When I moved into my first self-contained apartment, the landlord's daughter was the first person to warn me about the compound.
She said, βAunty, please don't lend anybody your spare key.β
I laughed and asked why.
She said, βJust listen to me.β
I thought she was being dramatic.
Two months later, I travelled for five days.
When I returned, everything in my room looked normal.
My clothes were where I left them.
My food was untouched.
Nothing appeared missing.
But something felt strange.
I checked my bathroom and noticed that the small bucket I always kept upside down had water inside it.
I ignored it.
The following morning, I found my toothbrush wet.
That was when I started getting uncomfortable.
I asked my neighbour if anyone had entered my room while I was away.
She said no.
That evening, the landlord's daughter came to visit me.
I told her what happened.
She went quiet.
Then she asked me one question.
βDid you lock the small window behind your wardrobe?β
I said yes.
She looked at me and said,
βThen we have a problem.β
Apparently, there was a narrow passage behind the building that connected to another compound.
And someone had been using that window to enter my room.
But the shocking part wasn't who was entering.
It was why.
The next morning, the landlord called me and asked me to come downstairs.
He was holding something I had never seen before.
A copy of my house key.
And he asked me,
βWhy did you make another key without telling me?β