SHADOW OF THE PAST

06 Shocking Reaction

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Femi had come back from his room to the living room to sit and watch the Television.

As he sat watching his favorite TV station, he felt something strange within him. He felt an urge inside him to go check up on his wife, whom he had met earlier at the entrance to her room, challenging him of who he was talking to over the phone.

He got to her room door feeling reluctant to open the door. He paused and turned back to where he was coming from.

He took a few steps away from his wife's door and stopped. He twisted his neck to a side thinking deeply on why Tomisin would be in her room without making a fuss when he knew he was around. He retraced his steps and went back to check up on her. He met the room empty on getting the door opened after several knocks.

He scanned the whole room and knew his wife could not leave the house with her room being untidy. Something within him pushed him to start looking for his wife.

He went back running down the stairs to the kitchen, he met their housemaid cleaning the dishes.

"Where is my wife?" he asked hastily.

"I haven't set my eyes on madam this morning." the housemaid replied with a worried look. She could see the uneasiness within Femi, and sweat has also gathered on his forehead. The housemaid was wondering why he was so worried about his wife because she was aware of the ongoing issue between the couple for years. She knew they were not on good terms. "how come Oga (boss) is asking for madam?" she asked herself thoughtfully after Femi left the kitchen in haste.

Femi began screaming his wife's pet name...

"Sweetheart... Sweetheart..." he paused at the living room, wondering and thinking of where she could be. It's been a very long time he addressed Tomisin as 'Sweetheart'.

He ran outside to ask the gatekeeper if his wife was out of the house without taking her car.

"I never see madam this morning (I haven't set my eyes on madam this morning.)" the gatekeeper replied. He suddenly had a strange feeling that something is wrong with his wife.

He paused at the terrace of the building and thought of where she could be, but no idea was coming forth. So, he started checking all the right rooms of the building one after the other. When he was about to check the last room that was very close to the store, he saw the door to the store open halfway. He took a few steps closer because he didn't expect his wife to be there. By the time he took the third step, he couldn't believe what he saw.

Tomisin was lying on the floor with something like a foamy white substance coming out of her mouth. She looked weak and also looked like someone who is about to give up any moment.

His eyes caught the bottle of the Gamalin 20 lying on the floor next to her. The odor of the pesticide filled the store, and Femi was perplexed.

"Honey..." he screamed as he crouched to his feet and lifted her. He ran out of the house with Tomisin's lifeless body in his arms.

"Hey, madam...Jesus...have mercy o." the housemaid said and rushed to the gatekeeper's quarters to instruct him to get the gate opened.

"Honey why? Jesus..." he said with tears flowing freely from his eyes as he shoved her into the back seat of his car. He rushed to the driver's seat and started the engine after receiving the car key from their housemaid who had rushed in to get it in haste.

"Honey, you promised to be with me till the end...when we made the vow on the altar...Nifemi left us, you can't leave me alone as well..." he said in tears and a shaky voice as he drove out of the house shivering.