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TWENTY-FOUR
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2024-10-29 19:42:56I grabbed my phone to call the number he used in calling me when I saw him coming; dragging my son haphazardly. My son looked dirty and tattered and there was an injury on his head. My heart broke as I stared at my son.
"Daddy!" My son whimpered as he struggled to free himself from Tony's grip.
"Well! Well!! Well!!! Look who's here. The Almighty Daniel." He laughed. He was much older with an unkempt beard and hair. He looked so shaggy, so unlike the Tony who liked to be fresh. There was an ugly scar on his face and wondered where he got such scar from.
"You haven't changed at all. You look good. You don de count money, don de chop money de enjoy yourself, sheybi?" He laughed and I ignored him.
"Where is Veronica? Still hiding under your shell?"
"She's in the car. She's pregnant and can't climb all the way here." I coldly replied.
"Mmmm. So are you suggesting we go down t
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A Stranger I Met TWENTY-FIVE
I gave a heavy sigh as I turned to leave the prison yard which had been my abode for five days. My trial had been the day before and just as my father had promised, I was pronounced innocent.It was moments like this that I was most grateful to have an Illustrious and eminent person for a father. However, I hadn't done anything wrong so being imprisoned for a crime I didn't commit would be an infringement on my rights. Nevertheless, I was joyous to be out of prison.It was refreshing to see the broad daylight again after my being in an enclosed area. My family had insisted that I came along with them after the court proceedings but I had refused for some reasons which I couldn't pinpoint. I guess I didn't like the way I looked and so wouldn't want my kids to see me this way. I took a last glance at the prison gate and made a vow never to step my feet there again.The road was busy as usual a
A Stranger I Met ONE
My eyes widened as the cold metal came in contact with my wrist. It took a minute before I could decipher what was happening. I stared in horror at the handcuff on my wrist and gasped when I was shoved a bit by the policeman beside me as he urged me to walk faster. Everything was happening rapidly and it felt like my brain was giving way; I could barely think and I felt my entire body go numb."I'm. . .I'm innocent," I managed to say but it seemed there was no rationale in this case and from the looks on the officers' faces, I knew I was pouring water into a basket; they didn't believe me and It didn't even help that the woman who had reported this case was fidgeting like she had seen a ghost; like I was a dreadful thing to behold. "You have the right to remain silent otherwise, whatever you say will be used against you in the court of law." The officer beside me spoke as he ordered that my son be taken away from me. The little
A Stranger I Met TWO
One would think the commandant would feel sorry and would at least pardon the other guy but the reverse was the case. The commandant had commanded that the filthy thing be removed instantly from his sight while he lashed out more painful strokes on the next man.I had wondered then what joy seeing people die brought to the officers. They had looked unaffected when this happened and only then did it dawn on me it was a usual occurrence. Even some prisoners beside me acted like nothing grievous had happened unlike me that had not been able to sleep well after the occurrence — his last cry kept resounding in my ear.I just couldn't get the sickening image of the lifeless body out of my mind: his bloodshot eyes bulging out and his tongue rolling out. I had even caught one other prisoner stifling a laugh while angry strokes fell on the bare back of the next offender.The evening of the day this occurred, I had hea
A Stranger I Met THREE
The tantalising aroma of my mum's cooking filled my nostril as I sat on my bed, rubbing my eyes wearily. My mum's cooking had a way of waking me up from my sleep and as I sat, I tried to tell what she was preparing from the aroma. It was high time I believed the saying: good food is the way to a man's heart. My mother's cooking made my heart flutter every time.With water dripping from my hair, I walked to the kitchen where my mum stood with an apron tied to her waist. She had her back turned to me so I walked closer to her and rested my chin on her shoulder as I peeped at the content in the pot.That singular gesture made my mum flinch a bit but when she saw it was just me, she raised the spatula in her hand to smack me. I dodged her attack and we both fell into a fit of giggles when some content on the spatula splashed on my face. "I thought you had plans to sleep thro
A Stranger I Met FOUR
The night was quite long but day finally came and I packed my luggage into the boot of my father's car. My mum was standing on the verandah watching me while my dad sat in the car waiting for me. After packing my luggage, I turned to wave to my mother. She signalled for me to come to receive her motherly blessings and I smiled for I knew what she would say. I had heard these motherly blessings countless of times; enough to store in my memory."Concentrate on your studies. Remember your dream to be the best graduating student this year. You can't afford any nonsense that will ruin your perfect cgpa. Know your company of friends." My mum began her litany and I groaned inwardly. Ever since she knew about my 5.0 cgpa, she kept ringing it in my ear that any mistake would bring me down from my standing. I knew all these so it was annoying to hear them over and over again.'I know all this, mum. Don't worry, I'll be fin
A Stranger I Met FIVE
My lecture was to start by eight in the morning, so I left my hostel thirty minutes before the time. Tony was yet to return from wherever he went and I couldn't care less. I didn't want him back anyway.The class was scanty when I got there; only a few students were seated. I walked to the front seat knowing fully well my caucus will be there. We always sat at the front seats and all lecturers of ours knew us to the extent that when one of us wasn't around, questions were asked. Tunde was part of my caucus. We were six in number. We organized group study most of the time.I exchanged greetings with the crew and sat down on my regular chair: a seat at the middle of Tunde and Chineye."Have you bought your textbook for Acc 413?" Chineye asked me. Chineye was part of our crew. She disturbed me always and I wondered why. She kept trying to get me into discussions I clearly didn't want to engage in.The
A Stranger I Met SIX
I tried all my best to avoid going to the Friday party. I tried convincing Tony that my group study every Saturday was compulsory.I told him I had to have a good night rest to be refreshed for the group study the next day. But all my excuses were rendered useless. Tony was bent on taking me along with him to the party. I wondered why he wanted so badly for me to be there.I sat in the car brooding over the misfortune that had befallen me. Three of Tony's friends had come to take us along with them to the party.Two of the guys were heavily designed with tattoos and piercing while the other smoked silently in the car. I could barely breathe since the smoker was sitting next to me.I wondered where Tony had picked his friends. It was funny how my life had suddenly taken up a huge turn within such a short scale. A week ago, I wouldn't have believed that I'd be wi
A Stranger I Met SEVEN
"Nothing changed. Let's go." I snapped as I walked out of the building with Tony. The same guys we came with were the same guys we left with. I was quiet throughout the journey to the hostel while Tony chatted with his tattooed friends. They were all smelling of alcohol and I felt like I was suffocating. I rested my head on the chair and closed my eyes. My eyes were heavy. I could not wait to fall on my bed and have a good night rest. I still needed to make it to the group study today by noon.Immediately we got to the hostel, I fell to the bed without removing my shoes or cloth. I lazily picked up my phone and set an alarm then dozed off to sleep.I woke up with pains all over my body. Tony was nowhere to be found — which wasn't surprising. I was seriously tired of this roommate of mine. I lazily had my bath and wore my cloth as I locked the door, dropping the key with the porters. The group study was to be done at the lag
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A Stranger I Met TWENTY-FIVE
I gave a heavy sigh as I turned to leave the prison yard which had been my abode for five days. My trial had been the day before and just as my father had promised, I was pronounced innocent.It was moments like this that I was most grateful to have an Illustrious and eminent person for a father. However, I hadn't done anything wrong so being imprisoned for a crime I didn't commit would be an infringement on my rights. Nevertheless, I was joyous to be out of prison.It was refreshing to see the broad daylight again after my being in an enclosed area. My family had insisted that I came along with them after the court proceedings but I had refused for some reasons which I couldn't pinpoint. I guess I didn't like the way I looked and so wouldn't want my kids to see me this way. I took a last glance at the prison gate and made a vow never to step my feet there again.The road was busy as usual a
A Stranger I Met TWENTY-FOUR
I grabbed my phone to call the number he used in calling me when I saw him coming; dragging my son haphazardly. My son looked dirty and tattered and there was an injury on his head. My heart broke as I stared at my son."Daddy!" My son whimpered as he struggled to free himself from Tony's grip."Well! Well!! Well!!! Look who's here. The Almighty Daniel." He laughed. He was much older with an unkempt beard and hair. He looked so shaggy, so unlike the Tony who liked to be fresh. There was an ugly scar on his face and wondered where he got such scar from."You haven't changed at all. You look good. You don de count money, don de chop money de enjoy yourself, sheybi?" He laughed and I ignored him."Where is Veronica? Still hiding under your shell?""She's in the car. She's pregnant and can't climb all the way here." I coldly replied."Mmmm. So are you suggesting we go down t
A Stranger I Met TWENTY-THREE
I sat in my office when I received a call. It was from Veronica. I had grown lean due to the stress Tony was pouring on me. He was so smart to confiscate any sim card he used in calling me. This way, it was difficult for the police to track him down and no one knew his whereabouts. I picked my phone up and placed it on my ear."Daniel!" Veronica's voice was haunted and I stiffened immediately."What is it?" I asked."Somto. . .Somto. . .""What happened to Somto? What happened to my son?""Somto has been kidnapped." She wailed.My hands began to shake and I struggled to keep my phone in place. "How did this happen? Where are the guards? How could they allow such a thing to happen?""He was kidnapped before they came to pick him up. Jonathan said that they were sitting in front of the classroom waiting for the guards to come. Somto i
A Stranger I Met TWENTY-TWO
TEN YEARS LATER★ ★ ★Veronica bent low and blew the candles on her gigantic cake. It was her thirtieth birthday and we decided to throw a surprise party for her. It had been seven years since we got married. After all the chaos and troubles Tony costs us, we still ended up together. It was nice to complete our schooling without Tony hovering all over us. Tony was sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment for attempted rape. As I watched Tony walk into the police's van with some policemen holding him, I felt like a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders. Tony was out of our lives forever. I could finally breathe clean air. Chineye also was out. She left the city after we graduated to live with her mother. It felt so good to live a life free of Tony and Chineye. However, I didn't graduate as the best student; Tunde did and I was genuinely happy for him. With all that had happened
A Stranger I Met TWENTY-ONE
It had been quite some days since I saw Veronica for It was my test week and I was occupied with so much reading and group study. I had a lot to catch up with for I was seriously lagging; a lot had happened this semester. I had missed Veronica so much and I couldn't wait for Friday for that was the end of my numerous tests.The dinner we had with my family had gone perfectly fine. Veronica had been nervous and scared thinking my parents wouldn't approve of her but like I told her earlier, my mum fell in love with her instantly and the two of them moved about like best friends who hadn't seen each other in a while. My dad too was good to her and this made my heart glow.I returned to my room after the two tests we had that Friday morning. Since I had a lot to cover, I had skipped eating and bathing to have enough time to read. For this reason, I returned immediately to my apartment to bathe and eat.After showe
A Stranger I Met TWENTY
It had been three days since my fight with Tony and I sat in my room, staring at my textbook. Veronica left that day for she had classes in the morning. I had not seen Tony and I was grateful for that. Fortunately, Tony hadn't pressed any charges against me.After all that happened, I promised myself not to engage in such a thing again. Tony wasn't worth my attention, I told me. He had done more harm than good to me and so I sought to avoid him.My mum had called earlier to ensure I was okay. She was very happy that I had a girlfriend and she invited us for a dinner at home during the weekend. Veronica had been tensed ever since she heard the news. She felt my parents wouldn't like her; she was scared to go. I tried my best to calm her down by ensuring her that there was nothing to be worried about.I seriously was looking forward to the dinner for I wanted Veronica to get to know my mum. I knew my mother woul
A Stranger I Met NINETEEN
Tunde and I sat in the school's love garden using the Internet service the school provided. I was downloading some movies on my phone while Tunde was downloading some materials he deemed helpful. I had downloaded five movies and the sixth one was downloading slowly. I got tired of looking at my phone; monitoring the pace. I felt if I got distracted somehow, the movie would download quicker. So I looked around, observing my environment and then I saw him. My stomach folded into knots and I felt nauseous and infuriated at the same time. I tried to look away but I couldn't.He was with a girl I hadn't seen before and they were laughing sheepishly. I wondered why he was so conspicuous by girls. To me, he had a very ugly face and to top it all, he had a horrible character. Suddenly he looked up and his eyes met with mine. He looked shocked for a moment but quickly recovered. A goofy grin appeared on his face and I felt a need to
A Stranger I Met EIGHTEEN
I hated Tony with every ounce of energy in me. The abhorrence I felt towards Tony was so huge. It was like a giant cloud hanging over my head, threatening to consume me. I had never hated anyone this way. Just the mention of his name irritated me. I tore a book to shred just because it had a character whose name was Tony. I never knew I could hate anyone this way.Each time I looked at Veronica and the pain she was undergoing, I felt like killing Tony. Veronica had refused to go back to her hostel to avoid attending her lectures. The news about her being the popular stripper had spread like wildfire throughout her school. I knew how she felt and this made me hate Tony even more for causing such pain to her. Just because he wanted to hurt me, he had hurt someone else. It had been a week since the incident happened but Veronica was yet to recover.I didn't attend my lectures also that week. I had to stay with her for I feared she'd hurt he
A Stranger I Met SIXTEEN-SEVENTEEN
It had been one week since Veronica left my house and I missed her so terribly. Though she spoke to me about attending that week's party so we could meet, I declined. I really didn't want to go to any party again. As I sat amid my group members with Chibuzor explaining a topic for it was his turn, I wished I had gone. Not seeing her face for a week was like plain torture. I wished to see her every day.I sat chewing my pen as I tried to concentrate on what Chibuzor was saying. Chineye was not around again. After the group discussion, Tunde told me they were going to visit her again since she was not around last Saturday. I wished them luck and asked him to give me feedback if they met her for I was curious to know what her reasons were.On Monday, after lectures, Tunde told me that she wasn't in her hostel again. I wondered where she went on Saturdays or was she intentionally avoiding them? Partying came to my mind but I waved it away. I
