‘Can’t get enough, Anthonia!’

Two promising lovers, Bode and Anthonia, were busy enjoying themselves at the beautiful Lekki Beach on a Saturday afternoon, but unknown to the lovebirds, danger lurked around the corner. The duo were still smooching and cooing sweet nothings into each other’s ears, unaware of the treacherous and dangerous moves of Alani, a.k.a Dimka, and his gang of thugs who had been spying on them for the past 30 minutes, waiting for the right time to strike. Still unmindful of the approaching danger, the lovers continued their tete-a-tete, giggling and laughing.

“Ever since you walked into my life,” Bode said, “it has been nothing but true love. Anthonia, I’m on fire with passion!”
“Oh! Bode,” she said softly, “nothing compares to your ever-flourishing love, that would always take me to the highest plane when I’m at my lowest ebb.”
“I just got to say this, Anthonia,” Bode continued, “you’re the one that fills me with deep, undiluted feelings of joy, desire and love. Your charm is something beyond physical comprehension, it’s celestial and heavenly, I must confess! I’ll love you always. Your presence in the morning, afternoon or evening makes my day beautiful!.”
Just as Bode was about to plant a fervent kiss on her lips of Anthonia, he got a violent slap on his right cheek. He was dazed.

“What!” he screamed, “who the hell are you?” he uttered with bloodshot eyes and staggered up, fidgeting and sweating.
“Ha, ha, ha!” Alani laughed grotesquely and said, “Perhaps you don’t know me, but I know you very, very well. You’re my rival. You’re dating a lady after my heart! And you’ll pay with your life for loving Anthonia, I swear!”

“But…but…there must be a mistake somewhere,” Bode tried to explain. In a jiffy, about 50 hefty thugs descended on Bode and started punching and pounding him here and there with their hard fists.
“No! No!! No!!!” Anthonia screamed, “Don’t beat him again. Please, don’t kill him. I beg you in God’s name, don’t kill him!” She started crying and shedding tears of sorrow. After so much cudgelling and bashing for close to 20 minutes, the hoodlums moved back a little and watched Bode writhe in the pool of his blood. Other picnickers at the beach took to their heels for fear of being attacked by the hoodlums. The fact was that Anthonia could remember the face of Alani, a.k.a Dimka, as one of the young men who always admired her while she was studying Sociology at the University of Lagos. But, she never had the slightest or minutest feeling of love for the young man.

They had never spoken before; she also had heard that he (Alani) belonged to the ‘Red Panther’ secret cult in the university.

Throughout her studies at the university, Anthonia had been careful of the kind of friends she made on campus. She could see the tattoo and emblem of the panther on her right shoulder of Alani. In a split second, she wondered where this horrifying and tragic drama would end. She was afraid of the consequences. How did Alani find out she was at the beach with her sweetheart?

Anthonia had graduated and was looking forward to the successful completion of her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, but she had been dating Bode way back in her undergraduate days. Bode was more than a boyfriend, she was her fiancé. ‘What in heaven’s name would happen if these social miscreants murder my fiancé?’ she asked herself. So many questions, but no answer.