CHAPTER 2:THE INVISIBLE MAN
984 Words
I'm kind of invisible.
Not the kind where people don't notice you. The kind where they feel you're not worth the effort of being seen or known. It happens in the first 5 seconds. They take one look at me and avoid my existence completely.
And yeah, that's my f****d up reality. I'm growing used to it.
On the attraction scale, I rank 4/10. And 2 on a terrible messy day. Or a day I look like a mess.
I have sores and acne scars that make me look like a refugee from a Liberian war. With oversized clothes passed down to me. Since the cost of getting new clothes means I don't eat for 3 to 4 days.
So I smile while wearing them to save myself the humiliation. Kids get scared seeing my ugly face. Women avoid my smile.
And I like being nothing. Unknown. Unnoticed.
I go by the name Sebastian Perfect. But in my local name, I'm Kofi Osei Adjei. Noble. Unconquerable.
Those were my mother's dying words. I hold them dearly.
She said: "Kofi, you were born on Friday. Friday's children are loving and giving. But you're also Osei. You come from nobles. And Adjei means unconquerable. So you're all three together a noble lover who is unconquerable. Don't ever forget that, okay?"
Then I guess like everything going on in my life, I chose to forget that.
'Cause I feel like s**t now.
"The first time I saw her, I believed in love. The second time, I believed in lies."
Der Unerschütterliche, The Unshakable Playbook
The first time I saw her was at the corporate event I worked as a bodyguard or security.
I had no idea how great, rich, or powerful the Asante family was. I just had a feeling they were loaded.
Like a statue, I stood quietly by the door. Begging for time to end already while being invisible like I always am.
I got good at being invisible.
But when she passed by me, I felt hope out of the blue.
She was a 9/10. And 10/10 on a great day.
Elegant. Tall. Skin like divine dark honey. With perfect hair that fell in perfect waves. With an elegant dress that could set me for 20 years without ever working again.
Her name was Amina Asante.
She walked by as if I wasn't standing there. She didn't spare me a single look. And I didn't complain. I was used to it.
But sadly, I saw her and fell for her. Even when I realized I'm way out of her league. And we're worlds apart.
I did nothing but watch her. Like the 8th wonder of the world. Admiring her beauty and elegance. Her smile could light up the world. And her presence commanded every room she walked into.
I knew I only get this cute view once. And I had no chance in hell with her as mine.
So I watched her like a beautiful perfect dream that would never happen to me.
She was rich. I was dirt broke and poor. She was cute and beautiful and 10/10. I was 3/10 and a nobody.
By the end of the event, a drunk aggressive man was being super impossible. Cornering her. Getting a little aggressive trying to get her to talk to him. She was getting super scared and uncomfortable very fast.
Without warning, I stepped in like a gentleman. I stepped between her and the gentleman in a calm, quiet way.
"Back off. She said no. She doesn't want your attention."
The man burst out laughing. "Who the f**k are you?"
"I'm a gentleman. Now I'm gonna ask you to leave immediately before I run out of patience."
He pushed me hard in an attempt to scare me. But he was weakened by alcohol and I stood immovable.
"You're making a fool out of yourself. Is this what you're dying for?"
When he turned around, he realized all eyes were on us.
He laughed.
I slammed my knee into his balls. He screamed out in pain and dropped to the floor with a huge bang. Then I double stomped him in the stomach until he threw up.
He got up and ran for his dear life.
I turned my attention to her.
"Are you okay, milady?"
It was then that she actually saw me and looked at me as if she'd seen the messiah. Or heard the gospel of Christ.
"Thank you. You are a true gentleman. I will never forget your kind deed."
Then she walked away toward her car and drove off.
"She noticed me for the first time ever. She remembered me. I believed it was love at first sight. It was my trap getting set and closing in."
From the Der Unerschütterliche, The Unshakable Playbook
Two weeks later, I got the call that changed everything.
I was broken in ways I can't describe. My inner parts begging for sleep and rest. And I was emotionally broken remembering every second that I'm broke and feeling like a failure.
I am 23 with nothing. And it seems like how I'm working, chances of ever making it or having a place to call my own is practically impossible.
I didn't recognize the number. And I was seconds from not picking up the call.
But I was like: what's another call for 2 minutes? Only for them to say it's a mistake.
"Is this Kofi Adjei?"
"Yes, please. But are you sure it's not a wrong number?"
"This is Kwame Asante. And I have a life changing proposition for you."
My heart stopped.
I didn't know it then. But that call was the beginning of the end. That call would destroy me. That call would kill my family. That call would make me a ghost.
I should have hung up.
I should have run.
But I was too desperate to see the trap.
- Writer
