Don’t get me wrong I was really trying not to end up here I mean it is not the life I had dreamed off. Everything about my life fantasy was a scam. How I wish God gave each one of us their itinerary here on earth but well I accept my fate and I will work with what I have to get what I want and for my family. Up to now I have zero regrets to the measures I had gone and will go in this life; they say and I believe our God is the most Merciful and Forgiving he will forgive me hereafter…Don’t get married they said, men change they say they cheat and have weird characters that come out once they keep you in doors they say, all men are the same they say, but I still went ahead and married the man I had chosen to spend the rest of my life with. He is not perfect but he is different that I can assure you he is the best so far I have met in my thirty years on this earth and 5 years of dating crappy men that I met, I had a tendency of dating dangerous men with power and ability to finish me off within seconds with no slight of evidence or remains. But today I am here calculating, conniving and planning my every move like I was born for this kind of life nothing scared me further than endangering my two daughters
one step
and my husband who everything started with him. I remember first two years in my marriage like it was yesterday, I got paged on our honeymoon, moved into the suburbs area in the city, had schooled here so Kenya isn’t a new country for me either just that it is my permanent home now, it’s like I was meant to spend the rest of my days here and I gladly accept it. It all started here..
“Hunie, someone is bringing a box “uber” please open it let me know what we can do with what’s inside” Chaz said calmly.
“Okay Hunie.” I replied the WhatsApp text. The text was brief was nothing like us, but being a business man running a expert commodities company I know he was busy. Twenty minutes later the uber was here and I received the package. Went upstairs to open, my mind was thinking it Is a surprise gift since once or twice a month he would spoil me that way. It was wrapped as a gift and felt heavy. Placed it on my dressing table reached for the scissors and cut it open, unwrapped the nylon paper inside and suddenly I stepped back my heart racing, I ran downstairs for my phone.
“Hunie” I called out
“Yes My love” he was calm as usual, he knew I am panicking from what I saw but he wasn’t ready to have the conversation over the phone so he cut me off quickly.
“Do you love the gift? I’ll come home we discuss further. “I love you Hun” he added and hanged up before I could say anything else. I sank on the bed staring at my console mirror and the gift reflecting on it. Am I dreaming? Asking myself. Is this true? Millions of questions going round my head. I stood up slowly and walked towards the gift to make sure it is what I saw. There’s no way he could get such kind of money just two months ago we were rock bottom!! But something in me said may be our prayers and fasting has finally been answered but still it was too good to be true. It was around one pm, felt the clock wasn’t moving fast enough for him to come home and explain this. Deep in thoughts I did not realize my nana knocking and walking in my room.
“Dada” She called out. Dada meaning older sister in English it is a word we use in Tanzania to call someone older than you in a respectful manner. She is from Tanzania like I.
“Yes Nina” I jumped anxiously blocking her from coming further to my dressing table which is at the corner of my bedroom.
“Pegah is awake she needs to eat should I give her fruits or her food first” she asked surprisingly wondering why I am jumpy.
“What did she have this morning after I breastfed her?”
“Nothing, she fell asleep” she replied
“oh okay… please feed her food then around 4 she can have fruits in between I will breastfeed her again.” I responded ushering her to go as I walked to the table to wrap the box again then hide it in the safe privately mounted behind the dressing table in the wall that my husband single handedly built it himself when we moved here two years ago. You have to be calm I kept saying it to myself Chaz always said soon we will be able to buy the house of our dreams and live luxuriously I remembered those words clearly him saying my prayers will be answered and thanks to my believe in God and his hard work we will make it.
“Okay Kanisha calm down, you’ve been praying for this now that it is here be thankful and pray again to say thank you” I told my reflection on the mirror. After saying thank you I had a bar of weed edible chocolate then lied on the bed, happy chills started flowing in weighing how much money was in the safe and the things we could do with it our dreams. Finally, we can buy the house we’ve been praying for, my husband finally made it we made it! As tempting as it was to open the safe again and stare at the stack of dollars each bar seem to have a hundred dollar bills, the smell of new money filled the room opening the safe, they were like ten stacks roughly one million dollars or more I couldn’t bring myself to touch any of it just sat there staring anxiously.
The weed had already kicked in slowly my anxiety and horrifying thoughts vanished, only to wake up with a warm kiss on my lips and I knew he is home.
“OMG, how long have I been out, is it 6pm?” I asked him watching him walk slowly to the closet and undress his tie then the rest of his suit tidily hanging them. Each time he undresses i’d be reminded why I fell in love with him, His tall six’two self with shiny dark complexity and fine body threw me off track ever since I can remember, the way he looked at me I do not remember any man giving me such loving eyes and you are my always and forever girl kind of stare. He’d smile all the time from work even if he had a horrible day the moment, he steps on the door he will lighten up run to his daughter and lift her up with kisses and baby talks then they would come upstairs to kiss and hug me. I’d jump to welcome him with kisses and hugs.
“Hey Hunie, did you get enough rest?” he asked hanging his pair of dark blue Tom Ford Suit while staring at my shocked self; wondering how I slept for so many hours then I remembered it was the weed. I couldn’t even stand to hug him as usual my mind kept thinking what a dream I had how I’d love it to be true. Pegah was on the floor crawling towards her dad trying to stand by holding his leg. He reached out for her and they walked towards the bed where I was resting. She cried out for me and reached for my t-shirt wanting to feed.
“how was your day Hunie?” I asked him my face sunken due to the dream I had wishing it was true. My face was long and he knew me very well to know I was not okay. But he was all smiled as usual kissed me on the forehead as he handed me Pegah.
“Alhamdulilah, I cannot complain, are you feeling alright?” he asked feeling my head temperature with his left arm.
“Yes boo, you know when I wake up, I’m like a zombie it takes time to load back to reality” I answered.
Then there was an awkward silence in the room for thirty seconds, suddenly we both said something at the same time…
“Hunie”
We both laughed, Pegah breastfeeding looking at us blankly.
“You go first” I said
“No, no ladies first”
“Ok… I stammered I turned to look at my pure mirrored dressing table, to my shock the gifts wraps and the empty box on the floor were still there. I turn to look at him and he is still very calm and smiling waiting for me to ask the million-dollar question. Alas!! No, it is not a dream. The money is really in the safe. WE ARE RICH my heart screamed.
“I know you shocked and probably have many questions, but do you trust me?” he asked waiting for an assuring answer. I nodded still looking at the wraps and box on the floor.
“Hunie look at me” he turned my head with his hands.
“I can finally give you the life you deserve the life we’ve been praying for and working day and night for my love; your prayers have been answered babe” He said slowly.
“Hunie, where, where did yo….” Still stammering
“Breathe you having an attack Hunie” he reached out for Pegah put her on bed then held my shoulders firmly with both hands breathing in and out ushering me to follow his steps. Yap it was an attack lawd. He reached out for his phone and called our nana.
“Tita, bring me a glass of mango juice and the food I brought mama Pegah now please” he uttered.
I laid my head back without saying a word to him, then suddenly I stood up and walked towards to table twisted one of the drawers arm to side open the entrance to the safe, put in the code and backwards I moved, it was not just the money but there was bars of clean gold like twenty of them.
“Hunie please sit down” he held and brought me back to bed.
“Why are you so calm about this Hunie?” I asked him angrily....
