The secret tunnel of life and love episode 7
The Secret Tunnel Of Life & Love (episode 7)
Have you ever wanted something to be wrong so bad just because you couldn’t bring yourself to believe it was right? Well, that was the tight position Claire found herself in when it dawned on her that Mrs Eva was the person behind the recent strange happenings surrounding their research. Who would have thought that their beautiful ageless teacher was behind the missing research books, strange knocks on the door at an ungodly hour and the scary note beneath the door. All of a sudden, everything began to make sense as to how come a woman in her said 60s looked as young as a lady in her early 20s. It was now clear that there was a secret behind her ageless beauty and it won’t be for too long before everything comes to light.
To be honest, there was nothing wrong with Mrs Eva having possession of an anti-aging secret such as the mushroom-like plant. The only problem was that she was greedy and willing to go to any extent to ensure that no one shares her secret with her; even if it meant harming someone. To be fair, we all know the reason she was so secretive about the plant was because she barely had enough to use on herself, talk more of sharing with another person. Only 12 new mushrooms germinated from the old ones every year: meaning one per month, so it meant there wasn’t enough to spare. Now you see why she would go to just any length to ensure that her secret remains hidden forever.
Immediately it dawned on Claire that the handwriting on the note was that of Mrs Eva, she was speechless for a couple of minutes. It was then that she began to question if Mrs Eva’s ageless beauty was due to her gene or the anti-aging plant. After about ten minutes of standing in the school hallway lost in thoughts, she finally regained her consciousness and headed to Derrick’s house. When she arrived at his house, he wasn’t at home so she took a shower and sat in the living room reminiscing on all that had happened. An hour later, there was a knock on the door and it was her boo.
“Hey babe, welcome” Claire said as she opened the door. Derrick reciprocated her greetings and gave her a peck on the cheek. “How was your day?” He asked as he made his way to the couch. At that moment, Claire didn’t know where to start from to begin narrating what happened earlier in school. After deliberating on how to start the conversation, she began to narrate everything starting from the unexpected test down to how she found out that the mysterious handwriting on the note belonged to Mrs Eva.
As Claire narrated everything to Derrick without leaving any stone unturned, he was shocked to the brim. He quickly asked her to bring the test booklet so they could re-confirm the writing with the one on the note. Without hesitating, she brought both notes out and they cross checked it. “What!! Mrs Eva?? I don’t believe this. How could she stoop so low to do a thing like this to students just hungry for knowledge. Oh wow!! Now it makes much sense why the student who once questioned her about the plant in my freshman year died mysteriously. Like what’s her deal? Except ofcourse she knows more about this plant and doesn’t want anyone else to know what she knows. Could it be that this plant is still in existence and she knows where they are? What if that is the case” he said.
While Derrick asked questions that had no answers, Claire sat on the couch speechless. At that moment, she felt burdened and sad for no reason in particular. Maybe she was beginning to regret ever starting the research in the first place because it was clear that they were now deeply rooted in it. As Claire sat on the couch lost in thoughts, Derrick brought her back to life. “Babe!! Are you ok?” He asked, “yes I am, it’s just that this wh0le thing is becoming more complex and complicated than we thought. I just don’t understand why Mrs Eva is after us and strongly against this research but all I know is that we will get to the root of it. We have come too far to back down now so I suggest we begin to stalk her from today henceforth. Let’s keep a secret eyes on her and see if she is hiding something more than mere eyes can see” she said.
After that day, they made it a point of duty to keep a close eye on Mrs Eva. It was a tough one because Mrs Eva was far from their reach but they made use of every slightest opportunity they had to spy on her.
Days turned to weeks and weeks to months and gradually, Derrick and Claire master’s degree program in cosmetology was rounding up. They had few more months to go before they officially graduated from the school but they still hadn’t gone very far in finding the mysterious plant. For some strange reasons, Claire in particular felt unfulfilled despite coming top in her class. She was a brilliant student and had done very well in her academics but she didn’t feel happy due to the fact that the one project she poured her soul into was still uncompleted. For this reason, she felt like a failure when in reality, she was the top in her class.
All this while, Derrick was fully aware of how Claire felt about the unsolved mystery behind her research. He tried as much as possible to be a supportive partner by personalizing her failure as his, just so she doesn’t feel alone. They were still positive that a breakthrough would happen anytime but with each passing second, that Faith diminished. One cozy evening, they both laid on the bed having deep conversations about what the future would be like for them. They talked about their relationsh¡p and how they were going to make it work after their Masters Program.
“What do you think about remaining in this country after your masters or are you planning on going back home?” Derrick asked as they conversed. Claire was mute for a while before responding; “I really don’t know for now but I don’t think I would like to stay here. If nothing happens to change my plans, I plan on going back to base to start up my own cosmetics firm. I have been planning about it for a long time now and feel this is the time I have been waiting for to start” she said. With that reply, he proceeded to propose that she considers staying back and not go home.
Derrick planned on getting an apartment in town after their Masters degree program and there was nothing he wanted more than for Claire to stay back too; even if it meant taking care of her housing expenses. “I don’t want you to go back, why not stay back here and start up your firm. Remember you have more connection and friends in the same niche here to support you through that journey and such support system might not be available back home. Babe, I want you to stay not just for me but for yourself too. You can always have branches of your company back home after you start up” he said.
Derrick’s idea wasn’t bad at all and Claire was definitely considering it. They spoke for a very long time and as the conversation got deeper, the more vulnerable to each other they became. Derrick wanted Claire so bad at that moment and she also wanted him too. Up until then in their relationsh¡p, they hadn’t taken their intimacy beyond k-ssing, hugging and cuddling. He knew she wasn’t ready for such level of Intimacy and he respected her decisions, even though it was never communicated verbally. It was as the atmosphere got heated that she secretly began to crave for his touch and affection. They k-ssed passionately for a while till Derrick noticed she wanted more than usual. It was at that moment that he decided to stop the wh0le act. “Babe I think we should stop here. I really don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to just because we are caught up in the moment” he said.
On the other hand, Claire knew Derrick was right about not wanting more but what shocked her the most was how he was used to being starved of affection and intimacy. It was then that she realized they hadn’t really spoken about their Intimate life as they should have done. She looked into his shiny eyes and blinked hers; “there’s something I want us to talk about” Claire voiced out, “ok, what’s it?” Derrick inquired, “it’s about our intimate life, we never talk about it and I somehow feel like I have starved you of deep Intimacy for a long time. I kinda feel bad, it’s just that… it’s just that” she calmly said but couldn’t finish her sentence.
At that moment, Derrick already knew where the conversation was headed. He looked into Claire’s eyes and held her chin up with his hand. “There’s nothing for you to be sad about my darling, because I already know what you are trying to tell me. Trust me when I say I totally understand why things are this way and I don’t plan on ever changing you or anything in this relationsh¡p. I already know you are a V-rgin even without you telling me; it was kinda easy for me to find out. We don’t need to rush anything and you don’t have to do anything you aren’t ready for. I love you just the way you are and won’t change anything about you even if I could. Take as much time as you need because what we have is forever. I love you so much” he calmly said.
Those words from Derrick was probably one of the most selfless act anyone has ever showed Claire all her life. The fact that he was willing to let go of his own intimate needs and desires for her, showed how selfless he was and that single act made her fall even deeper in love with him. At that moment, Claire wanted Derrick so bad but still felt it wasn’t the right time to give her body to him. She promised to keep herself till marriage and was happy to be with someone that made it easy for her to keep to that promise. Whenever she was weak, he pulled her up and whenever he was weak, she pulled him up too. They complemented each other very well and without doubt, looked like a match made in heaven.
After that day, the lovebirds began to plan ahead for their life after graduation. They still paid much attention to the anti-aging plant research but not as enthusiastic as before. Life went on as normal till something happened one fateful night.
It happened that the president of the school called a meeting with the top students in each faculty. The meeting lasted till about 8pm in the night. Claire represented her faculty so she was in attendance. After the meeting, everyone headed back home but Claire was made to stay back for another important discussion that involved only herself and two administrators of the school. This second meeting lasted till 9pm before finally coming to an end.
After the meeting was over, Claire was asked to deliver a doc-ment to someone in the lecturer’s quarters. As she walked through the lonely streets, her attention was instantly drawn to a moving figure with a lamp at the other end of the road. Curious to know where the moving figure was headed, she looked towards that direction and strangely found herself following the moving figure. She walked a long distance into the woods and suddenly saw the figure opening something from the ground covered with grass and bushes. As she looked close enough, the person began to look familiar and after looking intensely for a little longer, she realised the person wasn’t there anymore. It seemed as though the person had disappeared into thin air.
Curious to find out how this person disappeared, Claire walked to where the the figure stood last and that was when she caught a clear sight of the underground door that looked almost exactly like the rocks on the ground. She was stunned and moved to open the door that was highly impossible to distinguish from the rocky ground.
Immediately Claire opened the door, she fell down into what seemed like a tunnel and it was thick dark. She tried to scre-m for help but realized that she had her phone with her so she turned on the torch light. Immediately she turned on the touch, what she saw made her mouth drop wide open; it was nothing other than a tunnel covered with lovely anti-aging mushrooms-like plants. The mushrooms looked beautiful beyond words can say. They had glittery aesthetics and were purple and white in colour. What a breathtaking sight to behold!
For a moment, Claire was speechless because she couldn’t believe that her research were not a myth after all. She was stunned that the plants truly existed and was right before her eyes.
As Claire stood there in awe, a hand grabbed her from the dark and her phone fell on the ground. Just as she tried to scre-m, the light from her fallen phone reflected on the person dragging her and Lo & Behold, it was no other person than ‘Mrs Eva’.
End of episode 7 😉
Stay tuned tomorrow to see what happened next.
✍🏼 Written by Sonia Okehie