That Morning (Part 2)

by Collins Etoh

The sounds of chirping birds, noisy commuters and passing mechanic-stricken cars 

irked my sense of hearing and somehow I was forced out of my coma state. It took me 

about ten minutes to gather some strength to get up from where I had lay helplessly, 

drained in my own blood. As I tried to sit up, I simultaneously was desperate to know 

where exactly I was. But the noise increased and it hurt my hearing, I couldn’t actually 

rely on my eyes as I continued to see this red coloured thing like I was in an art gallery 

where the artist had made messy use of the colour.

“him dey alive” came a voice some meters from where I was.

I didn’t know who made the statement, I didn’t even see anyone looking at me, so 

something inside of me became desperate to know, and I started to struggle my way up 

on my feet. 

“please help me” I muttered, not minding if the helper I awaited was an enemy.

But despite my call for help, and knowing my state was critical, no one moved a feet, as I 

only could hear whispers but no steps. I turned to get up, supporting my body with my 

hands placed firmly on the ground, but I just couldn’t get up. My head was banging so 

hard I started to hear voices very loud and in an almighty way, so I fell back to the 

ground helplessly. I had no strength. 

“So all you guys are here and no one can help him?” a different voice, and this time 

feminine spoke, but unlike the first the voice was farther away from me, and it seemed 

she was just approaching my location.

So I helplessly flung my arms like a baby would, expecting someone would catch a hold 

of them and help me to my feet. But no, I was all alone in this mesirabe state, even the 

voice that complained about no one helping me wasn’t forthcoming. And so I fell flat 

back on the ground, and I started to breathe very fast and loud.

“okay, lets get you on your feet Victor” the feminine voice who I now presumed knew 

who I was and I guess was now matching her words with action got a hold of me from 

my elbow, and was now ready to ensure I never spent another second on the ground.

And before I knew it, other hands were pulling me up so fast that I had no time at all to 

resist their funny touches on my body. 

“Victor please open your eyes and look at me” the feminine voice spoke up again, and 

this time it sounded familiar.

“i…am…wide…awake but…but I cant see anything” I muttered as I dragged my voice in 

pains.

I guess I must have sounded like a drunkard to her because she kept on asking if I had 

been drinking.

“Victor, its Jemimah…Asabe’s sister” and now I suddenly got a percent of live after 

hearing those words, especially the one that contained the name of my dream woman. 

The woman that gave me a reason not to run away from myself. Her name was put on 

redial in my head all this time I had been unconcious. I rememebered every minute we 

spent, and all we did together; it was like my recollection moment. But now after what 

Jemimah had said, my sweet thought started to taste bitter.

And before I could think any further, a tanker load of water splash against my face, and 

the blood that had found a home in my eyes suddenly came off, and I started to see a 

little; atleast I could now count the number of people staring at me, and those who stood 

some feets away with straight faces that presumes they were seconds away from setting 

fire on this unlucky thief. I was done noticing the crowd, now I had to notice I was naked 

to my own bewilderment. “What…how in God’s name did I get naked?” I finally found my 

voice and that was the next best thing I could say, not minding who was listening.

“Victor, where is Asabe?” Jemimah was staring at me straight in the face and had her 

eyes swollen from too much crying. 

She was with two other angry looking men, who I guessed were the ones who helped me 

up and even dusted my naked body.

“I swear I do not know Jemimah” I said as I bent down in shame. “she came here early 

this morning and was in tears.”I continued as I clutched my head in despair. 

“So where is she?” Jemimah had put on a smile from the blues.

“I don’t know, I just said that. I was struck at the back of my head amist our discussion, 

so I do not know where she had gone with Deborah”

 “Please help us Victor, no one knows the whereabouts of Asabe, and its been more than 

four hours since she ran away after killing her husband” she said as tears began to flow 

freely from her eyes again, and she bent down, low enough to rekindle the shame that I 

couldn’t bear.

I was concerned about her mood, but what strucked me was the fact that Asabe was no 

where to be found, and mostly that I had been unconscious and naked to have any clue 

as to where she would be. The thought of that alone broke me down and I started to sob 

and feel so bad. Unable to bear the dilema and my ridicule, I stood up and made a fast 

run for my door, shutting it behind me. As I got into the room, I began to see my 

mistakes right before my eyes. “what has happened to me?” I thought to myself. “When 

exactly did I get my life all wrong…where exactly did I miss the way?” I asked over thirty 

questions in less than a minute, like I had questions for every two seconds, and it wasn’t 

funny anymore. I had been reduced to a mad man, so bad that I now appear naked in 

public; all because I met Deborah.

As I sat on the bed, ignoring the constant knocks that was never going to stop at my 

door, I had for the first time in my scattered life enough minutes to think of my situation 

and recount my wrongs. I really wasn’t a rightful person, except for meeting Asabe and 

falling in love with her. My greatest mistake was letting myself get to entangled with 

Deborah and her lifestyle.

While I was still lost in thought, my telephone started to ring. At first I thought of 

ignorigng it, but after the calls seemed like it wasn’t going to stop, I dashed to my bad, 

where I had left it last night, and immediately I got hold of it, I quickly pressed the 

answer button, ignoring the name of the claller on the screen.

“Victor” came a voice from the other side of the phone that sounded like Deborah’s.

I had known her well enough to detect her voice on any device. It was then that I took 

the phone off my ears to look at the screen, the number was hidden. Without delay, I 

took it up back to my ears.

“where are you Deborah?” I asked ensuring I kept a low tone.

“listen, some people have kidnapped Asabe” she spoke with a faint voice, “so please you 

have to help her”

I gasped for breathe and didn’t know what next I was to say.

“but where are you now?” I spoke almost immediately as the beep sounded, meaning she 

had cut the call..

My heart sank, and it did most when Deborah’s number wasn’t reachable anymore. My 

thought raced from Asabe’s parents, down to her sister who was close to knocking my 

door down. “my own don finish” I said as I fainted.

......to be continued!

Etoh Chinemere Collins is a fiction writer, an addict writer with lots of articles and poems to his name. He has two manuscript undergoing editing and should be ready for publishing by November. Collins thinks he can change wrong ideas with a pen. You can reach him HERE