29/05/2026
A few weeks passed since I was discharged from the school clinic. I was terrified to look in the direction of that window, let alone daring to see what was behind it.
Ezinne stuck around to take care of me, though it felt like a nightmare for the most of it, because she did not stop asking who Ifeanyi was….
He was a friend. I knew him before I gained admission, but he tragically lost his life.
“so what has it got to do with you fainting, and the gift box?”
“SIGH”
I am hungry.
One evening after I walked Ezinne to her uber, she needed to go to her place for some fresh change of clothes, and a breath of fresh air that did not involve taking care of me.
I stood there until they left, and then I curiously looked at the window.
It was brightly lit, but the shadow was not there.
I could not walk back inside, and so I took my first unsure shaky steps toward the building that was haunting me.
I got to his door and knocked, but I was met with silence that lingered for a couple minutes. When he eventually opened the door, my breath was heavy, and my heart was beating fast!
Tears welling, I courageously asked; Ifeanyi, how did you survive a knife to the throat?
The silence was deafening.
“was that how he died?”
We did not know he was dead, until the police identified his decomposing co**se by the lagoon, after we reported him missing. we did not bother to conduct an autopsy, because we just could not afford it at the time. Please come in”.
I hesitated, but I walked in anyway. The apartment looked empty, and echoed. A pot was boiling in the kitchen, and his radio sat on the table, with a Newspaper. The room smelled of steam, but my attention, undivided and uninterrupted in scouting a potential threat. My eyes then fell on the picture on his wall.
You, you are, you are a twin? I stammered.
“yes”.
I collapsed on the chair, and held my head.
So what are you doing? I asked, without raising my head.
“Ifeanyi told me about you, he liked you a lot. He even showed me pictures, and always talked about how he would marry you one day, and then one day, he just went to work and never returned. I recognized you when I saw you, but I was too shy to approach you, so I played pranks instead.”
You played pranks?!
“I am sorry. So who stabbed Ifeanyi”s throat?”.
We both perceived the smell of burning food, and it was the perfectly timed escape for me.
He ran to the kitchen to checkout the burning food. I waited a few minutes before walking towards the kitchen to tell him that I had to go home. I will see you again.
I walked home slowly, and took the longest shower of my life.