Faustina's Sudden Disappearance

"I'll be right back," she says, jumping up from her seat.

I glance up at her, suprised by her sudden action, "Okay."

She hurries into the hallway, her slippers slapping against the floor. Why the rush?.

I glance outside, seeing the sky painted with hues of orange and pink. It's already past six, didn't notice at all.

Suddenly, we hear the sound of a motorcycle, it's roar growing louder with each passing moment.

It's her, my grandma.

I stand up to watch as she drives past us and through the open gate by the left, the sound growing fainter by each passing moment until it finally fades away.

My mom stands up, walking into the hallway, heading straight, towards the backyard to greet my grandma.

I trail behind her, leaving our phones on the seat.

As I walk, I hear the clatter of pot lids, and then I see the girl. She is kneeling on the sandy ground, fanning the flames of the burning wood.

We finally emerge from the hallway, and my mom rushes over to my grandma.

"mma welcome!"she exclaims, helping her secure the motorcycle.

"Faustina, e sibe nni?" ( Faustina, you haven't cooked?) Grandma asks, sounding slightly annoyed.

Faustina slowly gets off from the ground, dusting her knees,

"Mmabanu mma, mm sigo nni, mm chori warm ya," (no grandma, I've cooked already, I just want to warm it)

"Ngwanu, ayi ge ke crayfish oberoge, nyem ni kam rie," (okay then, we'll package crayfish very soon. Give me food, I'm hungry) my grandma says, approaching me.

I bow slightly as she passes, "Grandma, good evening."

"Evening," she replies, her voice echoing in the hallway.

I take one last glance at the girl, Faustina, who's still tending to the fire, before following my grandma through the hallway and back into the entrance hall.

I return to my previous seat, while she settles into a chair that was resting on the burglar gate opposite me, then she pulls another chair closer to her front.

She pulls off her hand bag,  pulling out a large black nylon bag from it and begins to untie it, revealing bundles of thousand-naira notes. What the..?

She moistens her fingers with a saliva, carefully counting each bill as she stacks them.

My eyes widen in amazement, this woman is incredibly wealthy!

My sisters had hinted at her success in the crayfish business so far, but I never imagined it was this extensive.

I quickly glance down at my phone, pretending to be engrossed as I notice her raising her head.

But then, the sound of someone's slippers echoes through the hallway, announcing their arrival, it's my mom.

She walks straight to Grandma,

"Ehh! Nwayin ego!" (Wow!, Money woman!) She exclaims, taking a sit next to her.

"Lekwenu nno!" (Take a look at this!) my mom says, eyes fixed on the stacks.

Grandma chuckles, "Eh twe kwara anya gi eba o" (keep your eyes away).

My mom reaches for the stack, and Grandma playfully slaps her hand, "Wepu aka gi eba osiso" (take your hand away quick)

"Mma omu o" (mom, it's me oh)

"Ehen ogi, gini mere" (Yes, it's you, so?)

"Ehn kam feelie ya na," (let me just feel it)

"Mmabanu, sie eba puo" (no, go away from here)

I can't help but chuckle at the playful banter between my mom and grandma over the money.

Just then, Faustina emerges from the hallway, carrying a plate of jollof rice. She pulls a chair and sets it down, next to my grandma, who nods in appreciation.

She then walks towards me, and stops, "Come take yours," she says.

I stand up and follow her, carrying our phones, as she leads me to the small shade with the firewood and a tiny stool beneath it.

She picks up a pot from the ground and enters the kitchen by the right, which looks like it hasn't been used in ages.

Spider webs cover the inner space, and the air is thick with the smell of oldness. Why?

Faustina begins to pull out plates from a large basket on a shelf, the clinking sound drawing my attention.

I watch her in silence, unsure of what to say. 

She bends down, opens the pot, and begins dishing out the steaming rice onto three flat plates.

She then raises her head to look up at me, "is this enough for you?"

"Uhm which one?"

She raises the serving spoon to touch a specific space in the middle, "this one."

I nod, "Uhm yeah, yeah it is."

"Okay," she stands, picking up a plate.

"I'll go give your mom, so just wait,"

"Hmm," I nod, watching as she turns around and exits the kitchen, leaving me in quiet empty kitchen.

The last time I visited, this place was lively with different people, my cousins, aunts and uncles.

I still remember those fun moments, when I usually played around with my cousins, and we would visit other houses in the neighborhood.

What happened all of a sudden?, everywhere just looks dry and dusty, like no one lives here.

I fold my arms, gazing up at the cobweb covered ceiling, my eyes widening in wonder.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps approaching. It's Faustina.

She enters the kitchen, and picks up the two plates from the floor, handing me one, complete with a spoon, which I carefully collect, making sure to secure our phones in one hand.

"Let's go," she says with a smile.

We exit the kitchen, and she closes the door behind us.

"Uhm," I hear her say from behind me.

"Do you want water?" I turn to face her. That's right!

"Yeah, that would be great, thanks."

"Okay, wait for me in the living room," she instructs. "I'll serve your grandma and mom first."

With that, she goes back into the kitchen, leaving me to make my way to the living room.

As I enter the livingroom, the pungent smell of crayfish immediately fills my nose, accompanied by the darkness of the living room, due to the fact that it's getting dark outside, and the curtains are closed.

I make my way to the couch, settling into its embrace, ignoring the smell of crayfish as I place the rice on the armrest and our phones beside me.

But as I attempt to take a bite, I realize the darkness is too profound, what if I actually eat something else instead of the rice.

"Haaah," I sigh, rising from my seat, phone in hand, and activate the flashlight, emitting a glow of light towards the windows on my left.

I gently stand and make my way to the one of the window and sweep open the curtains, the laughter of my mom and grandma flowing in.

Although the livingroom is still dim, I can now make out the outlines of the room.

Returning to the couch, I switch off the flashlight and my data I had turned on, savoring the first bite of rice.

One thing I like the most about this rice is that it is freshly cooked, and hot. But I'll rate it an eight over ten, because I just chewed a stone.

"Ow!"

"My teeth!"

Using my tongue to scan my mouth, I detect the tiny stone and spit it out, then wipe my lips to remove any saliva. What is a stone doing in my food?

I hear footsteps walking in the hallway, and I suspect it might be Faustina.

"Dalu," I hear my mom and grandma thank her.

I quickly adjust my position as I notice the curtain swinging open, sitting properly in order not to make my encounter with the stone obvious.

She steps in, carrying a tray with two stainless steel cups and her plate of rice.

She walks over to me and hands me a cup, "Here you go," she says.

I take it, feeling a slight chill from the cold metal. "Thanks," I reply.

I take another spoon of the rice, chewing gently just in case there's another stone in it.

"Ahhh!"

My eyes widen in fear as my gaze falls on her. What is it?

"Amanda," my mom calls, "what happened?"

I think I know why.

I can't help it, I burst out laughing.

"Nothing," I manage to respond.

I think she just ate a stone, and her facial expression right now is funny, lol!.

She looks traumatized with her hand on her left cheek.

I don't think I should be laughing, but it's funny!.

She raises her gaze to meet mine, and I instantly cover my lips with my hand, waving my hand at her apologetically.

"Sorry," I say, my voice sounding muffled.

She also bursts out laughing, removing her hand from her cheek.

"What's so funny?" My mom asks.

"It's nothing, nothing," I manage to raise my voice slightly.

"Faustina!"

We both quiet down as my grandma called, exchanging glances at each other.

"Mma," she responds.

"Gini ka okute ne me na nni mu?" (Why is there stone in my food?)

"Uhm..." She starts to say.

"Obuo fault ya," (it's not her fault), I hear my mom explaining "or otua local rice na di" (that's how local rice usually is)

"Hmph okay o," my grandma responds.

I begin chuckling, glancing her way and she does the same.

We then eat in silence for a few minutes, the darkness in the room growing thicker. But there is a bright light coming from the outside that streams through the window, brightening up the living room a bit.

I wonder why the light isn't on inside.

"Is there no electricity?" I ask Faustina.

"No, there isn't," she responds.

I fumble for my phone and turn on the flashlight, casting a beam of light on her face. "But there's light coming from outside.'

"That's just the streetlight," she explains. "It comes on at night."

"Oh," I nod, "is there usually electricity here?"

"Yes, there usually is, but not at the moment" she replies.

"Oh wow," I say, taking the last spoon of my food.

I stand up, "I'll go put my plate away."

"I'll come with you, I'm done too," she says, standing up.

"You have my phone, right?" she asks, patting her pockets.

"Yeah, it's on the couch," I reply, reaching for it and handing it over to her.

"Thanks," she says with a smile.

We begin heading out, my phone's flashlight guiding us through the darkness.

We step out of the hallway and into the cold night air, the sound of crickets filling our ears.

The looming trees at the far end of the backyard cast long shadows, making the compound seem spooky.

I quicken my pace to the kitchen door and push it open, the warmth and familiar smells of the kitchen, welcoming us in.

As I drop my plate on the shelf, I spin around, accidentally bumping into Faustina.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sorry!" I exclaim, quickly moving my phone's flashlight away from her face, noticing how she was squinting.

"Sorry again," I apologize, feeling a bit clumsy.

"It's okay," she says, walking past me to drop her plate.

I step out into the creepy environment, my footsteps slow and deliberate as I wait for Faustina to catch up.

I finally hear the kitchen door close, and her footsteps growing louder with each passing moment.

I quicken my pace, my heart beating slightly faster.

Getting to the entrance of the hallway, I breath a sigh of relief, and turn around expecting to see faustina behind me. But she's nowhere to be found.

"Faustina! Faustina!" I call out, my voice rising in concern as I sweep my flashlight across the dark environment, searching for any sign of her.

"Faustina!" I call again, but there is no response.

Where did she go? I wonder, a shiver running down my spine.