The scent between us
Some mornings set out like it's going to be a beautiful day with warm, soft, small promises you could already see coming your way even before they arrive.
That was how it felt that morning when I stepped out of the house running. I was already late for an 8 am appointment.
The sun was barely shining, but I could see as it lay itself beautiful across the rooftops of Uyo, like a soft blanket pulled over a sleeping child on a cold day.
The city was already alive with movement. Students, traders, and workers, all on their way to work.
I looked at the passing buildings as I sat as the only passenger inside the Keke (commercial tricycle) I boarded. I had my headphones locked in. Humming along to the loud beats of Love by Burna Boy off his latest album-No sign of weakness. Shutting off the outside world and the deafening hum of the tired Keke, I was inside.
The driver didn’t pity his rickety ride at all. He throttled hard like a madman that every bump on the busy Ikot Ekpene Road felt like a warning. I, on the other hand, didn’t mind. I was late and needed to be at my meeting in the next 10 minutes.
All of a sudden, he slowed down. I held onto the seats not to lose my balance. And finally, he came to a halt.
I frowned. Pulled off my headphones.
Was he out of fuel? Did something spoil? I asked myself silently.
Then I saw her. A few steps ahead. Standing by the roadside with one hand raised gently in the air.
She was perfect. In every way. The kind perfection that makes a man drool. Her red, flowery gown clung tight to her body like a second skin. Curvy in all the places a poet would write about. Revealing the very perfect wonders of God's creation. Her skin was the colour of burnt caramel, rich and smooth, just like the finest chocolate. Her eyes were like a pool of melted chocolate. She held an iPhone in one hand, a shiny designer bag in the other. She wasn’t forcing it. She was simply it. A wonderful work of God's art.
I watched shamelessly as she walked over and leaned into the Keke. She spoke to the driver, with a voice softer than silk. And after some haggling, she climbed in and sat beside me.
At that moment, I had only one mission: get her number before my stop.
"Good morning, sir" she greeted with the softest smile.
I smiled back, revealing my whole dentition. "Good Morning, my dear," I replied in a sonorous voice. A voice I had suddenly grown over the last few minutes.
But just as she settled beside me, there was a change in the atmosphere.
No, it wasn't her aura. Nor her smile.
It was something else.
Something hot. Hotter than her looks.
It clung to the air like a punishment. Disorganizing my thoughts and tightening my chest. It was something corrosive. Hurting my nose and disrupting my senses.
I turned to the other side, tried to breathe through my mouth. But it wasn't me. I was good. In fact, I had brushed just before leaving the house.
I sniffed again, slightly. Not to be noticed.
And then I realised. It was her.
With such beauty and such aura. Yet, her scent was a lie. It wasn't like the everyday odour of a sweat-stained market woman. It was putrid pouring out from her like smoke from a burning house.
I looked at the time. 8:45 a.m.
I blinked. Then looked again just to be sure. Then I sighed.
"Wasn't it too early for a human to have such an offensive smell?" My thoughts whispered. But I had no answer for it.
I quickly threw my face to the other side and stared out at the passing buildings. At the same time, take in fresh air. The mission was the same anymore. It changed drastically. It wasn't about getting her number anymore. It was about surviving the short journey without fainting.
I got to my destination and alighted. Then I paid the driver and took one last look at her. I instantly felt pity.
Maybe I was being harsh, or maybe I wasn't. Maybe I judged too early. Maybe it was something out of her control. Maybe a medical condition she couldn't handle. Or maybe it was something under her control. Something a little life of cleanliness and a bottle of deodorant can solve.
So many maybe's.
But whatever it was, I prayed she would find a solution and sort it out fast.
