It was time for the girls to retire to bed. Hence, after Zipporah had turned off the TV and did her best to get Kemi and Grace to stand up from the couch, the two girls finally caved in, rose from the chair, and left for their bedroom. Eight-year-olds could be such difficult people to deal with at times. Gertrude was tidying up the dining room by sweeping off the crumbs of the cereal she’d littered on the ground. Zipporah was cleaning the living room. When they finished their work, Zipporah pulled the curtains together and turned off the living room lights. 

“Let’s go,” she motioned to Gertrude in the dark.

Gertrude saw her shadow from the dim lighting in the passageway. Then she nodded and moved closer into the darkness, ready to go with her. Zipporah was going to move too, but when she heard the door shake, she froze. Her eyes widened in trepidation, and her senses were alerted as fear increased within her. Who was at the door? She was going to scream and ask or make a sound, but she didn’t have the approval of her instincts regarding such actions, so she closed her mouth firmly and listened closely to the sound. 

When she paid more attention, she noticed that the door's keyhole was shaking. She could see it through the lighting from the passageway. It seemed as though someone was trying to open the door from outside. Gertrude, on the other end, did not understand why Zipporah was still standing in the same spot. She had not got the hang of what was going on. So she broke the silence and asked questions.

“What’s the problem? Why aren’t you coming?” 

“Shh!”  Zipporah hissed as she pressed her index finger against her lips.

Gertrude was going to say more words, but she stilled when she observed the direction in which Zipporah was looking and soon began to hear what Zipporah was hearing. The keyhole was shaking vigorously, and the door was rattling. The doorknob was pulled down, but the door didn’t open. Zipporah’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Who was at the door? At first, when she wondered, she thought it was David. There were enough reasons to believe he was the one. Maybe he couldn’t see correctly. That was why he was taking longer than expected to open the door. But as the person behind the door kept battling with the keyhole, she became less convinced that it was him. 

This person had taken the wrong key, meaning it was not David. Perhaps, it was one of the guards who’d decided to be human in a field of beasts and had decided to have mercy on them by helping them escape. Zipporah shook her head and dismissed the thought. That was far too luxurious a fantasy to have. 

She silenced the voices and imaginations in her head and focused again on the rattling at the keyhole. The door stopped shaking for a while. Then, the keyhole resumed its shaking again. After a period of the second stage of keyhole rattling, she heard a voice from outside. It was feminine, and it consisted of curses under her breath. Zipporah wasn’t sure what she’d heard in precise details, but she thought she caught a word like ‘damn.’ 

The doorknob stopped moving, and the keyhole remained in place. The person's footsteps receded quickly as though she’d taken to her heels. Afterward, there was tranquility. Zipporah remained where she was. Her eyes were squinted in perplexity. 

What was that? 

She could not understand it. So she decided to sleep over it and give the strange occurrence more time to ruminate on it. 

“Let’s go now,” she told Gertrude. 

“Just like that? Aren’t you scared?” Gertrude asked in a whisper, as though the person was still there. 

“She’s gone. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Don’t ask me any questions for now.” 

The following morning, Gertrude and Zipporah assembled quietly in the kitchen. It was almost as if they’d planned it. They both knew conversing at the dining table was risky because of the other girls. (The other girls were not as interested in escaping as the both of them, so they could rat them out to David). 

“Can we talk about it now?” Gertrude asked eagerly. 

‘For sure. The person who was trying to open the door yesterday was a lady. Did you see a woman's belongings when you spent the night at David’s house?” 

“No, I didn’t see anything at all,” Gertrude shook her head. “But… I noticed some unwashed plates in the kitchen zinc while playing poker. The dining room was where we played the game, so I could see into the kitchen. The plates and cups were in twos – as if he’d cooked food for himself and his guest. Maybe Mr. David has a girlfriend.” 

“I highly doubt it. He’s too stuck up in his past to think of moving on and experiencing such a form of pleasure.” 

‘So who is the woman?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe a long-time friend or an enemy disguised as an ally who has heard some news about David and came to confirm it,” Zipporah spoke casually.  

“You could be right!” Gertrude gasped. “The day the dog barked, I felt like someone saw me. Of course, I didn’t have the time to look, but I felt someone’s eyes on me from far away. I can’t explain it, but I think we can know if someone is looking at us sometimes. Maybe it was the woman. Who knows? Maybe she wants to help us out. It’s possible!” 

“You’re raising my hopes by saying that, Gertrude,” Zipporah looked away and shook her head defiantly. She wasn’t going to have expectations from this occurrence.

“Please, think about it. Maybe she saw me and wondered who I was and then came back again to check. She even managed to take a key from Mr. David’s pocket, but it was the wrong one.” 

“Now that I think of it, perhaps the person did try to sneak in yesterday and get into David’s pocket. From the window, I saw Mr. Joshua leaving his post to join the security guard at the gate. He seemed to be in a hurry. It was quite odd since neither Mr. Joshua nor any of the other guards ever leave their posts.” 

“The woman tried to distract them so she could come to help us.” 

“I don’t believe that she came to help us, though. Maybe she was just curious and needed to find something out. If she had come to help us, she would have gotten her facts right and planned ahead of time. Her being able to distract the guards was just something she planned at the last minute.” 

“Don’t you think she came to check first so she can know what next to do? I think she took a courageous step.  A curious person wouldn’t go that far.” 

“Yes, they would. You know, we are like hidden archives in an exceptional museum. The few people who know we are being kept here are curious to check us out and see with their eyes to confirm what they hear.  Nobody in their right mind would dare to try and liberate David’s sacred collection of abducted girls. I don’t think you’ve gotten a complete hang of how scary David is. In the past, few people, private business partners, investors and business dealers have occasionally come by the mansion and they’ve tried to do what that woman did last night but are nowhere to be found now. 

I’ve heard people knock on this door before, and I’ve tried to help them open it so I could get the hell out of here. But before that could even happen, David always caught them. Since then, no one has tried to come near this place, and I’ve learned not to raise my hopes about leaving this place.” 

“But you told me to have hope. You told me to wait for my parents to find me, but with what you’ve said now, I believe Mr. David will kill or try to stop them before they can find me. How can I have hope now?” 

Zipporah breathed out laboriously. The little girl was right. She could not contradict herself. She had to try not to let her trauma get in the way of the positivity that she was trying to impact on Gertrude. 

“I’m sorry I made you feel that way.” 

“Okay,” She accepted Zipporah’s apology. “Why don’t we try to help the woman help us out of here? I believe she was trying to help us. She even used one of the keys. She didn’t just knock. If she just wanted to look to see if the news was true, she would have just knocked. But she wants to help us. Let’s try to help her find the right key,” Gertrude explained with so much certainty. 

“What?” Zipporah could not hide her skepticism. 

“You know what the right key looks like, right? You must have seen it in Mr. David’s hands many times through the years.”

“Well,” Zipporah cleared her throat. “Yes.” 

“So let’s help her find the key so she can open the door next time.” 

“First, let’s hope that she will come by again. I hope Mr. David doesn’t hurt her.” 

***

David woke up feeling a throbbing ache on the left side of his head. His eyes felt heavy, and there was a slightly queasy feeling at the back of his throat – like a nudging to vomit. He had to remain still for a second and took his time to become accustomed to reality. Slowly, he opened his swollen eyes and made sure his sight had adjusted to the bright light that was peeking in from the windows. Then he looked around and realized he’d spent the night on his couch. Why had he lost so much control last night? 

He kept looking around him and then stopped when he saw Celine on the floor, still sleeping. His eyes widened. Why was she here? Why had she spent the night at his place? Had she been drunk too? He observed her more closely and noticed that the first few buttons of her shirt were loosened, revealing some parts of her breasts. His cheeks flamed up when a thought occurred to his mind. 

Did something happen last night? 

Had he taken advantage of her emotions and exploited her? He could remember that she was sad yesterday and had offered that they have some drinks together. Did he have his way with her because she was in her most vulnerable state? David closed his eyes and tried very hard to remember the previous night in detail, but there was nothing sexual whatsoever in it – even the few minutes before he’d blacked out completely. He could remember that Celine had helped him walk into the car. Even if she were the one who took advantage of his drunken state, he would have been able to see the signs. He didn’t wake up naked, and she wasn’t right beside him on the bed or something. He breathed out in relief. 

David stood up gently so he wouldn’t wake Celine abruptly. Then he inched towards her and lowered himself to lift her in his arms. It was then that she opened her eyes and saw David’s face right above hers. Quickly, she rose to be in a half-sitting, half-lying position. David shifted just in time before her head would collide with his chin. 

“Ah,” Celine withdrew herself to remain a few inches away from the proximity between herself and David. “Eventually, I spent the night here, didn’t I?” she smiled awkwardly. 

Celine had deliberately chosen to sleep at David’s house despite what had happened the previous night. After she realized that she’d taken the wrong key, her first impulse had been to run away for fear of getting caught. However, she remembered that she’d assigned the guards to help her carry her belongings into his house. It was only a person who planned to spend the night that would request such a thing. Besides, if she ran away, the guards would report her to David and easily find out that he wasn’t the one who wrote the instruction on the piece of paper and that she’d come to do something suspicious. 

So she had to stay to make everything believable. Earlier in the morning, she told the guards to help her put her belongings back into her car so that David wouldn’t ask any questions once he woke up. As for the handwritten note she gave the security guard, she learned that it was already burned before she could use her tricks to retrieve it from the guard. Apparently, it was one of the rules. If David gave them handwritten instructions, they were required to burn them off immediately after adhering to the order. That was simply perfect for Celine. David would never find out what happened last night, and the guards would not see a need to mention anything to David. 

“Yes…why did you sleep here, though? What of Autumn?” 

“Oh, I left her with the maid at home. I spent the night here because I was a little tipsy myself,” she yawned and used the back of her hand to shield her widely open mouth. “I didn’t want to risk driving. I’m sorry for being in your space.” She went on to quickly button up her shirt.  

“No, it’s fine. I did not mean to make you feel that way. I was just worried, you know? What are friends for, after all?”

Celine wore a thin smile. 

David walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He brought out two bottles of orange juice and placed them on the island. “Hey, would you like some orange juice? It’s perfect for hangovers.” 

“You are the one who needs it more,” she scoffed. “You look awful.”

“Well, yeah,” he shrugged. 

Celine walked towards the island, grabbed the orange juice, and opened it by the lid. After taking a small sip, she watched David take a swig of the drink. And while she watched, she quickly wandered deep into the realm of her thoughts. David was the only one living in the entire mansion. It showed that, for many years, no one had cared much to keep him company. Although he was surrounded by a dozen of hefty men, it still seemed like he needed to be rescued, to be protected from the bland, white walls of his living room, from his insanity. 

She could only imagine the number of hallucinations he must have had as he spent every hour of the night alone in his bedroom. She looked at him again as he calmly and innocently downed the drink's contents. Even that simple action seemed to be loaded with many secret calculations. He was chaos and stillness at the same time. Though it may look like things were going haywire for him on the outside, he seemed to be a man who knew what wheels to stir to put everything back into place. It was something he did while they worked together at the water factory. 

Still, she could not comprehend how he’d gotten to this stage of rottenness. What was the spur for this character trait that he’d now mastered? Was it a coping mechanism for his trauma or a defense scheme for the cure he’d created for himself? Had he made an alternate version of himself? Perhaps, someone he could share his delusions with? She considered this possibility because she couldn’t wrap her head around it completely. How did he seem to be so much in need of help but, simultaneously, managed to lock himself away from the world, declining every form of assistance possible? 

Was there even a slight chance she’d be able to get the right key to the bungalow from him? How could she even slither herself into the world of this man who seems to have blocked every form of access? Was there even a tiny possibility that she could get him to open up to her and share his darkest secrets? 

The more she stared at him and how calm his composure was, the more discouraged she got. He was totally locked away. But then, she remembered the poor girls and the couple that showed up at the office. She also thought of his poor, poor mother. She had to try. 

“You seemed pretty sad yesterday,” She started. “While we were drinking, you kept pondering and asking why you were crazy. You told me you’d healed the first time we met in years, but I don’t believe that anymore. What’s the problem?” 

“Nothing worth of concern, I promise you,” he took another refreshing swig of the drink and belched. Then he got serious and avoided her gaze as he tried to find an answer. “I was just saying stupid stuff, you know? I was reminiscing on my losses as a businessman. It made me feel like a lunatic. I’ve dealt with many psychopaths who call themselves business partners and investors. You won’t even believe it,” he shook his head dramatically. 

Celine smirked. David was a calculative man, but he didn’t know how to lie. Determining what next to do to cover up for yourself wouldn’t always be sufficient if you keep making a mess in simple conversations by telling unconvincing and stupid lies. 

“Do you ever feel like doing something about your losses whenever you reminisce on them? I’m talking specifically about your sister’s demise. Do you ever feel like doing something crazy just to turn back the hands of time and rectify your mistakes?” 

David stared. The look in his eyes showed that he answered in the affirmative. There was this mix of solemnity and relief in his gaze that expressed profound gratitude for the fact that someone – a real person could finally understand him. Celine observed his facial gesture, and it dawned on her that perhaps, it was possible that David could open up to her. However, her fantasies got smashed when his countenance changed to that static, signature look he always had – the one where he constantly wore a thin smile; his façade. 

“Well, not really. I feel too bad about what I did in the past to think of doing another crazy thing.”

“That couple,” she hit a nerve. “They came to your office on two different occasions.” 

“Celine…” his face turned sour as she’d expected. Tears pooled around his eyes. “Don’t you believe me? Do you really think that I took their daughter with hopes that that will make me happier?” A tear slipped and his voice softened. “I would never do such a thing! I deprived my sister of a full life that was ahead of her and till today, my stupidity still makes me feel like a bastard. Why, then, would I do such a thing to someone else’s child? What do I stand to gain? It will haunt me forever if I ever cause another child pain. That’s a mean assumption to make about me, Celine. I can’t do such a thing. Never.” He sniffed. Then he wiped his tears. 

“I’m still hurt and believe me, I have a long way to go. I admit that I lied to you about being okay. I need help, but I can never go as far as doing something so despicable.” 

As she heard his pleas, she had to force herself to close her eyes and shut him out for a second. How the heck did he sound so believable? The way he wept was like a call for help from the depths of his soul. He looked like he was about to be consumed by the waves of a tempest and could only stretch out a finger to pleas for help. Celine wanted to hold him by the hand and pull him out of the water, but it didn’t seem like he wanted to be saved in the right way. 

She’d nearly yielded to the temptation to empathize with him and treat him with understanding but she could not cave in – at least, not without him telling her his dark, ugly secrets. There was no way she could help him without involving the girls. He’d brought the baggage upon himself. It would be unfair to exclude the girls and treat him like some poor, innocent man. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she discovered the truth by herself, she would have believed him and had no cause to doubt him. It was the truth that made her able to stand a slight thread above his endearing deception. 

“I’m sorry I thought that way. Please forgive me,” Celine tendered her fake apology. 

David nodded. He was glad he’d been able to make her feel bad. Still, he got a very eerie feeling about the whole thing. Was there something she knew? He wouldn’t be shocked if that was true. This wasn’t the first time acquaintances and business partners had tried to sneak up on his innocent and everyday lifestyle. All he had to do on his part was to upgrade his obstacle creation skills. He had to create more keys and deceiving key holders just in case of anything. He wasn’t going to let his guard down no matter what. There was no way on earth that he’d let the world and its people get in the way of his happiness. He’d struggled so hard to look for ways to atone for his sins and to appease his sister for his unforgivable wrongdoings. Now that he was doing the closest thing to that, why would he let someone try to stop him? 

***

Folakemi honored her meeting with Celine by arriving at the appointed time at Obalende Avenue, which wasn’t far from the water factory. Celine too was already waiting in her car when she saw a black ford SUV park on the other side of the road. She wore her sunglasses and alighted from her vehicle. Then she walked across the street to its other side. Folake opened the front door for her. She stepped in and in no time, they were ready to discuss serious matters. 

“Thank you for accepting to check on my son,” Folake opened the drawer on the side of her car and brought out a brown envelope. 

When Celine saw how weighty it looked, she instantly knew what was happening. Then she put her hands on the envelope, gently pushing it away. This made Folake withdraw her hand.
“Please don’t give me money, ma’am. I already said I was going to do this as a friend.” 

“Well…okay. Just know that I appreciate you. You have no idea of the great favor you’ve done for me.” 

“It’s no problem at all, ma,” Celine bowed slightly and wore a professional smile.  “I’m sorry it took me a while to get back to you. I just had to make my proper findings in order to give you an accurate report.” 

“You were quicker than I thought you’d be,” Folake shrugged. “So tell me, is my son okay?” 

Celine took a deep breath and ceased smiling. Then she shook her head. “No, he’s not okay. I-I think he’s even worse.” 

Folake nodded slowly as though to absorb the truth. Then when the emotional impact of the truth began to affect her, she lowered her head and rested it on the airbag. She tightened her hold on the steering wheel, fingernails scratching through the rubber. She was trying to stop herself from exploding into tears. Celine’s eyes moistened up at the thought of the pain that this poor woman must have had to go through all these years. She must have felt like she was in a fiery pit, that bloody place where it’s perpetually dark, where you can’t breathe and every day feels like your veins will explode. She knew because she too had been there. 

Thus, she wanted to comfort Folake so badly. She’d even stretched her hand in an attempt to pat her and draw invisible, consoling circles on the small of her back. But she withdrew her hand when she realized that consoling Folake might make her feel like David could never be redeemed and that his situation was a lost cause. 

“I don’t know if you want to hear the rest of it, ma’am,” Celine continued when Folake rose her head and braced herself up. 

“Please, tell me everything. I deserve to know all about my son.” 

She retook a deep breath. Then she proceeded. 

“The first time I visited in fulfillment of my mission to check on him, I overheard a couple accusing David of kidnapping their daughter. They were hurling insults and vile words at him. David denied the allegations vehemently and I thought I could be of some help by stepping into the situation. So I did, and I told the couple that I was David’s wife and that we have a kid together. This made the couple leave. David and I caught up on old times, and he thanked me for saving him from the harassment. Then he took my daughter and me to his house for lunch. 

After lunch, I was getting set to leave when I heard a dog bark from a distance. I didn’t read much meaning into it but I saw how anxious he was. Later when I got home, my daughter told me that she saw a girl run back into a small house behind David’s mansion. I found it strange, so I decided to investigate again. The second time I went to his house, I made him have some drinks with me. With him in his drunken state, it was easier for me to sneak in. that was when I discovered that David has some girls in his custody and the couple that came by the other day are parents to one of the girls he kidnapped.  I’ve not been able to find out why he abducts them, but I think it has something to do with Sindara.” 

“So you mean, my son….” Folake tried to blink back the tears in her eyes. It was becoming hard for her to breathe. The sorrow was choking her and depriving her of her composure. “…my son who was always such a sweet boy; one who always loved to show care and concern… my son who loves with all that he has is now a criminal? Is this true?” 

“I’m still in shock too. When I found out, I mourned for the kind of man that David would have been if he didn’t choose this path. I kept wondering how things got this bad with him,” Tears also fell down Celine’s face. 

“So David isn’t the man he could have been? Is this really true?” Folake’s voice was breaking, caving in to the tears enveloping it. 

Then she broke down completely when Celine didn’t say anything in response. That meant that it was true. Her son, whom she’d so dearly loved, her little boy whom she’d found a great friend in, was now a stranger to her – a man she might have to watch go to prison and get treated the same way as notorious psychopaths. Was there something that she, as a mother, had done wrong? Had she failed in trying to save her son from himself? Were her efforts not enough? How many nights had her son spent trying to get away from the fiery pit before choosing to create an abysmal kind of escape for himself? How did he manage to set himself free but lock himself up at the same time? 

“You shouldn’t involve yourself any further, Celine,” Folake wiped her tears and faced her son’s long-time friend. If she allowed her to go on, David would pull her into the pit in no time. “You’ve completed your assignment, and I wish to pay you handsomely for it, but you won’t accept money. So, I say my thanks again and also, I release you. You can go on your way now and act like all of this never happened.” 

“I wish I could, ma’am,” Celine sighed. “I know how dangerous it is to get involved further in this. At the same time, I think I’ve gone far enough, and it doesn’t feel right to pull myself out of it now. I want to help those girls that are in his custody. I have to save them.” 

“Would that be okay for you?” 

“No, it may not be okay for me. I know David will try to get me out of his way. Still, I keep thinking of the couple that came to his office. They reminded me so much of my parents when my little sister died. They cried bitterly at the hospital’s lounge, just like that couple. I need to help those kids.” 

“It saddens me to think of how wrecked my son will be after you’ve done the right thing by rescuing the girls. Those girls must mean a great deal to him. Maybe…” she sniffed. “They are pseudonymous versions of Sindara that he’s created for himself, and I’m sure it took him time to be able to form that solution. He literally might run mad if those girls leave him. It pains me to think that my son has found an escape for himself in such a terrible thing. I have no idea how he will heal if that’s even a possible thing at this point,” Folake analyzed, gazing ahead into thin air. Her voice was void of emotions. 

“Please, ma, don’t lose all hope yet. Perhaps, I could even get him to willingly let go of the girls by himself so that things don’t become as you’ve explained.” 

“You think you can do that?” She turned to look at Celine. Hope had resurfaced in her countenance.

“I can try my best with all I’ve got, ma’am. Everyone who knows me knows me for my resilience and persistence.” 

“Very well then,” Folake grabbed Celine’s hand and patted it gently. “I will help you through with that in any way that I can.”

“I’d appreciate some of your help, ma’am,” Celine smiled.