Sister, Sister

AFTERLilyPeople think it was suicide but I know it was murder. Suicide was not Luc's way. She had once attempted suicide. It landed her in the hospital and she pinky swore that she would never do it again. Besides, Luc could not have drowned herself because her body was found on the shore, but nobody else thought that, nobody seemed to notice how odd her death was. Everyone accepted the fact that she had died, no questions asked. Her death changed everything; Mum cut her hair, Dad became distant, Krystal stopped being the vibrant chatterbox he once was and I avoided everyone. I became withdrawn and stopped talking to people, even severed the small connections I had. Everyone wanted to know how. They would ask me for details I did not want to give. People that did not know Luc would cry as if she was their best friend. Neighbours came over to offer their con

AFTERLilyWhen I was thirteen, I drank alcohol for the first time. I immediately loved the taste, the burn in my throat, the warmth in my belly and the tingle in my belly. I loved the sensation of walking on clouds after many swigs. It is a distant memory. The last time I went to Luc's happy place was months before her death. It is an abandoned building on a hill close to a small river. I was lying on my bed groaning like a woman in labour because of the terrible menstrual cramps I was suffering when Luc barged in with a thick cloud of vanilla around her. She looked at me and wrinkled her nose like I was the most irking thing ever."You smell edible," I said. It just flowed out my mouth, "like ice cream.""It's my perfume." She walked to me and pulled me up, "get dressed, puppet. I want us to go somewhere special!" I was naked from the waist up. T

BEFORELucThe day I met Joseph, I immediately knew that we were soulmates. I felt it in my bones, I knew it in every cell of me. I had never felt the same way about another guy. My other romances were sporadic and brief. A few kisses here and there, meaningless text messages and unimpressive dates. Joseph was different, I just knew it. When he bought me a silver ring with my name, Lucinda, etched inside the band for our one month anniversary, I promise him that I'd never take it off and I kept my promise. Maybe it was his rare emerald eyes hooded by thick lashes or maybe it was the way his dimples sank when he smiled or laughed. Whatever it was, I was smitten from the moment I set my eyes on him and have been besotted ever since.That day, Precious arrived my house with her bikini in her handbag, it was a Sunday and that meant we hang out at the swimming pool in any hotel we wish to unt

AFTERLilyMy mother's sister—Aunt Alami travelled from Jos in Plateau State to grieve with us. She called Mum and announced over the phone that she has arrived Calabar. Mum asked Dad to drive her to the bus station to pick Aunt Alami because she has not been behind the wheel in a week, everytime she tries to drive her hands would tremble. She won't be able to move the car out of the driveway. I dashed into the back seat of Dad's car with Krystal in my arms before Dad could start the engine because I wanted to be as far away from our grieving relatives— who had came to stay—as possible. Surprisingly, my parents did not object me going with them. It has been seven days since Luc died by drowning in the Atlantic ocean and three days after we buried her. My parents decided to bury her as quickly as they could because they did not want to have a formal burial for her. It would be too p

 BEFORELucAs I applied rogue blush to the peaks of Lily's cheeks, I realised that I was jealous of my baby sister. Maybe it was the way her hair was pulled up in a messy bun so soft tendrils of ringlets touch her cheeks and stick to her lipgloss or the way her doe eyes were heavily lined (she copies my style at every chance she gets). Maybe it was because Joseph commented on how beautiful and delicate she was on our first date while we were waiting for our moin-moin. "Why do you call her puppet?" He asked, poking the moist food with his fork. I watched the stainless steel prongs sink into the moin-moin. He took me to a trendy restaurant at Highway, the place was lit by chandeliers and the tables were set with embroidered napkins and various sizes of cutlery. "It's just a pet name," I told him with a smirk. I imagined that Joseph would date my sister behind my back. Would Lily do that to me? The th