The Story of Caya

This is a true story, every word of it. Not everyone who gets to read it will find that possible. I won't really blame them for that; I too find it hard to believe some times had it not all happened to I and my family ... and to others who were unfortunate to be there with us. Some of it might sound untrue, like stuff born out of imagination; some of it none of you will get to believe. I wish I can find the words to make them seem more real than I'm about to tell them. In the end, I leave that up to you. *** Catherine felt someone nudge her arm. Murmuring a grumble, she pushed up her sunglasses up her face, her eyes coming awake from the slumber she'd slipped into more than an hour ago. It was her mother, Pamela, seated beside her who was smiling at the same time pointing at something out her window. "I think we've just about arrived, honey," she said. Catherine murmured a sigh under her breath as she followed her Mom's pointing finger to gaze out her window, past the cluster of wispy cumulus clouds that gave way for her to pick out the grand vista of the city that loomed thousands of feet beneath them. The city was surrounded by a wide expanse of green vegetation with rivulets of rivers cutting to and fro like veins snaking towards the heart; the north-east corner of the city were some hilly terrain which seemed to stretch farther and farther away. The sun's rays penetrated the bank of clouds to add brilliance to the new world they were in. As if to further make it real, the PA system came alive seconds later with the flight captain's voice welcoming everybody inside the airline to their imminent arrival to Cape City, informing them to please fix back their seat belts as they would begin ascending in a short while. Catherine did as instructed. Pamela turned to the aisle seat beside her and nudged her husband, Tim awake and repeated the same instruction. A flurry of excitement seemed to come alive amongst the rest of the passengers as the stewardesses strolled back and forth checking everyone into their individual seats and fixing them properly. Catherine yawned as she gazed down at the city beneath her feet outside her window, imagining what might be waiting for them once they arrive. Anticipation, fear and resignation rode her mind. She was visiting Africa for the first time, her and her parents. Looking at her Mom, she seemed quite happy and excited about the trip, and her Dad too was well looking forward to it; he had to since he had business to take care of down there. As for herself, the whole thing starting from the day her parents made the decision to involve her, to the days leading up to the planning and arrangement down to yesterday when they'd departed JFK International, it all seemed like a blur to her. There she was two days ago with her best friend, Meg, telling her about the trip: of spending the next three weeks of her summer holiday off college with her parents in some African country she hardly knew existed. The worse part wasn't her being with her parents, but of being away from her boyfriend, Michael. How she missed being with him right now and wished he was here seated next to her giving her comfort. She felt so alone right now and would give anything just to get him to be with her. Having him around would make her feel a lot better about the trip; hard to know what to expect once they landed. Besides, this was Africa. Where was she going to find any lonely college guy to be with, especially one that was white? The plane shuddered as it hit a pocket of cloudy turbulence. Bank of clouds sped past her window as they descended towards the earth. Pamela wouldn't stop chattering as the vista of the city came back into wider view. They soared over the green vegetation and were now over the city skylight. The houses and network of roads all looked like a child's play pen from where Catherine viewed everything. They grew into size the more they descended from their height. Two minutes later the plane's tires hit earth and inside the plane a roaring cheer went up as they cruised speedily along the runway en-route to their stop. "We're here, honey," Pam said to her daughter. Catherine simply nodded, exasperated with her Mom's sunny disposition. "Yes, Mom. We're there." In her heart as she gazed out the window, she wished she was somewhere else. *** There was some minor commotion for them to retrieve their luggage as well as clear through the country's Customs. Much of their debacle was resolved when Tim Morgan sighted a man who stood with a placard that bore his full name. He approached the man who introduced himself as Elias. He was part of the chaperone staff from Queensland Hotel & Resorts who was there to welcome the Morgans to Nigeria, and to escort them to their awaiting hotel booking. He was a slim man, dark-skinned with a flashy grin of a smile and he wore a khaki shirt that displayed the resort's logo on his breast pocket. "It's a pleasure meeting you, sir," he shook hands with Tim and assisted with taking two of their luggage to where the resort's cab was waiting. There was a lot of haranguing happening in the airport: too many people talking and milling about. Catherine noticed some of the native men ogling her without shame. She felt nervous under their stare. Elias took her bag from her and ushered her along; he told her not to be mindful of the stares: such is how usually it is whenever foreigners come down here. The men as well ogled her mother but Pamela made like it was all good to her, as if they were in Disneyland. The same with her father. In the cab, Tim sat in front with Elias with Catherine and her Mom sat in the backseat. Elias honked his horn persistently to break through the traffic of other parked and idling vehicles as they pulled out of the airport vicinity. Overhead there came the roaring sound of a plane taking off. Catherine stuck her head out her window and moaned from the heat that pressed against her face. They left the airport and drove into the wide turnpike leading into the heart of the city. Tim threw questions at Elias who was accommodating enough to answer them as he drove. Pamela took her camera out of her handbag and took snapshots of just about anything exotic that passed them on the road. Except for her father, both Catharine and her Mom were dressed in shorts, sneakers and tank tops. Catherine couldn't stop rubbing off the sweat that was building on her skin; the last time she had been this hot was when she's gone off on a summer vacation last year with her friend Meg to Ibizia. Obviously she was going to get a serious tan by the time they returned home. The drive through the city was a captivating one, minus the annoying spat of traffic they encountered along the way. Tim wanted to see as much of the city that he could, thus he instructed Elias to take a longer route around the city. Elias did as he asked and more than an hour came by before they drove along a wide expressway overlooking the Cape City beach; the Queensland Resort was at the end of the road, occupying a wide hilltop which gazed over the city. They drove in through the gates and came to a stop at the wide driveway next to the resort's main building. Everybody alighted down and several porters appeared to help with their luggage as Tim and his wife and daughter went inside to conclude their reservation which he had booked for three months earlier on account that there was a rush towards securing an expensive suite here at the resort, especially since it was getting close to the city's carnival season. Everything taken care of, they entered the elevator and rode it to the sixth floor where their suite was situated. They past several white couples along the way. Pamela, being her typical buoyant self wasted no time stopping one of such couples and introducing herself along with her daughter to them; as always Catherine groaned and in her mind pictured her Mom as the wicked witch from the land of Oz. They extracted themselves and went in the direction of their suite. It was more like an expensive apartment for a bachelor than it was a hotel suite; Catherine and her Mom marvelled at its ample spaciousness. There was a central living room and two master bedrooms and three smaller ones. Their suite faced the west section of the beach. From all windows they had a clear view of the blue waters splashing on the yellow sand. To Catherine it brought memories of her time spent at Ibizia, except there the water was turquoise and then she hadn't been alone. She stood by the living room window staring out at the beach and the flock of people there while Elias returned from her room, having assisted the porters in stowing her luggage. "What do you think about the view, honey?" said her father, grinning with her Mom hugging him. "Quite impressive, ain't it?" "Really Dad, it's grand." Her Mom caught the sound of her voice. "What's wrong, babe. You don't look all too happy about it?" "Nothing, Mom. Just wish ... just never thought you guys were being serious about coming down here." Her Dad looked at her. "But I did tell you about it, sweetheart, about the new contract I got. You know how important this is going to be for us, don't you?" "Yes, Dad. I know how important it is. I just feel so alone here." "But you aren't alone, honey," Pamela came to her daughter's aid. "We're here with you, together, all three of us. This is something we've always wanted: to travel and go places we've never been to before. I know it might make you nervous, but we're here to have fun. Lots and lots of it." "Yeah, Mom. Lots of fun," she mumbled. "Well, I'd better go unpack and see what fun there is to have." Pamela watched her daughter walk away towards her bedroom. She wanted to call out to her, to give her solace, but Tim held her back and told her not to worry that Catherine would come around soon. "She just needs to wind down a little bit," he said. "Too much jet lag can do that to you." "I guess you're right. I ought to kick myself sometimes. I feel too much like a mother hen that's afraid to let her go." "You worry too much," he kissed her cheek. "But that's why I love you. Now, how about you and I go unpack and maybe we can do some frolicking afterwards." She grinned back at him. "Somehow I figured you had that on your mind since we came down from the plane." "Are you kidding? I've had it on my mind before we even left New York. Can't believe how long the flight was. I ought to reset my time, my watch is now five hours behind." "No, what you need to do is grab a shower and rest a little bit to let things wear off you, and maybe then if you're good and stay so for half the day, you can get some hotness later." "Uh-Uh. You're not going to trick me that way, Pam. You too are going to get that shower. I'd like to massage your shoulders for you." "Naughty Tim Morgan," she chided. "How I stayed married to you all these years, I'll never know." *** Catherine closed her door behind her and went and plumbed down on the bed, exhausted from the long trip and the same time annoyed with her parents. Her eyes roamed the spacious room, her ears listened to the silence. She unzipped her bag and took out her hand grip that contained her toiletries and other stuff and went into the bathroom to arrange them in the medicine cabinet. Since we're here on holiday, might as well make like we're on holiday, she thought to herself as she placed her shampoo, tooth brush and other accessories beside each other inside the cabinet. She closed the lid and gazed at her reflection in the mirror. It wasn't a happy face that stared back at her. Her eyes looked dowdy, her blonde hair looked mussed up and there were etches of sleep lines across her cheek. She turned on the tap and splashed water on her face then proceeded to take off her clothes. She jumped into the shower stall and sighed with relief as warm water rained down on her. It was the first thing today that made her feel good about herself. She wanted to remain in the shower, day-dream that she was back home and that Michael was here with her. She wished she could cuddle up to him right now. Michael always said nice things to her; she would feel real safe if only he was here. She would make time to call him later, or maybe see if they could communicate via Skype. Its daytime here, meaning it'll be dark back home. She could wait. She turned off the shower and waited for some of it to run down her body. There came a thumping sound coming from her room. She grabbed the towel and held it in front of her and stepped out of the shower stall. She peeked into the room and there was Elias dropping a second bag on her bed. He caught sight of her and turned to look at her. For a few seconds their eyes held each other, then she realised she was holding her towel and it afforded him much view of her body. She quickly unfurled the towel to cover her nakedness. Elias went on smiling at her; his never betrayed that he was moved by the sight of her near nakedness. She was flushed by it. "Sorry, but I came to drop off a second bag of yours. Mrs. Morgan said I should leave it in your room." "Oh, yes ... thank you." He nodded his head and turned and left, closing the door behind him. Catherine wrapped the towel properly around her torso and started offloading stuff from her bags and putting them away in the closet. There was an clock on a cabinet beside her bed with an alarm. She set the alarm for the next half hour and then fell on the bed and slept off. There was the buzz of the alarm waking her up an hour and a half later. She reached for it and depressed the button down, killing the noise. She went into the bathroom to wash her face when a knock came on her door and her Mom entered and told her she and her father were heading downstairs to get something to eat and if she wanted to join them. Catherine told her she would coming down in a while. She took out her iPad and searched through her photos application at an album that contained snapshots of her and Michael together. She traced her fingers over his features; such handsomeness, she thought to herself. They'd met in her first year of college and had been inseparable ever since. Their relationship had had little or no mishaps or setbacks at all. Lately the talk of them actually getting married in the near future had begun to creep into their conversation. Though playful about it, merely skirting around the subject, now that she got to thinking about it, it didn't seem all that far-fetched. A bit of it sounded frivolous enough—just the sort thing two young adults with lots of time to day-dream would speculate about. They were both still virgins and Michael was a devout Catholic same as she. He told her it was how things are meant to be for them. It was their destiny to be together and wait it out till when they got married. They were on his Dad's Oldmobile close to a lake, just the both of them, and he'd knelt before her like he was about to propose and sworn an oath that he loved her and that no other woman would ever cross his path except her, and that for her he will hold his wanton desire in check till when they'd tied the knot. It was a secret they shared only with each other, not even her best friend Meg knows about it. Although Meg too was a virgin and unlike Catherine she wasn't yet lucky in having found a boyfriend yet. Catherine took some pleasure in knowing that her friend was yet to experience the connection she and Michael shared. Though who knows what she might be up to this summer. Meg had told her she was planning on travelling to Vancouver to spend two weeks with her older sister; who knew what might happen when she arrives there. It gave Catherine a sweet pang of jealousy as in her mind she conjured her best friend making love to some Canadian fellow and here she was, stuck with her parents in some country in Africa. Who knows what she might do while here to have some fun instead of being around them much of the time. She closed her iPad and looked for what to wear. She thought of what her Mom might be wearing and wouldn't be surprised if she was already downstairs in her bikini outfit. She didn't feel like giving herself or anybody else that sort of satisfaction right now. She put on a t-shirt, jeans and flip-flops and took with her a romance novel she'd been reading back home with her sunglasses, went and glanced at herself in the mirror before leaving the room and apartment suite. A black man stood in front of the elevator doors waiting for it to open. He was tall and athletic and wore a sleeveless shirt with basketballer-type shorts. A knapsack bag hung over his shoulder and a towel from his neck. Catherine approached with caution. The man turned to glance at her as he heard her feet approach; his face devoid of expression. Catherine gave a shy smile and mumbled 'Hi' to him, but he didn't acknowledge it. They stood there waiting for the elevator doors to open. Suddenly it did and they both stepped inside and he pressed the button for the lobby floor as the doors closed on them and took them downward. Catherine stood behind him and felt dwarfed by the man. Her eyes admired his stature. She counted the seconds for the elevator to arrive at the first floor, worrying suddenly he might turn around to get at her. Eerily she felt excited and afraid of that happening. The elevator stopped and the doors opened into the lobby. The black man walked out of it with not even a backward glance and headed towards the hotel's front doorway. Catherine watched him walk out into the sunlight before going in search of her parents. Tim and Pamela were having cocktail drinks in the bar, both laughing loud enough for Catherine to recognise their voice and she saw that they weren't alone. There was an older black man with them. Tim sighted his daughter and got up and kissed her, welcoming her to their table. The black man too rose from his seat and Catherine's Dad made the introduction. He was in his late fifties, his features bore a likeness that resembled the American actor Morgan Freeman, down to his grey bread and his tone of voice. Before even Catherine addressed it, he too mentioned that a lot of foreigners often mistook him for the famed actor and several have even stopped him to ask for his autograph. He wore a Babarigarobe with lovely embroidered design patterns. A thick pair of enamel necklace hung around his neck and a similar one on his wrist. His name was Batubi Willaims, and he was a tribal chief and a very important one too. Her Mom asked if she wanted a soda, but Catherine replied that she was going to head down towards the beach and read a little. She said goodbye to the chief and then left them alone. It was hot outside. She easily found her way towards the beach and saw only a handful of persons there. She passed a lifeguard hut and the man inside told her the place won't start getting lively until around noon. She got herself a lounge chair and a cabana umbrella and laid under its shade and opened her novel to read, hanging her sunglasses over her head. A strong wind blew towards her persistently, ruffling the pages of her book along with her hair. At one time she searched inside her pocket and was rewarded by the sight of a rubber band which she tied her hair together with then returned to her book once more. Ahead of her the blue waters of the sea kept splashing on the surf sand of the beach. Several people walked past her towards it. Some stopped to stare at her as they head on their way. Catherine didn't know what made her look up but when she did, there was the same black man she'd rode the elevator with swimming alongside the current. She returned to her book but her eyes kept returning to watch him swim and get swallowed up by the waves and then break through. Her eyes returned to her book. When she looked up again he was walking out of the water, and surprisingly coming towards her direction. He wore the same pair of shorts as back in the elevator and it clung to his legs as he walked. Catherine didn't know whether to make like not seeing him and bury her face between her book or say something to him and hope for a response. She shouldn't be thinking about this—he ignored her after all back in the elevator. He came closer and she made like she didn't notice him as he walked past her cabana. Catherine counted almost to a minute then turned her head to see what direction he was heading. He stopped at a hut that was a makeshift bar and bought a soda from the vendor then continued to wherever he was heading. Catherine turned back to her book, wondering whatever impulse that made her notice him in the first place. His eyes are too stuck on whatever to notice her after all. More people were heading down towards the beach. The noises they made were distracting to her and also she was starting to get hungry. Catherine ended her reading minutes later and returned to the resort. *** Tim and Pamela returned upstairs to their suite. Along the way they talked about the Chief and the conversation they'd shared with him. Tim was a successful real-estate developer and the wealthy Chief had a large mass shoreline real estate of which Tim wanted to turn into a den of condominium and cityscape venture project. The man had wanted to meet with him in person, thus it was that Tim had declared he and Pam would travel down here for the holidays to finalise everything with him. Pam had helped sweeten the deal and all that was left was percentage talk before the elderly man put his pen to paper. "He's such a nice man," Pamela remarked as they stepped into their apartment suite. "Yes, he is. He's got a large family too. Did you hear him mention how many wives he has?" "No, I probably wasn't listening." "Three. One is pregnant with twins." "My God," she exclaimed. "At his age? What tribe is he from anyway?" "Does it matter? All I care about is him giving me the keys to doing what I want to do to this part of the world: turn it into something that would make Disneyland look like a place meant only for toddlers and old farts." "Be careful what you wish for, honey. Disneyland is great, and I love being there." "As much as you love being with me?" he pulled her into his arms. "Hmmm, that too." They kissed. He led her towards their bedroom. Pamela kicked off her sandals; so too did Tim. Their lips smacked at each other, both starting to breath heavily as his hands fought to open her blouse while she hurried to undo the buttons of his shirt. They fell to the bed, laughing and still kissing. Tim squeezed her t**s as he got her blouse open and pushed his hand underneath her bra. Her legs came around his waistline. He gasped from the feel of his wife's naked flesh. He half sat up and muttered a curse as he fumbled for his belt buckle; his erection was raging hard inside his boxers. Pamela pushed him to lie on his back and took control. He freed his prick from its hiding place and started sucking on it. Tim couldn't help it—he'd been waiting for the touch of her mouth on his c**k since they left JFK airport. He groaned some seconds later as he ejaculated into her mouth. Pam gulped every trace of semen he had to give; she was adept at making her husband turn to silly putty whenever she had in her in hands. She as well knew how to bring him back to life again. She sat up and removed the rest of her clothes while Tim watched her at the same time stroked his c**k, hopping to will it back to hardness. Tim was breathing heavy, his pouch of a belly rose and fell from the ministrations his wife was performing to him. Pamela too was gasping, squeezing her t**s while she tugged at his c**k. She brought her mouth to his balls and pulled at each one. Tim loved it whenever she did this to him. She felt his c**k resuming its hardness once again and not desiring for it to suddenly slip back to flaccidness, she crossed her leg over and mounted him. At the same time Pamela was enjoying the feel of her husband's c**k making room inside her cunt, the apartment door opened and Catherine entered. She went and sat on the sofa and turned on the TV set and was flipping through channels when she thought she heard a moaning voice coming from her parent's room. She approached it and peeped through the half open doorway and marvelled with amazement at the sight of her parents f*****g. She couldn't take her eyes away. Never before had she caught them in such a state. It was weird at the same time pleasing seeing her Mom rocking her waist down on her Dad's hips; her eyes took in the sight of her father's balls with his prick all buried between her Mom's fleshy ass cheeks. Catherine retreated from the doorway and switched off the TV set and went into her bedroom and turned the lock. She searched inside her handbag and got out a banana-shaped dildo. She pulled down her jeans and laid on the bed and proceeded to rub the tip of the dildo stick over her c******s. She hissed and shut her eyes as the warm feeling over-clouded her mind. She was saving her nineteen-year old virginity for Michael when they get married. She yearned for him so much right now. *** Catherine didn't remember when she slept off, but it couldn't have been that long. Her eyes came awake and there was her Mom seated beside her on her bed smiling at her. She was about asking what was up when she noticed something in her Mom's hand. Pamela waved the before her face, laughing. "You're all grown up now, Cath. Since when did you start playing with mature toys like this?" It was a harmless question, still Catherine felt embarrassed and took the dildo from her and sat up on the bed. "That's my business, Mom," she said. "Oh sure it is, sweetheart. I wasn't pointing fingers at you or anything; you're not our little girl any longer. Have you and Michael begun—" "No, Mom," she cut her off sharply. "We haven't had s*x yet, if that's what you wanted to know." "Are you and him serious about this whole marriage thing? Come on dear, you can talk to me about it." Catherine hadn't told anyone about her serious talk with Michael. That was their secret to keep, but her Mom uncannily sniped the answer out of her one evening she'd returned home from watching a movie at the local theatre with Michael and confronted her about it. Catherine had thus opened up and told her about it, with the only condition being that her Mom promise not to let her Dad know. "We're waiting till we're both done with college. We haven't like made our minds up on it. We're still weighting our options." "I've told you this already, and I'm going to tell you again: this is a heavy decision you're making, Catherine. Not exactly what I'd want you to be thinking right now." "Why do you say that, Mom?" "I'm not trying to bust your bubble here. I know Michael is a great guy and I know how you feel about him, but there's a lot more things out there waiting for you than to think about getting married." "That's my business, Mom. It's my decision to make, not yours or Dad's." "As long as you're still living under our roof, it's not all going to be your decision, young lady. Anyway, I'm not going to talk you out of it; do what you feel is right for you. Just make sure it's the right decision you're taking. You'd better put this away in a safe place," she returned her dildo and got up from the bed. "How long are we going to be here, Mom?" "What do you mean, honey?" "I know the reason Dad brought us here is so he can do some business with that old Nigerian man you guys were with at the bar earlier, but really I ought not be here." "Cath, we're here on holiday. Yes, your Dad has some business deals to take care of, but the important thing we're enjoying the summer together and we're going to have fun while we're here. Really I don't like that look on your face that's got you gloomy." "Seriously Mom, this isn't like my idea of a place to come to spend the summer. Why couldn't we have just gone to stay with Aunt Liz?" "This isn't the time to talk about what should have been and what isn't, Catherine," her mother snapped at her. "What's important is that we're here together and we're here to have fun and go places we've never been before. Travelling isn't always about seeing or being with familiar faces. You should know that by now. Now get up and stop looking so gloomy. It's getting dark and we'll soon be heading downstairs for dinner." Her Mom marched out of her room. Catherine fought the compulsion not to grab one of her bed pillows and hurl it at her, but that was after her Mom left her bedroom and slammed the door close behind her. *** Catherine had finished taking a bath the second time for the day when to her amazement she came out and saw that it was dark outside. She had earlier rewound the minute hand of her watch and now said it gave the time as 7:45 p.m. Her intercom phone rang. It was her Mom telling her to join her and Dad downstairs at the restaurant; she replied that she would be there. There was no chance of escaping them as long as they were here together. She dressed up then went downstairs to find them. Her parents were in the restaurant and two black men shared the table with them. One was the same Chief Batubi Williams, who'd been with her parents earlier, the other she couldn't make out as his back was facing her. He wore a yellow t-shirt and it wasn't until she came to their table and the man stood up that she recognised him as the same man who'd shared the elevator with her in the morning and whom she'd earlier watched swimming at the beach. What was he doing here?She begged for an answer to her question as she looked with startled eyes at her parents. "Catherine, you remember Chief Williams, don't you. And this young man here is Duro, his eldest son." Catherine shook the old man's hand before turning to his son. He took her hand in his and smiled at her. His smile disarmed whatever thoughts she had earlier harboured about him. "Hello, Catherine," he said. "Hello, Duro," she smiled back. They returned to their seats and someone came to their table to take their order; Tim requested a bottle of wine but Duro said he preferred a beer. Catherine share light conversation with him. She asked him questions about himself. He told her he was studying Petro-chemical Engineering in Oxford and was on holiday for now; he was a point-guard in their basketball team and unmarried. Chief Williams chipped in and mentioned that he was the first amongst his children to attend a university. Dinner arrived; the meal was exotic and enjoyable. Once again Chief Williams and Tim made a toast to their future endeavour. It was late by the time they decided to call it a night. Duro went away with his father, shook hands with Catherine and promised to speak with her again soon. She forgot to enquire if he was actually staying here at the hotel, and about seeing him earlier at the beach but it slipped her mind. Afterwards she recalled that he too hadn't made mention of seeing her earlier that day. She stood with her parents in the resort's courtyard waving at their guests as they entered their car and drove away. "That went well, didn't it?" Tim asked his wife and daughter. "It did, honey," Pamela answered. "Such wonderful company. And that son of his is quite charming. Wasn't he, dear?" She threw the question at Catherine who groaned irritably. This was her Mom's way of twisting the knife into her, she knew. "Yes, Mom, I guess." "I think you and him will make good friends. At least he can make good company for you till whenever you return home to Michael." "Mom!" she groaned. Her father stepped in: "Come on, honey, let's leave Cath alone. Duro's a nice fellow, but I doubt if he'll be any good to Catherine. Anyway, we've got a busy day tomorrow. We're booked on a safari trip and we need to get to bed early." "A safari trip?" asked Catherine. "Sure, darling. We're here on holiday, remember? I want us to see more of the country as possible. I already talked with Raheem. He's going to be our guide for tomorrow." "I like Raheem," Pamela chipped in. "He looked intelligent and smart." "Yeah, he sure does. While he drove us down here in the morning, he got to telling me a lot about himself. Says he's a university graduate looking to pursue his Masters. He looks like a hard-worker here. Who knows, maybe I can find a means of getting her to come to the U.S." "I'll bet that's when you've got things here rolling." He laughed. "You know me too well, darling. Come on, let's go inside. We have a big day ahead of us." They turned around and went into the resort and went in the direction of the elevators. Neither of them took notice of the dark man with a scar on his left cheek who watched them step into the elevator and rode it to where their suite was. The man pulled a cell phone out his pocket and spoke briefly into the mouthpiece. *** The sky grew bright. The sun poked its yellow feature from where it hid at the horizon. Catherine lay on her backside on a lounge chair by the beach with her eyes closed although she wasn't sleeping. There was the sound of the ocean crashing unto the white sandy beach. A man swam out in the current approaching her. Her face was turned away from the beach so she couldn't see him, but she sensed she knew who it was. The man's shadow fell over her as he came and stood beside her. She turned her face to look at him but all she made out was his dark outline; the man stood before her like a god. He came to his knees and slipped a hand underneath her head and pulled her up. His eyes glimmered at her. "You have been waiting for me," Duro said to her. He brought her face closer to his. She wanted to pull off him, wanting to push him away, but the look in his eyes held her she couldn't move. In her dream she could barely feel herself breath ... "Rise and shine, sleepy head!" Someone shook her roughly. The dream melted away from her eyes and she grumbled at the disturbance, stretched her arms and cracked a yawn. Her Mom was at her bed laughing at her. Sometimes her Mom could be endearing to her like a college friend might, and other times she could be haughty and unbearable to spend even a minute with. Pamela wouldn't consider their relationship in such light. To her knowledge, she had as much a motherly as well as an easy rapport with her daughter, although it was obvious that Catherine responded well to her father most times than to her. Still she was there for her whenever the need came for it. And even when there wasn't any need, she still opted to be there for her. "Morning, Mom. What's up?" "it's time to get your beautiful self up and grab some breakfast with us, that's what's up. We have an hour left." "An hour?" she rubbed her finger across her eyes, her thoughts wondered what her Mom was referring to, but then the memory of last night came back at her. "Oh Gosh, you mean that safari thing?" "Yes, Catherine, I meant that safari thing," her Mom echoed. She stood up and pulled back the bed sheets off her daughter's feet. "that sleep must have be a wonderful one. Come on, get up and go get showered. Your Dad wouldn't want you to miss this, and neither would I. And don't forget to pack some few things to bring with you, and a change of clothes too." "Oh don't worry, Mom. I wouldn't want to miss it for the world." She sighed and shook her head as she got up from the bed. She joined her parents at the living room a half hour later dressed in khaki shorts, sleeveless shirt and a jacket with a New York Mets face-cap in her hand. Her parents too were dressed for a similar outing, except they wore pants; her Mom wore a denim skirt that showed more legs than necessary. Catherine went and joined them and they had breakfast together. Tim mentioned that Raheem would be coming over soon to let them know when things were ready. They ate breakfast and sat watching CNN on cable TV while the hour approached 9:00 a.m. when it was 9:26 a.m., Raheem knocked at their door and stuck his head in and told them the safari vehicle was ready and waiting downstairs. They trooped out of the room and went to the elevator; Catherine was hopping against all odds that she'd run into Duro again, but such wasn't the case this morning. They went down the lobby and Tim left their apartment key with the front desk. Their safari transport vehicle was in the parking lot waiting for them. There were two other couples in there with three teenagers. One of them were a newlywed—James and Shania Legonias. They came from Wisconsin, mid-twenties both of them. To Pamela they still looked like kids with their fresh smile and cute, innocent faces, both spotting fair blonde hair; Catherine thought they looked more like brother and sister the way they clung to each other. So how had they decided on choosing this spot of the world for their honeymoon, she asked them afterwards when they were on the road. Simple: Shania had worked in the Peace Corp before and had been to Ghana on numerous occasions but never Nigeria, even though she'd always wanted to visit here. She had worked her way into her husband's heart and cajoled him into them coming here to see the carnival show as well enjoy a safari trip. The other couple was a wife and husband in their mid and late-fifties—Amber and William Merrick from Portland, Oregon. They'd made the journey with their three kids: two girls and a young lad. The girls were Kriss, Elaine, and Stephen. Kriss and Elaine were in their mid to early-twenties, while Stephen was nineteen and looking like he was going to grow up being a conniving character. Kriss was raven-haired just like her mother, while Elaine had the sand-peppery blonde hair that her father possessed. Catherine sat in the backseat with them while Tim and Pamela sat upfront with their parents; the newlyweds sat in the middle, both holding hands and smiling almost every minute at each other's face. Raheem sat in the driver's seat and started the engine. He turned around to enquire if everyone was well seated. Everybody announced that they were. The van then drove towards their impending destination. The same man with the facial scar who'd watched the Morgans last night stood under the shade of a tree not far from the parking lot and had stood sentry there watching the white family hop into the safari van before driving off. He dialled a number on his cell phone and continued watching the van as it drove out of the resort's premises into the main road. Seconds later someone at the end of the line answered. "Sir, it is me. They're on their way right now." Done with his message, he stepped into the sun and walked towards the resort building's entrance.