Preordained #ProjectNigeria

22- Mammy Wata

Pulling off the bluetooth ear piece from my ear, I quickly leave my assigned room, rushing into the hallway and knowingly bumping into the man who had planned on harming Nwanyieze.

He is shaking terribly, dressed only in boxer shorts and holding tight to his chest a bundle of clothing. His face is wet from perspiration and tears, his eyes are wide with fright.

"Are you okay, sir?" I ask nicely, looking genuinely concerned.

"Marine spirit," he mutters before running in the opposite direction, feet slapping against the marble floors. I grin.

Now I know what Richard Adeyemo looks like.

I knock on the door of the next room and let myself in as it is unlocked. Sitting on the bed is Nwanyieze, fully dressed and drinking from a bottle of water.

"You're a better actress than most out there," I tell her admiringly.

She rises, walks over to me on bare feet, and gives me a hug.

"Wouldn't have discovered that without you."

"You scared the living daylights out of that man, you know."

"I enjoyed doing it." She laughs out loud.

"He didn't touch you, did he?"

"No."

She seems to discover that she is still in my arms, and then withdraws, picks up her bag and slips on her shoes.

"I'm actually tired, you know. A good night's sleep will do me a lot of good."

At the reception, the receptionist and bell boy give us strange looks, but say nothing. They will probably tell the rest of the staff about the strange sights they have seen tonight.

"I'm sure he'll dream of me for a long time," she giggles when we get into my car.

"Definitely not good ones, though. He might give his life to Jesus on Sunday."

Her giggles turn to laughter. "That would be great!"

After five minutes on the road, she sleeps off, snoring softly, face towards me. She looks so relaxed, and from her snoring, I know that this issue has been giving her sleepless nights and she has finally decided to let go. Lights from the street lamps dance off her face while I drive past them.

What does she dream about? Somewhere, in the recesses of her mind, is there an image of me, the boy I used to be, waiting to be recalled by some kind of event?

And how pitiful is it that I know close to nothing about her, Nwanyieze? She's unpredictable, never ceases to surprise me. Her laughter is music to my ears, I enjoy time spent with her, I love to listen to her speak, but ask me something personal about her and I don't know a thing except the basics- name, address, school, favourite food, et cetera.

From the first moment, she's always struck me as wise, too wise for her age; and it's all the more confusing because beneath all the sass and attitude I sense an undercurrent of vulnerability and sadness in her that I can't explain and can't ask her about because she's likely to clam up.

What had happened to her after I'd left the orphanage?

She moves a bit and moans in her sleep. Then a hand rises to rub her left eye, smearing the eye shadow and mascara down her cheek. A sigh escapes her lips but she doesn't wake up.

What I'd give right now just to hold her.

But I know that with her, I have to be careful. I have to take my time, gain her trust completely, show her that I'm not here to play. Then I'll have to tell her the truth as well.

What scares me is that in telling her the truth about her, I have to face the truth about myself.

The truth I've been running from since I was seven.

A/N: if you totally understood, don't laugh too much!

If it felt weird reading this, I apologise.

That may be because you don't know much about African superstition. Most Nigerians (Africans I suppose) believe that marine spirits exist. These are known as evil spirits from kingdoms underwater, who come to land in the form of very beautiful women (and men) to wreak havoc in the lives of humans and initiate them into their kingdoms. They are sometimes called "Mammy Water/Wata", and are linked to Mermaids (We believe mermaids are spiritual and evil, but I've watched the documentary on NatGeo and for now I'm kind of confused lol). Once a person is suspected of being a part of the marine world, people begin to fear/avoid such a person, hence Mr. Adeyemo's fear when Nwanyieze started her prank.

You could always Google 'Mammy Wata' and read up on it for more clarification.