She'd found her apartment just in time.

After extending her grace period from the month she

gave herself to three, because there really weren't any cute houses for twenty six year old single
Igbo women, she thought to herself that she would kneel in front of Fade and beg her to let her
stay the year. But as she mustered up the courage to beg and played out the scenario in her
head, Fade and her boyfriend began their unnecessarily loud sex again, and Adanne knew she
could not endure a year of it.

So she woke up early on a Saturday morning, went to the white agent office she'd seen as she
returned from work two nights before and stood in front of the closed doors until the agent
showed up two hours later

“Ahn ahn, fine aunty, na now you just come? ”

“No, I've been here since 8.” Ada did not mean to make the man feel sorry for her; she was
simply answering a question but she welcomed the small bottle of water that was handed to her
as an apology and sighed in relief when the fan came on

“Sir,” she said, but her voice did not carry the desperation that she had come here with, so she
sombered her expression as best as she could. The face she used to give her father to force
him into taking her to the shop with him always worked then, but now that her features had
hardened out and she'd lost the roundness of her cheeks, she wondered if when the man turned
to her and halted, he saw the face of a constipated woman and not a desperate one

“Sir, please help me. I've gone to all the agents in this area, even going as far as Ojota, but I
haven't been lucky. My friend told me you helped her and how kind you were” . It was an easy
lie to tell because it always worked so well. Nothing gave a Nigerian encouragement to help like
some buttering up

“You see, I always tell people in our line of work that when you show God's kindness to the
people who come to you, it will open even more doors for you. Tell your friend, thank you; it is by
God's grace.” Ada nodded her head. It was a little bit too hard to be real but old people were
simple, they didn't read too much meaning into what they saw

“So, how many rooms are you looking for? " The man adjusted his glasses, looking through an
incredibly well organized folder that she would have swooned over if she wasnt so tired

“A self-con sir. If I don't see self-con, I can manage just like a room with no sitting room, but
there must be a kitchen and a toilet." The man nodded and she understood why he didn't see
her own rigorous nodding as strange because he nodded so hard his cheeks wobbled in the
process

“Okay, you seem like a good girl. Do you have a job? ” She held in the sigh that almost escaped
her mouth. She understood that having employment meant enough financial security to ensure
rent was paid on time, but God! was she tired of answering that question
Yes, sir, I do.”

“Okay good. I don't know what your budget is, but this one is three hundred and fifty thousand
naira per annum. The whole package, plus my own agent fee, is Five hundred thousand naira.”
This time, Ada did let out a sigh of relief. She had one hundred and fifty thousand left to moving
and probably buy some furniture

“Well within my budget sir, thank you so much.”

No o, don't thank me yet. When you see the house and you like it, then you can thank me. It is
just down that road; do you know that Red crisp bakery? It is very close. So if you like it, the
small of bread will be waking you up every morning.” She smiled back at him, removing her
eyes from the brown cluster of lower teeth.

This man was her savior, and she would not make fun of his teeth. Even in her head

“And don't worry, the landlord is Omo Igbo like you. Retired navy man. He is a very gentle man
and he is a good Catholic.”

Ada did not mean for the relief filled “Thank God” that came out to be audible, she didn't want
the man to misunderstand, and she didn't have anything against Yoruba people, but it came as
a shock to know so many of them did not want Igbo people living in their properties.

It shook her to see how dismissive some of them had been of her and then the ones who acted
like they were doing her a favor by considering her request looked at her with hungry, dirty eyes
and expected she do some dance in front of them to placate her into renting her an apartment

“My dear, I know what your people face o. I know it is such a pity that this country that belongs
to all of us is diseased with so much division. How can you tell your countryman that you will not
rent him a house because he is Omo Igbo? Is he going to live there for free? No be money him
go use pay? ”

“Abi o!" Ada found herself agreeing “One even told me that he will have rented the house to me
o but he is running for office and renting a house to me will affect him.”

“Just imagine! ”

Ada found it easy to talk to the man; when she offered to pay for the fuel, he refused and told
her it was not that far, “Country never spoil reach,” he said and Ada felt an immediate fondness
for the older man

As he drove, he told her about his son, whom his Igbo friend had helped get a scholarship into a
university in Texas, and how the boy was now a doctor there. Ada wondered if the warm
sentiments and grace he extended to her people were a result of the kindness his friend had
shown him, and if he too would have been like the others if his friend didn't exist.

Did bias exist to be broken by the discovery of friendship? She didn't think so. She and Fade
had basically grown up together; there had never been any bias formed about her that was tribe
based, except maybe her love for spicy food, but even Ada herself had acquired that taste
because of Fade. What was different for the older generation, and why had it seeped into hers?
She did not ask the man, as it did not concern him or her.

She'd made up her mind as she heard Fade try and fail to muffle her squeals with a pillow that
she would pick the first house she liked

“We're here”

She liked the street, the smell of bread battled with the stale smell of dirt for dominance, but it
wasn't so bad that she felt nauseous. There was a small mama put right opposite the gate the
man walked towards, and Ada begged God that the inside be to her liking, she liked the outside
enough.

On the inside, the buildings looked a bit taller, the gray walls looked freshly painted, and the
compound looked bigger and more spacious. She immediately wondered how many tenants
lived in the building

“Everywhere looks so neat,” Ada mumbled to herself. The man must have heard her because
he turned and smiled

“They just had the entire place repainted and the floor redone; I think he even renovated some
of the vacant apartments as well.” At least she could scrap out painting from her to-do list

The apartment was the first one on the left, and she pouted inwardly. She'd envisioned looking
down on the street from her balcony but her disappointment disappeared quickly as she entered

It was perfect in every sense of the word. The whiteness of the entire apartment, the not too
spacious living room and incredibly spacious room with wide windows

“I'll take it,” she said. She hadn't even seen the bathroom or the kitchen, but she didn't cook, the
kitchen was an accessory to her, and how bad could a bathroom be? She was right; it looked
like she needed to do more heavy cleaning in the bathroom but it was just the perfect size

Aunty, see as you are smiling. I knew you would like it”

“Thank you so much, sir,” she squealed in delight as she checked the faucets in the bathroom
and inspected the nets and the locks on the doors. She made a mental note to herself to
change them, Fade said that was very important
“Let me call him. He lives in Enugu, but when he's in town, he stays here; is that a problem?”

“No sir. Not at all.” She wasn't the type to cause trouble. Fade and Mark were the only friends
she liked enough to invite to her house. She didn't have a boyfriend, and her brother lived in
another state.

The reason she'd chosen to find her own apartment instead of living with her parents was
because she knew she had outgrown the room she'd grown up in. She knew that she had to
leave before she started to hate the sound of her own mother's voice, and most of all, she
wanted to find her own safe space.

She'd seen how Fade bloomed after moving to her own place, and she wanted that for herself.
She needed to feel like she was actually growing and becoming more secure in adulthood

“Let's go,” he motioned for her to follow, and she did, the beep of the prepaid meter catching her
eyes as they walked out. A little girl with her hair flying about ran into her house as they neared
the second building. She wondered if he occupied more than one floor or, like the tenants,
managed with the normal apartment size

As they waited, she felt a small amount of anxiety. What if the man saw her and didn't want her?
What if he suddenly changed his mind and hiked the rent beyond what she could manage?
What if he made weird rules, like no visitors?

Stop it, Adanne! She chastised herself, she was paying for a service he was providing. It didn't
matter that it was a high priority service like shelter; it was still a service, and she was still a
customer, and weren't customers the souls of all businesses? Even real estate

She gawked at the heftiness of the man who walked out the door, his brown bald head almost
touching the roof of the door

“Mr. Lanre, how are you?”

“Fine sir. How is family? ”

“We bless God. Are you the one that wants to live here? ” Ada gulped before she nodded, the
baritone of his voice and the intensity of his stare enough to intimidate her

“Uh yes, yes, I am sir,” he nodded

“You look like a responsible girl. What is your name? ”

“Adanne Nwafor”
“Good. Ada, nno. Lanre will handle the rest, once you pay and sign the lease documents, you
can start moving in.

“Thank you, sir.” She didn't know why she was thanking him, but she felt thankful. She felt very
thankful

“Lanre, I have to rush to the airport. Thank you, my friend, I have a two bedroom empty as well.
Hmm, biko, help me fill it.” Mr Lanre laughed as he followed the landlord into the house

Ada looked at the new place she would walk into when she came home from work. The little girl
with the wild hair peeked at her from the balcony she assumed was her house and Ada waved,
feeling a little fulfilled and a big relief that she had successfully reached another milestone

II

Two years had gone by. Ada had turned the empty white room into her very own fortress. On the
small balcony at the back, she grew aloe vera and had a small pot of lemongrass. In the front
she made a small chill spot for she and Emem, whose hair had grown wilder now that she was
seven and who liked to turn Ada's balcony into a play spot for her and her friends

Ada didn't mind at all; Emem was entertaining and her mother made the best tasting afang soup
she'd ever had in her life

Mr. Lanre, bless his soul, checked up on her from time to time. He brought her palm wine from
his trips to his village and told her first every time the landlord had something to communicate
with the tenants, which wasn't very often

All in all, she loved living there. She'd gotten a better job and earned twice what she earned
when she moved in; she could afford somewhere better. She could even afford to move to the
island, but she liked her little home too much.

Her room was a lovely mess of pink and white. Mess because it was never tidy enough for her;
her vanity was always clustered, her work desk always had clothes on it, and the full mirror she
had installed in her wall held gloss stains on it all the time. She didn't know if she felt
responsible enough to think of herself as an adult at twenty eight but there was something about
hearing herself think of her apartment first when she was tired that gave her a sense of
belonging. It really was her home now

She liked it so much that she didn't mind the weird, intense stares her landlord gave her when
she passed by him. She knew his name now, Chief Silas Nzeribe. Emem's mother didn't like him
for some reason, but she didn't pry. She was indifferent about the man; he was hardly around for
her to have an opinion on him anyway. But with each stare, Ada began to grow weary of it. He
looked at her like he wanted her to know he was staring at her, like he wanted her to react to
him looking at her

She concluded that the problem must be his bad eyesight, until one day he saw her at the bank
and followed her with his eyes after they exchanged greetings and until she left the bank. She
wasn't stupid; she knew the objectifying gaze of a man. Not the type that simply appreciated
beauty; those were nice occasionally. He looked at her the way a man did to strip a woman of
of her very essence as a living, breathing person until she was nothing more than a bag of meat
to bury his penis in

She hated it. She hated it a lot, and she refused to let herself get used to it; it didn't matter that it
was something she'd become aware of early. From the day her breasts became visible, she had
to learn how to shrink herself to avoid being dehumanized in such a manner by the men she
came in contact with, and the bigger her breasts grew, the more perverse and suggestive the
looks got.

She knew she was an attractive woman; her breasts had grown fuller, and her hips matched
them in fullness. She could rationalize that a woman with a body like hers drew attention but she
still absolutely despised that the men guilty of those invasive stares did not have enough
common sense to know that even looks can be degrading and misogynistic

It was easier to try to ignore when it happened on the outside; she had her safety net to run to at
the end of the day. A safety net that Chief Silas was tearing at with his razor sharp eyes.

She looked at her reflection again in the mirror, wondering if the cleavage of the summer gown
she had on was too low. It's not like he had the right to talk shit about her dressing, she just
didn't want to have him ogle at her anymore than he did. For some reason, he always sat
outside with a book in one hand and a bottle of whiskey on the small stool that always sat
beside him. She imagined it must be very boring to be old and retired and she felt sorry for him,

Ada walked briskly; the clicking of her heels against the hardness of the concrete was a bit too
loud on a quiet Sunday evening

“Nwanyi'oma”

“Good evening, sir,” she said, a little too high pitched and saccharine, like she was trying to
make up for trying to avoid him

“Come now, where are you going looking all beautiful? ” Ada walked closer until she could see
the title of the book he was reading. It didn't come as a surprise to her that it was some non
fiction, self help bullshit; she thought of offering him a few of her fantasy novels but she wasn't
sure she liked him enough to try to save him from boredom
“Just going out to have a few drinks with my friends," she said, crossing her legs in an attempt
to shield them from his stare. His eyes traveled from her legs to her face—slowly, like he was
trying to make a show of it.

She wanted to hide more than she wanted to throw up, she wasn't sure she gave enough fucks
to think about hiding the disgust on her face

“Would you like a ride? I'm having a very slow evening.”

“No, I have an Uber waiting for me. Please excuse me,” she said, thankful that her voice held
calmness in it. He would have ruined her day even more if she had given him an insight into
how rattled she was by him

She did not feel at ease until she was in the presence of her friends and until she was slightly
intoxicated with the cocktails she'd had. Conversation and the atmosphere of familiarity and
softness lightened her mood until she was laughing and pinching Fade in the cheeks, scolding
her because they rarely saw each other in days, even though they'd spent the last two
weekends together

As the night drew to a close, Ada was ready to go home. The episode with the landlord buried
deep in the back of her mind, she wanted to bury her feet in her bed and probably watch
another episode of the romance anime Fade had introduced her to while her favorite scented
candle burned all around her

“Aunty Ada! ” Emem yelled as she entered into the compound,

”Shh!”

“Why?” Emem whispered, and Ada stopped. Why was she shushing the child? Ada giggled and
gave the girl a side hug

“I'm just a bit tired, I'll see you tomorrow.”

“You promised we would watch spirited away.”

Tomorrow, Emem, I promise,” she heard the little girl huff. She felt a bit bad for disappointing her
but Ada was not in the mood for company. She wanted to hear Lana del Rey's voice play all
around her while she stared at the ceiling and wished for sleep and all things good to come to
her

She laid in bed, fuzzy in the head and phone in hand, as she scrolled through Instagram. She
was laughing at some of the reels she'd seen before and sending them to Fade like she hadn't
sent them to her before when she heard the knock.
She ignored the sound the first two times, thinking it was Emem, but Emem's patience was too
short for her to remain quiet after being ignored. It was the third firm knock that made her realize
it was an adult. She wore her nightshirt, not caring that she didn't have a bra on; she'd stopped
being embarrassed by her droopy breasts or her nipples, when they decided to say hi

“Nwanyi'oma” she immediately regretted opening the door when she saw the huge man
standing in front of her doorway. He looked down at her and it made her feel small, She crossed
her arms over her chest

“Is there a problem? ” he laughed

“Rest your mind, Ada. I came here on a personal matter.” Ada raised her brow, a small irritation
gathering inside her. She could guess what this personal matter was about, but a part of her
hoped that the only reason he would be knocking at her door by past ten in the night was
because he wanted to borrow some salt. A part of her hoped that he would draw the line at her
looks

“I'm sorry for invading your space like this, Ada, I'm so sorry, but I don't think I can sleep if I don't
tell you. I like you so much, nwanyi'oma… ” Ada had stopped listening; it was hard to when the
sound of walls crashing in on her was almost audible. She wanted to laugh in his face; she
wanted to latch onto him like a monkey and bite the dirty mouth he was using to confess his
feelings to her

“I will take care of you. This house, you don't need to pay a dime again, I have another property
in Ikoyi, it's bigger than this one. You can stay there if you want—just let me love you.” Ada
scoffed before entering back into the apartment and slamming the door in the old fool's face

But her bed did not feel like hers anymore. As she slept, she felt like there was a big shadow
the size of chief Silas watching her sleep and begging her to let him love her

III

A week later, Chief Silas had left a hundred thousand naira in cash on her doorstep, a bouquet
of roses, and a brand new iPhone.

In one week, he'd sent her WhatsApp messages every day, professing his undying love for her,
and asking her to send her account number so he could send even more money that she had
not asked for. If she were a woman who struggled financially or had a problem with greed, she
would have accepted

Ada liked to be romanced and wooed, but she knew the thin line between love bombing and an
attempt at manipulation. Now she heaved a sigh every time she came back in from work too
early; she ignored his greetings and walked the straight line into her apartment.
“Hahn! This is serious o” Fade said as she looked at the wad of cash and the phone.

“He won't stop, I can feel it Fade; he's not going to stop until he feels he's had me cornered.
What do I do? ”

“Can you bear it? I mean, is it something you can ignore? ”

No.” It wasn't even a question. Chief Silas had cast a shadow and shattered the illusion of safety
she thought she had

“That settles it then; you can stay with me until you find a new place. You know that means as
long as it takes, instead of acting like somebody is chasing you like last time,” she hugged Fade,
happy for the comfort the presence of her friend gave her

“Would you sleep here tonight? ”

Shey, we should use the money and buy bob wig? One for you, one for me,” she laughed, and
slapped Fade in the thigh and held onto her friend

It was always something, wasn't it? It was never simply enough to exist as a woman; men like
Chief Silas would always demand something in an attempt to make up for their lack of personal
boundaries. To Chief Silas, his money and influence were enough to buy her; his position as the
owner of his house did not serve as an inconvenience for anybody but her.

He knew the power he had over her, and he was willing to use it to get her; he couldn't even be
bothered to accept her rejection. Instead, he sent her a picture of his limp penis the very next
day, after she decided to move out. She huffed in anger, wearing her Crocs to go outside and
confront the dirty, disgusting old pig

“Where are you going? ” Fade asked as Ada struggled with her bra

“You won't be embarrassing him like this; he's going to flip it on you in a second. You know how
Nigerians are; all he needs to tell them is that you are the one that came onto him and it'll be the
end.”

“I don't care! I'm moving out anyway.”

“Ada”

“What did I do to deserve seeing that man's penis on my phone first thing in the morning? I'm
already moving now! Why won't he leave me alone?” Ada couldn't help it, even as the tears
dropped down her face and she wiped at them with a force that left a scratch on her
“This was my home; I liked it so much,” she sniffled into Fades neck as she hugged her, he took
it away from her.

“We won't let him get away with it, trust me.” Fade let her cry until her eyes were a puffy, teary
red.

It took a week for Ada to pack her things. She mourned the loss of the apartment more than she
mourned the three months of rent money she still had left

On the Saturday she moved her heavy furniture, Chief Silas had gone on a business trip to the
east. She knew because mummy Emem told her

Emem had cried and clung to her the whole day. Ada tried to placate her with food and money,
but the girl was truly heartbroken. Ada wanted to tell her how she hadn't planned for this to
happen. Ada wanted to promise her she could come visit her when she found a new place, but
Ada did not know when that would be. House hunting was difficult and emotionally exhausting
and she did not want to experience it again just yet

Ada gave Emem's mother a bag she'd promised to give the older woman and lied to the woman
when she asked why she was moving. She would find out soon anyway

That night, Ada and Fade walked around the compound and the places around the apartment
building, attaching pictures of Chief Silas’s ugly, flaccid penis to cars, gates, poles, and
windows. Ada was grateful to Chief Silas for having enough stupidity to show his face in the
pictures

She didn't delude herself into thinking this would do much to the man's reputation.

In a week, he would find some other tenant to fill the space shed just left. In a month, nobody
would remember they had seen his penis but Ada felt great joy as she saw the people she'd
come to know by name gather around the posters as she said her final goodbyes to her former
home