Sandra went from the living room to the bedroom, and she came outside looking frustrated.
"Can't someone keep something somewhere and meet it there anymore in this house?" She muttered while checking the drawers in the giant shelf standing on one side of the living room.
"When you are done grumbling, tell what the problem is, and you must arrange that place just as you met it," Mrs Uke, Sandra's mother, replied. She was busy picking beans for dinner, but Sandra's grumbling gradually annoyed her.
"I left my USB cable on the shelf this morning but can't find it now," Sandra replied to her mother. She then moved to the back just in case it fell behind the shelf.
"So is it ordinary wire you are looking for and wouldn't let the house rest," She replied and stopped picking the beans.
"My battery is drained and I want to charge," Sandra replied and returned to the bedroom to continue the search.
"Didn't you hide it in your bag because you didn't want Chidi to borrow it earlier today," Mrs Uke replied.
"I have forgotten," Sandra stuttered and rushed to her school bag hanging on a nail behind the bedroom door.
"Have they restored power? Or is there other means of charging without electricity? Mrs Uke asked her daughter who was heading out.
"No, they haven't fixed the electricity yet. I will charge at Emma's place," Sandra replied.
"The same Emma everyone is avoiding?" She asked, pushing the bean container aside.
"Emma is my good friend and we've known each other for many years now or have you forgotten we went to the same primary school? You all have a wrong assumption about his family because of the chief's incident, which is not fair," Sandra replied and left.
"You dare not walk out on me. Sandra!" Mrs Uke yelled immediately Sandra shut the door.
"I will be back in less than 10 minutes," Sandra replied immediately she opened the door again. She shut the door and ran off this time.
Mrs Uke was angry and didn't believe that Sandra could still dare to go to Emma's House after the dispute involving Emma's family and the chiefs of Omu Town. It was a huge fight over a piece of land and families kept their distance from them, except Sandra.
Sandra plugged her phone immediately she arrived there and Emma reminded her that the power generator would only work for 2 hours. She agreed to come pick it up later and while returning home, Sandra met Eniola on the road.
She had lost contact with her classmate and best friend, whose family had left the town four years ago.
"I can't believe it," Sandra screamed with joy immediately after she saw her friend from afar.
Eniola was equally excited and ran to hug Sandra.
"It's been four years now," She whispered, hugging Sandra tightly.
"I tried every means to reach you, but it was all futile," Sandra replied, still hugging her friend.
"My phone was stolen and I didn't have any backup," Eniola replied. They let go of eachother and Sandra didn't believe her eyes as Eniola now looks bigger and beautiful. Her fashion sense had increased a lot.
"I can tell that the city is treating you well," Sandra admired her best friend, touching her hair.
"I won't lie, the city is doing me very well. I'm glad we relocated, but I miss you," Eniola replied.
They did some catching up and left that spot to sit somewhere for a proper chat after a few minutes.
Meanwhile, Mrs Uke was worried about not seeing her daughter after 30 minutes. She had finished picking the beans and was cooking already.
She checked the time every minute, and after adding the last ingredients to the beans, she became more restless.
"What could she be doing there? This girl won't kill me," Mrs Uke muttered exactly two hours after Sandra left the house. She went to change her dress, turned off her cooking stove, and went to Emma's house.
On her way there, she told a few people that her daughter hadn't returned home after going to charge her phone at Emma's house. They scolded her for allowing Sandra to go there, but they followed just in case something happened to the girl.
Upon arriving there, Emma had just turned off the generator.
"Good evening ma," Emma greeted Mrs Uke immediately he noticed her.
"What is good about the evening? Where is my daughter?" She replied angrily.
"She came to charge but left immediately," Emma replied.
"To where? She hasn't returned home, so go inside and bring her out," One of the women who accompanied Mrs Uke yelled at Emma.
The noise caught the attention of other passersby, and Emma's parents returned from work just in time. They were surprised to see people outside the house and rushed in to see what had happened.
Mrs. Uke narrated what happened while Emma also shared his side of the story.
"But I told you not to use the generator. All these wouldn't have happened if you had obeyed," Emma's father said to his son while trying to calm Mrs Uke.
Emma explained that the house had run out of water and he only decided to pump. More people gathered and someone immediately called the police before things got out of hand.
Mrs. Uke insisted on checking the house, and immediately she found her daughter's phone, she started screaming.
"What did you do to my daughter?" She grabbed Emma's shirt and started pushing him around.
"I can't hurt your daughter and still keep her phone here," Emma's voice trembled.
"Oh, like your parents did to the chief because of a mere piece of land," Mrs Uke replied.
"You dare not accuse us of such. The chiefs had an accident after returning from the land, so does that make us killers?" Emma's mother replied angrily.
"Please take things easy. Mrs Uke, we are innocent about what happened back then, and it has nothing to do with your daughter's disappearance," Emma's father replied.
The police officers arrived just in time and checked the whole house but Sandra wasn't there. They asked the neighbors if anyone saw Sandra, and just one person saw her when she arrived, but didn't see her leave. They requested that Emma and Mrs Uke follow them to the station to write their statements so that the investigation can continue from there.
Both parties wrote their statements and the police allowed them to go with the hope of getting to the root of Sandra's disappearance.
As they were heading out of the station, Sandra and Eniola were strolling back with food packs after a long discussion at the mall.
Sandra saw her mother and some neighbors walking out of the police station so she walked towards them.
"Mummy, what happened?" Sandra stuttered looking confused.
"Where did you go? Where have you been?" Mrs Uke yelled at her daughter. She took a step closer to Sandra, who swiftly took a step backward.
"I went with Eniola, and we were doing some catching up. We've not seen each other for four years now," Sandra replied and Eniola immediately knelt to greet Mrs Uke.
"Who did you tell? I went to Emma House and didn't find you. That's what brought everyone here," Mrs Uke replied.
"Mummy, what have you done?" Sandra replied and welled up in her eyes.
The neighbors behind her started muttering and left out of annoyance. The police wanted to invite the family back into the station, but Emma's father insisted that since Sandra is back, they should just sweep the case under the carpet.
Mrs. Uke dealt with her daughter upon arriving home. A few days passed and she went to Emma's house to apologize.
Emma's parents said there was no need for the apology, but Mrs. Uke insisted not just because of the incident, but also her misconception about the family after the land dispute.
