To him, every smile she gave was an indication of how he was capturing her heart with his carefully-chosen romantic words and gestures. But unknown to him, those very smiles were reflections of sinister plans she had in store for him.

It’s an engrossing story of how something that started off as a romantic date ended up as a memory-etching scary tale which sends shivers down his spine with every recollection.

A horrifying and jaw-dropping recount of a short love story that started at the Glory Land Hotel in Odorkor and ended under a neem tree at the Awudome cemetery around 2am.

Ghana’s Independence Day celebration has historically been marked with musical concerts that usually features the crème-de-la-crème of the country’s performers and the situation was not any different in 1998.

It was the peak of Amakye Dede’s musical exploits and he was the headliner of an Independence Day bash being held at the aforementioned hotel.

It happened to be a Friday night so Jonathan Akrong, a sales executive at Magnum Supplies and Investment Ltd, decided to ‘storm’ town, catch some fun, de-stress and recharge for the following week.

As a lover of hi-life music, there was no better place for him to visit than a show headlined by Amakye Dede.

“It happened in March 1998. It was a Friday night and there was an independent bash and Amakye Dede’s band was playing at Glory Land so I went there to catch some fun. Amakye Dede had just launched the Iron Boy album so it was everywhere.

“I went there to enjoy myself and there were a lot girls and I had money so I could do anything. I went to the place alone and had some good time so around 1:30 am the band was about to close…”

It was at this point, Akrong says he spotted ‘this nice lady with long braided hair’. He further described her as a slim but well-shaped and endowed lady whose sparkling beauty was unique.

He offered a bottle of Guinness and the lady took a sip and conversation took off.

“I called her and she told me she will be back. After coming back, I bought her a bottle of Guinness and if I remember correctly, she took just a sip. So, I engaged her and she was not the talking type so I had to tread cautiously because I wanted her. She told me she is Abena and stays at North Kaneshie. I invited her to dance but she declined”.

The conversation had gone relatively well and with the show now over, it was time to take things a notch higher. Based on the little engagement, Akrong knew his bed was going to be a host to four legs and not the regular two.

“So, the show was over and everyone was living. She was reluctant to leave but I pressured her and she succumbed to my pressure. She was slim with a nice shape, flat tummy with nice backside too. Her smile was infectious and anytime she smiled I questioned why, but she just said nothing. I remember this incident with nostalgic feelings.”

“So, I stopped this taxi and it was almost 2:00 am. She sat at the back and I was in the front seat. Once she got it into the taxi, my plan was to take her to Osu and have some time with her cos my taste had gone high. So, when we got to Obetsebi she asked that we take the Awudome side. When we got to Awudome, she again said that we should take left. There was no light there”.

“When we took that turn and got to the first neem tree, she asked the driver to stop. The driver was still driving so she got angry and shouted at him. She spoke authoritatively and I turned back to watch her and it was very scary".

“She got down, jumped the gutter and started laughing amid loud claps and went straight into the cemetery. The driver asked me to get down but I begged him and he dropped me at the traffic light. At that point I realize I was with the wrong person. Everything cleared from my eyes. It was after the incident that I understood those smiles she gave back at the hotel. I’m sure she was saying in her mind that I don’t know what she is about,” he recounted.