The secret Tunnel of life and love episode 5

The Secret Tunnel Of Life & Love (episode 5)

It will surprise you the length at which people can go to ensure their secret remains hidden. They can go as far as committing atrocities just so their secret never sees the light of a new day. The fact that Mrs Eva went as far as burning over fifteen ancient books that were the last copies still in existence just to put a stop to Derrick and Claire’s research, showed how desperate she was and also the extent at which she could go to ensure that her beauty secret forever remains hidden. If the school administrators ever finds out what Mrs Eva did, they would penalize her and ensure she pays dearly for committing such act but sadly they won’t because she made sure to commit the act in a far away bush. It’s apparent that there was danger ahead for Claire and Derrick if they didn’t stop their research but it’s unfortunate because they were too zealous to back down; not after going that far.

After the news of the missing books had sank into their minds, they found an empty chair in the library and sat down. “I still don’t believe this is a mere coincidence. How can over 15 books about one particular topic disappear overnight from this library without a trace? Not one, not two, all fifteen. No, something is definitely wrong somewhere and I can feel it deep in my guts” Claire shockingly said. On the other hand, Derrick was equally in shock and didn’t know the perfect answer to give to her. They sat quietly without uttering a word to each other because they were still in shock. After being mute for a while, Derrick finally spoke; “I stand with you dear, something is definitely out of place because this doesn’t feel like a coincidence but rather a deliberate act. Also, why did this happen shortly after we told few people after our research? The news might have probably gotten into the ears of someone who doesn’t want us to know more about the mysterious anti-anging plant that stops the hands of time in someone’s physical appearance. What if someone knows more about this plant but is keeping it a secret? Don’t you find it weird that all our research kept pointing fingers around this school as the geographic location where that plant once inhabited? What if there is truly an ounce of truth in that an-lysis? Just want if we are closer to the truth of this plant than we know?” He said.

Immediately Derrick was done talking, Claire’s mouth was left wide open as she fell into deep thoughts. She began to see things from a wh0le different light and some things began to make sense all of a sudden. Derrick was right, why did the books mysteriously go missing shortly after they discussed their findings with other course mates? It’s apparent that someone who didn’t want them to know more was aware of their research and thought the best way to put a stop to it was take the books away. Suddenly, everything was now making sense!

After a while of processing some thoughts, Claire finally spoke up. “I think the best thing we should do is keep this research to ourselves from now henceforth, but in the meantime, we need to find out more about this school. The past of this school might unlock some mysteries to us that might be of good use to our research” she said. Her idea was a good one and without hesitating, they began to do a deep dive into the school’s history. They started by asking the library attendant but the lady had little details to give out. They then proceeded to surf the net for more information and stumbled upon many articles written about the school but none had any useful information that could be of help to their research.

Frustrated and tired for the day, the two lovebirds sadly headed back to their houses. Claire wasn’t happy with the way things were headed because she was so close to cracking the puzzle behind the mysterious plant and now it felt as though she was back to square one. Derrick ensured she got home safely before leaving to his own house.

All through that night, Claire couldn’t sleep well because her mind was greatly troubled. She tossed to and fro on the bed due to the numerous thoughts on her mind. Unable to sleep, she sat up and began to think about the anti-aging plant. She tried to crack the puzzle behind it to figure why all arrows led back at the school vicinity as regards where the plant once inhabited. “What if this school was once a garden or forest before being renovated to a school? Whaf if the plant once grew here before this school was founded?” She thought to herself. Unable to find a suitable answer to the numerous questions in her head, she laid back on the bed and forced herself to sleep.

The next day, Derrick came visiting. Claire prepared breakfast and they ate together. After eating, a conversation began; “I was up all night thinking of our next course of action. I suggest we should visit neighbouring stores or offices close to this school and ask few questions; maybe someone might know why our research keeps pointing back at this school area as where the anti aging plant once inhabited. I have lots of questions that need answers” she said as she carried the dishes to the kitchen. Derrick followed her to the kitchen with the tray they used in eating in his hands. He dropped it on the sink and held her tightly from behind. Claire rested her head on his chest and took a deep breathe in and out. He could tell she was exhausted due to the recent strange happenings surrounding their research and needed enough support and encouragement.

As Derrick held Claire tightly, he began to hum and move from side to side. She rested her head on his body and held his hands with her eyes closed. “Everything is going to be alright” he calmly said and she nobbed in agreement.

That was a good move by Derrick to ease the tension in the atmosphere and it worked. Claire wasn’t tensed anymore and was now relived of her stress. They hugged each other for a while before she entered the bathroom to take her shower. After bathing, she got ready for school and they left together to the campus. After classes that day, they went outside the school campus in search for answers.

Their first stop was at a barber shop not too far from the school. Claire tried to inquire about the history of their school but the barber had little or no idea of what used to be of the school because he moved into that area few years ago. With no leads from the barber, they proceeded to another store. They went from stores to offices till they had entered almost all the stores in that area. Tired and disappointed, they began to head back to the school campus. It was while on their way back to school that Derrick s₱0tted an antique store at the end of the street. “We haven’t been to this store, it looks ancient and might have been here for a long time. Let’s go in and make some inquiries” he said. After a brief walk, they arrived at the store.

“Hello sir, Good day” Claire greeted when they walked in and saw an old man seated over the counter. The man smiled faintly and waved towards them in response to their greetings. They walked closer to him and tried to be friendly first before asking for anything. “Hello sir, we will like to buy some items from your store, can we look around?” Derrick asked and the old man nobbed ‘Yes’. Without saying another word, they began to go through the aisle in search of any random item. As they walked through the aisle, Claire’s attention was quickly drawn to a photo album. It looked extremely old but she was curious to go through it. They found a seat in the store and sat down to look through the album.

Immediately they opened it, the first photo they saw was that of a man and his wife in their farm. As they kept swiping, the photos began to make more sense and in no time, they could tell that the photo album belonged to a farmer and his wife because there were many photos of the couple standing beside their harvested crops.

What Derrick and Claire didn’t know was that in their hands lies the answers to all the questions they had been searching for. They hadn’t realized yet but that photo album belonged to the farmer that once owned that school land. Those photos were taken in that school when it was still a farm with a nice house where the farmer lived with his wife. That album was discovered by the late owner of that antique store after the farmer and his wife died. The late owner of the store was a friend to the farmer and his wife so when they died, he was the one that packed up the properties in their home after the school bought the land from the farmer’s relatives. The store owner took their belongings to a homeless shelter but kept the photo album to himself as a constant reminder of his dear friend who died in a ghastly moto accident. It’s safe to say that Claire and Derrick were one step closer to the truth they sought for but they weren’t aware just yet.

As they kept swiping the photos, they stumbled upon one picture that had the late store owner in it. In that antique store, the late store owner’s photo hung on the wall were all eyes could see, so it was easy for them to recognize him in the photo album. “Isn’t this man the person in the photo on that wall there?” Claire curiously asked, “Yes he is, keep swiping” Derrick responded.

In their minds, they were now certain that the farmer and store owner were either friends or siblings. As they swiped further, what their eyes saw almost sent them six feet below the ground. Lo & Behold, they saw a photo of the farmer holding a bunch of the mysterious anti aging mushroom-like plant.

Immediately Derrick and Claire saw that photo, their hearts dropped drastically. There and then, everything began to make sense and they finally could tell that the farm in those pictures were not far from where they were. A little more questions and they might crack this wh0le puzzle once and for all. “Oh My!! Isn’t this the plant we have been researching on or are my eyes deceiving me?” Claire asked and Derrick replied “Yes it is”. Without hesitating, they went to the old man at the counter to ask more questions. “Sir, please do you know where this place is? We saw the man on that photo up there in this album too and we want to know where this farm is? Do you have any idea?” Claire curiously asked.

The old man took a brief look at the photo and removed this face. He looked at the two lovebirds and dropped a shocker; “The man that once owned this store whose photo you see on the wall over there is my late dad and that farmer was his friend. Their farm used to be where that school over there is”. The old man said.

Finally, the mystery behind the anti aging plant had been cracked. The last piece of the puzzle has been placed in the place it belonged.

For the first time ever since the research began, Claire smiled. The lovebirds looked at each other and exclaimed “Oh Wow!!”

End of episode 5 😉
Stay tuned tomorrow to see what happened next.

✍🏼 Written by Sonia Okehie