About Twenty Five

melling my husband like that ” my mum chipped in jokingly.

”Always remember Im the second wife ” I said pecking my dad on his cheeks.

We had all laughed and that was the last laugh we had together. Twenty minutes after they left I received a phone call that there was a fatal auto crash on the way to the airport and my parents didn survive it. My elder brother was unconscious which led to induced coma on the way to the hospital.

I felt weak throughout the planning the burial. I felt alone. I mourned alone. Charles and my uncle was very supportive at this time for they knew how much I had loved my parents.

A week after the burial of my parents, my uncle started asking of my brothers companies. They were barely cold in the grave and my brother was still lying in bed unconscious and he was asking me this. I kept quiet and didn react . I told him to give me two weeks to come up with something. When he kept coming back, I kept posting him.

My husband in turn started asking of the company my dad had willed to give me since I would be turning 25 in few days time. I felt attacked but I maintained my composure because it might still be my grieving that was making me so touchy.

A lot of people say twenty five is one of the most challenging age in navigating life. I was struggling with cope and get myself together after my parents death and to keep up with the hospital where my brother was admitted. He already recovered from the coma and was having a speedy recovery. I instructed the hospital not to make it known yet because I was having trust issues already. I felt the accident was planned but I kept this to myself.

On the day of my birthday, I spent it with my brother in the hospital. We cried and laughed together. He said the hospital said he could be discharged that day but I insisted he spent one more week with them. On my way home, I transferred everything in my name to my brothers and gave the lawyer instruction that it is only with a signature from myself and my brother can anyone have access to the companies and the funds in it. If we were not around then evidence and investigations should be used to trace us dead or alive. If at all it was natural, it would all go to charity.

Somehow I was just taking precautions because I knew it was my birthday which would activate a lot of things. Somehow I dreaded the unknown. I got home but decided to go see my fiancé since it was my birthday after all and he had been calling me all day. So I booked a ride and got to his place.

Tricky how I saw my uncles car in front of his house. I ignored it because my uncle won be the only one driving that car. Then I went in and heard them talking.

”…..it wasn my fault. You were supposed to wait until marriage to have fixed that. Now we are not married and she is still postponing it because she is mourning. Look if we keep going like this, shell suspect us ”

”Look I don care. You had a simple job. Make her fall in love with you and use her to control her fathers asset. If you had hit the right button, you wouldve been the one she wouldve fallen to after everyone else is gone. But you went there and fell in love with her instead, now you
e the one being controlled ”

”Look the accident has happened. They are dead. You killed them for nothing. We don even have the money nor the company ”

I froze . What was Charles saying. No Im dreaming right.

I held onto the door to avoid collapsing on the floor.

”Who is there? ” Charles looked up immediately and started coming towards the door.

”So you even leave your doors unlocked. You are a very unserious man. I wonder why I employed you ” my uncle howled at him.

I started leaving not caring what they were saying. Ive heard enough. Then I heard my uncle screaming to Charles behind me.

”Make sure she doesn get away. Lets finish the whole family once and for all. ”

I removed my heels and ran while Charles ran after me. Looking behind me, I watched the man I loved chase me just to kill me.

”I hate you. Stop running after me ”

”No wait Oge, stop! ” He stopped running after me begging me to stop.

I looked at him and continued running and didn see the car coming up. It hit me and I fell flat on my face, my head hitting the tarred road. I couldn move but I heard Charles crying and blaming my uncle about everything. He asked him to stop acting like a child and throw me over the bridge. He refused and my uncle did it himself.

And that was how I woke up to the strange place after being washed up ashore and sold off by one of the fishermen.

* * *

I missed Dre so much and hugged him so tightly. He was looking so well and we both cried together. He told me how that signatory I put to the account and companies helped him understand what was really going on and how he never stopped looking for me.

I met Ola at the hospital, she was there to take care of her ailing mother. The woman she called mother who had saved her life after she was thrown off from the car mistaken to be dead. I was so happy seeing her. I thought she was dead.

I reached out to Dami through Madam Nk who stayed with me in the hospital till I recovered and she was so happy that I found my family afterwards.

Tare and I later got married.

Being twenty six has thought me that growing up to the age ”twenty five ” was the testing limit for goals that are set to be achieved and lessons that are set to be learnt.