***
"A few minutes ago, the lifeless body of the only child and daughter of Honourable Victor Oyé, Sonia Oyé was found in a pool of blood in her room hours after she posted a video on her Instagram profile along with a saddening suicide note. Let's watch the video..." A female reporter said.

Sonia was as beautiful as ever and all dressed up as if she was going for an important function. She smiled before speaking. "It's the unpopular Sonia again. Well, there's this demonic invasion a cult group is planning. The Footpath, to be precise. Remember Agbana's  Avenue? That's their test work and on January 22, if you all think I'm stupid and won't pay mind to me... Our country will vanish. I don't know how but it will. There are only two people that can stop this, Tumise Babalola and Karleen Coker. Dad, I'll just say this anyways... My dad is uhm gay. Yeah, gay. That's why they've been blackmailing us. Mom, I'm sorry. I need to take a long rest now..."

The reporter resumed talking. "Shortly after the video, she updated her WhatsApp story with a short suicide note which one of her friends saw and raised an alarm but it was too late. Though the reason for her act has not yet been confirmed, her mother Mrs Maria Oyé said Sonia always had some psychological problems but also shocked about the just revealed sexual status of her husband. Meanwhile, all attempts to speak with the Senator has proved abortive and the issue of a demonic invasion is in the air..."

Mrs Lara put off the TV. I kept my gaze glued to the screen, remembering the words she said to me at the NAVE.

"...YOU KILLED SONIA..."

F spoke. "I told you to go after her, Karleen. You didn't listen."

I closed my eyes and let a deadly feeling of guilt wash through me. When I opened my eyes, everyone was watching me. They were probably expecting me to cry or react in any way but I was as calm as ever and I knew that was even scarier.

"She just helped us tell the whole world. Now, everything is messed up," Seyi said.

I glared at her. "Everything is messed up? That's all you care about, right? She just killed herself and all you care about is that she messed everything up? Wow. Wooow."

David shook his head. "Nigeria as a whole is at stake here too an--"

"To hell with Nigeria and everyone!" I stood up and walked out angrily.

I sat on a chair in the ante room and inhaled enough air to clear my head. I was exhaling when I heard footsteps.

"Can I come close?" It was Joshua.

"After you clean off the lipstick, idiot. Don't come close! Just drive me away from here and leave my house like Mom said. End of drama!"

All of me expected him to say something to make me feel better or beg and apologize but he just stood there, watching like I was a performing actress in a Telenovela.

"Did you hear me?!"

He dropped his hands from his waist. "Of course."

I waited for him to say more but he didn't, he just walked away to the car like he didn't just cheat on me with Tracey, like I didn't just lose a friend.

The drive home was the slowest ever. We didn't talk or move, he kept his hands firm on the steering and gaze glued to the traffic for the first time since I've known him. I just sat there with trembling fingers and a eyes that were glued to nothing.

Mom wasn't at home. We were welcomed by Kath who seemed to have cried her eyes out. Chichi looked sad too. They were all looking at me like I was crazy.

Kath talked first. "I heard about her, are you fine?"

"I don't know," I whispered and faced Josh, "pack your things quick."

Kath frowned. " Where are you guys going?"

"He's been fired."

Kath looked at me, then him. "Who fired him?

I balled my fists and made my way to Kath's room. I walked over to the window where I could get a better view of what's happening downstairs and watched them.

They seemed to be talking about something serious. Next thing, Kath pulled him into a hug and patted his back. I shifted to get a better view. Joshua was actually crying.

I collapsed on the bed, took my phone and switched on my data. I opened my WhatsApp and went to status. I saw Sonia's. The first one was a picture of Sonia, Jumoke and I. Beneath it, she wrote...
                 Girl gotta go meet her friend there

Then another picture of two of us. There was nothing but a crying emoji on it. The next was a picture of only her. Beneath it was...

"That wasn't her best but she tried,
Girl just needs to swim to the other side,
Because she has given in to the tide,
After losing every sense of pride,
She thought her willpower will help her through,
She's giving up and that's true,
Can't wait for it to be finally over...
Maybe, just maybe girl's spirit will be sober. Smile girl, it's time to rest."

"Karleen?"

I dropped the phone and blinked. "Kath."

She sat beside me. "He left."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Okay? Just okay?"

"Yes?" I asked.

She nodded. "That's what you really want?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

She looked at me. "Have you gone to Sonia's? It's shocking and heartbreaking too. Her dad's gay... She must have been in a very difficult spot, wanting to hide it from her Mom and the world and doing all that to you..."

I shrugged. "Are you trying to make me feel bad?"

"For real? I think it's affecting the way you think. You can cry, you know..." She said.

I nodded.

She hugged her pillow. "I just really wish I wasn't mean to her."

I tightened my grip on my phone. "Maybe she wouldn't have done it... if...If I had called her back when she wanted to go, if I didn't make her feel like the worst friend ever, if I had said some nice words to her, if--"

Kath rubbed my thigh. "There'll be a high mountain of if's and maybe's ... We can only imagine the outcome. I know it's hard but just be strong. You've been through tough times."

I smiled. "This is worse than losing my memories."

**
It was worse, yes. The way the press analyzed the matter, the way her mother grieved over the loss of her only child and the newly acquired knowledge about her husband. The way her father was humiliated. The way the Presidency destroyed all copies of her last video. The way Nigeria was put in a biased state. The way she increased suicide cases by one and the way I kept convincing myself that I didn't kill her.

It was hell.

Yet, I didn't cry then or ever about her. Not even when her body was laid to rest in a government cemetery. They expected more drama from me, little did they know that it wasn't only her body the laid into that hole, my soul followed. It was also my burial and you couldn't cry in that situation.

The day I finally cried after her death, it was over an entirely different matter.

Kath and I were leaving for a shopping spree. She brought the idea because according to her, I was grieving too much. We got to the living room to meet a young man in his late twenties.

"Oooo Jamalization!!!!" Kath screamed and jumped on the guy who was grinning widely.

He studied me for a while. "Karleen," he hugged me, "don't worry I'll introduce myself. I'm Jamal, Kelvin's best friend."

I smiled. "Oh good afternoon. So how was the wedding?"

He frowned. "Now you're scaring me, what wedding?" He asked.

"Kath said something about you getting married."

He shook his head. "Married ke? Kath?"

Kath was confused. "Kelvin has left home for weeks now, he said you were getting married and needed to go for preparation. Didn't you... You..."

He sighed. "You know I don't have a girlfriend not to talk of wife. I just got back from Atlanta and decided to stop by because Kelvin has been kind of ignoring my calls...What's this stuff about marriage? I'll get married without involving the world?... I don't get, where is he?"

Kath and I exchanged looks. My heart pounded. "We don't know," I said.

"He still called days ago and said the preparation is really stressful..." Kath explained.

Jamal dangled his keys. "Hmm. I'll find him. I'm sure he's fine. I'll be on my way now, should I drop you off at wherever you were planning to go?"

We shook our heads. Kath spoke. "No. We want to try driving ourselves."

Minutes later, we were all alone in the living room. Kath decided to call Kelvin and ask where he was.

"Hey bro, who's wedding did you call it?" She asked immediately he picked.

"Whats up, babe? Jamal's wedding,"

She hung up and looked at me. "I heard the conversation between you and Sonia, I think..."

I shook my head and sat down. I felt dizzy. "Why would he be doing that to me? I'm his sister."

The look on her face told me she was thinking about something different. "No. I think he's Mac."

**
😉