Continued from GUARDIAN WEEKEND, November

AS Fola quietly walked home after receiving his sack letter that fateful day, he just couldn’t control the heartrending tears streaming down from his brows. People passing by wondered why an able-bodied man was sobbing and shedding tears on the road like a child who had just received several lashes of the cane. He was trembling and greatly agitated.

When Fola got home that night he showed his ‘loving’ wife his sack letter in tears. The response he got from her was: “That your company is very bad! How can they just sack you like that and not give you good and reasonable gratuity? Try and get yourself another job, any job at all.”

“Is that all you have to say dear, you know I am in a big trouble now? How are we going to cope?” Fola replied, stammering in the process and wiping away the tears with the back of his right hand.

“What else do you want me to say dear?” she retorted, “Just look for another job so as to cope with life. Period.” she concluded.

Things turned from bad to worse for Fola as from that day. At exactly three weeks later, Simi called her relatives and that of her husband’s to beg him on her behalf and explain to him a certain development in her life. She confessed that she had really treated her husband badly and did wrong to him. The fact was that she had recently completed the building of a sophisticated four-storey block of flats in a rich neighbourhood without him knowing about the project! She opened up that she wanted to do the house-warming ceremony when the month ended. When this news came to the hearing of Fola, he opened his mouth in shock and bewilderment! The next moment he collapsed and fainted! He was rushed to the nearby Valley Hospital for resuscitation.

When Fola got home after recovering from the overwhelming shock brought about by the ‘bizarre news’, he rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a shiny kitchen knife. He ran towards his wife and stabbed her at close range in the stomach. Simi collapsed and went down in a pool of her blood. She gave up the ghost instantly before she could be rushed to the hospital, with her right thumb stuck in her mouth. As sympathisers were still wondering what kind of strange development taken place, Fola ran out of the premises with a huge crowd following behind him, trying to apprehend him. He headed for the nearby lagoon very close to their residence. People were still aghast with fear at the ungodly scenario which took place some minutes ago and they tried to grab him not to do the unthinkable but it was fruitless as he jumped from the top of the bridge into the deep river below. It was a most touching and terrible scene. Fola died instantly before he could be rescued from the snares of death.

The matter was reported to the Nigeria Police by sympathisers that same day. Relatives of the couple were invited for questioning and written statements were taken as a follow-up to the gloomy and true tragic drama. However, the solemn and tragic acts had been done and the damage was colossal. Two close relatives of the dead couple were appointed to take care of the hapless children the couple left behind. They were instructed to feed, school and clothe the children with the rents accrued from the completed building of their late mother till adulthood. In marriages as well as in life generally, a good dose of true love, honesty and integrity are needed. That was the end of the tragic story of the Soniyans.
Concluded.
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