The Voice Note

Safiya was lying down on her bed as she scrolled through social media aimlessly as sleep eluded her. the time was 2:33 in the morning and the chilly Lagos breeze quietly swept in through her room windows. She covered herself with her duvet. And as she was about to drop her phone and get a good night’s rest, a notification popped up on her phone. A WhatsApp message from her sister, Maryam, flashed on her phone screen. “what is she doing awake by this time? I thought she said she had lectures tomorrow morning?” she thought as she clicked on the notification. It was a voice note; and it was 11 seconds long. Safiya stared at the message for awhile. It was very unlike Maryam to send a voice note. She was more of the texting type and seeing that voicenote sent a cold chill down Safiya’s spine. She clicked on it. “Ya Safee please come home! I’m in danger!” Maryam sounded frantic and scared as she blurted those words. Safiya sat up on her bed immediately as she listened to the voicenote again. she suddenly began to have flashbacks of a weird conversation she had with her sister, Maryam. In the conversation, Maryam hinted to her that she was in danger but she dismissed it in very nonchalant way. Safiya hurriedly put on her Abaya, thrusted her veil and dashed out of her room. Safiya lived in a one-room apartment in the Island in Lagos. Due to the heavy traffic that delays her everyday commute from Ikorodu to the Island, her parents advised her to rent a simple apartment there so that she would not stress herself when getting to her workplace everyday. And now, as she dashed to the door in the early morning hours, Safiya hoped and prayed that the traffic congestion had subsided. She revved her car and dashed out of her apartment building and into the Lagos night.

The Lagos nightlife was a sight to behold. The restaurants, bars, grills, e.t.c was all hustling and bustling, even though it was 2:00 in the morning, the city was still alive. However, Safiya did not notice any of these as she slammed the gear and roared her car into the Lagos streets. Her heart kept beating faster and faster and the thought of what might happen to her sister or her beloved parents consumed her. she used her right hand to pick up her phone and call her father, no answer. She then called her mother, call ended. Oh my God! What the heck is happening? She thought to herself as a tiny drop of tear dropped from her eyes. She hated the sick feeling in her stomach and she gripped the steering wheel in anticipation. she had entered a slow traffic and that even made her more anxious. She honked multiple times and a few other drivers had to tell her to calm down. As the traffic slowly dissipated, she slammed the gear again and drove on.

For what felt like hours, Safiya finally turned the corner into her parents area. The sight of their duplex gave off a very eerie feeling as she cautiously drove to the house gate. The house was dark; unusually dark. Did they forget to turn on the security light? She thought to herself as she unbuckled her seatbelt. She then opened her car and stood by the door facing the building. A thousand and one thoughts ran through her head. She tried calling Maryam and her parents but it was not reachable again. at this point, Safiya was filled with fear and dread. She checked the time on her phone and it showed 4:15 am. She inhaled and slowly walked to the house gate. She had her own keys to the house and she carefully opened the gate.

As she walked towards the building of their house, she scanned the windows carefully. Everywhere was dark as she had first observed and oddly, the light in Maryam’s room was on. As she neared the house, she pressed her ear to the door. Dead silent. She then carefully placed her key in the keyhole and opened the door. The house was pitch black. A sign that no one was awake. She scanned the ground floor with her phone torch, navigated the light switch and turned it on. No one was there! But the place was in disarray. She remembered it was a Wednesday night and it was the family movie night which she did'nt attend. The living room was littered with popcorn, slices of pizza lay on the center table and soda drinks filled the trash can in the corner of the room. But mother is a particularly neat person, why would she have tolerated this mess? Safiya thought to herself. She suddenly went into panic-mode and dashed upstairs to the rooms. She reached Maryam’s room and opened it vigorously while yelling Maryam’s name on the top of her voice. Maryam yelled in the darkness of her room and turned on the lights. She yelled again as she saw Safiya, sweaty and panicky. “what in the world are you doing here, Ya Safee? What is going on?!” Maryam asked as she came out of her bed. Safiya immediately looked confused. She opened her mouth and closed it several times before she muttered “Wha...wha...what do you mean?.....you...said you....were in danger just over an hour ago.” Maryam looked confused too. “Me?” she asked “When?” Safiya showed her their chats and she turned on the voice note for her. Maryam’s face turned pale; as if blood was drained from her face. She swore that she didn’t send the voice note. She even showed Safiya her WhatsApp chat; she never sent her a voice note. Safiya played the voice note for her. Yes it was Maryam’s voice; clear as day! “Wait!” Maryam interrupted “play it again and listen very carefully!” Safiya replayed it and put it very close to her ear this time. She heard a sound like someone whispering underneath Maryam’s supposed voice. They both looked at each other in fear and a cold chill ran down Safiya’s spine. Her legs suddenly began to wobble and she had to sit down on Maryam’s bed to get herself.

“What is going on here?!” Baba asked as he and mama entered the room. He was shocked to see Safiya in the room, so was mama. “What’s going on Safiya? What are you doing in this time of the night? ” he asked “and how did you come in?” mama asked her too as she came closer to the girls. Safiya could not process what was going on too. Her mouth was open as she stared at everyone of them without a word coming out of her mouth. After what felt like eternity, she carefully narrated what happened in the past few hours. “wait, you said you came through the front door?...just now?” her mother asked her with widened eyes. Safiya affirmed and even added that she was surprised at how Mama would allow that mess without cleaning up. Baba and Mama looked at each other with Widened eyes “Honey,” Baba stammered “we have been downstairs since 2:00 am praying in the living room..” “and we never saw or heard you enter the house.” Mama ended with utmost shock in her face.........