AFFLICTIONS

He bent over and rolled the crispy mint of a thousand naira and inhaled the powdery substance spread on the furnished wooden table. It made eyes roll backwards with a sigh of ecstatic amusement. He stared at the blank wall and thought this was exactly where he belonged, here and now with the family.

He lost everything he ever had and ever wanted to the greed of the world which was unfair yet he had dreams to regain what so ever that was lost to the world by taking it back one at a time.

‘Guy, we get operation tonight oo…you dey hear me so?’

Dele was deep in his self-centered thoughts that he didn’t even hear Frank’s and the family’s footsteps as they got into the room to inform him of their plan. As he nodded in agreement, he had this crooked smile of mockery on his hardened handsome face. Last night he felt justified that he had easily gunned down the man who proved difficult to tackle. 

‘Silencing him forever wasn’t a big deal besides he would even thank me for the peace I offered him, wretched fool’. He thought with a smear of grimace across the portrait of his face.

He would not forget the look on the face of his victim before he pulled the trigger to his head. What made him pull the trigger without mercy was the statement made before he dropped stone dead.

‘You will never have peace until you are dead’... the victim cursed and spat on his feet.

Now they have another operation tonight and he doesn’t intend hurting anyone. 

‘It was an intention any way and probably an option’. he thought as he felt a shiver run down his spine.

He only felt this when his instincts warned him something unusual was going to happen. He tried convincing the family to cancel the plan for the night but they will not conform. He later consented to go with them.

The family was prepared for the operation, armed with ammunition enough to carry out a genocide. They got to the house that was scouted and marked. They were all enthralled at its beauty and magnificence. Dele’s mind was a little distracted. His spirit wasn’t in conformity with his action. His body twitched when he got down from the car. His mind told him to turn back but his head urged him to go on. 

‘Open the door!’ The thugs banged on the door and fired shots at the locks. It was enough they scaled through the secured fence. So getting an unwelcome entry shouldn’t be a challenge.

Lekan had already put an emergency call through the police and secured his family in the inner safe room. This room was specially structured for an occasion like this. He knew that his famed success was going to attract the wrong visitors at odd hours of the night. But any intrusion that posed a threat to his home and family was an insult to his personality.

Temi was with their only son who in every way resembled Lekan. She was scared but strong enough not to show it. She held on tight to him exchanging interlocked looks of hope and despair.

The sound of the downfall thud only meant two things. Lekan defeated them with bare hands or he was beaten down. She had earlier warned him about confronting criminals, rather to opt for total surrender to the thugs. Lekan was only strong headed, proving to be the man but now he laid humbly flat on his belly. 

The door to the safe room opened and the two were swept out and pushed down flat to the ground. The operation did not even begin before it ended for the police arrived although few minutes later than intended. The gang was upturned and disappointed.

‘boss make we scatter oo’

Dele wanted to take away something away at least to compensate for the time and effort wasted even if it was…

‘Please don’t kill daddy’ Junior innocently pleaded as he watched the thug drag Lekan’s head behind the pistol.

A shrill cry escaped Temi’s lips. Looking tattered, she sat up to beg for mercy. Frank wanted to force himself into Temi when time slowly froze as Dele took is sight off Lekan. The sound of the police siren was in slow motion now. 

Dele was looking at Temi and didn’t pull the trigger. He stared at how she was being dragged then his mind brought back similar images of such incident he couldn’t recall. That voice of pain and helplessness. He dropped Lekan and violently dragged Frank away from Temi, barking for the family to scamper. As the family took to their heels, Dele stayed back to help Temi up. She was scared, stiff and puzzled. With fear and sobbing she tried to make out this man’s face. She cringed at the thought that he wanted to get down forcefully on her in their son’s presence.

The mistake Dele ever made during his last days of his life was to unmask his face once more to his lover. If only he left at once probably he would have told you his part of the story he never told anyone, not even Temi.

 Their worlds froze for a split second. Temi fainted.

She was awakened later by the police to find out her husband sustained injuries and Junior was alright. 

‘Thank God’ she thought. It could have been worse. Now that her head was a bit clear her mind was acting fast on the horrible and yet disappointing event. She recognized that familiar face. She wept and was sobbing loudly in her wrapper.

‘mommy don’t cry, we will be fine’ Junior tugged at his mother

If only he could understand why she wept he wouldn’t need consoling her. She wept for the past, the present and for the future but most especially for Dele.

                                        ………………………………..

Back at their place alone in the room, Dele laid on his back shirtless and sweating crossed feet, smoking quietly in the gloomy darkness, squinting his eyes into the distant past. 

TO BE CONTINUED…