Do I say it was the shock of my life? Or do I say it was the shock of my dead? Whichever it is, I know for sure I am shocked to hear that the wife I married for about 5 years tried to poison me. I could not stop myself from thinking about the whole issue. "Why did she want to kill me?" I wondered. "What on earth must I have done to warrant being killed by my wife?" I kept asking myself. If I don't know of anything, atleast, I know for sure that I loved and cared for Mena when I was alive. I made sure she lacked nothing, and I even tried my best to provide things she didn't know she needed. Everything I've done with Mena over the years flashed through my mind in a jiffy. I remembered the day I proposed to her on my two kneels at a mall outside the town. She didn't see it coming, and she was not even thinking in that line at all. "Mena, will you marry me?" I threw the question, pulling out the ring from its casin. Her face was filled with euphoria of love and admiration as she yelled "Yes !" three times. Smile never departed from her face all through that day, and even at night, we continued our talk over the phone. The Mena I married would go extra miles for me. I remember when I was terribly sick, and I spent four days in the hospital. Mena, never for once left my side. Even though she was the one who donated the urgent blood I needed, she still did not hesitate to go get me food so that I could take my drugs. I would never forget that Mena. That was the Mena I married. Not this very Mena before me. But, one thing that amazes me in it all is the fact that I never saw it coming. "When did she conceive the idea to poison me?" I asked myself. "Was it before she asked me what I would like for dinner or when she was preparing the dinner?" I could not help but wonder. But, whenever it was, Mena has changed, and when she changed was what I don't know.
I took a step out of the room to the sitting room where I found my sister, Joy, already dressed and ready to go out. "Where could she be heading to when her brother just died yesterday?" I tried to figure out. I was certain that where ever she was going must be very important to her. She tried to look around to see if nobody was in the sitting room, and the way she was peeping and sneaking gave me the full picture of what was happening. "She is going for the abortion" I figured out. I knew abortion was not good, and it's very risky. Infact, it's murder, and also, one could get killed in the process too. "No. I can't afford to let my sister do this now. Not when the pain of my death is still fresh in my mother's heart." I concluded. I knew I just had to stop her, but how to stop her was what I didn't know. I tried to shut the door, tried to pull her back, tried to shout, but none of those worked. I knew I shouldn't give up on her so easily, so, I followed her. She got out of the house, and headed towards the end of the street. As we walked, I observed that people gathered in front of a particular house. They were putting on a sorrowful look. Some stood, while some sat on a long bench outside. One of those who sat on the bench was Oga Titus. He kept shaking his head in dismay and shock. "Wait a minute, that's Mallam Ali's house." I remembered. It was then it crossed my mind that Oga Titus' charm has done what it was sent to do. But, why Oga Titus was among the mourners I didn't know. I felt like walking up to him to slap him. But then, I remembered that even my wife and my best friend have done worse. The shop my sister was going to was not too far from our street, and in no time, she arrived there. From the look of things, she had met the man before. "Oga, I'm ready." She said after greeting him. She handed the money in her bag over to the man, and the man counted it meticulously. "Follow me." The man said after counting the money. He led her to a room where there was a long and big table, and he signaled to her to seat on the table. "I dey come" The man said. Joy looked at the room with great interest and concern. The room was empty except for the table and a stove at one end of the room. After about a minute, the man appeared with some items in his hands - a packet of paracetamol, a bottle of 7up, cotton wool, scissors, picker, hook and a small sickle. "Help me on that stove." The man said, handing over a box of matches to Joy. The look on Joy's face showed she was astonished at what the man wanted to do. She collected the matches but did not move an inch. Her eyes was focused on the sickle the man brought, which was well curved that it feared her. "Oga, you want use that one too?" She asked, pointing to the sickle. "Yes na. Na him I go take draw the baby come out." The man replied with an assuring look. "Quick light the stove make you put the sickle on top am. I dey come." The man said as he went out again. Joy stood on the same spot for some minutes, staring at the sickle. From the look on her face, I could tell what was going on in her mind. "Will this man put this sickle inside me?" I'm sure she would be asking herself that question. All of a sudden, she dropped the matches and left the room, heading outside. From behind, I could hear the man calling her to come back, but, she simply looked back and said, "I've changed my mind". I followed gladly, thanking God she has changed her mind.
© 2015. Austus Ofmat Nwanne
Innocent Mallam Ali has gone to join his forefathers, just because he sells more than Oga Titus, and Oga Titus still had to guts to mourn the innocent man. Such is life. Joy has come face to face with death in the hands of the doctor who wants to pluck out her pregnancy with a sickle. Her choice is simple. She would rather keep the baby than die immaturely. I'm sure you want to know more about Mena and Chike. So, join me again tomorrow as we continue the story. It's still A DEAD MAN'S WISH.
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AUSTUS OFMAT NWANNE (Mr. Tackle)
Inspirational Speaker and Business Consultant,
TYO Konsult Services.
+2348072970850
tackleyourobstacle@gmail.com
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