A Peep Into The Nigerian Life

You Never Know Who Is At The Bottom

Diane was excited. Her elder sister, Sophia had accepted a marriage proposal and the wedding was to be in six months time. Her excitement increased when she was told that she was to be the maid of honour and the chairperson of the wedding planning committee. Diane had always adored weddings and the chance to plan one, made her very excited.

Over the next six months, details for the wedding were put in place. The caterer who also doubled as the event planner was contacted. A price was agreed upon and he began working in earnest.

Diane also had to go with her sister to the modiste's. There they would pick up the pre-ordered wedding dress and then head to a makeup place to book an appointment for the wedding.

A week to the wedding, all details had already been put in place and everybody was accounted for. All they had to do was wait for the wedding day.

On the D-day, Diane had to get to the church an hour earlier so as to check for any little detail that needed her attention.

One hour thirty minutes later, everyone was seated in the church and as the bride stepped in, a hush fell over everyone. The bride was beautiful. Everything on her was breathtaking, from her hair to her nails and her shoes. After all the preliminaries, no one objected to the union and the couple was wedded.

Diane had to go to the reception hall earlier than the others the same way she had come to the church early. She got into her car and drove to the hall which was about twenty minutes away. She supervised the decoration and food crew. She also checked the wedding cake. Everything was as perfect as it was going to get.

Guests began arriving and very soon, the hall was packed to the capacity. The Master of Ceremonies came up to the stage and announced the arrival of the bride and groom.

They entered into the hall amidst music and cheers. As they were about to reach their seat, Sophia slumped and fell into the arms of her husband. Pandemonium erupted in the hall as everyone was shocked. The groom, Joshua quickly carried his bride outside and rushed her to the nearest hospital. In the car behind him were Diane and her parents.

At the hospital, Sophia was rushed into the emergency unit and the doctors worked on her. Two hours later, the chief surgeon walked out with a grim expression. One look at her face and you would be able to interpret the news she was coming to deliver. Nevertheless, she still said it anyway. The doctor said that Sophia had died as a result of a deadly type of poison whose antidote was very uncommon. She also said that she and her team had tried their best to counteract the effects of the poison during the surgery but all their efforts were fruitless.

Everyone was devastated. Nobody mourned Sophia more than her husband, Joshua who took an indefinite leave from work. Diane had to stop by his house many times to console him. He was always unkempt and even his house looked untidy. She usually assisted him by performing some house chores for him.

Two months after Sophia's death, Joshua finally regained himself and started taking care of his appearance. He resumed work and put the memory of his dead wife behind him.

Years passed. Joshua had remarried and had two kids. Diane was also engaged to be married. She usually went to visit him and his new family and she and his wife became close friends.

One fateful Tuesday evening, after the close of work, Diane received a call from the police officer who had handled her sister's case, inviting her to the police station. On getting there, she introduced herself and was taken to an interrogation room. She was shocked by the person whose hands were cuffed to the table.

The policeman held out a seat for Diane and she sat down. He started out by asking them to introduce themselves and also introduced himself as Detective Tega. He asked Diane if she recognized the suspect and she answered in the affirmative.

Detective Tega said that he had been at the station when he received a call regarding an old case. Joshua had been out at a bar bragging about how he had finished off a lady who had jilted his brother by engaging her and poisoning her over a period of six months.

With this information, Joshua started to confess. He said that his elder brother had dated Sophia while they were in the university and she had jilted him, leaving him for an older guy with more money to spare. The incident had caused his brother to lose his mind as he saw a future with no woman other than Sophia. His brother later ended up in a mental institution and this had caused him to make up his mind to get revenge against the lady who was the cause of his brother's mental condition.

Joshua had planned his first meeting with Sophia, wooed her, started dating her and proposed to her all the while planning to poison her and end her life. He had started administering the poison on the night of the proposal and extended it over a period of six months so as not to raise suspicions. He concluded by saying that the day Sophia had died was the happiest day of his life as he had finally gotten revenge for his brother. He also said he had no regrets over killing her.

On hearing this, Diane burst into tears and made a move to grapple Joshua on his shirt but was quickly stopped by the policeman.

Joshua was charged to court with a three count charge of murder. He pled guilty and was later sentenced to 30 years imprisonment with hard labour.