THE K1LLER'S KNIFE
The K1ller's Knife - Episode 23
I arrived at Flora's house, the one she lived with Keto when he was still alive. The house is an open place and the surrounding was looking very unkept which isn't really a new thing.
Back when flora was staying here, the few times I came with mother to visit her, it was either looking this dirty or Keto was the one tidying it up. That's how much he loved his wife.
Everywhere was quiet. It's midday so I won't be surprised if her neighbors haven't yet returned from work.
I walked to the backyard and moved to the big basin where she normally hides her house key under.
I stood for a few minutes looking at the basin and I recalled how everything used to be two years before today.
Flora was very fond of me in the church and I was the one who usually ran errands for her from the church to her house. It was on one of those occasions that she had let me know where she usually keeps her keys whenever she and everyone else isn't at home.
Flora was also mother's closest woman in the church so I used to like her a lot and I had joyously ran all the errands she sent me without complaining
But all of a sudden, flora began acting up and keeping her distance from mother and all of us. Mother noticed it and decided to give her the desired space she needed so they stopped talking or visiting each other much.
It was after I found out about her affair with father, that I understood the reason behind her sudden change towards mother. That's when I started hating her very much for destroying our home
Keto too was fond of me and my sisters. He usually brought us biscuits, cookies, and sweets at the close of every Sunday and weekday service.
He was such a nice and easygoing man and didn't deserve to die the way he did. That's the reason I want to make sure Father pays for causing the dëâth of such an innocent selfless man because of his own selfish interest.
Then it suddenly occurred to me that it is possible that Flora might have changed the location of where she kept the house key or that maybe she took the key to our house where she stays now.
I hurriedly raised the big basin and there I saw the key laying under it. I breathed a sigh of relief as I picked it up to begin the phrase two of my plans
I quietly moved from there to the front door and using the key in my right hand, I unlocked it and walked inside.
It was a one bedroom apartment which consisted of a sitting room, a bedroom, and a toilet adjoined with a bathroom
I looked around and I observed that not much changes had taken place since I last visited with mother two years back.
The sitting room was the way it was before Keto's dëäth. It was scantily furnished compared to ours but it was still okay for a family of three.
A small foam was spread at one end beside a plastic chair which is the only chair in the sitting room. I'm aware the foam was where Claire slept while Keto and Flora took the main bedroom.
A stove and other kitchen utensils were at the other end directly facing the door of the bedroom. That was where they did their cooking in the absence of a kitchen in the house
The were waste litters everywhere with gallons of water shattered all round. The house was without water so the water gallons were often used to draw water from the well at the back of the house.
I swallowed the saliva stuck in my throat at the unpleasant condition of the house. Ours may not be so large but it was far better than this in many ways.
It got me wondering if could discontentment be the main reason Flora cheated on Keto with father...?
I quickly comported myself and walked into the bedroom which is my main purpose for coming in the first place
Entering the bedroom, I found it in a better condition compared to the sitting room. It was almost empty except for a few clothes boxes and bags alongside a small-sized bed situated beside the wall.
Time wasn't by my side anymore as I didn't want the neighbors to return from work and meet me in Flora's compound.
What will I even tell them brought me here and how I got the house key...?
It's going to seem very suspicious so I need to be fast, that way I won't put myself in any avoidable trouble.
Coming to that conclusion, I moved swiftly to the boxes and emptied the clothes on the floor. After that, I emptied the bags but to my disappointment I couldn't find anything except rags
For God's sake! I was looking for something which I believe should be here in this house for safety reasons
I re-searched all the boxes carefully but I still didn't see what my heart desired. I turned the bed over and checked underneath it but found nothing there either.
Where could it be...? Or could it be that it isn't here like I envisaged...?
I was frustrated and I ransacked every single bag I saw in the house. I even went further to check the water gallons but what I was looking for still wasn't in them or anywhere in the house
When it became obvious that my search is in vain and futile, I had to rearrange everything back the exact way I met them when I came in.
I walked outside dejectedly. I went to the backyard where I took the house key from and dropped it back as I saw it.
I began on my way home using a lonely shorter path to avoid being seen by people coming from the front. It's almost evening time which the neighbors should start coming home and I didn't want to be asked abrasive questions which will add to my disappointment
I was so angry that I was talking to myself in a bid to vent my frμstrations. The fact that it was only me walking on that path at the time made it easier to talk to myself without raising eyebrows
' Where is she hiding it...? Did she take it home or did she hide it elsewhere...?'
I was so absorbed in my ánger that I didn't realize that someone was quietly following me from behind.
As I took more steps alone, I became more self-aware and couldn't shake away the bad feeling of being followed.
I kept looking behind me but I saw nobody yet the feeling still wouldn't go away instead it got even stronger.
Due to the quietness of the path and the dry leaves on the ground, the steps taken by whoever it was made tiny sounds that were almost hard to decipher. It's from there I realized that truly someone was following me keenly.
I still couldn't see anyone behind me so I became scared and quickened my steps. I walked even faster without slowing down until I reached home.
Immediately I unlocked the sitting room door, I dashed inside and locked it securely with my chest beating very fast.
I was swimming in a pool of confusion and skepticism as I lowered myself on one of the sitting room sofa.
If father was not admitted in the hospital for an arm injury, I would have nursed the thoughts that it must be him playing a game on me
But father is still in the hospital and with his present condition, it's not possible to get discharged or be physically active enough to follow someone around.
I know it's not Flora either because aside from the physical brμ¡ses father inflicted on her, she is way too emotionally disoriented to do this
So if it isn't Flora or father then who could it be then...? I began to wonder.
(Do not take credit or Plagiarize AMAH'S HEART stories)
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