The Ugly Breath (short story)
As he drove back from work, he observed the huge number of crowd in front of the local micro finance bank he uses for his savings.
Word is that the bank was robbed earlier upon opening in the morning. There was no way he could get fast news on that since he worked 35minutes away from the town.
.
As he got home, he was too tired and frustrated to make something to eat..
“Bad events happen in threes; this is a bad omen for a new month.” he thought under his breath.
He opened his refrigerator which has, obviously, not seen electricity in months and found a half eaten cake and a warm can of coke. He decided to have it as he turned on the TV to watch.
His attention was a divided one. The weight of the day’s events got the better of him.
Just then, his phone rang and when he checked, it was Segun, his old friend. Segun was the SUG president when they were in the university.
“Mad man, where have you been all these days?” James said with a big grin.
“Idiot, I have been away for business purpose. But I am back in town now. We should hook-up for a drink tonight.”
“Sure, it would be nice to see those muumuu eyes again”
“You haven’t changed a bit James.”
“Regular place?”
“Yea, regular place.”
Both laughed and hung up the phone.
James was excited to hear from his ‘partner-in-crime’ and couldn’t wait to see him after a long time. He quickly put aside his trouble,
#####
Three hours later, their conversation was getting deep in their regular spot in the renowned limelite hotel and suite which, that same night, has a lot people in attendance for perhaps the same reason as theirs. Their chat topic ranged from their life to their ex girlfriends and the good old university days.
At this point, they had downed 6 bottles of beer each with all the topics in the world discussed and it all seemed like they have spent just a few minutes, but it was almost midnight.
“How is your work now James?” Segun queried with a worrisome visage.
“Seeing you today is the only thing that has brought relief to me this day” said James in a rather low tone with his eyes closing up and relaxing his back on the chair.
James continued talking for several minutes before realising that no one was beside him again.
At first, he thought it was one of Segun’s old pranks. Yet, he continued talking. The next minute, he looked around, only to find an empty bar. He started feeling weird and uncomfortable.
His tipsy eyes became more widely open as sweats trickled down fast from his face in the cold night.
His heart pounding fast; he started running towards the gate of the Hotel in zigzags amidst fallings and getting ups. His petrified body got his whole cloths soaked with sweat.
Finally, he fell and this time with a weak leg. He felt like the last man on earth.
His thoughts were becoming loud
“Could this be the end of time? God, please have mercy on me.”
He tried saying prayers of forgiveness, but his heavy mouth couldn’t allow him utter a word.
Suddenly, he felt a cold body moving towards him accompanied by a tall shadow, with a persisting hiss. He closed his eyes immediately, wishing for a merciful death. Then he heard his phone ringing. It sounded far off, but it was right there in his pocket.
He quickly opened his eyes, lifted up his head. The can of coke had been emptied on his bed and the specks of the cake had attracted some sugar ants.
He couldn’t understand what happened. Did he fall asleep while watching the TV? Are those real?
Putting those thought aside, he quickly reached out for his phone which was still ringing.
As he checked the caller’s name displayed on the phone, his heart pounded faster and he started sweating profusely.
The name displayed on the phone was.... SEGUN!
_END_
Akinsehinwa Damilola Bamidele
July 24, 2015
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