Chronicles of a Runs Girl
Part 29: My Story

To tell you the truth, I’m even tired of everything; of the London boy, of Rotimi, of school, of hustling, and of telling you everything that’s happened to me. Nobody should ever share everything about themselves, but it is what the likes of Facebook and twitter and BB status messages have taught us – to share every single thing that happens to us or that comes to our minds. But it shouldn’t be so, should be things that one keeps to herself. For this reason and with this realisation I have decided to make this the last of the revelations of my life to you.

So, how do I go about telling you what happened next after they took me to the Police Commissioner’s house? After we got there and met his convoy just about to leave his house. After the policewoman next to me radioed him and told him she had brought me. After I came down the car and I was introduced to him. After he embraced me like a father would do his daughter, and asked me if I was ok. I don’t know how to tell it because there is so much to tell and so much I’d rather keep to myself, but one thing happened that day at the commissioner’s house that I cannot but share.

The man himself was a gentle man by all appearances and words. He took me back into his house and we all sat down in his parlour. His wife was there as well, and he had told her about me. She also took me in her arms as if I was her daughter, and I saw that she wanted to cry when the policewoman told her boss how I’d fallen off the motorcycle.

Then when I was still trying to get a fix on what was going on and feeling very exposed because everyone around me knew my story and I didn’t know theirs, the commissioner’s phone rang and after answering it he told me someone wanted to talk to me.

It was Johnny!

“Omoge, I hear say you do them Rambo!” were the first words he spoke to me. “I dey come join you there now-now, tell Sunday not to leave his house until we get there!”

Sunday was the police commissioner.

True to the policewoman’s words, Johnny and his friends had been rescued and the kidnappers arrested. I was just so relieved that I started to cry and this made the commissioner’s wife to join me on my sofa and hold me in her arms and start crying as well.

The commissioner looked around and told the policewoman and the two men with her to sit down.  He asked the female officer about Brutus and she said he was currently under detention. A policeman came into the parlour and saluted next to the commissioner.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Doctor is here sir,” the officer said.

“Alone?”

“No sir, he is with one lady.”

“Let them come in.”

He got up from his sit and walked over to mine. He sat by my side so that I was between him and his wife.

“Amaka,” he said, “Your boyfriend is here. He has been calling me all night and even threatening me.”

I was confused, partly because I didn’t know what or who he meant by my boyfriend, and partly because he had sounded like he was making a joke, or at least trying to. Then I realised that the doctor who had arrived was my doctor. He had called the police after all.

The commissioner continued. “Early this morning he said he was bringing your lawyer. He said they have something to discuss with me about what happened to you.”

I realised he was questioning me. He was as lost as I was.

“Do you know anything about this?” he asked.

“About what?”

“The lady. I spoke to her; her name is Amaka, just like you. We know her. She causes a lot of trouble for us.”

His wife spoke. “Amaka is here?”

“Yes,” her husband replied.

“Good!” the woman said. I was even more lost at this point.

A dark, beautiful lady walked into the parlour as if she owned the place. She looked around and as her eyes settled on me, the commissioner’s wife struggled to her feet – she was fat – and danced over to hug her. They embraced and it was the only time the lady called Amaka smiled.

She walked up to me and shook hands with the commissioner. I was waiting for her to greet me when I saw Rotimi walk into the parlour. He looked tired. He was still wearing the same clothes he wore the night before when he dropped me at Johnny’s house. He smiled and I wanted to run to him. The lady turned to me.

“Amaka, my name is Amaka. I’m a lawyer. Rotimi asked me to represent you. You don’t have to say anything. In fact, I don’t want you to say anything, just nod if you agree that I should be your lawyer.”

I looked at Rotimi. He nodded and so did I.

The commissioner and Rotimi exchanged greetings, they knew each other. The commissioner’s wife sat with one buttock on the edge of the sofa, facing me as if she expected something explosive to happen and she was preparing herself not to miss it.

Amaka, the other Amaka, took a card out of her phone case and handed it to the commissioner.

“This is my card,” she said.

The commissioner took it and took his time inspecting it, he even turned it over, and then he handed it to a policeman standing close to him.

“My client is going to sue the Nigerian police force,” the lawyer said.

My jaw dropped.

The commissioner smiled as if he had expected it. “She’s safe and so are her friends,” he said.

“Yes, that may be so, but that’s not what we are suing for.”

I heard Johnny’s voice, making jokes with someone, so did the commissioner.

“Please, one moment,” the commissioner begged my lawyer. He got to his feet just as Johnny walked in with his son in tow.

You wouldn’t know he had just been released from kidnappers. He looked healthy and cheerful. He looked like Johnny!

“Ol’ boy, you for leave me with those bastards make I teach them sense,” he said to the commissioner. “Me I was already planning my escape, you know I’ve watched plenty film.”

It was just like Johnny to go through such an ordeal and still be able to make jokes. He looked at me and spread out his arms. I walked into them, tears in my eyes.

“Amaka maka. I’m so sorry you got involved in all this mess.”

John junior shook hands with everybody, including the officers who were obviously guards. When he shook Rotimi, he took both his hands in his.

“Baby,” Johnny said, “They said you did Rambo for one of them.”

He was referring to the officer on the bike. The commissioner asked everyone to settle down then he told the woman to explain what had transpired.

“Shoo? So the man Amaka beat was a policeman?” Johnny asked.

“Yes, sir,” the policewoman said.

The lawyer lady introduced herself to Johnny.

“I’m glad you’re fine,” she said. “We were in the middle of discussing something just before you came. We will continue now, if it’s ok with you.”

The commissioner asked her if it couldn’t wait and she said no.

“Like I was saying my client is suing the police force for what happened to her while in custody with the police. She shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place, so she shouldn’t even have been there, then she was raped by a police officer.”

“What!” That was Johnny.

“Yes, raped. And the officer even had the time to record video evidence of his crime on his phone.”

“What!” That was the police commissioner.

The commissioner’s wife squeezed my palms. She had been holding them in hers all along. I was confused. I didn’t remember the man filming me, but then again I didn’t remember a lot. There were even times when I didn’t remember him doing anything to me. I wasn’t even sure he did.

“Amaka, I want to show you a video on my phone. Just watch it and tell me if you are the one on the video and if you recognize the other person in the video and if he is the officer that violated you.”

My heart was about to explode. He had recorded it and it was being passed around like all those other videos that boys share with each other on campus.

“Let me see,” the commissioner said.

Amaka looked at him as if he had asked her to take off her clothes. “Let you see? You mean you haven’t seen the video? The one your officer made and shared with his colleagues? Of my client being brutally violated and humiliated?”

“I wasn’t told about any video.” He turned to the lady officer. “Did you know about this?”

“No sir. This is the first time I’m hearing of it sir.”

Amaka was standing in the middle of the room with her phone in her hand.

“Well, if my client gives her permission for you to see it then I’ll let you see it, she has already been humiliated enough. Your lawyer will get a copy anyway, but be assured that if the video gets out we will come down hard on you.”

She beckoned for me to come to her.

“This is not going to be pleasant,” she said. “I’ll turn down the volume and I’ll show you just a little bit of it then I’ll ask you to identify the people in it. Is that ok?”

I nodded.

“No one else will see this video unless you want them to. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“I’m really sorry to have to show it to you, but it’s important for our case. They must pay for what happened to you. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

She cupped her fingers over the screen so that only I could see it.

“Do you recognize the people in the video?”

“Yes.”

“Are you in the video?”

“Yes.”

“Do you recognize the man?”

“Yes.”

“Is he your friend?”

“No.”

“Who is he?”

“A policeman.”

“What is he doing to you?”

I looked at her. She put her phone back into its cover.

“What was he doing to you?”

“He was raping me.”

Rotimi, Johnny, and the commissioner’s wife all came to me. Rotimi and Johnny stepped back and allowed the commissioner’s wife to take me back to the sofa.

Amaka wasn’t done.

“Imagine what it would do to the police force if this video were to find its way onto Linda Ikeji’s blog? But enough damage has already been done to my client so we would ask that this case be handled with the strictest confidentiality, or else we would seek even greater damages.”

“How much?” the commissioner asked.

“How much for what?”

“To settle out of court.”

“And what makes you think we are willing to settle out of court?”

“Amaka, I know you. This is not the first time you are getting us. How much?”

“I’ll have to talk to my client.”

Later that day we were all at Johnny’s house. I’d never seen so many Lebanese people in the same place at the same time. Rotimi was there as well, and his friend my lawyer, Amaka.

John junior had been avoiding me all day. I found an opportunity to corner him in the kitchen when he went to take a call away from the noise in the parlour. As soon as he saw me coming he ended his call. I asked him how he was at the same time as he was asking me the same thing.

“Thanks, Amaka,” he said.

“For what?”

“For being there for my dad.”

“He’s like a father to me.”

“I guess that makes me like a brother to you?”

“I guess.”

We both smiled, following an awkward moment, then we hugged.

“Thanks,” I whispered into his ear.

“For what?”

“Just, thanks.”

When I returned to the parlour Johnny was standing up gesticulating as he narrated his fantastic take on his abduction.

His friends, the Americans, had immediately left the country, probably never to return, and with them his investment dreams, but he was beaming and boasting and totally loving being the centre of attraction.

“And this one,” he said to his audience, “When my son called her to come and put her life in danger to rescue me, she just said Oya now!”

I was just so happy he was back.

I excused myself to go take a shower. The truth was I wanted to be alone to say a thank you prayer to God and to cry out whatever tears remained in me.

Somehow, one terrible thing on Falomo Bridge had planted something in my heart that was to change me forever. It had started with the London boy and it had come full circle back to him, or at least to his brother.

If not for the stupid boy I wouldn’t have become so afraid of life as usual. I wouldn’t have started questioning my choices, and Kike’s boyfriend calling her and ashewo like that wouldn’t have had such an impact on me.

Am I a prostitute? I’ve never thought of myself as one. Yes I do runs, but only to survive. I don’t buy GUCCI belts and LV bags. I don’t wear Brazilian hair. I don’t stand on the street prostituting myself. But I need money, to pay for my school and to help my mother. Does that make me a prostitute? What is a runs girl anyway, if not a prostitute in denial? An ashewo like that: Yes, I am what I was. WAS, being the operative word.

And if Johnny hadn’t been kidnapped, I wouldn’t have been arrested and the Nigerian police force wouldn’t be paying me five million naira not to sue them. And I wouldn’t have met Rotimi.

Oh, by the way. I can imagine Brutus swearing by all the gods of his ancestors that he never filmed anything, and he would have been telling the truth. Amaka never had a video, there was no video. What she showed me on her phone at the police commissioner’s house was a text message that simply read “There is no video but if they think there is one they will pay you not to sue them.”

Amaka, it turns out, works for a charity called The Street Samaritans and one of what they do is sue the police on behalf of people who can’t sue by themselves, people like me.

I came downstairs and found Johnny, John junior, Amaka and Rotimi talking like old friends.

“Omoge, where have you been? We thought they had kidnapped you too,” Johnny said.

“Me? You think I’m butter like you?”

I joined them and discovered that they were talking about politics and not me, what a relief. Amaka was making a point that there were not enough female politicians in the country, and according to her this was the reason Nigeria is the way it is. She asked how half the population – men – can determine the fates of the whole nation. Johnny asked her if she was a feminist and I cringed because up till then I thought the term referred to something bad, or at least something not socially acceptable.

“Yes,” she answered in a matter of fact manner.

“So am I,” Johnny declared in his jovial and loud manner.

After that it was all about feminism and liberal feminism and third-wave feminism and… I was lost, at least then.

Rotimi had been very quiet. At some point he took my hand and we just held hands over the armrests separating us.

“You,” Johnny said to him, “What plans do you have for my sister?”

It was the best day of my life. I was surrounded by the people I loved; friends who had become family, and I was at peace with who I was and grateful for where I was.

Amaka came in her own car. We all saw her off. Before she left she reminded me never to talk about the video to anyone.

Rotimi decided to leave as well and for some reason I just assumed I was going with him, or that he wanted me to. He looked confused when I hugged Johnny and said goodbye.

“Just like that, doctor, you are taking my sister from me?”

“Johnny,” I said, about to explain something to him that even I hadn’t thought of or found the words for. But I can always count on Johnny to be there for me. He held the door open for me then as he closed it he tapped on the window. Rotimi pressed a button to roll it down.

“Doctor, if you hurt her, you’ll answer to me,” he said.

Everybody waved and kept on waving till we had driven out of the gates and down the road.

I was looking at him. He looked at me a couple of times till a self-conscious smile started to form across his face.

“What?” he asked.

I just smiled; a smile that had formed from the deepest part of my heart. He took my hand in his and I rested our entwined fingers on my lap. I kept looking at him as he drove. I didn’t know where we were going, but I knew I would be happy when we got there.

“What?” he asked again when he looked at me and I was still looking at him.

“Every single thing I’ve ever done, every mistake I’ve ever made, every misfortune I’ve ever had, has brought me to you.”

 

"Prostitution in and of itself is an abuse of a woman's body. Those of us who say this are accused of being simple-minded. But prostitution is very simple. (…) In prostitution, no woman stays whole. It is impossible to use a human body in the way women's bodies are used in prostitution and to have a whole human being at the end of it, or in the middle of it, or close to the beginning of it. It's impossible. And no woman gets whole again later, after.”

- Andrea Dworkin

 

THE END

NEXT: Teaser: Number withheld
 



 
Comments

chixta On 17/11/2015 16:03:23
Wow! U are a great writer, pls keep d fire burning, hoping to read more of ur write-ups, thumbs up!
deevah On 05/10/2015 23:05:24
this story is very interesting so amazing can't j ust stop laughing........... please give us some more
demicho On 11/09/2015 11:37:48
And it had to finish, to be honest, I've never read a story this long as an engineering student but I did. This will make a Good script in d movies, exploit it!
seun On 17/08/2015 18:31:28
I was searching for ushering job on Google when I saw this write up.so interesting.
PRECIOUS On 21/07/2015 21:19:10
I ENJOYED EVERY BIT OF IT AND IT KEPT ME BUSY.
Mirabelsam On 20/02/2015 17:23:00
I have never been so addicted to a storyline like dis I so much love every bit of it.....I wish I could tell u mine so u can add to ur write ups....wink good but I also shed a little tear u will be a very great write if u can keep it up more grace to u.
Rossybee On 17/01/2015 14:36:06
This is gr8

miz black On 19/07/2014 14:12:43
Not much words except dis story is amazing. God bless you
jayebros On 12/07/2014 20:34:40
Dis series is so dope,nice,inspiring,suspence filled nd so real...kudos to d writer nd everyone dat has an hand in dis
iigieh On 02/07/2014 15:11:36
I'm very fortunate to have stumbled on this story on the internet. I hardly read novels but this story caught my imagination. I was wont lie, I didnt rush thru d story, I took my time, taking every chapter slowly, knowing the story wuld finish eventually but not wanting it to finish. Great work by a talented storyteller
atanco On 30/06/2014 09:58:10
wat a nice and fulfilled story
Nwachukwu On 22/12/2013 10:51:15
Never started reading a book and get to end in less that 8hrs! There is a lot to learn in this fiction. Nice work! Great work! Brilliant work! Thank you
Milkydovy On 01/08/2013 10:36:41
I jst couldnt sleep i had 2 see d vry end of this story. Amaks urs is d bst
Me On 15/07/2013 13:39:27
Wow! Spent the last hour or so reading the entire series... Rough at the edges but great story. thumbs up! 'O'
Na so On 12/05/2013 08:39:49
Well scripted
james On 09/03/2013 20:01:57
I found dis site a day ago and I has held me for almost 24hrs, who ever the writer is God bless you.
Merlinoscar On 27/02/2013 18:48:48
Amaka,i knw dats nt ur real name bt truly if dats a non-fiction then its nt all dat bad 2 b a runs girl.{2 de writer}u hv a God gift dat is folowin u around,stand up and brace up wt it and u wl b a famous writer in d world."!"merlinoscar"!" apreciates ur handi-work.KEEP IT UP AND MORE GRACE 2 UR ABLE!"!"!"!
spice girl On 10/02/2013 20:56:30
This is mind blowing. I got hooked on the story all weekend. I love it!!!!!! And I want more.
surugede On 08/02/2013 07:53:51
Very good storyline. I enjoyed every bit, more like a prolific writer. The sky is ur starting point. Kudos..........
chimaroke On 05/02/2013 05:22:36
thats a great job, you have indeed entertained us alot. This story should be published to teach people lesson if they wil learn
morayo On 03/02/2013 13:22:12
D word is simple "You are gifted"
morayo On 03/02/2013 13:22:10
D word is simple "You are gifted"
fabulousmee On 02/02/2013 22:52:44
Wow...short of words...great story!
nkem On 02/02/2013 14:26:06
Wow! Cnt believe its over.. love it
Yemi On 06/01/2013 11:42:16
Dis is well written... Dicdactic & fun 2 read. Ur sense of humour & discriptive ability is impressive. I bet, ur great writing skills would take u to greater heights. Kudos!
ummi On 05/01/2013 17:24:07
*writing*
Ummi On 05/01/2013 17:23:17
Hav u ever considered publishing it, or atleast writting a novel?. Please don't keep a talent like this hidden.
MATTY On 28/12/2012 21:43:52
DIZ so amazing,holds u spellbound 2 d end. more of dis!
burabari adule nkor On 03/12/2012 22:59:39
i love ds story. I cudnt stop till i finished. Please giv us more
Akpos On 03/10/2012 14:51:03
If you ever think of writing on other social issues, like campus cultism for instance, please consult. There are repentant people who also want to use their experience to help others get their freedom
Akpos On 03/10/2012 14:39:45
All we are sayinnnnnnng, us some moreeeeeee!
Akpos On 03/10/2012 14:28:21
I stumbled on the first episode last nite read a few and I must confess, it's 2.22pm and I am just going to face my job today cos I just finished the last episode. The emotions in this write up give away the fact that the writer is truly female. U wrote this so smoothly it's difficult for me to believe that most of it is not first hand experience or at least you discretely narrating the experience of a confidant. Well done. I acknowledge your talent and see no reason why you can't make some money of it, if u r not already doing so. Are there other thins u have written? Would there bea sequel to this or will u be writing any other thing soon? How do we know when u publish them?
Chukzee On 22/09/2012 21:58:34
Saw this story around 5pm and I read it straight to the end. Very good narrative. A story that is worth publishing. Just needs a few touch ups. Suspense all the way. and who is this mystery master abi mistress story teller?
funsho On 05/09/2012 17:14:01
Started reading this morning....its really nice.....had a wonderful tym reading.....pls it has to continue....abeg....
crystal On 28/08/2012 12:04:48
SPLUFIK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
crystal On 28/08/2012 12:03:00
ooooooooooooooooooo, y lah, juz wen ah waz toldly gerrin in2 t....t had 2 end..... sobs...... loly... buh in a word......SRLUFIK!!!!!!!!!! me enjoyed t lik hell ni!!!!
joy On 22/08/2012 17:48:28
Wow dis is wonderful....being a runs girl is nt bad after all
Ayuspopsn On 06/08/2012 17:55:40
So sweeeeeeeee
loo On 20/07/2012 07:07:19
U are an amazing writer, GREAT story! Pls keep it up.
BlazeBoy On 18/07/2012 15:46:16
Fantastic story ...so well written it is painful. I assume this is Chimamandu showing off her incredible story telling skills. I look forward to reading the full story in form of an award winning novel some time soon ...no matter who you are. xxx
Mo On 16/07/2012 13:54:39
Nooooo...dont stop!cant believe i stayd glued to my screen...AWESOME..and kudos maka
Jayne On 08/07/2012 22:48:20
Wonderful work of literature. I really did learn from the character as 'Amaka' represented every 'torn-down' girl who believes she has to survive the game as the 'fittest'. I spent my entire day reading this spectacular article and speacking positively to my self. It was really fun being 'edu-tained'. More grace to your page. Thank you A.
Whyte On 20/06/2012 00:29:11
Wat a nce intellectual masterpiece writeup.i cnt blve i spent 3 nyts reading dis.'wen d going gets tough,d tough gets going'.more grace 2 ur able writer
millie On 16/06/2012 06:05:24
oh my God!!!ds is sooo amazing..a beautiful storyline n interpretations..felt i was present at every scene..kudos to u!!n more power to ur elbow..
praizo On 15/06/2012 15:15:15
oh my goodness, i love broken English more now.....you are a wonderful writer.God bless you for this
lil one On 02/06/2012 20:33:12
A classic, I love every chapter of it that kept craving for more....beautiful....good one
Folarin On 18/05/2012 19:46:07
Please this piece is a work of art worth millions of USD if well directed I am very willing to pay and sponsor this movie if you are interested you have my email. I would finance it no kidding as long as the writer is I available. Please is this story real?
deeznuts On 18/05/2012 09:49:21
altho i was skeptical about reading dis,i enjoyed it.it did give me a few laffs.i hav a very negative view to prostitutes and runs girls.especially those that "scream nothing dey happen" and flaunt the rubbish benefits of DISHONOURABLE LIFESTYLE in the face of all and sundry.but then again,the case of(altho cliched)amaka is understandable.these things happen.but then again it pays to have a little conscience thru it all and always try to remember who u are before u get lost in all the madness.im glad its over and i wish the writer greater things as i see lots of potential.and by the way,before i forget,i strongly believe amaka is jus a character.THE WRITER OF THIS SERIES IS A GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Annette On 15/05/2012 22:15:10
I do not want this to end!!!!1
emem On 13/05/2012 21:45:56
one word: amazing!!!!
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