My Instagram Love

Episode 16

“The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.”

My face twisted into a radiant grimace and I felt what seemed to be a wave of assurance surging through my entire body. Deep chills ran down my spine, and I could’ve sworn I saw stars revolving around my head. Imaginary goosebumps filled my smooth dark skin as I read the message again, feeling quite optimistic.

“What’s making you smile?” I heard Kennedy’s voice and I lifted my head up instantly, hoping to see him looking back at me, but he wasn’t. Instead, I found him staring at me through the taxi’s inner mirror.
“Someone.” I said, trying so hard to suppress my smile.

“Who is this someone, if I may ask?”
“He’s Prince Charming.”
Kennedy and I burst into laughter due to how silly I sounded. Fortunately, he didn’t bug me any further for the main details. Unfortunately, our loud laughter disrupted Jessica’s calm nap. We apologized for our actions but she found it hard to sleep back, so we all engaged each other in a conversation to while away time.

8:58 PM.
We finally arrived at Camelo Mall after what seemed like ages on the busy roads of Lagos. Kennedy and Jessie assisted me to step out of the car and fixed the crutches under my armpits so I could hold it well without stumbling or falling down. Surprisingly, the driver refused to collect the money for the service he rendered to us when we tried to pay for it. Even when we both insisted and tried to persuade him into collecting it, he still didn’t budge. He said he’d take the liberty of paying for us and he also shared his gratitude for the company we all shared during the slow ride. After thanking him profusely, we parted ways at last.
When Jessica led me into the mall, the first person I started looking around for was a lady who had been described to have what seemed to be a relatively blond hair, a slim body shape and a skin as bright as the sun itself—wearing a tight black shirt and well-ironed blue trousers. She wasn’t so hard to find as I had thought she’d be. We found her selling yoghurts to some children who were holding toys and balloons in each of their hands. The eldest child collected the yoghurts which had been placed into a customized nylon, paid the bill and left with the others trooping behind him like they were mere puppets bowing for a demi-god. The moment they all left, Jessica and I approached the good-looking lady.

“Welcome, ladies.” She greeted us with a brief wave of the right hand, almost squinting her eyes to have a proper look at our faces. She was a living testimony of someone who partially escaped albinism. She would’ve been an albino if fate hadn’t given her a redefining touch to look as pretty as a picture on the wall.
“Good evening.” Jessica and I greeted back in unison.

“Evening, ladies.” The salesclerk responded with a wave of the left hand this time around. “How may I help you both?”
I noticed the nametag on her uniform and spoke quickly. “Denise, right?”
She nodded affirmatively, apparently confused. “Yes. I’m Denise. How did you know my name?”

“Your uniform’s nametag.” I said, pointing at it.
“Oh… That’s true!” She glanced at her T-shirt and sighed with relief. “I don’t know why I always forget about this thing on my shirt.” She giggled. “Please, pardon me.”
“It happens. It’s completely fine.” I assured her, making a cool grimace. “We are not here to buy anything though.”
Denise raised an eyebrow, giving me a puzzled look. “Okay?” She exchanged glances between Jessica and I, her artificial eyebrows furrowing. I could even notice the dark mascara on her eyelashes. “Then how am I supposed to be of help to you both? Do you need help in finding merchandise or something?”

“No. Not exactly.” Jessica said, shaking her head disapprovingly. “We just–”
Predictably, Denise folded her arms across her chest, still giving us a weird, puzzled look. “You just what?”
“We just need to find someone.” I filled in the gap on Jessica’s behalf, increasing my firm grip on the old crutches. “He’s a man—a tall man with a well-built body. He actually directed me to you.”
“To me?” Denise grimaced and widened her eyes dramatically, impulsively pointing a finger at herself. “Why—I mean, what for?”
“He sent me a text message which says you’re the one who knows the shortcut to the VIP section of this mall.” I explained coolly, hoping to convince her doubtful mind. “His name is…”