Click https://www.nairaland.com/4160166/how-began-speak-isabella-day#69311883 to read the second part of "How I Began To Speak With Isabella The Day After She Died"

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My heart stopped when I saw what had happened. For a moment I was paralyzed with shock then I ran towards the dangling figure and climbed the rock, standing behind her and holding her up so she wouldn't choke to death.

Isabella would not have it though. She kicked my legs and bit my right arm which was firmly strapped round her breasts, wailing loudly in the process. I held on tight.

Her kicking and biting and crying went on for a long time - I don’t know how long though. However, after some time, she stopped kicking and just kept weeping. I didn’t speak to her. I didn’t know what to say anyway. I just held on to her. My hands were already weary but I knew I had to get her head out of the noose.
When her weeping had reduced considerably, I balanced my feet better on the rock, pulled her up higher and began to loosen up the knot. She didn't protest but she was shaking uncontrollably as her cries rang out again in the silent bush.

I managed to get her head out of the noose and we both fell to the ground. I was panting heavily from the effort to free her. She was coughing and crying at the same time. Quickly I sat up, raise her head her up and held her in my arms as she began to cry even louder than before. But she didn't object when I drew her closer and embraced her. Her body shook against mine and I didn't know when tears crawled down my own eyes and fell on her hair.

I knew that whatever it was that she had gone through must have hit her with a terrible and completely devastating blow. She must have gone through a really horrible experience and only she could understand that now.

"It is okay" I told her "you're gonna be okay. I promise"

She didn't say anything, just kept on crying bitterly. The sweet fragrance from her hair rose to my nostrils and clung to it.

Suddenly she sprang up and began kicking and hitting me. For a moment, I was startled then I regained composure. I knew she was still hurting. She had to be allowed to beat herself out of her depression.

“You need to calm down...” I started

"How dare you?” she cut me short “Who made you a savior to come after me? Are you crazy? Get out! Get out!" she shrieked.

She left me alone and began walking away. I sat still watching her, not offering a word but observing every of her move so she would not do anything suicidal.

She was walking with sagged shoulders and a very shaky body. I felt a lot of pity for the girl. She didn’t go far though; after walking for about eleven yards, she collapsed on the floor again, crying.

I didn’t know what to do. This has been the strangest experience I have ever had. First of all, it was the weirdest thing to follow a stranger who had “died yesterday” into the middle of a woodland. Who ever does that? And on top of that, I had watched someone I had the most admiration for try to commit suicide right in front of me. God! Joseph would not believe this when I tell him.

After a while, she sat up, facing the opposite direction. She was no more crying but I could hear her sniffling.

"There's nothing to live for" she said, finally "you should just let me be."

Isabella’s voice always penetrated my soul. The sound of her voice made me feel like icy cubes were walking down my spine. It gave me goosebumps and in spite of myself, I wanted to hear her speak some more.

I stood up and walked to where she sat with her hands clasped in front of her. I Sat beside her.

"There's always something to live for" I said. At that she turned and faced me, an angry look on her face.

“What is there to live for, when you have degenerated from being a human being to an object? A mere object for gratification.”

I didn’t understand what she meant so I kept a straight face, staring into her wide open eyes. She turned away.

“You should let me be. I know what I am doing. You don’t understand me. You can never understand me. You are one of my problems”

For the first time, the sound of the voice gave me a fright. I didn’t like what she had just said. You are one of my problems! How could she say that? That was being completely unfair. All I ever did was try to save her from tragic death.

I just kept looking at her.

“Last night was filled with serious heat and even the AC struggled to shield us from its scorn.” she began speaking again. I wondered what she was talking about. Was she telling me her story? That was so unreal. It was too soon. I bent forward to listen to her

“Jacob, my fiancé had come just come inside the bedroom from the toilet with a towel tied round his waist. He was finally going to do it.” She continued “We had been dating for three years and I had never let him touch me. I told him I wanted us to wait till marriage or after he had met my parents and he agreed. He never struggled with me and I appreciated that. Last week, he went to see my parents and everybody was happy for me. So last night he demanded for s*x as if it was some prize he had won. I couldn’t deny him. He had seen my parents. Surely we were going to get married. It was not so bad letting him in.”

She paused and sniffed. I watched her face closely. It was filled with utter sadness and tiny wrinkles appeared on her forehead.

“Jacob removed his towel and stood there n*ked then demanded that I did the same. I didn’t object. We had a passionate night and I could only imagine what our wedding night would be like. This morning when I woke up, Jacob was not on the bed. I thought he had just gone to the bathroom to bathe but when he did not emerge after an hour, I began to look for him. He was nowhere in the house. I called him but both his numbers were switched off. At first I was not too bothered because I felt he could have rushed out to attend to urgent business and didn’t want to wake me up because he didn’t want to disturb me. However as the day wore on, I became concerned. By 9am today, I called his friends and they confessed they had not seen him too. By 10am I was frantic. I called his number again and it rang. I was furious and decided to tell him a word or two about my anger but when a voice came over, my body went cold. It was a female voice.”

She stopped again and wiped her eyes. I began to guess what her plight was. She had been cheated on. But was that enough to make her want to kill herself? I decided to keep listening. Maybe there was twist to the story.

“I asked the woman who had answered the call who she was” she continued “and I was shocked when she said she was Jacob’s wife. According to her, they had been married for four years. Four years! And I never found out. Jacob promised he loved me but he was already married”

She looked at me and the fresh round of tears flowing down her face broke my heart, I wished she could stop crying.

“I couldn’t believe this was happening to me all over again” she said and I understood her sadness. She may have experienced too many repetitions of these scenarios. She may have been jilted too many times by men who were captivated only by her beauty and wanted to tap from it. I was right.

“All my life men have looked at me as if I was an object of s*xual gratification.” she said “They say I have huge hips and a lovely face and so they want to sleep with me and then go off to marry another woman. I was only good for s*x. Good only for s*x. I have been with seven men. After promising heaven and earth, they all leave after sleeping with me. That was why I would not let Jacob sleep with me till he had seen my people. Look at what Jacob did to me”

She began to cry again. I was about to speak to her when she began her outburst again.

“I watched my younger brother, Gideon, die because if Jacob. I had given him the money I had which was supposed to have used for Gideon’s treatment. I thought I had finally found the man who would love me not because of what he saw on my face or in my hips, or what was between my legs, but because of what he saw in my heart and in my words and in my life.” She was speaking through her tears now. “Now I can’t live with the guilt. How can I survive this? I hear my brother, Gideon’s voice every night. I killed him for Jacob. And now Jacob is gone. I better die. I can’t survive this. I feel worthless. No one even cares about me. Nothing matters anymore.” She stopped

I didn’t know what to tell her, how to comfort her. It was too grueling a thing to do. How do you tell a completely broken woman that she should keep the hope alive? I decided to try.

“I am sorry about...”

“People like you make the world a crazy place.” She cut me short yet again “Why did you follow me here? Why were you so interested in me? Why? Why? Well, I know why. You followed me here because you’ve seen Isabella with her beautiful face and her huge hips and you can’t help but chase after her, woo her and sleep with her then move onto the next target. Oh my God. Why did God make you men in this world? This planet will be better off without you all!”

I kept quiet after she had stopped talking. She was no more crying now. She just stared into the distance, as if completely oblivious of me. I didn’t know what to tell her but at least I’d found out her name and I understood her pain.

“Isabella” I began. The sound of her name on my lips gave me profound joy. “I am sorry you had to go through all that. The world is filled with selfish people who only want to use you and then dump you. They come to you like innocent lambs but they are dangerous beasts trying to devour you like cooked yam. However we must keep our heads raised high for hope of better times. Better times always come. I have been in your shoes Isabella. Not only women go through these things. I’ve been with women who were only there to take my money and disappear into thin air. Women I thought loved me. It’s like that. You must be strong Isabella.” I told her

She raised her eyes and looked at me and I couldn’t read what was in it. I didn’t know whether she was feeling what I was telling her or not.

“And, Isabella” I continued “not all men are the way you have described them. No matter how terrible your experience has been with men, you need to know that there are still good men out there. Great men who can love you earnestly without asking for anything in return. There are such out there men and I know many of them. You can’t lose hope, Isabella and you definitely can’t kill yourself off for anyone. Remember they would continue to live long after you may have died and you would have given up your destiny for some asshole who would really be punished for his foolishness. Come on, Isabella, you are young and beautiful and obviously very smart. There’s a lot to live for. A whole lot my dear. Just keep the hope alive”

By time I finished, Isabella was looking at me again. This time I could read the expression in her eyes. They told me of the deep appreciation she had for my words. I knew I had won her over.

“No man has ever spoken to me like that before. Thank you!” she said and my joy knew no bounds. I felt like flying.

Ok, so I bet you are itching to hear the end of the story. Well, the story has ended o. What more do you want to hear?
I saved her and we went home. Finish.

And, oh, I need to add that I was given a hero’s treatment in her household because everyone felt that without me she would have been dead. So now, I am a hero in Isabella’s home. That’s really cool, don’t you think?

And, also, well... Isabella and I are now married. It’s been almost two years and we already have a cute young boy between us.


Written by Samuel Daniel, an Editor and Content Writer at TORI.NG
Email: danielsamuel366@gmail.com
Twitter: @iamsamdan