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"Your Visa application has been denied..."
Franklin recites the last line from the letter he got from the American Embassy. This was the fifth time he had been denied.
A depressive frown filled his face as he squeezed the paper and threw it in the bin. He walked solemnly out of his single-room accommodation down to the public bus stop, He had to resume a night-shift at the Chinese factory where he's employed, such factory jobs are pretty common in African countries, tough man-labor and little pay, just enough to survive and grind till the next day.
Franklin stood at the public bus-stop as gloomy thoughts crept into his mind, Although he was a university graduate, his life never really amounted much to be admired.
As his eyes panned across the environs with self-pity he caught sight of something, a small poster on the wall across the street which read "GUARANTEED VISA AND TRAVEL AGENCY" Franklin wasn't really interested at first but that banner was the only thing that gave him some glimmer of hope at the moment.
He quickly rushed towards it and took down the phone numbers on a little note, although that little distraction made him miss an early bus, he struggled to catch up but it zoomed off with full passengers, he had to wait some more minutes before hopping on the next bus that came along.
"You're late, Franklin" His supervisor shouted sternly at him as he walked swiftly into the station at the factory, he worked in the bottling department.
"Sorry Boss!" Franklin replies as he wipes the sweat off his brows.
"There is no sorry Franklin, your salary will tell the sorry" The supervisor retorted sadistically.
Franklin shook his head silently with clenched jaws, he knew that meant a salary reduction, He was also more saddened by the fact that such stern practices were enforced by African supervisors at the factory.
Franklin resumed his monotonous labor, packaging the sealed bottle drinks, the only thing that gives some solace is daydreaming about traveling abroad, he imagined that even if he worked at an overseas factory, he would be in a better situation. He clutched his pockets once more to feel the note where he wrote down that number.
"I must leave this country" He whispered to himself.
The following day, Franklin woke up with the usual morning ache as he stretched his back, he took his phone and dialed the number on the poster he saw the previous day.
After some inquiries on the call, Franklin was a bit satisfied with the reply he received, but he wasn't sure about it.
"Maybe I will just apply at the embassy again next month," He thought to himself.
Franklin was about to prepare some food at the public kitchen attached to his accommodation when he received a call, it was the same number he called earlier.
"Hello..." Franklin replied hurriedly.
"Hello sir...I think it would be better for you to come to our office so we can talk more, we believe our services can fulfill exactly what you desire even at a discount price" A man answered with an assured tone.
Franklin wrote down the address and went to the venue the following day, He wasn't really impressed with the appearance of the building but he summoned up some courage and walked in.
"Hello, You must be Franklin" A man approached with a wide smile and shook his hands.
"I'm James, we spoke earlier on the phone, I'm glad you made it here..."
"Yeah... likewise" Franklin replied with a forced smile.
"Please have a seat, Mr. Franklin, we have some refreshments for you," The man said as he pointed to some cold drinks on the table.
"No thanks, sir... I'm alright" Although Franklin was parched from trekking in the hot sun to find this office, he refused the offer cause he was still subconsciously unsure about the situation.
"We believe we have a very good package for you Mr. Franklin, have you done any visa proceedings before?"
"Oh yeah, I've applied severally..."
"And they denied you right?" James interrupted hastily.
"Yeah" Franklin replied with a nod.
"And I'm guessing they didn't refund your visa fees right, those guys are scammers ripping off a lot of Africans every year... My company has helped dozens of people like you Franklin, many of our clients are settled abroad in various countries" James spoke with assurance.
Franklin nodded as his words were getting more interesting by the second, the cold drink sitting at the table now looking more inviting as he took another brief glance at it.
"You can still take the drink if you want, feel free" James smiled as he observed Franklin was eyeing the bottle of cold drink.
Franklin stretched his hands and picked up the cold drink on the table, he couldn't any longer resist as he nodded his head in response to the enticing words from James.
"I have access to some special routes to Europe, you don't need any Visa or corrupt government approval" Frank said and laughed jokingly in an effort to mask his intentions.
As Franklin picked up the bottle of drink and attempted to open it, he observed something suspicious on the bottle, because he worked in a bottling factory, he saw that the bottle cap was tampered with and not sealed properly.
Franklin took another look at James but this time with a very suspicious gaze as he suddenly dropped the bottle.
"Is there a problem?" James asked with haste.
"No... No problem, I just remembered I forgot something very important and It's getting late but I'm very interested in your services, I would come back here as soon as I'm done"
"Oh... but you just got here and you've not even had your drink" James rebutted with panicky eyes that darted frantically across the room.
There was an awkward pause in the room as Franklin got up and ready to leave.
"Alright then, Mr Franklin, see you later" James stretched out his hands for a handshake.
Momentarily, Franklin heard some shuffling sounds outside the room, Franklin took a couple of steps backward away from the handshake, he knocked off a random plastic chair as he panicked towards the door.
"Yeah, see you later..." Franklin replied with a shaky voice as he took speedily steps out of the office.
As soon as Franklin got out of the building, he spotted some strange figures around the vicinity, he had no idea who they were but he had this eerie feeling that he just escaped danger or some deadly scam.
submission to @theinkwell prompt
Hope you enjoyed the read :-)