IMANI

13

Imani came out of Mena's room to get water from the kitchen. The house was gigantic, so Imani couldn't remember the directions Mena gave her. She stood in front of Mena's door and scratched her head, trying to remember what she said.

"Left then right then down the stairs then right and then left again," Imani recited it. She followed all the instructions but somehow ended up in a hallway with a dead end.

"Why would Fego want to bring up a child in a maze? This is punishment," Imani thought. She had never been the best with directions. She was just going to keep walking, and hopefully, she ended up in the kitchen. Imani heard a sound coming from one of the doors. Curiosity got the best of her, and she opened the door. Fego was in the room. He held a glass vase in his hand.
The whole floor was covered in shattered glass. Imani saw blood dripping from his hands and ran to his side immediately.
"Mr. Dickson stop this," she said, trying to reach for the vase in his hand. He stared at her blankly. His cheeks were stained with cheeks.

"You're bleeding. Let's get you treated," Imani said, trying to collect the vase from Fego. He didn't release the jar.
"Mr. Dickson, whatever is going on, I just want you to calm down. It would be fine, okay," Imani reassured him.
He let go of the vase, and it shattered to the floor. He sat on the floor quietly and stared into space.

Imani had seen Fego with different moods, but this was definitely. He looked depressed and sad. He looked angry at the world too. Imani knew what he was going through. She sat down beside him, being careful to avoid the glass.
They were silent for a while. The blood dripping down his arm, concerned Imani. She couldn't stop looking at it. She wanted to help him stop the bleeding.

She looked around the room to see if anything could help her. The place looked like a pottery. The walls were white and filled with all kinds of pots, vases.

"The house is so big that it has its pottery,"
Imani said. Finally, her eyes landed on a little first aid kit that was hung on the wall. Imani got up and brought it down from where it was. She used her leg to push the broken glass and vases on the floor before kneeling in front of an unfazed Fego. The room had a giant window that Fego was staring out of. It was like he couldn't see Imani. Imani checked and saw he had a cut on his cheek and the other side of his arm too.

"Did he lie down on the shards," she thought. She opened the first aid kit and brought out the cotton wool and rubbing alcohol. She poured a little of the rubbing alcohol on the cotton wool and placed it on his wound to stop the bleeding. He hissed and moved his hand away from the cotton wool.

"Mr. Dickson, you have to stay still okay. You're bleeding," She said
"What do you care?" Fego asked her, staring at her face for the first time since she entered the room.
"I care because I don't want to Mena to see her uncle like this, so hold still," Imani said, pulling his arm closer and placing the cotton wool back on his arm. He hissed but held his arms still.

Imani cleaned all the wounds on his body before focusing on the cut on his face. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she stared at his face. She was so close to his face. She knew he could feel her breathing on his face.

Imani's hands trembled as she cleaned the cut on his face with a ball of fresh cotton wool. She moved back and poured rubbing alcohol on another cotton wool. She placed her wool on the cut. Fego hissed and moved his head away from her. As he moved his head, his lips accidentally grazed Imani's cheeks. Imani pulled away from him like she had been burnt.

They both stared into each other's eyes for some seconds before Imani looked down and packed up the first aid kit. She sat down beside him. She wasn't sure if she should speak to him or just let the silence fill the air.