Chapter 15

Right from the night I left home, Aunty Mary had somehow found out that I had been sleeping at Mr. Mohammed's house. I heard She had confronted him one day. I like to imagine that their conversation had gone like this:

"Mr. Mohammed, with due respect I couldn't believe you would abhor another man's child under your roof without finding out why he has refused to go back home" she angrily approached him.

" I beg your pardon" Mohammed would have responded in surprise.

"Are you saying that you are not aware that My nephew, Fred ran away from home and he had been staying with your son? "

I imagine that she would have ordered him to send me out of his house and Mr. Mohammed would have been confused because he didn't know that I ever slept over at his house.

That particular day,I recall it was a Tuesday, I and Usman had been outdoors all day, we decided to get some rest and eat at his place because we were tired and hungry. Once we stepped indoors, we met Mr. Mohammed waiting at the door, looking furious. He didn't say anything to me, but he asked Usman to meet him in his room for a private conversation. Usman followed his Dad while he gave me a sign to go inside his room. I layed on the bed with curiosity concerning what my friend's Dad wanted to discuss in private. I had no doubt that it was about me.

Usman came to meet me in the room after fifteen minutes and as he got in, it was obvious that he wasn't happy with whatever his father had told him. He sat beside me on the bed not knowing how to tell me, then I asked him what the problem was. After a few minutes of persuading him to tell me whatever it was, he finally broke his silence to inform me that my Aunt had gone to confront his dad and threatened to involve the police if he continued to allow me stay in his house. Usman told me that because his dad wasn't aware of my presence in the house, he had lied to him that it was true that I left home but I had noy been sleeping in their house.

Usman was was my true friend indeed because he understood my situation and he was ready to protect me at all cost, despite the fact that he didn't have the resources to do it. He had shared his little meals with me on a daily basis and provided me shelter. He had also help keep my secret from our other friends in the community by ensuring that none of them knew that I left home and that I had been hiding in his room without the consent of his father. This i considered true friendship and I was ready to keep the same energy by ensuring that I returned the love whichever without considering the cost.

I told Usman that I was going to figure something out, at least for that night. As much as he wanted to continue to keep me in the his room, he couldn't because his dad had threatened to punish him if he found out that he was hiding me in his house. The two of us headed back outside,food and rest forgotten because we were deeply troubled about the situation. When evening came I began to think of where I was going to pass the night, it wasn't going to be that night alone but many nights ahead too. That evening I couldn't go home with my friend for dinner because his dad was watching our every move already. I told Usman that I was going to see Beth because it had been several days I saw her last and after find somewhere to lay my head for the night. Usman was truly sorry for me as we parted, but there was nothing he could have done to change the situation.

I When arrived at Beth's, I stood by a wall near the building where I could not be seen by Beth's Aunt. They lived on the second floor of the property, so I had to keep checking if someone was going to come out of their apartment. There were days when I had come visiting and didn't get to see her since there was no way to pre- inform her that I was coming,(this was before mobile phones became a thing) a. After thirty to forty minutes of waiting and watching for Beth's Aunt, Beth opened the door, stood at the balcony and spotted me. At that moment for me, if there were anything beautiful in this world, it was Beth's smile from the balcony upstairs. Anytime I was around her, I felt comfortable and loved, I couldn't wait for her to come downstairs and hug me.

She signaled at me that she was going to meet me downstairs in ten minutes, I moved away from the spot I was to our usual spot. Five minutes later Beth showed up, we hugged each other and decided to take a walk . On our way, she noticed I wasn't really talking, so she asked if I had eaten but I didn't give any response.She knew I didn't say a word because I was hungry and I was shy to say it, so she asked me to wait while she went back home to bring me some food.

After a couple of minutes she returned with a plate of white soup and fufu, a cassava flour meal. We looked for a place to sit down, so that I could eat. Beth continued to stare at me with a smile on her face as I was eating. She knew it was not easy for me, so she asked how I had been coping. I told her that Mr Mohammed had found out that I his son had been keeping me in his room, therefore I had to look for an alternative way to pass the night. She felt really bad that I was homeless and there was nothing she could do about it. She then asked about my business, I told her that I had not been there for a while.

Beth said she was going to pray for me and she believed that everything would work out well for me. She handed me a thousand naira and told me to use it in the next morning to eat and visit my business to know what to do about it. I told her that I had decided to sell it off. She advised that I should not make that decision.She informed me that GCE form was out and if I could pass the exam I was going to have a school leaving certificate which was going to qualify me for a job to be able to save for the business and my tertiary education. I considered that a good idea. I let her know how grateful I was for that advice because I wasn't sure what direction I was heading with life, even in the last few days I had lost a few pounds.

"So where are you planning on sleeping tonight? She asked me in a soft voice as I took a sip from the satchet water she brought for the meal. I didn't want her to imagine how terrified I was, not knowing where I was going to sleep, so I said " I don't know yet but I will definitely figure something out". We had already spent about twenty minutes together. Beth has to leave before she was missed at home. We both got up from where we were seated, looked each other's eyes with a smile. We hugged, kissed and said our goodnight. We waited for one of us to move first but the both of us were reluctant to go. I drew her back to me and kissed her.After some minutes,she withdrew gently and told me to be safe. I stood by and watched the pretty girl running off,till her I heard the sound of her door open and close.

I lived having Beth in my life,she was like a breath of fresh air. I don't have to do so much to impress her and she understood me without asking too many questions. I particularly felt loved whenever I was with her and it was a wonderful feeling.

I turned and began my walk back to my neighbourhood, it was around 9:30pm, only few people were still outside, all my agemates were already in their various homes, I had to sneak past people with my head bent because I don't want to be questioned about what I was still doing outside at that time of the day and why I left my Aunt's house knowing that almost everyone in our community would have found out about my homelessness because Aunty Mary had gone to confront Mr.Mohammed.