Kiss of Words (part 1)

     Peju spat into the dust in disgust and slipped the last of the Tom Toms into her mouth. She looked up warily at the gathering clouds and hoped an okada would come by soon enough. It had been the usual at Dumebi’s the previous night except for the fact that she’d overslept. That was the mistake…because it meant that she couldn’t slip out of the house while Dumebi was still asleep and she’d had to endure his pathetic attempts at romance without the numbness of plenty alcohol in her blood. She spat again. She hated it so much when he kissed her, which was an irony since her body seemed dead to her. Being kissed always felt as though she had been violated, as if he had forcefully reached into her soul without her permission. Men were free to do with her body as they pleased, as long as they gave her what she wanted. She felt nothing, neither revulsion nor pleasure. Once in a while, her mind would wander back to that cold harmattan day sixteen years ago. The day her body had died its first death…and its murderer? Her trusted Uncle Wale. His thin face taunted and mocked her even now… reminding her that she was good for nothing except to give five minutes of pleasure to whatever man could put a roof over her head and food in her belly. She spat again, this time from hatred as much as disgust.  Her mind went back to Dumebi and his attempts at romance. She laughed dryly. Why did he even bother? To him, she was still nothing but an object of pleasure. She’d been with him for almost a year… her longest so far, and Dumebi did not know squat about what she did when she wasn’t with him. More accurately, he didn’t give a damn. He often times had to be reminded what department she was in. Apparently, he didn’t think she needed a life apart from the one she had with him. She laughed again. At least, his yahoo-yahoo money was allowing her to enjoy the finer things of life.

*                         *                             *  

“Good afternoon”. Dotun looked up from the papers he was grading to see Peju Daudu standing in the doorway. He felt the familiar stirrings of compassion she invoked in him every time he saw her. He’d heard all the stories, seen the video clips being passed around, heard all the cruel jokes but for some reason, all he wanted to do was reach out to her. He’d tried time and again to draw close without his actions being misinterpreted but she withdrew the more each time he tried. Shaking himself out of his momentary reverie, he smiled kindly and replied, “Aunty, how u dey?”

“Fine…please when is Dr. Ehime coming back? I need to see him.” She answered hurriedly. Judging by the awful grade he had seen earlier on her exam paper and the sardonic smile on Dr. Ehime’s face as he set it aside, Dotun knew he didn’t need to ask her why she needed to see his supervisor. He remembered how disappointed he had been when he’d found out that Dr. Ehime was going to be his project supervisor. Little did he know that God had set the perfect stage for him to reach one of Dr. Ehime’s many mistresses right under the lecturers nose. Dotun wondered again for the umpteenth time how he would ever be able to reach the girl. He had stopped asking God why he had such a strong burden for her and simply accepted that God wanted him to reach out to one of His beloved. He’d tried times without number to keep a conversation flowing without appearing as though he was making advances but she remained cold and distant. Making up his mind, he sat back in the imitation leather chair and decided for the first time to be blunt and direct.

“This isn’t the only way to get good grades, you know. You have so much potential inside of you…and you’re letting it all go to waste because you think you’re only worth anything because of your body.” He said matter-of-factly. For a brief second, Dotun saw shock and then pain flicker across Peju’s face but almost immediately, the cold aloofness returned. She laughed dryly and walked out of the door.