Chapter 08

Caro had worked for about a week in the employ of Madam Beryl (the kind woman who had agreed to employ her as a sales girl in her shop) and she had met and was still living with Hannah, Beryl's niece who was only a few years older than her but had completely alienated her, hardly ever talking to her except when utterly necessary. Caro believed the girl felt that they were in different classes of society and she couldn't agree more. She was the partying type, moving with high-class friends and hardly having time for her studies while Caro was more the workaholic, always planning and strategizing for the future. By chance, Caro had also met one of Beryl's sisters when she dropped by (on her way to a meeting) to see Beryl. During the short visit, Beryl had somehow found the time to introduce Caro and sing praises of her diligence and hard work. And that was how Caro got herself a gift of 10,000 naira. She was shocked beyond words, but by the time she found her voice, the woman was already in her car and driving off, so she had to transfer her thanks and prayer for abundant blessings to 'Madam' who waved her off with a smile. After six days of enjoyable and appreciated work at the shop, one person Caro had not yet seen was Beryl's husband and little did she know that she would meet him very soon. It was a normal evening like every other evening in the area when the atmosphere was still and sounds were clearer. Caro had been left alone in the shop by her madam and was counting down to close of business at 6pm. There were usually few or no customers at this time of the day and if Beryl was any less kind than she was, Caro would have locked the shop and gone home to rest. But Beryl was someone that she had come to respect and adore. She would do everything humanly possible to see to the prosperity of her business, even if it meant sitting for hours with nothing to do - something a restless soul like Caro could never hope to tolerate, under normal circumstances. But what did she know? Wasn't that a customer walking into the shop? She could see a tall, dark man amble confidently into the shop as if he was its owner. The last thing Caro needed to end the day at work was a confrontation, so she would go out of her way to raise her tolerance bar a little higher. "Good Evening, sir," Caro greeted the man, even before she got a full view of his face. But as he turned to look at her, what she saw made her almost gasp in surprise. She had seen this face before! And it wasn't difficult to remember where. This was the same man... the policeman she had seen leaving Aunty Rosa's room when she visited that wicked relative of hers. But the important question was, did he recognize her? If he did, then she had better be looking to hit the road again because if he were to tell Rosa that she was here, she'd be as good as being back in Iron Fire's house and this time, they'd make sure that she would never be able to escape. "Good evening," the man's brusque response shot her out of her reverie and she quickly switched to business mode. She had been so occupied with her thoughts that she hadn't noticed him look her up and down. "Em... what can we do for you, sir? Do you need a beautiful shoe for your wife. We have..." "Do you know who my wife is?", the man suddenly asked, bloated with pride. "My wife is the owner of this shop." Caro's mouth fell, but fortunately, nothing came out of it because what was actually going through her mind was 'I'm finished'. She had completely forgotten to tell Beryl her true story and now, she would surely find out for herself. What mostly pained Caro wasn't the possibility of being thrown out or sent back home, but the disappointment that Beryl would feel. The one thing she could not bear to think of was that amazing woman regretting what she had done for her. But perhaps there could be some chance that the man did not recognize her? If such a chance really did exist, then she certainly should not destroy it by acting in a way that would give him a reason to rack his brain to place her face. "So where is she... your madam?", he demanded in his loud, crude voice. "Sh... she went to... somewhere. I don't know where." Caro was not really sure that she did not know where Beryl had gone, but the events and thoughts of the last few minutes had wiped some things off her memory. But now, for the first time, she noticed the man running his eyes over her body and she felt very uncomfortable. She shifted from one foot to the other and the action made him change focus to her face. "Ehen. Ehh... you say your madam is not around?" "No, sir." He quickly looked around the shop and then focused back on Caro. He ran his eyes over her one more time and then licked his lips, sending Caro's discomfortometer running for the red region. He walked past her deeper into the store, looked around and then turned to face her. "Are you the only one here?" Caro took her time before answering, "Yes." He seemed pleased with that as he nodded his head in satisfaction and looked around again. Then he went to a dark corner which was out of the line of sight of the door and windows. "Oya, close the door," he ordered. Caro stood for a while, wondering what to do. If she obeyed him, what would happen next? If she didn't, she could lose her job. Not that her job was already any safer, but hope was always the last to die. The situation could still be salvaged and she had to promote that cause by being as nice as possible. "Very good," the man nodded as Caro pushed the door close. "Oya, come here." "Eh?", Caro asked in disbelief. "Come there for what exactly?" "I said, come here! Or are you deaf?" She took a few wary steps toward him and stopped a few feet in front of him. "I said, come here. Come close. Come near me." She took one more step, reducing the gap between them, all the while watching him warily. Then suddenly, he reached out and grabbed her arm - an action she never expected. But she was far from caught napping. Immediately, she pulled back with all the force she could muster and broke free from his grasp, and quickly put as much space between them as possible. "See this girl o!", the man said in disbelief. His voice, Caro could notice, was much lower now, as if he was trying to avoid being overheard. "I said, come here. Just come like that. I swear, I will not do you anything. Just come, let me show you something." "Show me which thing?", Caro asked with a sneer. "The thing I wan show you is here. Just come. You know I can catch you if I want to catch you, so stop all this nonsense and come here. Don't waste my time, I have somewhere to go. Come!" "Then don't touch me again." "No problem. I will not touch you. Just come." Despite her insides screaming "Don't go!", Caro again took several wary steps toward him. When she was close enough, she stretched her neck and tried to see where he had been pointing at. "What is there?", she asked, doing her best to keep enough distance between them. The man moved forward and she quickly jumped back. "Which type of nonsense is this na?", he demanded angrily. "I said, come near here, let me show you the thing. Don't waste my time o, this girl! Come." Caro came yet again and this time, he gave her enough space, so she could move without fear. "Just look down there, you will see the thing." Caro moved forward and peered down at the dark area. "I'm not seeing an..." She didn't get a chance to complete her statement. Her madam's husband swiftly pounced on her, clamping his hand over her mouth and forcing her down on her knees with his entire body weight. Caro tried to squeal and struggle, but she was held so tight that both actions carried no weight. She tried to move her hands, but they were pinned down by God knew what. Her legs were also locked to the ground. She was close to tears, but just as she heard the sound of a buckle being fumbled with, some sense flowed into her brain. Taking as much breath as his large hand over her lower face could allow, she willed herself to remain calm. As young as she was, she'd been in similar situations before and experiece had taught her that panic and success were enemies. Slowly, she relaxed her body and stopped all forms of struggling. Beryl's husband, sensing her surrender, had also relaxed and was taking his time doing whatever he was doing. Suddenly, she felt his rough hand on her skin as he swept up her gown. But she remained calm. Timing was key. Already, his hold on her was relaxing, though not as much as she wanted. It was when she felt him begin to tug at her underpants did his hand on her mouth relax considerably and she could feel the folds in his palm get softer. Taking one deep breath, she suddenly dropped her lower lip and teeth, making them fall outside his palm. And then she bit down very hard on the soft end of the palm. "Chai!", he gasped in pain and quickly abandoned her underwear, bringing the other hand to support the captured one, but Caro had expected this. Her teeth still in the flesh of his palm, she jerked her head out of the reach of his other hand and promptly fell on her side, stretching one of her legs in the process and making him lose his balance and fall halfway on her and halfway on the ground. He now had both his hands scratching at her face, trying hard to extract her teeth from his palm, but Caro had other plans. Swiftly turning on her back, she succeeded in getting him off her, but their positions were now reversed. He had grabbed her around her midriff and was now on his back under her with her teeth still lodged in his palm. To make matters worse, she was thrashing her head from side to side, causing him more pain and forcing him to bring his other hand again to work on her tight jaws. That was a big win for Caro. With nothing holding down her body, she threw up both legs and sommersaulted off him, letting go of his palm in the process. As soon as she gained her footing, Caro ran straight for the door and jerked it open, flooding sunlight into the eyes of her attacker who had also gotten to his feet. While he was occupied with recovering and shading his eyes from the sunlight, she extracted a very long rod that her madam used to hang shoes on high places. Armed with the new weapon, she swung with all her might in the general direction of her attacker and connected loudly and painfully with his skull. "Ahhh!", he howled in pain, but as Caro raised the weapon for another blow, he dodged out of her reach and darted through the door. Dropping her weapon, she slumped to the ground and sighed deeply, but suddenly, she heard a sound. Scooping up her weapon again, she rushed outside, only to see nothing but a lizard scampering up the metal outer door. Her Madam's husband was nowhere in sight, but still, she could not afford to sit around and wait for another attack. She had had enough for one day. Placing the rod within easy reach, she went about packing the shoes on display outside into the store as fast as she could. When she was done, she went over to the scene of the just concluded struggle and worked fast to clear away any sign of abnormality. She had to make everything look natural and normal just in case that beast of a man would feel enough shame and not tell his wife anything about the incident. But honestly, she couldn't shake the feeling that she would never get to work here anymore after today. *** The next day, Caro resumed work at the shop having spent quite some time and effort to mask the bruises on her neck and lower face. Hannah had seen her as she worked on her face, but the older girl had not even spared her a second glance not to mention asking her what had happened. Not that Caro cared, but it made her wonder if she would have even done anything to help her if she was at the shop when the incident occurred. If Caro were to give her opinion, she had 100% belief that Hannah would have sat down and watched it happen. But Madam Beryl is a good woman, what did she do to deserve having such animals around her? When Caro started work that morning, it was very easy to notice that Beryl's general demeanor and attitude towards her had changed considerably. But rather than 'cold and harsh' that she had expected, Beryl was instead quiet and sad. She never acted angry or problematic. When Caro tested her with questions of where she should put certain things, the answer always ended with 'dear'. It was either 'Put it there, my dear.' or 'Drop it on the table, dear.' Caro endured this behavior until afternoon. As the atmosphere got hotter, her patience kept evaporating until she could take it no more. She marched to Beryl and requested an audience with her. "What is it, my dear? What do you want to talk to me about?" "I just wanted to know, ma, whether I've done anything to offend or disappoint you. If I have, please let me know, so I'll apologize." She bit her tongue before she could add 'or leave, if you can't forgive me.' "Hmmm," Beryl sighed. "Sit down, Carolina." Caro sat down and braced herself for the bad news that she knew was inevitable. "What's your full name? I never remembered to ask." "Carolina Elizabeth Benson." "Don't you have a native name?" "No, Ma. My father believed it was a source of bad luck." "Oh. So how old were you when he died?" "Eleven." "So you spent how many years... five years with your uncle?" "No, three... No... I mean, yes.. five." "Hmm. Carolina." "Ma?" "I want you to listen to me." "Yes, ma. I'm listening." "What I want to tell you will shock you, but you have to forgive me. My hands are tied. In life, certain things... like marriage comes first before many other things." "I understand," Caro nodded, fighting hard to keep back the tears. Even though she had expected this, it still wasn't easy to hear it, especially in the manner Beryl was delivering it. "My husband has asked me to let you go. I don't really know why, but he says he doesn't like and trust you. I don't want to do it, but... I have children, Carol, I do. Two boys, and they are only 5 and 8. I can't..." "It's Okay, ma.", Caro cut her short, trying hard to be strong for both of them. "I understand you perfectly and I also wouldn't want you to put your marriage at risk because of me. You have done a lot already and I'm more than grateful. I pray God will bless you and your children and give you... give you everything you want in life in Jesus name." She had wanted to say 'give you a better husband in Jesus name', but had changed her mind just in time. "Amen. Thank you very much, Carol. I don't deserve any of your prayers, but I hope God will have mercy on me and not make my children pay for this sin I have made up my mind to commit." "Don't worry, ma," Carol replied, getting up to her feet. "God can only bless people like you and nothing else. Thank you very much for everything." "Please, don't go yet," Beryl stopped her as she was about to leave. "My husband does not know you live with Hannah, so you can continue to stay there, at least for the meantime. Who knows, I may be able to find something better for you. Take this and manage it." Caro looked at the money the kind woman was offering her and she almost lost control of the barrier that was holding back her tears. "No, ma," she croaked. "Thank you very much, but I have enough sav..." "No, no, no," Beryl insisted, grabbing her arm and forcing the money into her hand. "You've worked hard for me for about a week now and the least I can do is to pay you what I owe you. This is only five thousand, it's what I can afford for now, but you'll surely hear from me later." Caro allowed her to fold her fingers over the money and as she watched her do it, some tears escaped her tight barrier. She quickly dried them with the back of her hand and looked at Beryl squarely. "I've never seen anyone like you before," she blurted. "And neither have I seen anyone like you too, Carol." Caro turned her eyes downward and stayed silent for a while. When she raised them, they were full of tears that were fighting for the chance to flow. "God will bless you, Madam Beryl. Your generation will never know hardship and all the bad people in your life will die!" With that, she turned around and left the store for home. *** When Caro arrived at the apartment, she found it locked, which was nothing unusual. She simply went to where the key was usually hidden, but to her surprise, it wasn't there! She checked again, and came up with nothing. Why would Hannah, despite her foul behavior, decide to lock her out of the apartment all of a sudden? Or had she simply forgotten? She went to the locked door and checked all around it, but there was still no sign of a key. Just then, she saw a neighbor walk past and she quickly called her attention. "Aunty, abeg no vex, you know where Hannah go?" "That one? I no know o. I just see one man wey come carry am comot." She didn't know what exactly put it in her mind to think of such a thing, but she did not hesitate to put it into words. "Aunty, abeg you fit describe the man for me?" "Ehhh... e tall small but e no too tall like that. E black wella sha and com grab small." "Him get tribal mark for face, abi?" "Eh, yes. Two two like this," the woman said, demonstrating on her own face. "I no even know which tribe get that mark sef." "Okay, ma. Thank you very much." "No problem," the woman said and walked away, not caring to ask questions of her own. Perhaps she knew all she needed to know? Taking one last look at the house where she had spent the last few days, Caro bid it a silent farewell, along with all the money she had managed to save and the few belongings she had gotten from Beryl. The only property she had now in the entire world was the clothes on her back and the five thousand in her pocket. She was smart enough to know that Hannah's sudden disappearance and the absence of the key in its usual place was no coincidence. From the neighbor's description, unless clones existed, the man who she said had come to take Hannah was Beryl's husband. It seems he knew where she lived all this while and had certainly used his influence to punish her, but he was a big fool if he thought that he could break her. She was on the road just a little over a week ago with absolutely nothing in hand or stomach and now, she would return to it with a full stomach and five thousand naira richer. She would not go back to Beryl and further worsen things for that poor woman. If her beast of a husband wanted Caro gone, Caro would go. And Caro went.