They call it 'ghost', the body that one wears the moment one drops their physical body. At first it was spectral, transparent and almost intangible, but later on becomes tangible and normal. Almost resembling the body I dropped, except no human that is a living could see me. I stood there, the same spot I died, unable to stray away due to some kind of barrier I discovered stands like the walls of Jericho between me and anywhere else. "Its all coming to me now." I said, "Everything that led to my death and all the people involved."
**
Three days after my failed mission, I got a phone call from an absolutely unexpected person. I sat on my chair watching a movie when my phone rang. The call was coming from an unknown number. My heart began to beat faster, I was afraid it might be Pahpa using an unknown number to get to me, the friend I betrayed. I could not pick the call until the phone stopped ringing. I calmed myself waiting for the phone to ring again and as expected the phone started ringing again. I picked the call this time rather reluctantly, my hand shaking a bit. I placed the phone on my ears ready to talk but didn't say anything. I had to make a smart move, I had to wait for whoever was calling me to speak first, that way I would decide whether to engage in the conversation or not.
"Hello Sol." A voice pierced through the phone into my head through my ear. Could it unbelievably be, Freda?
"H-hi" I stammered back, "Who is on the line please?"
"Freda is on the line."
"Oh! Ahh… good evening Ma." I greeted, completely taken by surprise.
"How are you Sol?"
"I am fine Ma."
She stayed quiet for a few seconds as if something took away her attention then she continued, "How many times did I say you should refer to me simply as 'Freda'?"
I was taken aback by her question, it was nothing I expected. I had completely forgotten what she said I should refer to her as.
"Uh… So sorry Freda, perhaps I could not bring myself to calling you by your first name because of the deep respect I have for you that is why." I replied in a way she would not think I had forgotten.
She sighed mildly then said, "I need to see you in my house tomorrow in the morning. Make sure you do not fail me."
"Any problem?" I quickly asked. With Freda, to think smart and fast is a necessity.
"No problem at all, just come OK." she let out a faint chuckle.
After the phone call, I sat on my chair in front of the television again, completely speechless. Freda called me? She collected my contact the last time I was there but so what? A woman as powerful as Freda didn't have to call me simply because she has my contact, yet she did. I just sat there, completely lost in thoughts, unable to think of a possible reason why Freda would want to see me in her house. Just when I was about to come up with something, my phone rang again, startling me. I checked the caller, it was Pahpa.
"Hello Bro." I greeted first.
"I am not your brother." He replied in a sad tone.
"Come on Pahpa, I sincerely apologized for what happened."
"Your apology could not bring me money. It is very useless"
"We can sort this out bro." I insisted on calling him bro.
"It been three days since the failed mission. I told you to come up with another plan on how to crack our way into that system but you shunned me. Three more days Sol, and I will find you."
The combination of his angry tone and the threat made my heart sank. I still could not understand why Pahpa could develop such hatred for me in a very short period of time, all because of money. Perhaps he had me in his mind all those while but didn't know how to get to me. He decided to set me up with that mission. I decided to properly analyze the plan we had for the mission together. Suddenly, my eyes widened with a realization. I realized that during the plan, Pahpa never mentioned Freda. For someone who claimed had been working with Mr. Gabriel for quit some time, how could he not know about a Mrs. Gabriel? If he knew, why didn't he mention her? I was in that house for almost an hour, there was not a trace of any Mr. Gabriel, not even a mention of him except for the time Freda told me that he was her husband. What she meant by that statement, I had no idea and I didn't dare to ask her.
"Something is damn fishy about Pahpa and that mission. But no matter what it is I will see how it ends." I assured myself.
The next morning, I was already making myself at home on Freda's soft luxurious Sofa. I sat there like a groom eagerly but also nervously waiting for his bride on his wedding day. Freda came in from her bedroom. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of the must gorgeous woman on earth. Freda walked toward me in a normal fashion, but what I saw was totally different. First, she didn't just walk casually, I saw her walking in slow motion, elegantly placing each foot on the perfect spot. Every step she took mesmerized my senses. Anyone could have seen a woman walking, but I saw a goddess in her splendour, the queen of my heart, even though I dared not to let her know. How could I let her know that every fibre of my being desires her. A woman in a class a million times greater than mine. Freda and I can never be on the same level no matter how rich I become. No one can compare a mere wealthy mortal to the endowed elegant African goddess of beauty.
I froze in awe of Freda once again. I sat there like a fool in a trance. Freda said nothing, she also stood right in front me speechless. The scent of her sweet perfume engulfed me and that was powerful enough to wake me from my trance. I shook my head in fear, as if my body entered an autopilot mode, I saw myself swiftly getting up from the Sofa to greet the goddess in front of me. Freda smirked a bit and simply motioned me to sit down.
"You don't have to stand up to greet me Sol." She said.
"I am sorry Freda, I think I lost my senses when I saw you." I replied shyly.
"Oh ok… This is a confirmation that we are feeling the same way about each other." She smiled.
She didn't know, but that statement kick started all my hormones including dormant ones if any, to rush into my brain at the speed of light. I felt myself loosing consciousness, literally.
"Hey Sol, are you OK?" She enquire with a tone full of care.
I quickly got my grip and gave her a satisfactory answer. She sat down directly to me, her eyes locked with mine.
"Can I ask you something." I asked.
"Ask me anything Sol." She calmly answered.
"What do you mean by what you said about us feeling the same way about each other?" I wasn't sure she would answer the question but I asked anyway.
I couldn't tell whether Freda answered my question or not, but all I could remember was me deeply kissing her. It was as if I went into a short coma and back to life without knowing how. Did her answer shut down my entire system for some moments?
After kissing for a time I couldn't calculate, she broke her lips away from mine. She looked deep into my eyes and said, "I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. Since that day, I could not take you off my mind. Sol, you are such a smart and handsome man and I need you to be mine."
Freda was being too direct and that turned me completely on. I nodded in agreement to me being hers. I held her waist, pulled her closer to my body till I could feel her voluptuous breast pressing on my chest. "I am yours Freda." I said, "And even though I do not understand your marital status, I need you to be mine also." Freda smiled and nodded in agreement too.
Few minutes later, Freda and I were already locked into each other in her gigantic luxurious bed. I could not describe what it felt like being engulfed by such sweetness of a woman. Every stroke released a fresh sensation into my brain. My body trembled at every movement she made with her waist. Her brown fresh beautiful body rubbing mine sent sparks into my soul. The sight of her glorious naked body messed with my head. I needed nothing more than to ravish her highness in ways she would never forget.
I didn't know how long we spent making love, I only saw myself dropping off from her body, both of us panting heavily with faces full of grins. My body was covered in a mixture of both our sweats. After calming down, she turned to me with eyes full of love and desire. My eyes met with hers and she asked, "How was it?" I didn't answer directly, I instead moved closer to her, cuddled her tightly, gently caressing her body with my fingers.
"How it was I can not describe with words, but all I know is that I want to be with you forever."
"Oh that hit hard." She relied with a smile.
"I love you Freda."
"I love you too Sol."
"But can I ask you something?"
"Yes Sol, you are always free to ask me anything."
"Please tell me the truth. What happened to your husband?" I asked with a bit of doubt if she would answer at all.
"Well" she sighed, "My husband disappeared into thin air. We looked for him everywhere but was nowhere to be found."
"Wow!" was all I could say.
"At first I thought he was kidnapped. We waited for a call from whomever must have kidnapped him but nothing, no one asked for any ransom."
"Could it be that he was not kidnapped at all?" I asked.
"I can not tell, no one could tell." she answered.
"What could have happened to him?"
"Help me ask the heavens Sol, help me ask."
"What if he returns one day." I needed to know, to be sure of what I just got myself into.
"I wouldn't know, but he is probably never coming back." She answered.
On my way home from Freda's, I kept replaying that conversion we had. Her last answer got me thinking. What if he actually did come back one day? No one knows, not even Freda. It was at that moment that I began to wonder, What if I got myself into a dangerous affair?