Hazel gasped as her eyes flew open.
For a moment she stayed that way until the memory of last night came flooding back into her mind.
She slowly sat upright on her bed when she recalled what she dreamt about. It was about the same man, Kervin.
"God I need clarity. What are you saying? He's clearly not a good man so why the dreams? Are you perhaps warning me?"
But even after asking those questions, no response came and she sighed and got out of bed.
Today was a bad day for her but she struggled to get out of the house after showering and getting ready to head to the orphanage home.
On her way, she crossed paths with the same man she dreamt of and if not that she dreamt of him she would've said he was stalking her.
She was about to turn the other way when he loudly said, "Oh, hi there! Hazel!"
But instead of answering him, she kept walking.
"Hazel!" Kervin called after her but she didn't respond.
"What's the problem Hazel?" He asked as he ran after her until he caught up to her and she increased her pace.
"Is it because of what I said yesterday? Are you seriously mad about that? So what were you expecting me to say? Did you expect me to fake being sad?" He bluntly asked and it forced her to come to an abrupt stop.
And like a robot, she turned around to face him with pure fury written on her face.
"Would it kill you to have at least said something comforting?" She asked.
"Were you expecting me to comfort you? A total stranger like me," he said and scoffed like she was being delusional.
Without saying another word, she walked away and he kept following.
"You woke up quite late. By the way, will you stand by the window today?"
At his weird question, she stopped and looked at him again in wonder.
"Are you a pervert?"
"What if I am?" He boldly asked and her eyes widened before she turned and decided to run off as fast as she could.
Instead of following her this time, Kervin stood there watching her run in satisfaction.
"What will happen if I make her go to hell? What's that angel going to do?" He thoughtfully asked himself as he began to scheme his next move.
*******
She couldn't believe she ran all the way to the orphanage home just because of that stalker called, Kervin.
In annoyance, she got in only to be greeted by the aunties seated in the visitor's room while the children were elsewhere.
The moment they saw her, their mood changed.
"Hazel," the elderly aunty who went by the name Klara, stood up.
"Why did you lie to us about sending that poor boy to his mother?"
At that question, Hazel frowned.
"I didn't lie."
"Stop denying it. His mother just confirmed that you didn't bring him to her," another aunty named Jasmine spoke up.
"I did!" Hazel said more forcefully.
"For the last time Hazel, don't lie." Klara warned.
"I'm not lying!" Hazel defended herself.
Getting up, Rachel came to meet her with a sad look on her face.
"Haze, you know his mother doesn't lie," she said.
"Then does this mean I'm the one lying? For goodness sake, Rachel, that's ridiculous!" Hazel got extremely offended.
"But why was the boy still with his father?" Another aunty named Blessing asked.
There were six aunties present with Hazel included, making it seven.
"Maybe his mother sent the boy back to his father and decided to put the blame on me," Hazel thoughtfully said.
"His mother is a sane woman!" The sixth aunty named Treasure, spoke.
"Then does this mean I'm insane?" Hazel retorted.
"That's not what we meant, Haze," Rachel softly said but at this point Hazel was annoyed.
How could they point their finger at her like this when she had been with them for a long time.
"Then what are you all trying to say?" She confronted them.
"We just want to know if you dropped the boy at his mother's place," the seventh aunty named Cloe asked.
"And I said countless times that I did," Hazel firmly said and silence filled the room.
Not long after that, the door opened and in came Mr Obed.
"Mr Obed," Klara happily called as she went to welcome him.
"That boy's mother will be here soon," Rachel whispered to Hazel's ears as she went to greet the old man.
Sighing, Hazel sat on the nearest chair in frustration.
"If the woman keeps insisting that you never brought him to her and you keep saying you did then this will be a problem," Treasure said.
"So what? Are you telling me to lie that I didn't take him to his mother? Why don't you check that woman's brain, maybe something is wrong there." Hazel angrily said and it left Treasure silent.
When everyone had taken turns to greet the old man, Hazel decided to escort him in so she could talk to him.
"All of you seem tense," he said to Hazel and she sighed.
Once he sat down, she did likewise and began to pour out her heart to him.
"Mr Obed, do you remember when I was asked to take a battered teenager to his mother?"
At her question, the old man nodded.
"And I met you on the way right?"
"You did."
"And you saw me taking the boy there right?"
"Of course. What's going on?" Obed became worried.
"They keep saying I didn't take him to his mother and that she also confirmed I didn't bring him to her." Hazel angrily said and it left the old man thinking.
"Are you certain that woman is right in the head? How would she lie about such a thing?" Obed asked and Hazel sighed in relief. At least someone sided with her.
"Hazel?"
At the call of her name, she looked at the door and found Rachel looking at her.
"Someone's here to see you."
Someone? Could it be the boy's mother?
Getting up, Hazel left the room and went to see who it was only to stop midway into the visitor's room.
"Kervin!" she blurted out.
"It seems like you're eager to call my name everytime we meet," he pointed and she frowned.
Currently, none of the aunties were in the room so it was just both of them.
"What are you doing here?"
"Didn't I tell you to stand by the window like you always do?" He reminded her and she blinked in shock.
He really meant what he said!
"What do you want from me?" She asked and folded her arms to give a serious look.
"How many times do you want me to repeat it? Stand by the window," he stressed the last line and she glared at him.
And when she refused to make a move, he glared at her.
And while they were in that atmosphere, the door opened and in came the late boy's mother.
She looked greatly depressed and angry at the same time.
"Where is the lady!" She screamed and it alarmed the aunties.
"Where is she! Are you the one?" She pointed at Hazel and wanted to attack her when Kervin blocked her path.
"Can't you see we're in the middle of something? Who gave you the right to interfere?" He calmly asked and the woman glared at him.
"Get off my way," she tried to push him but he didn't budge.
When the aunties got into the room, they looked mortified.
"Who is this man?" She asked but no one replied.
"You!" She pointed at Hazel while ignoring him.
"How dare you lie about bringing my son to me?" She furiously asked.
"Which son is that? The boy who slit his throat?" At Kervin's casual interference, everyone looked at him.
"I saw you take him back to his father so why are you pointing that unparallel finger at this young woman?"
At his question, the woman went mute as she looked at him in shock.
Hazel also had a look of shock at his words. He was really a rude person but today it came in handy.
"That's a lie!" She denied.
"A lie? When I decided to tell the truth, you call it a lie? Wow! I think I should call Psalm to defend me," Kervin said while looking greatly offended by the woman's words.
At the mention of Psalm, Hazel frowned. So he did know Psalm then why did Psalm deny it?
"What's going on here?" Obed's voice thundered and everyone looked in his direction.
However, the moment he sighted Kervin, his body trembled.