Lost But Satisfied - Episode 3

 

 The weeks that followed Shade’s sudden disappearance from his life weakened the hope that he had harboredin his heart of ever having a relationship with her. He hoped she would guide his path. Nothing looked like hope.

 Seeing this, he decided to live a normal life. If it was anything near normal. Fortunately for him, he had written the password to most of his things in his diary . That gave him ample opportunities to withdraw money from his bank after he discovered that he was two million naira rich.

 Jerry started teaching English in the school, and nothing made him happier than to know that he was good at teaching English. He was enjoying every stay in that part of Greencity. In fact, he enjoyed listening to other teachers tell their experiences, especially the wayward ones. He loved the way they enthusiastically described their evil deeds, putting comma to every of their sentences, and using the appropriate adjectives to describe their escapades.

          After school, he would walk about the area to see if there was anything to remind him of who he was. but nothing brought back the memory. So, he decided to remain in his comfort zone: go to school, sleep, eat, and the rest, enjoying his new and perfect life.

 Later, he joined a church and was active there, studying the bible as if it was the only thing in the world. Pastor Matthew was his favorite pastor

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/lost-but-satisfied

. Once he even helped Pastor Matthew escape from some people that called him crazy.

 Pastor Matthew had just returned from a mental home after the psychiatrists told them he was better. He said God wanted him to keep wild animals. So, he paid some hunters who got him some breeds of snakes. These reptiles escaped and gave people the scare. Jerry believed he wasn't crazy and helped him escape when his church members tied him down.      

Sometimes, Jerry would do some background research on himself, but he always met a dead end; in fact, when he got to the schools he saw in his certificates, they didn't give him helpful information. Even the phonenumbers they gave him were either wrong or not available. And for four months, he kept searching all about himself until he knew there was nothing he could do to bring back the past.

 Therefore, he decided to let it go- everything- because from what the teachers at his school had been saying, having a family can even be disastrous.Nothing was as good as living alone. One got the chance to enjoy one's life. His laptop was very useful as he watched many films on it. Although he didn't know how he got the films on it, he let it go. After the third month of trying to remember, he decided that he had to let go and enjoy every bit of his life. People in the housedidn't know him and were only trying to make acquaintances with him. He loved it that way. Jerry was satisfied.

 It was with this mind-set he got out of his room on the night of October 30, around 12.30 a.m. The night was as dry as usual, the light had been off for four days and all his gadgets had died from him over working them. He had used his phone to play game after his laptop went off. Even the sky had been dry ever since he woke in June. There had been no record of rain anywhere in Brown Valley, Greencity, Black Town, and Suncity- the cities that are in the private Island called Fortune City. Despite the torrents of rain in the other parts of the world, they didn't get any.

 Sitting on a chair in the dark night was cool. His heart lurched with happiness as he imagined himself living in a dark world for years.He mouthed Nathaniel Bassey’s song

Summer, Winter, Autumn spring.

Mountain, blue sky and the sea.

Rainbow sunshine and the trees

Jesus, maker of them all.

Everywhere I go I see you right there

In the beauty of nature, you shine al…

 Something shuffled past him. He didn’t know what it was, but he knew that he had to enter his room. So, he picked his chair and rushed into the house. As he turned to close the door, someone pushed the door with so much force that Jerry fell. Quickly, he bounced back up.

‘Who is there?’ He whispered as against the noise he wanted to make.

‘Shhh’, the person hissed angrily like a snake, which tail was stepped on. Jerry held his breathe.

 Several legs shuffled outside his room. That made him wished his room wasn’t opened to the street. The people outside raised their voices in desperation.

‘Catch him’.

‘He must not escape’.

‘Today must be his last’.

Jerry was transfixed.If he moved near that person, he might be injured. There was no light to show him who the person was. However, from the people outside, he understood that this person was a gentleman of the night. If caught, he would receive immediate death sentence.

 Feeling terrible, Jerry shifted weight from one leg to another. In his few months in Fortune City, he had come to the realization that only a lazy person would beg in the private Island.

When the people left his arena, and decided to check other parts of the area, the power holding company of Fortunecity restored the light.

The first thing in Jerry's room to report was the old fan, which hummed-on angrily like an injured cow. The person before Jerry was panting hard and held a gun so hard that if it were a glass cup, it would have broken. The body texture of the thief surprised him. He swallowed hard.his Adam’s apple made a loud noise and made the thief glance at him. He was sure that he was seeing right. The thief was a lady.

  ‘I can’t let you stay here’, he muttered.

 Sensing he would do what he said, she rose suddenly. Jerry moved back with fear, and raised his hands to prepare himself. Threatened thieves would do anything from maiming their attackers to killing them to elude being caught. Instead of doing any of what Jerry assumed, the lady went on her knees, clasping her hands.

 ‘Please, Bide…bro…’ she said, with a silky voice, 'don’t let them catch me’.

 ‘But you are a lady, why did you join these people?'

‘It’s a long story. Please spare me and I promise you will not regret it. Someday, I will come back to help you’.

 He felt sad for her. ‘You can’t help me… I’m the one that can help you, and what I want of you and from you is that you stop stealing’.

 Immediately, she raised her hands in the I-surrender position, and whimpered like one that had been shown a greater wisdom.

Read " Grabbing The Hot Gate " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. Her mask was still on, making her look like a robot.

‘I will not steal again’.

  Jerry’s eyes went to the wall and knew that he had to do something for her, and the first thing was to switch off the light, and the next was to shelter her.

‘Alright, give me your gun till tomorrow’, he said as he locked the door.

 The lady looked at the gun and looked at him, then shrugged. She brought her hands forward and looked at Jerry as if he has been forewarned. When she handed the gun to Jerry, he burst into a terrible laughter that jolted her.

‘You do not mean you were using a toy gun?’ He said and smiled.

 He turned the gun in his hand. For a fragment of seconds, he wished the gun was real. So that he would use it to shoot himself later in the day, to end his trouble.

‘Well, you have to wait till tomorrow. Sleep here’, he said, pointing to his bed.

‘No. Don’t worry; I’ll sleep here on the floor’.

‘No.No. Do come and sleep here’.

 She agreed and laid on the bed after putting off her shoes. Instead of sleeping, she sat at the farthest corner of the bed holding herself tightly.

 Jerry switched off the light, plunging the room into utmost darkness.The only light reflecting in the room was that the bulb outside shining through the curtain. He decided to lie down, to sleep.

Suddenly, the noise of the searchers came again and this time to his door. They knocked.