Post by Being Ready And Stable (BRAS) (@brashub)

NNEKA’S DIARY II

I was wondering: why bury her in a hurry? How come he didn't tell me he was married? Why would he flirt with me if he was married? But did he actually flirt with me, or was I the one getting ideas? Besides, the issue of relationship status never really came up.
The more I tried to dismiss everything, the more his face kept appearing in my head. His smile. The way he looked directly into my eyes while speaking. The confidence in his voice. Was that normal friendliness, or was I reading meanings into ordinary conversations because it had been a long time since any man made me feel seen?

I was busy asking and answering my own questions when Henry, my senior colleague who had always admired me without ever getting a positive response, whispered, "A penny for your thoughts."

Instantly, I snapped out of that mood and said, "Don't mind me, dear."

He looked at me suspiciously, as though he wanted to ask more questions, but thankfully his phone rang. He walked away while I quietly made my way to my office.

Just as I pulled my chair and sat down, Priscilla followed me in. She pulled the visitor's chair close to my table and sat.

"Sorry I walked out on you earlier," she said. "Oga sent me on an errand, and I was waiting for feedback. You know how he is." She giggled.

I forced a smile.

"Ehen, Kunle's wife will be buried in a week's time. No wake-keeping, but his close friends will go a night before. My husband and I intend to go a night before. If you don't mind, you can join us. Your presence could be of help, you know."

She sighed after speaking and looked at me carefully, almost as though she was studying my reaction.

I asked, "Why bury her in a hurry? Where is he from?"

I had many more questions but preferred to ask only those two so as not to give my emotions away.

"The accident was fatal, and the body was really damaged. The family therefore decided not to keep her for long. Kunle is from Lagos State, and Angela was from Delta," Priscilla answered softly.

"Angela is the wife's name?" I asked quietly.

She nodded. "Yes."

For a brief moment, silence filled the office.

Then she smiled lightly and asked, "Any more questions?"

I quickly shook my head. "No."

"Alright then. See you around," she said before leaving my office.

The moment she left, I leaned back in my chair and exhaled deeply. Something about the entire conversation unsettled me. Why was Priscilla suddenly acting overly nice? Why did she seem interested in whether I attended the burial or not? And why did it feel like everyone already knew something that I didn't?

My mind drifted back to the party again.

Kunle never mentioned a wife.

Not once.

But then again, I never asked.

Maybe I was the one building castles in the air over a simple conversation between two strangers.

Still... the curiosity refused to leave me.

Hei! Nneka, was I happy that the same time I found out he had a wife was when I heard the wife had died?

I immediately rebuked myself.

"God forbid!"

But honestly, I didn't even understand what I was feeling anymore. It wasn't happiness exactly. It wasn't sadness either. It was confusion mixed with curiosity... and maybe disappointment.

That was when I decided to tell Grace, my younger sister who stays with me, what had been happening.

I remembered her asking me how the party was when I got back. I had simply replied, "Fine," without mentioning that I met someone who had occupied my thoughts ever since.

Grace is more than a sister to me; she is my safe place. My best friend. The kind of sister I would pray for in another lifetime. She isn't my only sister, but she is the closest to my heart, and she knows it.

My immediate elder sister, on the other hand, has caused me some of the deepest pain I have ever experienced in life.
But that is a story for another day.

NNEKA’S DIARY III drops tomorrow by 6pm.

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