Hauwa, …
“What dots? Quit the riddles, please,” Fatima sniggered.
“Tell us what’s up,” you had pleaded, laughing at your helplessness.
“Fatima, has it ever bothered you that Emeka and your boyfriend are like twins?”
“What has that got to do with our discussion?” she interjected, discontent with Grace’s answer.
You barely understood what they were saying, but you could tell it was related to Fatima’s relationship with Bolaji.
“And you have not heard the saying that one is a mirror of the kind of friends he keeps,” she asked, almost in whispers.
“Oh!” you and Fatima exclaimed.
Fatima immediately became sober, and all the energy she seemed to have a few seconds earlier vanished as she reclaimed her place on her bed - looking like she had seen a ghost. You guessed she had previously thought of it before Grace asked and did not find the prospect pleasing.
“Honestly, I’ve had this thought for days, and I can’t seem to get over it. Bolaji is too good to be true, and I do not want to ruin what we have because of some baseless suspicion. He trusts me and tolerates my excesses, and I think I owe him the same, but his friend’s attitude is one big red flag I can not ignore,” she confessed, heaving as if she had just lifted a weight off her chest.
Her reaction shocked you - Fatima, though you were friends and coursemates, never discussed her relationship with you or in your presence, but you couldn’t say the same for Grace. You figured out the matter was too much for her to keep to herself that she threw caution to the wind and brought it up before you. You couldn’t help pitying her - you had suffered a couple of heartbreaks yourself and could comprehend why she dreaded one.
The sounds of your troubled breaths replaced your voices as you racked your brains for a solution to the situation at hand. You particularly did not want to disappoint Fatima by failing to offer any good advice so she would not conclude that you were not reliable enough to share her worries. Grace kept quiet - probably lost in thought. Fatima, on the other hand, buried her face in her palms - you hoped she was not crying.
Suddenly, you hit the jackpot! You cleared your throat to call their attention, and it did the magic.
“Test him,” you suggested.
“Yes, tell him you’re breaking up with him and see how he reacts,” Grace added with enthusiasm - your idea seemed to have impressed her.
“No. There’s no way I’m doing that. I love Bolaji,” Fatima declared, nodding her disagreement like a child asked to share his candy with a friend.
Your fear came to pass - she probably did not trust you enough to take your idea.
However, Grace surprised you. She took the torch from you.
“Fati, did you just hear yourself?” she asked, with a mixture of anger and disbelief colouring her face.
to be continued…
Do you think Fatima should have confided Hauwa?
Do you think Hauwa’s suggestion is reasonable?
What else do you think?
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P.S: This work is purely fictional. Any semblance to actual persons (living or late), places, or events are merely figments of the writer’s attempt at keeping in touch with reality.
✌🏾 Kwa Heri!
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