Mila was kidding herself when she thought that her trip to London would clear her head. The trip did her a lot of good as she was able to heal gradually but thoughts of Tunji still plagued her thoughts. Simi ensured that they engaged in a lot of activities that also involved her siblings. They went on a tour to the famous Tower of London and when Simi saw the nostalgic look on Mila's face, she took her to the Coca-Cola London Eye for a roller coaster ride hoping that it would shake her out of her misery. Simi also ensured that her elder brother Bode, spent a lot of quality time with Mila.
Bode was a 30 year old Medical Doctor who was already four years in practice. He had taken a liking to Mila the moment he saw her. According to him, she was like a fragile bird that needed to be taken care of and he wasted no time in volunteering to keep Mila company whenever he was available. Mila liked him as well more especially because, even though he is a quiet person, he talked a lot to her when he noticed her brooding.
On Christmas eve, Mila called her family and when she heard each of their voices as her siblings had converged at her parent's, she broke down finally. She missed them, she missed Nigeria and she missed Tunji terribly. Tunji had sent her more messages on Whatsapp but she had refused to open them for fear of what she would see. No doubt, the temptation to read them came mostly at night when her eyes refused to close but instead, she would put her phone far away from her. She had initially deleted his number from her phone but his digits were still stuck in her head just like he had left his imprint on her. She was scared by the mark of his love and betrayal.
She still couldn't understand how she had never gotten any sign at all that he was married. His house was clean of any feminine touch, his room was all masculine and his cook was male. He didn't live a complicated life that showed that he had any female influence whatsoever. So, where had his wife been all along? Is it that they weren't living together? Was she in the US? What could have made them stay apart that period? Mila kept racking her brains about these things.
....................
It was Thursday, the night before New year's eve and Simi had gone to meet up with Leo who had come into town the previous day to see her. So, Mila was in her room alone that evening. She had nothing to do as usual. So she lay on her bed, flipping through a magazine absentmindedly. She heard a knock on her door and went to open it. There stood Bode, looking handsome, dark and really tall in his black outfit, gray muffler wrapped around his neck and his black boots. He smiled at her fondly and said;
"What are you up to Mila?"
Mila smiled back weakly. She knew Bode knew the answer to that question already so she shrugged and he shook his head as he laughed and said again;
"Okay, dress up. We're going to see the fireworks. You surely don't want to miss out on that do you?"
Mila shook her head as she smiled back and replied,
"I'll be out in a moment"
She went back into her room, closed the door shut and started dressing up. She wasn't sure why but she was glad Bode had come to take her out. She was desperately in need of a fresh start for the new year. As she dressed up, she wondered what surprises the new year had in store for her. She was going back to Nigeria on Sunday and back to her reality. She prayed silently that things will turn out well.
...................
As they stood looking up at the fire works, Bode took Mila's gloved hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. Then he asked her to do something significant. He asked her to make a wish and as Mila closed her eyes, she wished for the impossible.
