"I heard what happened to your daughter on the news." Kenneth, a close friend of Mr. Daniel said softly.
"I'm so sorry for your loss." He added.
Mr. Daniel was obviously in no mood for calls, so the call ended as soon as it began.
"Who do you think would be responsible for harming such an innocent girl?" Kenneth's wife, Omolara, asked her husband.
Kenneth sighed and sat beside his wife; "I don't know, but it's very inhumane. She was brutally killed and nailed to the wall."
"Oh, my goodness." Omolara sighed. Her heart ached in horror when she tried to picture the scene in her head. She could only imagine how devastated the parents are.
"I think we should go see them. Calling them on phone isn't enough, we have to go over." Lara suggested.
"You think so?"
"Yes! It's the right thing to do at this time, I mean they would be going through a lot, so, we have to go sympathize with them." Lara added.
Kenneth sighed weakly and rose to his feet and said; "Let's go then."
The drive to Daniel's residence was approximately a 30-minute ride. On getting there, they could see the yellow police line drawn all around the scene. The dried-up blood of the dead girl on the wall. The gate was still open so they just drove in. The whole surrounding was quiet and airy. Felt like it had been deserted for days.
They got down from the car and made their way to the door. Kenneth rang the doorbell, twice before the clicking sounded and the door opened.
The reddened face of Mr. Daniel became visible to them. His eyes were all swollen and his shirt was soaked with his sweat.
"Oh, my friend." Kenneth gasped and rushed him for a hug.
"She was supposed to come home for her birthday. They rob her of her life. why couldn't they just kill me!" Mr. Daniel cried in the arms of his friend. his tears being absorbed by Kenneth's shirt, but none of them cared about it.
Omolara sighted Mrs. Daniel on the other end of the house, seated on the floor. Her knees were below her jaw and her hands curled around her leg. She ran to her. Mrs. Daniel kept mumbling incoherent words to herself that Lara couldn't understand. Mrs. Daniel didn't even acknowledge her presence.
"Helen, it's me, Lara," Omolara said, in a bid to get her attention.
Mrs. Daniel turned sharply. Her eyes were red, her hair all ruffled up in a messy bun, and a wide smile on her face.
"Helen, are you here for my daughter's birthday? I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a little bit, Bianca is on her way here." Mrs. Daniel stated, still maintaining the smile on her face.
Omolara sniffled softly. The pain was too much for her dear friend and it was obvious that she was traumatized; "I'm sorry for your daughter's death. I hope that…"
She could barely complete her statement when Mrs. Daniel's pushed her away.
"My daughter is not dead! She's coming home!" Mrs. Daniel barked. "Why is everyone saying my Bianca is dead?" she mumbled softly, her voice slowly breaking into sobs.
Lara rose to her feet and walked up to her husband; "I need to go to the hospital, and fetch a doctor that will come check up on her. This whole thing is," she paused and turned to look at Mrs. Daniel who had returned to her former position and resumed mumbling words to herself; "It's traumatizing her." She finally added.
"Okay. Be careful." Kenneth said to his wife.
She nodded and exited through the door.
She couldn't take the car because she could not yet drive. She had a phobia of driving ever since when she had an accident and her driving instructor died with her at the wheel, so since then she had avoided driving.
She got out to the road. the sun was shining brightly now. She flagged down a taxi which pulled over in front of her and she got in.
"St Raphael's hospital." She stated and the car drove off.
Her mind wandered off into deep thought. She thought of where Bianca's killer would be and what he or they would be doing at the moment.
It was at this moment that she was happy she didn't have any kids, because she would surely not survive it if something like this happens to her.
She was suddenly jolted back to reality by a bump and she looked out the window. She had been so lost in thoughts that she had not realized that they were not en route to the hospital.
"Oga. This isn't the road to the hospital!" she said, startled. But the man didn't reply.
He kept driving. She looked out the sealed windows. The tall trees that surrounded them. Her heart began racing. Her hands vibrated and a cold sweat broke out in all her body.
"Stop me right now!" she screamed but still no reply.
She started hitting the glass. Screaming at the top of her lungs.
The thought of what happened to Bianca flashed through her mind and she screamed for help as the driver kept moving deep into the forest.