat about the bush the registration started and dad took all the responsibilities,he was very happy and showed appreciation in so many ways and he tried to please me and my dad all the time,cos he told me it was one of his friends that bought the jamb form for him and he's not even sure if his uncle will be able to sponsor him to further his education.we were best of friends in school.cos we do almost every thing together and were seen together always,truly we had a relationship.
Every thing went on smoothly and we were called love birds cos our love for each other was quite evident,i can never forget the last valentine when we both checked out the cinema,the movie was just for us cos we really enjoyed it.After everything he took me to my apartment and as he was about to leave he turned and held me in both hands looking straight into my eyes he said,..."I love you."...what else am i supposed to do than to reciprocate his love,he's cute,tall,dark and handsome,he's eloquent,caring and has a good sense of humor,even though he drinks to stupor i know he's still the one for me..."I love you too" ...was all i could say back to him and we started kissing before i knew it he was already on me.i had no choice so i gave myself to him cos i really wanted to satisfy him,a few minutes later he sat upright looking at me he asked..."Are you in your menstrual period or are you expecting it ?,..."...looking at the blood on the bed i felt some how and couldn't reply ..."don't tell me your a virgin."...i couldn't look into his eyes cos i was very shy ..."what if i say so?"...was all i could say,cos no man has ever seen me nude much less have sex with me."i cant believe this" he exclaimed "oh my God!" he moved closer to me and said "i will take you to the alter".
I missed my period the following month and i made him know about it when i later realized i was pregnant i was shocked cos i never expected it but i didn't know what do and we were both confused,to cut it short he took me for an abortion he explained the doctor was an expert and assured me that i would be fine but i was really scared,i don't want to die cos i promised never to disappoint my dad,he has been there for me ever since my mom died when she was about to give birth to the second child,I'm the only one he has and even wondered why he hasn't married a second wife yet.The abortion was successful but i was still afraid cos anything could transpire,we continued our love life and there was no problem cos we were both faithful to each other and were nominated as best couples in school even if we weren't given the award due to some beefs and mates that were envious.our love was sweet until when we started our project and by then i had already aborted thrice,a week before we started our project we both went for a comedy show there we met an old friend of mine who was a daughter to a commissioner we attended the same secondary school and were in the same room in the hostel,our mates do call us artificial twins cos we looked very much alike and share a lot of things in common,i introduced them to each other and spoke with her for a while and exchanged contacts before she left,..."who is she?,'' he asked and i told him all i knew about her "i must say,she's pretty and you both look alike but believe me you are prettier." and we smiled at each other,after then i noticed an unusual attitude in him,i pick his calls read his text messages and vice versa but there was particular weekend i went to spend with him cos we do spend weekends together,that very day i was in his room,i sat on a chair adjacent the bed working on my project and i heard his phone ring but it was on the bed,i was carried away by what i was doing so before i could reach the phone i missed the call and not quite long he got a text message but to my greatest surprise he dashed out of the bathroom and snatched his phone from me trying to prevent me from reading the text.."whats all this?"..i asked cos i was pissed at the turn of event,looking at him i noticed his countenance had already changed and wasn't palatable."whats your business with my phone?" he asked in a very harsh manner... "but..." he cuts in..."but what?, hey listen don't you ever pick my calls or read my text messages again" i was flabbergasted,cos i can't just figure out why he decided to be so cold.. "why do you have to say that?,at least we pick each other's calls and read our text messages or is anything big in that?,or have you been doing something shady?" i asked spontaneously... "well shady or no shady i don't ever want to see you with my phone again period." he took his phone and went back to the bathroom.I was dumbfounded and couldn't imagine what was happening,after then he hardly picks my call or reply my text and wouldn't even beep me,i knew there was something wrong some where.
The following weekend i asked if he was around so i could come spend the weekend with him and as well talk to him about his recent and unusual attitude but he told me he was traveling to see his family,knowing he had seen them for so long i asked if i could go with him but he told me not to bother,i asked if everything was alright and he assured me that there was no problem,i told him to extend my greetings to every member of his family then he hung up.I started feeling insecure cos i didn't understand him anymore,he left for a couple of weeks and he neither called nor text,i went home and told dad about the frequent occurrence and he told me not to worry that he was going to call him to come see him.He didn't show up after then until a week to our final exams,i sat somewhere underneath a tree inside the campus then my friends came to meet me."There you are." said one of them"hi girls! where are you coming from? " i asked and one answered "from somewhere to meet you," "oh i see,so where exactly?" i noticed she was holding an invite which looks like that of a wedding,one could easily differentiate a wedding invite from other invites "well have it" she handed over the invite to me but i didn't open it at first "and who is getting married?" i asked but she said "why don't you just open it and see who's getting married" i eventually opened it and saw his name with that of my friend,the one we met at the comedy show,i wasn't really sure what was going on until i saw their pictures "no,no this can't be true,no don't tell me this is for real"...
The next time i opened my eyes i realized i was in a hospital and i saw my friends,i couldn't help but call his name and my friends moved closer to me "we are very sorry about what happened but we just felt that we should let you know before something else comes up" i told them to help me get my phone and i tried calling him,to my greatest surprise he picked my call this time around but he refused to say a word "Please talk to me,don't do this to me" tears rushed down my cheeks and my dad emerged ,my friends greeted him..."Are you alright darling,whats going on,what exactly happened?" i just gave him the invite and he looked at it for a while and said "this is a black mail,i don't think this is real,and where did you get this?" my friends explained they got it from a mate in their department but dad still didn't believe "well let me go see the doctor first just put yourself together okay,every thing will be alright soon."
I was later discharged that very evening and dad sat beside me on my bed trying to console me..."you know people are very jealous they might just want you to develop an unnecessary hatred for him or just do this to separate you two but i trust him he can't be getting married to another lady,who even knows if he had been kidnapped or something,well i will report him missing to the police and make sure everything comes back to shape asap,just put your mind at rest darling he won't get married to any one but you,i will allow you get some rest but promise me you won't think about it" he left but i cant just stop thinking about it,after several abortions,"Oh my God why is this happening to me?!"
still shedding tears cos it was really painful after all this years,then i heard my phone beep before i could turn to pick it on the drawer i missed the call when i picked the phone to check who it was,i realized it was him and as i was trying to call back i got a message from him again...Here is the content...
Am so sorry about all that has happened,
and i guess you are feeling better now,
you know i love you and won't do anything to hurt you
i want to let you know that i was neither kidnapped nor black mailed
but am also confused cos i can't just think straight at the moment
i thank you and your dad for all you've done in my life
but i just have to get married to her because she's carrying my baby.
