NOT A DREAM

I applied the pink gloss on my lips and smiled at myself in the hand mirror. It made my lips fuller and I liked the shade.

“I will take it.” I said and smiled at the sales girl.

 “Nikky!”

I turned swiftly and beheld a very fair and heavy woman. My eyes went to her glittering neck. "that necklace must have cost a fortune" I thought while trying to recall where I had met her. She was totally unfamiliar. Hastily moving over, she imprisoned my body in a tight embrace. The woman nearly strangled me but I eventually managed to free myself from her bear hug. Straightening out my creased top, I noticed that the strange woman was still very excited at seeing me, so I decided to play along. After all, she go soon move on;  I thought, but she persisted in her admiration of my figure and kept on bombarding me with questions. That was when I owned up.

“It’s me! Bola! Your camp bunky!”

I peered closely at her face. she smiled again and I instantly recognized her;

“Bola!”

The memories rushed back and I embraced her again, this time with genuine affection. Bola was the most sought-after girl at the camp. Young men used to queue up in front of our hostel just to beg her to accompany them to the mammy market for dinner. She was a girl on fire. Her hour glass figure and graceful demeanor had bagged her; the most beautiful girl award. That was obviously in the past because the giggling woman in front of me really looked different and BIG.

That was the story of our first encounter and the beginning of my woes. We met at a garden for the weekend and the memories came alive. We went over our Youth service days over plates of fish pepper soup and bottles of wine. Bola had definitely lost her hour glass figure, but her sense of humor was still off the hook. She narrated the story of her life without reservations. I got to know that she was a single parent, a general contractor and that she, after years of being a house wife, divorced her wealthy and abusive husband. Her boisterous and happy nature made me wonder if she had any worries.  I ended up getting home very late and a bit tipsy.

The next day, I woke up with a slight headache and was still trying to convince myself to swallow a pain reliever when my phone rang. It was Bola and she was at my gate! I froze. Regaining my composure,I rushed to the window but could not get a clear view of the main gate.  

This could not be happening. I had felt there was something about that woman. How did she locate my home? We had met at the garden for the fish and had parted there as well. There was something dodgy about her, so I was extra careful not to divulge my residential address. If I did not tell her, then how did she track me down? What was she doing at my gate very early in the morning? It could all be a joke, I concluded.

Since there was only one way to verify, I threw on my house coat and headed for my front door. Unlocking it with mixed feelings, I hurriedly strode to the main gate. Abdul, our gate man greeted me and pulled the smaller gate open. To my relief, there was no sign of Bola. I laughed and turned to head back, but Abdul stopped me.

“The madam dey for that car.” 

He gestured towards a sleek Jaguar parked across the road. The doors opened and Bola stepped out with two muscular men. A different Bola...