The New Mr. and Mrs. Day 830
MR- …….Their they were sipping champagne and strawberries, the governor gestured for me to come over and sit down opposite them. I walked over to the ottoman, covered with shawls and cushions. I let myself sink into it, it was so comfy. The butler poured some wine in a flute and dropped it in front of me. The butler left us alone and the governor cleared his throat, “Okay you are here now, so how can I help you?”. Before I could say anything, Halima, interrupted and said “Honey, we both know why he came all the way from Lagos, please darling, in God’s name release Kola and Muktar, I have promised you never to talk to Muktar again, please forgive them” by now she was on her knees, holding on to the governors legs. I couldn’t stay seated so I stood up and looked down at my feet with my hands clasped together behind my back.
The governor was silent, he kept starring at Halima for a while, then all of a sudden he got up, pulled up Halima and said “Okay, I forgive them, pass me my phone. I looked on the table in front of me and saw he was pointing to a ‘Gresso Luxor Las Vegas Jackpot mobile phone’, one of the most expensive in the world, made from the wood of an African tree, last time I check it retailed at about 1 million dollars. Aakil is the only other person I have seen with that phone. I slid my hands toward it, picked it up ever so gently and passed it to the governor. He keyed in just 4 no’s and said: “Release those brats”.
I stood there transfixed to one spot, just like that, Kola and Muktar are being released. Wow! Power was a great thing, money was good but Power trumps money anytime. I could see why people so rich are still not satisfied until they also have power. The governor got up from his seat and walked into the house without saying another word. Once he was out of earshot, Halima whispered “Where are you staying, I told her and she said, I’ll see you later. With that, she galloped after the governor.
What did she want to see me for, I couldn’t think of anything. Anyway, I decided to wait and see. I didn’t have to wait long, an hour after I got back Halima arrived. The first thing I noticed was that her eyes were red shot and she was shivering. I calmed her down and made a cup of hot chocolate for her from the hotel supply. After taking a couple of sips she said “Am sorry for what his Excellency did, I love Muktar but am with the governor now and there’s nothing anyone can do. He has warned me that if I try to leave him, he will make me disappear”. She paused to see my reaction, I was staring at her like she was speaking gibberish, why would he threaten you?, I asked. She put her head down, shock her head and said “Honestly you won’t understand, I didn’t know what it was like to date a man with money and power, now I do. Please tell Mukhtar I will always love him and cold he please find a place in his heart to forgive me, move on and marry someone who truly loves and cherishes him. For me, it’s too late. I could see the fear in her eyes, she was afraid of the governor. I tried to console her and asked if she wanted to leave the governor I could help. She just smiled, got up to leave and said, Please don’t, am fine and she was gone…..hmmmm
MRS-Still on Mrs. Kimpaul’s story….”I was now spending my 3rd night in the container, no sign of Sayo or Femi, all I had left was a few pieces of biscuits and a bottle of water. I had rationed the water so well, sipping only when utterly necessary. The container wasn’t too small but was packed full of furniture so not a lot of manoeuvring space. The toilet bucket didn’t help either, it wasn’t so full but the psychological effect of being next to a toilet bucket, although it was so well done you couldn’t smell anything once it was shut, made it almost impossible to eat satisfactorily.
The evening of the third day, I was kind of preparing to die in the container, as I sipped my last drop of water and ate the 4 biscuits, I knew this was my last supper, I knelt and thanked God for a good life and asked him to please forgive my sins and accept me into heaven. I apologized for running away and acknowledged that this was punishment for eloping with a man from a distant land, as my granny would have called it. After prayer, I made the bed as best I can, laid down on my back, facing up and closed my eyes waiting for death to come.
My mind wandered as I lay there in the container, with no hope left and thinking Femi had forgotten me or worse get into trouble, I found myself slipping in and out of consciousness. I saw myself in a beautiful house with Femi and our 8 children, I couldn’t believe I had so many. I could see I was still very young and Femi was too, we were all happy, laughing and dancing. I then saw myself standing away from everyone and looking in as if I had an out-of-body experience. In my trance I was thinking am I dead, why can’t they see me, what’s going on? Did death come to take me so young?
But you know what, death doesn’t come like that not without sending agony and pain ahead, so first by the 4th evening with no food, I started to cramp up, by the morning of the fifth, I was so tired and dehydrated I couldn’t think straight, my tummy hurt so bad it felt like a thousand ants eating away at the flesh of my tummy, by the night of the 7th day, I hadn’t eaten or drink for 3 days, I was so weak I couldn’t move from the bed, my lips were dry and I hurt all over. I lay on the bed in so much pain, I wished I was dead. And just as felt like killing myself, the light on the lamp went out. I was now in total darkness. To make matters worse, my sight was beginning to fade, it got darker and darker until I couldn’t see, hear or feel anything….hmmm