A Devastating Halt

The last thing I heard was the slamming of the door.

I have made up my mind to send him the divorce signature when I reached Ogbomosho and he would settle with my lawyer. This was really the end.

I sat in one of those train compartments that was crowded with traders leaving north to search for greener pastures somewhere west. The train was heavily crowded; some passengers were crouching low, some sitting, while others were hanging on to rails of the ceiling for balance. The air was thick and the stench of sweat lingered in every corner of the space we occupied. I sat close to the window and stared into the distance promising myself never to look back again. How I wound up in this smelly train didn’t register; what was humming horror to my ears was that a blooming marriage of three years just came to a halt.

A devastating halt.

I do not blame myself for wanting to explore the world, I wanted to enjoy my youth and travel the globe but he thinks it’s all a waste of time. He had begged me to stay but I wouldn’t. Never would anyone imprison me again. What led to me leaving my home of three years was the new assignment i undertook at a distant southern state. I have always wanted to be someone who impacted in the lives of others, and assuming a new post in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology was a step closer to achieving that. Why would any man not want me to be that way?

Yes, our love was beautiful, and it sprung from our favourite Shakespeare book; Romeo and Juliet.

He had overheard me quote Juliet and immediately, he responded with that Romeo line and we fell in love. A beautiful romance that I thought would last forever.

How unfortunate.

My phone rang and I struggled to reach for it in the depths of my pocket and at last, when I pressed it to my ears, a cold voice stung me in the heart and tears leaked my eyes.

“Mrs. Suleman, your husband has been in a fatal accident. We lost him”

The phone fell.