Taofeek
I opened my sleepy eyes
to catch sight of Khayrah smiling at me with a trail of amusement passed across
her face. I smiled in return and gazed at her, willing for such a moment to
last forever.
That was our daily
routine. Returning to sleep after praying subh
and supplicating, then waking up to stare at each other’s faces for almost an
hour. As Khayrah counted her last breath, I was starting to appreciate several
qualities about my wife…qualities I had ignored in the past.
They say you know the
importance of a thing after losing it. I appreciated Khayrah more than ever. I
wished that I had spent every second of my time with her, showing how much I
love and care about her. I wished that I had performed better in the past. But
it wasn’t too late. Upon receiving the
news of Khayrah’s limited time on earth, I resigned from my place of work and
decided to be by Khayrah’s side until she breathes her last.
“Are we going to keep
doing this every day?” Khayrah chuckled as she trailed a finger across my
chest.
“Every single day, my
love,” I said as I sat down and sighed deeply.
Khayrah followed the
same course. She rested her head on my chest and held my hand. “What are you
thinking about? The time you would wake up to notice my absence?”
“No. I’m just bothered
about the way I had treated you in the past. I remembered the day I watched you
walk out of my office in despair. I wished I had run after you and professed my
love for you,” I said with misty eyes.
Khayrah’s chuckle sent
warm tickles to my bare chest. “You shouldn’t. Afterwards, you sent me a
message and professed your love for me…”
“But that was after I
had watched you leave the office with a tear-filled face. I was scared of
losing you. I believed getting married to you and watching you die will break
my heart. And you are the first woman that I’ve loved sincerely. I had broken
hearts. I was scared that mine would also be shattered into pieces when you
die…” I was saying in tears when Khayrah put her arms around me.
“Shh. Don’t say that. I should be the one to blame. I made you fall
in love with me. I lied to you. I didn’t disclose my health condition before
the start of our relationship.”
“You know, Khayrah. I feel
your condition is a punishment for the atrocities I had committed in the past...”
I was saying when she continued.
“I’m also at fault for
walking out on you that day. When you revealed your past, I felt we couldn’t
continue with the relationship. I walked out on you and told you we couldn’t
get married. I had forgotten that my case was worse. That I had cancer.”
My forehead creased
with a frown as I stared around the room- the milk-coloured wardrobe, a white
sofa that rested by the wall, the lilac curtains that billowed in the breeze.
Khayrah, who was a fan of white colour, had carefully selected the theme for
our room. I gazed at the room Khayrah and I had shared and wondered if I could
remain there after everything becomes over- after she leaves the world.
“Let’s stop blaming
ourselves with events that happened in the past. We should dwell on the
present. Speaking of the present, are you prepared for our trip to the beach
resort?”
Khayrah’s face beamed
in excitement as she sprang up from the bed. “We’ve packed our bags and
informed the cab driver to pick us up before 5:00 pm. Anything else?” she
asked, staring at our luggage was that stationed beside the wardrobe.
I laughed loudly. “I
mean, are you mentally prepared?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I
am mentally prepared. It would be fun, my love.” Khayrah yelled as she hurried
to the wardrobe.
Since we decided to
spend our days together, we wrote down daily plans about fruitful things to
engage in before the end of the day- such as making noodles and egg for breakfast,
watching romantic comedies until late at night, binge-watching our favourite
series along with a bowl of popcorn and soda drinks. We had also decided to
visit a beach resort and spend some intimate time together.
Khayrah had suggested
that we travel to Zanzibar, Tanzania, but the doctor was insistent that we
remained closer. We opted for a lovely adventurous place in Lagos- Le Champagne Tropicanna.
“What are you looking
for?”
Khayrah frowned as she
searched her closet furiously. “Sexier pieces of clothing. I doubt the ones I
have in the luggage.”
I gave a staccato of
laughter. “We can always stop by a shop on our way there to purchase sexier
outfits. And who says those clothes in the luggage isn’t hot?”
I was saying when a
honk was heard outside the gate. “We aren’t expecting anyone.”
Khayrah gave a sly
grin. “Well, I am. It’s a surprise!”
“What kind of
surprise?”
“A surprise breakfast.
Love is strengthened when couples surprise each other. Someone would deliver breakfast
we would never forget. One minute!” Khayrah said in excitement as she grabbed
her hijab. “I’ll be back.”
I smiled as I watched
her leave and imagined how wonderful our stay at the beach resort would turn
out. My phone chimed with new notification and I grabbed it from the bed stand.
The notification was from Facebook.
‘You
and Khayrah Raqeeb became friends 1 year ago….’
I grinned widely as I
stared at the screen and recalled how I had met my soulmate through Facebook.
Who could have thought that I would meet my future wife on such a platform?
“Come over to the
living room, my love. There’s a surprise here!” Khayrah yelled from the living
room.
“Okay,” I sprang up
from the bed and was walking towards the door when a white sheet paper caught
my eyes. Some words had been scribbled and it was obvious that it was Khayrah’s
handwriting.
Taking hold of the
paper, I sighed deeply and started to read.
‘I’m
not a fan of diaries…will never be one. But I have to write this down. My
greatest accomplishment. You see, when I was healthy, I thought I would find
love and get admirers like my sister. I thought my prince charming would sweep
me off my feet and shower me with a bouquet of red roses. But it didn’t happen.
Guess what? It happened when I had cancer! Yes, when I became terminally ill, I
found my prince charming. Tall, dark, crazily handsome, religious,
intelligent…I found my prince charming when I became sick. Wow! That’s my
greatest accomplishment.’
“When are you coming?
The food will get cold oo!” She
called from the living room.
“Give me a second,” I
yelled in return as I carefully placed the sheet where I had met it and walked
out of the room.
***
The surprise breakfast
was a delight. Khayrah had placed a large tray on the rug and in it contained
several delicacies of food. Coconut rice, spaghetti, fish sauce, fruit juice,
coffee, pear, watermelon…just name it.
I stared at Khayrah and
the large tray that glittered with sumptuous meals in admiration. “How did you
manage to plan all these?”
A flicker of amusement
passed across her face. “Don’t ask questions. Sit down and start digging.”
“Right,” I muttered as
I sat at the other end of the tray and served my meal into a plate. “But we
can’t even finish half of this.”
“Shh.” She placed a finger across her lips and I smiled in return,
eating silently and savouring the taste of the meal.
Khayrah and I ate in
silence and I wished that it would last forever. We, sitting side by side and
eating together. I wished that we could live together…but that was impossible.
A bang on our gate
drifted me back to reality. Khayrah and I exchanged looks as we wondered who
would be knocking.
“I’m guessing it would be
the estate’s women,” Khayrah said as she stood up.
“Did they inform you about
visiting?”
“No, but I guessed
right. I knew we’d have someone to complete our breakfast,” she laughed and I
joined.
“I’ll go and take my
bath. We never can tell when they’ll leave,” I stated.
“I’ll explain to them
that we have to leave soon,” Khayrah replied as she opened the entrance door.
***
“Welcome, Mr. and Mrs.
Adewale,” the petite receptionist smiled at us as we entered the building.
“Thank you,” we grinned
cheerfully as we approached the counter hand in hand.
“John will show you to
your room. Have a nice honeymoon,” the lady smiled at us.
Khayrah stifled a snort
of laughter. “Honeymoon? Anyway, thank you.” She said as we tailed the tall man
that led to our house.
Thanking him and
surveying the 5-star room that looked exquisite, Khayrah jumped on the bed and
grinned in excitement. “This is so lovely. This will be fun.”
I placed the luggage
beside the bed and pulled off my shirt. “More fun than you can ever imagine.
You and I alone,” I winked at her as I opened the luggage. “Maybe we should
switch off our phones during this period. We don’t want anything to distract
us. What do you think?” I asked as I selected a simple t-shirt to wear.
Whipping my head to
check why Khayrah hadn’t responded to my question, I was shocked to see her
looking dazedly up at my face with my phone in her hand. “Who is Funke?”
“I...” I was saying
when she cut me off.
“Who is she and what is
this I’m reading?” Khayrah’s face flamed as she read the message that popped up
on my screen.
‘I
heard your wife will be dying soon. I know you’ll want to get married again.
I’m still single and available.’ –Funke.
I cleared my throat and
walked over to the bed to sit beside her. Tears stung her eyes as she tried to
avoid my gaze.
“Do you trust me?” I
asked, pulling her face to mine and watching as the tears started to flow
freely down her cheeks. “My love, do you trust me?”
“I do,” she replied as
she hugged me and cried in my arms.
We remained in the same
position for minutes, wondering what life had in store for us and when our
marriage will end. I wished our moment together could last forever…but it
wouldn’t.
Khayrah blew her nose
as she pulled away from me. Surprisingly, her face flickered with a smile.
“Let’s go shower.”
“Okay,” I stated as I
grabbed the towels on the bed and handed one to her.
A/N: One episode to go!☺❤
Don't miss out on the previous episodes:
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