NKEM 2

Gladys floated like a dry leaf on a breezy harmattan afternoon. Her head felt giddy. But it was a pleasant one. She smiled at everyone they met on the way. She loved them all! Even if Ibe had crossed path with them when she was walking beside Nkem, she would have loved him too. The feeling was wonderful. It was something she had never experienced before. This feeling was real, this feeling was true. As the past by, people stopped to greet them. Nkem is a very popular musician, she thought and she was going to be popular with him.

Their house was a one room apartment he shared with his mother. They met her in front of the mud house with a roofing sheet that had holes in them through which the sun found an entrance. When his mother noticed them, she was amazed. She smiled at Gladys whose heart had stopped beating like a war drum. She greeted  while Nkem stood looking at them.

'Welcome my daughter', his mother greeted flashing a kolanut  stained sets of teeth.

Nkem's mother nodded at his greeting with a look that communicated more than Gladys could understand.

They went in and sat down. The room looked old as though it had been abandoned for years. Lizards ran in and out through different cracks on the wall. There were baskets with clothes on one side and a spring bed on the other side where Gladys sat. Opposite the bed, on the wall his Nkem's guitar. It looked old but neat. The floor had cracks and were dusty. When silence had engulfed the room long enough, Nkem decided to introduce her to his mother.

'Nma, this is Gladys, my new friend. She is a member of this village'.

His mother nodded and looked at Gladys as though to confirm that she was truly a daughter of the village.

Gladys felt uncomfortable with the series of questions Nkem's mother  ask her. She felt like a specimen on the table of a biologist probing every details of each part.

It was past midday when she left Nkem's house. There were questions disturbing her mind too and which wanted answers immediately. She wondered why Nkem was still living with his mother and why the room was looking so unkempt. Nkem coughed, making her turn her  gaze from the road to him.

'What is wrong', he asked scratching his elbow slowly. She paused, wondering how best to put the question to him. When she eventually found her voice, she said:

'Why are you still staying with your mother?'

He fumbled for a coherent response that came out in grunts and sighs. He took his eyes from her unto the road as though to avoid any more questions. The silence that stayed between them remained for a very long time as they walked slowly towards Gladys house. She felt it was no use asking further questions. There would be enough time for questions later on.  But she wondered if she had not been too forward with her approach. She could have allowed him chase her like Ibe was doing but Nkem had opened a portal in her that no one else could shut.

News travel fast especially the bad ones. Few distance away from their house, Nkem said his good bye and promised to call by her house. But Gladys, knowing what disaster that could bring, told him it was best she comes to his house instead.

Her mother was seated in front of the house on a bench. Her feet tapping the floor, arms folded on her chest. She hummed a discordant tune that was in tandem with her tapping. There was something ominous about her posture that frightened Gladys. She showed no surprise when Gladys showed up and neither did she respond to her greeting. It was then she knew that a storm was already gathering.