Akanni got home feeling achieved and successful; he placed a call to Bode and narrated everything, including Da'sean's interruption with Demi. He couldn't wait for the next day to come; he started checking through clothes for tomorrow's appearance, but then something crossed his mind. He realized he never called Athira to check if she got home safely; he quickly picked up his phone and dialed her number...

*Phone rings* (Twice)

"Hello, I thought you have disowned me already. I hope you got home safely?" Akanni said jokingly.

"Smiles, yes I did. I hope you did too?" Athira answered with her voice breaking, and he noticed.

"Hey, are you okay?" Akanni asked.

"Yes, I will be fine," Athira answered, but Akanni has always been taught by Bode that *I'm fine* is ladies' biggest lie.

"I know you will be fine because you are stronger than anything in the world, but I have all the time if you want to talk about it," Akanni replied.

"Seriously, I will be fine."

"I insist," Akanni replied. He was waiting for an answer, and all he could hear was the sound of her cries. He wanted to press on, but he didn't want to offend her. Then he decided on a different approach.

"If you don't mind, I can bring a Chocolate Milkshake with a little cream on the edge," Akanni proposed her favorite combo, which he saw on her Facebook wall.

"I think that will do it other times, but not now," she responded.

"Okay, I understand. Actually, I wanted to use the opportunity to come and see you again. I know many people will trade their sleep to see you again.

"Smiles, try again," she replied bluntly.

They talked for almost an hour; for that moment, she completely forgot about the situation that she was in.

"You think I'm lying, what if I told you I can die for you," Akanni finally said, but this brought her attention back to her current situation.

"I experienced that last night (voice cracking), but he died," she replied and dropped the call.

Akanni felt so disappointed in himself for making her remember what he was trying to get her away from. "You can't truly run away from your problems," he said after re-dialing her number thrice without a response. He decided to send her a text...

***My meeting with you wasn't planned, but I knew you were a great person right from the moment that I laid my eyes on you. You are strong, beautiful, and positive; don't let anything or anyone take that away from you. You can do it. See you in the morning, take care.***

She had been crying right from the moment she dropped the call; it was a new experience in her life. She realized she could just die in the twinkle of an eye, and everything would be lost. She had never lost anything nor anyone before; it made her sad. What would she have done without him? "He took the bullet" "He took the bullet" - she kept on repeating this till she slept off.

************************************************************

"Good morning Sunshine, hope you slept well?" Mr. Duke asked Athira. She had woken up earlier and had her bath, but she kept to herself inside her room. At least it's the weekend, she has nowhere in particular to go.

"Good morning Dad, I tried, but it wasn't really good," Athira replied to him.

"Things happen in this world for a reason; don't blame yourself for it," Mr. Duke pet her head and drew her closer.

"But Dad, I have known him and had him for almost six years now. It's painful, he is always energetic, I'll miss him."

"Remember the day your mom brought him to this house; I wasn't in support of it, but see what happens. He saved you from what I couldn't even do," Mr. Duke encouraged her, and she realized what she has been missing: that *Everything happens for a reason.*

"Thanks, Dad, where is he now?" Athira asked.

"I already asked the gate man to get him a befitting arrangement; he was a great dog, better than I."

"Dad! Even though he jumped in to take the bullet and unexpectedly because I never knew he was there, no one can replace you. He has always been my closest friend because I tell him everything, even if he doesn't reply to me except from bark, but you are my best friend any day, anytime. He made me value life and you more," Athira stated defensively.

"Hmmm, all thanks to God... my daughter is back and better, right?"

"Smiles... thanks, Dad, you are the best. I love you so much," Athira hugged him.

"Anyway, you have a guest; he has been here for a while, though I told him that you were still sleeping. He said he will wait. I think he is worried about you; he said his name is Akanni," Mr. Duke informed her.

"You said what???" Athira sounded excited and surprised.

She jumped down from her bed; though she saw his text earlier when she woke up, she never thought **see you in the morning** meant this early. She quickly adjusted herself and cleaned up; Mr. Duke kept staring at her. It's been a while since he has seen her excited about people.

***********************************************************

Akanni had left home as early as possible; he couldn't sleep well through the night. As strange as it could sound, he was really worried about her. Since he already got the directions to her place during their conversation the previous night, he decided to pay her a surprise visit, also hoping to get his letter from there. Getting through to her place was really hard; he met the gate man and Mr. Duke at the entrance the moment he got there. He greeted them and asked for Athira, stating that they were together before she came home the previous night. Though Athira's father was a bit surprised that a guy would come this early to a lady's house, he remembered how his daughter was excited when talking about him.

The entrance to the building was really captivating, but nothing compared to the interior design of the house. Akanni was equally impressed and scared; he didn't want to look like a gold digger. He was buried in the movie that he was watching until he heard someone coming down from the staircase. "Wow" was the word that escaped from his mouth when Athira rushed to him and hugged him...

"You know that you can be weird, right? Your **see you in the morning** is this? Funny guy," Athira told him.

"Anything for my mysterious Angel; I can see that you are really fine now," Akanni said, noticing her big smile.

"I guess, I saw your text. Thanks a lot."

"You are welcome a million times," Akanni replied.

"Smiles; since you are here, let me bring your letter first, then we can plan the day," she stated, then leaves to get the letter.

Athira's mom got the news of what happened the previous night on the phone; she had traveled for a special family gathering. She rushed inside Athira's room without noticing Akanni in the living room. Akanni greeted her, but she was too concerned about Athira to notice anything. After enough narration and thanks to God, she noticed the letter in Athira's hand and was shocked!!!

"Where did you get this letter?" she asked in a serious tone.

Athira felt so surprised at her mother's seriousness about a letter that belongs to someone else; she hasn't seen her too serious about something except when she has an issue with her father...

"Mom, what about it?" Athira asked.

"Don't use a question to answer my question," Mrs. Duke demanded.

"Where do you get this letter?" she demanded.

"Okay mom, it's for a friend of mine that I just met. He misplaced it during my trip back to Ilorin when I went to Lagos. Remember the time I took public transport because you and Dad traveled without informing me that you changed my driver?" Athira answered.

"Oh My God, I have been looking for him. Where is he right now?" Mrs. Duke asked without hesitation.

"You did not meet him downstairs?" Athira asked surprisingly.

"Not at all, baby, let's go see him now," Mrs. Duke said, already standing up to go.

They got back to the sitting room, but Akanni was nowhere to be found...

To be continued...

What does the letter have to do with her?

What made the letter so important?

Where is Akanni?

*Always learn to appreciate what you have around you, because you might not be opportune to do so later - Omotayo Victor*

*Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough - Oprah Winfrey*