Him
682 Words
📖 CHAPTER 3: Him
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because of the noise.
Not because of the uncomfortable bed.
But because of her words.
“Stay away from him.”
I turned on the thin mattress, staring at the ceiling.
Who was him?
And why did it sound like a warning… not advice?
“Amara, you never sleep?” Chioma mumbled from the bunk below.
“I’m trying,” I whispered back.
But sleep didn’t come.
Only questions.
By morning, the camp was alive.
Whistles.
Commands.
Footsteps everywhere.
“Everybody on the parade ground in five minutes!”
I dragged myself out of bed, my head heavy.
Girls rushed around, struggling into their white shorts and shirts.
Some laughed.
Some complained.
Normal.
Too normal.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling.
Like something was waiting.
We assembled on the parade ground under the early morning sun.
Soldiers moved around, shouting instructions.
“Stand straight!”
“No talking!”
“Face front!”
I tried to focus.
Tried to blend in.
Tried to forget everything from yesterday.
Then it happened.
“Latecomers! Step forward!”
A deep voice cut through the air.
Sharp.
Commanding.
Different.
Something about that voice…
Made my heart skip.
I looked up.
And that’s when I saw him.
He stood a few meters away, dressed in NYSC official wear, but not like the others.
There was something about him.
Something… intimidating.
Tall.
Calm.
Controlled.
His eyes scanned the crowd slowly.
Like he was searching for someone.
And then—
They stopped on me.
My breath caught.
For a moment…
Everything else disappeared.
The noise.
The shouting.
The movement.
Gone.
It was just him.
And me.
“Hey!” Chioma whispered harshly. “Why you dey look am like that?”
I blinked quickly, looking away.
“I’m not—”
“Shhh! He’s coming!”
My heart started pounding.
Slow.
Heavy.
Loud.
His footsteps drew closer.
Measured.
Confident.
Then he stopped.
Right in front of me.
I could feel his presence before I even looked up.
“Why are you distracted?” he asked.
His voice was low.
Cold.
But not harsh.
I swallowed hard and raised my head.
Big mistake.
Up close…
He looked even more dangerous.
Not in a violent way.
But in a way that made it impossible to look away.
“I—I’m not distracted, sir,” I said quickly.
His eyes held mine.
Unblinking.
Like he could see through me.
For a second…
I thought he was going to say something else.
Something more.
But instead, he leaned slightly closer.
Just enough for only me to hear.
And then he whispered—
“You should have stayed where you came from.”
My heart stopped.
I froze.
That same sentence.
The same tone.
Just like the voice on the bus.
Before I could react, he straightened and stepped back.
His expression unreadable again.
“Focus,” he said loudly, addressing everyone now. “Or you won’t last a week here.”
He turned and walked away.
Just like that.
Leaving me standing there.
Shaking.
“Ahhh!” Chioma grabbed my arm excitedly. “Did you see that guy?! Fine boy no be small!”
I didn’t respond.
Because something was wrong.
Very wrong.
“That one na camp official or soldier?” she continued. “Because me, I don already like am.”
“Stop,” I said quietly.
She paused. “Why?”
I swallowed hard, my eyes still fixed on his retreating figure.
“Because…” I whispered,
“I think he just warned me.”
The whistle blew again.
Training continued.
Voices filled the air.
But none of it mattered.
Because now I knew one thing for sure.
The warning wasn’t random.
The woman at registration.
The strange girl in the hostel.
And now…
Him.
They were all connected.
And somehow…
I was already part of it.
I didn’t know how.
I didn’t know why.
But deep down…
I could feel it.
Something had started the moment I stepped into Oyo.
And it wasn’t going to end anytime soon.
- Writer
