ERRONEOUS WAY TO LOVE pt17

I barely had returned to my room the
following morning, when Mariam knocked
and entered with a very sad and tired look.
She really looked that moment like a night
worker who worked without rest all through
the night.
She wearily fell on my bed with a sigh. I sat
beside her, with both hands on my waist
and stared curiously at her with surprise.
“It’s over between Timi and i” she muttered,
while i gasped in shock,
“What did you just say?” i heard myself ask
“My relationship with Timi is over” she
announced again, i just breathed deeply and
kept quiet for few seconds.
“How? What exactly happened?” i calmly
asked,
“I confronted him last night about his ties
with a cult group, he tried denying it but
when i continued with my questions, he
barked at me almost hitting me in the
process. I gave him a condition to tell me
the truth or kiss our affair goodbye, yet he
ignored me till this morning when i left the
room” she explained unhappily, while I
smiled and held her left hand.
Even though i really never supported her
relationship with that boy, i knew my friend
really do love him, and so i had to be
cautious and neutral when advising her.
I looked at my wall clock which read
7:30AM, bit my lips and stared at my
friend. I planned going to school that
fateful day but with the look of things i
knew i might skip lectures again.
“Girlfriend are you very sure about your
decision?, you are already into him which is
a fact you can’t deny” i asked with a smile,
but she kept quiet and pretended as if she
didn’t hear my words.
Someone knocked on my door seconds
later, which made me move my attention to
my door. I waited extra two minutes before
finally opening my door, where a nervous
looking Timi greeted me with a forced
smile.
“is Mariam with you?” he calmly asked with
a searching look. At first I truly was at lost
on what to reply him, but when i finally
made up my mind to deny ever seeing her
that morning, Mariam appeared behind me
and shouted at him.
“What are you doing here, leave me alone”
she barked before shutting the door on his
face. Instead of leaving, he surprised us by
knocking again for almost an hour, and it
really appeared as if he wasn’t ready to
leave my door alone until it was opened.
I really was uncomfortable and a bit sad,
because I already have missed lectures for
that day and still trapped in my room all
because i was standing by my friend.
“I think you should have a little chat with
him, you never can tell what he wants to
say to you” i finally whispered to
Mariam when i couldn’t endure his knock
anymore. She tried to argue, but i gave her
no chance, stood up and opened my door
for Timi who quickly rushed to her side.
I never believed nor dreamt that someone
like Timi could ever do such a thing for a
girl,
“Is that what true love really means or is he
just trying to defend his pride??” was the
question i keeping asking myself as i left
them alone in my room to fetch a bucket of
water downstairs…….
___________________________
I ran into Linda when i finally got
downstairs. I smiled polietly and stopped by
her side. She was well dressed up that
fateful morning, with a big pink handbag
slung on her right shoulder. The events of
the previous evening instantly came racing
into my mind and i glanced at her injured
beauty with a heart filled with pain.
“Hi dear are you going to school?” i asked
with a look of surprise, because after what
happened the previous day i never knew she
even had the strength to dress up for an
outing.
“No i’m going over to a friend’s house, i’ll
stay there till i recover” she explained with
a weak smile. I truly was touched.
“That’s a nice idea dear, i’ll keep praying
for you” i muttered with a friendly pat on
her left shoulder. She nodded with a smile
and left without another word. I really felt
like crying that moment, but i held myself
and walked to the water-pump, which
unfortunately wasn’t working that morning.
With a deep sigh i went to the extreme end
of the backyard where the second water
pump was located and equally where David
and his friends do stay most of the time,
smoking and doing some weight-lifting
exercises, making that corner of our lodge
highly avoided by students, but i had no
choice than to go there, since i badly
needed water…
I slowly went there with a fast beating
heart, and just like i feared David and two
guys sat beside the water-pump discussing
seriously. I muttered some greetings which
they ignored before quietly fetching water
from the Tap.
“I will be in your room later” i heard David
mutter with a serious look as i carried the
heavy bucket of water i fetched. I said
nothing to him, though i managed to force
out a smile, which i knew he interpreted
wrongly.
I slowly returned to my room with my
thoughts focused on how to end his
disturbance. Nothing so far has been able
to stop him and with Linda finally out of
the way, i knew i was in for a bigger
trouble, and it just looked as if i jumped
out from a burning pot only to land on the
fire underneath.
“Oh Lord please don’t let this fire burn
Samuel as-well” i prayed as i stepped into
my room.
Perhaps it was my thoughts that blinded
me or my fears that clouded my sight and
prevented me from seeing Mariam and
Timi engaged in a scuffle. But It was to late
to avert disaster as Timi’s falling body
crashed on me without warning. My head
smashed on the wall, while his elbow broke
my lips. My bucket instantly fell, watering
my room in the process. Mariam screamed
in panic…
Timi quickly composed himself, helped me
to my feet and muttered some quick
apologies. He really was very embarrassed,
and avoided meeting my gaze out of
shame.
Mariam quickly overcame her shock, rushed
to my balcony, grabbed a clean piece of rag
and started scrubbing my room with it.
Timi joined her moments later, when he saw
that i was alright, while i quickly carried my
books which were neatly arranged on the
floor and spread them out on my balcony
to dry.
Truly the whole scene came as a shock and
surprise to me, but it really was an accident
so i blamed no one. Surprisingly Timi and
Mariam worked harmoniously together like
newly married couples as they scrubbed my
room, their quarrels forgotten as if it never
happened. I smiled in appreciation as i
watched them, even though i still felt a
little pain on my head.
“Timi really is a nice guy” i finally admitted
to myself, because he displayed some
attributes which i never knew was in him.
“Sometimes casually reading a person
dosen’t really tell us all we need to know,
and most times we end up forming a very
bad opinion about such person due to our
casual observation” i reasoned with a sigh.
I quickly fried plantain which we all ate
together minutes later, and i almost bursted
into laughter as i watched Timi trying so
hard to make Mariam smile.
“Please help me plead to your friend, she
dosen’t understand how much i love her” he
finally pleaded to me. I blushed and stared
at Mariam without knowing what to tell her,
“Don’t give me that look Mary, he should
first tell me if he truly belongs to a cult
group or not, if he really wants me” she
fired back. I stared at Timi with a shrug. He
instantly looked down as if he was given a
very difficult condition.
“Will the truth change anything?” he asked
seconds later,
“I don’t know” she replied haughtily,
“Yes i do belong to a cult group” he
muttered with a deep breathe.
A huge terrifying silence fell in my room as
his confession registered into our head….
For the first time, i wished he had lied…