CHAPTER ONE

It was 8 a.m. on a peaceful Sunday morning. One of those few mornings that I had absolutely nothing to do. I hadn't scheduled my early morning jog for that day, so I was feeling a bit empty. I looked through my window. The sun smiled ever so gently, which was actually pretty unusual. The sun usually rose with a troubling vendetta that screamed, 'let me kill you'. But it looked like that day was a good day to go out.

I had wanted to upgrade my Glo sim to 4G, but I had a busy week, so I had been unable to move yet. I was well aware that they don't open on Sundays, as was the practice with most places, but I felt the need to take full advantage of a rare blissful sun. And so, I did. My assumptions were proven right, obviously. But I had no regrets. At least I got to walk a bit.

I soon got to realize however, that the sun's gentle smile had turned to a mischievous grin. And under the pulsating, skin melting heat, I could hear the sun poke at me. Let me burn you, it said. And it is far from exaggeration when I say that. It was punishment for heedlessly going out under the sun. And the sun was out to prove why you should never go out if you didn't have an absolute need to.

I decided to hurry home, seeing as they were closed. I hit the street again and this time, something else too. I mindlessly bumped into someone. I didn't even take cognisance of who it was. I simply apologized and went about my way without looking. "Nadheer?" a gentle voice called me back. I looked behind, the familiar voice called to me, deeper than just my ears. My heart skipped a beat. The familiar, soft echoes of my name, leaving her pretty lips. I stared in awe of her, agape, analysing her every feature. Perfection, I thought. "Nadheer?" she said again, spurring me out of my reverie.

"Oh, Maryam," I replied, trying not to sound too excited.

"Still the same, I see. Laid back," she goaded. "Can't believe we meet again. It's been---"

"Five years. Are you stalking me now? Miss me that much?"

"What? Maybe," she teased, followed with her adorable smile. If you thought she was cute before, you haven't seen her smile. A squint, accompanied with a cheerfulness that made me remember why I fell for her in the first.

Maryam was my crush since forever. We went to the same college and we were pretty good friends. I never really got the courage to step up, so I settled for less. We lost contact since we left school though. That was five years ago and we weren't even in the same city anymore. So, seeing her there was a big surprise for me. But I tried earnestly to keep my cool. "So, what brings you to Abuja?" I asked.

"Work. I got a new place recently. It's nice seeing you again. It's been impossible to reach you since like forever."

Wait, did she just say forever? That means she searched for me. An ecstatic feeling coursed through me and I almost let my guard down by blushing. But I quickly mopped up. "Yeah, been here and there. Recently moved here too," I replied as blandly as I possibly could.

"Cool. I guess I'll see you around then. Here," she said, handing her business card to me. "Call me when you can. I'm kind of in a hurry now. Later," she waved, going about her own way.

But I just stared right back. My hands in my pockets, not trying to look cool, but to hide their quivering. I definitely had something to look forward to. Butterflies in my stomach? Nah, hell no… Fine, yes. But just one… I think. I could hear my stomach rumble. It took me a while to realize that it wasn't the butterflies. I was still yet to eat anything that morning.