Dancing With The Masquerade

CHAPTER TWO: MIRROR

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MIRROR

"Where's Steve?" Mum repeated.

I rubbed the palms of my hands along the surface of the denim trouser I had on and lightly cleared my throat. "He won't be coming." I confessed; my voice lower than I would have liked.

"What?" she queried as she lifted her eyes to me.

Again, I sighed, much audibly than the last time. "We broke up. He won't be here and I'm not getting married soon." I stated, bolder than I thought. I waited for a reaction—for her to explode or something—but strangely, she looked meek as she lowered her eyes from me and to uncle Chimdi. They exchanged strange glances, too strange that my brows furrowed.

She cleared her throat. "Well... maybe, maybe he's not the best man for you. It's better this way."

What?

I opened my mouth to say something, but Uncle Chimdi interrupted. "Um, Chidera, take Kasie inside. She is most probably exhausted from the journey. Go on. Your aunt has gone to the market, she'll be back soon and you can eat something."

"Yes, dad." Chidera replied happily and before I could analyse the situation any further, I was being dragged away. Although, I knew something wasn't right—I could sense it—especially because my uncle suddenly became caring enough to tell me to rest and let his wife do all the cooking.

I spared mum one last glance, but she wouldn't look at me. It was really weird.

"So, this is your bed, the bathroom, wardrobe and dressing table." Chidera said, pointing at the aforementioned places once we were in the room, and I folded my arms in response.

"Really? This is my room."

"Correction. Our room." Lota pointed out and giggled. So did the rest.

"I know. You haven't been home in a while, so..." Chidera's voice trailed off.

"So? It's just two years and in those two years, it's majorly during the Christmas holidays and that's weeks." I said, feeling the need to defend myself.

They laughed, light but ridiculously.

"What?" I had to ask, and they simply shook their heads.

"Nothing. We're happy you're here. We're going to have so much fun." Chidera was smiling from ear to ear as she spoke, and I couldn't help smiling myself as I shook my head at her.

"You're that excited that you're getting married?"

"Excitement is an understatement. She's head over heels in love with Eze. At night, she never sleeps. They talk on phone till... I don't even know because I fall asleep." Jachi pointed out, and I could sense the slight frustration in her voice. Jachi and Chidera were the same age, twenty-four. They had grown up together, almost like twins.

I drop my arms. "Are you sure this is it? He's the one? You know, you're still young and there's enough time for you to think things through." I said out of care, feeling the need to let her know it was okay not to fall under societal pressure.

Chidera shook her head. "No. No more waiting. I'm sure he's the one. We've been together for a while."

"If a year is a while, then so be it." Jachi interrupted as she looked away. I tilted my head a little to the side as I stare at her.

"Oh my God, Jachi, get over it. I'm getting married to Eze. Period." Chidera stated. Much stricter now. Her smile now gone as she shot the young lady by her side a look.

"I know you like him. I'm simply saying not to hurry into a marriage with him. If it ends up not working out, you're stuck with him."

"What do you want from me? Date him till I'm twenty-six, thirty? I'll be old and he'll probably tire of waiting."

I couldn't help raising a brow at her words, and even more so as she drifted her eyes back to me. A certain realisation dawned on her.

"I-I'm sorry, Kasie... I-I didn't mean it like that. I'm not saying you're old or that... it's not about you. What I... I was simply trying to explain something..." A sigh left her lips as I kept staring at her, head tilted a little to the side, a raised brow and my arms folded again.

"I'm sorry." She apologised with a sad expression, and honestly, her words could not upset me. It wasn't her fault. She had simply said what was on her mind.

"All right." I dropped my arms. "I need to freshen up. Maybe, we can talk later." I said, reaching for my luggage. Thankfully, none of them said any more words, and they stood to their feet, then left the room one after the other.

Once I laid the box down and unzipped it, I flipped open and I stayed still, staring at nothing in particular. Chidera's words came back to mind.

Great! I am bothered by her words.

Now, standing in the bathroom, in front of the sink, my inner turmoil continued. This shouldn't bother me, I know that. Twenty-six isn't old. Sure, my twenties are slipping out of my grasp, but I'm not old. I'm definitely not old. Once, I'd assured myself, I lifted my eyes to the mirror.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed, almost at the top of my voice. I immediately looked away, my hands covering my mouth and my heart racing faster than it was a few seconds ago. I'd seen something. Something was in the mirror... or rather, a reflection of what was behind me.

Oh, dear God! Could something really be behind me? I had to look... I was sure it was nothing. I was sure for a minute that my eyes played tricks on me. Yeah... it has to be it.

One, two, three! Immediately, I turned around, and, like I'd suspected, there was no one there. I looked around the bathroom and even back to the room. There was no one. My brows furrowed as I stared into the mirror once more. Strange, I could have sworn I'd seen something, a figure. I couldn't explain what exactly I'd seen, but it scared me; It wasn't normal and... yes... I don't think I saw a person's face.

Lightly, I shook my head. I was being ridiculous. Yes, that's what was happening. Finally, I pushed all the thoughts to the back of my mind and freshened up.

The moment I was ready, I made my way down the staircases, wondering where to go next. The aroma from the kitchen and the familiar voice beckoned to me, so I took the path to it. As I walked in, I could see aunt Ruby, Uncle Chimdi's wife, hard at work alongside one of the hired helpers. She was yet to see me, as her attention was only on what she was doing.

"Good evening, aunt Ruby." I greeted as I took steps closer. She turned to me and her eyes lit up.

"Kasiemobi." She called my name in full and hurried to engulf me in a warm hug.

"How are you doing? It has been a long time since I last saw you." She stated the moment we let go of the hug. I watched her inspect me, barely giving me enough time to reply to her question.

"You've lost weight. Are you sick? Oh... I heard about Steve. You don't need to think too hard about your situation. Trust me, it's for the best."

A light furrow surfaced between my brows, regarding her words.

The best?

A broad smile played on her face. "I'm sure you've seen your cousin. She's really excited about her wedding. I'm excited too. I mean, she found the right man for herself at such a young age and Eze, oh, he's such a gentleman. He's an engineer, and he has a steady fat income and he's from a reputable family, maybe not from the same village as us, but he's our neighbor. He works outside the country and Chidera will move there with him..."

I faked a smile and gently nodded as she spoke. Wow, I can't believe I'd somehow forgotten how boastful aunt Ruby could be.

A sharp scent filled my nostrils. "Aunty." I called her to a stop. "The meat is burning." I pointed out and almost instantly she turned away to attend to it. I took that moment as my cue to walk away while I could, and so that was what I did.