After Hours: Rael’s Endearments (Episode 17)
Rael had left her phone in her room as she was catching up with her sister to avoid any distractions and she was very happy. They talked for over an hour as they enjoyed breakfast. They both were shocked to learn that at one point they dated the same man who took advantage of the fact that they hated each other. She remembered Frank very well. He was not all that in terms of looks but his family was the richest in the village and he used to dress up very well. His family was the kind that would go for vacations out of the country every holiday. Frank was the only boy in his family and every girl in the area wanted to be his girlfriend, Rael included. What endeared her to him the most was how eloquent he was in English. He had a British accent that up to date, she wondered how he acquired it bearing in mind that he never lived in the UK. She had a huge crush on him and she would spend many hours daydreaming about him and planning their wedding and imaginary family. She did everything she could to get his attention including writing anonymous letters to him indicating all her fantasies. So the day Frank gave her a little bit of attention, it was all done. She literally in every sense of the word threw herself at him. The fact that she was a teenager and easily impressionable did not help much. Frank would pluck a basic flower on the roadside and bring it to Rael and she would feel like he had bought her an entire universe. He is the one who broke her virginity and they pretty much had sex every day of the week after that for around two weeks before he started to ignore her. She still remembers how painful it felt when he started to ignore her. After their sex escapade in one of the abandoned houses in the area, they promised to see each other the following day at the same time. As it had been her norm since she started dating Frank, she went home feeling pretty happy. At that time she still tried to talk to Priscilla even though she had made it clear that she hated her. On many occasions she thought that telling her about Frank would make her look cool and would probably get them talking again but the moment she shared this with Frank, he made her swear that she would never tell a soul about their relationship or escapades. It was going to be their secret. According to Frank, talking about their relationship to many people would attract jealous people who would want to break them up. Because she loved him and did not want their relationship to break up, Rael did not tell a soul about their relationship. The following day, as agreed, she went to the abandoned house to wait for Frank in order to get her daily dose of sex and love. She stayed their waiting for him for hours but he did not turn up. She decided to go home when it started to get dark. She left him a note, just in case he turned up, apologizing for having to leave and promising to be there the following day. She had told her parents that she was going to study with a classmate and because she had books with her, they easily believed her lie. During that time cell phones were not as easily available and mostly each household had one owned by the father or two owned by the father and the mother of the house. Anyone who wanted to reach the other members of the family had to call the parent’s phones and ask to speak to them. So when Rael got home, she requested to use her mother’s cell phone. She had Frank’s mum number and she called and requested to speak to him. She told her that Frank had gone to church but she would inform him to call her once he gets back. Knowing that Frank was in church gave her some sense of relief and she happily helped her mother prepare dinner and watched their favorite soap opera together. Just after finishing dinner and washing the utensils, her mother called her to her bedroom and showed her a text from Frank’s mother which stated that Frank had claimed that she was distracting him from her studies and church commitment and hence was requesting that she should never contact him again or try to meet him. Rael was in shock and barely heard her mother’s lecture on how boys are dangerous and would use her, make her pregnant then leave her. In her mind Frank was not capable of doing such a thing. He had promised to be with her forever. After her mum was done with the lecture, she went to her room and locked herself in before crying herself to sleep. From then on she began stalking Frank like a mad woman begging him to take her back. She started to threaten any girl she would see him with and crazy as it might sound, she once asked Frank’s mum to plead with her son to take her back. It took Frank being taken to a boarding school for her to slowly get over him and focus on other boys. As she finished her story, Priscilla was laughing so hard. “And here I was thinking I was the mad one. I actually think I was with him on the day he claimed that he was in church.” “Are you serious? How did you two even started to date?” “I once met him on one of the evenings that he had dropped you home. He stopped his father’s car when he saw me to say hi. He complemented my beauty and asked if he could take me out. I told him that I could not do that since you two were dating and he vehemently denied the claims and said that you dated one of his friends who was shy and did not want to be known and hence the reason he offered to drop you home. According to him, you were not his type and you were not as beautiful and classy as me. Because I hated you, hearing all that, made me very happy and I did not hesitate to date him. Just as he did with you, he made me promise that I would never tell a soul about our relationship because he loved his privacy. We dated for around two weeks before I realized that he had other girlfriends and when I asked him about it, he accused me of wanting to control his life and imagining things. He stopped talking to me after that. Do you know I once stole dad’s money to buy him a watch that I later saw one of his girlfriends wearing it?” “The same money the shamba boy was accused of stealing? Did you two ever had sex? Please tell me you took your watch back.” “Of course we had sex. Lots of it. It seems he knew a lot of abandoned houses because we also used to meet in one for the sexcapades. Thank God he was wise enough to always use a condom. I was not a virgin because of the rape storo but he was the first person, I had sex with willingly so it meant a lot. I did not stalk him like your crazy ass after he dumped me but I was super hurt. I cried myself to sleep almost every night. I thought that he could tell I was raped and hence the reason why he did not want to have sex with me. I hated myself so much and wished him death. Yes, it is the money the shamba boy was accused of stealing. It is one of the guilt I carried to my adulthood. When I got to the US, I used to send him money as a way of making it up to him. He thinks I am very generous. Yes, I got the watch back but shortly. I confronted the lady and we fought and by fought I mean we got physical and I took it back. She reported me to the teacher and the watch was taken away from me after a thorough caning and punishment. I could not tell akina mum because how was I going to explain my source of money?” “Do you know where Frank is now that we left Mzinyi?” “I have no idea. The last time I heard about him his wife had left him because of his philandering ways but he inherited a lot of wealth after his parents passed on.” “We should look for him and let him know that we know he played us. Probably have a drink and a good laugh.” “Rael, you should stop this habit of wanting to reconnect with people who have been toxic in your life.” “Come on we were young and naïve. I forgive easily. Hebu I go check on my phone. I need to follow up on a few things at work.” Rael was shocked to find over 20 missed calls on her phone all from her colleagues. Her first instinct was to think that she had missed an important meeting and was in trouble. She quickly opened her emails and the first email had a picture of Collins with the caption ‘Rest in Peace’. Connect with Rael!Do you have thoughts, questions, or personal insights about this week’s adventure? Rael loves hearing from her fans and is eager to see your reactions and responses! Reach out to her directly at: raelendears@gmail.com. Stay tuned and be part of Rael's journey every week.
Ladun Liadi -
