Lady of the Night

By Cedric Pendji

Cavan is a Cameroonian expat who has just moved to Maputo, Mozambique. Young, smart and athletic, he’s always been every girl’s type and has had his fair share of relationships over the years, but never once has he been in love.
When he meets local girl Amy at the office canteen, the two of them engage in a life-altering love affair.

Author bio:

Cedric Momo Pendji, is the fourth born in a crowded family of five in Cameroon. He studied Mathematics and Applications at the University of Douala and Electrical engineering at Tshwane University of Technology. Despite having a purely scientific background, he’s always had a soft spot for literature and enjoys reading and writing short stories in his spare time. Lady of the Night is the first of such stories, he is sharing with the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cedric Pendji
• Release date: Mar 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463131800

Book preview

Lady of the

NIGHT

-Brassavola Nodosa-

Lady of the

NIGHT

-Brassavola Nodosa-

CEDRIC PENDJI

Copyright © 2019 Cedric Pendji First edition 2019

Published by Cedric Pendji Publishing at Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Author using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: [e-mail]

The characters and situations in this book are entirely imaginary and bear no relation to any real person or actual happening.

Content

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 1

I swear I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you, then I’ll kill myself and if I knew who he was, I’d definitely kill him too. No, I’ll start with him. I’ll end his miserable life, then I’ll kill you before taking my own life. You’d best believe I’ll do it, because I would have nothing to lose. Why should I go on living? What would be the point? You are all I have, Amy. Don’t you know it? You are all I have. I swear, I’ll kill us all’ he kept screaming as he shook me. I have never seen him like that. I have seen him upset before, but nothing like that, Amy said. She genuinely looked terrified.

When she had come in that Saturday night – it was the weekend after the poker night at Franck’s – she went straight to lie down in my bedroom. She said she wasn’t in the mood to watch TV or talk, and all she wanted was to rest. I crawled into bed with her and hugged her. I didn’t say a word and neither did she. She lay her head on my chest and wrapped her arms around me. I was rather carked, and couldn’t help wondering what is it that put her in this state, but, at the same time, I was quite pleased that, whatever had happened, she had come to find comfort in my arms.

What’s going on, Amy? I eventually asked. I thought half an hour of cuddling in silence was enough to get her to start talking.

He knows, Cavan. Antonio knows about us, she replied.

How is that possible? Did you tell him? Did he see us somewhere?

How do you think? He is not stupid, you know; he knows something is going on. He can feel that I am getting more and more distant from him. All these nights when I am with you and he keeps calling and I don’t answer. I have run out of excuses, Cavan; I can’t keep up with my own lies.

All right, so why don’t you just tell him? You know you’ve got to at some point. We can’t just keep seeing each other in secret. I wanna be able to take you out on proper dates, in broad daylight, wherever we want in the city. Maybe go out for a walk along the beach on a Sunday afternoon or something. You know you’ll have to tell him eventually, Amy; why not now? It won’t get any easier with time.

She slowly left my chest and sat up in the bed. You know, why don’t you try thinking about someone other than yourself for a change? she said.

Excuse me? I asked.

No, I will not. You think I don’t want all that? You think I like lying to him or my mom or my brother and sister about my whereabouts? My life has become a complete lie and I am forced to feed bullshit stories to the people I love the most on this Earth. How do you think that makes me feel?

I said nothing.

And he is getting crazier every day. He keeps asking me what’s going on, and I keep telling him nothing. But he can tell something is off; he knows there’s someone else. Just the other day, as he was taking me to work in the morning, we stopped at a red light and a friend from the office was passing by. He saw me and naturally said ‘hi’. I smiled and greeted him back and he went on his way. As soon as he got out of sight, Antonio started losing his mind. ‘Is that him? Is that him?’ he kept asking. When the light turned green, he went off full speed as if he was in a race and kept screaming, ‘Was that him? Was that him? I swear I’ll kill him. I’ll kill you both. I’ll kill us all.’ He kept shouting, barely looking at the road. I saw we were centimetres away from hitting this car in front of us, so I screamed, loud enough for him to snap out of whatever madness he was in and regain his senses. A second later and I wouldn’t be here to tell you all about this. I had never been more afraid for my life.

A tear fell from her eye. She quickly wiped it away. I tried to take her in my arms, but she half-dodged.

Right after he stopped the car, he started apologising. Telling me how much he loves me, and how I am everything he has. He said he was willing to die for me, and that he will do so without a second thought, she added.

It hurt; it physically hurt to see her like that. How egocentric had I been? I felt useless. I didn’t know what I could do or say to make her feel better, to make it all go away. Maybe I should find that deranged prick and beat him to his senses before he hurts anyone.

You know, we really are his only family. He lost his mom and dad in a car accident when he was only seven years old. He was their only child. His grandmother from his mom’s side was about all the family he had left, but she was quite old and was living in Zambezia, so his father’s best friend took him in and raised him as one of his own. He has some uncles and aunts here and there, but, for whatever reason, they don’t get along. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they have never really cared for him after the death of his parents. Anyway, ever since we got together, my mom has always treated him as a son. He’s very close to my brother and sister as well. She buried her face in her hands. What am I doing? she muttered. I am the worst human being.

No, I am!

No, you’re not. Come on, don’t think like that, I said, rubbing her back. I might as well have kept my mouth shut.

Why did you have to storm into my life? Everything was so peaceful and uncomplicated before you. It all feels like a lifetime ago now, she grumbled.

But were you happy with him? I asked.

Yes… No. Maybe. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter now, does it? I certainly can’t be happy with him anymore, knowing that you exist!

Amy… I said. I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. My heart aches from seeing you this tormented. Is there anything I can do, anything at all?

Can you build a time machine? she asked.

I smiled. Anything else?

How about a machine to erase you from my memories? she added.

Would you really do that? I mean, if you could, would you choose to forget you ever met me?

Maybe, yes. But what good would that do? It’s not like you are just in my head now.

I didn’t say another word. What do you respond to that?

I cupped her face in my hand, softly caressing her supple cheek. It felt cold. She reached for the back of my hand and gently pressed it against her cheek, then covered my palm with kisses.

I have to go, Cavan. I have to talk to my mom; this can’t go on much longer. I will talk to her tomorrow morning. She stood up and started for the door.

Amy, wait! I shouted.

She stopped by the bedroom door and turned. What are you gonna tell her?

I don’t know, Cavan. Everything; I will tell her all about us. I can’t do this without her support. I will let you know tomorrow, she said, then hurried out.

I