He was jolted back to reality when the pistol touched his left ear.
"Say your last prayer, Kola," The huge black skin figure beside him said.
Kola closed his eyes quietly, not because he wanted to pray, but because he was tired of living. Praying was the last thing on his mind. This person should do what he wants to do quickly. He has lost the right to live. Dying is not even enough to pay for his sin.
He waited for the bullet to penetrate through his skull but the holder of the pistol didn't take any action.
"Why do you hesitate?" Kola asked amidst tears.
All he wants right now is to breathe his last. Death is the only thing that can help him escape from the excruciating pain he is feeling right now.
Kola is a young, promising, handsome man with so much going on for him. He had everything and almost everyone at his beck and call. Life was wonderful with a family that loved him all around him until calamity struck.
It all began when he gained admission into a prestigious school. He was the talk of the town because he had the overall best UTME and Post UTME scores. He was so optimistic about life. He told himself he would do everything possible to graduate with flying colors.
He met his Heartrob Sonia in his 200 Level in the university. She was at that time just admitted to the 100 level. She was at the cyber cafe compiling her documents, when they met each other, it was love at first sight.
He was shy to go talk to her. He watched her leave the cyber cafe majestically. He kept thinking about her all day and regretted not approaching her.
He saw her about 2 months after at a departmental meeting. This time around, he didn't waste time approaching her. She smiled when she saw him. He was surprised that a beautiful girl like her noticed someone like him. They got talking and discovered they have a lot in common.
They became inseparable. If they are not seen together, they would be on call with each other. They were like the "couple of the year". They were so much in love. Oh! How sweet love is when you love genuinely and you're also loved genuinely in return.
When Sonia got to 200 Level, her statistics lecturer started disturbing her for an affair. She politely turned him down and told him she is in a relationship. The lecturer told her bluntly that there's no way she would pass the course he is teaching if she doesn't sleep with him.
She thought he was just bluffing and ignored him. When the results of the first semester came out, she failed the man's course woefully. That was when she knew the lecturer wasn't joking. Tears filled her eyes. At first, she didn't tell Kola because she didn't want to get him worried but he later found out.
Kola went with Sonia to the lecturer's office to plead with him. He threatened to also fail Kola since it is because of him that Sonia rejected him. Kola became scared. From 100 level, his grade has always been "A".
I need to do something about this, he said to himself.
After giving it some thought, he decided to do one thing that he had always been against. He decided to join a secret cult that would protect him from the wicked lecturer. All he just needs from them is their protection, nothing more. After protecting him from the lecturer he can then leave, so he thought.
He joined the secret cult, and joining them really did wonders because it made the lecturer get off his back, even if the punishment that was given to the lecturer was worse than what he could have ever imagined. They burned down the lecturer's apartment. The lecturer got burnt in the apartment. He was able to escape death but the condition he was in was far worse than being dead. Shame could not make him keep living, so he had to commit suicide.
Kola felt sad about the turnout of the event. He told the group that he wants to quit. They told him there's no option of quitting. The only thing that can make him quit is death. Fear gripped Kola, and he had no other choice but to continue with them. They started giving him so many tasks to do. Tasks that always leave him feeling guilty. His hands were stained with blood and there's no going back. ** After graduating from the university, he thought he could now be free, but they told him it was not possible. Two years after graduation, he got married to Sonia. He relocated with Sonia to a faraway country where no one can ever find him. He changed his name and that of his wife. They even had to change their appearance so that no one would be able to recognize them.
One day, when he went to work, his wife, who was heavily pregnant, was in the kitchen cooking when some unidentified set of people barged into the apartment. Where is, Kola? They asked her. She was lost for words. They stabbed her severely in her stomach until she breathed her last, lying down in her own pool of blood.
When Kola got back from work, he was expecting his wife to come give him a welcome hug, which was her usual practice, but there was no one to welcome him. He saw her lifeless on the floor. He cried out with so much agony. Sonia! Sonia! You can't do this to me! We promised to grow old with each other.
While still crying, he felt a pistol being pointed at his left ear saying "Kola, say your last prayer"
He regretted every one of the bad "choices" he made and wished he could turn back the hands of time, but that was already too late. Nemesis has caught up with him, payback is inevitable. He can't imagine a life without Sonia.
This is my response to the Inkwell Weekly fictional prompt #238