I hastened through Stanley’s compound gate, entering his 2-bedroom apartment.
The ambiance within his apartment felt unsettling—quiet, scattered, and lonely.
Stanley was nowhere to be found, and my vocal attempts to locate him by calling out his name proved futile.
A sense of tension and panic enveloped me, prompting me to retrieve my phone from my bag to contact Favour for assistance.
Unexpectedly, Stanley entered from what seemed to be his kitchen, holding a cooking knife. His body displayed numerous bruises, cuts, and signs of a recent altercation or confrontation.
Uncertain about whether to approach him, I voiced my concern.
“Your messages were alarming. Are you okay? Why are you holding a knife? What led to these cuts and bruises?”
Stanley appeared vulnerable, frightened, and frail.
He suddenly collapsed to the floor, muttering a few words, “Some thieves broke in to attack me and rob. I tried to defend myself but got injured.”
Terrified, I rushed to his side.
“Where are the robbers now?” I inquired, scanning the room for any hidden threats.
“They left,” Stanley whispered.
“They couldn’t overpower me, so they left,” he reiterated.
His account didn’t make sense to me. I had numerous queries and concerns, but he looked unwell, as though he might pass out without prompt medical attention.
Attempting to assist quickly, I proposed, “Let me call Hassan so he can help us get you to the hospital quickly.”
To my surprise, Stanley objected immediately.
“No, that won’t be necessary. That will be too much stress on Hassan.”
“But he wouldn’t mind,” I insisted.
“I have a first aid toolkit around and homemade remedies that help with cuts,” Stanley suggested.
“We can treat my bruises with those, and then I see a medical practitioner tomorrow,” Stanley said, trying to convince me to simply help administer first aid to him.
Still unsatisfied with his suggestions but seeing the need to make him feel better, I asked for directions to where his first aid toolkit was, grabbed it, and fixed his cuts. Every attempt to help treat or clean his cuts came with a painful grunt from Stanley. I could only wonder how he had managed his hurts and the pain before I arrived.
I was now done with his wounds when I realized another person was present in the house. His mother.
She had sneakily walked out of an inner room with a delightful smile on her face to see me.
“My daughter!” She exclaimed as she jumped on me in joy.
Confused and almost cringing, I managed to give a faint smile back.
To my surprise, she had blood stains on her dress and skin.
Stanley was quick to jerk and take me off her grip.
“She isn’t Mena, mum,” he said, almost pleading.
“But she is your friend and she looks so much like Mena,” His mum iterated, giving off a sarcastic smile and moving closer to me.
At this point, I was oblivious to the back-and-forths Stanley had with his mum, but I knew something was off with my being in Stanley’s place.
My instincts told me it was time to leave, so I mentioned to Stanley that I was going to take my leave and see him at work the following week.
Without an approving response from Stanley, I began to make my way to his living room door, when suddenly I saw his mum handle a remote that automatically locked the door. It was then I sensed I was in for some real trouble.
Stanley kept looking at his mum in pain as if pleading without words.
“This was why I hated Mena. She thought she was smarter than anyone she met,” Stanley’s mum said with irritation in her voice while looking at me.
“Mum please, this is Oyin, not Mena.” Stanley kept repeating as if fixated on a spot without the power to move or break free.
Stanley’s mum looks at Stanley and says, “Do you believe in second chances?”
“Just maybe God has given us another chance to have Mena back,” her eyes were full of great joy.
She walked briskly towards me and kept saying, “Mena my child, welcome home!”
Her eyes were terrifying, and for every step she took closer to me, my heart raced heavily. I took several steps backward till I hit the front door.
“Please ma, I am not Mena,” I said with my heart pounding fast.
“How dare you?!” I received a resounding slap as I fell to the ground.
Convinced that a battle had broken out sooner than I had expected, I gathered my strength, pushed her backward, and ran to the kitchen.
Struggling to find a tool for my defense, I opened up the deep freezer.
Bewildered, I fell to the ground in shock at the content I found in the freezer.
Stanley rushes into the kitchen in rage, “Oyin, you shouldn’t have seen that.”
His countenance turns into that of a beast as he hits me with his right fist.
I couldn’t hear or feel anything much from then. I had dizzy sights, and I knew I was close to passing out.
“I didn’t want us to use her mother. I tried my best,” I could hear Stanley speak faintly to his mother.
“This is a timely provision, son. The universe brought her to us. I will take my leave and have you complete the job.”
Click on the text “next post” below to access Episode 6.
I couldn’t help but stayed glue to complete all the episodes