Should I Tell?

The night air was very cool, it had rained earlier that evening. The little shower was God-sent because the heat had been so intense and everyone had groaned under its heavy weight. The day scorched by the sun made it hell for everyone to sleep at night, but that evening, the heavens had blessed us with a moderate shower.

The soothing touch of the cool wind on my skin was all I needed, to enjoy my evening. So, I decided to sit outside my apartment for a while, and soak it all in. The compound was bathed in darkness, save for the flickering glow of a neighbour’s candle behind a louvered window, and the occasional flashlights of my phone when I felt the humming presence of those tiny mosquitoes, wanting to feed on my blood.

The clouds were dark and heavy with impending rain but I was not deterred. My husband and daughter had retired for the night and it could be so peaceful and calm without my daughter's incessant whirring and disturbances.

Then I heard it—more like a whisper, I thought it was by one of those cats that scavenged for rats at night.

Then it came again, louder this time;
"Mummy Mirabel.. Mummy Mirabel, please open the gate."

I froze. My name floated through the night like a ghostly call, soft but insistent.

I turned towards the rusty iron gate, I couldn't see anyone but of course I wouldn't, wrought iron wasn't meant to be transparent. I knew whoever it was that was calling me, could see me from the small opening.

I recognized the voice immediately—it was Titi, the landlord’s daughter.

As I opened the gate, she was just a shadowy figure standing outside, barely visible in the dim moonlight. Then I pointed my phone torchlight for more illumination.

"Titi, what are you doing out there at this time?" I whispered back. "It's very late and you shouldn't be outside at this time of the night.

Please auntie just open," she urged.

"Thank you very much ma" she whispered before hurrying towards the back of the house.

Something wasn't right, I could feel it but.....I wasn't sure what it was.

I sighed, rubbed my forehead, and went back to my chair. A few minutes later, I decided to go inside the house, the night was far gone.

While I was saying my prayers, I heard the sound of the gate again, and then very light footsteps as the gate quietly closed.

I wondered who was sneaking around—then I went back to my prayers.

The next night, I sat outside as usual, till very late. This should be around 11p.m, then the gate again, softly opening, someone had come in from outside, I wondered which of my co-tenants could stay up this late, except of course they were dealing with an urgent matter.

Then Titi slipped inside, on her heels was the figure of a man. I could easily make that out squinting in the darkness, but trying to make out the mystery man’s face was a futile attempt. He was tall, wearing a hoodie, and moved like someone who had done this before.

I shook my head. What nonsense was this? What loads of balderdash was this?

Yes, balderdash! What else would you call a supposedly well-brought-up university girl sneaking in and out of her father’s house like a thief, and bringing in a hoodied man in the middle of the night? Absolute balderdash.

She muttered her usual "goodnight," then hurried towards the back of the house, with the hooded man.

What if her father caught her? That man didn’t joke. What would he do if he knew of Titi's nightly escapades?

Wait. Wait. Hold up. Titi was not just sneaking out of the house but was also sneaking in a guy into their house.

I was so disappointed.

So almost every night, I watched Titi smuggle in her mystery boyfriend in what seemed like a midnight romance. I wouldn't have had to witness all of these if not for my heat -infested apartment.

As I thought about it this evening, a sharp cold spread through my chest. Titi was barely eighteen, her eighteenth birthday would come up next June. She was a very brilliant girl and was already in her second year in the university. But with the way she was going, I could see that she was headed for big big trouble very soon.

Should I tell on her? ...... Or should I try to advise her in the hope that she might change her ways?

She was too young to follow this path.

All images are AI generated.

Thank you for reading

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