Shadows Don’t Lie #1 (Novelette)

Prologue
The evening was cold. It held ambiguous prospects. And the chill in the air spoke neither of a second heartbreak nor true love. What if Tasha pulled off a trick and he fell for it? Is Kwame that committed? Does he have the mental strength? Well, these questions would be verified if he returned the same. These questions and similar flooded Ana’s mind, but she kept her cool. They stood a few meters away from the international departure at the Kotoka International Airport. Unmoved by pries, they had been in each other’s arms for the past ten or so minutes, relishing in a contact they had both come to love. They fitted like hand and glove. The passenger service agent had begun waving the passengers to start moving in the terminal. They pulled out of the hug in slow reluctance. The seemingly unending hug that appeared to have kindled Kwame to randy and Ana to horny, had been broken at last. They sighed simultaneously before her gaze touched his. ‘Come back into my arms when all is settled, please,’ her gaze spoke, with her arms clasped in front of her. Kwame still held onto his uninterpretable smile. The urge to take his lips for the last time before he caught his flight was so overpowering, as her uncontrollable body jerked in and out of the space that stood between them. Seconds later, when he needed to be on his way, he leaned in and touched her cheek with his lips. It was a short one. Ana closed her eyes to take in the pompous tickle that wafted from the source of contact to other parts of her. The clasp in front of her tightened even harder. Then he pulled out. ‘I will miss you, and don’t worry too much.’ If not for the fact that he held a luggage each in his hands, he would have held her cheeks to cheer her up. ‘I will be back. I will make Joe smile at us.’ Kwame said. It sounded like a promise. Ana’s tongue appeared to have failed her, as she could not bring forth any word. Her nod appeared robotic. Kwame began taking steps towards the terminal. Ana watched him leave. Those hairy pair of bolders that rocked with each step, she watched and admired, which brought some joy to her lips.

A last wave came in after he checked in, she waved back, then he entered into the side of the corridor. He was gone. Why do I always have unsteady relationships? She was tempted to say this out loud in her mild frustration. Her late husband came to mind. She turned and gaited dejectedly towards her Land Cruiser, head stooped low. As she left, she was uncertain what would happen next.

Chapter 1
The tempting harmattan breeze strode silently through East Legon, Accra. Bodies that could not take the outrageous demands of the breeze had surrendered, and were busily and delightfully squeaking beds with their counterparts. But in one of the most beautiful mansions in East Legon, something different was going on. The commanding harmattan current, in connivance with years of celibacy and a natural must, were squirming Ana to the tunes of the night. Every weakness in her had come to play that dawn. It was all coming to a rest in between her two effeminate thighs. She had spent the last couple of minutes visiting pleasurable time pasts. Time was up to return to reality, but she wanted to stay much longer. Under the warmth of her quilt, she jerked awake to the falsehood. A dream, she realized much to her distaste. She plonked her body back onto the bed after sitting up. Her hand settled on her forehead as she tried to recall the most recent images. Most especially the man who was doing crazy things to her in her dreams. After the futility, she spread her hands aside, slowly groping up and down as if searching for a brother to the night with whom to manufacture some dawn heat. Ana knew the dream was a natural sign. She bit her lips and pondered why invisible faces were now making love to her after so many years of successful celibacy. A leopard never changes its spots but Ana’s were changing. They were changing from being single to wanting to be loved. A couple of days after knowing she had conceived, her husband passed away, she swore never to give her heart, body, or soul to any man again. Unfortunately, and coincidentally, news of her husband’s death reached her just hours after she had found out she was a second wife. And this

was barely a month after their wedding. She was gravely paralyzed to find out that all the family members of her husband who attended their wedding ceremony were fake. As a royal but not a prince, Ana’s late husband, by customs and tradition, was suppose to marry a woman from another royal lineage, but Ana came along the way. And he could not withstand what he felt for Ana. When her husband realized Ana knew the reality of the situation, out of guilt and impulse, he called her to meet her at home. He truncated work that day. It was when he was coming home that he met a fatal accident. His Land Cruiser crumpled like a piece of paper under an articulator. For several hours, they had to cut the vehicle piece by piece before finally getting to the owner who had already joined the silent majority instantly upon impact. He could not return home to explain. Ana was the most disappointed creature in the Milky Way galaxy. A man she had given her all to, had put her second while she put him first in her everything. Sorrow and grief came at her like undisputed warlords. She felt the word pain in capital letters. The house in which she lived currently, she fought with her last breath to retain. Her late husband’s family did their best to reclaim everything that their boy bought her to the last gstring. She kept the conception a secret and nearly aborted it but for the timely interference from her late mum, whom had been studying her daughter after the saddening situation. From that moment on, she had become a feminist and a philosopher; men are the most evil creatures a woman should smile at. They are cheats. The most callous beings, bad spirits camouflaged in human skins, … She worked her way through the ranks and eventually to the top. And when she set up her own company, she could not agree more; what men can achieve, women can achieve even better. You will only see her smile sincerely when she needed a deal with another head of an organization who unfortunately was male. Even those smiles, she tried her best to perpetuate. In times of prosperity, friends are plenty, however, Ana was the direct opposite of this saying. She did not have the time, not that she did not have friends, she had, but her priorities almost always spent her day for her. Ana laid on her bed with her eyes glued to the roof, thinking through her schedule for the upcoming day. Stealthily, sleep took her away again.

To be Continued on Friday, 22nd December, 2017

About the Author

Nana Okotwere Bekoe is an African author who writes historical, romance, political, and contemporary novels. He is currently working hard on his blockbuster ‘Now or Never’ that will change idiosyncrasies around the world. Comments are welcome on all social media platforms: n. o. bekoe readers page (fb, G+, Linkedin), no_bekoe (tw), n. o. bekoe(ig).