Till It Happens to You

Chapter 5

Three months after visiting the rape centre, Chioma had to get tested again. She passed the first round of tests 90days earlier when she made her first visit to the Center with Kunle and she came out negative so she wasn't nervous anymore.

She is very grateful each day because she once thought her greatest fear was getting pregnant and having an unwanted baby but after visiting the centre, she realizes her worse fears should be contracting a disease through the ordeal.

So, when it was time to get tested, Chioma thinks her life is over before even taking the test. She tries hard not to have a nervous breakdown and they had given her pre- and- post counselling for HIV so the whole counselling session helps calm her down while she waited for the results and 45 minutes after the blood samples are taken, her test results come out negative.

During the counselling, she was told that if she tested positive for HIV, she could still have a full life by keeping fit, eating properly and taking her medication but that wasn't good news to Chioma.

"Congratulations Chioma, you are negative," The nurse said for the second time in 90days.

Now, that was great news and Chioma was glad. It had been a journey so far and she had been very strong and courageous.

God had been good to her. She must admit that she was getting less angry at God or thinking He had brought this on her. Although She is well aware that the devil was the evildoer and Christ was the one who saves but it always makes her feel better blaming God for her own mistakes.

With Kunle's persistence, she had given her life to Christ again and attended a deliverance service. She felt a lot better afterwards and now, hearing she was negative for the second time, she felt great. "God is faithful," she said out loud and smiled. She couldn't wait to tell Kunle the news.

Chioma's mother had bought her daughter another phone after she claims her previous phone was stolen. Chioma's lie to her mother about her stolen phone happened before she gave her life back to Christ and before the deliverance session. Since that day, she had barely told another lie...Barely

She was good now and ready to continue her life especially since it was September and School would soon resume. She is also grateful to God that she would not have to deal with Jude because he had graduated. The girl was in a very good mood and couldn't wait to see Kunle. So picks up her sidekick and dials Kunle's number. He picks on the first ring and she tells him she is coming over to his house. Kunle didn't object.

Chioma walks into Kunle's compound in the evening and calls again to inform him that she was on his premises. She tells him to meet her outside his house.

"Hi". Chioma says seeing Kunle walk towards her

"Chioma, there is something I have to tell you".

"Me too" Chioma responds smiling

"You go first".

"No, mine can wait". Chioma replies, eager to find out what Kunle had to tell her

"I got admitted to the university, Chioma".

Chioma is so excited at the news; she jumps on Kunle and hugs him. "Kunle, I am so happy for you". Chioma blurts out but is taken aback with Kunle's straight face after she lets go of the embrace so she had to ask him "Aren't you happy"?

"I am, I am very happy".

"You don't look happy Kunle," Chioma tells him folding her arms together giving him the I-know-you-are-hiding-something look.

"It is in Netherlands Chioma, I am going to the Netherlands in 2weeks,"

Silence!

"It is a 5year course and I might probably be there the whole time. That's why I wasn't so excited. I am going to be an engineer and my parents are in total support, school fees were paid today". Kunle tries to choose his words seeing the obvious what-sort-of-good-news-is-this-look on Chioma

"So, you knew about it before now?" Was all the response Chioma could give, looking at Kunle with burning anger on her face.

"Yes, I got my admission letter 2weeks ago".

"So, why are you just telling me?"

Kunle swallowed and almost bit his tongue. "I didn't know how to tell you. You have been going through a lot these past months and I didn't want to add to the drama".

Chioma raises an eyebrow and gives him a sarcastic reply. "Wow! Add to my drama? You are right, you would have added to my drama. My life has become a movie Kunle and I am the lead actress. What are you eh? The supporting actor or are you just playing a cameo role?"

Kunle shakes his head regretting ever mentioning the word –drama – because Chioma was a drama Queen. "I didn't mean it like that Chioma."

"I am very happy for you Kunle. I am really very happy". Chioma responds with tears in her eyes but she turns so he doesn't see her crying.

Too late, Kunle had already seen her eyes turning red and knew Chioma was about to cry so he decided to change the subject. "What did you want to tell me Chioma?"

"My test results came out positive. I have HIV Kunle. Why don't you add that to the drama script"? Chioma looks at him with tears rolling down her cheeks and not knowing why she lied but she couldn't stop the words from getting out because she had lied when she said she was happy for him so lying about her HIV status was just natural.

Kunle mutters. "I am so sorry".

"Don't be Kunle. Soon, my whole drama will have an end and life has spared you the trauma of experiencing it. I will die all by myself".

Kunle looks at Chioma confused. She said she tested positive for HIV and not AIDs. So why was she talking about dying already? Was she going to kill herself?

Before he could speak, Chioma was running. She didn't know where or why she was running but she knew she needed to feel her heart beating fast and maybe it will stop beating so she will be dead and Kunle will be guilty of causing her death for the rest of his engineering life.

Kunle cried. "Chioma, wait!"

Kunle tried running after her but Chioma had disappeared into the streets running as fast as her legs could take her.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chioma arrives at her house and her legs were shaking. Why couldn't she control her legs? She used the door post as support and tries to catch her breath. Her phone rings. She brings her sidekick out of her pocket and turns it off when she sees Kunle's name on the caller ID. Why wasn't she happy for him? It was good news he was going to the university and she was supposed to be celebrating his success but instead, she acted like he had betrayed her. Why did she feel like this? Kunle was her support system and in two weeks she will have to support herself.

Two weeks!

That was the reason she was so angry. He didn't give her enough time to get used to the news. Two weeks was a very short notice for her to get used to him not being around. He was her best friend. Her daddy was never around; travelling for business reasons and telling them he was doing all of it for them. "I want you to have the best lives and this current job is going to provide that life for us." He would say. She had tried to understand it, but now sitting at the doorpost to her house, breathing so hard and crying without control, she didn't understand how this was the best life for them.

Kunle was all she knew and now he was leaving her when she needed him the most just like her father. She needed her father. She cried out daddy without even knowing it. Perhaps, Kunle could not stand being around her anymore. She was now defiled. He was there only when she was pure but now that she is unclean, he found an excuse to be far away from her.

Kunle had seen her in far more provocative clothes and they had both hung out in the wee hours of the morning after night vigils in Church and he never abused her. She should have known that since Kunle was the "goody two shoes", they were bad ones out there. No one told her about men. Not her mother or her father. She felt hurt, angry and afraid. What will she do with herself? She once thought she was a strong girl but see where that got her.

"I didn't even fight Jude off." I just kept saying "No".

"A strong girl would have fought. Bitten Jude's ear until it bled, scratched his eyes out, kicked hard, pushed him off but I just lied there and said No".