BANE

PROLOGUE

Dedicated to Angela Umoru, for being there .

WINSBERG
January 10th, 2006

He felt as if his heart would burst from happiness, he had waited for so long ,he still found it hard to believe that he is marrying the girl of his dreams. She was his everything .

He stopped for a little chitchat with some of the guest as he made his way out of the hall. He didn't want to leave his beautiful bride, but his best and childhood friend asked him meet him at the back of the building. He thought it was a queer place to meet,but then, he wasn't surprised because he knew his friend had a twisted sense of reasoning sometimes. He concluded that perhaps,he had some kind of surprise planned for him,he smiled at the thought.

The reception after the wedding turned out to be a great idea after all, if not for his friend ,he would have taken his bride off to their honeymoon immediately after the wedding . But his friend insisted and in all honesty he didn't regret it. But he couldn't wait to be alone with her, he would love to see her face when she finds out about his surprise, she had always wanted to see the Kilimanjaro in Tanzania ,and he was going to make her dream come true.

When he reached the place,he was perplexed to see that his friend was not there. He waited for some minutes,getting impatient as the time went by, till he saw a twig that caught his attention on the ground; as he bent down to pick it,he heard the rustling of dried leaves. Thinking it was his friend ,he started talking without turning to see who it was.

"What kept you so long,had the woman with the drinks arrived ?just so you know if you had arrived a minute later,I would have gone." He said cheerfully. Hearing no reply, he turned slowly with a grin on his face but was taken aback by the sight.

"Sofia---- " he stammered what are you doing here?aren't you supposed to be with the bride?"

She rolled her eyes. "Will you just not talk about her for minute, aargghh, it's annoying." She moved closer to him,smiling seductively." You know how I hate her, she always gets what I want ."

" Look, I won't listen to this rubbish,I won't let you or anyone ruin this day for me." He spat angrily

" As I was saying, one shouldn't be too lucky at the expense of others." She continued,ignoring him completely.

"For God's sake she is your best friend. You disgusts me." Her smile faltered at his words.

" what does she have that I don't ?what more could she give you that I can't?"

" everything ." was his cold reply. He turned to leave the place, his eyes ablaze with anger and hatred. He hated her abrasiveness and dark words ,that hung in the air like a dark omen.

" Wait,please ." there was a change in her tone ." I am sorry , I know I am a horrible human being . she had been nothing but a good friend to me, its just I liked you so much and I can't bear the thought that you don't like me back." He wondered what happened to her in a few seconds. He was also surprised because Sofia never apologize. In all honesty, he doesn't really care, he just wanted to get away from her. So he simply nodded his head and turned to leave again.

" Wait." He didn't know what she wanted again but she was irritating him. He had wasted enough time there already , he knew his bride would have started looking for him.

" I know I don't deserve this but I need you to do something for me. I am leaving and I want you to give her a letter I wrote." She started crying . to say he was shocked is an understatement. But he was feeling uncomfortable at the way she was standing close,too close .

" where is it?" He asked impatiently, not sure how to comfort her or if he should. He doesn't trust her,maybe she was trying to change but it was too sudden. Something then occurred to him,why wasn't his friend there?

Before he can fully comprehend what was happening , she threw her hands on his shoulder and he felt her lips on his,trying to kiss him furiously . Before he could push her away, he heard the rustling of leaves again.

The triumphant look on Sofia's face and the grasping sound behind him said it all; he knew who was there without even turning. He should have known, it was all one of Sofia's various schemes to ruin his happiness .

He followed her, the love of his life as she ran with tears flowing down her cheeks. He understood then that it was a trap, and the worst part was the fact that his best friend was involved . Sofia was too far from him to have heard his conversation on the phone and his bride had no business going back there.

He called out to her to listen to his explanation , but she kept running to the streets . it was then he saw the woman bringing the drinks, driving toward her in great speed trying to make it in time.

He shouted her name, trying to warn her but she was too upset to hear him or see the van. The next thing he heard was the screeching of tires and a loud scream, then there was blood all over the street.