A tale of Nyanya: Lovers Torn Apart

The alarm on his smartphone went off, "ring ring ring". Joel was instantly jolted back to reality from his slumber. He picked up the phone to check what time it was "Hmm, 5 am already", he muttered to himself. "Wow, Monday already", he thought as he sat up on the king-sized bed. He let out a yawn before turning to view the figure lying next to him on the bed in a short, silk night gown. It was his wife, Rita. Rita lay next to him motionless, He thought to himself "this woman sef, the alarm didn't wake her up? Abi, she is just forming?", he pondered. He stared at her motionless figure, top then to bottom, his eyes met with her behind. "Ah" he reminisced..."that ass though" he thought as he ogled...Her voluptuous backside was starring him in the face. He let out a knowing grin. Oh, How he loved that booty. Unfortunately, there wasn't going to be any naughty play in the sack this morning. He and Rita had been in an argument the night before and she'd turned her back to him ever since. No kiss goodnight, No late night laughter nor smiles before bed, Not even the usual cuddles. Nothing but this cold shoulder he was being given. Maybe she would let him tap that ass when he gets home with the bunch of flowers and chocolates he was planning to buy her on his way home from work in the evening. Either that or suya from that Mai-Suya she loves so much. That would do the trick. As his thoughts lingered, his grin and the bulge in his boxers grew in size. He stood up from the bed, and went to prepare for work.
Joel David was a staff of one of the most popular banks in the whole of West Africa. He had worked hard over the years to bring himself this far in life. His upbringing hadn't been the smoothest and he knew it. His mother had lost her husband to the Nigerian civil war and was saddled with the responsibility of raising their six (6) children on her own with the meagre income she got from selling groceries in the local market. She had done this effectively, as all her children had grown up to be intelligent professionals in their respective career paths. Joel was the last of the bunch. He had completed his youth service in the northern state of Borno and secured a job in the politically and economically centred city of Abuja. With the new employment status, it became clear that his life was only headed in one direction....UP! Soon enough, he decided to settle down with his sweetheart, Rita, who he had been dating since his years in the university. The ceremony was grand. No expense was spared. Their wedding was the talk of the town. Friends and family sang and cheered as they escorted the newly weds to their home. Joel had purchased an apartment in a modest and not so expensive suburb of Abuja, Nyanya. 

Now Joel was a compassionate man. Strong willed and resourceful. He always had his head in the game and dedicated every ounce of his strength to accomplishing his goals. His loyalty and faithfulness were his strongest points. Points that his friends and colleagues at the office loved about him. His wife Rita loved this in his too. That was one of the reasons they got married. She had found a man who she could trust with her life. A man who would help her become the woman she wanted to be. Someone that would stay with her through trying times and was always ready to forgive her somewhat testy attitude. Rita was the loveliest of women, her smile could disarm any insurgents. She had a rare combination of beauty and smarts that were only comparable to being the first lady of the United States and a Miss World beauty pageant queen at the same time. She was kind, playful, resourceful, clean and hard-working. She had only one problem, her anger. Swift as a bullet and sharp as a spear. Only one man had been able to put up with that in all the years and she was married to him.

Their quarrels were not rare. In fact, it was as frequent as the sunshine in a state in the northern part of Nigeria. It could also get heated with both parties raising their voices and not backing down from stating their own point of view on the issue of discourse. However, the beauty of their relationship was in their friendship. They were true friends. Squabbles never lasted as both parties were always more that eager to bury the hatchet and move on as quickly as possible. This wasn't the case on the fateful Monday morning. A statement made by Joel was misinterpreted by Rita which gave rise to an argument just before bed time. Sadly, it had gone unresolved the night before and had followed the young couple into the morning. Both parties still not talking to each over about the incident. 

Joel looked at his time again, it was 6:15 am. He had about 30 minutes to make it to the El Rufai Park where he would take a cab to work in central area of Abuja. "Riri, am leaving oh". He yelled from the sitting room. No answer. "Riri", he yelled again. His call for his wife was met with silence. This vexed him slightly as he yelled again "RITA". "WHAT?", Rita screamed at the top of her lungs from the bedroom. Joel stormed in, tipsy on rage. "What's wrong with you?" He snorted " Didn't you hear me calling you?". "No" was her sarcastic reply. "Mschwww" Joel hissed. He knew her game already and wasn't prepared to play it. He quietly said "I'm leaving". "Ok", she replied. "Is that all?" Joel asked hoping she would understand he wanted a truce. "What else to you want from me? Eh? Joel?" she replied obviously still mad at him. His mood slumped as he made his way to the door. "Nothing, Bye". The door slammed shut behind him. Rita began to cry she knew she didn't have to be so hard on him but she couldn't help it. She would make it up to him when he got back from work. "I'll prepare a nice dish and serve it on this my ass that he likes so much, lets hope he doesn't bite me." she snickered, "better still, maybe he should." Her thoughts pleased her as she giggled and wiped her tears. She couldn't wait to see "her" Joel later.

At El Rufai park, it was business as usual. Busy and relentless. Like it had a soul of its own. Welcoming everyone to its space with arms open. Joel was its newest arrival, he had arrived there at 6:50 am. He had jumped a few keke's as his personal cab guy had failed him at the last minute. He knew his way around the park. After all, a great many cabs were jumped from this exact location during his quest from a job. He owed his street credibility to the park and felt a bit nostalic standing there. "what a day to be without my car" he whispered to himself as he saw passengers squeezing four in the back seat and two in the passenger seat in front of a well worn green cab. "I am definitely not doing that, even if na to pay for the two yansh in front". Armed with this transportation strategy, he began to make way to a green cab to negotiate with its driver. He couldn't help thinking about Rita. "How can I Make her happy? What does she really want? Is she tired? Why are we always having misunderstandings? what time will that mai suya come out sef? I will close on time today definitely". With all these thoughts running through his head he could not have possibly been prepared for what came next. His eyes were stunned by flash of light. it was blinding. "how could there be such a bright light here of all ......" his train of thoughts ceased. There was a loud blast. More like an explosion of gigantic proportions. Louder than anything he had ever heard. Joel ear drums popped as a result of the noise. He could feel immense amounts of pain all over his body. First as though millions of nails were being stuck into him at a million kilometres per hour. The pain, was unbearable. Nothing Like he'd ever felt. it was like He was being ripped apart by an unimaginably powerful force. And then ..... darkness. In an instant, Joel was dead.

"I fit die ontop your matter ehh, baby oh", Rita's phone was ringing while she was curled up on the couch channel surfing. She recognised the ring tone. After all, she was the one who assigned the ringtone to her husbands number. She had heard a loud BANG earlier and was confused as to what could have made such a sound. "He probably wants to know if I am Ok" she thought. "Hello baby", her voice rang out in excitement as she did not expect to hear from him until much later. "Hello Madam, Are you the wife of Joel David?" questioned the unfamiliar voice on the other end of the line. She was frightened, who had called her with her husbands number. She replied her voice now frail with fear "Yes, I am Mrs David. How can I help you? What are you doing with David's phone?" "Ah" came a saddened response "Madam, there has been a bomb blast at the Al Rufai park in Nyanya. I regret to inform you that your husband is among the dead". Rita's jaw dropped open. She could not believe it.

Disclaimer: The names in this text refer to no-one in particular. They are purely fictitious and should not be attributed to anyone. If anyone has a problem with it (especially after reading the disclaimer), then Am sorry but #GFU O___o.