If you haven’t read the first part of this story, here’s the link. Kindly read it before starting this one.
The day I narrated my story to a group of friends, they all laughed at me. One said, “You were in a hurry to prove something. You see that a little girl has swindled you?” Elijah said, “I’m happy she did it to you. Next time you’ll learn sense. You go about dashing them money so when they meet us and we don’t have money, they start calling us names.” I asked, “But is it wrong to help someone you say you love?” He said, “Just four months, and you were buying phones and renting houses?” I said, “It’s ok, stop reminding me of my pain. I will collect my money. Every pesewa of it.” He said, “Don’t lose guard. Take everything. Make her restless until she pays. There’s no rest for the wicked. That girl is wicked.”
“There’s no rest for the wicked.” That became my theme. I felt cheated. Most importantly, I felt she had played with my emotions. Why would she pretend she loves me when she didn’t? Why would she make me give my all, commit my all to something that wasn’t there right from the start?” Anytime I thought of these questions, I got angrier and developed the will to pursue her every day.
I took the phone I bought for her so there was no way to reach her on the phone. I called her line for a whole week and it wasn’t going through. I went to the house one afternoon. It was a Sunday so I thought I would meet her at the house. She wasn’t there. Again, I saw the landlord. He asked, “Are you looking for your sister?” The first time he asked that question, my heart was at the wrong place so I couldn’t tell him the truth. This time, I was ready to engage him. I said, “She’s not my sister.” He stopped and looked at me. He said, “I know. You’re the third person she has introduced to me as a brother. And they all come around only when she owes rent. That girl…”
I told him, “It wasn’t my intention to pay the rent but the way you handled her that day made me consider paying.” He said, “Thank you for paying. It works anytime I employ that tactic. She’ll bring a man here. Different types of men every day. When I see it, I will go in there and ask her to pay what she owes me. Mostly the men pay for her. That day when I came around and asking for rent, it was intentional. I knew payment will come as soon as I do that.” I looked at his sneaky face and asked, ”So what time does she come home?” He said, “I don’t know. Now she doesn’t owe me so I’ve stopped monitoring her movement.”
Two weeks later, I was still not reaching her on phone so I went there again. Again, I met the landlord. Immediately he saw me he started laughing. He said, “This girl won’t last another year in this house. The way you always come with an angry face, if I don’t take care you’ll burn my house down one day.” I asked him, “Has she come around recently?” He said, “You see the clothes in the dry line? That’s hers. She was home all morning. Maybe she’ll come back again to pick her clothes from the line. If you have all day, you can wait. Or go and come back later when the sun had set.”
One day, I called her line and it went through. She didn’t pick. In the evening, I went there with Elijah. He wanted to see her too so we went together. Immediately the landlord saw us he started laughing again. He said, “You came with your battalions today? She’s out.” I looked at the time. It was around 7pm.” I told Elijah, “Should we wait for her?” He said, “If you want to.” The landlord gave us a chair and sat next to us. He said, “So you paid for one year? Then you’re lucky ooo. The first time she came to live here she came with a half-caste man. The man paid for three years and even tipped me. He never came back. One time she was owing light bill. That was before she got her own meter. Immediately I saw her with a guy, I rushed to ask for the money. Right there, the guy paid. What does she do to you guys that you almost always pay for her?” I told Elijah, “Please let’s go. I’m not enjoying this conversation.”
One evening, not too long ago, I went there and saw a light in her room. I did the sign of the cross. I looked around just to be sure that the landlord wasn’t there. Just when I entered the compound, here comes the landlord. He started laughing again. He said, “This your work is difficult ooo. So you won’t give up?” I didn’t say a word. He said, “She’s there with someone but please make sure you don’t fight. There are other tenants around. Don’t disturb them.” I didn’t say a word to him. I thought he would leave but no. He stood there looking at me. I knocked and she opened. Immediately she saw me she banged the door. She was locking it while I was pushing. The landlord kept screaming; “Be careful you don’t break my door.” She was also screaming, “Leave me alone I don’t owe you anything.”
The guy she was with came to the door, looked through the window, and saw me. I overheard him asking about me. The door got opened. I stretched my hand, “Give me my money.” The guy asked, “What’s going on?” I used only a few seconds to narrate everything to him. The guy asked, “Is it true?” She said, “He’s lying. He proposed to me but I didn’t accept. He gave me the money thinking it will make me accept his proposal. When I didn’t accept it, he got bitter and started chasing me around.” The guy looked at my face. I said, “If she’s your girlfriend then you’re in trouble. Ask the landlord…” Immediately the landlord heard his name he screamed, “Hey hey hey don’t bring me into your issues. I don’t know anything.”
I continued, “The landlord knows all the men she comes here with and all the money the men pay to settle what she owes. She’s not a good woman as you see it. You can be my brother so I won’t lie to you for anything. I paid the money to the landlord. I dated her for four months, I won’t lie to you.” The guy looked at her sternly and said, “So you haven’t stopped that your stupid behavior? You told me you’ve changed.” I said in my head, “Oh, so she take do am before?” I insisted she pays. The guy said to me, “You’re my brother. Listen to me. Leave it to me, I’ll handle it. Just have some patience.”
He took my number and I took his. She was there crying when I was leaving. The Landlord said, “I hope you don’t come back again. I’m tired of seeing you around here.” I said, “I won’t come again but tell her boyfriend the truth. Tell him exactly what you told me.” He said, “Oh fior! What have I told you?”
I don’t know but leaving her premisses that evening brought some sort of satisfaction to my heart. It felt like closure. It felt like having the head of the enemy on your plate so you tell yourself, “It’s over. The enemy is dead. No more war.” I knew I wasn’t coming back again. I’d hit her where it hurts and it was enough to settle what she owed me. Three days later her boyfriend called me. He begged me to forgive her. He said, “I don’t have that money and she doesn’t have it too. I’m pleading with you, whatever happened, forgive her. If I promise you today that I’m going to pay you or she’s going to pay you, it will be a lie.”
I told him, “I’m ok. I won’t come there again or chase her around because of you but you have to be careful with her.” It turned into a conversation. He said many things and listed all the things the girl had done ever since they dated three years ago. “I’ve caught her cheating three times, mostly with sugar daddies. A guy bought a phone for her and she said it was her uncle. Later the guy took the phone from her.” I said, “That was me. The iPhone right?” He said, “No it was a Samsung.” I asked, “So why are you still with her?” He said, “I believe it’s her young age that’s making her do all that. One day she’ll grow. She’ll change.”
I said in my head, “You have a problem, you this guy.”
I didn’t get my money back. Her boyfriend also made nonsense of my revenge by sticking with her. I’ve forgiven her, believing in what is said in Isaiah 48:22; ”There’s no rest, says my God, for the wicked.” That girl will never find rest until she stops taking men for a ride.
–Atsu
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