CHAPTER FIVE - THE GIRL IN THE TRAFFIC
1332 Words
A few weeks later, Chibyke was returning from an important business meeting with his convoy. The afternoon sun was scorching, and the heat hung heavily in the air. His convoy of expensive cars moved slowly along the busy highway until they suddenly met a terrible traffic jam.
The cars stopped completely.
Minutes passed.
Ten minutes turned into thirty.
Soon, it was almost one full hour, and the traffic had not moved an inch.
Inside his luxurious car, Chibyke leaned back comfortably in his seat. The cool air conditioner filled the car while soft blues music from his favorite artist played gently through the speakers.
He nodded his head slowly to the rhythm of the music.
To ease the boredom, he opened a small compartment beside him and brought out a bottle of expensive wine. He poured some into a glass and took a slow sip, enjoying the rich taste.
Still listening to the music, he smiled.
After a moment, he pressed the intercom.
“Spider,” he called.
His special bodyguard quickly approached the side of the car.
Spider was not just any bodyguard. Over the years, he had become like a trusted brother to Chibyke. He knew many things about his boss that others did not know.
Chibyke slightly lowered the window.
“Come and join me for a drink,” he said, raising the wine glass.
Spider smiled respectfully and shook his head.
“No, boss. Thank you.”
Chibyke laughed softly and continued drinking.
He wore his expensive designer sunglasses, enjoying the music and occasionally checking his phone. Just then, the navigation system on the car screen indicated that the traffic would likely clear in about five minutes.
Chibyke relaxed again.
But suddenly, something caught his attention.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure passing beside the vehicles.
At first, he ignored it.
But something about the person looked strangely familiar.
He slowly turned his head and looked through the glass window again.
His heart skipped.
He quickly removed his sunglasses to be sure his eyes were not deceiving him.
The figure appeared again between two buses.
Chibyke froze.
His body suddenly filled with goosebumps.
He whispered to himself,
“Mma…?”
His voice trembled.
“Is that not… Mkpurumma?”
For a few seconds, he could not move. His heart beat loudly in his chest as he stared at the figure walking slowly among the crowded road.
Before he could react, the person turned and disappeared into another direction.
“Spider!” he suddenly shouted.
Spider immediately rushed closer.
“Yes boss?”
“I just saw her.”
Spider frowned slightly.
“Saw who?”
Chibyke stepped out of the car without thinking.
Immediately, all the bodyguards in the convoy jumped out as well, forming a protective circle around him.
Spider grabbed his arm.
“Boss, what is wrong?”
Chibyke looked around desperately, searching the crowd.
“I just saw Mkpurumma,” he said breathlessly.
Spider looked confused.
“Who is Mkpurumma?”
Chibyke swallowed.
“The girl… the girl that always appears in my dream.”
Spider knew about the strange dreams and Chibyke’s childhood problem of bedwetting, but Chibyke had never told him the name of the mysterious girl.
Spider looked around the busy road filled with pedestrians, buses, hawkers, and street traders.
“Which one is she?” he asked.
Chibyke pointed vaguely.
“She was just here… she passed here now.”
Spider signaled to the other guards.
“Spread out and check around!”
But the guards looked at one another nervously.
How were they supposed to find someone they had never seen before?
Meanwhile, people in nearby buses had already recognized Chibyke.
“ODÓGWU!” someone shouted excitedly.
Others began pointing.
“Odogwu white! Odogwu!”
People started gathering quickly around him, trying to greet him.
The crowd grew larger.
Spider quickly realized the situation could get out of control.
He held Chibyke’s shoulder firmly.
“Boss, please get back into the car.”
Reluctantly, Chibyke allowed himself to be guided back.
Before closing the door, he told Spider,
“Give them some money.”
Spider nodded.
The guards quickly began sharing money among the excited crowd.
The people cheered happily.
“God bless you, Odogwu!”
“May your wealth continue to grow!”
“Long life, Odogwu!”
Their prayers followed the convoy.
Inside the car, Chibyke leaned forward, staring through the glass window again and again.
His eyes scanned every face.
But the girl was nowhere to be seen.
He whispered quietly,
“Where did she disappear to?”
Spider looked at him carefully.
“Boss… are you sure about what you saw?”
Chibyke turned to him.
“What do you mean?”
Spider spoke cautiously.
“Maybe it is just stress from the meeting. Sometimes the mind plays tricks.”
But Chibyke shook his head slowly.
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“I know what I saw.”
Later that night, Chibyke sat alone in his large living room.
The incident in traffic still replayed in his mind like a movie.
He could clearly remember the girl’s face.
His heart refused to calm down.
Finally, he picked up his phone and called his sister.
When she answered, he spoke immediately.
“Sister, you will not believe what happened today.”
“What is it again?” she asked jokingly.
“I saw her.”
“Saw who?”
“The girl.”
“Which girl?”
“The girl I always sees in my dreams.”
There was silence for two seconds.
Then his sister burst into laughter.
“Chibyke! You must be joking.”
“I am serious.”
She laughed even harder.
“So now your spiritual wife has stopped appearing in dreams and decided to appear physically on the road?”
Chibyke sighed.
“You are not taking this seriously.”
“My dear brother,” she said between laughs, “what you need is a powerful man of God to deliver you from this spiritual wife.”
Chibyke shook his head even though she could not see him.
“She is not a spiritual wife.”
“Then what is she?”
“She is real.”
His sister paused slightly.
“Real?”
“Yes.”
Chibyke continued,
“Have you forgotten? When I was a child, the girl in my dream was also a child. When I became a teenager, she also appeared as a teenager.”
His sister listened quietly.
“And in my last dream,” he continued slowly, “she was about twenty years old.”
Silence filled the phone again.
But suddenly his sister laughed again.
“My brother, you need serious prayers.”
Chibyke ended the call feeling frustrated.
That night, something strange happened.
For the first time in many years, Chibyke slept peacefully.
No dreams.
No strange girl.
And most surprisingly…
He did not wet the bed.
The next morning, Chibyke woke up feeling confused but hopeful.
Immediately, he ordered his driver to take him back to the exact location where he had seen the girl in the traffic.
He stood there for hours watching people pass.
But he did not see her.
The next day, he returned again.
Still nothing.
He continued going back to that same road every day.
One day passed.
Two days passed.
Three days passed.
For one full week, Chibyke kept returning to that place.
Each time hoping to see her again.
Each time leaving disappointed.
Finally, after the seventh day, he sat inside his car and sighed deeply.
Maybe Spider was right.
Maybe the stress from work had played tricks on his mind.
Slowly, he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.
Then he said quietly to himself,
“Mkpurumma… if you are real… why did you disappear?”
Little did Chibyke know…
The girl he saw that day had not disappeared completely.
Their paths were about to cross again.
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