Strings Attached II
A PROMISE IS A DEBT, a promise to always love and be there is an even greater debt. James and Kimberly have made a promise to each other, a debt, five years later they are incapacitated to pay.
It is said that before the truth is able to lace up its shoes, the lie has traveled around the world three times. James’ third year in school was a tumultuous one. He had to deal with a badly battered reputation, court cases, stigma and an unending gossip even after he had been vindicated by the court and found innocent of the accusations against him. The once admired rich kid who had everyone’s back and carried everyone along became popular as a rapist. The stigma wouldn’t just disappear because there were influencers in the school who continued to propagate a false narrative; some even said that he paid his way through the law as a result of his father’s influence and wealth. But in truth the case has been resolved in court and the real culprit of the rape — a false accuser — had been apprehended and brought to justice.
The rape case had been a major issue in the school that period and the school wasn’t going to just sweep it under the carpet, it couldn’t. The school had ensured full investigation into the matter. Anita, the lady in question, in addition to the many witnesses had brought in evidence to present to the court to solidify her stance that James had indeed raped her that night. She presented before the court her underwear. which had semen on it. A DNA test had confirmed that it was James’. The young man was devastated. None of the witnesses were even at the vicinity during his altercation with Anita and now she’s presenting evidence with his own DNA for a crime that never happened.
James was on the brink of rotting in jail as the evidence against him were overwhelming and convincing. It was at the last sitting in court that his lawyers presented evidence that changed the course of the case. James’ apartment had a CCTV camera inside his room, in front of the apartment and behind it. Before his lawyers could lay hands on them, the house was burgled. and the cameras sabotaged. His only saving grace was the database of the CCTV camera. The engineer who installed it for him had advised that he install another database for the video feeds elsewhere, in case the one in the house gets destroyed. James had made provisions for that and it was kept securely in his parent’s house. At the end of each day, the video feeds are downloaded into the off-site database.
He was vindicated after what transpired that day was. presented to the court on a screen. The video also showed scenes where Anita had taken some of James’ items without his consent. She had also stolen his semen from a used condom. At the end of the day, James counter sued. and Anita received a sentence for false rape accusation.
After all the chaos, it wasn’t easy building back a reputation so soiled. James went underground, staying off everyone as much as possible.
Kimberly, a student one year his junior had followed up the whole matter from the bud, she had used her influence to get her hands on all the court proceedings and reports of the investigations and studied every one of them religiously. She became well informed about the whole issue and she watched James closely to find out if he really was who he claims to be. She began to have a liking for the embattled young man. Even after the dust has settled, he couldn’t face the public as the damaging rumours lingered. She began to speak against those spreading false narratives and reported them to the school authorities. She became an advocate for James even though they’ve never had any encounter.
Kimberly efforts paid off, she cleared James’ name in the midst of the chaos. They became friends, and she helped him to rebuild his reputation again and this time around he bounced up more stronger. They even set up a club to help fight against injustice in the school system and this gradually spread to other schools online.
James and Kimberly became lovers: the power couple everyone in school admired. KimJames became a reference point to intending school couples.
KimJames fared well during their school years. They promised each other to be together for the rest of their lives. Their love was so strong, it went beyond social media publicity or theatrics. After his graduation, he introduced her to his parents and went over to see hers. Their families became acquainted with each other. Everything was set, everyone anticipated a talk-of-the-town wedding of this popular couple. While James was serving , they both decided to wait until Kimberly is done with school and her one-year compulsory National Youth Service.
It’s been five years since James left the country to study abroad. He left immediately after his service. It was an impromptu, he was supposed to be gone for a one-year program. He didn’t even have the time to properly bade a farewell to his love. His relationship with Kimberley, though strings attached, dwindled over years of waiting. She waited for him in vain and then moved on to marry someone who was ready… and available.
