THREE IS A CROWD (Episode 9)

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That night was the longest for Peter, and it could not be compared even to the night he spent at the cemetery. But for Amope and Paul, the night was simply as long as the night they spent at the cemetery. Peter's worry increased when Jenny's number stopped going through. At first, she was not picking, and after about an hour later, the female voice at the other end of the phone repeatedly whispered into Peter's ears, "the number you are calling is currently switched off..." Peter checked the wall clock at one corner of the sitting room, the seconds indicator was moving slower than Peter thought it should. The hour indicator was between 1 and 2, and Peter did not bother to check the minute indicator. It didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that it was midnight, and it was unsafe for him or anybody to go out in search for Jenny. He decided to believe she was fine, as he kept watching the wall clock to declare the dawn of a new day. He looked at Paul and Amope, and they both had slept off on the chair that sat on. He vowed never to sleep off, but to show his loyalty and solidarity to Jenny. He felt like praying, but he easily waved off the idea because he felt unworthy to talk to God. 

The fire can be likened to an inferno, and Peter did not know on time. The heavy smell of smoke that found its way into his nose woke him up from the chair where he sat. He realized he had just dozed off on the chair. His mother, and Paul were also in the sitting room, sleeping. The fire had caught the chair beside Paul, and he was still sleeping like a child. "FIRE! FIRE!! FIRE!!!" Peter shouted, trying to get off the chair where he was. The shout was enough to wake up Paul and Amope, but they didn't wake up. Instead, Paul changed his sleeping position on the two-seater chair, towards the chair that just started consuming. Peter rushed to where Paul was and tapped him in a bid to wake him up, but Paul did not wake up. It was after shaking him vigorously that he eventually woke up. "Jesus!!!" Paul shouted, as he woke up from his slumber. It was at that point, Amope woke up. "What is happening?" She asked rhetorically. The fire was increasing seriously, and there seemed to be no way to escape the ranging inferno. "Come this way! Come this way!!" Jenny shouted from the main door. Peter didn't know how Jenny got to the house, but he was certain that Jenny's option was not the way out of the inferno. Amope and Paul also shared Peter's view, and from nowhere, they saw a door at the opposite direction. "No! Come this way" Jenny shouted, as she waved to them with her two hands. Paul was the first to run to the door, and on getting there, he saw that the door was closed. He tried his best to open the door, and after a while, Amope and Peter joined him. Jenny kept calling them, and persuading them to come to the main door. 

Repeated heavy knocks on the door woke Peter up from his dream. He was sweating profusely as a result of the dream. Amope and Paul were just waking up from their slumber too. Peter looked around to see if at all there was any sign of fire. There was none. Not even a slightest trace of smoke. But, the dream looked so real that it felt as if he has already been consumed. The knock came again, and the three of them looked at the wall clock at the same time, as if to confirm if the knock was uncalled for or not. The minute and hour indicators were pointing to the same direction - 6. It amazed Peter that he couldn't prove his loyalty to Jenny by being awake for just few hours, and like the Biblical Peter, who slept while the Saviour prayed. Peter rushed to the door, hoping to find Jenny at the other side of the door. 

                                                                         (c) 2016. Austus Ofmat Nwanne 

I am beginning to think that it is high time we finished this story. Some questions have been answered, while some remain unanswered. But, all unanswered questions would be answered in the next episode which would be the concluding part of the story. Keep your fingers crossed.

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OFMAT AUSTUS NWANNE
Inspirational Speaker/Media Consultant,
Swift24 Multimedia Services.
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