Ding Dong!
The dispatch Rider rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door. After a few seconds, the door swung open.
"Good morning, how may I help you?" she said groggily and leaned on the door frame with one hand on the knob.
"good morning...um... I am to deliver this package to this address. Are you miss niola Michaels?"
"oh.. yeah, wow!...that's quick," she stared at the package on the tiled floor then back at the delivery man. " Hold on a sec. let me get my ID card."
She handed him her ID card and he examined it, wrote a few things down on his tab then asked her to sign somewhere below.
"Alright, have a wonderful day ma'am, thank you for choosing Express."
"you're welcome," she replied picking up the box, then shut the door behind her.
Phew! she opened the package and was impressed, it was the exact pairs of sneakers she had ordered, at least her first time purchasing something online was Worth it, unlike the crazy stories she read online about people's ordering experiences.
A few minutes later her phone rang, it was her mother.
"Hello ma',"
"Enny.. my dear, how are you?"
"I'm fine mom, how are you doing? I hope you didn't miss your dosage?"
"of course not dear I feel better...I've sent Jerry to drop off your dress, hope you are still home?"
"Yea... I'm... um... I'm still home," she slapped her forehead disappointed, as she heard the word, 'Dress'...mom is planning so kinda big party, I am so fucking sure. I can smell it. "But mom, do I need some kinda fancy dress? I've planned to just look simple and hang out with you, and a few of my friends...I mean it's just a random birthday party like any other --"
"Nope! you are turning twenty-five tomorrow dear, it's not random... precise, I am not going to....."
"Alright, Alright mom," niola said quickly before it gets to some kind of emotional speech."I hear you mom, tell Jerry I'm home. And he should be snappy about it, I've got somewhere to be this morning. "
After the long conversation with her mom, niola bun up her dreads and got into the shower, with a deep sigh she let the warm shower run down her body.
It's funny how time flies, she gets older every day, thanks her Mom for the perfect skins, and she glows as ever. She remembered how growing up used to be so slow, and now everything seems to be happening quickly. Her mother was everything to her, she did an amazing job raising her all by herself, She made being a single mom look easy, but it wasn't. It was tough, but she made it work.
Her father was never in the picture she had never seen him before all her 25 years. According to her mother, he left before she confirmed she was pregnant. Seems their relationship wasn't something deep, because she said he was a traveler, and her mother knew he was going to leave at any time. And when Tolu realize she was pregnant, she tried calling to inform him, but she was never able to reach him.
But they made something beautiful, smart, talented, and unique. Niola was stubborn, yes, but, she sure does make her mom proud every time.
niola has brown spotless skin like her mother, and also had Waardenburg syndrome which causes her icy blue eyes and ocular albinism, responsible for the rare birthmark on a part head of her head causing the hair on that spot to be white.
Niola stepped out of the bathroom sending droplets of water over the tiled floor, she picked up her towel and dried up. A few moments later she was dressed in black ripped jeans, a blue shirt, and running shoes. Jerry finally came with the dress, yack! Too pretty, she thought as she stared at the dress for a little while and sighed. All her life, she'd been very fond of jeans and shirts, well it's just for a day; she told herself.
"Your mom said she's expecting you tonight," Jerry said before leaving.
"Yeah, I'd be there... I'll probably be working late today but I'll make it before ten thirty. Thanks, Jerry. Bye."
Niola picked up her keys and left for work, the road wasn't too busy so she got there on time. Big Mike owned the building, the ground floor was his drinks Depot, while upstairs were a few offices and the mini hall she rented for her Art studio.
She Parks her scooter in the lot out front and heads upstairs.
"Hey white! Good morning," one of biggy's sales girls greeted her on the way. Most people at work here call her white; because of her white locks, some don't even know her real name.
"Good morning Sandra, is Oga Biggy around?" niola asked with her keys dangling from her hand.
"He just left not quite long Sha," Sandra replied.
"oh ok.." she nodded and head straight ahead, unlocking the wide doors, she received a call from a client; thanking her for the job neatly finished.
"you are welcome sir, anytime." she smiled and hung up.
The room was bright as ever with natural lighting from the window, the smell of paint filled the room, mixed with a damp clay smell. different kinds of painting on the wall, and human sculptures made with concrete, POP, and clay stood tall arranged neatly everywhere. About four work tables with tools on top, and the other end of the room was cozy, with computers, an office chair, and a couch facing a huge window.
Niola sprawled out on the couch, she checked the time on her phone, it was a few minutes past twelve. With a deep breath in and out, she looked around the room and found a sculpture wrapped up in black polythene around the corner, startled, she stood up quickly to take a look. It felt weird, she can't remember working on any sculpture. What the hell!
she unwrapped the polythene with care and finally revealed the art.
"oh my God!" she gasped with her hand around her mouth. She didn't do this; it was a sculpture of an angel with a demonic Aura. It wasn't finished, still had a lot of work to be done, but the eyes looked strange, she leaned forward to take a closer look; The eyes look realistic.
"what the hell..." she touched the lids the suddenly..... sscreeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!
Everything became pitch black... She could hear screams... snarling.
Then it became cold and empty, she felt like she was floating, and everything felt fast. The snarling again, then the silence became painful, the darkness was thick almost touchable.
she began panting heavily, her chest became heavy and it seemed hard to breathe....then suddenly there was a long deafening scream.
wheezing! she grasp for air, then the darkness began to lighten like the night, she felt something cold from her ear, she touched it and saw blood.
Help! her voice was so low she could barely hear herself, then the cold again. Suddenly everything blacked out.
screeeeeeeeeeech!
This brightness was almost blinding, she tried to close her eyes but it seems they were never opened
Enny! Enny! Enny!
snap! she opened her eyes, and her mom was smiling straight into her eyes.
"Happy birthday!" she cheered and planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Wha....what..." she looked confused as her mom dragged her to seat up.
"It's eight thirty, I had to let you get enough rest since you were out working late last night---"
"late? I didn't work...how did i..," before she could continue her mom chuckled
"Are you kidding, you came here so tired last night around eight minutes to eleven, and you had clay on your clothes, I had to put them in the washing machine. your keys are somewhere around the table....."
Everything her mother was saying began fading out again as she tried to focus on her lips.
"Are you okay now?"
"um ....yeah... yeah, I'm fine." niola replied feeling so confused, she can't just understand what was happening. How is it today? she asked herself, it was pretty much early yesterday. How is all this possible?
"Sweetie, you look pale .. are you sure you are alright?" Her mom asked and she gave a reassuring nod. " Alright then, how about you take a long bath, I'll leave you to it. Your dress is on the armchair."
"My dress?" she raised her brow.
"Yeah, you brought it with you last night....are you sure you are alright dear."
"Yeah...I'm great," she forced a smile and got off the bed."I'll be out in a few let me take my bath."
"Sure, take your time sweety," her mother cupped her cheek, then left the room closing the door behind her.
what is happening? she muttered, looking at her nails, her mother was right, she had clay under her nails. But how possible, she walk into the bathroom and took off her cloth.
As the water hit her skin, it was like needles piercing through her skin, then the sharp sound in her head rang again. Screeeeeeeeeeech!
Then the voltage in the bulb above her increase and it popped.
Her knees suddenly felt weak, then she fell. The tiled floor suddenly turned muddy with hay, it was raining heavily and she could barely see....she was in the forest. Where am I? she thought, it was dark as the night, and could hear voices, it was hard to get up her feet as she felt pain in her chest.
"Help!" Her voice was cracked up and barely audible, then she touched her chest... BLOOD!...it was her blood, someone had stabbed her.
Now she felt cold from the inside, then the Earth began shaking, and the distant voice she heard became audible.
"Finally it is time," They said with so much joy.
She squinted, trying to see the people talking, but it was to no avail and the earth shook more and more and more, till a rift began to open underneath everywhere her blood had spread.
Quickly, she rolled over with every strength she had but not quick enough. The heat from the rift was great that it melted her skin…..she screamed in pain as she felt her skin tearing away, then. She fell to the ground.
Aahahhhhhhhhhhh!
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeech!....Zap!
She was in the middle of a party suddenly, someone hugged her so tight and kissed her cheek.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY NINNY!" It was her friend, Chiamaka. "come on girl, let's get lit… your mom is absolutely the best, my mom will never throw me a party like this." She laughed and whispered in Niola's ear, " She is born again…"
"Oh.." a tiny sound escaped Niola's mouth as she felt sapped. What just happened now? She asked herself feeling so lost.
"Come on, move your ass!" Chiamaka was talking so loud that it hurt her ears, she dragged her through a few people in the living room, then they came out to the yard. "Look who is here!" she yelled, and the rest of her friends cheered.
"Happy birthday!"
"Damn girl! I love your dress, you look on fire," one of her friends, mike said. "Iya Eniola did one hell of a job to turn this tomboy into a lady." He said and they laughed.
She tried to force herself to laugh because, she was trying to process all these time jumps or memory loss or illusion.. whatever she experiencing. One minute she was out of yesterday. How?.. She can remember clearly, she was at her studio, checking out this creepy statue she found. Yes, the statue…what happened to it. She wondered. After she touched it...something scary happened, she saw confusing things she couldn't explain, and after that, she can't remember, then she was suddenly there at her mother's. I was in the shower, she reassured herself, then…..Oh my God, she remembered, there was blood. She touched her chest and examined her body, and looked beneath her feet, there was a crack too.
She looked back up at everybody and everything seems normal and very fine, everyone was having a good time, and her mom looked happy.
Everyone looked happy except her, something was wrong with her.