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Writer's pictureRabby

Episode 13 – Longing

Bitter Honey is a Ghanaian-based series, centered around the Quartey family. Kojo Quartey; a taxi driver, his wife Aba; who runs a bank’s canteen, and their three children; Kuku, Abena and Maama live through a series of fortunate and unfortunate events. The Bitter Honey series tells the story of different bittersweet experiences that build their characters and teach them life lessons. Enjoy.

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Emelia finally called, and Kojo was relieved. It had been a long four hours since he dropped her off at her gentleman-friend’s house. He couldn’t stop thinking through the endless possibilities of what could be happening in that house; his mind raced through everything from ritual to rape and back again. Then he thought about where her parents were and if they knew where she was. He concluded that he couldn’t get her off his mind because of her resemblance to his daughter.

When she walked out of the house, she got into the backseat of the taxi this time. Kojo noticed that the gentleman didn’t come and see her off at the gate. He didn’t know what to make of that.

“Thank you. Good Afternoon.” Emelia greeted. “Where do you stay?” Kojo asked, as he drove out of the estate. “I live at Teshie Nungua. When you get to 1st Junction, I’ll direct you,” she replied. Kojo nodded.

Before the silence got comfortable Kojo asked, “Was that your classmate?” Emelia hesitated, “No, he’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh ok! What are you doing while you wait for your results?” Kojo was trying hard to make conversation, “Is your school doing summer school?” Emelia shook her head no. She didn’t seem interested in talking to Kojo so he remained silent.

In a few moments, she was on the phone speaking to either her sister or her best friend. Kojo respected the privacy of his customers, so he tried not to listen to her conversation. But when Emelia started sobbing uncontrollably, he couldn’t help but glance at her through the rearview mirror.

“Sarah, I couldn’t do it… I think he is angry with me.” She was quiet for a while, “I really love him, but I just couldn’t.” She continued sobbing and eventually ended the conversation. The person on the other side must have been consoling and advising her, she said a lot of ‘ok’s intermittently, and finally ended with a “buh-bye”

Kojo couldn’t figure out what the other person was saying, but he wished he could tell her that she made the right choice. He wouldn’t dare intrude, he was just a stranger. He willed her to stop crying throughout the ride, but the only time they exchanged words was when Emelia was directing him to her house. They got there, she paid the fare and got out.

Emelia stayed in his thoughts for the rest of the day. He made new customer friends, made other customers laugh, and gave out his number multiple times. But she was the first thing he spoke about with his wife when he got home.

“Aba, she was practically Abena’s age. That scared me.” He concluded, after a hearty meal of apim and nkontomire stew. Aba sighed heavily, “That’s a good thing, that just means if Abena found herself in the same situation, she won’t do it too.” She was trying to calm Kojo’s worries, but she made it worse.

“Abena must not find herself in such a situation!” He frowned at his empty plate. Aba, rubbed his back softly, “She won’t Kojo. She won’t”

***To be continued***

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