“Ahhhhhh! Good old Accra!” Damien sighed as he sighted the Achimota Mall while the bus he sat in sped on the Accra-Kumasi motorway.

What a long journey it had been! The driver had arrived at his residence around 12:30 am, and another thirty minutes of packing the bus followed. They eventually left at about 1:15, and spent the next seven hours on the road. Of course, Damien fell asleep at a point, and woke up when they were passing the Nsawam junction.

As they got closer to the Achimota overhead, Damien took out his phone and called his mother.

“Yes, breda Damien!”

“Maa! I’m in Accra now oo.”

“Oh, great, great, that’s wonderful. We thank God for travelling mercies.”

“Amen oo, amen. So I should be home in the next… 25 to 30 minutes.”

“Okay, okay. Well, you know I’m at home as always.”

“Sure, I’ll see you soon.”

***

“Eiiiii, Donkorkrom borga!” Mrs. Doris McCarthy exclaimed with joy as the bus parked in the parking space in their compound opened and out stepped her son, the last born of the three children she and her late husband had brought into the world.

Damien laughed and embraced her. “Hello, Mama!”

“Welcome back home ooo, welcome back home! It’s good to have you back!”

“Thank you, Mama! It’s good to be back. The way I’ve missed Accra!”

“I can imagine. I’ve also missed having you around. You know this big house can get so boring with nobody around. Especially since I had to sack that boy.”

“Oh, I know oo. Hmm, Bukari too, I’m surprised at him paaa. After what you said he did.”

“Hmmm, Damien, I’ve learned my lesson with that boy. It’s sad, eh. You know me, I’m not a wicked madam. I treat everyone very well; I’ll laugh with you, converse with you, all those things. As to what made him decide to steal money from me, I’ll never know. But well, he’s gone now. You should have seen him and his parents when they came for him; they were crying and begging me to forgive and forget. I said no way, the boy has to go!”

“Hmmm, this one di33, I need to sit down and hear the full story ooo,” Damien said enthusiastically. There weren’t many things he enjoyed more than hearing all these stories from his mother. Ever since his father tragically passed away in a car accident twelve years ago when he was ten years old, that was one of her ways of coping, and he was more than happy to lend an ear. Especially at this time when his two older sisters were domiciled in the USA and Canada.

And he definitely wanted to hear how ruthlessly she dealt with the boy and his parents. Madam Doris was a sweet lady, but she had quite a hot streak about her. Obviously, Damien had been on the receiving end of her wrath and knew how unpleasant it was.

“Oh, definitely. I have the full gist for you. You just bring your things in.”

“Yes, please.”

Damien turned to the bus and reached in to grab his backpack when his second phone rang.

The phone he had been using in Donkorkrom.

He shook his head as he saw Lily’s number on the screen. No way was he gonna answer that. “Chale, chale, chale,” he muttered to himself as he muted the call. “I have other things to think about.”

***

It was about 2:30 pm.

Back in Donkorkrom, Lily stood in front of Damien’s residence, a flabbergasted expression on her face.

What the hell? She wondered in shock.

She had been calling him since morning to remind him how excited she was to come and receive more ‘anaconda bites’ from him. As usual, the thought of getting pounded and penetrated by her sweet boyfriend had her in high spirits, and she was more than eager to let him know.

He had not responded to any of the twelve calls, though.

Initially, she thought he was busy and decided to let him be in the knowledge that he would get back to her eventually. Once midday rolled by, however, no call had come from him. Now worried, she called a few more times, and got no response.

She went to the school where he worked and asked of him. He had not come to work that day.

She immediately headed for his house, and what she saw stunned her to the core.

The house was empty.

The front door was obviously locked, but she could see through the windows that most of the items had been cleared out.

She stepped back from the house and shook her head. “What the hell? Where is he?” she wondered. “How the hell did he just disappear? How can he do that? Howww?”

She took out her phone and called him.

Still no answer.

She called again. And again. And again. And again.

She grew frantic with each failed attempt. What in the world was keeping this boy from answering his phone?

She tried a seventh time.

After the first ring, he finally answered.

“Yes??”

“Damien! Damien, where are you? What’s happened? Why have you left? What’s going on? Your house is empty, why?” Lily hysterically demanded.

“Hey, hey, hey, relax. Don’t be talking to me like that,” he snapped. “Ah, why? You be my mommi? Mtcheww.”

Lily gawked at the phone. She could not believe what she was hearing: a cheeky and hostile Damien. This could not be the same Damien she knew; he never spoke that harshly to her. “D-D-Damien, is that you?”

“Ah, nanka who else would it be? Isn’t it this number you know? Massa, what is it? You’ve been disturbing me all day. What’s your problem?”

Lily was already tearing up at this point. She really could not believe this was the Damien she knew; his voice was full of impatience and hostility. “Babe… babe, why are you talking like this to me? I just want to know where you are. We’re supposed to meet up today…”

“Well, I’m not in Donkorkrom anymore. I’m back in Accra. I’m done with my national service,” Damien replied curtly and bluntly.

A jolt of shock went up Lily’s spine. “Ah… b-b-b-but, babe, you told me it wasn’t national service you were doing. You said you’re staying here for the future…”

“And you too, you believed me? Haha, you no be serious girl.”

This snarky version of Damien was so cruel, and his tone so biting. She struggled to find the words to speak before he cut in.

“Look, look, I’m done. Done with my national service, done with that boring ass town of yours you call Donkorkrom. I’m done. So you and I have no business at this point. Whatever you thought we had, it’s no more, okay? It was a good run, sure, but it’s over. I just needed something to keep me entertained and yeah, your body was top tier entertainment. But chale, you belong there and I belong here. So yeah, it’s over. Just take it as one of those things and move on. Have a nice life.”

The line went dead.

Lily’s phone dropped to the ground as sorrowful whimpers escaped her lips and tears began to stream down her cheeks.

This was unbelievable. So Damien was actually one of those guys? Those guys who only wanted her for her body and nothing more?

And she had fallen for it? Hook, line and sinker?

A scream of anguish begged to let loose from her voice box; the pain she had just been slapped with was unbelievably weighty. To think she had entrusted her heart and body to this guy, believing he had nothing but good in his heart for her, only to be hit with this cruel breakup!

It was a very painful walk from the lane to the main road, where Lily held in her wails. Once she stood at the junction, though, there was no holding back. She burst into tears.

How could he? How could he treat her like this?

Well, this was Damien’s plan all along. Such a shame Lily fell for it. What’s she gonna do now?