10

JOHN'S POV

"Eniola why do you have anti-depressants in your bag?" I asked.

"Well it's for a friend, she asked me to buy it for her." Eniola said smiling.

"It's half filled Eniola."  I stated shaking the bottle.

"Well it's none of your business." Eniola said grabbing the bottle from my hand.

"You just made it my business." I screamed.

"Eniola, get inside the car please." I continued.

Eniola looked at me briefly. She waited for me to open the car and she flew into it without saying a word. There was a moment of silence in the car as Eniola kept tapping her hands on her laps in nervousness.

"I am going to drive to where we can talk about this." I stated.

I got no reply from Eniola as she looked outside the window. I sighed deeply and the car kicked into life. There was a provision store nearby and I stopped right in front of it.

"Good evening." I said trying to draw attention .

There was a middle-aged woman that sprang up to her feets and ran outside to meet me. I rolled down the windows and smiled at the woman.

"Do you sell balloons." I asked.

"Yes sir. How many do you want?" She asked.

"Maybe just two will do." I said.

"Okay sir." She said and went back inside.

"What do you need balloons for?" Eniola said nudging me by the shoulder.

"Just wait and see." I winked.

The middle-aged woman showed up after some minutes and displayed the balloons to me. I chose pink ones ,gave her the money for the balloons and thanked the woman.

The car zoomed again as I scanned the roads for any empty and silent spot to stay. There was a amusement park that seemed to have a tiny bit of life as the night gave it a stunning glow.

I stopped in front of the park's gate and I saw the security guard trying to put out the lights. I jumped up from my seats and ran up to him.

"Sir please I need to enter the park now. It's really urgent." I said panting.

"I am sorry young man but it's closed already."He said.

My hands entangled themselves into my hair as I thought of what to say. An idea snuck up into my head. I reached into my pockets and squeezed a thousand naira into the security man's hands and I nodded my head to seek his approval.

"Just for an hour." He smiled.

"Thank you very much sir." I said.

I turned and gestured to a perplexed Eniola and she followed behind me like a dummy. It was dark but the moon illuminated light so I could see properly. There was a swing that had two seats and I settled into one and Eniola sat on the other.

"You know my saddest day turned out to be the happiest one."I stated as the swing moved slowly.

"And my happiest day turned out to be the saddest day ever." Eniola said frowning.

"If you don't want to talk about it. It's fine." I said staring at Eniola.

"I think it's better I talk." Eniola said with a weak smile.

"Well I had a sister. She was studying nursing and she was very smart." Eniola started.

"There was a particular man she had a crush on and unfortunately turned out to be the son of the director that owned the hospital my sister was studying in."

"My sister displayed her affections openly and he did the same too.There was a particular day she ran home in tears and I wondered why she was crying. She cried for hours without saying a word. She told me he raped her severally. I took legal actions and we met in court repeatedly. But the judge said there were no video clips, no evidence of blood stain or a police report."

"And the judge said that since she liked him that it might have been consensual. My sister's rapist was found innocent. My sister was disturbed enormously and she dropped out of the institution.Most times she refused to eat and in the middle of night, she would cry herself to sleep. It was a disaster that my parents weren't alive to soothe her."

"The day I got into law school. I was overjoyed but I refused to show it because of my sister. When she found out, she asked us to celebrate it that it might make her feel good. So we went to look at the Eko Hotels from a bridge view and we were drinking beer. It was dead in the night and the roads were empty. My sister said she was at peace already. I didn't understand what she meant until she stepped on the bridge railings. I was drunk but I wasn't dumb. I begged her not to do it because I knew she was sober. She smiled at me and jumped. My sister commited suicide because she couldn't bear the pain." Eniola said sobbing loudly.

"I am so sorry Eniola." I said folding my legs together.

"I couldn't get over it and I blamed myself for it. I got depressed at a point. I couldn't choose between going to law school and letting go of myself. I had to make an option for myself and my sister.I bought anti-depressants and I survived."  Eniola said using her hands to wipe the incoming tears.

"It's okay Eniola." I said reaching to pat her on the shoulder.

"Why don't we do something?" I said standing.

I brought out the pink balloon and held it out to her.

"You are going to blow into the balloon. You are going to blow those bad memories into it. And you would let go of the balloons when you are ready to." I said.

"You think it would work?" Eniola asked.

"Let's give it a shot." I said smiling.

Eniola took the balloon from my outstretched hand and blew into it till it was completely filled with air. She tightened it with her slim hands and held it to herself.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"It's hard to let go. I can't do it. It's best if I pop it open." Eniola cried.

"No, you can't do that." I said pointing my finger at her.

"Why not? Do you have an idea of the pain I feel? Do you have the answers to the questions unsolved? Do you think letting go will solve my problem?"  Eniola yelled.

"If you want to let go of a memory of something or someone. Treat it like it's ordinary because it's easy to forget things that are ordinary." I said removing a strand of hair that kept aiming for her eyes.

"You can do it. You are a strong woman." I said smiling.

Eniola turned her face away from mine. Her lips were quivering in sadness. She drew the balloon a little bit away but she still held on to it like a baby held on to a toy.

"I can't do it James. It's too hard." Eniola screamed and she fell on her knees sobbing loudly.

I walked closer to her till my legs were touching her back. I carried her up by her arms and placed my strong hands on her waist.

Eniola was aware of our strange body contact as she became still and I could hear her loud heartbeat.

I gripped the balloon and covered her slim hands with mine.

"Let it go Eniola." I whispered.

I pushed her arms forward and she knew she had to let go of the balloon.As soon as the balloon was out of reach. Eniola turned around and engulfed me into a bear hug. Her walls came crashing down as she held on to me tightly.

Eniola did the unexpected as I was the only one seeing the balloon make it's way into the sky in a randomized manner.

She screamed!