It was definitely the same height, the same petite body, the same complexion, although she was glowing more than the way she had five years ago.
And, just look at that beautiful baby face. That adorable, pimple-free sleepy kind of cute baby face. The high cheekbones, the full lips, and that familiar smile that, thankfully, had not been wiped off her face because of her condition.
Those soft eyes. Those soft brown eyes that later glazed over, unseeing, and abruptly changed the trajectory of her life.
No wonder he was drawn to the voice when he heard it a fortnight ago. No one else had that kind of entrancing voice, at least in his opinion. Call him biased, but he didn't care.
The voice he had been hearing in his dreams and imagination for the past five years was certainly outdated because this current one was more beautiful and more melodious.
That was why he couldn't recognize that it was her when he first heard the voice.
When he had heard the voice two weeks ago, the first thing that came to his mind was to know whose voice it was that wanted to surpass the one in his dreams. And it was that curiosity that led him here, back to the girl of
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his dreams. The voice of the mysterious singer and that of the girl in his dream was one, belonging to the same person.
This was Ayanate Righteous Green. Yes, she was the one, and yes, he still remembered her name and everything about her.
She should be how old now? About to turn twenty-two in the next two months, on the twenty-second of August to be precise.
Only daughter. Had an elder brother, who had been a friend and mentor to him. Her mother was a barrister and a single mother of two. Her father was a jerk who left them almost two decades ago. Savior would like to put a bullet into his skull.
He tried to stop going down that train of thought but he just couldn't help himself.
He also remembered the secret crush he had on her back in senior secondary school. He had always been a secret admirer, although he was careful to conceal this from everyone but himself.
Before she disappeared from his life without warning, he knew he wanted her to be his and he wanted to be hers alone, but he could never walk up to her and say the things that were in his heart because of their social and religious differences.
She was one of the people the school tagged "reclusive" and "holy rollers". It would have made serious news for someone of his social standing in the school to be seen with her kind. But when it finally dawned on him that she had permanently gone out of his life for good, he had repeatedly cursed his hesitation and regretted every bit of the five years without her.
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At first, he couldn't bear the thought of permanently losing her, thus he'd tried all he could to get in touch. He'd started by calling her phone number which he had secretly collected from a friend's phone, and going to her house address. But, she had changed her mobile number, and her family had changed location. There was no other way to reach her.
Everything he did the past five years to get in touch with her had proved abortive.
Now, she had returned into his life without warning, in this estate. Their former address was located in a more elite estate.
He should have known that the family would need some privacy and therefore move to a less standard estate.
He would have scoured every nook and cranny of all the estates in Rivers State and other states if he must until he found her.
He'd finally found her, by a stroke of luck. He couldn't believe his fortune.
Munachimso Savior Onuoha, alias Tiger, the former Head boy and senior prefect of New Life Secondary School, the current CEO of Charlie's Hub, the wanted killer and second-in-command of the largest crime syndicate in the country—Alpha Shadows, was seeing his former secondary school classmate, Ayanate Righteous Green, after five years of her disappearance without a trace.
"Ayanate Righteous Green," he whispered the name just to be sure that he wasn't hallucinating.
He looked at her in awe. It was truly her, and so little had changed about her physical appearance.
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While he had totally changed and increased in height, body stature and weight, apart from a few changes that showed signs of maturity, anyone who knew Ayanate five years ago would immediately recognize her. She still looked very young.
He continued watching her intently, determined not to let her out of his sight.
Her mother drove off, and it was finally just the two of them. She stood for a minute, and then started for the entrance of the house.
It was time to go home too, he knew. But Munachimso Savior didn't want to go home just yet.
He wanted to see these friends that she talked about. He felt a pang of jealousy when he imagined them being male friends. Knowing that his curious mind would never rest until he was certain of their identity, he abandoned the thought of going home and also made his way towards the entrance.
As he got in front of the entrance and turned the door handle, it didn't budge because Ayanate had already locked the door from inside. That was not a problem; he easily picked the lock.
Before going inside, he carefully looked up and down the street to see if anyone was watching and was about to report him. When there was no sign of that, he looked at nearby houses. To the best of his knowledge, they were clear of observant eyes.
He cautiously entered the apartment, careful to make minimal sound just in case there was a janitor or a house help around. He locked the door with a little sound. He stood still with his back to the door, watching out for
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any unexpected twist. When no one jumped out at him, he concluded that it was just the two of them in the apartment at the moment. But he wouldn't relax until he had checked out the apartment for himself.
After making sure that no one else was around, he found his way into her room, straight to her vanity where her makeup kit was, and with his gloved hands, picked up a body spray which smelled the same with the one he perceived from her at the garage. He sprayed a little on himself.
Although he didn't use his own body spray and body cream that morning, still, he wasn't taking any chances.
The reason for wearing her own was to eliminate any other fragrance that would give him away.
When he finished applying the body spray, he carefully returned it to the original position.
During his initial search, he noticed that Ayanate was in the kitchen. And so, with nothing else to look out for, he went there.
His stomach rumbled like a cannon being fired, and he remembered that he hadn't eaten or drank even a glass of water that morning.
He was thankful that it happened while he was still on his way to the kitchen. If not, she would have noticed his presence regardless of his meticulous work to stay as unobtrusive as possible. She would have done what he didn't want her to do—raised an alarm.
Determined to silence his stomach, he went to the water dispenser and drank directly from the spigot. Satisfied, he raised his head and straightened his shirt. His stomach would not expose him for some time.
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The first thing that hit him as he tiptoed into the kitchen was the sweet aroma that wafted in the air.
He involuntarily salivated but tried to put up a good show of self-control.
He noticed Ayanate working. She was baking exactly what she told her mother that she would make. Meat pie and chewy chocolate cookies.
He could see some of the meat pies and cookies that she had finished baking on a cooling rack. It baffled him to see her doing the things she did with so much clarity as though she could see.
Now, he couldn't wait to get his hands on one of those meat pies and cookies. First, because he was seriously famished, and second, he wanted to know how her baking tasted.
He waited for the right time. His patience paid off.
Ayanate stepped out of the kitchen, presumably to get or do something else. Seeing a great opportunity, he seized it as he moved towards the meat pies and cookies. Hopefully, she hadn't counted them. He decided to fetch just a handful that she wouldn't notice that anything was missing.
Thus, he fetched them, like the thief that he was, from different angles, such that the stolen pieces would not be noticeable even to a sighted person.
He ate them fast, careful not to drop any crumbs. He was almost done when she stepped back into the kitchen.
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He kept watching her, but remained far away from her in the large kitchen so that she wouldn't detect his presence.
Then she did something that he never expected.
She did one of those things that people do when they were alone. Those things people did when no one was watching them. Those things that people were embarrassed of doing even in the presence of family members.
She farted.
At first, he was taken aback. Then realizing that he was also guilty of such a thing, he began to laugh soundlessly.
But his amusement ended almost as quickly. He watched as her body stiffened. There was some kind of awareness in her expression as though she noticed that someone was with her.
She remained like that for a while, then she suddenly turned around and began moving towards him.
What? How did she discover that he was there? He had been meticulous in everything he did so far. He froze, mentally chiding himself for letting his guard down. Now, he was at risk of being exposed.
Ayanate was almost upon him when his mind snapped alert. No, she couldn't meet him. Not yet. Not like this.
He slipped away from the spot where he had frozen.
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However, she felt his body breeze as he moved.
Her blind eyes sharply swiveled towards his area.
"Is anyone here?" she asked in a tiny voice, confusion and a hint of trepidation written all over her.
He hated seeing her discomfort at that moment. He wanted to say something that would put her at ease, but he knew he would be doing the opposite if he tried anything.
After circling the kitchen and coming up empty, he watched as she stepped out of the kitchen and reached for the entrance door to confirm if she locked it as usual. It was locked indeed, and her body seemed to relax at that knowledge. She spun around and exhaled in relief.
She'd probably concluded that it was just her imagination, and decided to leave it at that because she confidently walked back to the kitchen and continued what she was doing.
Savior reassured himself that he would be more careful, not just to avoid detection, but for her own peace of mind.
There were no more problems, until her friends arrived two hours later after going through a security check from the estate's gate.
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