MY ILMORAN

FIVE

Two weeks had passed and Wangari found that she missed Dennis dearly. She decided that she wouldn't wait. If fate wouldn't have them meet anytime soon, she would go to meet him herself. She clearly remembered the way to where she had realized that she was lost, the only problem was that she didn't know when that particular group passed there and it was very dangerous. She decided that although it was dangerous, she would leave it to chance and go anyway.

She told her grandmother that she was going on a walk and promised to be safe. The weather forecast predicted that there would be a heavy downpour that evening but Wangari decided that she had to meet him on that day. She wore heavy clothes and made sure her phone was fully charged before she left home. She walked keenly this time without losing focus on where she was or where she was going. She reached the exact spot where she had hidden and sat on the opposite side of the path to wait.

Dennis was home that day helping around the homestead, mending fences and all. He suddenly felt uneasy and as a person who had lived in these areas for a long time, he had learnt to never ignore his instincts. He dropped whatever he was doing immediately and went out to check on his group in the grazing fields.

He walked at a brisk pace to reach the reach there as soon as possible. He neared the place where he had met Cecily the second time and around the corner, he heard a scream. He panicked and ran there only to find that Cecily was once again on the ground but this time, she had a cut on her lip seemingly from being backhanded. He felt anger surge through his body as he saw another guy about to hit her again.

He disagreed with the protocol sometimes. The protocol that protected them in the community did not ensure protection for all people they came across. This made the area dangerous to others most especially who were alone. He let out what felt like a roar in anger and ran to where they were. He pushed the guy back and helped Cecily to stand and talked to them and they left. Just then, his group emerged from the other side safe and sound. He confirmed that they were all well and soon the group parted leaving Wangari to Dennis and his group.

It was a mystery to her what Dennis had said to them to let her go. Dennis remained tense even after the other group had left. He instructed his group about something and they left too. This whole time he had refrained from looking at Cecily who he had put behind his as soon as she had been able to stand. He waited until his group was also out of sight and turned to face her. He couldn't believe she could be so reckless with her life. He looked at her and this time, she had the grace to lower her gaze sheepishly.

"Why would you do something like that?" He questioned as he walked towards her in slow steps. Before she could answer a drop of rain fell on his nose. He crinkled his nose and she chuckled at how cute he looked doing that. He snapped his gaze towards her and she immediately shut up. He looked at the sky and saw that the clouds were heavy. He couldn't make it home in such rain and he couldn't escort her home in the rain. He thought for a second and decided to take her to camp. It was halfway to his home. It was where they spent the night in case of a heavy downpour or sickness or injury of either one of them or their animals.

He took her hand and started to walk. He felt her hesitate and thought nothing of it but when he looked back at her, he saw her trying not to limp. She stepped on uneven ground and winced lowly. He kneeled and held her foot in his hand despite her many protests. He caressed her ankle lightly to gauge the level of the injury and she winced so it was bad. He couldn't let her to walk with a foot injury lest it got worse. He stood and looked at her. "May I?" He asked. Wangari was slightly confused but nodded anyway. Wangari was startled as he picked her and carried her bridal style.

"Hey, put me down. I can walk perfectly fine." Wangari protested. "Yes,I know you can walk but you can't walk fast enough to beat the rain and you will just do more harm to your ankle than good. So let me carry you so we can escape the rain." Dennis said. He picked up pace as soon as she stopped protesting and held onto Dennis tightly. Dennis couldn't help but feel happy to have Wangari in his arms. He was almost at the camp when the rain increased.

He sped up a little and by the time they arrived, their clothes were a bit soaked. Dennis entered and sat Wangari on a wooden chair by the fireplace. He walked back out and hurriedly collected some firewood they kept stockpiled outside. He walked back into the hut and started a fire. Wangari helped him to set up and then limped around the hut. She found some shukas in one part of the hut and she called out to him. He went to her and she was shivering. Dennis advised Wangari to remove her coat and wrap herself in his spare shuka which he even set aside for her. Wangari had not thought her dressing through in her haste to go out. She had put on a really heavy sweater and since she thought she would be home at that time, she never really bothered to have a t-shirt or shirt on so she was a little bit hesitant.

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Song of the day: Beautiful Mistakes - Maroon 5 ft Meghan Thee Stallion

Hey guys,
What's your favorite music genre? Mine's RnB.
What are your thoughts about this chapter? I'd just like to say that, it's a work of fiction, don't put yourself in danger knowingly for anyone or anything.

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Till next Friday, love y'all 💞