I settled on the very first seat in the hall and put my head in my hands. One might think I was sleeping, but I was focused intently on the voices coming through the earphone.
A kind of peculiar noise that had to be the wheels of the chair turning(the signal was indeed very sharp) and then;
'welcome to the interview for the widows initiative batch D-6001-17...I'm simply Uduak by name, but you can call me 'big mommy'
I had been listening closely and trying to decipher the number 6001-17.
17 should mean the year 2017 but what about 6,001? Could it be the number of the widows so far that have been registered to the initiative or the widows that have been trafficked out and was in the process of being trafficked out? These were my thoughts until I heard the voice introduce herself as 'big mummy'.....the woman from my dream and the Chief's alleged mother and the person in charge of selecting the widows that got trafficked out.
My throat went dry immediately.
Oh boy....
I absently drew the sign of the cross and focused on listening to every sound coming from the earphone.
"What's your date of birth madam?
How long have you been a widow?
How were you widowed?
Just answer everything as provided"
Big mummy fired these questions and I waited to hear Olivia's reply but I didn't hear anything.
"What's happening?" I asked, not really expecting her to answer.
"I think the interview is a written one..." Strange eyes replied.
"But how come we never heard of it being written before?"
"That's what surprises me. I think it’s something they just started now"
I didn't like what I was hearing at all...not one bit, and I was about to say something to that effect before big mummy spoke up again.
"So, Miss Olivia...no children...car accident...hmmmm...(the way she spoke, I could tell she was reading off something) well I'm supposed to tell you to keep your fingers crossed but I can assure you that you have been selected...(in a lower voice) congratulations...now please move on to the next exco"
The same peculiar sound again that had to be the wheels turning, but I wasn't really focusing. I was stuck on what the woman had said, "you have been selected" selected for what? The initiative, the helpful part or the human trafficking part?
"Rex...are you there?" Olivia asked me over the earphone jerking me back to reality.
"Yes, yes...I'm here, you're doing good"
At another table now;
"Welcome to the initiative..I'm Annette..Sofia Annette and I handle all social related events of the initiative..
How did you learn about the initiative?"
"A friend of mine told me about it, after we buried my late husband"
"I'm so sorry about that..may his soul rest in peace"
"Amen" Olivia replied.
This Sofia of a person seemed very jovial and for the next few minutes she talked about the initiative and how it was important to maintain a tight lid on the operations.
"We have a verified social media account and I try to keep everything to a minimum because we have had a lot of cases of bad publicity...in a situation where a widow is rejected..they always try to tarnish the image of the initiative"
"I understand.." Olivia replied.
I was glad to hear her voice was stable now and not as uncertain or shaky as it had been before.
She surprised me by asking. "The widows that get rejected...why? What is the criteria?"
YOU ARE READING
Delayed Diagnosis {Book 1 of the Rex Obasi Trilogy}
Mystery / Thriller"What is your predicament?" he repeated slowly I was getting pissed. My predicament is; I led my coworker and friend to an early grave, my fiancé if I dare call her that, was gallivanting around God knows where, doing God knows what. I had never eve...
