THE EVIL TEDDY Episode 12 – The Mystery Man
”Aunt can I carry him ?” Lilley asked , beaming with joy , her aunt Becky asked her to sit on the bedside couch , she put the baby wrapped in a pink shawl in Lilley’s arms , Lilley was still wiping tears of joy away from her eyes as she held the fragile baby in her arms .
“Why are you crying Lilley?” Aunt Becky asked , Lilley was staring at her brother with love and admiration, Backy put her arms around Lilley . “Why are you crying Lilley?” She asked her whimpering niece . “I love him so much … my classmates said , I ate all of mummy’s eggs , that’s why I couldn’t have a sibling.” Lilley said still crying.
“Come on Lilley , don’t let what people say about you break you , did you eat your mummy’s eggs ?” Becky asked , Lilley shook her head.”Then why are you believing them ?” Becky asked .
“Aaaarh please be gentle Michael, it’s hurting me.” Jessica was heard saying , from the bathroom , her husband was massaging her body with hot water .
It has been a very long labour , she had fought so much to deliver her baby , the nurses and doctors couldn’t understand why all her scan results showed that she ass was fine and should be able give birth naturally, so they opted for a caesarian Operation.
The bathroom door creaked open , Jessica stepped out wearing a white flowery bonnet over her naturally Afro hair , she held her white bathrobe together, as she walked into her bedroom , soon Michael was done cleaning the room , so he joined them in the bedroom.
“Edward look so much like you .” Becky said to Michael, teasing her sister , Jessica shook her head . “You can never change , it’s me he looks like , see his eyes and nose .” They’re just like mine . she said ,Michael laughed heartily .
“He looks like us , because we are his father and mother, so his head is like mine , his nose is his mom’s.” Michael said , the three adults laughed , Lilley was so engrossed in staring at her brother that she didn’t she the adults banter .
Lilley resumed school at a different school , the next term , she has graduated from primary school, she was always eager to return home to her brother Eddie, which was short for Edward, she suddenly outgrew all her toys, she moved Eddie to the shelve, she spent all her time with her baby brother , she nursed him and played with him , while her mother helped the new chef and house keeper to clean the house .
Lilley had returned to her room at about eleven P.M when her mother dismissed her from her brother’s cot , she went to her room , the light tripped off, she tried to turn it on but it wouldn’t , she decided to just go to bed and sleep , but then she saw two red eyes on her bed , they were glaring at her angrily, she almost had a heart attack .
“Mummy!”Lilley screamed and stomped out of her room , her screeching scream sent shock waves around the house , Micheal who was downstairs threw his pad on the couch, and scampered up the flight of stairs in less than one second, he met Jessica just outside her door .
“What is it baby?” Jessica said , Lilley hugged her dad so tight that it hurt . “Dad there’s a monster in my room .” Lilley said , staring at her father’s face . “What monster where did it come from ?” Michael asked rushing into Lilley’s room , he turned on the light switch , and the house was bathed with light ,Lilley was stunned , the same light that had refused to come on .
“Lilley there’s nothing here?” Michael said checking her bathroom and toilet, Jessica sat with her daughter . “Tell me what happened.” Jessica said , she knew her daughter wasn’t one to make up stories.
“I came to the room mum when you asked me to , when I tried to turn on the light switch, it didn’t work, so I decided to go to bed , mum on my bed was a big monster with too red eyes .” Lilley explained, there was no beast on her bed , Eddie was still squeezed inside the toy shelf , with a big smirk on its face , it was desperate for revenge.
He didn’t take lightly to being abandoned, Eddie was angry that Lilley used and threw it away like a used toilet paper, he was going to show her the evil side of itself .
Jessica sat with Lilley on her bed . “Baby you see there’s nothing here whatever you saw has gone . Let us pray .” She said , she led them in prayers . Michael was the least convinced, he wondered if his daughter was not imagining things .
Lilley brought her school bag to the dinning table the next morning, she had a breakfast of two fried eggs , four slices of white bread , with a cup of tea and condensed milk , her dad sat across from her , he was wearing a navy blue suit , a white shirt and a black tie , munching down on his bread and tea , he was to drop Lilley off at school before going to his office at Central Area .
“Lilley were is your bag, we are running late ?” He asked impatiently, they were already running late for school, he had to drop her at Crownwell American High School at Maitama before he went to his dealership in Central area . Lilley began to search for her black backpack, she was so sure she had dropped it on the dining seat next to her .
“Dad it was here .” Lilley said searching for the bag , Michael was getting frustrated and infuriated. “How can you be looking for your bag under the dinning table Lilley ? is something wrong with you?” Michael yelled at his daughter.
“But dad I brought my bag down here, it was on the dinning Chair.” Lilley said . “Just shut up your mouth Lilley! I’m tired of your tricks! Go up to your room and get your bag! I’m late for work! I’ve a client waiting for me!” He barked , Lilley wiped the tears falling from her eyes , Jessica was in the kitchen she heard her husband’s angry voice, so she went to see what it was , Michael was a quiet man who hardly spoke .
“Michael Why are you screaming?” She asked her husband .”Jessy you have to talk to your daughter , how can she come down to the dinning room without her backpack, so she wants us to get her another nanny ? Lilley cannot do anything for herself.” He barked .
“Michael she’s just nine years old , but I thought she brought her bag down? I saw it on the dinning chair beside her , or did she take it back to her room ?” Jessica asked confused, she Had seen the bag. “Are you sure you saw it?” Michael asked , Jessica nodded .
“So how did it disappear?” He asked, soon Lilley was coming downstairs with the bag hanging over one of her shoulders, a white handkerchief was folded in her right hand , with which she used to wipe the tears from her eyes . “But you said she brought it down?” Michael asked , Jessica didn’t reply him , she hugged her daughter, and help her adjust her horse blood colored suit , her Black necktie, and white shirt , with her gray colored skirt .
“Am sorry dad was hard on you okay ?” Jessica said , Lilley nodded . “Be a good girl in school okay ?” She said , Lilley nodded, and walked out of the house.
“You were too hard on her Michael, go and make this right .” Jessica commanded her husband, he nodded , he knew it was going to be hard , he didn’t know why he had yelled at Lilley, his clients had been calling him , they were already in the showroom to pay and move seven Hilux Trucks and two Tacoomas.
He got into the black Range Rover SUV and began to drive into town , dodging the speeding Abuja drivers , who swerved from lane to not minding other vehicles on the road , not for a second did Lilley looked at her father , she gazed out of the window , heaving as they drove towards her school, Michael regretted his actions.
“Lilley ? Lilley ?” He called she pretended to be deaf, and ignored him , he didn’t know how to say he was sorry , he drove into the school compound, they was so much population of the rich kids of Abuja. Many of the children were white , and children of Abuja top politicians.
“Can I come and pick you after school so we can go to Charisma and eat out ?” Michael asked his nine years old daughter. “No dad that won’t be necessary, I’ll follow the school boss home , I wouldn’t want to make you leave work for me .” Lilley said as she grabbed her bag from the backseat of the car .
“Common babe , I have been coming…”The wind blew away his words , she had walked away ,she didn’t tell him she loved him , or pecked him , he knew he had to apologize to her after school , he missed the sweet relationship he shared with his daughter.
Lilley wasn’t comfortable in school , she constantly felt the urge that somebody was watching her , but whenever she turned back they wouldn’t be anyone there . She was feeling so hot in school that she had to take off her jacket .
She was so eager to get home that day , she didn’t have the urge or desire to play with her brother , she took her bath so many times ,but was still burning up , she was afraid of telling her mum , because her dad might quarrel .
As the day went by Lilley couldn’t concentrate in school she began to she the angry white girl wearing a blood stained gown , she didn’t want to go for therapy sessions,she hated the hospital, so she went about like everything was alright.
Lilley was in bed sleeping when Eddie came down from the shelf ,it climbed over Lilley, a knee to one side of her stomach the other on the other side. It lifted a pillow and placed it over Lilley’s face, the little girl woke up from sleep disoriented, she fought and trashed, the weight on her chest was too much , she grabbed the duvet in her her hand ,so tight until her knuckles went white , Eddie sat on her , she struggled for over a minute, she she could no longer struggle, she let go , her arms and legs relaxed ,she lay still in bed , Eddie got up and went up to his shelf and maintained its inanimate position.
Jessica was up the next morning preparing breakfast for Lilley and her husband, the chef was yet to come , she wondered why she had not seen any light from Lilley’s room , she went up to check on Lilley, she saw her coiled up in bed crying , her eyes were swollen shut.
“Lilley what’s wrong baby?” Jessica asked raising her daughter from the bed she embraced her .”What’s wrong baby ?” She asked.
“Mummy and tired can I stay at home with you today ? I don’t want to go to school.” Lilley begged her mum . ”You can stay at home , what’s the issue baby why are your eyes swollen?” Jessica asked , Lilley hugged her mother, but she couldn’t tell her about the angry white girl, staring at her whenever she looked into the mirror , she no longer saw her reflection, it was the ghost like figure of Camila she would see , but she didn’t want to be forced to see another Psychologist, so she ate her worries .
