I saw the end in a flash.

I experience mood swings a lot and my family doesn't like that side of me but there is no way it won't happen because many times find myself between the present and the future in my imagination. Allowing the future to take care of itself is not in my dictionary and even if I will allow the future to take control, I won't stop thinking about all the possible events that could come up due to the present situation of things with or around me.

After quitting my first teaching job about four months after I started, I decided to run a small business center. I was fifteen years old and was eager to make money for my family and his education.

Selling recharge cards was a lucrative business then so I joined the business with the help of my mom and my savings.

I found a busy area and started the business. I became very popular within a short time and the business was good.

A classmate of mine stays in that environment so he usually visits me, we chat and do a lot of things together. He was dating one of our juniors in school and they usually meet at my place, we were all close friends.

His girlfriend had a friend who started joining us in the evening when she needs help with assignments. I and the friend became very close, she was very attached to me but I didn't see it as anything.

During the school holiday, she came over with food and my friend asked why I wouldn't just date her since he was dating the friend.

I laughed at his suggestion and told him it wasn't possible.

The girl was the same age as me but my education was faster than hers.

I maintained the friendship and didn't allow it to exceed that for a long time. The girl once asked if I didn't like her because every guy in that area was desperate to be her boyfriend and I had to make her understand that I have a long way to go than settle for all that.

About a year after, a lot of people started the business around me so I had to stop when the business wasn't moving anymore.

On a fateful day, I heard someone knocking so I went to check the gate. I met two women and a guy from that place where I was doing business before.

I greeted them and asked the guy what happened, I was even still wondering how they knew my house.

"Kemi is missing and we want to know if she is with you", one of the women replied.

"My house? Why would she be in my house?", I asked.

"Did you know she is missing?", one of the women asked and I responded, "yes".

I explained how her friend messaged me on 2go and my younger brother who attends the same school told me that she was missing.

They left after the conversation.

I didn't understand what was going on, I didn't feel comfortable being interrogated over a missing girl's case. I returned inside after they left and it wasn't long before I heard a knock again.

I went to check but this time, they came with police officers.

"We saw the missing girl entering here now", one of the women said.

I turned around to see if they were seeing something I wasn't seeing but nothing was behind me. They forcefully searched my apartment and after they found nothing, one of the officers said, "you will follow us to the station".

"For what?", I asked and before I knew it, they started dragging me.

I resisted but was overpowered in the end.

Immediately I stepped out of the house with the police, landladies who were shop owners approached us but the police wouldn't let me talk so they got into their cars and followed the police van to the station.

On arriving there, I felt terrible because I have read stories of people who were falsely accused of crimes they didn't commit.

"Who is the mother of this boy", the IPO of the case asked, and about 8 landladies who followed me stepped forward.

"How can you have so many people as a mother", the IPO asked me and I told her my mom was at work.

It wasn't long before my mom and more neighbors joined us and I couldn't help but break into tears when I saw her.

They explained the situation of things and immediately my mom denied it.

"My son will never do such a thing", she replied.

I was told to write a statement and while the IPO was reading it, she raised her head.

"You are sixteen?", she asked.

"Yes, ma", I replied.

"You are just the exact age of my son but you look older", she continued and requested to see the mother of the girl.

They whispered about something and in the end, the IPO dropped the statement.

"I can't continue with this, I can tell that this boy is innocent", the IPO left the place and the police that came to my house put me behind the counter.

A lot was running through my mind, what if they decided to cheat me? Wouldn't that mean I will spend the rest of my life in jail?

I couldn't stop crying, I felt heartbroken because they just choose to inflict pain on me.

The night was approaching, and the officers told my mom to go and come back the next day but she wouldn't allow her son to sleep in police custody.

She called her half brother who was a CID and he arrived late.

He requested to see the DPO of that station and after some time, I was invited for another interrogation.

They agreed to release me but I will report the next day to the station for further investigation.

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_Source

The night was a sleepless one for me, my imagination was wild. I thought of absconding before the day break because I may never get the justice if punished wrongly.

Here in my country, the rich or influential always have the upper hand whether you are guilty or not.

I tried to be calm and at daybreak, I reported to the station again. I was kept somewhere and at the end of the day, I was allowed to go home but I need to come every day which I did until one weekend when I was told that I have been charged to court for abduction.

"Just like that", I told myself.

The next day, I refused to show up at the police station since all I did there was to help people write their statements because they couldn't read or write.

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I didn't show up and they didn't bother finding me. We were expecting the unexpected but I was determined not to pay for a crime I didn't commit.

Months passed and the information reached us that the girl has been found, we got to know the hidden part of the story.

The girl was punished by her mother on the day she left the house. The woman gave her sachet water to hawk and instead of doing that, the girl went to cry somewhere and a man who comforted her took her away.

She returned home with two months pregnancy that couldn't be aborted for reasons known to them and the man was apprehended somehow.

The reason for my wrong arrest was that the girl told her friends that I was her boyfriend and the guys in the environment who were jealous of our friendship facilitated the arrest.

The girl's mother happens to be the DPO lover so every stunt she pulled was easy for her.

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People encouraged my mom to sue them for impersonation but she didn't. The missing girl came looking for me to apologize for everything her mother did. I told her she didn't offend me but we didn't have anything to do together after that day.