I remember when we were kids. Our teachers would ask us, “What do you want to be in future?” You would hear shouts, “Me, I want to be a doctor.” Another would say, “I will be a pilot.” I will be a teacher,” a little voice would say. It was good for us. It gave us something to dream of. A goal to work toward. I was one of those little ones with big dreams for my life.

Life is such that our plans always do not come to pass. Things were hard for my family growing up. Things are still difficult for my family. My mum has been struggling to take care of me and my siblings since I was a child. We all still live together as I write this even though I am currently twenty-one.

I work as a hookup girl now. Yes, that was never my dream but life happened. I had to find a way to survive. My hope is to save something up to start a business so I can ease the burden on my mum. This is why I have been so focused on my goal.

A while back, a male friend of mine introduced me to his friend. This guy and I started talking and he asked me to be his girlfriend. I didn’t accept him immediately. I thought about it and wondered if I could have a relationship with someone considering the kind of work I am doing.

The more we talked the more I liked him. I didn’t even know that I had spaces in my life until he started filling them. He gave me companionship and it made me feel a bit normal. I felt he would bring some positivity into my life. And I needed that kind of energy. So I agreed to be in a relationship with him.

We talked often but we always did not talk for long. He lived in another region while I also live here in Accra. So it was a long-distance relationship. This helped in a way because I got the time to work toward my goal. And I was always busy working. Because of this, whenever we talked, I had little time to spare.

One day he asked me, “What do you do for a living? You are always busy.” I couldn’t have told him the truth. All I said was, “I own a provision shop. It’s new so I do my best to keep it running so I don’t run into a loss.” He wasn’t in my town so he wouldn’t know if I was telling the truth.

One day the friend who introduced me to my boyfriend mentioned that my boyfriend had two cars. This unsettled me because it was new information to me. It was then I realized that I was so caught up in not revealing too much about myself to this guy that I did not ask him a lot of questions about himself. I never even asked what he did for a living.

How can a twenty-two-year-old own two cars in this country? What scared me most is that he lives in a region that is known for money rituals. So I started ignoring his calls or texts after that but he wouldn’t let it be.

He kept asking why I was avoiding him and I lied that I was sick. “Then I am coming to Accra to come and see you,” he said. He came to my place, we spoke for a while and then we went out. It was the first time I was meeting him but it didn’t feel that way. It felt as if I had known him for ages.

It was 10:00 pm by the time he was ready to leave. “Can I get a place to spend the night? I don’t like to drive at night.” Well, I could not have taken him home to spend the night with my mum and siblings, so we got a hotel.

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I didn’t plan to have Shuperu with him but it happened. After that, I felt like something had left my body. I started hearing strange noises. A door I had locked sounded like it was opening. I started feeling scared. I stayed up all night praying and asking God to spare my life.

Thankfully, no harm to me. At 4:00 AM he drove me home. To my surprise, this guy asked me for money when I was about to get down from his car. I remained calm as I told him I would send him mobile money later. He said ok and left. About thirty minutes later, he called saying he had been detained by the police so I should send him money to pay them off. I sent the money.

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Now my problem is, ever since my encounter with him I have been hearing voices in my head. One of the voices keeps repeating the sentence, “If you don’t leave him you will die.” When I couldn’t take it anymore, I broke up with the guy.

He didn’t agree to the breakup. He kept calling and texting me. He wanted to know what he did wrong. Technically, he didn’t do anything wrong. He has been calm and supportive since we met. It’s just that the voices in my head after our shuperu won’t shut up.

What if my suspicions are wrong about him? He seems like a good person to me so I am confused. What if his presence in my life can give me the breakthrough I have been looking for? Am I being too rushed in leaving him without giving him a chance to explain himself? What do I do? That voice is still in my head tormenting me.

–Ethel

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