Writers 
MOTHER'S , WHY?
Jessica was a younger, promising young girl the kind of girl people looked at twice without knowing why. She had a beauty that did not announce itself loudly. It simply existed.
Her skin was smooth, almost like milk, without a single crack. Her eyes carried a strange innocence, the kind that made people believe she could never do anything wrong. But at home, her beauty was not always considered a blessing.
Her mother had always believed there was something different about her daughter."my pikin no be say you no go know man," her mother would say whenever Jessica rejected another man who came around. "My pikin,if man dey help you,you self go give am something."
Jessica would roll her eyes."Mummy,abeg".
But her mother wouldn't stop."This girl,you get ogbanje!
Sometimes those words continued for hours inside their home. Words upon words ,accusations,prayers,warning and fear.
Jessica grew up hearing them so often that she eventually stopped fighting them.
She simply learned to keep quiet . But whwn there was nowhere to turn,she turned to strangers . And that was where the real trouble began. Because Jessica had forgotten one thing "THIS WORLD IS FULL OF EVIL.
The day Jessica got admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, her entire house changed. Her mother danced,her father smiled. Even the neighbours who barely knew her suddenly had something to say.
“Congratulations, our daughter!”
“UNN! Ah! This girl don try!”
Jessica couldn't stop smiling. It was finally her chance. A chance to leave home. A chance to breathe. A chance to become someone outside the shadow of the words ogbanje.
She arrived on campus with two bags, a box, and a heart full of dreams. Her first day in class was unforgettable,the moment she walked through the door conversations reduced. Heads turned some girls looked her , some boys looked twice, and some people simply stared. Her beauty outshined everybody, her skin like milk, her lips naturally pink, her hair falling perfectly around her face ,she wasn't even trying and somehow,that made it worse . Beauty like Jessica's could cause havoc .she didn't know it yet but someone was already watching.
Her roommate, Amara, was the first person on campus who made Jessica feel at home.Amara was funny,lively and always ready to listen. Before long,Jessica began calling her my person . Whenever her mother called and started asking those uncomfortable questions
“Jessica, you get man?”
“Who dey follow you?”
“Who be that boy wey I hear for your call yesterday?”
Jessica would immediately start inventing stories.
“Mummy, no be man. Na my course mate.”
“Na girl.”
“Na group assignment.”
Sometimes she didn't even know what she was saying. But she knew exactly why she was doing it . Her mother had a taste for spiritual explanations .
Every boy was a potential husband.
Every refusal was rebellion.
Every secret was evidence of something spiritual.
So Jessica learned to hide. And Amara became her hiding place. One evening, Jessica came back late.it was almost 10 pm. Amara had been pacing around the room. The moment the door opened,she rushed toward her.
“Jessy baby!”
That was what everyone around campus had started calling Jessica. Where have you been?You got me worried! Jessica burst into laughter .
“Abeg, chill.”
Chill? You disappear since afternoon and you're telling me to chill?”
“I dey alright na.”
Amara folded her arms.
“Sit down. Tell me.
Jessica dropped her bag on the bed.for a moment,she hesitated. Then she smiled .
“Okay.” She moved closer to Amara .
“You no go believe wetin happen today.”
“What?”
“I meet one guy.”
Amara's expression changed.
“Which guy?”
Jessica's face lit up. And then she began to narrate not just a story but a full file with evidence , pictures, messages, voice notes and even screenshots.
“This one na him.”
Amara collected the phone.
“Jesus.”
Jessica laughed.
“Fine boy abi?”
“Hmm.”
“See his message.”
Amara scrolled.
The boy had sent Jessica a simple message: I don't know what it is about you,but I can't stop thinking about you .
Jessica covered her face.
Stop!
“You like am?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
Jessica smiled.
“Okay, yes.”
Amara laughed with her. But Jessica didn't notice something. As she continued talking, Amara's eyes flashed not with happiness,not with excitement but with jealousy a strong and dangerous amount of jealousy . And Jessica didn't notice .
She was too busy talking about the new boy. Too busy falling, too busy believing she had finally found someone who understood her.
His name was Daniel. At least ,that was what he told her . He was
calm,handsome,intelligent and strangely interested in her. He remembered little things she said,her favourite food , the song she liked , the lecturer she hated the way she always tied her hair whenever she was nervous.
And Jessica well she loved that she thought it meant he cared.She didn't know that sometimes people study you not because they love you .....but because they are preparing to use you.
Days passed.
Jessica and Daniel became inseparable. They met after lectures,they ate together,they tales until midnight and Jessica toldhim things she had never told anybody. Things about home,her mother,the accusations of her having ogbanje.
Daniel listened. He never laughed . He never judged .instead, he asked questions.
“Your mother really believes you're an ogbanje?”
Jessica nodded.
“Yes.”
“Do you believe her?”
Jessica went quiet.
“I don't know.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Maybe she's not completely wrong.”
Jessica frowned.
“What do you mean?”
He smiled.
“Nothing. Forget it.”
But Jessica couldn't forget it. That night, she couldn't sleep. For the first time in years,she wondered if maybe her mother had been right . Maybe there really was something different about her . Maybe the strange dreams she had as a child meant something . Maybe the things she sometimes felt weren't normal . And somewhere inside the room,Amara was awake listening,watching and waiting.
The next morning, Jessica found something strange underneath her pillow.
A small black thread tied around a tiny piece of paper. She stared at it. Her heart began beating faster. She called Amara .
“Amara.”
“What?”
“Did you put this here?”
Amara looked at the object.
Her face went pale.
“No.”
Jessica swallowed.
“Then who did?”
Neither of them spoke. Outside,students were laughing. People were moving around campus. Life continued normally. But inside their room,something had changed.
Jessica slowly unfolded the paper. There were only four words written on it .
YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED
Her hands began to shake. And for the first time since she left home......Jessica became afraid . Because the voice that had followed her all her life suddenly seemed much closer. And the person she trusted most was sitting right beside her.
Watching her. Smiling. But hiding something behind those eyes . Something Jessica was not ready to discover. Something that would make her question every person she had ever trusted . Including herself
TO BE CONTINUED...
