Too Perfect To Change A Thing.

Part 24- "I lose! They lose! We all lose!"

Chapter Twenty-Four

It almost feels like yesterday when Brian found me walking on the streets of Accra. Struggling to walk and shuffling my feet till I could feel my feet aching. I had picked the first car that came my way to Cantoment. I had a friend who worked in a restaurant in that area. So I went there with the hope of getting employed there. Upon getting there, I found out she had quit to attend school in the Northern region. With so much disappointment in my eyes I walked out. I was lost in thinking. That was when it had hit me that it was pointless to run away from home with no destination in mind. I had picked the duffel bag I had packed few of my clothes in and decided to go home. At that time, just during that time that Brian showed up. Even with my puffy eyes which I got from so much crying, and my oversized t-shirt, he found me attractive enough to help me. I don't know what hit him when he saw me, but something definitely did. After I had explained everything that happened to him, he offered me a place to stay. I was such a good girl then. I was the shy and timid type who was afraid that someone would take advantage of her. So I declined it when he asked me to stay in his house. He had then offered me one of the rooms in the club. I wasn't very comfortable in wearing skimpy clothes or working at a club so he got me a job at a friend's restaurant. Then at night he would teach me how the place worked. That was how I met my two best friends. After, my new found friends had helped me unleash myself into the clubbing world, I then started working at the club.

But here I am hugging  the man who always comes through for me like my Night in shinning amour. Everything we read online was true. Black Alley had really caught fire. The fire was already put out when we got there. Nothing but ashes were left. Brian was talking to the police and fire service when we got there. He excused himself immediately he saw us and that was when I let myself be hugged by him.

"I'm so sorry. This  place was everything to me." I sympathize but to my surprise he pushes me to the side where my friends are standing.

"I did it! I set the place on fire." I'm not surprised but Christine and Sophie are. They nearly attack Brian for this but I try to make them see reason.

"I had to do it! I would never want to be the reason girls are trafficked and lured into drugs. I will never let the place I worked so hard for, be turned into a fucking brothel." He explains. His voice is stern but undertone. Making sure the police or fire service personnels don't hear him.

"I lose! They lose! We all lose!" At this point, tears are running down my face and so is Sophie. Except for Christine who has a really sad expression on her face without tears. We all pull Brian in a hug. It doesn't matter how big the issue is, once we're together, we'll find a way through every problem.

"So what did you tell the police?" I ask after we set ourselves free from the hug.

"I told them it was an accident. Someone forgot to put  off his cigarette and it mistakenly caught fire."

"They'll conduct an investigation and they'll find out you're lying." Christine criticizes.

"I know! But they won't find anything! I made sure it was a cigarette that caused the fire." We all sigh! Not sure what it's for because we feel everything but at peace. They're so many curious people who are standing in front of the club. Some are sad while others are just happy because they can finally have a goodnight sleep without loud music pulling their brains out. And for those like the unpleasant cab driver I met, I guess they're just happy they won't be driving people to the 'ungodly place'. Even with the ashes that are left, we know Black Alley will always hold a special place in our hearts. It doesn't matter how far we go from this area, we'll always have a piece of us here.

"Kylie?" A voice which I immediately recognize to be Justin's calls out to me in the crowd. He's trying hard to pass through them to get to us. And when he finally finds a way to me, I run into his arms. That sweet scent of his hits me and I suddenly feel at peace. I'm so drowned in his nice fragrance that I don't see my friends hugging their partners as well. Wow! Boyfriend reunion! This is exactly what we all need! I'm about to ask how they found out but since I have brains and a 99.9% IQ, i reason they found out exactly how I did. Through blog posts and Tv stations. Even though we can't let what happened slip out of our minds easily, we have to shake it off for the sake of Brian. He needs friends right now and we have to be there for him. He has lost something he spent years building and grooming. It's hard on him more than it is on any of us. We decide to grab chocolate drinks to release the bad omen that the day has brought.

We are all sipping our hot chocolate drinks in complete silence. Everyone is lost in their own head, thinking about their own shit of the day. But I'm sure what's on my mind is the same as everyone else. The fact that we've lost our source of livelihood for good. That we will now have to open up dreams that we've locked up far away in our minds somewhere. And probably we've even thrown the keys to those dreams out in a river, or on a far way land.