Morning came faster than expected, the cool breeze, quiet rustling of trees and the aroma of foods from different restaurants still filled the air as usual. One would have thought that the incident of the previous day was enough to murder the usual morning events, but nothing changed except for the blood stains on the roads of Peterson avenue.
Keren managed to open one eye and saw her mother pacing up and down the room, fully sure of the reasons behind the early drama, she spoke up.
"Morning mom" she greeted while searching the room with her gaze. "Nana didn't come home last night?" She asked.
Loretta snapped as if she had been waiting to hear her daughter's voice her whole life.
" Get up, get up" she said and dragged her from the bed in a hurry. " We need to hurry, inspector Davies is on his way to take us away from here, he said it might be dangerous to remain here, we will find out about Nana with the help of the inspector" she explained with a trembling voice.
Her eyes seem to carry the load of the entire universe, a clear sign that she didn't get enough sleep throughout the night. Worries of Nana's whereabouts, safety of her daughter who has unknowingly gotten herself involved with a dangerous gang in the area are all enough reasons to cease sleep from her dictionary. Her hands were busy grabbing the important things from the room, totally ignoring her daughter's reaction to what she has said
"No one has a choice here", she said to herself.
"Mom, are you saying Nana might be missing or might have gotten into some kind of trou...."
Loretta grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of bed the moment her phone beeped. She looked out through the balcony and saw a police van packed in the garage.
"We don't have time for this, inspector Davies is here", she said.
They rushed out of the room in a haste, the driver took off immediately and they stepped into the car. Keren worried about Nana throughout the ride, she ignored her mother's conversation with the inspector, because every aspect of his words practically suggested that Nana might be part of the victims in the shootout. However, she battled against every negativity coming her way, the belief that She can't die supersedes the Inspector's conjectures.
Keren and Loretta spent hours at the central police station, they insisted that Keren has to be investigated to be sure she hasn't connived with the gang. She would have been detained regardless of the fact that she is a child, thanks to inspector Davies , everything went well except for the expectation of a positive news on Nana's whereabouts.
"Madam Loretta, I have gotten news from the mortuary about an unidentified body, kindly follow me to see if it's your relative" inspector Davies said.
Loretta was very reluctant to follow him, looking for Nana in a mortuary is a preposterous thing to do, but she has to stay true to herself even if it's difficult. She persuaded Keren to go home with Susanna who joined them at the station a few minutes after they got there.
"I won't forgive myself If anything happens to Nana" she muttered.
***********
The compound was cold and quiet, a lot of people gathered waiting to claim the bodies of their loved ones. The silence that ghosts the compound isn't that of tranquility or peace. Loretta's heartbeat started skipping, fear gripped her when she saw the number of bodies lying lifelessly in a room because the mortuary was already filled.
"I can't do this," she said as she shed a tear. Her legs lost stamina out of fear, she was about to leave when a tiny voice that can be likened to her conscience dropped into her mind.
"What if Nana is here? Will you be happy if she is carelessly buried with no family or friends by her side." Loretta braced up and walked back in with confidence.
The gown she wore, her scarf and even the necklace on her neck were all lying lifeless in a little locker. Loretta broke out in tears, seeing a woman so close to being her mother, one of the few people that has treated her with respect and love when she had all and when she had nothing. Inspector Davies tried all he could to keep her under control, but her sorrow was bigger than her body, it couldn't contain.
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are." Keren said in tears. "How I wish I got the chance to say goodbye, how I wish she died a good death, Nana deserves much more." She gnashed
Susanna spent the night consoling Keren and Loretta, the grief wrapped in pains of losing one's special person can be overwhelming and heart breaking, but life must continue. Nana's burial was taken care of as fast as possible, but things never changed with Keren because Nana will always be there with her.
***************
"Boss, I'm sure I saw that woman enter a police van with her daughter, she must be the informant on the news," Pepe said to Jerry, the leader of the gang.
At the AFI usual hangout, an uncompleted building whose hope of completion has died a long time ago. The gang members gathered to mourn the loss of their drugs worth 17 million naira. AFI gang is a group of 6 able bodied men, rumour has it that Jerry; the leader of the gang is a master's degree holder from one of the prominent universities in the city and his right-hand man Pako, is a secondary school drop out. He runs all the dirty jobs most especially when killing is involved.
"I remember that I hid the teddy in a cloth basket, we've searched the laundry shop and we found nothing" Jerry kept quiet for a minute like he was trying to process his thoughts. "I don't think that laundry woman will try to double Cross us in this community" he asserted boastfully.
"It must be the work of that woman and her daughter. The day they moved in, Pako saw her discussing with a police officer. She also ran off in a police van the next day after the shoot out and hasn't been seen anywhere around here. No one else will do this in this neighbourhood besides her" Nguru added.
Jerry's thoughts aren't far from the usual, his methods and plans have been communicated well to his followers without a word. He might be a literate, but his methods are bestial and brutal in nature, a drug dealer with a long chain of connection in governance and some other sector in the country. Jerry puffed wildly in the air, sipped his alcoholic drink loudly like a child whose table manner has been sacrificed on an altar of gluttony
"Find out everything you can about that woman and her daughter, I want to know their past and the present" he instructed resentfully.
*********
With Nana gone, the holiday carried a sense of boredom and pain for Keren, she slipped into depression, always looking for opportunities to isolate herself from people including her mother and Susanna.
"Dear, it's been two weeks, I'm sure things must have died down. Resumption is next week, we need to go back home, for easy movement down to your school" Loretta persuaded.
Keren gave a nod, at first it seemed like a yes but later Loretta realised she was just being indifferent about the subject matter. She went to bed with her pen and poetry diary and as usual she poured her heart out.
Scarcity be clouds the existence of the good ones,
Daily we seek for them but little we found.
The little good ones go so early,
Leaving the world in the claws of the wicked.
Can I go to heaven to rescue the good,
Or should I grow wings to live with them,
The world is nothing but a suffocating hole,
When every special one leaves you alone.
Keren soaked her diary in tears before going to bed. It was 10:12pm.
YOU ARE READING
Scars & Knives
General FictionKeren Happuch was forced into adulthood after suffering different levels of violence. Her father, neighbors, friends all twisted her fate into despair and disgrace. What twist will come upon the events in this story, you should find out!
