PARANOID

Evil doesn't die, it never dies. It just takes on a new face, a new name. Just because we've been touched by it once, doesn't mean we're immune to ever being hurt again. Lightening can strike twice. No matter how careful we are, evil knows how to find us. It knows where we live.
How often are we faced by fear of the unexpected, fear of the past, fear of the unknown...
Awele thought to herself as she prepared herself for bed that night.
It's been almost three years since it happened..
Since she was forced into womanhood, without her consent.
Without her approval.
Living for her now, was a routine.
One filled with hate, fear, nightmares...
At night, even after all locks and blinds were in place,
Even after she was within the four walls of her flat,
She was still uneasy, scared, paranoid.
The night was cold, and try as she could, sleep somehow managed to evade her.
She got out of bed and paced round her room. Her mind blank, unable to register anything, filled with incomprehensible thoughts.
Suddenly she stopped, she thought she heard a noise. She rushed to the window and peered outside,
Staring into the dark.
Seeing nothing.
Stepping away from the window after a short while, she let out a nervous laugh. Admonishing herself for being so fearful.
Thinking to herself that it's just her mind playing tricks on her.
A short while later, she heard the sound again. Noises of people trying not to be heard.
They're here finally.... She thought to herself.
How'd they get in? She asked herself.
Even though she was sure that everywhere was secure..
Suddenly she felt a deep suffocation at her own security.
She felt trapped. Her heart began to pound so fast that she could feel it against her breast.
Thinking of her pistol, her only friend and companion that she frequently slept with.
She rushed to her bed,
Picking up the shiny metal.
She released the safety with shaky hands, and jumped as it clicked.
Enveloped in fear and breathing heavily,
Her unsteady hands, unable to hold the gun straight.
She began to creep towards the sound she had heard.
'Im not going down this time, not without a fight' she thought to her self.
The silence was eerie, and in the dark she could barely find her way.
She refused to turn on the light, for fear that it would make it easier for the intruder to locate her.
This was her house, she knew every angle, nook and cranny of it. And she was going to take advantage of that..
She heard the sound again, a different one this time. And she screamed and did not stop screaming as she felt something brush past her.....

THE PAIN BEHIND THE FAME

Her dazzling smile and graceful walk overwhelmed all around her, and people, male and female alike could barely resist the urge to turn and stare as she floated past them.
She stepped in a way like her feet were not touching the floor.
Was she beautiful??
Oh yes!! She was breathtakingly so.. Her small sad eyes were soulful but had a mischievous glint to it and made it seem like she was always up to something.
Her full lips was every man's dream and her nose was small but pointed. The crown of hair on her head was glorious, and had been subjected to a lot of arguments that her full and rich hair was actually because of extensions. But alas! It was her hair.
She was petite and slim built, fragile yet strong looking. Her breasts were just the right proportion, and her hips, though slightly big, made her look like a sixteen year old, burning fiercely in childish maturity. As she walked by, the crowd cheered on, and even though she was struggling with an inner pain, she waved and touched and hugged as many people as she could.
She was nicknamed the people's princess because she was kind and cheerful. On this day, she was determined to live up to the name, pushing every other affair to the back of her mind, as she basked in all the attention ascribed to her.

That life seemed like decades away as Tola was abruptly jolted back to the present by the sound of the front door slamming on it's hinges.....