Sister, Sister.

V. The Sleepover

THREE MONTHS, TWO WEEKS AND ONE DAY AFTER

Karlie

The foamy waves crash noisily  against the bank. It is a beautiful sight.

The wind tousles my hair and the scent of the ocean is so intoxicating like rich wine,
I take more steps towards the calling ocean.

My toes are caked with wet sand and goosebumps decorate my arms due to the cold
but I keep walking until I am ankle-deep in the bone-chilling water.

The water is a dark grey colour, almost black.
And the sky is the same colour
as the ocean so they bleed into each other at the horizon.

I know I should not go deeper,
I'll drown, I can't swim.
But I do.
I take another step,
then another and another
until I'm knee-deep in the water. The hem of my black summer dress is already soak.

I hear my name in the waves,
it sounds like a gurgle.
Then I see her.
Kat.

She floats towards me,
emerging from the horizon.
She looks ethereal;
the dark waters wrap
around her limps and
torso and flow from
her head into the ocean.

Her mouth opens,
she calls out to me.
I want to run but the waters entangle around my ankles holding me still.

She calls my name again,
this time she is so close
that I feel the bitter coldness of her breath.
She grabs my arm
and drags me with her
into the dark icy ocean.

I'm crying, pleading.
The ocean begins to howl,
pushing me with her
and I begin to sink.

~

"Karlie, Karlie." Warm hands shake me until I wake up. "Sweetie, you are crying."

The pillow is damp and something rolls off my face onto the pillowcase. She holds me to her and rubs my back. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I'm fine now." I don't want Nikky worrying about me. At least Kat was not a zombie in the dream. She has let me stay over in her house for an impromptu sleepover because of the heavy rain that caused a flood in half of Calabar.

Yesterday, Jesse told me that some roads are inaccessible because some trees collapsed across them so they will not be going to church until everything is cleared. Nikky made sure I sleep in her bed instead of the guest room so that her sons won't keep me up at night (her words).

My Mum called yesterday, she was almost crying and I could not understand half of what she was  saying. When I told her that I would sleepover at Nikky's, she asked me to give Nikky the phone and they talked for ten minutes probably discussing how they can keep me from getting pregnant while I'm at Nikky's.

Then Jesse made hot chocolate for Jared and I, the twins were too engrossed in the cartoon they were watching to give me any of their attention. Nikky borrowed me a sweater and baggy trousers to change into after she ushered me into her bathroom for a hot bath.

I fell asleep on the couch next to Jared, I remember us talking but I don't remember what we were talking about. Nikky woke me up and lead me to her bedroom.

"You have three missed calls," Nikky says. She picks my phone from the bedside table next to her and hands it over to me. Dad called at eleven pm, apparently Mum gave him the gist of what happened.

It's 4.32am. Dad is probably awake doing one thing or the other concerning his researches. I dial his number, he picks up on the first ring.

"Unwanyen,"  Dad says calling me by my Bette name, it means 'sweet child', "how are you?" My Dad's deep voice makes me calm. I suck in a breath and release with puffed cheeks.