IZUKWU: But alas there was a survivor

He commited suicide

SILENT EYES
(A SHORT STORY)
BY
J. Williams





PROLOGUE
‘THIS IS A DREAM’ he said to himself, he knew that this was a dream because he had dreamt it before. Not once, not twice, and not even five times, the dream had first occurred on the night he got to know of his mission. In the dream he was walking through an open field, he knew that not too long ago something important had stood on this field. Something that had meant the whole world to him and yet now as he searched for it he could not find it he turned around twice and yet still saw nothing, yes those where the words to describe what he saw. It was like walking through space, through time or through air knowing that you existed yet not being able to prove it to the world and to yourself. And suddenly he saw it ‘smoke’ he hastened his steps to get to where it was but to his surprise he couldn’t move any faster until finally he was there. But this smoke was not like any other that he had seen, because, this smoke was red he tried to look for the source of the smoke but the deeper he went the harder it got for him to see clearly he continued to move further reciting the rhyme humpity dumpity in his mind. Why this particular rhyme he could not tell but this was how it always went in the dream.
Finally he saw something through the blur of the smoke, at first he thought it was his imagination but as he drew nearer he realised that it could be a person, but how come the person didn’t seem to move or to breathe, the person just lay low on the ground staring at him. He couldn’t make out the face but he could tell it was the face of the woman because of the gentle curves of the face, he tried to call out but his lips wouldn’t move, so he kept on moving forward slowly and soon he reached it. He looked down and stared into the eyes of the face, the eyes were deep and loving they seem to hold the answers to the mystery but they also told him that they would not tell. The lips were coked into a smile a knowing smile that seemed to tell him that they knew what he was thinking. He looked on and realised something was missing, he corked his head to the right and then he realised that there was no body. With a trembling body he looked back to the face and the silent eyes that still told him nothing.









CHAPTER 1…………
Freddie didn’t look outside his window as he was driven to school by his driver. He didn’t look up he didn’t look left he didn’t look right up or down. He just stared into space. He didn’t think, didn’t speak, didn’t sing. He just sat silent. It was like his body was there but his spirit was long gone. He was going back to school after the one week mid-term break. It had been a long one week with lots of preparations for his going back to school. This morning as he was leaving his mother had hugged him tight and held him to her chest, he had been able to smell her perfume, her very expensive perfume. Tears had welled up in his eyes but he had choked them in. he was bigger than that he thought. But then it had made him wonder ‘ could a person ever be bigger than love?’ he didn’t ask her anyway she had looked at him and told him how much she loved him and how proud of him she was. This mother of his who had always seemed so self-righteous and yet so loving, he had turned away then to control the tears that were threatening to spill. Then came his father, he gave him a half smile that showed his beautiful dimples, dimples that Fred had inherited he didn’t need to tell him how proud he was because it was written right there in his eyes. his uncles and aunties were gathered around too. There to wave him good-bye as he left for school anyone who witnessed this event would have found it hard to believe that Fred was in his final year in secondary school. As he got into the car and as the driver zoomed off, His family soon became a part of another world for him.
The journey was a silent one for Fred, not only on the outside but also on the inside it was like all the sounds had been sipped out, and there in the middle of the world he stood, without family, without friend and without foe. He stood alone with mixed feelings towards what is right and what is wrong.




















CHAPTER 2…………..
It didn’t take long for him to blend in with the rest of the school and pretend as if all was well . Fred was recognised as a good actor but if only they knew to what extent his acting abilities stretched out. To the rest of the school Fred was the tall, light skinned boy with extremely brown eyes, who was too handsome to be that quiet, he was what the kids a nerd. always studying and coming out with the best of results, and yet he fully participated in all extra curricular activities. He could run, play basketball, act , dance and best of all he could sing. he was every girls dream guy and yet nobodys boyfriend. He was everybodys friend and yet nobody was his friend. He was just that guy that everybody loved but yet he loved no one. He was extremely intelligent but also very silent………………………………………..
Caroline resumed late to her new school, because she had been sick again. It hadn’t been easy this time because the doctor said that she had really let herself go this time around. Only a few people knew that she was battling with hepatitis. It was worse during the cold seasons but she was getting better and that was why her parents were finally letting her go to a boarding school. But the excitement of going to school soon weighed down on her and she had ended up falling sick again but now she was better and she knew it. She walked with pride and it didn’t matter to her if they had let her go to boarding when she was in her ss2 all that mattered was that she was here and that she was going to make it. And the first good sign came in the form of Fred, with his abnormal brown eyes and his unsettling silence. He made her uncomfortable but he didn’t know that and she would never let him know, thoughts of him made her smile the way he corked his head to the right and raised a brow and the way he batted his eye lashes like a girl. He was handsome and yet remote, so remote that he was like a mystery and a mystery was every girls calling. That was why the girls couldn’t take their eyes of him and why he was at liberty to break their hearts. But he was drawn to her and she could tell. It was probably because she was the mystery girl who resumed late and failed to give an account of what school she was from, although that did not stop her from making friends, another thing about her that she felt attracted him, she attracted people like magnet. It was just part of her charisma that wherever she went she attracted people. And even as she thought of him he appeared before her just like magic. With a half smile that showed his dimples ‘ you don’t look too happy’ he said in his low deep voice ‘I am’ I replied ‘and why are we whispering’ she added
‘oh’ he said, he seemed confused for a second and then he bit his bottom lip before he said ‘im not whispering, I just don’t talk very loud’ he was looking at his shoes like a child being scoulded and at that moment her heart swelled with love and pride, love for this boy and pride that he was hers, now she smiled at him ‘its ok will you walk with me ‘ he smiled before taking her arms in his and leading her across the walkway and as they walked she could feel the jealous stare of all the other girls piercing her back and she bent her head down trying but failing to hide her gloating smile.






CHAPTER 3……………..
Fred lay on his bed thinking of Caroline, she was beautiful smart and very gullible he coudnt help but chuckle at the way he made her heart flutter. She was just like the rest of them there was no difference all girls are the same he thought to himself, running to the mystery guy instead of going for the obviously good guy who loved them. He wondered why any normal human being would see a large pit and jump into it, but that was girls the more mysterious the more appealing. He changed into his day wear and left the hostel as he went he said to himself’ humour me Caroline and tell me that you are different’……………………………………………………………………………………..
Three hours later they were sitted together in the school garden and fred was playing his usual game telling her how he felt and how he thought they would last forever and how she would be the mother of his children. Her face said it all she was overjoyed at his words and he could tell but her next action was definitely not expected. When he was through he pressed his forehead to hers, she looked very small next to him because he was way taller than she was. She had to stretch for her palms to get to his chest and she rested both palms on his chest while he wrapped his arms around her and held her steady with only a thing space between their bodies and then to his surprise she let out a silent laugh and said ‘you are such a liar’ at first he panicked but then he brought himself to calm and whispered in her ear ‘im not lying, I could never lie to you even if I tried’ to his surprise she pushed him away and started to laugh loud, she laughed really long and hard and he just stood there with an unreadable expression on his face finally when she was through she sat on the grass and held her tummy she looked at him with his unreadable expression and shaking her head she said to him ‘Fred Fred Fred u don’t get it do you’ she smiled ‘ I like you? Yes’ ‘ im attracted to you? Yes’ ‘but above all am I a fool? Big no to that’ ‘and finally, do you love me? big no to that, so where does that leave us? And once again she answered herself ‘as two people who like themselves’ he tried to speak but she cut him off saying ‘don’t play games with me Freddie I’ve seen enough of life to know the difference between truth and lies, so don’t lie to me’ a thousand thoughts were running through Freds mind but he didn’t know which to pick but he knew that he had to say something soon, finally he settled for the least obvious ‘will you tell me about yourself’ she curved her lips into a knowing smile that seemed so familiar and yet he could have sworn she had never smiled that way at him before.’I will’ she said ‘if you admit that you are a liar’ he laughed even though he knew it wasn’t funny. he looked at her and saw that she didn’t find it amusing so she was actually different he thought to himself, surprisingly, this scared him. Still he said ‘ im a liar’ he said ‘but im not saying it because its true’ he quickly added ‘im saying it because I want to get to know you better’ she rolled her eyes and then she told him her story.
Caroline could have sworn that she saw fear in his eyes but she didn’t let it bother as she told him about her illness and how great it felt to be away from home and how she felt like an eagle that had finally been allowed to spread its wings after being in captive for so long. She poured out her soul to him and she could tell that he was dumbfounded by all she had been through and she saw the respectful look creep into his eyes and finally she concluded her story with ‘I feel like I can never be put down now that im up’ and with a distant look she added ‘I feel I should write a book about myself’ and in her heart she considered it.
Fred listened to her attentively, he was surprised to hear everything she said but it made him sad when she had said ‘I feel like I can never be put down again now that im up’ because in his heart and in his soul he knew that she could and he knew that he would and this time when he put her down, he knew that she would never be put up again. He studied her, she was beautiful and delicate and her curvy like every woman should be and strangely, she reminded him of an egg, suddenly the rhyme humpity dumpity came to his mind and fear gripped his heart. He bent his head dowm and sighed she had stopped talking now and he could tell that her mind was also in a place that was far away from here too. Although they were thinking of different things, while she thought of life, he thought of death. And he knew with a heavy heart that she was the chosen one. The one he saw in his dreams the head with the half smile and he knew that he would never look at her the same way. He sighed, why did it have to be this girl who was so different from the rest, why did it have to be she who had just gotten a second chance at life, but most of all this girl who seemed to be able to know when he was lying, no he said to himself it was impossible that she would know but just to make sure he would test her ‘ we should get to the dinning hall’ he said as he stood up and stretched out his hand to her, she took it and he raised her up as she brushed off the leaves from her dress he said ‘I admire you a lot Caroline, I admire your strength and your faith’ she smiled at him a smile that told him she believed. He didn’t admire her and he knew that, all he felt for her was pity, and so he knew that she would never know his heart and in his mind he said. Checkmate.
The two grew closer after that day, they were always in each others company but for very different reasons. Caroline was with Fred because she liked him, but Fred was with Caroline because he needed her. Not in the sense of love but in a very special way that was past matters of the heart.









































CHAPTER 4………………….
(NOT TOO FAR INTO THE FUTURE)…………………………………..
Even as Fred came down from the car he knew of the applause that would greet him and behold it came loudly his father hugged him, his mother kissed him and his uncles and aunties showered him with love.no one listened to him and asked him how he felt they just continued to hug and kiss him and he continued to drown in his heart, the guilt was killing him and he knew at last that he had not been ready for the burden that had been placed on his shoulders. It squeezed and tugged at his heart, until he felt like he couldn’t breathe, he felt like all the walls were closing in on him he tried to move and then he closed his eyes, when he opened them again, to his utter amazement, everything was fine.
At last, he was left alone to clean up and then come for his dinner, but even as he closed his eyes he saw her there in his room he didn’t run, shout, he did nothing but stare at her face. As a matter of fact he had been expecting her. She sat on his desk where he kept his watch and said nothing but stared. He didn’t say anything to her either, he took of his watch and placed it on the table right beside her legs, he felt her eyes as they followed his arms, he looked up and stared into her eyes her and she smiled, that silent smile that she reserved for him and him alone and still her eyes said nothing and even in death, she was still his beautiful Caroline.
He watched the water run into the bath tub and yet he saw nothing and then slowly he watched the tub as it overfilled and poured all over the floor. He turned to look at her but she said nothing she watched him as he watched her, he turned it off then and let his towel drop to the floor. He smiled to himself as he thought so this is it, he had finally lost his mind he laughed silently and so he was acting like someone in an American movie. He laughed some more and turned to see if Caroline was laughing too, but she wasn’t, all she did was smile. He stepped into the water and sat in the tub and everything came running back to him as he dipped his head backward into water, caroline, her laugh, her promise, her smile and her eyes….. and then he slipped his head hit the bottom with a heavy tud, he tried to pull himself up, but staying under seemed easier and better he thought. Why live when he could die, why deal with the pain when he could avoid it all, why deal with the guilt, after all he had served his purpose, he was forever going to be remembered so why bother and then he looked to her for confirmation and finally she spoke to him ‘yes Freddie its far better here, and I understand now humpity dumpity remember’ he listened to her voice and appreciated it and finally he looked into her eyes he expected to see something but still they were silent and with that Fred breathed his last staring into her still silent eyes.









CHAPTER 5………………..
(THE PRESENT)
It was the end of the long inter-house sports day and everyone was tired especially Fred, he had taken part in almost all the events of that day and had led his team to victory, everywhere he went people called out congratulations to him. But that did not matter to him because tonight was the night, the night were everything he had prepared for since the first day he stepped into this school and everything had been set into motion, his parents had been here earlier today, they had hugged him and then told him how much they loved him and how important today was going to be. He didn’t go for the evening meal that day, so when everyone went away, he stayed alone and set to work. He took out the bag and took it to the school social hall that was located directly in the middle of his school, he knew this was accurate because his father had done the calculations and his father was never wrong. He sat on the floor of the room and set to work………………..
Later that night while everyone strolled around he looked for Caroline and they walked together, more than once they stopped to talk to other students who greeted them goodnight and promised to talk more to them tomorrow. ‘Tomorrow’ Fred thought who knew what tomorrow held for them. But he nodded to all of them and little by little he was able to lure her away from where other people were and soon she noticed’ we are leaving the hostel grounds’ she said, he had silently been praying that she would say nothing or that she would not notice, but she had said something and now the real struggle began ‘ I left my contrabounds at the social hall come with me to get them please’ he added a smile, ‘fine’ she agreed’ but why bring them if you know that they are not allowed?’ she asked ‘whats life without a little fun’ he said as he reached for her hands ‘ I agree’ she said but then adding her knowing smile she said ‘but if you get me killed I’ll hunt you till you die’ she stuck out her tongue as she said it. And then she laughed to her it was a joke but to him it was a threat he held dare.
They got to where the bag was and finally he knew that it was time. He picked it up and then the countdown began, he counted to thirty as they walked and then he said ‘could you go without me I think I left something’ she turned and looked at him ‘why don’t I just wait for you’ she said and right on time the guard entered into their view they could see him but the curve prevented him from seeing them. ‘because of that’ he said as he pointed towards the guard ‘I don’t want you getting into trouble’ she looked at the guard and then turned back to him ‘must you go now’ he chuckled ‘ im Fred nothing ever happens to me’ he said with a smile, she rolled her eyes at him and smiled ‘do I take this?’ she lifted the bag as she spoke ‘do you want to?’ he asked ‘whatever’ she said ‘later’ she added with a smile as she left he watched her until she got to the curve and then he ran……………………………………….
He ran till he got to the fence behind the social hall and then he jumped the fence , it wasn’t difficult for him because of his height and his speed and as he ran he counted everything had to be accurate he had to be as far away from the school ground as possible and Caroline had to be as far inside the school as possible and he counted and ran until it was just right he stopped and didn’t even breathe, he was a mile away now, he could tell and then he brought out the remote and as he had been taught pressed the button and then the heavy sound came and the school blew up………………….
Caroline stood in front of the hostel grounds, it was also linked to the staff quarters, she thought about Fred and his strange behaviour and that was the last thing she thought of before her arm burned and everything around her turned into a motionless sound, her body was thrown upwards and then it was over.
When he heard the sound he knew it was over, and he stared at the fire. All he thought was about Caroline and how he had been the one to break her, to his surprise a warm calm settled over him and the rhyme humpity dumpity came to mind as he strolled to the car that was waiting at the right place and at the right time to take him home to the people who had trained him since he was a child trained him to not only be a member of the family but to also be a member of the largest revolutionary group in the country. During his first year in school they had told him of his mission and he had trained for that ever since that and today he had accomplished it. he was to blow up this school where all those chidren had called a safe house, this was to make a bold statement to the Government, we are everywhere and we can do anything because we are invisible.








EPILOUGUE……………….
(NEWS REPORTS AND SOCIAL POSTINGS ON THE BOMBING OF ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGOUS SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA)
THE DAILLY REPORT
……………………..there are claims that this must have been an inside job as the security system was said to have been very tight………………….there was no surviror

NEWS LINE
…………………………………….Heartbroken parents arrived early this morning to search for the dead bodies of their children there are the cases of parents who lost all their children to this horrible incident……………….there was no survivor
CITIZEN GUIDE
…………………………………..A local terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the barbaric killing of those innocent students they claimed that the reason for their action was to let the entire nation know that no one is safe from their rot both the rich and the poor would suffer for their cause. They said they were not going to be partial about it……………………………………they also claimed that their members are everywhere and trained so that when called upon they will immediately carry out their duties the reason for their formation was not given……………………………….there was no survivor

NATION INFORMAT
…………………………………………The government is appalled by this act and has promised to fish out all who are involved and punish them accordingly, he sympathises with those who lost their children to this sad occurrence……………………………………………………………………………..there was no survivor

EXPRESS NEWS
……………………………………………………The women of the country weep for their dead sons and daughters…………………………………school has been nicknamed land of the weeping children……………………………………………………………mother drowns herself after loosing all her children……………………………….remaining family members of a young boy die in a car accident in their rush to get to the land of the weeping children…………………………………………………..there were no survivors

NEWS GATE
……………………………………………………1000 candles lit for the dead students and workers lost to the tragic bombimg…………………………………………..terrorist group ssay this is just the begining…………………………………there was no survivor……………………………………….

M a girl

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