She plans to kill me

Incipience of my plights

“Where else would I be if not home?" Danny said and forced a chuckle as he pressed the phone to his ear absentmindedly.

Someone laughed from the other end.

" You are crazy Ibrahim." Danny said and chuckled. " Gerrat of hia! How is Salamatu?"

" I will knock your head. My wife is Salamat."

" Salamatu?"

" You are lucky I am not close by." Ibrahim said and laughed.

" How are you doing buddy ?"

" It's all cool but work . Salamat has been reproaching me that we have not come to visit you guys. Things are just tight. Sometimes I come back after Isha, and I will be fagged-out and crash. I mean crash and when I crash, I skip duty."

" This boy! Which one be duty ?"

" You just got employed yourself nah. Welcome to the club. Be diligent, and be sure to gain enough reward. What a wonderful way of acquiring rewards."

" Ibrahim go and sleep. You are corrupting me."

" Am I the imam that that knot the tie?"

" Go and sleep or crash as you put it."

" Dude, it's just after eight. I will not crash today fa. I gallant die! Denny has not even called me for a while, dan banzanyaro(naughty boy) . I saw him and his wife the other day at the polo field. That guy and polo! They say he carries her about everywhere he goes."

" Gossip! She is his wife and who does not want to be tripping with his wife?" That sentence pierced through his heart with a painful sensation. He loved that too. Hanging with his wife, going to eateries, resorts, amusement parks, and just anywhere lovely.

" Okay, dude. I know you are eager for me to drop the call but just know that it is too early. And Ramadan is approaching. No afternoon ....."

" Goodbye Ibrahim."

Ibrahim laughed before the call was ended.

Danny heaved a sigh, aware that the side of his head ached and his chest felt so heavy like his air tracks were blocked and loaded with heavy metals.

He took a sip of water. Ibrahim thought he was at home. Naturally, a married man ought to be at home after work, and being newly married made that more pertinent. But he was not as usual. He closed from work before five o'clock, then he would go to Stadium and watch football or polo, then move to Peekay Garden.

It was a big serene garden bedecked with flowers, trees, set in a very romantic setting. They had restaurants and snack bars. He would pray Maghrib, have dinner in the restaurant then sit down with a bottle of soft drink or water until he prayed Isha, spend another one hour ,sitting or going through his phone, then go home.

This was his normal routine, his secret that he could not share with the closest person to him: Denny.

He sat there alone as usual, going through his phone when he heard a conversation between a man and a lady. They were both young and she seemed to be pregnant. They were having meat-pie and soft drinks and Ladies motorcycle called Wayo- God- Kudina or Roba-roba was parked close to them. They must have just stopped-by to have snacks.

" Guess what?" she said.

" What?"

" I can take three more of this pie,. Damn! It's delicious."

The man seemed to grimace, a kind of pain going through him.

" Have mine, I can't even finish it.'

She laughed.

" Boy....'

" Who is your boy?" he retorted playfully.

" You are still a boy, my dear."

" And see what a boy did to you," his eyes peeked at her protruding tommy.

She chuckled and hit his chest lightly.

" I will deal with you, I am only giving you a chance because you were given to me as amana,and I promised to take care of you, not to let you feel homesick or miss mama, or her delicious cuisines."

" I swear you have been doing that. I don't know what to do with you, Sahiba. Why are you too sweet?"

" I was fed with honey when I was little."

They chuckled.

" Now have the pie." He pleaded.

" Don't tell me you can't finish it. You have not eating since morning."

" Did we not eat at Kabeer's house?"

" I saw what you did. You were very slow and made me eat most of it because I have become so voracious, a gargantuan glutton."

" Please eat."

" WGodi, I will not and stop that face. I know insha God everything will be alright." She sounded pacifying now, a note of care in her voice. It seemed they were oblivious of Danny's presence and the place was only illuminated with dim lights as bright lights would not suit the purpose.

" The situation is getting worse. I have a pregnant wife I can't feed properly. You are in your second semester and I haven't bought a pin."

She burst into laughter.

" A'an. It is not two hundred level not second semester. It is trimester yaro."

" Na bugo(I goofed) !" he laughed.

"Now, let us get serious. I don't like it when you get yourself perturbed over our plight of affairs. You were relatively okay when we got married. At least we could feed with no fuse. I knew you were not rich when I married you, but I knew I loved you and my happiness lied with you.

I am happy with you and you always wake up for tahajjud, kiyamul laili and I know God will see us out of this insha God. There are lot's of rich people hoping their wives should be in first semester...."

" ke ko!"

They both laughed.

" But they can't have that. All I will say is Alhamdulillah."

She touched his face, kissed his forehead, then held his hands, " now smile for me, that smile you used to trick me out of my home."

He smiled.

" That is my boy."

" You are a dream, Sahiba. I find it hard to believe you are real because you are too good to be real. A man who finds a wife like you has found a goldmine, and I will guard this for the rest of my life."

" I am lucky to have you."

" Shut up, the luck is mine."

" Now eat your pie."

" You know ,I can't. Please share it with me,please."

" No."

" Then let me get one for you."

" Kai. Five hundred Bollars. You know I will go for check -up on Tuesday and we may not have money."

" Assalamu alai'kum." Danny's voice interrupted them.

" Ameen wa alaikum salam." The man replied.

" I am sorry for interrupting you and more sorry for ....eavesdropping. It is very wrong but I could not help but listen. I was sitting over there."

" It's okay." The man said wondering who Danny was.

" Please permit me to tell your wife something right here."

The man seemed to be astonished .

" Go on." He said. After all he was there.

" May God reward you with Al-jannah firdaus. If you go on like this, and never change, and fear God, insha God you will make it."

" Ameen." The couples said in unison.

" And my friend," he said to the man, " I know you value your wife and appreciate her. But I swear you don't know the magnitude of the gift God has given to you. Both of you are among the luckiest people on earth. You joke in midst of pain, you are both willing to sacrifice for each other, and she was right when she said some rich people don't have what you have. Happiness does not lie in riches alone.

I don't usually go about with money, but it seems your prayer has been answered cause I have something little on me to get you more meat-pie. Are you working?"

" I was working but the recession made the firm let go many workers and I was unfortunate to be among those sacked."

" I will put a call to someone. Have you heard of Al-hisan Textile industries?"

" Who does not know such a company in Kaduna?"

"Good, there is something I can put up for you. It's not much though but it is consistent and that is important. You will supply them diesel every month and that means all the branches around the nation .Don't bother about logistics. Like I said ,it's not much because the profit is about just five hundred monthly..."

" Five hundred what?"

" Not million, bro but thousands."

The man felt a bang in his heart, absentmindedly squeezing the meat-pie he was holding.

" And you say, it is not much ?I was earning seventy thousand before. Okay, how much do I need to start?"

" Do not bother about that. This is just a means to help you and the best help is by making someone earn . We will fix that. They pay upfront and logistics is taken cared of. All you need to do is go to the headquarters tomorrow and ask for the GM. He will be expecting you."

" Ya Rahman! Five a month, We will be out of rented house!"

" How can you build a house with such a meagre earning?"

The man chuckled.

" Yallabai kenen. The first month, I will buy a full plot of land."

Danny giggled.

"A plot of land is about twenty million Bollars."

"That is for you, yallabai. I will go to Tudun illu, or Tsaunin kura and buy a full plot of land for three hundred thousand Bollars. Six months later I would be a landlord."

" Insha God." Said the wife happily.

Danny marvelled. They were so happy and found joy in living in a house which to his standard was not worthy of living in. Yet, he had a mansion, worth millions of Bollars but he had no happiness there. He preferred to hang here, hoping it got late so he could go home and sleep, praying for morning to come so he could leave.

" His name is Bashir Turunku. What is your name?"

" I am Sani Hamza, my wife is....."

" Don't bother to tell me your wife's name. I will give him a call when I leave here. The former supplier messed up and I was about sending someone there but thank God, I did not make any promise to the person I intended to send ,besides, he has other sources of income."

" God ya saka da al-khairi(May God reward you) . I don't know how to start thanking you." The wife was also thanking him.

" Take these numbers." Danny gave him two phone numbers.

" The first one is for Bashir. The second is for Mustapha."

" Mustapha?"

" You will call him. I will tell him to expect you. I have two blocks of two bedroom flats at Kinkino. I bought it from a friend and have not decided on what to do with it. I give one to you free and the second, I will rent it out."

The man and his wife were now shocked and speechless. They just gaped at him, somewhat beginning to disbelieve him. Was it a hoax? A hocus-pocus or just a case of fraud or what. How could all these be real?

" I promised you something to buy meat-pie, you can have this." He gave him one hundred thousand Bollars then another wad of money. It was dollars and when the man counted it, it was fifty thousand.

" I think

God just answered your prayers because I usually don't go about with cash. My cashier has closed when this money came in. Have a nice day." And he turned to leave.

"Please wait." There was a sharp note in the man's voice. " Mutum ko aljan ( Man or spirit?)"

" Ai da al-jan da dan adam duk na God ne ai ( both man and spirit belongs to God)" Replied the wife and Danny laughed. She was not ready to let go this gift.

" Please who are you?" the man asked.

" Do not bother about my identity. The people I am asking you to meet will not divulge that. I am just someone who sees a happy couple, and see them happy even when they have nothing. I see a wife who loves her husband and consoles him when he feels bad about not being able to provide. If you can be happy, and be in love at such condition, then how happy will you be now that you have a steady business, a house, and money to buy her things, eat whatever she wants?

I am a man who wants to see couples happy, in love and if there is any little way I can help, I will do it because money can't buy that. I pray God should keep you together, in love and bliss forever and make her your wife both in this life and in the next. Good night."

He turned and walked away. He knew the dim light would not let them see his face clearly but the man did not miss the pain in his eyes as he spoke. He must be a very rich man, the rich man looking for happiness, the rich man who had a mansion but chose to stay in the garden alone. He was not with any mistress.

Danny got into his Car, then saw them embracing each other in celebration, bliss in the air around them and they walked to the snack bar. Only God knew how much worth of meat-pie they were going to buy.

There was joy in making people happy. He started the car engine, then saw them come out a big bag containing only-God-knows-what. The held each other , talking and laughing, and Danny saw his dream life, a life that seemed elusive. Thank God there were people who were happy. He felt a stream of tears flow down his cheeks as he moved the car.

He was going home. If he could call it a home or....a place where he slept.

He was unaware of a tall thin man who had been watching him. The man picked his phone and began to make a call.