THE SCENT OF YOUR HEART...EPISODE FIVE.

Henry's was startled and confused on seeing the man. The man stood in the doorway to  signal to Henry that he knew exactly what he was doing and sent the indication that he was not lost but was standing there for a reason.

"What do you want?", a scared Henry asked as he walked backwards and found himself on the other side of Julius's desk. "You are the one I directed to the conference room yesterday, aren't you?".

The man was silent as Henry asked him questions but only looked intently at Henry.

"What do you want?", Henry screamed to signal to anyone who was in the building that he might be in trouble and needed assistance.

"You remember me from yesterday, don't you?", the man finally spoke.

Henry nodded. “The conference room guy”, Henry said.

"What are you doing here?", Henry asked.

"Yesterday's meeting was not our first encounter", the man revealed. "I have been watching and following you these past two days", the man revealed. "I followed you back home two days ago", the man said. "I know where you live, I know your family members and I know you would not want any harm to befall them", the man continued. "I stayed here all day because of you so you should know how serious what you are doing is affecting the one who hired me", the man said.

"Someone hired you to follow me?", Henry enquired.

"Don't be stupid, Henry", the man started. "I believe you know better than this", the man added. "Let me explain things to you briefly", the man said as he walked up to the desk Henry stood behind and took a seat.

"I want you to stop seeing Sandra for your own good", the man started. "I was hired to scare you off but I guess our encounter yesterday was enough", the man recalled.

Henry nodded timidly.

"Now tell me, how far did you think this could go?", the man asked Henry as he placed his hands on the table revealing some scars on the back of his hand.

"How far? ", the man asked. "Just so you know, I am willing to do anything to see to it that my client is happy and I wouldn't mind breaking a few bones to ensure that I achieve my goal", the man added.

"There is nothing going on between Sandra and I", Henry rebutted as he stood his ground.

"I beg to differ but that is not what my client thinks", the man said.

"Henry, this thing is bigger and messed up than you think", the man tried to explain. "You are like a very tiny dot in this chain and it would take very little effort to erase you and believe me, the world won't lose sleep over your disappearance", the man added. "You are not the first person I have been asked to come after", the man revealed.

"Henry, I chose to be gentle with you because I realized you were scared senseless yesterday as you are today", the man said with a smirk on his face. "I'd expect that you listened to me and do exactly as I have instructed", he added. "Just steer clear off Sandra and we all go home happy", the man said. "You get to keep your job and if you are dedicated to not having this encounter with me in the foreseeable future, you would do what we have agreed on right now", the man said and got up to leave. As he got to the doorway, he turned, looked intently at Henry one more time and said. "I am not this gentle and pleasant often so should there be another encounter, you would see my unpleasant tendencies", the man said sternly. "It's a free world Henry, so the choice is yours", the man added and left  the office.

Henry stood at Julius's side of the desk with his legs quivering with fear and tension as the man finally left the room.

"I am now fully convinced that Sandra was the girl in the pastor's vision", Henry said as he tiptoed to the door to check if the man had truly left. He slowly pushed his head out of the doorway and looked in all directions for signs of the man. When he could not sight him anywhere, he quickly withdrew into Julius's office, shut the door and turned the key twice.

He leaned with his back against the door.

"All of this was real after all", Henry said to himself.  "What am I going to do now?". "Do I have to inform my dad that my life and possibly that of my family's could be in danger should I fail in staying away from Sandra?", Henry thought out loud. "Should I opt out of this national service and apply next year at another institution?", Henry said to himself. "Should I involve the police into this matter?", Henry  soliloquized.

"I think I should seek counsel from Edwin and Kennedy", Henry said and reached for his phone from his left breast pocket. He dialed Kennedy's number first and waited for it to ring. As the phone rang for the first time, there was a sudden forceful crank of the door knob leading into Julius's office. The sound frightened Henry so much that out of reflex, he dropped his phone unto the tiled floor, cracking the screen and causing it to go off due to the impact.

Henry started to back away from the door and the feeling he felt in the presence of his "assassin", began to come back to him. There was a number of forceful cranks on the knob. When the cranking stopped, the person behind the door started banging on the door.

At this point, Henry knew his assassin had definitely returned to harm him this time. He quickly took cover behind Julius's desk and frantically looked around the room for something to arm himself with.

Typically of the room he found himself in were stacks of books placed neatly in their shelves. In one swirl movement, he looked on Julius's desk as the banging on the door continued and armed himself with a stapler and a small statue of  Atlas holding the globe.

He placed his weapons behind him and asked, "Who is there?". There was no answer but the knocking continued, this time louder.

"Who is that?", Henry reiterated as he tightened his grip on the stapler in his right hand.

The banging stopped.

There was a brief moment of silence and suddenly, there was a very gentle knock on the door.

Henry began to sweat.

"Please, who is it?", Henry asked one more time.

"It is me Sir, the janitor", the voice from the other side revealed. "I want to come and clean the place sir, the voice added.

As Henry recognized the voice, he heaved a sigh of relief as his confidence returned to him and he mustered courage to answer the door. Before he got to the door, he dropped his "weapons" from where he picked them, picked up his cell phone from where it had fallen and unlocked the door for the janitor to come in and go about his business.

"I thought Mr. Julius was here", the janitor said as Henry unlocked the door.

"No he is not", Henry said. "He asked me to do something for him early this morning and since I didn't want to get distracted, I locked myself in here", Henry explained. "But on your way here, did you chance upon any strange looking man?", Henry enquired. "No please", the janitor answered. "I see many strange faces here every day but I don't pay attention to them because that is not what I was hired to do", the cleaner said sarcastically. "My job is throw the rubbish away", he added.

"Alright", Henry answered.

As Henry exited the office, he remembered the wording in Julius's warning in the file and it sent shivers down his spine...


That day too, Julius, Sandra and Ben didn't show up at the office. When the day was over, Henry left the office for the house but this time, he gave every little occurrence on the way back to his house grave attention. He flawlessly made the effort to ensure that he was not being followed by anyone. When he got home, he went straight to his room and locked himself inside...


Sandra was under a mild form of house arrest by her father. He had taken her cell phone from her so that her contact with Henry could be minimized. She lay on the bed with tears in her eyes and memories of Henry in her mind. Every thought of him made her heart miss several beats and sent sweet tingling feelings through her entire body. The feeling gave her a sense of reassurance that she was meant to be with Henry.

She was now convinced that she was madly in love with Henry.

As she lay in her bed, there was a gentle sound and the door to her room slowly flew open. Ben, appeared standing in the door way with the light from the lobby assisting in casting his shadow unto Sandra's bed.

Ben had dark brown hair, which was thick and lustrous. His eyes were mesmerizing. His face was strong and defined, his features molded from granite. He did not look as old as he really was. He had dark eye brows, which sloped downwards in a serious expression. He usually put on a playful smile which sometimes drew a hard line across his face. He possessed strong hands which had become slightly rough from working hard jobs as a young man.

He walked into the room and shut the door. His voice was deep, with a serious tone.

"Sandra, are you still crying?", Ben asked as he walked up to her and took a seat at the edge of the bed.

"No, I am not crying", Sandra said in the most sorrowful tone of voice imaginable. "So why are you sounding that way?", Ben asked.

"It's nothing, I am fine", Sandra responded.

"Sandra, ever since you were born, I have made it a point to protect you in the best way that I know how", Ben started.

"Your way has been wrong all this while!", Sandra rebutted as she sat up on her bed revealing her red, sunken eyes.

"What we are doing is wrong, daddy", Sandra said as she wiped away tears from her eyes. "I want us to stop it", "I want to have a normal life", Sandra started. "I want to be free to choose my friends and not have you interfere with it". Sandra revealed. "I want to talk to someone", Sandra said as she started crying. "I want to be free", Sandra added.

"Sandra", Ben started. "The world is full of liars, cheats, gold diggers and opportunists", Ben said. "They are just waiting in the shadows to pounce on you once they realize how vulnerable you are", Ben revealed. "This young man you are getting yourself attached to falls within the category of people I am talking about", Ben said. "Because he knows whose daughter you are, he wants to take advantage of you, can't you see?", Ben said. "I don't want you making the mistake of entrusting your future to such a person", Ben continued.

"How can I tell who is good for me or who is not if you don't allow me to go out there and experience things for myself?", Sandra questioned. "Allow me to make my own mistakes and then I would concede defeat that you have always been right", Sandra pleaded. "Just this once dad, allow me to do this on my own without your interference", Sandra begged as the tears flowed freely from her eyes. "Are you asking me to wait till you get hurt before I protect you?", Ben enquired.

"Daddy, people get hurt, cheated on, lied to and betrayed once a while and they eventually get over it", Sandra explained. "Should I get hurt along the line, I would cry but trust me, I would get over it no matter what", Sandra preached.

"In all the years we have been together, I have never seen you this adamant and strong-willed", Ben disclosed. "What has come over you?", Ben queried.

"Nothing", Sandra answered.

"But let's just say something I have never felt before has been awakened inside of me", Sandra said with pride written all over her face.

 Ben was adamant when he spoke.

"There is no telling that no matter how many times I try to convince you, your mind has obviously been made up and my words are going to mean virtually nothing to you", Ben opined. "

"I have never been so sure in my life", Sandra said. "Daddy, please give me this chance to prove to you that I can do this and that I am strong enough to face the world on my own", Sandra added. "I just want to fall in love like every other normal young lady", Sandra stressed. "Even if I don't find peace while I am at it, I would know that I was advised against it and I refused to listen", Sandra revealed.

Ben looked at  Sandra with awe. "That's a first", Ben said. "I have never seen my little girl so happy like this in a long while", he added. "I am convinced that you know what you are getting yourself involved in and I am prepared to let you have just one shot at this", Ben explained. "But let me throw this caution to the wind, should I get word of any foul play, that young man would be as good as dead", Ben added.

"None of that is going to happen", Sandra said confidently.

Her father went further up the bed and hugged her. "I know what is best for you and I would expect that you listen to me", Ben said.

"I can do this", Sandra assured him.

"You know I would always be here for you when things go bad right?", Ben said as he began to caress her.

Sandra's first instinct was to break his hold but she didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize her being together with Henry. So without putting up a fight or showing any signs of disgust, Sandra quietly  sat on the bed as Ben caressed and fondled her breasts. He soon took off her clothes, placed her on the bed and gently parted her skinny thighs. As soon as he was on top of her, she closed her eyes and all she could imagine was how making love with Henry was going to feel like. Tears run down her cheeks as she lay there, motionless. She clinched the bed sheet firmly and whispered, "I love you Henry, I really do"...




The next day, Henry was almost running late for work. He spent the whole night on the phone with Kennedy and Edwin updating them on the happenings at work that day involving the alleged assassin. Edwin advised that Henry stay away from Sandra for good per the man's instructions. Kennedy even wanted to have the matter reported first to Henry's parents and then the police to ensure their safety but Edwin and Henry vehemently disagreed. "I would have none of that!", Henry remarked. "I don't want to get my parents involved in this thing", Henry added. "Moreover, the people we are fighting are far more powerful and wealthy so the police would deem it a foolish case at best", Henry explained. "Even if I really wanted to get the police involved, what sort of evidence do I have to back my claims with?", Henry asked.

"You can use the note from Julius's office", Edwin suggested. "I don't have it", Henry said. "Where is it?", Kennedy asked. "I left it in the file on Julius's desk", Henry answered. "Are you kidding me?", Edwin asked. "You have to get that file before Julius or anyone gets it and ends up destroying it eventually.

"Okay", Henry started. "My boss didn't turn up at the office yesterday so I would wake up very early and go and pick it up before anyone else does", Henry said.

It was that same morning that Henry was running late for work.

When he entered the premises of Kaprisky, it was almost half past seven in the morning. As he hurriedly made his way to the main entrance to the building, he had a shock of his life as Ben's car pulled up right beside him.

Henry kept walking.

The driver was ordered to follow him. When the car got close to him, the left back door of the car flew open, "Henry, get in!", Ben ordered. Henry declined the offer and slowly backed away out of fear.

"Get in!", Ben ordered, this time very sternly.

"I can't sir", Henry said.

"Henry please get into the car for Christ's sake", a female voice spoke from the passenger seat in the front. Sandra pushed her head through the seats and signaled for Henry to get into the car. On seeing Sandra, Henry was at ease and slowly entered the car, although all of his confidence had deserted him in the process.

Immediately Henry entered the vehicle, he was ordered to shut the door. "My daughter has spoken to me at length about you", Ben started. "Even though I have my own reservations, I am going to allow the two of you to be just friends and nothing more", Ben explained. "She seems to have a lot of faith and confidence in your friendship and I hope that you have the endurance to keep it that way", Ben continued. "Therefore, I give you permission to be her friend but be warned, should she come complaining about your attitude, be sure to brace yourself because you will witness hell on earth", Ben promised.

"Stop it Daddy", Sandra screamed.


Henry sat in the back seat of the range rover like a newly-confirmed mute.

He did not say a word.

"Can you excuse us while I have a word with Henry?", Ben asked politely looking at Sandra.

Sandra knew that she would not like what her dad would say to Henry but she had to obey him. "Every worthy venture comes with great risks", Sandra said to herself and disembarked the sports car.

"Sir please I don't understand all of this", Henry started as Sandra shut the door. "If you care to know, I was threatened yesterday by some guy who was asking me to stay away from your daughter", Henry remarked. "Today, you are telling me to do the very thing I was threatened not to do", Henry added. "I just don't get what is happening".

"I am glad you received that message yesterday and I hope you would know what is best for you to do what is expected of you", Ben said.

"So why are you asking me to go against your warning just to put my life and that of others in danger?", Henry queried.

"My daughter seems to believe that she is in love with you and so are you", Ben said. "She doesn't want to listen to me, her father, who knows what's best for her so I am letting her hear what she wants theoretically but in practice, I would never allow it to happen", Ben added.

"Now I am confused", Henry said. "What exactly do you want me to do?", Henry asked.

"I want you to make her believe that all is well between you two", Ben said. "Again, I would expect that you say nothing of what ensued yesterday with our mutual friend or details of this conversation to Sandra", Ben warned. "I hope you can do that without any difficulty", Ben said.

"Yes sir, Henry replied.

"You are a smart young man and I know you would figure out what's best for all of us and not cross the line", Ben said. "I think we are done here so get the hell out of my car", Ben ordered...MORE SOON

CAN HENRY KEEP UP APPEARANCE? NOW THAT SANDRAIS MADLY IN LOVE WITH HIM, WOULD HE SUCCEED IN GETTING HER TO STAY AWAY FROM HIM? THE WEB OF SCHEMES IS JUST ABOUT TO BEGIN…STAY TUNED. THIS IS A MASTERPIECE FROM THE STABLES OF RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHTS. MY NAME IS EDWIN OKO LAMPTEY.




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THE SCENT OF YOUR HEART...EPISODE FOUR

IT HAS BEEN LONG OVERDUE BUT IT IS FINALLY HERE....



THE SCENT OF YOUR HEART...EPISODE FOUR

"Henry, my dad is ruthless and I don't want anything bad to happen to you", Sandra said as she held Henry's hand tightly in a dimly lit apartment.

"Let's run away to a faraway place where my father or anyone cannot find us so we can be together forever, just the two of us", Sandra suggested as she held on to Henry's right hand even tighter. Sandra had packed a little travelling bag with some clothes and quickly grabbed it from the wardrobe. She launched herself toward Henry as she married her palm with his and they quickly made for the exit.

"Where are we going?", a puzzled Henry asked as he was being pulled towards the door by Sandra. "We are running away like you suggested", Sandra answered as she quickly scanned the room with her eyes to see if she had left something behind.

"I suggested?", a totally confused Henry asked.

 "But where can we go without your father finding out?", Henry asked, now feeling reluctant to leave the room in which both of them found themselves. He pulled his hand out of Sandra's and started retracing his steps to the opposite end of the room. "What are you doing?", Sandra asked as she walked towards him. "We are running out of time", Sandra revealed.

"Stay away from me!", Henry screamed. "Just stay away from me!", Henry reiterated.


 "Henry, I thought you promised to love me and would stand or fall with me regardless of the opposition we faced", Sandra enquired with tears in her eyes. "Please don't cry, Sandra, you know your tears make me weak and helpless", Henry said as he quickly moved in on Sandra to stop her tears from flowing.

"Then prove your love for me; run away with me, take me away from this torture and stay with me forever", Sandra said, hugging Henry tightly.

"Give up everything and start all over with me", Sandra begged.


 "This is not how I wanted all of this to play out", Henry started. "I expected us to talk to your dad, make him understand and ask for his blessings for the two of us to be together", Henry said. "I didn't expect that we were going to have to fight to be together, Sandra, don't you get it?", Henry enquired.

"
"Henry, both of us cannot fight my dad even if we tried", Sandra explained as she looked into a drawer and stashed some money into her purse.

"As it stands now, we can not have everything going our way all the time and you and I know full well that every true and worthy cause faces fierce opposition", Sandra rebutted. "This is the test of our love and we have to pass it by all means", Sandra added.

"Run away with me, Henry!", Sandra insisted.

"Okay", Henry answered as if he was under  a spell.

"I am willing to lose everything for your sake and even if I have to die, I would be glad I died fighting to be with you", Henry said in a shaky tone.

He mustered courage, walked up to Sandra and held her hand tightly. "I love you so much, Sandra", Henry said and pulled her towards the door. Immediately the door cranked open, there was Sandra's father standing right in front of the opening, blocking both of them from leaving the room.

"Where do you think you are going?", Ben asked in the most angry tone of voice imaginable. "Where are you taking my daughter?", Ben asked. "I would make sure I have you arrested for kidnapping and I would personally make sure that you rot in jail", Ben said in a fit of rage. Ben launched himself at Sandra in a bid to grab her and yank her from Henry's hold.

As Ben made his attack on Sandra, Henry turned to shield Sandra from any possible attack from her father but in his desperate attempt to shield her, she had surprisingly vanished into thin air.

Sandra was nowhere to be found. He looked around the room and it appeared empty. Sandra's father, Ben started walking towards Henry. He stretched forth his hand aiming for Henry's neck and suddenly, Henry woke up.

"My God!", Henry exclaimed as he opened his eyes and saw himself on his bed; sweat dripping from his cold face. "It was only a dream!", Henry exclaimed as he made the sign of the cross to console himself. He touched his face and pinched himself a couple of times to be double sure that he was not still having the nightmare. He cast his mind back on the last conversation he had had with Sandra the previous night.

"That portion was not a dream too?", Henry asked himself as Sandra's parting words came hitting his conscience. I recall what Sandra told me vividly.

"Oh my God, I am in trouble, please if you truly love me, save me from the fury that is about to be unleashed upon me", Henry prayed. He felt with his hand all over his bed in search of his mobile phone in the dark room. When he finally reached for it, he turned on the phone's screen and used the dimly lit device to illuminate the room in search of any figure hiding in the shadows waiting to attack him. "What have I done?", Henry asked himself. "See where my desire has led me", Henry continued. He tried to go back to sleep but even sleep had eluded him.

"I am doomed!", Henry lamented.

"Sandra would be the reason for my failure", Henry said.

"Sandra is the lady the pastor talked about!", Henry said. "She was the lady the man referred to in his vision!", Henry exclaimed.

Like magic, immediately those words came out of his mouth, his mind went back into the past; to many years before that fateful night and the conversation with Sandra...

When Henry completed Senior High School, his mother asked him to accompany her to a prayer group meeting one night. During the prayer session, the leader called Henry and told him this, "You are highly favored and it makes the devil very jealous of your bright future", the man revealed. "You have many weaknesses", the prayer leader said. “You have a haughty character and you are quick-tempered", the man continued as he began to get into what seemed like a trance-like posture. He was however ably held upright by two other members of the prayer group "One more thing, if ever you are going to fail, it will be because of a woman so choose your friends and lovers wisely!", the man exclaimed and stood at attention after which he asked the people gathered together in the meeting to pray for Henry.


After the prayer meeting, Henry's association with girls plummeted. He kept more company with guys than ladies and even up until the time he completed university, he didn't have a girlfriend. He found company and solace in his two faithful roommates, Edwin and Kennedy. Even way back in the university, Henry stood up most of his blind dates and hook-ups set up for him by his roommates. He had made it a point and a rule to steer clear off female friendships so as to avert the fulfillment of the prophecy.

"How come I didn't see this coming?", Henry soliloquized as he looked down upon his mobile phone.

It was 2:24 AM.

Henry knew it was only a matter of hours left before all hell broke loose upon him at Kaprisky Law Firm that morning.

Henry went through the  contacts on his mobile phone and called Edwin.

There was no response.

He called a second time and still there was no response.

He then did the next obvious thing; he called Kennedy. Kennedy answered the call after the phone had rang like six times.

"Did someone die?", Kennedy asked immediately he answered the phone. Before Henry could answer, Kennedy went on again, "Or is it Edwin?", "Is he alright?", he asked. "If you called to ask for money, then I am sorry, but you dialed the wrong number, dude", Kennedy said.

"I am the one who called you so shut up and let me do the talking and stop making these unnecessary insinuations", Henry cut in.

"You can't call me at this ungodly hour and bark at me", Kennedy said out of anger. "My phone is my private property and I can choose to answer it or otherwise", Kennedy added.

"Ken, my situation is getting worse with each passing moment", Henry started. "Apparently, Sandra is involved sexually with her own father", Henry, revealed

"Incest?", Kennedy asked. "What?", he exclaimed. "I am as shell-shocked as yourself", Henry confirmed. "As it stands now, he has found out that I may be involved in a way with his daughter and he appears not to like the sound of it and he is said to going to come after me for my foolish courage", Henry explained. "What is all this trouble?", Kennedy asked. "Can't you just stay away from this girl?", Kennedy enquired "Ask again, my brother", Henry seconded. "I don't even know what to think or what to do", Henry confessed.

Before he could continue, his phone beeped signaling an incoming call, he took it off his ear and checked, it was Edwin. "Hold on, Kennedy, Edwin is calling so let me join his call so we can have a conference call", Henry told Kennedy.

"Are you having an emergency?", Edwin asked when Henry conferenced the call. "Hahaha", Kennedy laughed out loud. "The same thing I asked him when he called me", Kennedy said. "What's up?", Edwin eagerly asked anticipating a positive response. "Henry's issue is getting murkier", Kennedy answered. "It appears his girlfriend's dad is sleeping with  her and is coming after Henry out of jealousy. "This can't be real!", Edwin cut in abruptly. "This is the worst kind of story I have ever heard", Edwin started.

"I think it's about time we put an end to all of this nonsense!", Edwin said angrily. "I cant be losing precious sleep over this madness", Edwin burst out, to the surprise of both Henry and Kennedy. "I think your girlfriend needs a psychologist and I think you also need to stop fueling all her fantasies by avoiding her", Edwin said. "It is because of the attention she is receiving from you that is making her cook up all these cock and bull stories", Edwin ranted. "These stories are so bizarre that, it wont fit into any storybook or movie", Edwin continued.

"Slow down, Edwin", Kennedy  said realizing how angry Edwin was getting.

 "Come to think of it, what proof do you have of her incest claims?", Edwin asked as both Kennedy and Henry listened so quietly that you could literally hear a pin drop. "Have you had any form of encounter with her dad before?", Edwin asked.

"Yes, but briefly", Henry responded with a meek voice resembling that of a child who was being scolded for misbehaving. "And in that brief encounter, did he come across as an incestuous father?", Edwin questioned.

"No he didn't", Henry answered.

"So why then do you let us lose sleep over such fabricated stories?", Edwin queried.

"But...", Henry started

"But what?", Edwin rudely cut in. "To be totally honest with you, this matter is beginning to get on my nerves", Edwin revealed.

There was a long silence.

"You guys remember the prophecy about me with the girl in it right?", Henry enquired. "Could she be the one the man was talking about?", Henry asked with a worried tone of voice.


"That is true!", Kennedy exclaimed. "How could we have forgotten the hell and embarrassment you put us through because of this unfounded prophecy?", Kennedy said sarcastically. "And now, you walk unaided into the same thing you have been trying to avoid for years with your two eyes wide open", Kennedy questioned. "That is the irony of life, we end up crash-landing into the very thing we keep running away from", Kennedy added.

"I still maintain that the pastor was lucky and just guessed that scenario", Edwin cut in.

"If it was just a mere guess, why are all the things he said falling in place?", Henry quizzed.

"Why me and why now?", Henry questioned.

"Henry, you are making this too hard on yourself", Edwin started.


"Till Sandra's dad personally asks you to steer clear off her beloved daughter, let's just assume that all that you have heard are not true", Kennedy finally said. "I am beginning to take sides with Edwin on this particular matter", Kennedy added. "Let's all catch the little sleep left for us to catch before morning", Edwin  suggested. "We can update one another as and when the need arises, goodbye", Edwin said and was the first to end the call.

"Don't worry, Henry, everything will be fine", Kennedy said, yawned and dropped the call.

Henry was left all alone in his own dilemma. Instead of going back to sleep like his friends, he lay on his back and looked up at the ceiling fan as it swirled. "It is easy for them to whine and rant because they are not in my shoes", Henry talked to himself referring to Edwin and Kennedy. "If all this is true, how can I stand up to Ben and Julius?", Henry continued.

He tossed and turned in the bed and as he was finally about to doze off, his phone's alarm sounded and he had to get ready for what could possibly be his worst day on earth...


Henry walked through the car park towards the entrance to Kaprisky Law Firm. As he walked, he looked through the car park to see if he was going to see Ben's car parked among the fleet of luxury cars at the car park.

Ben's car was not there.

Henry walked briskly past the reception and quickly stood in front of the elevator waiting for it to open so he could go up into his office. As he stretched forth his hand to press the elevator's button, he realized his palms were very wet from anxiety and tension. He placed his hand in his pocket in an attempt to wipe his hand on the handkerchief he kept there. Immediately, his hand touched the handkerchief, a hand tapped his shoulder and he jumped up like a frightened cat that had been startled. As he turned, he saw an unfamiliar face.

"Oh, I am so sorry to have startled you", a tall, dark man probably in his mid-thirties spoke. "I am looking for the conference room", the man spoke. "The lady at the reception asked me to go down this hallway but I can't seem to find it", the man said.

Henry's heart was still racing inside of his chest. "Okay, when you get to that door, turn right and count three doors, the fourth one on the right is the conference room", Henry said as he pointed and gave directions to assist the man. As soon as the man was on his way, the elevator door opened and Henry rushed into it without second thoughts.


"It was thirty-seven minutes past midday and Henry had heard or seen no sign of Ben or Sandra. Even Julius had not showed up. Henry began to get worried. All his colleagues had gone out to have their lunch already but Henry insisted he was not hungry.

Henry kept thinking of how he was going to face Ben if it so happened that the two of them had to face off in a confrontation. It was almost 5:00PM and there was still no sign of Ben, Sandra or Julius. Henry began to suspect that something had happened to Sandra. He picked out his phone and called Sandra.

He called her four more times and there was still no response from Sandra. "What has happened to Sandra?", Henry asked himself. In his state of confusion and helplessness, he decided to call Julius and find out if he was going to come into the office that day. Since he knew Ben and Julius were friends, he had the conviction that if anything was going on, Julius would definitely have wind of it.

"Hello sir", Henry said as Julius answered the phone. "Are you going to come in to the office today?", Henry asked politely.

"I am already inside the building", Julius answered. "I just came in", Julius added. "Meet me in the lobby downstairs", Julius requested.

"Before you come, I want you to pack your bag", Julius ordered.

"The hour has finally come", Henry said as he walked to his desk to pack the bag in which he had his files and documents before making his way downstairs. "At least, I should be thankful that they are just sacking me", Henry said to himself. "It could have been worse", Henry said to console himself.

"Good afternoon Sir", Henry said in a shaky tone as he reached downstairs and met Julius.

"Good afternoon, my boy", Julius responded giddily.

"I want you to close early today because I want you to carry out a task for me very early tomorrow morning", Julius revealed.

Henry heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

"They are not going to terminate my appointment?", Henry thought to himself as he listened attentively to Julius.

"I am going to work on a case but I am sure it would take me late into the night", Julius started. "I would leave the finished work on my table but the client and his lawyers would pass by  very early for it so I want you to report to work tomorrow earlier than usual so you can hand over the file to them", Julius explained. "I would call you and give you details of the file after it is done so please keep your phone close to you", Julius added.

Henry was so shell-shocked by Julius's request that all he could say was, "Yes Sir".

"I will call you tonight so be sure to get some rest", Julius said and held the front door open for Henry.

As Henry walked out of the premises of Kaprisky Law Firm, he could not believe what was happening. He knew within his heart of hearts that something bad was going to happen. He just kept his faith, went home and immediately after getting something to eat, went straight to bed. He sent messages to Edwin and Kennedy updating them on the happenings of the day and they assured him that nothing was going to happen.

Around 10:38PM that night, Julius called Henry and gave him details of the file in question and asked him to be sure to be in the office before 6:30AM the next day so that his clients could pick it up for an early court hearing.

The following day, Henry obeyed his boss's instructions and showed up at the main gate of Kaprisky at exactly 6:20AM. He quickly went up to Julius's office to pick up the file in anticipation of the clients. It took him no time to get into the office. The building was virtually empty save the two night security guards at the gate. When he picked up the file, he realized it was so light in weight and wondered why it had to take Julius so long to work on.

Out of curiosity, he decided to take a quick peek at the work Julius had done.

To his surprise, when he opened the file, written in capitals were the words, "WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. WE ARE CAPABLE OF MAKING LIFE FOR YOU AND YOUR UNBORN GENERATIONS A LIVING HELL. KNOW YOUR PLACE AND STAY THERE FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!".

Henry's heart sunk after it had missed several beats. He turned to leave the office but there was a figure standing in the doorway.

Henry froze.

The figure approached Henry.

Henry recognized the figure instantly. It was the man whom he had given directions to the previous day... MORE SOON!!!

HENRY IS IN TROUBLE. HAS HE BEEN SET UP? FIND OUT MORE IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF  THIS CHILLING SAGA. MY NAME IS EDWIN OKO LAMPTEY AND THIS IS ANOTHER STORY FROM THE STABLES OF RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHTS.




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THE SCENT OF YOUR HEART...EPISODE THREE.

"I beg your pardon but what did you just say sir?", Henry asked out of shock, surprise, wonder and horror all mixed in one.

"I am asking you to sleep with me like a woman sleeps with a man", Julius reiterated. "I mean I want to make love to you", he rephrased.


Henry's heart missed several beats.


"Sir please I can't do that”. “It is out of place and equally out of this world for you to think up something of this magnitude", Henry said as he backed away but was stuck between the wall and Julius. "I am sorry if you picked up the wrong signals but I don't do men", Henry blurted. "I have never considered sleeping with a man before and as a matter of fact, I never consider doing that, never, not even for all the money in the world!", Henry exclaimed.

Julius just kept staring at Henry seductively as he went on in his ranting spree. "More so, I thought you said I was like a son to you so why would you even think about sleeping with your son?", Henry quizzed.

Julius laughed out so loud after Henry's submission that it made Henry look and feel so stupid.

"Sir please this is not a joke", Henry said as he started to get uncomfortable in Julius's presence.

"I know", Julius responded. "That is why I said you were like a son to me not as if I was insinuating that you were my real son", Julius explained with laughter.

There was a long silence as both Henry and Julius stared intently at each other. "Or is this some form of sexuality test?", Henry asked as he began to feel that Julius was just playing a prank on his sexuality to ascertain whether he had more than one sexual preference.

Julius laughed out even louder.

"Tests are conducted in classrooms and not in bedrooms", Julius said with a smirk on his face. "This is the real deal, Henry", Julius confirmed. "I can see that my actions have taken you by surprise but it is not as if it was not to be expected", Julius started. "I saw this from miles away so your reaction is nothing new to me", Julius continued. "You know another thing that is not new to me?", Julius asked rhetorically. "Just like all the other young men before you, you would come begging and crumbling at my feet to crawl into my bed", Julius said.

"The comment sent shock waves down Henry's spine.

"I am not the first?"..."He put others through such an ordeal?"... "Why did they choose to give in to him?"... "What would he do to me if I told him that I would never be interested?", all these questions flooded Henry's mind as he took in the shock from Julius's last statement.

"Sir, please I want to go home", Henry pleaded. "I promise not to tell anyone about what just happened here", Henry said. "After all, I have signed a nondisclosure agreement so whatever I say can make me liable for punishment", Henry added.

"You are very smart", Julius started. "In fact, you are too smart for my liking and I'd give you credit for that", Julius continued. "The others didn't resist this much so let's see how long you can keep up with your hard-to-get antics", Julius added. Julius backed away and gave Henry some space to pass. Henry quickly seized the opportunity to move clear off Julius. "You don't need to be scared", Julius reiterated. "I would see you in the office on Monday", Julius said as Henry started his way towards the main gate.

"One more thing", Julius started. "I'd be having someone come over next week  and I can make you watch to see how we do it, that is if you don't mind", Julius suggested.

"I do mind and I still can't believe all of this is real", Henry said as he turned to listen to his boss. "Sir, I would very much appreciate it if you stopped giving me gifts", Henry said. "I feel patronized already", Henry said out of disgust. "The gifts are in no way linked to all of this", Julius inveigled as he walked over to where Henry was standing. "It is still the same thing to me", Henry countered. "I would like to take my leave now", Henry finally said as he picked flirtatious signals emanating from Julius body posture as he approached the place where he stood. Henry quickly rushed to the entrance leading out of the house.

When he got to the gate, the gatekeeper looked at him suspiciously as he made his way out of the house. Henry also returned the favour by giving him a very stern look as he opened the gate for him to let him out of the house.

Immediately Henry stepped out of the house, he pulled out his phone and called his two friends, Edwin and Kennedy and asked them to meet up with him at his house.

Henry got home after an hour and waited for his friends to arrive. When they did, he asked that they spoke outside the house.

"I am in deep trouble", Henry started.

"What is the matter?", Edwin asked.

"This national service posting will eventually do me more harm than good judging by the bizarre turn of events", Henry said.

"Henry, just cut the chase and get to the crux of the matter", Kennedy said impatiently and out of worry.

"I wasn't supposed to tell anyone this but you two have stuck with me in times that no one else did and you guys are more like brothers to me so I suppose telling you this won't hurt anyone", Henry started.

"What are you talking about?", Edwin asked.

"What have you done wrong?", Kennedy chipped in.

"As it stands now, the only thing I have done wrong is accepting to work as a national service personnel at Kaprisky Law firm", Henry started. "From what I hear, Kaprisky's integrity as the whole world knows it is just one big fat lie, a scam, to say the least", Henry recounted.

"What is that supposed to mean?", Edwin cut in. "You've been at the firm for barely a year and you know all this?", Edwin quizzed.

"My informant is no other than the daughter of the owner of the firm", Henry revealed. "According to her, the supposed flawless reputation of Kaprisky is  built on a foundation of lies, trickery, underhand dealings, coercion and corruption", Henry revealed.

"Wait a minute", Kennedy cut in. "Are you telling us that you believe her?", Kennedy asked.

"I don't think she can lie to me", Henry said.

"Really?", both Kennedy and Edwin exclaimed.

"Henry, ask yourself this question", Edwin sat and spoke. "Who would say such damning things about her father's line of work to someone she barely knows and expect that person not to have his or her own reservations about what is being said?", Edwin asked. "And come to think of it, did you bother to ask her why she chose you besides all her rich and powerful friends to reveal this to?", Edwin questioned.

Henry looked startled as the questions kept hitting him.

"I really don't know why she told me but I am yet to find out if there is an ulterior motive behind all of this", Henry said. "That is even the least of my worries, Kaprisky can be the mafia for all I care", Henry continued. "There are more serious and pressing issues that I need to deal with now", Henry said.

"My boss is gay and wants to sleep with me", Henry revealed

"What?", both Edwin and Kennedy exclaimed.

"You heard me right", Henry said. "I am just coming back from his house and he came unto me without warning", Henry said. "He said he was in love with me and wanted to sleep with me", Henry added

"Prior to today, he always gave me gifts and spare change when I ran errands for him and I thought he was doing it out of goodwill but I realized that these gestures were all part of his schemes to get me to go to bed with him", Henry exclaimed

Both Edwin and Kennedy looked shell-shocked as Henry narrated his ordeal to them. "He even said that he had slept with countless young men before me and he knows that with time, I would eventually give in to his demands", Henry added.

"This is crazy", Kennedy said. "But are you sure you are not making all of this up?", Kennedy asked.

"You know me to be a lot of things except being paranoid and exaggerating stuff like this", Henry said in his defense.

"I have never seen myself this scared and confused all at once before", Henry said.

"So what are you going to do about this?", Edwin asked. "Because obviously, you can't continue to be in the same office with a man who has such bizarre sexual intentions", Kennedy said. "I think you should quit", Edwin suggested.

"No!", Henry exclaimed. "I can't quit", he added. "What am I going to tell my father if I quit?", Henry asked rhetorically. "He would definitely want to know why and I can't see myself telling him the truth", Henry said. "So what are we going to do now?", Kennedy asked.

"I promised him I was not going to tell anyone about this and I have also signed a nondisclosure agreement with Kaprisky Law Firm so anything I say that is out of place can be used against me", Henry said. "The last thing I need is to be engaged in a legal battle with Kaprisky as the opponent", Henry conceded. "So I intend to stay on at Kaprisky and see out my national service with them and leave the place immediately", Henry said. "From Monday, I would do my best possible to steer clear off my boss and avoid his advances to the best of my skills and ability", Henry said.

"How long do you think you can keep up with this plan?", Edwin asked.

"For as long as I can and I am determined to see it out", henry said getting back some assurance in himself.

"These people are very powerful and would go to any length to see to it that they get whatever they want so you better tread cautiously", Kennedy advised.

"I won't lie to you guys for anything but the mere thought of all of this sends shivers down my spine", Henry confessed. "I just hope that things go according to plan so I can finish this service quickly and get the hell out of that place", a determined Henry said.

"All of this wouldn't have happened if you were humble enough to have accepted your earlier posting but you vehemently turned down the offer and now look at the mess this God-given posting is doing to you", Kennedy said sarcastically and they all broke out onto laughter sending some of the tension out of the conversation...

On Monday morning, Henry's heart sank when he heard the sound of his cell phone's alarm. He contemplated calling in sick or going to work. On second thoughts, he decided to reluctantly get out of bed and get ready for work. After forty five minutes, he was having some breakfast and getting ready to leave the house.

He arrived early at work and set up his boss's office. The photocopying machine in front of their office had ran out of paper so he decided to go down to the storage room to get a refill. He decided to use the stairs instead of the elevator so that he did not have to go through the ordeal of meeting his boss on his way up to the office.

It was a long flight of stairs but Henry cared less. After descending five floors, Henry found himself on the final flight of stairs leading to the ground floor of the building. He looked down the staircase from where he stood and saw Julius ascending the same stairs that he was on.

Henry had just walked into the very thing that he dreaded and had taken pains to avoid. His first instinct was to go back up the stairs because Julius was yet to see him. Henry looked up and could not see himself undoing what he had just done by choosing to take the stairs instead.

He decided to face off with his boss.

"Why did he choose to take the stairs today of all the days?", Henry soliloquized. "Is he also trying to avoid me?", Henry asked as his legs trembled as he decided to go down the final flight of stairs.

"Good morning sir", Henry stammered as he and Julius met on the same stair.

Julius did not respond but kept ascending the stairs as if Henry was not even standing there.

Henry was startled.

Henry stood on the staircase and watched his boss go up the stairs. After a few steps, Julius turned. "Henry, see me immediately after you are done with what you are doing". Henry's heart missed several beats and he stood there speechless, only nodding with his head to signal to Julius that his request was heard.

Henry trembled as he went back up the stairs with the papers in his hands. He was so tense that he could not feel his feet. He walked into Julius's office and with a stern face, Julius gave him a tall list of duties to finish before the day ended. Henry grabbed the list and quickly dashed out of the office like lightening.

"So far as I am far away from you, that is all that matters to me", Henry said as he looked at the tall list in his hand to accomplish...


Henry and Sandra kept contact with one another and their bond kept growing. Henry never mentioned his encounter with Julius to Sandra even though the incident had taken place over two months ago. Henry had started developing feelings for Sandra but anytime he wanted to tell her about the way he felt about her, his intuition told him not to. "She is way out of your league", the voice in his head would often tell him. "You don't expect to get yourself involved in more drama than you already find yourself, do you?", the voice in his head would ask.

One night after work, Henry decided to tell Sandra about the way he felt about her. He called her and started, "Sandra, there is something I really need to tell you and I need you to pay close attention".

"What is it?", Sandra asked with laughter. She had come to know Henry as one who always joked around so more often than not, she didn't take the things he said very seriously.

"Talk to me", Sandra pushed.

"Sandra I am in love with you", henry blurted.

"Hahaha", Sandra laughed out hysterically.

"This is not one of them jokes, Sandra", Henry said, feeling very embarrassed.

"I know, I know", Sandra responded still laughing ridiculously.

"So why are you laughing?", Henry enquired.

"I am laughing because there is no such thing as love and my father has made me see over a thousand and one times that love does not exist", Sandra said.

"Love does exist!", Henry rebutted. "What I feel for you can attest to that fact", Henry said.

"So how do you know that you love me?", Sandra asked.

There was a brief pause.

"It is a feeling you have", Henry said.

"Ever since I was a child, my dad kept me from mingling with guys", Sandra started. "He has been very protective and he would do anything to see to it that I am safe and happy", Sandra added. "What is more, I have never had a boyfriend my whole life even though I know it sounds embarrassing at times", Sandra said.

"My dad always finds a way of driving any guy that comes lurking around me out of my life and I have learnt that way of pushing people out of my life", Sandra explained. "Don't be surprised if I tell you that we can't be friends anymore and that I can't talk to you again because I know that day will surely come and even though it hurts me, I cannot do anything about it because...I have to go now, I will see you tomorrow", Sandra said and hang up in the middle of the conversation.

Henry lay on his bed and wondered why Sandra would allow her dad to control her life at her age. He was lost in thought. "Maybe I can talk to her father about her", Henry thought to himself. "That would be suicidal", Henry said on second thought. "I am pathetically in love with Sandra and I would stop at nothing to get her to love me", Henry said to himself...

The next day, Henry was going about his normal routine when he met Julius in the lobby.

"I  still haven't heard anything from you concerning our arrangements", Julius said.

"What arrangements, Sir?", Henry asked feigning ignorance.

"You know damn well what I am talking about!", Julius exclaimed.

"I get it now", Henry said. "But like I said earlier sir, I am not interested in it", Henry said.

"I can see you still need more time", Julius said. "Do well to see me in my office after lunch", Julius added and walked past Henry.

After lunch, Henry rushed to see Julius in his office because he did not want to do anything that would merit being reprimanded. On his way into the office, he met Ben, Sandra’s father coming out of Julius’s office.

“Good afternoon sir”, Henry greeted politely.
“Good afternoon”, Ben responded and continued to walk past Henry.

“My regards to Sandy”, Henry said as he turned.
Sandra told Henry that it was only his father who called her SANDY.

Ben stopped, turned and looked at Henry before nodding his head.
That night, Sandra called Henry and was furious over the phone. “What did you tell my father about us?”, Sandra asked fuming.

“Relax, I just told him to extend my regards to you”, Henry said.

“Are you out of your mind or something?”, Sandra asked. “What is that supposed to mean?”, Henry asked back. “I told you about my dad and the best thing you could do was to ask him to extend your regards to me?” “Why did you do that?”, Sandra asked. “Can you just stop freaking out and listen to me?”, Henry pleaded. “There is nothing to listen to!”, Sandra said. “Why are you making it seem as though I have done something so terrible?” Henry asked.

“Henry, please listen to me carefully”, Sandra said as she started to cry. “I would be a liar to say that I don't have any feelings for you”. “You are patient, funny, gentle, kind and hardworking and I could not have asked for someone more as a potential boyfriend but I  wanted all of this to be hidden from my father but now, he knows that I know you”, Sandra explained.

“What is wrong with that, Sandra?”. “Isn't that rather a good thing; that your dad knows you have a boyfriend? “, Henry asked

“Everything is wrong with that Henry, everything is wrong with that”, Sandra reiterated.

“This is a part of my life that I have not shared with anyone but I don't know why I feel I have to tell you”, Sandra started. “I think it is because I am in love with you too”, Sandra conceded.

“Here is the thing, ever since I turned eighteen years, my dad had been obsessed with me and for a long time, he had brainwashed me to sleep with him several times”, Sandra revealed. “He would never allow me to keep male friends because he said he was going to provide all my needs including my sexual needs”, Sandra continued now crying uncontrollably. “I have realized how messed up I am and I am putting a stop to it that is how come I chose to become friends with you and I have fallen in love with you”, Sandra revealed. “Now that my father has found out that you are just a friend to me, he is going to come after you and he would do anything to you to get you to stay away from me forever!” Sandra added. “I am sorry Henry, but my father is coming after you”, Sandra said…

HENRY IS ABOUT TO GET CRUSHED. HE IS DEALING WITH ADVANCES FROM HIS BOSS AND NOW HE WOULD HAVE TO FIND A WAY OF SURVIVING ANOTHER ONSLAUGHT FROM ANOTHER RUTHLESS FATHER AND LOVER… MY NAME IS EDWIN OKO LAMPTEY. NEED I SAY MORE? JUST BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS! THIS IS ANOTHER THRILLER FROM THE STABLES OF RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHTS  ®.

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