Episode 4: Two Days Left
Sophia barely slept that night. Each time she closed her eyes, Chioma’s question echoed in her mind. Are you really leaving without telling him how you feel?
By morning, she still didn’t have an answer.
The apartment no longer looked the way it used to. Half filled boxes occupied one corner of the sitting room, while folded clothes and books were neatly arranged on the dining table, waiting to be packed.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” Chioma said, looking around the apartment. “After four years, we’re finally done.”
Sophia smiled.
“It feels like yesterday we were struggling to find this place.”
The four friends spent the next hour sorting through the things they had accumulated over the years. Some items would go home with them, while others were left behind for the next tenants.
Every now and then, Sophia found herself drifting toward the window.
Not because she expected anything.
She simply wondered if Daniel had already left for work.
Around eight o’clock, she heard the familiar sound of a car engine.
Without thinking, she looked outside.
Daniel’s white Corolla rolled toward the gate before stopping briefly. The security man opened the gate, exchanged a few words with him, and Daniel drove away as usual.
Sophia remained by the window for a few seconds.
“He has gone,” she whispered to herself.
“What has gone?” Chioma asked from behind.
Sophia quickly turned.
“Nothing.”
Chioma followed her gaze to the compound.
“Oh…”
She didn’t say another word.
There was no need to.
That afternoon, Sophia went to campus to complete the last stage of her clearance. The queues were longer than she expected, and by the time she returned, the sun was already beginning to set.
She pushed the gate open slowly, exhausted from standing for hours.
As she climbed the stairs, someone called her name.
“Sophia.”
She turned around.
Daniel had just parked his car.
“Good evening.”
“Good evening.”
He noticed the brown envelope in her hand.
“Still doing clearance?”
She laughed tiredly.
“I never knew graduating came with this much stress.”
“It’ll be over soon.”
“I can’t wait.”
He smiled.
“So… you’ll be leaving the apartment after that?”
The question caught her off guard.
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“In two days.”
For a brief moment, Daniel was quiet.
“I see.”
Sophia searched his face, hoping to read something more into those two words.
There was nothing.
“I’ll miss greeting my favorite neighbor every morning,” he said with a small smile.
Sophia felt her heart skip.
Favorite neighbor?
She tried not to let the words show on her face.
“I’ll miss it too.”
“I hope everything goes well wherever you’re posted.”
“Thank you.”
“It will.”
He adjusted the laptop bag on his shoulder.
“Congratulations once again.”
“Thank you.”
They stood there for another second before Daniel nodded politely and headed toward Apartment 6.
Sophia watched him unlock his door.
Only after he disappeared inside did she continue upstairs.
The moment she entered the apartment, Chioma looked up from her phone.
“You met him.”
Sophia dropped her envelope on the table.
“How do you always know?”
“Because you’re smiling.”
Sophia touched her face unconsciously.
“Am I?”
Chioma grinned.
“What happened this time?”
Sophia sat beside her and repeated the conversation almost word for word.
The room became quiet.
“‘My favorite neighbor?'” Chioma repeated.
Sophia nodded.
“Exactly.”
Another roommate, Ada, looked up from the carton she was sealing.
“I don’t know o.”
“What?”
“Maybe he just meant you’re the neighbor he talks to the most.”
Chioma shook her head.
“Or maybe he’s beginning to realize she’s leaving.”
Sophia sighed.
“See? This is exactly why I’m confused.”
She wasn’t sure which explanation she wanted to believe.
That night, while arranging the last few books on her shelf, Sophia paused when she noticed the waterproof file she had used on the rainy morning Daniel took her to school.
She smiled to herself.
It was such an ordinary file.
Yet somehow, it reminded her of the day she had spent weeks replaying in her head.
She closed the file gently and placed it inside her box.
Outside, the compound was unusually quiet.
Inside Apartment 6, Daniel’s lights were still on.
Sophia stood by her window for a few seconds before drawing the curtain.
Tomorrow would be her last full day in the apartment.
If she was ever going to tell Daniel how she felt…
Time was running out.
