The Curse – Episode One (1)

It was a little past 9pm and the front of Queen Amina hostel in Ahmadu Bello University was already very busy.

The number of guys waiting for ladies outside was alarming.

Temi was excited. If this was what it felt like to be a university student then she was definitely feeling it.

She put on a knee length fitted gown that showed all the right curves. She sprayed her perfume for the 7th time, styling her very long hair into a pony tail.

She glanced at her boring roommate who laid on the bed, reading a literature book. Then she stepped out to meet Dan.

“Hey beautiful” He said as she stepped out of the hostel. “You look beautiful”..

His Cologne was intoxicating. It screamed masculinity.

“Thank you” Temi said, shyly.

“Can I hug you?” He asked.

“Yes”

He bent slightly to hug her. His tall frame almost covering her completely. Temi inhaled his Cologne deeply as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Just then, her phone rang. Her mom was calling.

Why is mummy calling me now? Am I a child? She reluctantly came out of Dan’s embrace and excused herself to pick her mom’s call. She already has a lie perfectly planned out in her mind.

“Hello mummy, I’m in class reading, I can’t talk now” Her mom believed. She hurriedly said some things to Temi before she hung up.

“Sorry about that, my mom called”

“It’s okay. Can we walk down and get some popcorn?”

“Of course” Temi smiled, she was determined to enjoy every bit of her evening.

The cold breeze blew and she shuddered. Her perfectly shaped gown had short sleeves Dan offered her his shirt. He was putting on a smaller shirt under. She accepted.

Together, they walked down to Romeo’s popcorn stand situated in front of the second female’s hostel to buy popcorn.

“You’re really beautiful Temi. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I saw you this afternoon”. Temi looks down smiling. She’d never been called beautiful so many times in one day.

” Thank you Dan. You’re a handsome man too.

The evening was a beautiful one for Temi. She had a lot of fun with Dan. They spoke about a wide variety of things; school, life and family. They were sitting at the famous love garden situated not too far from the hostel.

It was 11:50pm.

Temi jumped when she saw the time.

“I have to go now. I have a class by 7am tomorrow and I need to put things in order”

“Please Temi, stay with me just a little longer”

“I can’t” She said, standing up.

“There’s something I need to ask you” “What is it?”

“Please be my girlfriend” He reached out for her hand.

“What?” Temi was bewildered.

“I love you Temi and I need you in my life. Please don’t say no”

“I barely know you Dan. I can’t just accept like that”

“Don’t you love me?”

“I don’t know you”

“Ask me anything. I’m willing to tell you everything. I love you Temi. I’m in my final year and surrounded by beautiful girls everyday. For me to come to you, it shows how deeply I feel for you”

A pang of jealousy hit Temi’s heart. She imagined beautiful girls surrounding Dan in his class and she immediately felt sad.

Should she say yes? Dan was the full package. He was very handsome, he seemed intelligent and he had awesome communication skills. She didn’t want to be foolish and loose him. Besides, she would have to get a boyfriend sooner or later, so why not grab this enticing opportunity now?

“Can I think about it?”

“Think about it? It’s like you don’t feel anything for me. The feelings are only on my part. Never mind, just forget I asked.”

Temi’s heart dropped.

“I like you. Very much… Okay, yes. I’ll be your girlfriend”

“That’s my girl” He smiled widely, planting a peck on her cheek.

“I need to go back to the hostel now. I’ll see you tomorrow”

“I’ll see you off baby.” He got up, still holding her. Temi felt off. She felt like something was wrong but she didn’t know what it was.

As they walked back to the hostel, someone behind them kept calling a name.

“Usman…. Usman”

The person calling the name ran after them and tapped Dan on his back. Obviously, he had been calling Dan.

“Usman, I been dey look for you, I no see you. Your phone sef dey off. How far that package na? The guys dey com deliver am na so police catch them for road” The young man said in pidgin after he caught up with them.

Dan looked angry. “Abeg, guy free me. I go call you later” The boy got the hint and left.

Temi stopped walking. “What was he talking about?”

“It’s nothing”

“What do you mean? Are you involved in any illegal deal?”

“No“

At that, point, everything in Temi’s head asked her to do one thing.

Run.

Run away from this handsome deceiver. Run into her hostel room, delete his number and never see him again.

But she didn’t run. She stood there, still holding his hands as though glued to it.

That night, Temi turned and tossed in her bed. She couldn’t sleep. Had she made a mistake? Why did she feel so much unrest? She decided to share her plight with her two room mates; Zainab and Mary. The two girls were still awake. Zainab was on her prayer mat doing her sallah prayer. Mary was sorting clothes and ironing some.

Temi looked at them. They were both very intelligent ladies and she wanted to hear their opinions.

“Mary, Zee. I need to share something with you guys” She said, sitting up on her bed. Zee was short for Zainab.

After the conversation, Temi regretted telling them because they were both against her relationship with Usman.

Mary had told her that it was too early and she barely knew the guy. She should have taken some time to think about it. While Zainab had simply told her that he has something to do with the police was already a red light and any relationship built on deceit would never stand.

The next morning, at 4:30am, Temi’s mum called her phone.

“Hello mummy”

“Temitola, how are you?”

“I’m fine mum. Why are you calling me so early in the morning?”

“I had a bad dream about you. It looked so real and I was really scared.”

Temi immediately sat up and every sleep in her eyes cleared. Her mom’s dreams were not to be joked with. Her dreams always came to pass.

“What was the dream about?”

“I saw you walking on a path that seemed strange to you then a man who looked white but was actually black on the inside offered to show you the right path to take and you agreed. I don’t know what happened but after a while, I saw you standing alone somewhere at a point and you had blood in your hands. You had killed the man”

Temi didn’t understand any part of the dream. Maybe her mum was wrong this time and the dream wasn’t about her. But she froze when she heard the next thing her mum said.

“Temi, I hope you haven’t gotten into a relationship or something like that with any man. Remember I told you it’s forbidden for you. Temi if you have, talk to me now”

Temi kept quiet. How could she explain to her mum that she was dating a guy she had met only once?

To be continued next week Friday...

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