Eniola jerked up.
She looked around. Where am I?
She was confused. Why was she sitting on her chair instead of lying on her bed.
Koi.
She went still.
What was that?
Then she remembered. She was in the toilet waiting for lady koi koi.
She shook her head in disgust. Her attempts at staying awake had obviously failed because she had fallen asleep. Yet, something had woken her up. So what had woken her? Had the rat come back?
Koi, Koi, koi.
Hot fear ran through her and temporarily paralyzed her.
No, It couldn't be. That was just her overactive imagination.
Koi, koi.
Okay, so not her imagination at all. The sound was real.
Very real.
But Lady koi koi was not supposed to be real.
She felt like she should call the name of Jesus. Didn't the name of Jesus have power? But would God listen to her? She doubted he would. She was a liar, a thief. She was everything and anything bad she could think of.
So who would help her?
Koi, koi, koi.
Should she scream?
If she did, wouldn't Lady koi koi catch her easily. Yet, if Lady koi koi was here, she probably knew Eniola was too.
Who sent her on this message now? She had always known she was suicidal. The numerous times she had dared her mother told her that. After all, not even a mad man would try any of the stunts she pulled on mama.
Koi
Mama was right again, she was stupid. Truly, truly stupid.
She didn't even have the good sense to have brought her torch.
She could just imagine Mama looking down at her dead body when it was found. She would probably say something along the line of 'I knew your stupidity was going to kill you one day.'
Conjuring what mama would say if she died made her remember what mama once said. She was five then. She had seen a rat and screamed in fear. Mama saw the rat too. Eniola remembered how mama hadn't even flinch even when the rat was closer to mama. After, mama had rebuked her for screaming, pinching her ears till they almost bled. She left a small half moon shape on them that stayed almost a full day. Thirteen years had passed and while she was still afraid of rats, she had never forgotten what mama said, probably because mama was fond of saying it.
'We Adesanyas are not afraid of anybody and anything in this Nigeria'
Saying it to herself gave her a sudden burst of courage. She was an Adesanya and this igbo ghost didn't know who she was haunting.
Koi, koi
She stood up carefully from her chair, she didn't want it to scrape the floor and alert the ghost.
She almost laughed at herself. Alert the ghost, really Eniola. If anything the ghost already saw her.
God, are you there? If you can hear, please save me from this ghost and I will never take anything that's not mine, or even lie. In fact, I will be nicer to people.
Could she be nice to Ireti? Oh yes I will be nice to her too. She whispered in her heart.
She moved towards the door, using her hands to feel for the door. She didn't want to walk into it. She found the door.
Her right hand was on the handle of the door. What if the door whined when it opened. She scratched her head with her left hand. Had the door made any sound when she opened it earlier?
Pfft. She couldn't remember.
God, if you are interested in helping me, can you make door open soundlessly?
Koi, koi, koi.
No more time to waste. She turned the door handled, when it made no sound. She pulled it back and slipped out of the bathroom into the toilet corridor.
Thanks. God had to be with her. That alone made her bolder.
She couldn't see where she was going but she had taken the time to study the toilet when she first came in. The sound was coming from the door side.
Helen said that the ghost hated light. So, the light it was.
Koi, koi
The sound was louder now.
She moved left towards the direction of the light switch. Quietly, using her hands to feel for the doors. She started counting. The light switch was seven doors away. When she got to the last door. She reached out her hand until she felt the wall beneath her palm and started looking for the light switch.
Gotcha. She found it.
She switched it on and the toilet was flooded with light. She had almost expect it not to come on. She turned towards the door.
She was shocked, but before it could settle, she was angry. No, she was furious.
The Girl stood at the first cubicle looking like a deer caught in a headlight.
She walked straight to her. "How dare you, Helen?"
Helen shook her head. "It wasn't.."
"Don't even dare deny it, you were trying to scare me"
Helen's shoulder dropped. She frowned and raised her hands up. "Okay, okay I'm not denying it."
"So you are the one that tried to strangle Chibunna and scared Mimi!"
"No, no that wasn't me, " she shook her head furiously appalled that Eniola would lay the blame on her. "Beside, I was in the class all throughout that night of Mimi's scare.
"Okay but what about Chibunna? I remember you were not in the hall for night prayers because Olanna was looking for you?"
Helen pinched her forehead in frustration" I went to the hostel, you can ask Abigail. She was with me"
Eniola wasn't sure she believed her but there was nothing she could do about it. She would have to ask Abigail later.
"So, you have been in the toilet all this time."
"No, I came in like ten minutes ago. I woke up to use the toilet, when I came and saw that everywhere was dark. I remembered that you were supposed to be here"
"so, you decided to scare me but your little brain probably didn't factor that I would put on the light" Eniola smirk.
"Excuse me, my brain is not little." Helen huffed
"Of course, it's just very dull"
"why did you not just go and put on the light?" Eniola asked.
"So that you will see me. How will you be scared then?"
Helen probably didn't know she had fallen asleep.
Eniola turned to leave the toilet.
"Where are you going?"
"To the hostel."
"wait for me please, let me just use the toilet." She went into the first toilet cubicle.
"If you were truly pressed, you would have just gone to use the toilet instead of trying to scare me." Eniola muttered under her breath.
She went and got her chair from the toilet and came back to wait for Helen.
Helen used the toilet, flushed it and came out.
"Let's go." Helen said
"Don't think I am going to let this go. Tomorrow I'm going to tell everyone what you did and expose both Chibunna and that crooked Mimi"
"No please na, don't tell anyone." Helen pleaded.
They left the toilet and while both of them were engrossed in their discussion. They didn't notice the shadow that stepped out from behind the door.
The shadow looked at the duo in distance.
They would both be dealt with it. One first, the other later.
The shadow slid around the toilet waiting for them to go far.
Almost.
Today was almost vengeance day.