Ex Vivo (#2 EX TRILOGY)

Chapter 20

Contrary to what she expected, seemingly being out of Ender's reach was not the most peaceful experience Akoma had ever dreamed of. It turned out to be more confusing, and there were moments she found herself fearing Ender still had a piece of herself in there somewhere that was waiting to arrest Akoma's will again when she saw fit. The journey to her mother's was a very long one and her mind was full of thoughts about how things used to be before she got off the grid for five months after Aba had revealed herself as Ender and had killed Louisa their friend. She had not heard from her mother ever since, and the constant change of numbers had a role to play in keeping both Akoma and her mother apart. Ender had ensured that it never occurred to her to seek refuge at Mama's place anytime things went wrong. This was one major reason Akoma felt she was free, but the doubts still lingered and she found this troubling. She had no idea how long she was going to live with Mama until Ender probably figured her location. She did not live in the apartment because she would be a sitting duck living in that place after insulting Ender of all people. She hoped her mother's house would not be the first location to come to Ender's mind. 

When she arrived at the house, she got out of the car and frowned at the clothes lines in the compound. There were male clothes drying on them. The house seemed to have been recently painted and the roofing sheets were brand new. Something about the compound looked different, and it took her two minutes to figure out that there were now shrubs growing around the house. She stood there thinking for a moment before finally walking towards the veranda. Before her foot could touch the steps, a strong arm gripped her right shoulder and stopped her. She groaned under the pressure of the grip and turned to see a good looking middle-aged man with flecks of greying hair on his sideburns, goatee and the top of his head. His eyes were clear and dark. He looked very familiar, but if not for what Akoma knew about the person this man shared a little resemblance with, she would have mistaken him for the person in her mind. She gasped and attempted to break free but stopped upon feeling her shoulder joint slip slightly.

"Who are you?" Akoma asked angrily. "What are you doing here?"

Just then, Mama emerged from the living room to the veranda. "Is that my Akoma?" she shouted and looked around her wildly. When she saw her daughter, she stopped in her tracks, and both of them stared at each other. Akoma realized the look in her eyes were rather sore, and she quickly understood the reason. Five months without communication must have left her mother worried sick. "Kissi, stop. That's my daughter," Mama said slowly and clearly, and the man let go off Akoma's arm quickly. Akoma realized he looked sorry for what he did, and he quickly bowed his head before stretching forth a hand. Akoma refused to shake it and looked away while massaging her aching shoulder.

"Sorry about that," the man called Kissi said. "I thought you were an intruder. Some people have gone missing lately in the city. I came around to make sure your mother was all right. Pardon me. My name is Kissi." His hand was still stretched out.

"It's all right. He is not a bad person. He has been helping me on the farm and at home. He's - he's a good friend," Mama told Akoma. She nodded at Kissi and he walked away to the backyard after a smile at Akoma. Akoma opened her mouth to speak, but Mama raised a hand to stop her. "No call. No message. No visit. Your number inactive. Unreachable. You show up at my door and you wear that contemptuous look on your face because you've met someone you didn't expect in my house?" She snorted and turned to leave, but Akoma followed her into the living room before she could close the door shut in her face. Akoma was shocked to see the living room in a better shape than it used to be. It looked tidier and freshly painted. Mama cleared her throat to shake her from her thoughts. "What are you doing here?" Mama asked. There was bitterness in her voice. Akoma did not know what to do. She just stood there staring in sadness. "I thought you were tired of me. Next thing I found myself thinking about was the possibility of something bad happening to you. Why did you do that? Why are you back at this time?"