NEURONE!

4 - Weird Voices

Uju got home and was surprised to find no one there. The door had been unlocked and Simi's phone was lying on the counter so she guessed she might have stepped outside to buy something and decided to freshen up while waiting. 

She took her bath, brushed her teeth and hair, and changed into clothes she felt were comfortable. Once she was through, she made herself a bowl of cereals and proceeded to sit on the couch to watch TV. After eating, she slept off on the couch.

When she woke up, it had gotten dark and when she checked the time, it was almost 6. She was still feeling sleepy so she turned off the TV and went into the room to sleep. She caught sight of Simi's phone still on the counter but she was too sleepy to care. Even though she had been in a coma for quite some time, she slept as though she had been starved of sleep. And when she woke up the next day, she was still tired.

She dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom where she couldn't do anything other than brush her teeth and wash her face. She heard a sound that felt more like an echo than a voice coming from the door and she went to check it out.

As she got closer to the door, the strange sound became more perceptible. It was a person talking to themself. They were talking about the house and Uju found it strange how the sound seemed to be going into her head rather than her ears.

‘Maybe, I should watch the house for them. I can at least make sure she has a place to come home to since I can't help her get out of jail.’

Uju opened the door immediately, causing the person to fall in shock. It was the elderly woman that lived in the apartment right across from theirs. She had always been nice to the girls and they always helped her out whenever they could. Uju helped her up and apologised for scaring her.

The woman hugged her and told her how happy she was to see her. Everyone thought she was dead - and worse, killed by Simi. Except for her who felt Simi was way too kind and their friendship was way too tight for that to happen. How she had begged the police not to take Simi with them, even swearing on her life that Simi would never do something like that.

Uju listened patiently as she explained, fighting the urge to run to the police station and bring Simi back. When Sarah was done, she took her inside the house, made her tea, and then left to her house. She searched the house for her phone and when she got tired, she took Simi's with her.

She took an Uber to the police station where Simi was held and didn't hesitate to rate the driver poorly as he had disturbed her with his wishes, dreams, and life story which she didn't ask him about. It got worse when she got into the station. It was very noisy as everyone was thinking out loud and it was causing her head to ache.

She felt dizzy as she walked to the reception desk where a young officer was waiting. She looked tired and although Uju couldn't see her lips move, she was sure the 'please don't come here, I'm exhausted' she was hearing was coming from her.

“Welcome to the City Police Department! How may I help you?” The officer at the desk said, curling her lips in a tired smile.

Uju felt a little pity for her. But, she pushed it away. No matter how much stress she was under, it didn't justify the fact that they arrested her best friend and is probably trying to coerce her to admit to a crime she didn't commit.

“I'm here for Simi Gabriel.”

“Okay.” She opened a file and skimmed through it. When she found the name, she gave Uju a once-over. “Are you her lawyer?”

“No. I'm her best friend. The one you people claims she killed. And I'm here to get her out.” Uju said with a straight face and when she heard a 'wow! That's so cool!' from the officer, a smile tugged at her lips.

The officer excused herself and soon came back with another officer. He stared at her from head to toe with eyes that seemed like they could see through layers. Then, he stared at the files in his hands which Uju guessed her pictures were in. Pinching his nose bridge, he closed the file and asked her to follow him.

She followed him and when they approached the interview room, he asked her to wait. He stepped in and a moment later came out with another officer - a detective just like him. This one was much more gentle in her stare and she guessed they were a good-cop-bad-cop duo.

They asked her some questions which she refused to answer until they took her inside. She felt relief as she saw Simi but the condition she was in made her want to jump on one of the detectives and bite off his nose. As if reading her mind, the female detective explained what had happened to her. Simi was punched in the face by someone who had recently been arrested. Apparently, Simi had done something to annoy the person before.

Simi, who was in handcuffs and had probably gone through emotional torture at the hands of the duo, only gave a nod and a closed-lip smile that touched her eyes.

Uju sat across her and declared that she was ready to answer all their questions. They asked a lot of questions and each time Simi would tell her the answers in a strange voice without moving her lips and the officers didn't seem to notice it. After confirming that both the girls had the same answers, the detectives concluded that it was the truth.

They took Uju to the emergency room and had the personnel check up on her. She was completely healthy. Defeated, they gave them some paperwork to sign and asked them to wait until Uju's parents arrived, since they filed the complaint against Simi. They agreed to wait and Uju did so in silence. Simi, on the other hand, kept asking Uju questions which she chose to ignore.

Soon, her parents arrived. Her mother cried out her eyes while hugging her while her father just watched with relief. When they were ready to go, her mother gave Simi a disgusted glare while her father gave them both some cash. Uju smiled at them as they left. Ever since she could remember, there wasn't a single time when they failed to show her they loved her, and she was grateful to them. Even her biological parents abandoned her but they didn't. She was so lucky.

She turned back and held Simi in a tight embrace. There were only three people in her life for whom she would give up her life, and they were worth it.

When they were in the Uber her dad had booked, Uju gave Simi her phone. Immediately, Simi grabbed Uju's chin and held it up to hers, staring into her eyes.

‘Can you hear me?’ Uju heard the echoing voice of Simi and nodded. Simi let go of her, shock written all over her face. Then, almost immediately a smile spread across her face as she moved closer to Uju.

In that echoing voice, Uju heard her again:

‘The only thing I've said out loud is 'hi' to your parents. Every other thing I said was in my head. Including the answers you gave those detectives.’

“What do you mean?” Uju asked, her eyes wide with confusion.

Simi grinned excitedly. ‘Uju, you can read minds. You have superpowers.’