IMASUEN’S PLIGHT : CHAPTER 1 – THE END
IMASUEN’S PLIGHT : CHAPTER 1 – THE END
Written by Temi Akintade
Chapter 5
Cooking was already going on, my wedding gown and traditional attire were ready.
I had already paid for a professional makeup artist that Joy met on Instagram but Ebube said that his sister had a reliable makeup artist from Dubai.
Somehow we quarreled on that. I insisted on choosing my makeup artist because it was my day! And Ebube said I had no right because it wasn’t my money. And I relaxed because it truly wasn’t my money.
From the beginning of the whole wedding saga, he transferred a sum of 2.5 million naira to me to get things prepared from my angle. My mother had called it a blessing in disguise and she had danced around our shaded compound thanking God that I had put her enemies to shame by marrying a wealthy man.
But it wasn’t even our quarrel that bothered me but the dream I had two nights before our traditional wedding. In that dream, I saw that our pictures were taken and we were both not smiling and each time our pictures were separated, the pictures would be colourful again and we will begin to smile and then I heard a voice that said, it was better if we were separated.
Twice, I had that dream and I knew that God was trying to speak to me and even though my gut told me that it had to do with my marriage, another part of my mind didn’t want to give in.
IMASUEN’S PLIGHT : CHAPTER 1 – THE END
On the night before my traditional marriage, I picked my phone and withdrew a huge sum of money in an attempt to run away. It was raining cats and dogs that night and at the same time, music was blasting from our house with our friends, relatives, and well wishes, dancing to Pasuma’s Fuji on the veranda.
I walked out using the back door. The rain was beginning to reduce and I didn’t care if the rain poured on my black silky blouse.
All that mattered was that I needed to leave. Then my phone suddenly rang. I stopped walking as though I had just being caught by Ebube.
It was him who was calling. I pressed the iPhone 8 to my ears and willed my hand to stop shaking.
“Where are you?” He asked in a voice that sounded as though he knew where I was.
“Home.” I hesitated, looking around the darkness that formed around me.
“I know you are home but where?”
“Outside. Under the rain.” I bit my lips until bIood starts to ooze out.
“Why? You might catch a cold. I don’t want a sick wife.” He said.
If that was meant to be a joke, I didn’t catch it because my cheeks wouldn’t even budge. I couldn’t laugh because I didn’t just want to.
“You act weird sometimes. We’ll see tomorrow.” He ended the call abruptly and I started at the phone in silence.
Was this how the night before the wedding was supposed to be? I was thinking that the intending groom and bride would spend hours on phone talking nonstop until the following day. But in my case, it was so different.
I wanted to ask Joy how it was during her time. My friend was supposed to be home with me getting me prepared for my big day tomorrow but she said that her husband couldn’t sleep a night without her.
I dialed her line twice and waited for her to pick. When she finally did, she sounded stressed.
“We’re you sleeping?” I asked.
“Yes. I was. How are you and why are you calling by this time you are supposed to be on your bed.” She yawned.
I wanted to tell her that it was only 8 pm but I kept mute. “I want to run away. I had a bad dream.”
“Runaway? To where?” She laughed. “See you have started with all these your dreams. Josephine the dreamer.” She laughed again. “See dreams are usually foolish. They are not real! Okay, remember the day I dreamt that you died. Are you dead now?”
I shook my head and tried to understand what she was driving at. “I have a feeling that if I marry Ebube I will never be happy.”
“Look just shut up! Why are we even having this conversation again? The devil wants you to leave Ebube and get married to that poor writer. The truth is, God is too smart to allow you to marry a poor man. It is not your portion. You too think am now,”
I nodded, I was seeing sense in what she had just said.
“You have been serving God since campus days. You served as an usher and served as a choir member in NCCF when we graduated. And you are still serving God now. Now God wants to butter your bread and the enemy is now bringing one useless dream to scatter God’s vision for your life. E no go better for the d’vil.”
I laughed this time. Joy was right. We talked some more and I concluded that I wouldn’t run away anymore. I would simply face my fears.
Ebube and I got married the following day and it was indeed a blissful ceremony with top dignitaries in attendance here and there. It was during the wedding reception that my plight started….
IMASUEN’S PLIGHT : CHAPTER 1 – THE END
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