Anaya: A Dark Voyage [#1 LightBlood Series]

Chapter 4 - Nineteen Ninety Six

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The Past.

The year was nineteen ninety six and the location was the "Wild Street Ale House" — a quite popular bar in Abikiali. Abikiali was one of the major cities of the Nomé state — the country, Kolontou,'s largest state.

Abikiali had the country's biggest university, the "Kolontou University of Science and Technology (KUSOT)" and so, that made it the epicentre of all things youthful and fun. Talk about the popular bars, the biggest hotels, the theatres, etc. Almost every business flourished in the city. All thanks to the university.

On that evening, the "Wild Street Ale House" bar was filled with hundreds of conversations which were shared in loud voices, all battling with Angelique Kidjo's Wombo Lombo that filled the atmosphere. Wombo Lombo was one of the greatest Afropop hits in 1996 so Olamide wasn't surprised it was still played at every bar, club or party.

The shouts from the crowd on the dance floor when the song began playing sealed everything off. The song was still loved. The crowd was young, the majority of them were university students — full of life and full of youthful exuberance. A few of them were adults, mostly male, who were either there to feast on the young university ladies or to simply run away from their responsibilities in the house and drown themselves in alcohol.

He fought his way through the warm, mostly sweating, bodies to order a bottle of Club Premium Lager at the counter. That was when he saw her. The most beautiful creature he had ever seen. For a second, he thought he had seen a goddess. Her rich dark skin like an onyx was completely flawless.

She had black hair of wool and her head held high. A second look at her then he realized how wrong he was to compare just her skin tone to the onyx stone. Her personality was an epitome of what the stone stood for — to dispel negative energy and promote emotional well-being. He felt whole just looking at her — her beauty was exceptional. If the gods were real, he thought to himself, then this girl was their masterpiece. She could have graced any billboard or magazine cover, but she was better than those two-dimensional models on any of the fashion magazines one could think of.

She was dressed in a pair of black High-waisted Jeans and a white crop top that made her boobs stand out — they were nothing like any of the boobs he'd stolen a glance at before. He smiled as he got closer to the counter. He took a seat right beside her and asked for his drink. As the bartender got his order together, he turned to her and made his first move.

"Let me guess, he stood you up? " he said the second he turned.

She smiled, although a little shocked, as she tried to take a good look at whoever made that comment and also to find out if it was directed at her. It was.

"I am actually here alone." She replied. He met her gaze with the smile of one who knows the upper hand was his. This was the time he finally got to use all those "wooing" tactics he has learnt from his friends who were on top of the game.