Wild West of the Heart
THIRTY-ONE

In the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, there only existed a thin line between the worlds of the living and dead. It has now evolved into a day set aside for elaborate costumes, mythical stories and spooky legends. It is unknown whether there is some truth in these stories like the ones revolving around witches, and wizards. Vampires, ghosts.

But it isn't something one would intentionally delve into. Halloween was just fun, a day where you could dress however you want without a care in the world. A day where you could consume as many sweets as possible. And the one day you let your imaginations run wild. A day to carve eyes into large pumpkins and decorate your front door.

Formerly known as All Hallows Eve, halloween is the day of the dead. And no matter how colorful or vibrant the festival was made, it could never overshadow the darkness and the lingering chaos.

"-the ghosts of those who died on this day" Obi deepened his voice, pulling up his socks to his knees. He leaned towards his phone on the bed, from where Ola let out a sigh. It was a voice call.

"That was terrible" He graded his short story and Obi rolled his eyes. "I could never believe in ghosts" He said and the latter just scoffed in response. "I don't believe in anything" Obi reiterated, standing in front of his mirror.

He had on just a tube across his chest that had been severed at the arm for fashion. Thread hung around the neck and pricked his glistening skin but he didn't care. Below, he had on a leather skirt and netted socks that went all the way up. He turned to his side to admire his figure and Ola's lips just dropped. "You think it's good?" He asked.

"What?" He screamed.

"It's amazing" He added. "You're really, you're really going all out" Ola searched for his words as he looked at the time, it was just about eight pm.

"Well halloween is one day out of the year you can dress like a slut. And no one can talk shit. It's the one day you get to experiment with a lot of things" He said, rubbing gloss on his lips and then picking a jacket in his hands. Of course, after everything he had to cover up till he at least got to the party.

The almighty Hallow Fest that everyone kept talking about. "You're coming right?" Obi asked, scrambling with his purse. "Yeah, not as if i have much of a choice" It was true, Obi had forced him out of the house to come for the fest, rather than have him mop around sad on the one night you can have all the fun without judgement.

It was literally darkness, the amount of fun you could have are infinite.

He tilted his phone, as Ola sent him a photo. It was a picture of what he was in. Nothing but a custom suit across his bare body.

Obi rolled his eyes and tossed his phone away.

"What are you supposed to be?" He asked, unimpressed and you could hear Ola smack his lips together. "Fuck it. We don't even do halloween in Nigeria” He was right, the closest they had to the real thing was a festival on this open ground where there were games, hookups and free alcohol. There was no trick or treating, or elaborate pumpkin decorations. It was just a party. A lame excuse for teenagers to get wasted. And you can sign Obi up for that.

His door then opened slightly as Mira stood at its hinge. He paused, in the process of wearing his dark Adeline jacket, a scoff escaping his lips. Mira walked forward, opening something in her hands.

It was on closer inspection that Obi realized it was eyeliner. "This will really make a statement" She said, forgetting for a while that she was still angry with him. But that was no excuse for him not to slay the one day he decided to go out. She inched closer to him while he closed his eyes.

The cold tip of the pencil drew over his eyes, and into his temple and it took just about two minutes to be done. After she was, he stepped back to face the mirror. And although normally he would hate looking into it, today was not so bad. He was in his element afterall, not some dumb uniform.

Or a fucking shirt and khaki trouser. "That's much better" Mira assessed her handwork from afar and Obi smiled at her through the mirror. He finally slid his arms through his jacket sleeves and picked up his bag. Sliding a dark glasses atop his nose, he turned around.

"Remember to stay safe, okay?" Mira said. "And if anything should happen, never hesitate to give me a call" She usually gave him the talk whenever he was going out in the night. And tonight was no different. All he usually did was nod and then walk out. Mira was cool, so he didn't have to worry about curfews and all that.

Nothing past midnight, was all she said. And that was very graceful of her.

He walked towards her as a smile appeared on the corner of her lips. "You sure you're okay?" She asked for the nth time, hoping maybe he'll finally tell her the truth.

But instead he placed a kiss on her cheeks and he nodded. "Of course, i am Mira" He said.

And then he brushed past her shoulders. She pushed a lump down her throat, watching his back fade through the door. And she muttered to herself, something of a habit now. "They grow up"

"They grow up so fast" Came a shrill whisper.

"We outside" Obi yelled into the streets, from where he could hear the music from a distance.

Halloween was also a day to play shitty music without having any complaints from neighbors.

It's understandable because when you're drunk, shitty music is good music. "I'm on my way" Ola said, through the phone. "Meet me at the statue"

Obi walked the distance, his feet slipped in the black leather boots he'd borrowed from Mira. And his hands slid to end the call. Of course he had to look his best, he'd set out in his mind that today was the day he'd tell Abdul the entire truth. And how he, was really Neighborguy118.

How he was the guy Abdul had fallen in love with. And if maybe he was going to be rejected, at least he had to do it with style and in an Adeline jacket.

But the chances of that happening were slim because he'd gotten to know Abdul over the past few days, and as his real self ever since they exchanged phone numbers. And unlike on the app, they conversed more of real life things, which in hindsight meant the cliché boring things.

They talked about books, and their futures.

And more books and exams and high school. And occasionally, they made fun of their other classmates, bonding over the trauma they shared from Ayo. The connection felt real, even though there was no flirting whatsoever.

But Obi actually didn't care. He knew the part of Abdul he had fallen for, now he had to show him his own part which he fell for. And staring at his dress, he hoped he wouldn't run like others have.

He'd hoped nothing will change, especially after the somewhat big revelation.

As he danced towards the statue, with Ola and Fiyin coming from the other end, his eyes shut at the moon which was fully out and illuminating a fistful of stars. As he got closer, the music boomed louder and the streets were filled with people in their various costumes. Tents and canopies were scattered along the large field beneath the lights.

Obi felt a shiver up his spine, sighting Ola from the corner of his eyes. He had his glasses on now, which he only seldomly wore. And in some way, it matched his suity costume. But that was the only purpose it served, because Ola didn't really have that big of an eye problem. They halted for a moment, looking at the chaos and vibrance around. "Tonight's going to be good" Obi hyped.

"I'm not sure about that" Ola turned to Fiyin, who was here because Debby wouldn't stop bugging her. "Look, what else than a party to take your mind off how shitty this month is. You know?" Obi said, taking their hands like in a big pep talk. Fiyin chuckled slightly before looking him deep in the eyes. "You're right" She forcefully agreed, pulling her arms away. She walked a bit forward before pausing. "Your eyeliner game is fire, by the way" She raised her thumb with a smirk. Obi nodded, as he took his jacket. And then the trio walked into the fest like the power dynamic which they'd like to think they were. However, beneath all of this semblance were three messes.

That much was true.

To be continued...