CAUGHT BETWEEN

d buses belched impatience as conductors slapped their sides like war drums. Jude stood at the corner of Ojuelegba under a bent traffic light that hadn't worked in months. His worn-o

the madness of the world couldn't touch her. Most days she wore earphones, eyes down, lips neutral. Not sad, not angry-just unreadable. Jude never spoke to her. He never dared. He didn't even know her name. But he watched her. And something about her silence was louder than everything else around him. The first time he noticed her, she had paused beside a hawker selling roasted corn. She hadn't bought anything-just stared at the flames as if lost in them. The fire reflected in her eyes, and for a split second, she looked human, vulnerable. But then she blinked, turned, and was gone. He'd looked for her every day since. "Guy! You dey hear me so?" Jude blinked and turned toward