Louisa is the kind of woman who will do anything for money. We started being friends at level hundred. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a good person but sometimes life happens. When life happened to her it happened on the wrong side of things. She told me, “If I relied on my parents to take me through life, I wouldn’t have been where I am today. They have nothing. I want everything, everything in life.” Her senior brother didn’t go past JHS, she was determined to go past that. Her senior sister dropped out of school and learned to be a dressmaker. She wanted more than sitting in a shop, crowded with fabrics and sewing dresses for people who don’t have the patience to wait.
Right after JHS, she found a man who’ll help her go to SHS. Right after SHS, she got herself a man who was ready to spend on her university education. The man was a pastor her parents took her to for deliverance; “They thought I was possessed. My dreams were too big for them so they felt the devil was in my dreams. They took me to this fine pastor who was known for performing miracles. In the end, I performed a miracle on him. We are dating and he’s the reason I can afford a university education. I asked her, “So are your parents aware that you made the pastor fall?” She responded, “I didn’t make him fall, yeah I made him fall in love but he still has his anointing dripping on his brow.”
I fell in love with her stories and fell in love with her. I don’t blame the pastor who fell for her. She is so easy to love. She was very truthful with her words. She won’t lie to save anyone or anything. Very outspoken and smart and funny and loved to study too. We became friends. She pulled me along to the library every evening when she had nowhere to go. She taught me what I didn’t understand in class and shared with me everything that she owned. On vacations she didn’t go to her house, she spent it with me in my house. That’s how my brother got to know her when he came from abroad.
We were in the room when my brother came knocking. I went to get the door but before I could reach the door, he opened it and entered. He didn’t know I was there with my friend. He saw her and couldn’t take off his eyes. My brother isn’t a soft person but immediately after he saw Louisa, his demeanour softened. He said hello and Louisa said hello back. He said, “You didn’t tell me you were here with someone.” I answered, “I just saw you. How could I have told you?” He started being nice. I knew where it was going and Louisa also knew where it would end. I told her, “This is one of my own. Can you kindly spare his life for me?” She laughed. She answered, “Don’t be silly. I don’t kill.” I told her, “No, I’m serious. I can see the end from the start. He’s drooling already. Please have mercy.”
Before school reopened, they were already in a relationship. My brother asked her not to tell me but trust Louisa, she won’t hide a thing from me so right when my brother proposed she told me about it. She said, “I don’t want to because of you. I mean he’s a nice guy and all but I’ll respect you not to go ahead with him if you ask me not to.” I told her not to. But the pressure coming from my brother was too much so I told her, “Do what makes you happy but I hope you don’t hurt him.”
They dated for over three months before my brother got the courage to tell me through a text message. He had gone back to his base and was constantly in touch with her and thought I should know about it.
He told me, “She’s mine now but she’s yours too. Just keep an eye on her for us. She’s a good girl and I like her.” I responded, “See Domi in love, awww.” He called me crazy. I asked him to send me money for school stuff and he did. Actually, he is the one taking care of us. He provides for the house and provides for our education, me and my junior siblings. His providence never failed, even when he took Louisa in his fold.
It didn’t bother me what Louisa decided to do with her life though she was dating my brother. I didn’t ask about her going outs and coming in but I saw a huge change in her when she started dating my brother. She didn’t go out often. She was the girl who could stay forever on her phone. All that changed. I even teased her at some point, “So love could change a woman like that?” We laughed about it but she made it clear; “He’s everything to me so I’ll change everything about myself to match his commitment to me.” I concluded, “This really will go far.”
My brother will call us on a video call and we’ll goof around. One day, I jokingly asked my brother during one of those video calls, “So me and Louisa, who will join you first when the opportunity comes?” He didn’t even think twice about it. He asked me, “Do I eat you?” The way he said it was funny but you could sense the truth in the way he said it. No, I wasn’t jealous. I was rooting for them. I was praying it ends in praise.
We were in the third year when my brother came back again. Nobody knew about his coming. Louisa also didn’t know. It was meant to be a surprise. We were on campus one evening when he showed up. After the jumping and excitement, he told Louisa, “Pack a few things and let’s disappear.” He told me, “Don’t tell anyone that I’m around.” I only nodded and watched them disappear into the night. They were gone for three days only to return with a fight that threatened to break them apart.
My brother called me on the phone and he was so angry. “So you knew all about these and you didn’t tell me? I thought you were looking at my back. Instead, you connived with her and did all that in my absence?” The way the accusations were flying left and right, I was lost. I said, “Domi, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please be patient and talk to me. What’s the issue? What did Louisa do to you?”
According to him, he went through Louisa’s phone while she was peacefully asleep. He saw messages between her and many men. The messages were explicit. It told a story of a girl who hopped from one man to the other, sleeping in different beds every night. He screamed, “You can’t tell me you didn’t know anything about this. You knew but decided to help her to play me.” I asked him, “Are you sure of what you’re saying? I’ve been here with Louisa and I don’t think I’ve witnessed any of the things you’re talking about.” He called me a liar and cut the call.
When Louisa came back looking like a beaten woman, I asked what happened and she said, “They were old messages. I don’t know why he’s finding it hard to believe me when the evidence was clearly stated in the dates and time those messages were exchanged. They are not new messages. Don’t you know me? Haven’t I been here with you all the time? Tell him.”
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I was caught in the eye of the storm, not knowing which way to go. Like a deer in a headlight, I stood there confused. I told them to work their differences out and leave me alone. But my brother won’t understand me. He started calling me names and hurling abusive words at my person. He called us birds of the same feathers and even made it clear that he had been wasting his money on me while I stay on campus chasing men; “You won’t get anything from me again. I can’t continue wasting my money on a girl who doesn’t sleep at night.” In fact, I was hurt but he’s my brother so I decided to let things go. But guess what, he meant what he said.
They are no longer together but he doesn’t send me anything no matter how long I beg and cry on the phone. At first, he asked me to cut ties with her before he would change his mind. It was hard but I tried all I could to give Louisa some distance. I’ve even told her it’s the request from my brother not to do anything with her again. She sent my brother a message, thanking him for succeeding in breaking our friendship. My brother has to get it and let things go but he doesn’t. He’s punishing me for his own heartbreak when I played no role in breaking his heart. He didn’t ask for my opinion before falling in love. He didn’t tell me anything but now that things have gone sour, I’m the one suffering.
What can I tell him to believe me? There are bills to pay. My mom and dad have added their pleas to mine but my brother is determined to cut me off like that. I’m disturbed. He loved Louisa and I understand it breaks his heart the way things went but what can I do to make him understand my innocence and start extending help my way?
—Fremah
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