22/03/2024
SALVAGE - Chapter One.
The Arrival.
"Did we really have to leave the UK?"
This was the first time I was speaking to my dad throughout the 6-hour and 30-minute flight that landed us in Lagos, Nigeria.
We had just arrived at my dad's duplex and I was sitting on the white leather couch in the surprisingly large living room as I stared at my dad wearing a sad look.
My dad is a Nigerian popular singer, and his fame has grown across countries and continents.
As a matter of fact, he was listed and awarded the best male afro beat artist in Africa at an intercontinental organization.
Coupled with this are numerous awards that he has won on different occasions and events.
"Ariana, I promise you, you'll like Nigeria," He said as he sat beside me on the couch.
I looked at his face as different emotions fought inside me. I could not tell if I just despised his attitude or outrightly hated him now.
"How can I like it, Dad? How can I like it when mom is not here and everything seems so strange to me?"
My voice cracked as I spoke. I didn't want to cry but my overly soft self could not hold back the tears that had clouded my eyes for long.
"Just give it time," He said and stood up briskly from the couch.
That was the side of him I think I despised. He was never petty and he gets pi**ed off too easily.
"Just give it time? How long? How long until all of this suffocates me and I choke up in death?"
My voice was becoming loud and with the way he stared back at me, I could tell he was already provoked.
"Ariana, can we not do this now, please?"
His deep Nigerian tone stressed each word as he spoke unlike me who speaks British fluently.
I blinked my eyes and could feel a tear rolling down my chin.
I looked away from his face and took a deep breath.
The silence in the room was deafening, one could hear a pin drop to the ground at that moment.
"You know it was not supposed to be like this... I tried to fix things but your mum just wanted to leave."
His voice was calm and low this time as he spoke. It sounded sad but I sure did not believe it still.
"I did not ask you to take me with you, did I?"
My tone was harsh as I spoke while looking away.
I heard the way he chuckled softly and said in a low voice "It's not like she wanted to take you either"
He muttered this in a low voice but I could swear I heard everything.
"What do you mean?"
I turned to him swiftly upon hearing that. My gloomy face tightened into a frown as I stared waiting for his response.
Instead of answering my question, he began to walk slowly towards the stairs and said in a rather instructive manner. " Let me show you to your room, follow me"
The whole day felt blue to me as I sat on the big bed in the already girlish-designed room.
I missed my mother so much, my friends in middle school, and the familiar atmosphere in the UK.
Somehow, this one sent a contrary impression and I wonder how I'll ever come to like it with time.
According to my dad, I should be enrolled in school in a week, nothing scared me more than having to deal with new faces and authorities.
That night, I slept with my tears soaking the pillow. The hurt was increasingly haunting me.
"Ariana... Wake up, we have a guest?"
My father's loud voice echoed into my ears waking me out of my sleep.
It was morning already.
"A guest?" I mumbled
"Oh my God, who comes to visit at such an early hour of the day, is the person sick of insomnia?" I lamented, rolling on the bed.
"Ariana!"
He screamed my name to shut me up.
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