WHEN A MAN LOVES
Episode 2.
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@Benson Mphandika Lungu III. All rights reserved.
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I was there shaking with anger as I tried to all I could to calm down so as to try to remember if I had shifted the money to another location. The harder I tried to remember, the more I realised that I had not moved the money. With giving a second thought of it, my suspicion went directly on my brother-in-law to have taken the money. This conviction came to me because I assumed that if he managed to lay bare my wife in the same reed mat as me what would stop him from searching for where I had put the money.
“That fool is starting what he won’t manage to finish” I said getting dressed into a t-shirt as I had no shirt on.
My mind was stuck as to what to do next and anger was busy trying to make me do things which would then later make me look like a bad person. It was not ease to calm down because my hardworked money had disappeared in less that 24 hours from the time I was paid.
“Sitting here thinking of what to do won’t make me find my money. Let me go and deal with that fool.” I said.
I got an axe which was in the other room after which I walked hurriedly and angrily heading to the house of my brother-in-law. I was not sure of what I was going to do but one thing I was sure of was that I was going to find out the whereabouts of my money and avenge for his getting intimate with my wife.
When I got to the house, I directly went and struck the door with my axe with all my mighty. The door instantly split into two making the part with the locking system fall down as it had no support onto the door frame.
“If you know what is good, come out with my money because I will kill you right now!” I shouted.
My sister who was inside with her children asked who I was and what was happening there. I did not even care about her being my biological sister all I cared for was for her husband to give me back my money.
“Tell you idiotic husband to immediately come out before I squeeze he stupid ……..” I paused in my shouting as I did not want my sister to hear me insult.
“He is not here. Were you not together drinking at your place?”
“He is not here?!”
“No, he isnt” my sister answered still inside scared.
With that it dawned on me that he had acted smart by not coming to his house as he knew what was going to befall him. Not wanting to do anything to my innocent sister I decided to leave.
“Tell him that wherever I will see him, I will deal with him mercilessly.” I shouted about to leave.
“My brother, what has happened?” She asked.
“Ask you stupid husband” I said then leaving.
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I got into the road leading back to my home angrily as I tried accommodate both my wife’s being laid and the missing of my money. I felt like the whole world was empty and void. The place was all quiet and dark but no fear came to me. I went on walking and when I was about reaching my place, I just felt an instant quick grip on me as a lot of ropes were tied on me. I could not recognise any face it being dark and I could not overpower them as the group was very much powerful for me.
In no time I was in the air being carried heading to where I had not idea. I went on shouting trying to make them put me down but to no avail. They were busy jogging with the tied up me on their shoulders heading to where I was dying to know.
After some minutes of jogging I was put down and upon looking around that was when I realised that I was at the chief’s Palace and the people who had carried me were the Palace guards. I shook my head in dismay not believing that me being a victim had been taken to the chief.
“Please what am I doing here?” I asked on guard who was there with me.
“Shut up you violent scoundrel”
“You don’t know what has happened to me. Let me explain to you from the start….”
Before I could even start explaining, a guard who was obviously in charge of the other guards came and ordered that I should be put in lockable shelter and heaving guarded so that the chief’s elders could preside over me in the morning.
“I am innocent bring take me out. I can’t spend a night in the cold for being a victim” I shouted.
They gave heed to none of my words as they dragged me to where they were keeping some people before a hearing at the chiefs Palace. The anger in me almost made me start shouting and insulting but knowing the side effects of that the place being a Palace, I held myself.
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I spent the night in that cold and tied up not really understanding what was happening. It was clear that my luck had gone so low because a lot of bad things where happening to me on that day concurrently in hours.
When the guards came to take me to where the hearing of cases were done, I could feel anger in me as I walked on. Despite that apprehension, one thing I was sure of was that I was going to be heard and let scot free.
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I found my brother in law seated on the complainant’s side while I was put on the defendants side. I was wondering and trying to make sense of it if it was my brother in law that had brought me there. As the elders started talking I got it all clear that my brother in law reported me to the chief that I wanted to take his life hence the apprehension.
“So is this true Musa?” Asked the elder.
“I don’t want to kill him all I want is the money which he stole from my home” I said.
“How did he steal it?”
I then explained the money from soybeans and how I invited him to drink with me to the point of us sleeping in the same room and how he laid my wife and stole money. The people around started mummuring as to why someone would do that to another person.
“He took advantage of my wife, stole my money and then had the courage to have me apprehended and spend a night in the cold. Even the ancestors wouldn’t frown upon me if I kill him” I said as tears ran down my cheeks.
After some silence, the elders at the chiefs Palace realised how wrong it was for me to be tied and accused of being violent because naturally any person would be angry in such a scenario. They apologised to me for making me sleep in the cold because it was not fair being the victim. They decided to let me go and let the family handle our issue before we could get to the chief’s Palace.
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Angrily I left the Palace heading back to my home in order to find the way forward for what I had gone through. When I got to my place, I found my uncles, the uncle to my wife and my wife seated. I walked passed them not talking to any of them and went to sit in the house. My uncle came to call me out as he tried to reason with me how disrespectful it was for me to ignore them just like that. When I got outside I sat on a three legged stool.
“We have come here so that we get to know exactly what has happened” my uncle asked.
“Uncle, before we could say anything, I want to first know where my money is. My money for soybeans has gone missing.” I said seriously.
“How much?”
“2,000”
The uncles looked at each other trying to figure out what to do as it was clear how serious the issue was. They knew that it was a large amount of money which needed an Immediate attention.
“Sorry uncle, the money is in the house. I had just moved it from where he had put it seeing how he was recklessly buying beer yesterday” my wife answered.
“Go and get the money I see” I challenged her.
With the permission of the uncles, my wife walked into the hut and came back holding a bunch of money. Seeing that the money was there I calmed down a bit but what was remaining was the issue of my wife’s seex.
The uncles and us went on deliberating the issue to find the possible solution but it was very difficult because there were some unanswered questions. Was my brother in law really drunk or he tried to pretend in order to achieve his goal? Did he have consent from my wife? Why did he want to do the second round if her was under influence of alcohol?
“We need to call him” my wife’s uncle said referring to my brother in law.
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Watch out for episode 3.
