LOVE TRAGEDY (Short Story)
I met Kojo when I was 19. I was just in my final year and had come home for a brief semester break.
He had come to meet my parents with the intention to marry my elder sister.
I had no idea my sister had a boyfriend because we weren’t so close and I spent most of my time in school. The introduction was so brief but I couldn’t forget locking eyes with Kojo for some seconds before I went back to my room.
Later that night, I overheard my mom and my two elder sisters giggle in the kitchen while they talked about wedding plans. I was never a participant in their inside jokes and gossip, so I didn’t bother to join. I felt indifferent about my sister getting married because we weren’t particularly close.
To be honest, I wasn’t close to any of my siblings. We were 5 girls and I was the third child, I grew up like a stranger in the house as I didn’t have any cordial relationship with my siblings. The longest time we spent was always in transit to church on Sundays, breakfast at the dining table, and whenever we found ourselves in awkward gatherings at home.
My life mostly revolves around myself, my books, and music. I enjoyed living in my solitude until I fell in love with Kojo, my sister’s fiancé.
It happened 3 weeks after my sister’s introduction, I had returned to school and ran into Kojo on a very unfortunate day. He recognized me and offered to buy me lunch after my lectures that day. We exchanged numbers and that was the beginning of my nightmare.
I got to know he had a Dry cleaning business around my school and came around every weekend to monitor things.
We started to see each other every weekend he came around, we hung out and talked about ourselves. I don’t know if he was naturally an exceptional person or if I just liked him. Our conversations were mostly about music, school, and life experiences. He made me laugh so much and I realized we shared so much similar ideologies. No man had ever made me feel the way Kojo did, I adored him and always looked towards seeing him on weekends.
The third weekend we met, I had gone to meet him at his store and he gave me a gift. It was a phone, he said he wanted us to talk more on the phone and he was aware my current phone was faulty. We spent some time at his store after which he drove me back to my hostel. I kissed him that night and he responded.
That night, I knew I had fallen in love with Kojo and I decided I would tell him the next weekend we saw.
We started to talk on the phone and it got us even closer. He asked me if I wanted to sneak out of school and pay him a visit to his house which was just 40 mins drive from school. I objected but he managed to convince me.
I left school on a Wednesday morning to visit Kojo, and I had planned to come back to school the same day before it gets dark. I skipped lectures but I didn’t care, I was so happy I was going to see him.
I ended up spending 4 days at Kojo’s house and returned to school on Sunday. I reminisced about the period with him. He took me shopping and we visited some places outside of town. I had sex for the first time with Kojo and I didn’t regret it because he said he loved me.
We never talked about his relationship with my sister and I never bothered about it. On two occasions I overheard him talk to her over the phone and they seemed to be arguing. He told me they broke up finally and I was happy about it. He was however insecure and bothered about my family receiving our relationship well. But I didn’t care about what my family would think. I just wanted to be with him.
The last time we had sex before I left his house, he told me he wanted to marry me. He said he had so much plans for us. The whole feeling felt surreal and i started imagining ending up with my first love.
My relationship with Kojo transcended while my performance and attention to school lagged. I began to leave school more often to visit him at home. I was performing so poorly at school and barely prepared for my exams.
Fast forward to my exams, I could barely get hold of Kojo. He barely called or returned my texts. I didn’t bother too much about it because I felt he was trying to let me study and concentrate on my exams.
After my exams, my worry grew when I couldn’t reach him at all. I went to his store in school and was told he traveled.
That night, while I considered and weighed my option of traveling down to visit Kojo, my mum called me to return home immediately.
She sounded so agitated on the phone and when I tried to inquire about the urgency, she said “My sister was hospitalized after she found out her fiancé, “ Kojo” had recently gotten married to someone else”. My younger sister’s were in boarding school and my eldest sister was currently out of town. she asked i come spend some time with her at the hospital.
I barely slept that night. I wanted to die, i didn't want to believe it. i had so many unanswered questions. i needed to speak to Kojo!!!!!
I returned home the next day and visited my sister in the hospital almost immediately. I broke down in tears beside her bed when I saw her. she was asleep but looked so pale and miserable in her sleep.
My mum rubbed my back and tried to console me. “She’ll be fine Nne, stop crying,” she said.
This made me even cry uncontrollably. I held on tightly to my mother’s hand as I leaned on the wall for support. I could see a look of surprise and confusion on her face.
How do I explain that my heart is broken, not for the condition of my sister?
But because the first man I had ever fallen in love with has deceived me and used me. How do I explain that I had just discovered I was pregnant for this same man?
I wailed aloud this time.
