"Hey." I called to get the attention of the boy whose back was still turned to me. When he turned fully, I continued, "What's your name?"

"My name is Axu." He said suddenly. Quite vague, but I didn't ask further. I noticed the clothes he wore, on closer inspection didn't look tattered. In fact it was quite the opposite, a dark blue kaftan with intricately designed side pockets at the waist region. The cloth fell to nearly his ankles, where I saw the legs of a trouser down in the same design. These clothes, along with the designer shoes he wore didn't fit his description of a wicked relative.

When I finally took my eyes to his face, that same look of deception was present, but like the rain, it vanished again.

When he was done drying himself, I invited him to sit on the double bed I shared with my cousin.

"So tell me, Axu," I began, wanting to sound like a proper adult willing to give help, "why are you scared of adults?"

He stared at the window for a while before he answered, tears pooling in his eyes again, "My father killed my mother in a fight. He was drinking, then he pushed her and her head hit the table. I ran away after that, and some women took me to a place for lost children. A woman adopted me there, and she seemed nicer than the women were until she started beating me for not doing chores. I ran away again, walking around till Auntie found me."

At my silence, he continued, "She bought these clothes for me for Christmas, and I thought she loved me. But she brought me here to abandon me. All the adults are wicked to me." He finished, wiping his eyes furiously.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you, but my parents will help you. Don't worry about it." I tried to be reassuring, standing up to get my mom, at least. She would know what to do.

Axu held my hand, stopping me from moving. "I'm sorry. I can't let you do that." He said, standing up to grip my hands tightly.

"Why? What's this? You're hurting me." I said fiercely, trying to wrangle my hand free.

Like magic, the small boy who had been abandoned by his auntie smiled at me, his blue eyes glinting evilly. "I need you. We need you."

As his large hands wrapped around both of mine preventing me from escape, a girl materialized beside me. She carried long jet black braids, with a chubby face, wearing crimson coloured pyjamas. Shocked, I watched as she raised an arm with thoroughly bitten fingernails to push the large white oval glasses protecting her small eyes. It was me. The girl was me.

"Hey. I'm Nuze." The girl said simply.

Or not.

On closer inspection, her face was harder than mine, like a mask to be worn. She had tiny freckles on both cheeks, and she was slightly darker. Plus she had a menacing smile I could never pull off.

The girl continued, "Thank you, Axu, for bringing out of that hellhole. But why Nigeria? I don't like it."

The man, that had turned into a large version of the boy I saw moments ago, winced. "Sorry, my love. It was all I could manage."

She waved him off dismissively as she looked at me, no her, in the mirror. "This will do, I like this. Well, off you go then. I have a family to catch up with." She smiled, twirling in front of the large mirror before skipping out of the room.

Stupefied, I had not since uttered one word. How was this possible? Another me? From where? An alternate universe? I had read things like that, but I never thought it was real.

The ringing of my phone put me out of shock. Ayo's name continuously flashed on the screen, his special ringtone cutting through the quiet of the room. Axu waved a hand, and my phone was magically with him. My only chance of escape gone.

I turned to Axu, who I was justifiably scared of now, "What's..."

He looked at me and put his finger to his lips. "Not another word, I'm trying to concentrate."

"Concentrate on what? What's going on? Why is there another me in my house? Why are you holding me so tightly? How did you get this... big?" I asked, firing questions away.

I couldn't understand what was happening to me. I looked at the large digital clock on top of my door. 11.45pm. Thirty minutes ago, I was talking to the love of my life. Why did I talk to this boy, or man?

Confused and exhausted, I broke down in silent tears. I had been played, my niceness used against me. Now, everyone was outside no doubt watching the minutes tick by. Ebuka wouldn't even bother with coming to my room anymore, I was supposedly there with them.

Axu finally heaved a nice sigh. "I'm done. Now we must go."

I cleaned my eyes furiously. "Go where? I'm not leaving here, except back to Lagos and that's in three days time." I tried to explain, clinging to the nearest thing I could grab.

My bedside drawer.

I clung onto it as much as I could, even as Axu tried to pry my hand off it.

"Ugh, I'm getting frustrated." He growled. "But this will surely work." He continued, forcing a handkerchief into my nose.

Chloroform.

Noticing my drooping eyes, he removed my hand from the wooden structure ignoring my pleas and weak shouts for help.

"No don't do this. My father will pay you handsomely for leaving me safe. I will do anything, but please don't let that girl replace me. Please." I begged ceaselessly, even as the drug was already taking effect.

Axu looked down at me, with eyes that looked sorry. Or was it me seeing things?

"What my queen wants, my queen gets. You'll grow to love Uzbenbud." Axu said, trying to reassure me as a door appeared in the middle of my room.

What! The hellhole that evil girl spoke of. No way.

"What's that? I don't want to go. Please, don't take me to Ucdendud." I cried, lifting my extremely weakened arms to hit Axu as he carried me towards the door.

The last thing I heard was my ringing phone, and Ayo's voice when it stopped. "Babe, I hope you're safe. Call me later. I love you and happy new year."

No, I wasn't safe. I would probably never be, on this new place.

As I twirled into a seemingly never ending hole with Axu's hand tightly wrapped around mine, I got the feeling that I would never make that call to Ayo again, and I wouldn't do the countdown to the new year, 2021.