GREEN

Okay, happy new month you guys! and guess what, it's two days to my birthday! that's right, June 12th. 

Well, about a week ago, i received mail that i had won the 2015 edition of the challengeme contest on Naijastories. I was super excited because i never esperred it, lol. My account has already been credited by the way! i decided to post the story here too. Well the one i posted for the contest had to be edited a lot because of the word count but here's the real story. If you want to read the real entry, visit http://www.naijastories.com/2015/04/green/ 

Enough with the blabbering, here it is... 

I paced holes onto the floor of my living room. I had been waiting for hours, for my wife who was supposed to take me to the airport. When I called her, she said she was almost home. That was one hour ago. I loved her but that woman could never keep to time to save her life.

It seemed like just another ordinary Wednesday, one which I had to travel to for another trip. I and Esther had been married for two years now and our lives revolved around trips to Johannesburg and her job as a caterer. She was already three months pregnant with our first child. I had just come in for a quick visit but extended it a bit after realizing how much i missed her. Now, i really needed to get back as my job demanded it.

My phone beeped and I saw her picture flash across the screen. I slid the icon, angrily, to the right, “Jesus! Esther, where are you?” I heard a sniff, “I’m- I’m almost home.” Her voice broke and the line went dead.

Anticipation soon turned to worry as I began pacing again and I checked my watch for the umpteenth time. I just had an hour till departure time. Nnamdi Azikwe airport was a good thirty minute drive from here. 

Ten minutes later, Esther sauntered in through the front door. Her face held dread like I had never seen before and she looked weary. I rushed to her side. That was when I noticed her back was damp with sweat and her blouse was stained with something that looked a lot like blood. My eyes went wide in bewilderment. “Esther?”

She looked at me, her eyes pooling with tears, and said “Fola, I swear, I didn’t- I didn’t mean to…”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean? Is the baby okay?” I flooded.

“The baby’s fine…” She burst into tears. 

I led her to the settee and called the maid to bring some water for Esther.

After she took the water and I held her for a while, she leaned back to talk. “I was on my way back, when I decided to stop by the market, you- you know how I am.” She pursed her lips, “then as I was coming out, there was this mallam that was following me and- and I was becoming panicked. Then he suddenly moved towards me and I grabbed the knife that I just bought and stabbed him.” She began sobbing again, “I swear, Fola, I- I thought he was Boko Haram.”

I was getting nervous. This was not the way to start a new month. “Esther! Why would Boko Haram be after you now?” it was ridiculous.

“I tried to help him but- but people were coming and-” She sniffed, “I don’t know if he’s dead.”

I stood up and began pacing. My mind was racing; there was no way I was going anywhere now. She was fond of getting in trouble but this was too much. What if someone had seen her? What if the man died?

Just then, I glanced at her and saw her smile. “Esther? What’s so funny?”

At that moment, she burst into a fit of laughter. I just stared at her, confused.

“Remember last year? With the bomb scare?” She said between breaths. Realization settled on my face as she finally said,                                    

 “Happy April Fool’s day Baby!”

Thanks for reading! Just so you know i wrote this in April.