BRIDAL DECEIT
Mr. Chike Okafor
was still waiting patiently for Adanma’s arrival right in his humble abode.
Only the blind would be yet to observe that the poor man was almost losing his
patience.
“Where on earth would this woman be?” he thought aloud. Deeply concerned
over her welfare. “I pray nothing bad had happened to her.” He added, still
looking pale on one of the upholstery chairs in his sitting room.
Chike’s lost of patience, which was accompanied by series of
soliloquies, came in subsequence to several aborted efforts he had made to
reach the awaited lady on phone.
Adanma was his fiancée, and their church wedding ceremony had been
scheduled to take place in two weeks time.
Chike came across Adanma in Calabar, Cross-River State barely four
months back. They were both residents of the said city. And luckily for them,
they hail from neighbouring states, Enugu and Anambra, respectively.
Their relationship commenced jokily during one fateful weekend, Saturday
24th August 2013 precisely, when Chike drove to one of the hottest
joints in the city to have some drinks.
Having parked his Red Toyota Camry car at the designated spot, the moment
he walked into the bar, he abruptly sighted one fair, tall and plump pretty
damsel clad in a blue mini-skirt, pink top and a pair of pink sandals who was
seated alone at one of the corners in the area. She was already sipping from a
bottle of Smirnoff which was accompanied with a plate of pepper soup.
Amazingly, within a twinkle of
an eye, she saw a slim and chocolate-skinned young man of an average height who
appeared to be in his late thirties standing right before her. He was putting
on a pair of three-quarter jeans, green T-shirt and a pair of leather slippers,
coupled with a multiple-coloured baseball cap.
“Hi!” He exclaimed cheerfully.
“Hello!” the lady whom seemed to be in her early thirties responded
accordingly.
“I am Chike,” he informed. “Chike Okafor.”
He added, still standing.
“Ok, Adanma.” She said,
placing her left palm on her chest.
“Are you waiting for someone?”
“Not at all”
“Can I join you?” the dude
requested.
“Suit yourself.” She replied in a very
friendly manner.
Chike joyfully sat on the white plastic seat
positioned directly opposite her. “You are really beautiful; I must confess.”
He quickly dished out.
“Thanks” Adanma gladly
appreciated.
He didn’t hesitate to order for
his own drink, bottle of Star to be precise, coupled with a plate of pepper
soup to balance the equation.
The conversation lasted for over one hour
after exchange of several pleasantries including phone numbers and what have
you. After all said and done, Chike gladly dropped her at her place of
residence at about quarter to seven in the evening (6:45pm).
Exactly two months after their meeting, they got engaged. On the third
month, Chike joyfully took his kinsmen to Anambra State to pay her bride price.
According to Chike’s faith alongside that of his family, he was not
meant to live with her after observing the traditional marriage rite until he
had successfully taken her to the altar.
That very fateful day, which marked exactly two weeks to their wedding,
Chike was anxiously waiting for Adanma’s arrival because she was already two
hours behind schedule. Both of them had earlier agreed to meet on that day at
his place by four O’clock in the afternoon in regard to the proceedings of
their forthcoming wedding ceremony. But as at ten minutes past six in the
evening (6:10pm), Adanma was yet to arrive. The young man tried many times to
reach her on phone, all to no avail.
Having dosed off on the
upholstery seat, at about two minutes past seven at night, Chike’s door bell
rang.
On receipt of the blaring sound of the
bell, Chike walked reluctantly to the door. “Who’s that?” He queried in a low
tone.
“It’s me, Adanma.”
As soon as the name ‘Adanma’ was mentioned, the door was widely let
open.
“Baby, are you okay?” Chike worriedly asked. “I’ve been trying your line
but it was switched off.”
Adanma, speechless; appeared tired and exhausted. She quietly walked to
one of the seats in the sitting room and lousily sat on it, looking pale.
Chike followed suit having closed the door. He was seated adjacent to
her. “Baby talk to me,” he tenderly urged. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Honey, I had a very busy day.” she eventually responded. “I worked
overtime in the office.” She lied.
Adanma had falsely informed Chike that she works in one of the telecommunication
firms in the city. And Chike, having trusted her, never cared to go for further
enquiries on what she actually did for a living.
“Oh, so sorry about that.” Chike uttered. “That’s company work for you.
They will stress you, exploit you, and at the end, you would be paid peanut.”
He added.
“Yes,
you are absolutely right.” Adanma complimented. “I wish I’m a civil servant
like you.”
Mr. Chike Okafor whom was a graduate of Business Administration from the
University of Port-Harcourt, was a successful civil servant. He was engaged
with the Cross-River State Ministry of Finance.
Whilst, Adanma was a drop-out
from one of the Polytechnics in Nigeria. But she lied to Chike that she had a
Higher National Diploma (HND) in Marketing.
On that very day, she passed her
night at Chike’s place and left for her place the following day.
Three days on, which was barely eleven days to the proposed wedding
ceremony, something very terrible transpired. On that day, Chike got an
indelible and unimaginable experience in his lifetime.
After office time, he was slowly driving along one of the busy streets
in Calabar metropolis to purchase some fruits, as usual, for himself as well as
his fiancée at about some minutes past five in the evening. Surprisingly, he
noticed someone who appeared like Adanma, and the lady in question was walking
into a certain brothel situated along the street. He quickly stopped his car
and hurriedly walked out.
On reaching the main entrance to
the brothel, he saw a life image that gave him the greatest shock of his life.
Frankly, the lady he saw while in his car was really Adanma and no one else.
This time, she was facing him, though from afar. She was almost nude.
Little did Chike know that his
so-called bride to-be had been a prostitute in disguise all those while.
He couldn’t believe his sight. It
was like a dream. He stood still, seemed froze.
On her part, virtually all her
face was covered with fathomless tears while standing like an electrocuted
vulture.
Fred Doc Nwaozor
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub - Owerri
___________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
Twitter:
@mediambassador 
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