As the only son of my parents, I grew up with an entitlement mentality. I believed the world revolved around me. I never got punished for bad behaviour and I got away with everything. Making people angry was my forte. Knowing that they couldn’t do anything to me gave me so much pleasure. Their anger made me excited. I had a bad attitude and I was a nasty person but I couldn’t help it.
I lived in a cocoon that my parents built for me and I was President of my Universe. Nobody could talk to me or correct me if I did anything wrong and because of that, I didn’t get along with a lot of people. My sisters detested me, they said I was evil but our parents thought differently, they said I was outspoken.
As the only boy in the midst of five girls and the last child of the family, you’d think my sisters would dot on me but the reverse was the case. They never hid their disgust at my behaviour so our relationship was strained. Their opinion about me was none of my business.
Then I met Kambili. I could not understand what she saw in me but I liked the fact that she could tolerate my excesses. In spite of my shitty behaviour, I still can’t figure out how she fell in love with me. We met at a restaurant. The place was packed full and we had to share a table. We got talking and exchanged phone numbers afterwards.
I had forgotten about her until she called me a few days later.
She was so easy to talk to. We talked back and forth for some weeks before we decided to go out on a date. Kambili was cool and calm, as a matter of fact she was perfect. Our first date birthed other dates then she became my girlfriend.
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Kambili grew up in an orphanage and the only family she had were the people there. She had been through a lot and she always had a hard time talking about what she passed through. I didn’t push her to tell me anything until she had gained my trust fully, only then did she feel comfortable to open up to me about her life.
She was a pleasant person and she was too nice to a fault. Sometimes I deliberately tried to make her angry but she never gave me that satisfaction. There was nothing anyone could do to make her upset. Anyone that ever came close to me always left with a bitter taste in their mouth but not Kambili… nothing moved her. She had thick skin and never reacted to the things I did. I looked forward to the day I’ll make her angry. I was dying to see her react. I knew the day would come, it was only a matter of time. I had to find a way to get under her skin.
The day finally came for me. It was her company’s End of year party and Award ceremony, the date also coincided with her birthday. We planned to attend the office party first, then we’ll set out to a resort for a weekend getaway.
Kambili’s colleagues had a surprise for her. They stopped the award ceremony midway just to honor her. Everybody loved her and they had something good to say about her. Then as her boyfriend, I was called upon to say something about the birthday girl.
Everybody wanted to hear Kambili’s boyfriend speak so a round of applause greeted me as I took the microphone. I cleared my throat and greeted everyone. I told them how special Kambili was to me and I did not fail to add that for someone born by a prostitute mother, raised in an orphanage, violently raped by her foster dad when she was thirteen, an incident which led to series of complications that made her lose her womb, she was a strong woman and had done well for herself.
There was pin drop silence as I dropped the microphone and walked back to my seat beside Kambili. I will never forget the look on her face. I always wanted to see her get upset but I got more. She was shaking and crying profusely, then she asked why I chose to humiliate her publicly. She picked up her car key and ran out of the hall as some people ran after her. I sat back to sip my drink because I had no idea what to do next. I could feel eyes boring holes behind my back. Some people hissed at me, others looked as if they would pounce on me while some guys politely asked me to leave the party. What did I do wrong? I was asked to talk about my girlfriend and that’s exactly what I did.
I drove back home scoring myself a ten over ten for finally seeing the other side of my girlfriend. I was going to apologise to her in the morning. I’m sure she’ll understand that I didn’t mean any harm. I knew she’d still be upset so there was no point calling her.
I woke up the next morning to several missed calls and text message from anonymous numbers telling me that Kambili accidentally drove into a broken down truck and she died on the spot. I also received threat messages telling me to watch my back because I was a dead man walking.
It was my turn to shake like a leaf. How could Kambili be dead? Last night was a joke, she should have known that I was just messing with her, that is how I roll, I mess with people. It wasn’t all that serious. She didn’t have to overreact. Now she’s dead and I’m receiving threat messages.
What did I do?. Is it my fault that she drove into a broken down truck? These people should please leave me alone.
I have informed my mummy and my daddy about what’s going on but because they are out of the country there’s little they can do for me so they have called on two of my sisters to come take care of the situation. One of them a lawyer and the other a police officer but they have both refused to get involved.
See where Kambili’s stubbornness had landed me. What am I going to do now?
