THE SERIAL MASK BY MORUFAT AJANI CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 THE SERIAL MASK BY MORUFAT AJANI

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Three and half hours later,

Akin’s phone is vibrating. It's not from the regular phone he uses to receive calls and browse the internet with, it's from his second phone that is in the drawer.

He unlocks the drawer, brings the phone out and checks the message.

Hello sir, you asked me to see you today. Please where should we meet?

Seeing the name of the sender, Akin frowns deeply. He feels the need to cross check something before he leaves so he unlocks the drawer with his code, yanks the drawer open, and pulls out the thick headshot photo album. He starts flipping through the pages roughly, his eyes scanning the faces of the green marked; the people that are alive. Then his frown deepened.

He doesn’t say a word, he just stares at the book for a moment, then slams it shut. He locks it inside the safe, puts the second phone and his real phone in his pocket, grabs his jacket, and rushes out of the office.

Getting to Hanan's desk, Hanan stands up immediately, trying to be respectful, thinking he is coming to her or even passing by but Akin doesn't look at her side, he rushes out and Hanan is wondering what is wrong with him.

What's wrong with him? Why does he rush out with a frown like that? And why was he looking unsettled and out of breath earlier?

***

An hour passes.

Hanan is filing client documents when the door opens again. Therapist Akinola Bello walks fast and sharp. He doesn’t greet or glance in her direction.

Hanan straightens. “Sir, you have a visi—”

She stops midway when she sees that Akin barely sees her much less hears what she's saying. He rushes straight into his office. The suit hanging on his shoulder almost slips off, but he grabs it before it falls.

Hanan watches him, confusion clouding her face. As the suit shifts, her eyes catch the smears of red on the side of his white shirt. Clear, shaped like a handprint, as if a bloody hand had gripped the fabric. He obviously used the suit to cover it.

Hanan's brain processes what it might be and her face furrows.

Blood?

She blinks, not wanting to believe it.

Or could it be something else?

She stares at his office door and sees Akin is pacing inside, visibly agitated.

Their eyes meet and Hanan looks away quickly and pretends to focus on her work. But her heart is racing now.

Seeing that Hanan is watching him, Akin pulls the blinds shut.

So many thoughts and questions are finding their way into Hanan's head but she doesn't want to assume or let her inner detective thought defame an innocent man so she brushes the issue off her head and refocuses.

No, I am definitely overthinking. There is no way what I am thinking is what happened.

***

Hanan’s closing time is 4:30 p.m. It’s supposed to be 5, but she took permission from Akin that she would be closing earlier because of Moyo. She has to pick her up from the crèche.

So a few minutes past 4:30, she has finished all her tasks for the day. She stands up, checks her table one last time, then walks quietly to Akin’s office to inform him she’s leaving. She knocks softly.

“Come in,” Akin says from inside.

She steps in.

The first place her eyes go is the sleeve of his shirt. That spot where she saw blood earlier but now it’s clean. The stain is gone.

He must have washed it off. Hanan thinks and blinks.

No matter how many times she tells herself to drop the matter in her mind, she just can't. She kept thinking about his sudden change of attitude earlier and why he arrived back later with blood on his shirt. She has no reason not to trust him but she just can't help feeling that way. She blames the ill-feeling on being a former detective police woman.

“I’m here to tell you that I am going home, sir,” she says politely.

“Oh okay. You even come in time. I was just about to call you.” Akin says and drops a bunch of keys on the table.

“I rented an apartment for you and your daughter. I hope you like it. But if you don’t, I can always change it for you—”

“What?” Hanan cuts him off, stunned. Her eyes widened in surprise.

She stares at the keys like they’re fire. “What did you just say…sir? What did you say you did for me and my daughter?” Hanan asks again, blinking hard, not sure she heard correctly.

Akin smiles gently and pushes the key forward. “It’s for you. You and your daughter.”

Hanan just stands there, staring. She’s not blinking anymore. She doesn’t even step closer. “You… rented a house for me?”

“Yes.”

Her heart starts beating faster. Her hands fall limply by her sides. She can’t believe it. She talks again,

“But why, sir? I don't know if i can say this but i don't think you have a reason to do this, sir. Why did you…” Akin cut in,

“Do I have to have a reason to help an employee in need? I just did it. It's nothing much, really.”

The way Akin is sounding like renting an apartment for Hanan is nothing, is shocking her even more. Many unanswered questions are roaming about in her mind.

First he approached me and gave me a job? And now he rented an apartment for me? How does he always know the right time to help me? Why is he helping me this much? Who hired an apartment for their employees for just no reason? Hanan is speechless and thinking out loud. She’s grateful, truly, but this feels like too much. She can't help herself from thinking there is a motive behind this pleasure.

She takes a small step back, her throat feeling dry.

“I don’t know if I can take that. It’s a lot. And I barely know you. Why would you do something like that for me? First you offered me a job and then housing? I feel it's too much, sir. I am sorry, sir.” Hanan says even though deep inside her, she's dying to take the key and pack all her belongings and her daughter's into the apartment tonight. She needs a house now more than ever.

Salisu called her into the living room last night and dropped the final warning to her that he gave her one week to move out of his house. Plus, her staying with them is now causing big issues between him and Tawa. So she wants to move out as soon as possible, she doesn't want to be the reason their marriage breaks.

So now, standing here in Akin’s office with a house key in front of her, her eyes fill with tears. She needs to take the key so badly but she's still having this odd feeling that it's not right.

Akin simply sits back and says. “To me, all those things are not so much at all. I am just doing it because I have the means to. Plus you remember I said I couldn't forget what you did for me during my girlfriend’s demise. I am just simply doing a payback. And it's not like it's a super big house like that. And if you feel burdensome about it, have it in mind as me helping an employee who has accommodation issues so she can concentrate on her work.”

Hanan presses her lips together, staring down at the keys. She steps forward and picks it with a trembling hand. She's so nervous, excited and suspicious.

“Thank you. Thank you so much sir. I don’t know how to repay this.”

“You don’t have to repay anything,” Akin replies and Hanan nods slowly, holding the keys like they’re glass.

She's having mixed feelings right now. She's extraordinarily grateful but also suspicious. She doesn't know why, but she's having this odd feeling that she can't comprehend.

“The security will take you to the house. Let him know whenever you are ready. And you can take tomorrow off, to pack in.” Akin says and Hanan nods, though calmly but she's so excited deep inside. She thanks Akin so much once again before leaving the office.

Hanan calls Tawa immediately and informs her excitedly. Tawa also can't believe her hearing and asks her why his boss did so. Tawa says they will talk well when she gets home.

She goes to the security that she's ready to go check the house. On their way, she picks Moyo at the creche and they go to the house together.

The security man drops her off at the house and leaves almost immediately, saying he has to return to the office.

Hanan stands at the entrance for a few seconds, holding Moyo’s hand, just staring. When she finally steps in, her mouth falls open ajar. She can’t help it.

The house isn’t too big, it’s just a modest one-bedroom apartment with a parlor, a kitchen, and a toilet. But it’s more than enough for her and her daughter. And the way it’s been arranged… Hanan feels like she just walked into a dream she didn’t pray too hard for, because she never thought it was possible.

There’s a neat couch set in the parlor, a working television with GOtv already installed, a small but spotless kitchen with a gas cooker and utensils in place. The bedroom even has a wardrobe and a clean mattress. Everything smells new and neat.

She bends down and kneels in front of Moyo, smiling despite the tears already gathering in her eyes. “My love… this is our new home. Do you like it?”

Moyo nods, smiling innocently, and says, “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

Hanan can’t hold the emotion that is gathering in her body.

She pulls Moyo into a tight hug, squeezing her close and resting her cheek on her tiny shoulder. And then she begins to cry, deep, quiet sobs that shake her chest.

“Thank you, Allah… Thank you, Allah… Yah Allah, I’m so grateful,” she whispers, tears streaming down her eyes.

“But I don’t know why I’m not feeling completely well about this man. I don’t know what it is. But whatever it is that’s making me feel uneasy, please erase it. Don’t let anything bad happen to me and my daughter. Please, Ya Allah.” Her voice cracks with emotion. She kisses Moyo’s cheek and wipes her tears.

Then she feels the need to perform solah and thanks Allah in her sujud.

She walks straight to the bathroom. There’s running water, perfectly clean. Everything is functional. She performs ablution right there and prays, two long rak’ahs, pouring her heart out in sujood.

Later that night, she goes back to Tawa’s house, packs her bags and Moyo’s things, and moves into the new apartment.

Tawa is genuinely happy for her. She hugs her tightly at the door. She's glad her friend is moving into a good house. And not sleeping under a bridge or wherever.

“I am so happy for you dear.” Tawa says,

“Thank you, Tawa. I really appreciate you. And thank you so much for not giving up on me. I really appreciate you.” Tawa nods, smiling and they remain hugged for a while.

Hanan doesn't take the next day off because she feels it's not necessary and she doesn't want to misuse the great opportunity given to her.