Blindfolds

3

"Madam Kate, warn your children about urinating near my window. The next time I get hold of them, it won't be funny." Blessing, Dinma's neighbor, a corp member, yelled at the landlady.

"See this childless moron. If you want my children to stop urinating there, then stop washing here." Madam Kate, a middle aged, smallish woman, replied as she pointed at the wooden table her husband had built.

"Why? is that table not for washing, eh madam Kate?"

"Stay in your domot." Madam Kate warned and adjusted her wrapper on her chest.

This was the regular brawl Dinma enjoyed in her neighborhood; the incessant quarrels of neighbours, the constant brawls and banter, and of course the fights. In every normal day, Dinma would sit outside of her small apartment and listen to her neighbours fight. But that day was different, she had too much of a broken heart to sit and enjoy a verbal brawl, and so while the two verbally abused themselves, Dinma zoned out.

The whole weekend, Dinma had spent it crying and binge watching crappy chickflicks, and that Sunday, Dinma didn't feel the need to go to church. And so, she sat outside of her apartment in daze.

She lived in a very small compound which was in contrast to her parent's house in Abia state, Nigeria, and even when her parents had visited, her mum didn't hide her discomfort about the place, but that was her mum; her mum never agreed with her; from her occupation, her choice of habitat, and even her ex boyfriend, Mike.

The houses in her compound were in parallel, such that the houses on the right side were opposite the ones on the left side, with a little compound between them. So inhabitants of the two sides all had to share the compound. And this most times caused trouble.

So while Dinma was in her space of thoughts, wondering why she didn't notice the signs that Mike was an asshole, a hand tapped her shoulders, causing her to release a gasp in fright. It was her roommate Temi.

"Why are you outside?"

Dinma smacked her lips, "Nepa has taken the light. Welcome by the way."

"Thank you." Temi replied and sat beside her on the small bench "What's up, what's with the look?"

But Dinma heaved a sigh and shook her head instead "Nothing." She wasn't going to spoil her friend's day by spilling some her bitterness to her, but Temi wasn't having it either.

"You can't tell me nothing when your face looks like sour beans. Come on, what's the matter?" Temi prodded

And as she made to talk, she could still hear the neighbours arguing, and this time everyone in the compound had come to separate the women, so she didnt think it was comfortable sharing her plight when the nosy neighbours were around. Temi, noting that, gestured her into the house.

Dinma followed obediently into their small room; the furnishing of the room included a bed, two plastic chairs, and a table that had books arranged on it.
There wasn't much and that was just the way she loved it.

Her eyes followed Temi until she plopped down into the bed, leaving her to the plastic chair beside the bed.

"Mike broke up with me." Dinma blurted.

"What?"

"Yeah, he broke up with me on Friday."

Temi's eyes went round "On your birthday? That asshole! God I can't believe the idiot would do something like that."

"Look Tems, it's done already. I can't cry.. over.. spilled.. milk." Her voice shook.

Temi was quick to get to her side, and while she told herself she was okay, Dinma cried on her friend's shoulder. It shouldn't hurt, Mike's an asshole, she had told herself. But the more she thought about it, it broke her heart.