I do and I do

6| The school and a wedding card in his hand

Joy laid on her side then took another look at the torch made to stand on its bottom on the stool beside the bed so the light ray faced the ceiling and brightened the room to almost rid it of darkness. The door was also left ajar.

"Dayo."

"Yes."

"Thank you." She said and he blinked a few times, hesitant about what the right reply should be and somewhat because he didn't expect that, although he knew what she was grateful for.

"You're welcome." He replied in the end and he heard her release a soft sigh of relief. Dayo turned on his side, sleep was still a bit far from him. He needed to sleep already, if not, he would be stuck in his own thoughts and doubts which he was done with, at least for the day.

Joy stared at the ceiling, waiting for sleep, still for some reason it wasn't forthcoming. She must have stayed like that for several minutes before her eyes shifted to the door once more. The thought of Dayo reminded her of their earlier incident. Joy chose to peg the case as a moment of weakness for her. He'd showed up at the right time when she needed help and she was so grateful that she flung her arms around him. Yes, she flung her arms around a stranger. It was strange. He was a stranger to her and yet, at the same time, he was the only person she knew.

Joy sat up for a minute before making her way off the bed and towards the living room where he was. She saw his eyes closed and concluded he was fast asleep. Quietly, she took her seat on the empty couch, brought her legs up on it with her and wrapped her arms around them as her chin rests on her knees. Joy spent the next few seconds watching him sleep. No thoughts specifically ran through her mind. This was her own way of attempting to familiarize herself with him. Perhaps, trying to understand him.

Adedayo was nice, really nice and kind to her. She noticed he barely fit on the couch and wondered how uncomfortable it must be for him to sleep here, yet, he willingly gave up his bed for someone he knew nothing about. She wondered if there were more like him out in the world. Was he naïve or was he simply kind? Joy was unable to make a conclusion on that. In the end, she hoped with all her heart that he would never change. He was the only light in this dark tunnel that she was present in.

The next morning, Dayo attended to his normal routine of getting prepared to leave for work and all the while, being careful not to wake her up. When he was done, he wrote down some helpful instructions for her, leaving the first in the kitchen and the next, he tore a bit of the adhesive tape and stuck it together with the paper on the wall by the bed. He was sure she wouldn't miss it. He turned away to leave but his eyes fell on her face and suddenly, there was a thought, a strange permission for him to stare as much as he would like since she was asleep. Unable to help himself, he stared until his guilt ate him up and he turned and walked away. He locked the door from outside and thrust the key back in through the little space beneath the door.

Maybe it was a dream, maybe it was a reenactment of a forgotten memory, either way it felt good. There was laughter, one hers and the other, deeper, belonging to someone she couldn't make out. The scene was blurry in her mind and the only vivid thing was her own laughter. She sounded happy and she liked the feeling. Second by second, Joy opened her eyes late that morning. Her orbs toured the room, looking mostly left and right before she was reminded of where she was. As she sat up, a tiresome sigh left her lips. More than yesterday, she wished she had all her memories with her. On a morning like this, Joy wondered what her normal routine was and it made her sad she had no idea.

The minute she got off the bed, she sighted the paper Adedayo had left for her. She took it with her as she walked into the living room. There was no sign of him anywhere and it made her realise he must have left earlier for work. Joy held the paper properly in her hand and read through. It was a few words of greeting and encouragement that she doesn't wander far too out of the compound so as not to get lost and that he would be back before six in the evening.