Inordinate - Part 16
Tele stayed in the toilet for quite some time, running back everytime he tried to come out. It was amusing, and Wayo was happy to be rid of him.
After ten minutes, Nora was still quiet in the room, which worried Wayo to no end. He thought she would start praying loudly like she had done before.
Maybe she was praying silently, Wayo concluded. Afterall, some Christians prayed without speaking, maybe that was what she was doing.
He took the opportunity to shower in the guest room and brush his teeth with the toothbrush he found there. He couldn't remember the last time he tasted water.
By the time he freshened up, one hour had passed. His hourly alarm went off as a signal- It was 9PM.
The house was quiet and Tele was still in the bathroom, so Wayo guessed that he had used the toilet so many times that he opted to remain there. There were a bunch of pills in Yaga’s wardrobe but Wayo didn't know which one would help Tele. Yaga was usually the expert in these things.
The house was too quiet for Wayo's liking. One could almost here a pin drop, and it was upsetting. He fished out the keys and unlocked his room, and what he saw made his jaw drop.
Nothing.
He saw nothing.
Yaga and the girl had disappeared.
Wayo searched the house in vain, then rushed to Yaga’s room where Tele was using the toilet. The room was locked from the outside.
Using his spare key, Wayo unlocked the door, only to hear Tele banging on the bathroom door. He was trapped behind a locked door.
Wayo began to process what was going on, leaving Tele raging in the bathroom.
Yaga drove like a madman.
His heart was beating fast and his hands were shaking, but he could not stop to think about the effects of the stunt he had pulled.
When he got to the nearest junction, he waited till Nora got a taxi so he could pay. She had not said anything throughout the drive, and neither had Yaga.
“They have pictures of me…” she trailed off, just before she entered the taxi. Yaga scanned the driver's face for signs of trouble. He looked at the soldier for confirmation, and when he got a nod he opened the door for her to board.
“I'll handle the pictures. Just go home.” He replied, watching the soldier enter the car after her.
It was strange, being able to see the soldier and pretend that everything was normal because nobody else could see him. The huge man dominated Yaga’s view, yet he had to stay calm so nobody would think he was crazy.
Yaga got into Wayo's car without looking back, because there was nothing to see behind him. It was over, and he needed to face the consequences.
He felt empty, now that the soldier had gone away.
“I'm still here.” A voice behind him said.
Yaga almost ran a stray cat over while trying to look behind him.
There he sat, at the backseat of the car, for the first time in casual black Tshirt and cargo pants and with a grin plastered across his face.
“You are here?” Yaga was surprised, and he couldn't hide it. All this time he thought he was seeing the soldier because of Nora. “How? Did you leave her?”
“I am still with her, but now I am also with you. The same way I am with your father, and your mother. I am also with your Adanne.” The soldier replied.
“So you'll follow me everywhere from now on?” Yaga panicked, “My life is a mess, you will not like being with me.” He recounted all the wicked things he had enabled. The soldier would be disgusted if he knew.
But I know everything, he spoke into Yaga’s mind. Yaga signed, tightening his grip on the steering.
“What do I do?” The question came from the depth of his heart. He had so many burdens to share, and maybe the soldier could help him. His mother's hospital bills hung over his head. Wayo would soon realise that he had received a fake bank alert on his old phone.
The soldier put a hand on Yaga’s shoulder, “Follow me. We can be friends.”
“How can we be friends if you are..” He thought of a suitable word “you know, not human. How do we hang out?” Yaga knew he was rambling, but he couldn't help it.
“We can do some of the things you like, and some of the things I like- at first. You'll know we are friends when you start to like the things I like. Give it some time.” the soldier explained.
Yaga remembered something “Do you want to drive? I know you said you can't be my passenger”
The soldier burst into laughter, and this time Yaga didn't hold back. The music of their laughter hummed in his ears, and the sound pleased him.
When he stopped seeing the soldier, it caught him off guard, but he remembered that just because he couldn't see him, didn't mean he wasn't there. So he alighted from the car, and prepared to face Tele and his cousin.
And just in case Nora got the police involved, he was prepared for that too. The soldier would follow him into the fire, right?
