Zailia

Forty-five

"Yeah sure."

"Who is Tessy?" A weh she stay an hear dah name deh?

"Huh?"

"I saw the name when your phone was ringing yesterday."

"Oh, a just a girl inna mi class."

"Wid heart emoji an smthn?" Y Dia a fast inna mi bizniz?

"Just easy nuh man." I said with a slight chuckle while pushing the trolley forward.

"It's either you like her or you don't like her, it's simple really." I did like her, I had had a crush on her since the first day I saw her but she was giving me mixed signals.

The other night at her party she kissed me but before I could get a chance to react, she ran out on me and had been tiptoeing around me from then.

"She doesn't like me but dat a di least still, wi win some an wi lose some."

"She's missing out."

"I agree."

"Alright unnu done now." I waved them off and continued pushing the trolley. "A it dis or unnu aguh get more tings?" I asked while I had my eyes trained on the two women that were in the aisle as we were in, one of them looked familiar but I shook the thought from my head.

I was seeing things.

"Mi wah get some more diapers for Zaiy."

"I will go grab the pampers and meet you guys at the cashier."

"Alright." Chelsea took the trolley and turned it around before they headed to the cashiers. I walked down the aisle and stopped next to the two women one of which I could now see, had a baby girl in her arms.

That baby looks a awful lot like Akeem but ppl fava ppl still suh mi nah medz it.

I leaned down focusing on the task at hand, searching for the brand of pampers that Zaiy wore when someone bumped into me.

"I am so sorry I bumped into you." That voice, I stood up immediately and I was at a loss for words because standing right in front of me was my supposed dead sister, her doppelganger or her ghost. She had put on some weight but the face and voice remained the same.

Was that her baby?

Why did the baby bear an uncanny resemblance to Akeem?

Wah really a gwaan inna miss Maisie back yard?

"Zailia?" A look of shock passed over her face but it was immediately replaced with confusion.

"What did you just call me?"

"Zailia, that's your name." She scrunched her face up.

"I think you might be mistaking me for someone else because my name is not Zailia." What was she doing? Who was that woman with her?

"You're my sister, Zailia Harvey."

"My name is Shekora miss, not Zailia whatever." She hugged the baby to her chest and I took that opportunity to look at her eyes that held genuine fear and I realized what she had been trying to do all along.

"You're right, I completely mistook you for someone else. My apologies."

"It's okay." I wanted nothing more than to take her with me but I didn't know who her kidnappers were and if they were watching but I knew that woman was involved somehow.

"Sorry again." I told her as I picked up the pampers and turned to go. I might never see her again so I had to do something, try to find a lead to follow so Akeem could start searching.