He spent his idle time helping his mother run their family business. It was small cosmetic shop at Adenta. Adenta is a town in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. It helped him forget the sour incident that almost sent him to the gallows. A betrayal from a close pal was like thrusting a spiky pointer through the soul. The beast took away the only thing he cherished most. The customers came as usual to buy few hair products and other stuff. His only interest was to make more sales. It gave him some inner flush akin to what Brenda gave him before he lost her to the fast life in London. The customers, mainly the female ones, to him were images in a mirror reflecting the same distorted refractions like the one gone before. He paid very little attention to them. They are erratic and heartbreakers. This notwithstanding there was a fussy customer he could hardly ignore. He was stunned by her looks as he served her. His hands hanged in the air unable to take the money from her.
Stephen was recovering from the shocks of Brenda’s betrayal so he kept a low profile. He was not ready for another twist in his already mangled life. He had met Brenda back on campus and they had a dreamy relation. They were the toast of their friends as they were a striking pair. A cord bound the duo together. Realities of life after school tore the cord into shreds. It was like digging a limitless void as things went haywire. Stephen was unemployed and all his job hunts yielded no dividend. However, fate smiled on them. Brenda got a two-year working abroad visa to the UK. They celebrated the good news with a night out and had a jolly time. The exciting news notwithstanding, there was a little hitch; Brenda had nowhere to lodge in the UK. Stephen phoned his bosom friend in London and pleaded with him to host his angel. The friend readily agreed to help. He saw Brenda off at the airport and waited until the BA flight vanished into the unknown.
Life in London is very different. His friend tried many times to seduce Brenda just as she arrived. When that failed, he frustrated her. He locked her out in the cold winter blizzards to freeze. He hid the grocery and denied her access to basic things in the house. The hassle was too much for Brenda. She lost her nerves and gave in to ease her frustration. Her idea was to have a brief fling with the pest to calm him down. Who knows what Stephen was doing in Ghana? He might be having fun with other ladies as she went through harrowing experience in the chill, she reflected. It was not to be; the brief fling became a routine. The vampire became so loving after he drew the first blood. He indulged her and showered her with delicate gifts. They were kinds of gifts carefully selected from flagships stores on Oxford Street. Stephen could only afford such exquisites gifts in his dreams. Brenda wizened. It was better to bask in a handy wealth than lingers on with a bloke hunting for non-existence job. She agreed to the Londoner’s marriage offer with a huge diamond ring and some huge ancestral inheritance, without blinking her eyes for once.
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A month later Brenda changed vows with Stephen’s best buddy in London, a mailer reached Stephen. It was more of a confession...
It read, “Yes, I betrayed my best friend. I betrayed his trust and his faith in me. I did it knowingly and willingly. Even though I knew it is going to cause him pain and I know for sure that this is going to change my friendship with him. But still I did it anyway...I did it for my own selfish reason...I just wanted Brenda more than my best friend back… It upsets me a lot and makes me feel really miserable that this lust and love is taking my best friend away from me...He had been having these episodes for a while and I did nothing...I refuse to believe that Stephen is head over heels for Brenda and would rather believe in a denial than to face the cold truth.
One day, Stephen no longer could deny it cause I felt that his UK predator is no longer there with him and he had turned into another person...He must have felt so helpless then…He knew that he needed help before he gets any deeper and before he hurts himself or hurts someone else. The only way for him to get help is for him to betray Stephen, coz Brenda was too difficult to let go...
It hurts me the most when I saw him all worried at the airport because he refused to let go of Brenda away from him. This made Stephen uncooperative and he kind of turned violent...With pleading eyes, he had asked her "Why do you have to go? You don't think that I'm good enough for you, right?"
So with that, I betrayed my best friend for my own selfish reason of wanting her back. And till now, I still don't know if what I did was right or wrong...But sometimes in life, there are choices that you have to make but you don't want to...And this is one of the hardest choices, I have to make in my life. So I have to harden my heart and lie point blank in his face so that he will get help he needed…to forget Brenda and forgive me.”
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Imagine you have been friends with someone for 12 long years and have been together throughout the good and bad that life have to offer. Imagine the bubbly and outgoing boy that you thought you had known so well suddenly became a whole different person altogether. A person that you know wasn't him and there is a chance to get back the bubbly amazing fellow that you used to know. So can you understand now why he had to do it? Why he had to betray Stephen?
With tears brimming in his eyes, Stephen folded the letter and told himself , "No, I don't think you are crazy...You are just sick. And I don’t think I can forget you both ever… and since once I had loved Brenda and had trusted you… I forgive you”
The lady who turned Stephen’s head upside down after Brenda’ betrayal was a cute looking lady with a flowing hair and a nice shape to match. Her name was Susan. She was new in the area. The day she went to the shop, she was in a simple straight dress, which fitted her perfectly. She was a sort of a temptress; so irresistible. Stephen’s behavior the day he saw her was embarrassing. He could not control his emotions and flustered himself to on lookers. Susan was embarrassed as well. She dropped the money on a table, and hurriedly left the shop.
Stephen had been on the lookout for the temptress since the episode but she never turned up at the shop for months. He tarried but there was no sign of her. He volunteered to be at the shop more often and his mother was baffled. It was unusual of him. Lamentably, he was engrossed with Susan’s jelly looks he forgot to take her number. When all hope of seeing Susan was lost, she turned up at the shop one afternoon. She had not been well she told Stephen.
Stephen was so excited to see her. He told her he had looked for her everywhere under the sun. She said she was flattered. She visited the shop regularly thereafter. She was bored at home, she explained to him. He invited her to the movies one day and he was relieved when she accepted the invitation. Susan turned up in dazzling dress and he was stupefied at her looks. Joyously he welcomed her with a cuddle. He told her that he was impressed with her looks. At the movies in the film studios at Kanda, Stephen chose a familiar suite. It was a preference for Brenda. Stephen sat so closed to Susan and his thigh rubbed hers. The softness coming from her bare silky thigh was so soulful he lost focus. The film beamed on the screen but his mind was on the appeal from the one sitting next to him. The lights were dim. It created a perfect romantic atmosphere. He saw chunk portion of her thighs radiating forcefully through the dim. It was greasy and rewarding.
The heat was unbearable and he excused her. He went out to the bar and bought some popcorn and drinks. The lovebirds popped the corn and washed it down with the drink. Susan was in the mood and became flirty. She got closer to him and placed her head on his shoulder. Occasionally Stephen fed her with his corn. He offered her his drink as well and she sipped it through the straw. At a point instead of the popcorn, he offered her his lips. She grabbed them with hers and mouthed it with glee. It became obvious they were no longer watching the movie. The movie was a bait to lure the cod from its hideout. They engaged in flowery love games as they ignored Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s movie ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ beaming on the screen. It became steamy and Stephen held the tip of her dress at the upper part. He looked at her face and said ‘Can I have a look’? She ignored him. He repeated his question. She nodded. He busied himself rubbing her faintness. It was breathtaking. He thought he would never love again nor taste of the bliss derived from cuddling a loved one. Was Susan real or an illusion just like Brenda? He contemplated.
Months ago, he had memorable burst with Brenda in the same room. She clanged to him and wept her heart out. She was sad that they were going to live apart, she said. She promised to remain dedicated and return to him in one piece. It was the last sweet words he heard from the cherished one. He did not hear from Brenda again after she became a prey to his predator friend in London. The home wrecker stopped calling him as well. Any time he tried calling the answering machine bellowed "The number you have dialed is incorrect please check the number and dial again. Please check the number and dial again."
Was Susan real or just a delusion like Brenda? He kept pondering. He was happy but at the same time, he was confused. He was scared. A strange sense of apprehension gripped him from within. He didn’t want to lose Susan at any cost…
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