Appeasing The Gods

Dayo doubted she would ever stop needing the elderly woman. Grat.i.tude lled her heart and made her lips tremble, her eyes stung as fond memories swished her mind, she shook her head, not wanting to give in to her emotions. Why did everything make her so sentimental? Excitement and anxiety cooked in her stomach; if she didn"t take care she might need to use the restroom.

"f.u.c.k!" she emphasized once more, spreading her fancy fan and battering the sparkling object endlessly, she touched her silky hair and was satis ed all was in place. She had a lot on her mind. Was her dress perfect? Will he gasp at the mere sight of her? What if something goes wrong? Her mother squeezed Dayo"s hand, rea.s.suring the stunning lady that everything would go as planned.

They did almost everything together, so much to catch up on and yet it felt as though there wasn"t time on their side, now she was home after so long and used every moment to catch up with her family.

"I have told you Dayo not to curse in the white man"s tongue—that is not how a proper lady should talk. Besides you will be getting married today, therefore you have to be watchful of the things you say" she stared sternly at her daughter, but Dayo"s mind was elsewhere. She was so distracted, her mother"s warnings pa.s.sed unregistered.

"I will miss you my daughter" her lips tightened in constraint.

"I will miss you too mum", her voice quaked. She had been in Canada most of her adult life and she came home just to fall in love with the man of her dreams. Of course it wasn"t that easy. She had kissed a few "frogs" before her prince charming came along, but luck was indeed on her side, not many nd true love.

"Everything will be ne!" she a.s.serted. The veil on her face, bathed her with an angelic allure; delicate and soft. She was wearing a pair of long scarlet lashes, sparkly eye shadows that complimented her hazel eyes and those lips were a shade of Tom Ford Cherry lush. She softly battered her lashes, a practice of the irting she would throw at her husband to be. Today was the most important day of her life, she sighed as her heart beat tripled.

She couldn"t wait to see him. His tall frame, squared shoulders and ruggedly handsome features. Everything had to be perfect but something was amiss—she felt it within her bones. Dayo couldn"t help but feel dread spread through the depth of her belly. Quickly her ngers touched her lips, teeth ready to bite those pretty manicured nails; but it took the timely interception of her mother"s stare, for old habits to stay dead!

"Dayo ki lo n ro?" her mother asked what could have caused her anxiety.

"Mummy, eru nba mi", she inhaled sharply; her Yoruba slightly out of intonation. "Something doesn"t feel right", she sighed and had started to sweat, even with the air conditioner swiftly caressing her skin. She didn"t want to inform her mother of the dream she had the previous night; the horri c images still lingered in her mind. He had appeared in her dreams again.

Bolagade was her ex-boyfriend; her perfect image of adventure. Things were smooth at rst then had turned sour at an accelerated rate. He suddenly became possessive, unreasonably demanding and intentionally coy with his feelings. His quick temper did not seem like a big deal at rst but with time, she saw the aring signs and had to ee. He stalked her for a while and wouldn"t let her out of his sight. Being the true daughter of Mrs. Adeshina, she broke things o with the mad man. It wasn"t easy but with enough persistence and help from her parents, she was able to put the horrible experience behind her. Although she hadn"t heard from him in a long time but she felt he was still lingering in the dark corners of her mind, waiting to surface. Dayo"s instinct warned her of a crawling peril that gnawed for an opportunity to erupt; an appalling feeling she couldn"t ignore.

As if reading her daughter"s mind, Mrs. Adeshina gently patted her daughter"s thigh and whispered in her ears, "He"s gone."

"But I had a dr…"

"I a.s.sure you the police did their best; he wouldn"t bother you again. Don"t let that demon spoil your day. You are going to get married and nothing in the world can stop that". With rekindled con dence, Dayo hugged her mother.

"Thank you mummy"

"For what?"

"For being the best, even when father wasn"t around. You tried your best to…." She paused, biting her lips again; as if that would prevent the churning sobs in her chest from bursting out. A tear betrayed her and slid down her cheek, she looked up in shock, what was she doing? Her make-up was ruined, d.a.m.n it! She shook her head as she tried to restrain those hot liquid from pouring again.

"When you see your father, I don"t want you to give him an att.i.tude. I don"t want people to talk"

"How can you say that mum, after all he has done? I was ne with Korede walking me down the aisle"

"I know you love your brother but people will talk; he is your father and it is his duty to walk you down the aisle. A father is di erent from a brother"

"He was never there for me, now he wants to be my father!" she frowned. She hated having this conversation, tension swelled on her shoulders. Oh, thunder re that man! She was to smile and pretend he was the best father; how cruel society was.

"Shhhhhhhh…. I have spent most of my life angry but I can"t do that anymore, I have to move on and so do you" she wore a sad smile.

Back at the church, the congregation waited patiently for the bride, murmurs began to stew and Henry was terri ed Dayo might be a runaway bride. Why wasn"t she here? Did she change her mind? After her experience with that lunatic he tried treading cautiously and earned every bit of her trust. Did she just….no! No! He refused to believe that. She was the love of his life and there was nothing he wouldn"t do for her. If she ran from him, he would search through the luxury and rubbish that came with the world and convince her to stay.

The loud swing of the door made him jump, everyone turned in antic.i.p.ation including the groom, all waiting to catch a glimpse of the bride, his heart soared with hope and he held his breath brie y, eyes wide with questions. His antic.i.p.ation was replaced by horror. Three muscular men were fully armed and stood at the entrance; two average in height and the other tall. They paused as their eyes did a quick sweep of the environment, before ring at the people seated. They approached, still shooting at the frantic crowd. Walking gallantly on the soft rug like villains do, when making an entrance in a movie. Screams and gun powder lled the air. Splinters of furniture ew rapidly and the piercing sound of shattering gla.s.s was deafening.

Fear so acidic he could taste every bitter and scorching tang of it. Their faces were covered with black masks, blood spilled and the bright colour tarnished the holy ground, blending in with the red rug. Henry"s mother tried to run to safety and he knew it was a matter of time before the spinning bullets will aim for her, quickly he grabbed the fragile woman and covered her with his strong body, bullets rippled through him and he fell with her in his arms.

She held her son"s face as she screamed, and pled he stay awake. Sounds seeped into a mute corner in his mind, and the only image he saw was his soon-to-be bride. He wouldn"t see her again. Was that how unfortunate he was? He tried to speak but couldn"t stay focused enough. Darkness battled for control and won.

Henry jolted awake, he had di culty breathing at rst but soon his lungs expanded. The smell of antiseptic lled him with panic and the unrelenting pain drove him to insanity. There were armed men at his side, guns visible. It took brief seconds to determine if they were allies or foes. With their military uniforms, he sighed in relief. Swiftly his mother ran to his side, caressing his face; her features swollen and cringed with exhaustion.

"Where is she?" his voice raw with agony. His mother looked away, avoiding her son"s question.

"We don"t know yet, we have been looking for her", she explained quickly "I am so happy you are alive, I don"t know what I would do if I had lost you".

"I don"t understand" he tried to sit up but paused with caution. "How long have I been unconscious?" The armed men gave their full military compliments, even as they watched their commander in pain. With enough endurance he sat upright; fear brewed his inside to pulp but he tried putting a brave face in front of his soldiers.

"Two days sir."

"Two days?" his eye b.a.l.l.s widened in alarm.

"We are doing all we can to nd her sir, and we are sure with time we would locate her", one of his soldiers spoke with such con dence, if he didn"t know any better, he would have been fooled but he was steps ahead. He had trained them to speak that way, so he knew of the little tricks and façade displayed to mask away doubts.

Who would want to do this? Enemies and foes triggered endless suspicion but none held a.s.surance except…

Nooooooo! He was going to kill that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!

Dayo stared at the menacing man who paced the uncompleted building. The afternoon air was blistering and the heat that leached from the aluminium roof seared their bodies. She sat on the bare ground and threw glances at her unconscious mother; blood trickling down her face. Dayo hated what he did to her, if she had her way, she would beat him to death. How could he hit her? Her mother was only trying to protect her; she didn"t deserve such treatment from him. He will pay for what he"d done, that was certain. She just didn"t know how to go about it. She prayed to G.o.d for a miracle.

She didn"t know how long he intended on keeping her or what his plans were. He stared at her wedding gown in disgust, then back at the crooked window that viewed into nothing other than the tall greeneries. The hot air brought in the strong scent of the forest, arresting her sense of smell.

"You have to let me go!"

"Never, I let you go once but I will never make that mistake again" the gun in his hand twitched, ready for action. Obviously he was waiting for someone or something. She had to be patient and gentle with him or she couldn"t guarantee walking out of this h.e.l.l alive. She will try and sweet talk him, yes she will do that! And just maybe he would let her mother go.

"Just take her to the hospital, she needs medical a.s.sistance" she spoke, her perfectly outlined features were ruined by smudges of dirt and her hair tangled with leaves.

"I don"t care about her!" he yelled, startling her "she tried to separate us, the love we have for each another. She did this to us, I should even kill her right now" he pointed the gun at her mother.

"Bolagade!" Dayo screamed as she hurried to her mother"s side; she stood between the weapon and her mother. Warm liquid spread down her thighs and for the rst time she was thankful the ruined gown hid her deed. She sobbed as she looked up at him, her eyes pleading for mercy.

"Step aside and let me nish this. I am doing this for us. I know she forced you to marry that man, that…" he bit his lips in frustration, his b.l.o.o.d.y eyes blinked several times and a lm of sweat covered him. Bolagade tapped his forehead furiously; she had no idea how to calm him. How could she be so stupid to have thought she loved this mad man? He had changed, not as pleasant looking as he used to be.

"If you love me you wouldn"t kill the person I love most in the world" she responded, wriggling her wrist in the wire that restricted her. "I beg you with everything I have, please I will do anything; just don"t kill her."
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"You might think I am wicked but trust me, the only way we can be together is for her to die. We must get rid of her", he said with so much determination, it scared the goodness out of her.

"If you kill her then you will have to kill me too", she sni ed and he could tell from the re that danced in her eyes, she meant every word. d.a.m.n it! Dayo wasn"t going to make this easy for him. He ran his ngers through his thick curls, and with rage he red three bullets in the wall. Dayo jerked and thought she might die from shock.

"Why do you have to be so di cult?" he said through his clenched teeth "for once can"t you just let me prove my love to you?" he yelled, but immediately calmed his frayed nerves, as he saw her burst into heavy sobs. He went down on one knee and caressed her face, but quickly she jerked away as if his hand burned her.

Revenge turned her blood to lava, the feel of his rough hands on her skin invoked an urge to rip his eyes from its sockets. She had to escape and had to do it now! Should she hit him on the head with a stone? No! She shook her head. The fault in her strategy was evident, how could she carry her mother, when the opportunity of an escape presented itself? They had a narrow window to ee and Dayo doubted her capabilities to keep them both safe. The frown on his face doused her anger, she knew it was best not to provoke him. She let him touch her, even when every cell in her body repulsed against his touch.

"I love you so much, why can"t you see that" he said, voice gentle.

"I…I…I" she couldn"t tell the b.a.s.t.a.r.d a lie

"You what? Go on you can tell me anything", he encouraged her by smiling widely, which scared the Jesus out of her soul.

"I love him!" she nally declared. His countenance turned rigid and his eyes concocted an emotion she"d never seen before. He hit her across the face and she yelped in response, "he"s going to nd me and trust me when he does, you are a dead man", she tasted the salt in her blood and spat it out weakly.

"I know you don"t mean that, now look at what you made me do" he paced the room like a caged animal. "I will nd that man that has bewitched you and kill him with my bare hands".

"Please don"t do this, please if you love me then let me go" she cried.

"That is what stupid people say to make themselves feel better and I know you are not stupid. How can I let something I love go, does that make sense to you? Now who is the crazy one?" he hu ed, and went behind her inhaling the scent of her skin. His hand touched her throat and he moaned as he felt her pulse throb. "I cannot love anyone other than you; believe me I have tried but you just drove me insane", he said and for the rst time she believed him, maybe she really did drive him insane.

"What do you want from me?"

"You!" he whispered in her ears "my men would be back soon and we would set out to look for that demonic man that has clouded your mind and end his life. I know he is still alive" he said.

"It seems you don"t have to go far enough" a voice surprised them.

"Henry!" Dayo screamed in both elation and dread.

"Turns out G.o.d loves me" Bolagade held Dayo by the neck pointing a gun to her head; both men stood still for a moment. Henry pointed his gun at them, staring at her. He wanted to o er her comfort and to make sure she was alright but he had to stay focused. Dayo cringed as Bolagade"s nails dug in her collar bone. She stared at Henry, knowing he was distracted by her soft sobs. She trusted him, wanted to tell him that but it was not the right time. Slowly she closed her eyes trying to quiet her chaotic mind.

Henry wasn"t sure he could rescue her after all. His soldiers did a good job of getting rid of Bolagade"s men, but now he was faced with the dilemma of not killing his ancée in the attempt to save her life.

"Let her go, don"t be a coward!"

"You are not even worthy of her love, you useless animal", he screamed and in the process his grip tightened. She groaned.

"Easy!" he said, his stomach was bandaged, so was his right arm which he had solely depended on throughout his career. His left arm shook as it tried to stay xed on target. Bolagade saw this and laughed, his eyes never leaving his enemy. Henry took a long breath and steadied his nerves. If it were somebody else he would have taken the shot with no qualms, but it was Dayo; his woman.

"I love you", she said and Bolagade froze, he stared at her head then at back at Henry, trying so hard to read their thoughts, a frown creased between his brows. This threw his attention elsewhere and he slightly shifted behind Dayo, somewhat leaving himself vulnerable. Henry saw an opportunity and didn"t hesitate as he pulled the trigger. It lodged deep between Bolagade"s brows and exited through the back of his head, splattering his skull to the wall. Dayo screamed as she stared at her ancée in disbelief, fumes sluggishly oozed out of the gun recently red. Bolagade"s demise was a relief, his empty eyes stared at the cracked ceiling and slacked mouth revealed his brown tongue. Quickly she ran to Henry"s arms and kissed his lips.

"Let"s get married as soon as possible and this time, let it be just family. I can"t stand another lunatic trying to kill me". She caressed his strong shoulders and he winced in discomfort, "tell me what happened".

"Long story but with you in my life, it"s all worth it"