I really wanted to unload the weight on my mind to Samo this evening. I was terrible at bottling things, and one could sense the uneasiness in my eyes no matter how hard I tried to hide it. I had to say it, if this would save her soul from imminent destruction. I didn't mean to be a killjoy, but I owed her the truth.
The first time I tried, my lips and mind had aligned. Just when I muttered the courage to utter the words, her hot gist stopped me right in my tracks. She seemed to have been completely lost in the excitement of meeting someone who would treat her to the best places, serenade her ears with tales of love that made her heart race a thousand miles, and give her the kind of attention Tobi, her ex, never gave.
“Baby girllll, this guy is everything” she shared in extreme excitement. As excited as she was, I wore a blank, indifferent look on my face. I was afraid for her.
It was time.
“Tari is married” I dropped the bombshell.
Samo stared at me as if my statement were meant for someone else but her. With Tari, she threw caution to the wind. If I didn't know better, I would say she had been locked in his charm, because I couldn't understand the reason my revelation didn't seem to move her.
“I said, Tari is married” I reiterated. I carried a tone of extreme seriousness this time, hoping she would budge or even show signs of shock. Samo held my hands and looked me in the eyes.
“What could possibly go wrong? I'm not marrying him, I only need a worthy distraction. Besides, it's a mutually beneficial relationship” Samo was so confident in her well delivered speech. She would have probably asked for an award for what she had just said.
Her words unsettled me.
Samo went on filling the emptiness of her life with Tari’s love and presence. She relished every bit of it like a teenager who just had her first taste of love. Nothing could stop her from the destruction she was headed for. I felt compelled to save her, but even she didn't want to be saved.
She flaunted pictures of her escapades with Tari on social media to all who cared to see. If it wasn't a trip to the most exotic tourist site, it would be rubbing the latest vanity item he had got her in our faces. That he was married and could possibly be trailed by his wife didn't seem like anything to her.
Samo wasn't home. I had expected she would return later like she always did. My body had worn out after a long day at work, so I had gone to bed without checking on her like it was my routine.
The next morning was quiet. No disturbance from her ever blaring bluetooth radio, or deep laughter from her bedroom from calls as Tari filled her ears with words that made her giggle long and hard. All of that was missing.
“Naomi, can you hear me? We haven't seen Tari o!” The line went dead. I tried as much as I could to call the number after the momentary call, but the line wouldn't go through. I didn't know when my palm began to sweat and I had this heaviness in my head.
That evening, I wanted to eat, but guilt held my appetite. How could I savour a good meal when Samo was nowhere to be found. I became very restless. My mind had a field day conceiving the wildest of thoughts.
What if she's been used for ritual? What if they have been involved in a car crash? What if Tari's wife had abducted her. It became an unending session of “What ifs.”
Curiosity led me to begin my undercover work on Facebook. I combed every page to see pictures that would lead me to her. I found Tari's wife. She looked like one of those women who made the best bodyguards for female politicians. She didn't wear a smile in any of her pictures. I made my shallow conclusions just from that. What I was supposed to do with finding her on Facebook, I didn't know.
I went to God that morning. I hadn't said anything to him in a long while, but Samo made me say those prayers this morning.
“Let me just find her, Lord. I'll come back to you like I used to” I couldn't say much. I just knelt there quietly, hoping for an instant miracle.
“Thank you for coming” Her feeble voice managed to say after the long silence between us. I stood there watching the pain in her eyes, the bulge on her cheek and the blood clot in her eye. She had done this. The heavy weight I had uncovered on Facebook in the person of Tari's wife.
There I was, unable to look her in the eyes. I wanted to say I told you so, but I restrained myself. With every breath, there was pain. The kind of pain I had warned her about. Now, it wasn't just emotional, but a physical one that would keep her in this bed for God knows how long.
“I'll come back to see you” I said this as I shut the door and walked away!