₦airaland Forum

Nigeria.

Lol. Thanks sha. Writing has always been a hobby-i haven't really thought about going pro.

It gets annoying over time.

And thanks for the advice. I intend to take my time,wait for inspiration.

Its atreus. A-T-R-E-U-S. How come everybody gets it wrong?

I dunno what to write!

I still havent figured out what to do with her yet.

She'd perfected the art of world-weary indifference). "Ok enough of this bullshit Owen. Stop acting like you're the victim in all this",she said,seethin as she stood up and faced him. It was amazing how angry he could make her with just a few words. "Claire. . ",he began. "And how did you even know where i'd be?",she cut in. "That's not important",he replied. "How did you know where i'd be?",she asked again. "I called Eghosa. She. . She told me". "Well i'll be. . " "Look,this isn't her fault. Don't get mad at her for this. I'd have found you anyway",he said,and continued;"You weren't picking my calls,you didn't reply my messages,what did you think,that if you ignored me long enough i'd just fade away?" "That was the general idea",she muttered under her breath. "Claire we have been together for over a year now. I know we've got issues,and individually we're pretty dysfunctional,but we've also got something really good. Something worth fighting for. 14 months of our lives. That's how long we've been together. 14 months. How can you just throw that away?",he asked,genuinely confused. "I didn't throw our relationship away. You did",she said,her voice as cold as chips of ice. "What the hell are you talking about?",he asked in frustration. "I'm not having this conversation anymore",she said. At that point,Eghosa walked in. "Owen! Fancy meeting you here",she said brightly,affecting surprise. "Drop the act,sis. I know you set this up. I'm going to the car. It's about time we left",she said and walked out on them both.

",she said,and continued;"I need to go to the ladies' room". "Okay",Claire replied,and took a sip of her drink. Eghosa left just as Owen was making his way to Claire. "Claire. . . ",he said from behind her. She blinked and then muttered to herself;"Now i'm hearing things. I really do need a shrink". "Claire",he said again,putting a hand on her shoulder. She whirled around sharply,almost knocking down her drink. "Owen?",she asked with a gasp. Owen was what you'd call classically handsome. He had thick,curly,jet-black hair,bushy(but not overly so)eyebrows,and black eyes so piercingly intense they seemed to stare into your very soul. He had a very nice nose;it wasn't one of those humongous noses,nor was it small;it was just right. He had a very well-defined jaw which was,at the moment,covered in an untidy beard. He was a sharp contrast to Claire-where she was slight,he was huge-but not grotesquely so. He had broad shoulders,a body that could've been a prize-fighter's and a dazzling smile-one of his best features. Owen Akingbade was gorgeous,he was the kind of man women drooled over,and he was all Claire's-except she didn't know it then. "How can you be here,Owen? You're supposed to be in Chicago. Your flight left 3 days ago",she said in confusion. "My flight left. I didn't. I packed my stuff,got to the airport,and then i realized. . . Then i realized i couldn't leave,not with things between us the way they were",he said. "How touching",she said dryly,wits regained. "Claire,we need to talk". "We've got nothing to talk about",she replied. "The hell we don't. You tell me you don't wanna have a relationship with me,you break up with me, in a text message? My God,Claire,that's cold,even for you",he said in anger. She flinched at his words,they hurt more than she cared to admit,and then got angry herself. Among other things,Claire had a temper. Nothing as volatile as Miriam's temper,of course(Miriam was her family's hothead),but a temper nonetheless- when she could be bothered to get that worked up over something(

Orisha and Miriam were outside,standing at the spot he'd led them to. "So what did you wanna show me?",she asked. "Look up",he replied. She did. It was a dark night,with a crescent moon and twinkling stars as far as the eye could see. "It's beautiful",she said in awe. "I thought you'd think so",hd said and held her hand. She glanced at their joined hands,smiled and then looked back up. "Are you gonna show me the North Star?",she asked. "Err. . . No. I don't know the first thing about astrology",he said with a rueful grin. "Good. Cos i don't either",she said. "It's just so spectacular. There are billions of stars in our galaxy alone. Just thinking of all the other galaxies out there,and the billions of stars and other wonders of creation therein. . . The numbers are just mind-boggling",he said. "Yeah. We humans are pretty small,insignificant in comparison",she said softly and continued about a minute later;"I'm really glad that i'm here with you". "So am i",he said in reply. They continued holding hands,silently looking at the stars,just soaking in the moment.
***
Meanwhile, Claire and Eghosa had just finished desert. "I swear,Claire,this place is outta this world",Eghosa said. "I know. It's pretty amazing". "Speaking of amazing,what's up with you and Owen? He's an amazing guy". "Sure he is",Claire said dryly. Owen was her off and on boyfriend. He was a 23 year old final-year Computer Science student in Uniben. Claire and Owen had had so many problems she could get away with not telling Eghosa the exact details of what went down between them. "I get you guys,together in a relationship have been under a lotta pressure,but all in all,he's a good guy". "I know",Claire said. "And you'd just break up with him?",Eghosa asked,eyebrow raised. Claire didn't say anything. "You're crazy,Claire. You have issues. You need to see a shrink". "I'll go if you will",Claire said with a cheeky grin. Eghosa turned her head and was looking directly at Owen. 'He's here early',she thought in shock. "Uhm Claire?",she began.

Cool. Anyway,back to the story:

"There's nothing we can do. I think she should live in the moment. She's happy. That's what matters. She's happy,so let's just forget about what's gonna happen in the future. If his leaving hasn't crossed her mind,then we can't put it there. We can't",Eghosa said,sounding unnaturally subdued-she always was the vivacious one. "Well,then,Salud!",Claire said in sad resignation,raising her glass of sparkling cider in a half-hearted toast.
***
Miriam had just finished their dessert. "Wanna dance?",he asked. "I'd love to",she replied. He stood up,offered her his palm and led her to the dancefloor. A song just started playing. On hearing it,Miriam inhaled deeply,closed her eyes and smiled. "I love this song. Chris de Burgh",she said. " 'Lady in Red",he added. Her eyes opened in surprise. "You know the song?",she asked. "Yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?",he asked. They'd moved closer;cheek to cheek,beating hearts so close together it felt like they were one. "Most guys i know aren't particularly into old school",she said. "I'm not most guys. Besides,it's their loss. A lot of beautiful music was made in the times of generations past". They remained silent,dancing. They weren't doing anything fancy-they weren't dancing the Viennese Waltz or doing the foxtrot;they were just moving with the music. "How fitting",he said about a minute later,twirling her around and then drawing her back to him,and continued;"De Burgh's singing about a lady in red,and here i am,dancing with my own lady in red". She smiled and didn't say anything-she couldn't get over how much she liked being 'his' lady. He leaned downwards and whispered in her ear;"I wanna show you something. Come with me?". She nodded her head and went out of the restaurant with him.

ld. I have to believe there's something better. Sometimes i think,it's the only way i hold on to my sanity. And this is not me being cynical. We've gotta face the facts. Correct me if i'm wrong,but isn't he here to spend a three month holiday in Nigeria? What happens when he leaves?",Claire asked. "What was it Jordin Sparks sang? Uhm. . . 'Be faithful enough to know that this' ",she said,gesturing to Orisha and Miriam,and continued;" 'is meant to be,and if it's not,then don't speak,don't ruin it,just let them dream' ",she finished. "Eghosa,we can't just sit here and do nothing",Claire said and continued;"I've never seen Miriam like this over a guy. Any guy. He's the first person she's ever had real feelings for. She's happy with this guy. . . When she talks about him,it's like something deep inside her just lights up,she has this look on her face;she's happy". "And that's a bad thing?",Eghosa asked,with a look on his face that clearly said;'Are you crazy?'. "Yes. It's a bad thing,because the stronger her feelings for him,the harder she'll hurt when he's gone. I'm not gonna sit here and let my baby sister get hurt,and i can't believe you'd suggest it",Claire said in reply. "Dammit,Claire,she's our little sister. Our sister",Eghosa said,flaring up,and continued;"You think i don't know there's a very likely possibility she could get hurt? Somewhere along the line,this. . .thing,for lack of a better word,this thing between her and Orisha has grown into something more than just a teenage crush. Mimi's always been more mature than her age,and he,he seems like a pretty well-balanced guy,and maybe in a perfect world,they could work out,but like you so aptly put it earlier;this is real life. And in real life,things don't work that way". Eghosa paused and continued with a sigh;"There are some things we can't stop. This is one of them. They're too far gone to just. . Stop. There are also some things every girl has to experience. Like her first love". "And her first heartbreak",Claire finished for her.