PERFECT DAY

"TAP-TAP-TAP!!!!!went the gate.
CRAP!!!"Judith spat  as she turned down the volume on the Tv, silencing the Characters on NCIS

She listened for more sounds from the gate.Hopefully it would be those annoying neighborhood kids again.She thought.
With any luck,the troublesome monsters would go away and let her watch her NCIS in peace.

This was her best part of the morning,When Ken had left for work and she and her unemployed self could just chill and watch her favorite TV program-me.
It was her perfect morning.
Sitting down stark-naked with her bowl of cereal and watching the GOOD GUYS solve yet another gruesome murder.
The last thing she needed was an interruption.

After listening for a few more seconds, she decided it was probably the kids being troublesome again.
She was about turning up the volume on the Tv when.....

TAP-TAP-TAP came the gate again.This time a louder.
Sighing heavily.There goes my morning!She thought to herself.As she got up from the couch.
There was clearly someone at the gate.


She hated the fact that SHE  would have to go upstairs, put on some clothes, come back downstairs, unlock the door and then step into the rays of the scorching sun, and walk all the way to the gate.All this time,missing NCIS

Ideally Clement,the cross-eyed security man should have  been at the gate, but trust Clement to turn a simple "Please-help-me-buy-credit" errand into a small pilgrimage.

As she made for the staircase she stole a small glance(as she always did) at their wedding picture.
It was a really nice picture.Her and Ken standing in front of the church staring into each other's eyes.


It was a beautiful wedding.Though the band at the reception tried to F**K it up by playing 'HIGH-LIFE' music throughout. which she thought was just annoying.
but all in all, it was a beautiful day.

That was about a year ago. But the joy of that day was  always fresh in her heart
As she entered the bedroom,she could smell traces of Ken's Cologne in the air.

A mischievous smile played across her lips, as she remembered their love-making that morning.
She felt something stir inside her.
Ken was awesome in bed (as in god-like awesome) he had ways of turning her on that were just crazy.

As  she walked past  a mirror, she stole a glance at her figure.
YEP!
She she had a rocking body.Her boobs and hips were just right and she loved the way her skin looked. Thank God NYSC was over,she thought to herself.
She hated how dark and rough her skin used to be.Hopefully, when she started working, it would still look this good.
"You need to get a job soon," Ken would drum into her ears every time the subject came up.

She slipped on the bathrobe Ken got her for valentine .She frowned at the fact that she wasn't pregnant yet
"All in good time" like her mum would say.

TAP-TAP-TAP went the gate again.This time LOUDER!
Whom ever it was,sounded pissed.
She rushed out of the room.

As she sprinted down the stairs, she wondered what was keeping Clement.No doubt he'd encountered some female vendor(i.e bread, banana or groundnut seller)
That was his thing; Alcohol and under-aged girls.

The truth was,Clement wasn't a bad-worker, just that when he wasn't preoccupied with his "hobbies" he was kinda absent minded
.
Like yesterday, when Ken had instructed him to dig a "small hole" to bury SHEBA,( Ken's dog that had died a few days before)
Ken was still shaken up about it.
He loved that dog so much.

He'd instructed the cross-eyed and slightly drunk Clement to dig a hole to bury SHEBA in the backyard.
And you know  what Clement did? He dug a hole big enough to bury a human sized coffin in the backyard.
What was he thinking?
He'd wrapped SHEBA inside two Gada-Must-go bags.And dumped her body next to the huge pile of dirt.He still hadn't buried SHEBA yet.
Judith's backyard was still a mess.

TAP-TAP-TAP!!! Judith was almost at the gate now.The ground was was burning the soles of her bare feet as she walked .
"I'm here o!!!" she said as she touched the side of the gate. The metal was on fire.

"Who is it?" Judith demanded.
There was silence from the other side of the gate.
"Why are you not picking your phone?" came Favor's voice from the other side of the gate.
"CRAP!!" Judith exclaimed as somewhere in her head she could hear Ken's voice going;

"Always keep your phone with you at all times"
"I'm so sorry dear" Judith said as she opened the gate.
Favor stood there in her office clothes looking like she'd had the worst morning in creation.
"Didn't you go to work?" she asked her best friend as she entered the compound. There was something off about Favor. She seemed deeply troubled.

"I have some bad news" Favor said simply as Judith locked the gate behind them.
Something in Favor's eyes told her this was very serious.

They went back into the house.

Favor had  been Judith's best-friend for years. They'd been in school together and had served together in Ekiti state.

The two of them sat in the kitchen in silence. Somehow they always seemed to have some of their major "girl-jist" in that kitchen.

Favor was a pretty petite girl whom had a knack for falling for the wrong guy.



NCIS was long over by now, Judith thought.She sighed went to the sink and decided to start chopping up some vegetables for Ken's lunch.
It was still early, but she like her mother always said,
"Preparation is everything"

Favor was sitting on one of the Kitchen stools.She seemed miserable.



After a long silence Judith  asked

"So whats wrong?"

For a long time, Favor was silent. Almost like she hadn't heard.
Judith was about to repeat the question when Favor said.
"I'm H.I.V positive"

The silence that accompanied the statement was deafening.

Judith stared at her not really certain she'd heard what she'd heard.

"You're what??" was all Judith could manage.

"I....just got my test results today...from a second hospital!" Favor said still not looking up.
There was something vacant and zombie-like about her expression.

There was another long silence in the kitchen.Judith didn't know what to say or do.Was there a 'What to do/say when your friend is HIV positive' manual?

The Ticking of the kitchen Clock was the only sound that could be heard.

Favor's eyes were filled with tears as she wept in silence.
Judith went to her friend and hugged her.
Favor's small body seemed smaller in her arms.

This can't be happening, Judith thought.This was her perfect day.She'd had sex with her husband, she'd been watching NCIS for Christ sake. .How could her best-friend be HIV Positive?

Both women were crying now.
"I'm sorry ....Judith...so sorry..."Favor was saying between sobs as she her body trembled.

"Ssssh! It's okay,...it's not your fault..."Judith said.

"Yes.....it..it is...I.. last thing I wanted to do was hurt you and Ken...."

"Sssssh! It's okay...."Judith said. And in that moment it hit her.

She pulled back to stare into Favor's face.

"What are you talking about?Judith asked .

Favor's eyes were darting all over the place.Her face was a Pandora's Box of Sorrow.

"Ken and ...I are ....having an affair."she said and finally burst into a series of loud uncontrollable sobs.

Judith let go over her.And slowly .....backed away towards the sink.

LONG SILENCE.

"We..(sob)never meant to....(sob)...hurt anyone" Favor was saying

Judith couldn't hear her friend any more. All that played over and over again were a series of words;
"Unprotected sex.......AIDS,Infidelity,love,......best friend."
Images of their love making that morning flashed across her mind like snapshots from a camera.

"This isn't happening" she whispered to herself as Favor's sobbing filled the air.
This was her perfect day.She thought to herself.Her KEN wasn't unfaithful

"...(sob)we...tried to keep it...a secret...." Favor was saying.

But Judith couldn't hear her anymore.
All she kept on whispering to her self was;
"It's not happening,...its not real....."

"We...(sob) need to tell....Ken...!" Favour said finally.

Something inside Judith snapped.

Days later, Judith would tell the Police that she lost control of her body.She would tell them that it seemed like she were possessed by an evil entity.

Without thinking, Judith grabbed the kitchen knife and closed the distance between them in two strides. With her left hand, she...TENDERLY covered Favor's mouth....and with her right, she PLUNGED the blade into her best friend's stomach.....over...again.
The split second after the blade SLAMMED into her, Favor's EYES popped WIDE OPEN in shock...and then panic.

Her muffled screams died behind Judith's hand as the knife cut into her...repeatedly.
Her struggling Petite Frame was powerless against Judith's brutal assault.

In seconds, it was over.


LONG SILENCE

Favor's lifeless body slumped to the floor.It landed with a surprisingly loud thud on the marble floor.


Judith stood over her best-friend's body.

She would also tell the police that at that point, her mind was mostly a
 blank slate.

"This is my perfect day" she kept whispering to herself.

She grabbed her friend's body and dragged it across the kitchen floor.
There was blood everywhere.On the floor,on the kitchen stool, all  over Judith's robe and all over Favor.

Judith would tell the police that she felt nothing.No fear or regret as she opened  the back door and dragged Favor towards the hole.

Hours later, she'd buried Favor and Sheba's body.
She was sweating like crazy and her robe was a muddy mess.She was out of breath.


She went back into the kitchen, grabbed a mop and started cleaning.

"A clean house is a happy house" like her mother would say.

TAP-TAP-TAP!!! Went the gate.

Judith ignored it.She knew it was CLEMENT.

She kept on moping..

But some how she knew that no amount of cleaning would ever remove the stain of what she'd done.


LIFE IS A CHOICE  MY FRIEND
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID