Something alarming happened. The ghost was still wandering around the vicinity where he had died when a man casually greeted him! Astonished, he turned and looked around to be certain the man was talking to him. Since there was no one else in sight, he answered the greeting and the man kept on walking. He followed the man with his gaze. After meeting someone who could finally see him, Rufus knew he would be doomed if he lost him. He shuddered at the thought of his body decomposing beyond recognition or being picked clean by animals.
The man went into the nearby bush to ease himself. When he was done, the ghost ran towards him shouting, "Please get help, there has been a fatal accident behind the rock." The man ran towards the main road shouting for help while the ghost ran towards the rock. Help arrived, but the ghost was nowhere in sight. They found the car and the body of Rufus, rigor mortis had set in. Some of the men pinched their noses, two of the younger men who had never seen such a sight before were badly shaken. Others just looked while some helped.
Two people brought out their phones to record videos and take pictures, but Silas, the first man the ghost met, stopped them. "Respect the dead," he said, "Moreover the body is naked, so please don't do anything stupid." He noticed Rufus' phone lying on the dashboard. Knowing it was the easiest way to reach the deceased's family, he picked it up. He discovered the battery was dead. He slipped the phone into his pocket.
"Where is that man?" Silas kept asking, referring to the ghost.
"Which man are you referring to?" one of the men helping to lift the body asked.
"There was this man who asked me to -" he began, but froze in mid-sentence as he saw the face of the dead body being lowered onto the grass.
His face was ashen; he looked as if he was going to have a fit, and in slow motion he crumpled to the ground and passed out. This threw everyone into another wave of confusion. They carried him and laid him on the grass, then unbuttoned his shirt. "Bring water, bring water," they shouted. Someone plucked leaves from the low-hanging branch of a banana tree and fanned him with them.
A man grabbed two sachets of water from a hawker and poured some on him. Silas came to with a start, gulping air and breathing heavily. It took him a few minutes to become fully aware of his surroundings. In his eyes was raw, undiluted fear. He kept stuttering and was visibly shaking.
"What is the problem? Do you know the deceased?" he was asked. He shook his head not trusting his voice to utter a word. He could not tell these people he had encountered a ghost; they already had enough shock to last them the whole week. He also feared that the news might cause them flee the scene taking their much needed help with them.
The men had laid Rufus' body on some torn cartons in the boot of his car. Silas stood up from the grass, walked to the car and picked up the clothes then went to the boot. With the help of one of the men, he dressed the corpse and had it transported to a morgue.
Silas took Rufus' car and phone home. He parked the car in front of his house and disconnected the car battery. He charged the phone and switched it on. He noticed it was pass-worded. Scratching his head in worry, he decided to keep the phone on, hoping a call would come in.
The ghost watched him in gratitude, feeling a bit of relief. He got tempted to appear and tell Silas the password but changed his mind. He knew it would be too much for him to handle. Silas and the ghost both waited anxiously for a call!
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Silas was tall, fair, bearded, thick-lipped, very hairy with an average body build. He possessed a toned body and was easy on the eyes. He had a very serious look about him but was friendly. He was also principled, a private person who kept few friends. Sleep took him into its embrace but he slept in fits and starts, still scared of the ghost he had met earlier that day. The ghost was moved to pity as he watched him. "If only he knew I am nice and harbour no intention of harming him, he would be more relaxed. I just need his help," he thought.
Those that were trying to call Rufus stopped trying after his phone battery got drained. They were all worried, especially his wife and siblings. They feared he had been kidnapped and dreaded the call for ransom. It was unusual of him not to call, chat or at least send an SMS for two days straight. Now it had turned three days.
The second evening, Silas charged the phone and asked his neighbour, a phone repairer, if there was a way to unlock the phone. The neighbour said no. Silas became worried. "The ghost will not find rest until I alert his family of his death," he thought.
He slept peacefully on the second night and had a dream. In the dream, he took the phone to another phone repairer and asked him if it was possible to unlock the phone.
"Why do you want to unlock a phone that is not yours? Is the phone stolen?" the man asked Silas.
"No, it belongs to a friend who just passed away. I need to call his family," he replied.
"Alright, I will give you a code that will open the phone," said the phone repairer. He gave him a code, and as he was about to unlock the phone with it, he woke up.
"I have been thinking about this phone too much, even in my sleep," he thought to himself. He tossed and turned for some time before he fell into a deep sleep. The ghost was watching him all the while.
The horn of his neighbour's car woke him up. He had overslept. He ran into the bathroom and turned the shower on. The full blast of cold water hit his body, slapping him into full consciousness. Silas cursed loudly. The ghost smiled while taking extreme care to stay out of sight.
He was still under the shower when the first call came in. The splashing of water from the shower drowned the ringtone. The ghost in anxiety thought of appearing in the bathroom to inform him but for fear of sending a naked Silas bolting out of his own house, or worse still, giving him a heart attack. Seeing that the phone rang, the caller tried a second time. Silas turned off the shower to hear an unfamiliar ringtone. As he began brushing his teeth, the phone stopped ringing. He hurried out, applied deodorant to his armpit, rubbed cream all over his body, and then began to get dressed.
The phone rang again; he heard it this time and remembered the ghost's phone.
He rushed to pick it up but it stopped just when he got there. Without thought, he entered the code he was given in the dream and the phone unlocked. His eyes grew large with surprise and goose pimples broke out on his body. "This is weird," he thought. "The earlier I round off this ghost business and return to a normal life, the better for me."
He went to the phone's settings and disabled the password. He got into navy blue trousers, a white shirt, a red-and-gold-striped tie, navy blue stockings and black shoes. The ghost was impatient. "What is wrong with this man? My body is in the mortuary, he finally unlocks the phone, but he is not making any calls to my people. I hope he is not planning to keep my phone for himself?" he thought.
Silas applied leave-in conditioner on his beards, combed them, brushed his hair and sprayed two different perfumes on his clothes. He always did this to give himself a unique scent and to throw off some of his friends who were quite good at guessing his perfume from the smell on his clothes. He picked up his knapsack, locked the house, took a motorbike to Dutse junction, and then boarded a taxi to work. He was already late so, as soon as he got to his workplace, he quickly clocked in and settled in at work.
But he could not concentrate. After some time, he brought out the ghost's phone and checked the list of missed calls. He decided to call the person who had called the most. He wasn't used to being the bearer of bad news and more so to strangers. But someone had to do it and fate had picked him as that person. He paused and tried to rearrange his thoughts. The phone number with the most missed calls was saved as "Wifey." He dialled the number and waited.
She picked up, a worried and angry voice said, "Hello, where have you been? I have been trying to reach you for four days now. What is going on?"
"Sorry, madam, Silas said, choosing his words carefully, "the owner of this phone was involved in an accident and is currently unable to speak, but if you can make your way to the General hospital in Garki, you will find him."
"What!" She exclaimed in shock, "Who are you? How do I find you?" she asked.
"My name is Silas; you will get the details at the hospital. I don't know much. I only know he was taken there. Call this number if you need me," he replied and ended the call. He called five more numbers before he was finally relaxed enough to immerse himself in the day's work.