"Sometimes, the true Harborer of darkness is not the dark but the very wishes of the human heart."
In the Darkness, there are horns and things men can barely fabricate themselves or put into imagination.
The voice got closer.
“Aella!” I heard again.
Hold on this sounds like a familiar voice but still from what I have been thought, demons can sound like the ones you know, to catch you or cast a spell on you, or worse, CURSE YOU.
“Where are you?” I heard again. I knew whom this sounded like for real, oh God, common, this is Amil, I am sure, I very, very sure or maybe not.
AHHHHhh, my head is scrambled, I need to know who this is, for fuck sakes. So right there and then I made the decision to shout for the last time, if anyone was to find me I will accept my fate, I will accept what comes next even though, therein lies death!
“HHHhhhh” I readied myself as I exhaled, this was it. “Whoever is out there, I am in here, I am in the bus, HELP!!!” I shouted as I waited for a response once more but instead.
“Step! Step! Step!” someone was running towards the bus without saying a word.
At this moment, I had already turned white, me a black woman born in a black country, yes I was already turned white.
My heart raced to my mouth at the thought that I may just die, I may just die in a little outing in which I was to have fun overnight.
This was a demon, that was my conclusion, the quick paced footsteps, the silence, yes this was all the proof I needed, would a normal person not answer before running, but no this one chose to run at my location even before I finished my sentence.
I began to shake as I clung to my purse. Then it all stopped and then.
“BEEEP.” The bus responded to someone pressing the button from the outside, the door was now being opened.
It was dark, I couldn’t see who climbed in, I could only hear the sound of footsteps from the moment it mounted and stopped to the moment it walked slowly.
Though I couldn’t see, I felt every step, one sense was down but that led the others to work overtime, my hearing was heightened and so were my other senses.
He was getting closer I was sure but then I heard. “Aella? Are you there.” Right there by my side, where I sat and folded myself to hide, he was right there, my heart skipped as my brain plunged into deep thought, this sounds like Amil, but how, how can I be so sure, this could be something else.
Sometimes courage is good but this isn’t the movies, sometimes you can die from being the courageous, from being the outspoken. But even with these words and awareness, I spoke up.
“Amil?” I voiced out. “Aella, it’s me yes, its Amil where are you.” He said as I stood up. Yes it’s true, bravery can get you killed but the ones whom are really brave are the ones whom know this but still do it, the ones that see the chaos and still run towards it for their own selfless reason.
Shortly after he found me, I hugged him tight as I shook like a child plunged in cold water and brought out in the open.
“Why didn’t you say anything when I called.” I said to him as I hugged him.
“I am so sorry, I ran towards the bus by instinct, I thought something was wrong like the door shutting up on you or you being injured, I mean it is pretty dark and all but I should have at least said something, I am sorry.” He answered me as clung to me tightly.
Shortly after we walked out of that very dark parking lot, he told.
“Eeveryone may have probably moved on from that spot we 0are supposed to be meet up at.” He said.
“Oh well, is that a good thing?” I asked because honestly, I had no clue of this place and that was a huge problem, I only knew the way back, well let’s just say barely.
“I know where to go so you don’t need to worry, it’s going to be okay” He said with a smile as he held my hand.
And just like that, from a horrific night filled with annoyance and fear, he came into the picture and made it all feel nice. We moved from one location to another, passing the fountain and other interesting places, walking to wherever we felt was exciting, sometimes with the way he stood and stared before saying. “This way or That way?” Really made me feel like we were lost and all but we weren’t, well I didn’t fully acclaim this until just right ahead after a turn, we saw the others, they all stood there outside.
“Uh, finally.” I said as I let out a sigh of relief, for real I was kind of getting scared there but now there was nothing to worry about.
“You see, I told you, I was right.” He said with a smile with our hands still together. He was right. The closer we got, the more their faces got into view and just like I predicted the Demoness, sarah was there.
“What exactly happened?” the woman who showed us around said as her expression carried this kind of annoyance. I don’t know what was said but the seniors looked at me like I did something very evil, something unacceptable.
“Why are you just coming? And why did you have to talk like that to your own senior?” She said as she walked closer to me. It was clear, from the way she smirked, sarah said something that has now made me seem like a guilty person, sarah had lied.
“Uh ma, I don’t know what you’ve been told but I did nothing wrong?” I said defending myself.
“what do mean you did nothing wrong? Why would you tell the person I said to accompany you to go back, you also rudely spoke to her and told her to go back and do what she wants when she was just talking to you normally, is this how you’ve been raised at home because clearly this is not a school error, at least I can say that because your peers are well behaved.” She said as she looked at me waiting for an answer.
“Ma I did nothing, when we went to the… Then explain this.” She said as she scrolled down on Sarahs phone.
Now this was just evil but let me explain. A recording began to play, this was the conversation wed had on our way there, where some words were omitted but indeed my voice and hers were at play like for example.
The part where she said “oh, Aella the careful and pompous has forgotten her purse.” Was shortened to “Aella has forgotten her purse.” And my reply played normally but they were mixed with each other for example the reply. “I am not perfect, I do make mistakes and I have made a common one.” Was mixed with “What exactly is your problem.” So they played together, meanwhile the words that prompted the last reply I gave which was. “Common indeed, miss high and mighty, always smart with words.” Was removed. Now do you understand, she cut her replies to me but mine to her was left to play and it sounded so good one would think it was true.
“But ma this is not true, she edited those words she didn’t play everything, that wasn’t the full conversation.” I said to her looking at her like a desperate lawyer begging the judge to give hearing to her points.
“Even in the presence of the truth, you still choose to lie.” She replied me. That was the sign, that was the sign that all I was going to say at the moment was rubbish, that was it.
“Now go and kneel down in front of your senior and beg her.” She said as she gave way for me to pass.
“But ma, this is false, I can’t do it, i will not kneel in front of someone who is lying against me.NO!” I said as the anger caught up to me, this was a different anger, I was lied upon and then told to beg, me, no freaking way, I won’t do that.
“is that so, alright then, I guess you will be hearing from your teachers tomorrow, you are not fit for the post that was given to you.” She said as she wore a face of disgust.
“Alright everyone, that’s all for today, we will be meeting tomorrow morning and then we will have a talk about the nature of the event, which is practical and which should be dropped or preplanned.” She said. She directed us to our various hostels and so on but I wasn’t in the mood, I could see the stares, the judgeful stares of my seniors and the worried stares of my friends, I was angry, I swear I was but how would I prove myself? How will I show forth my innocence when this demoness has ruined me in the open.
Getting to the hostel, my silence was palpable, the senior girls spoke amongst themselves.
“So sarah was right, this girl really is just spoilt…. She lacks home training….so rude.” But it was all a lie, sarah, she lied on me but yet these humans will not believe me, they will not accept my words for what it is but then from behind me after the seniors entered inside I heard.
“Hey Aella.” This was the voice of monna. I looked back, trying to soften my face to say hi buy I just couldn’t.
“Yes?” I answered, like she was a disturbance.
“Calm down, I do not judge you, I know, you won’t talk like that, what is more of character I will portray not you.” She said as she looked at me. “Well you should have said that in the mid…”I tried to say when she interrupted me.
“I know you think we didn’t say anything but we did, we said something, I and konna, even Xavier, but that was before you came. we were shunned by the seniors and the woman believed them than us, she said, maybe we don’t know you like we say we do and that Is a lie, we do know you and understand you but she made it seem like each word we said was all for not so we had to shut up, because we were shunned.” She said as she walked closer.
My anger boiling and overflowing triggered some water works.
“They didn’t believe us because we aren’t seniors and that’s the truth, that’s just the truth….” I said as I began to cry, it hurt. Of all the things she could have done to me, the one that came to mind was to lie on me.
“Hey, Hey, it’s okay.” Monna said as she hugged me.
“I won’t rest, I won’t, she must pay, for soiling my name and for telling a lie on me, I will make her pay.” I said, crying in anger as monna pat my back. She could have fought me and I will say nothing, she could have insulted me and I would say nothing but she lied on me. This I was not willing to let go of. I don’t care how much she pleads, I will not listen, until she is also just like me disgraced and shamed in public.