Hear Me Out

Title of story:      Hear Me Out!

Name of the author: Lydia Mensah

Number of pages:   9

Word count        :   1876

Phone number/numbers: +233 020 7238235/ + 233 0548285822

Email address: esthermode005@gmail.com

# Start your story with a character having a premonition, but no one believes them #

“Mummy. I have the feeling that something strange is going to happen to me suddenly,”  said Ama Afariwaa one day to her mother. Her mother, taken aback by her frankness, rebuked her sharply for her faithless, unguided, and unhealthy speech. The power pf positive words, she believed, should never be underestimated. Afariwaa understood her point perfectly but she could not help but beg to differ this time. This was a different case. It had to do with her feelings which were totally subjective.

“Will you come off it?!” she snapped. “I’ve told you over and over again to stop that habit of yours! It is going to lead you nowhere.” How could she stop something that seemed not to go away even though she wished it would? Something terrible was going to happen to her soon, and she knew it from the depths of her being. She just wished someone would help her out before it was too late.

She was convinced beyond any shadow of doubt, that this was not a trivial issue. A friend of hers’, Akosua, had been having such premonitions a few hours before she died. She would not want to be the next victim of turning a deaf ear to such premonitions or so they called it. Ever since she had that dream in which she drowned in a swimming pool, therefore, she vowed to let everyone who cared about her hear her story. At least, one person would be able to help her, if not all. Howbeit, she was wrong.

The more she spoke of it, the more people thought she was crazy. It took only an experienced person to be mature enough to handle the situation. To them, a dream would remain a dream no matter what form it took. She did not agree with them though. She was utterly shattered in her spirit and vowed never to trust anyone with her intuitions anymore. If only that were possible, it would be a very good idea. Such feelings transcend the physical realm so much that, the physical being has little or no control over what happens to him or her. Sometimes, people who spoke too much about what happened in the spiritual realm were labelled as witches. Nobody wanted that. Perhaps, that was meant to silence them for good. The burden of holding on to a secret would be too much to bear alone. It could lead to frustration and disempowerment. She should however know by now its importance to preserve her life and that of others too. If she took that into consideration, she would ignore the opinions of others and proceed to help others and herself. God forbid that she failed to do her duty perfectly. She would never be able to forgive herself .

Out of the blue, perhaps in association wither feelings, she suddenly began to have a strong urge to learn how to swim; an urge so powerful that she could not keep her mouth shut. No matter people’s opinions about her admonitions, she soldiered on with her good works. At least, one out of ten people would take her advice.

 This was the time when persistence should become her shield and armour. She surprised herself and everyone when she finally convinced her mother to enrol her in one of the best schools in town; ‘treasures’. Her mother never knew she was setting a trap for herself as she kindly asked her to tell her whatever she wanted, that her wish would be her command. This was her opportunity! This time, she shut up her mouth for real. She was short of excuses. She only did so because it was her birthday wish.

She wanted no other present but to go to a swimming institution for training. Her mother thought it was all about prestige. She thought it was all about passion.  Destiny was calling.

“Did you not tell me you were afraid to get into the water?” she asked her daughter suspiciously. Her daughter already had her where she wanted and her doubts or opinions no longer counted. Her thoughts were only speculations.

“Yes I did,” she replied “but I want to get over it by hook or crook.”

“It’s up to you,” she said. “Your future is in your own hands. I will send you to a swimming school if that is what you desire.”  

“I got you!” she muttered to herself. Her mother still thought her daughter was up to no good, though. Unfortunately, she was about to spend money on a fruitless venture once again. Ama’s goal and desire was to become one of the best swimmers in the world, if not the best.

The silent whisper in her ears, the still, small voice that kept instructing her, the voices she heard which no one else heard, kept troubling her. Obviously, they did not respect the fact that she had progressed. The school did not scare them. Her seriousness during her lessons did nothing to deter them from reminding her that she was next in line for a disaster. She could not fathom the reason why she was chosen amongst the lot. She was now aware that she needed to keep her fears to herself to prevent herself from further heartache. Whenever she woke up from a terrible dream or felt her heart beating faster than usual, she would tell herself it was just a coincidence, knowing very well that it was a big lie. She was so afraid to share her fears with her mother, now that she did not believe her. Her reaction to her stories had taught her a great lesson.

Every night, she would feel herself being pressed down by an invisible hand, almost suffocating her. She would scream until her mother came into the room. She would stare at her for a moment, walk to her bedside, sit beside her, and say:

“Go back to sleep. It was only a dream,” hold her for a while until she fell asleep. After a few of such experience, however, her mother got so used to it that she ignored her constant shrieks. Nobody else seemed to care either.

Instead of her goals being achieved, she had the greatest scare of her life the day her passion kept her in the water so much that she was oblivious of time.

She had gone past holding her breath for more than five minutes and believed she could go further than that if she kept at it. She waited for the last moment when everyone was about ready to pack up and go home to perfect her act so there will be only a few people when she finally had her head back above the water.

She took a deep breath. This one was longer than usual for a purpose. She then dived several meters deep down in the water, trying to stay in as long as possible. She kept looking at her watch, hoping that she might break a record or something far better than that. When she finally made her way up with her head up above the water, so proud of her achievement, the deafening silence that greeted her was so alarming that she stopped short and glanced round to make sense of her surroundings. Yes, she was in the swimming facility all right but without the noisy crowd that surrounded her a few minutes earlier before she joyfully plunged deep into the water. No one seemed to notice that she was the only one left in the queue to take her last dive. The weird loner was not worth the attention. Nobody even seemed to notice that she had come around for her lessons as usual. They took their keeping their distance too far this time. It was about to blow up in their faces.

As she panicked, she lost track of time and her new record, and her composure too and began to sink below acceptable levels. She panicked even more and thought her life was finally over. Suddenly, she saw a figure behind her, helping her stay afloat. She was so grateful.

 She lifted her out of the water to safety and disappeared. She almost called out to the figure but for her instincts, which told her to be patient. What if it was not a human being? Why should such thoughts be running through her mind when she had only herself to comfort her? The figure suddenly turned towards her, as if she heard her plea and beckoned her to come closer. At first, she was apprehensive, but drew closer involuntarily.

 “What are you doing here?” it asked. She could not see the full figure. It seemed to be hiding behind something.

“I found myself alone,” she replied.

“At this time of the night?” she asked.

“Yes,” she replied. She was now able to look at her closely.  She was the girl everyone had been searching for; the one who went missing two years ago. Even the best of detectives had failed to find answers to the mystery.

“Get out of this place quickly”, she said.

“But how?” Ama asked. “The whole place has been secured with locks.” The girl opened one of the doors and let her out, saying: “Take good care of yourself! You’re next in line for the next sacrifice. ”

“What!???!!!” she asked, confused.

“Yes!” she replied.  “I was not the first and you will not be the last.

 I personally would not want anyone to die and that’s the reason why you’re being warned every day.” She walked her through the gate and even stopped a taxi for her. She was trembling as she gave the driver directions to her house. The driver thought she was ill and drove her in silence, watching her from his mirror.

“Are you alright?” he asked. Ama could not answer. He thought it prudent to ask her again to ascertain whether she heard him or not.

“I’m fine,” she replied. “I’m just shocked, that’s all.”

“I’ll get you home soon so you’ll come back to yourself,” he said. “You look like you saw a ghost.” He looked at her briefly for her reaction. When he got none, he looked forward and continued driving. He would drive her home safely, if that is what she desired.

“There you are!” he said finally, waking her up from her stupor. “And keep your money. You might need it more than I do.”

Everyone was up waiting for her when she opened the door to her house. Her mother embraced her and so did her brothers.

“Where have you been?” they asked. “We’ve been looking all around for you.”

“You won’t believe if I told you,” she said; and she was right. They all took a glance at each other remorsefully.

“I found myself alone after everyone had left me in the water,” she replied. They were lost for words. They had taken her for granted for too long.