Bruno’s Death, A Rite of Passage

It was not the usual clang clang sound of two rusted iron tied together that always preceded Bruno, Mr Fagbem’s dog, that called my attention this one time. It was a snarling. The snarling of horror mixed with madness. It was the sound of being majorly pissed and at the same time scared shitless.

Bruno was a German Shepherd, notorious for he’s ferociousness with strangers and he’s playfulness with allies. But the allies were not necessarily people that Bruno saw frequently, they were people he trusted, people he chose. You could come to our compound every day and bring a sack of bones for Bruno each time and it still wouldn’t like you. And if Bruno didn’t like you, he wouldn’t touch your bribes. But not just that, if Bruno didn’t like you, you would not enjoy your stay in our house very much because Bruno would almost bark his head off. And once you come out, make sure your back was not turned to him at any time.

Meet My Crazy Alter Ego

It was the end of the work week for me and the first thing that I thought of was how my weekend would go. For the past three months, my weekend routine had been the same: catch up on life. And life for me was my writing and my girlfriend, Lola. My relatively new job did not permit me to live the life I wanted as it took almost all of me. But my weekends? Those were mine to control. The first order of business was to get a bit less uptight. I would enter a bar few blocks from my office, on the corner just adjacent to a bank and an insurance firm. I would go in, order two bottles of cold beer, down them and then while still clearheaded, head home. Lola would have prepared something light and tasty by the time I get home. After eating, we would then cuddle and get cosy as we talk for an hour or two about how our weeks went. I would complain about my job and she would tell me, at least I’ve got writings and soon I would not need the silly ass job anymore. How the rest of the night went, was up to fate.

The Last Time

“This is the last time”, I thought. But I knew it wasn’t. I knew this was just like the twenty times I’ve said that before as I shut my door and pulled down the window shades. I took a deep breath and turned the music way up. This has been my habit for the past 32 days since I attended what was the party of the school year. I’m not one that parties, which was not by choice but, no one really wanted a nerd at their party, so you can imagine my surprise when Clara, the class queen’s closest friend, Tolani, asked me if I wanted to attend a birthday party.

Bad Reaction

It was a dark starless night. The kind of night in which random murders and rapes happen in the movies. An eerie stillness was in the woods around the house and the croaking of the frogs in the nearby pond was gone. I had heard the now familiar disturbance at first when everyone left for the vigil but now it was all gone. It was my first night alone in the house and I knew I could do it even though the house seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It was nothing difficult – staying home alone – because, I’m a man.

“Nothing would happen to me.” I kept telling my parents as they prepared for church, with my little sister.

“Are you sure you can’t try to come?” my mother had asked.

“No mom, I’m too sick to stay up all night. I need to rest.”

When they left, I laid down on the long couch in front of the TV. House of Wax was showing and I was about to cover myself with a blanket when the lights went off. That was a normal thing and I knew it would be back in a few minutes since it was our day on, so I stayed there and waited. And that was when I noticed the unnerving quiet.

The Weekend Plan

A thought kept buzzing in my mind as I closed for work that Friday evening.  The thought of a romantic weekend with my lady. I hastily packed my bag, placing my laptop upside down – I never do that! And humming Don Williams’ Shelter of Your Eyes with a bright smile on my face. She should almost be home now, if not already. Moyin likes to surprise me, or so she thinks, whenever she visits. But the way her face lights up when I feign surprise gives me a kind of happiness that makes me want to keep that smile on her forever. It has been five months since she last visited. So, you can imagine my excitement when she called me in the evening of Wednesday to tell me that she was coming in two days. Of course that meant a romantic dinner, crazy cuddling; we would stare at the night’s sky in each other’s arms giggling like kids, and I would not bother to tell you about the sex, other than it always left us breathless and satisfied.