VAL-NOT-THINE (part two)

There was stuffiness in the air. The whole place reeked of a blend of burning coal and stale cigarettes. She made a grunting sound loud enough for her captive to hear. She needed to know what was going on.

The silence was broken by his thick husky voice “So u neva ready to talk ehn, make oga come first”. She looked surprised. Her brain kept playing “twenty-one questions” with her. Who was Oga? What business did she have with this supposed Oga? Everything was going Topsy-Turvy.

In her confused state, she hadn’t noticed they had company. The hushed tone and secrecy surrounding the conversation brought her back to reality. Wait a minute! The voice sounded so familiar. That was certainly the voice of IKENNA!!  What business did Ikenna have with her kidnappers?  Was Ikenna the so called Oga that kept popping up in their conversation? 

She finally saw his face even as he came close to her. “So did you do it Bukky (as she was fondly called),  did you do it?” He asked. She knew exactly what he was talking about but the fear in her heart and the palpitations in her chest rendered her mute and automatically allowed her feign ignorance. The blood in his eyes and the anger in his voice was enough to kill her.

Ikenna was fiercely built at 6 feet 6 inches. He had well defined masculine features, so it came as no surprise that he was a three time championship wrestler a few years back.

Bukola remembered vividly the day she met him. It was just like any other day except on this day she didn’t feel like going home so when  her friend suggested hanging out at a bar, she had no objection. She barely sat when Ikenna walked in. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He carried with him a certain charisma, an aura of pride. His smile could melt a heart of stone and he had such a powerful aphrodisiac scent.

Bukola felt a tingle between her thighs even as he walked towards her to sit and engage her in conversation. His spoken English was impeccable. He was just perfect!

She was jolted back to reality by his voice again – this time sterner and more commanding – even as he asked her the same question for the third time. She knew she had to give him an answer if there was to be any hope of him sparing her life. She was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea because she also knew that no matter her reply she was in for more punishment.

She had been foolish to fall in love with him. She had been carried away by the physicality and vain things he had to offer. And so the first time Ikenna beat her she blamed herself for getting him angry. That beating was the first of many and after each episode she always purposed in her heart to end things with him but never really found the will to actually follow through. 

Until she finally decided enough was enough because there was never any hope of marital bliss with Ikenna. And so when she discovered she was pregnant with his child, she aborted it without thinking twice. Ikenna didn’t like the idea and had beaten her to stupor even though he secretly hoped she was joking. She had been hiding out with friends, trying to keep as far away as possible from Ikenna. She finally decided to go pack her things on that fateful day, little did she know that Ikenna was already a step ahead of her and had plotted her kidnap.

“Bukola for the last time, did you do it?” Tears streamed down her face,  even as she thought about her hopeless state. Where would she start from? How would she begin to explain to Ikenna that she had stopped loving him? How would she look into his eyes and say she aborted his pregnancy?