The Godmother

Episode 39

He stared at her and then turned his gaze at the mirror,
which was just few meters away. Slowly, he moved towards
it. When he saw the face projected by the mirror, he could
not help letting out a horrified exclamation.
‘This cannot be. This is not me!’
‘That’s you. That’s the new you.’
He moved away from the mirror briefly and moved to it
again. It reflected the same image he had seen.

‘This is not real,’ he said. ‘I must be hallucinating. I must be
having a bad dream, a nightmare!’
She sat down on the bed calmly. He turned to her.

‘Iye, this must be a bad dream.’
‘Sh-sh,’ she hushed him. ‘I’m not Iye again. I’m Rita.’

He opened his mouth for seconds. ‘Alright. Whether it is Iye
or Rita, it doesn’t matter. This must be a bad dream.’

She shook her head. ‘It’s not. You’re physically in my house
in Lagos.’

‘But how did I get here? I was in my guest room in Abuja,
the last time I knew.’
‘Calm down, my dear. Come and sit down.’
He gazed at her, finding everything incredible.
She smiled at him again. ‘Come on, come and sit down.’

He shook his head and sat on the bed. He could feel the
bed. His legs could feel the floor. Instinctively, he touched
her. He could feel her soft skin. Everything looked so real.

‘Don’t worry, my dear. You’ll adjust to the new life. You
have exhausted the time given to you as Tope Davies to
enjoy wealth and power. You have gone through transition,
and just as you desired when our relationship first started,
we’re together.’

‘I can’t believe it. You mean I’m … you mean Tope is dead?’

She nodded sadly. ‘Unfortunately, he is.’
‘Really?’ he stared at her.
‘Yes. It will soon be in the news.’
‘Oh, God. Oh, God. But I’m alive.’
‘Yes, but not that Tope. You can’t claim to be Tope again.
Never.’

He stood up and went to the mirror again. He shook his
head and moved his hands. The image in the mirror did
everything he did. He was perplexed.
After she had taken her bath, she returned to the bedroom
to cream her body and to dress up. It was already few
minutes after six. She was surprised he was still asleep.

Normally by now, he would be up to start preparing for the
day.

‘Darling, aren’t you getting up to start preparing for the
day?’ she asked him.

There was no response from him. After few seconds, she
moved to the side of the bed to rouse him.
‘Darling, are you going to sleep all day long?’

She tapped his shoulder. He remained still. It struck her
that something was not right. She tried to rouse him more,
but she could see that he was like a log of wood.

‘Darling, darling.’ She tapped him and shook him more. No,
no, no, something was seriously wrong.
‘Honey, wake up.’ She turned him on his back and his
deathly face remained unmoved. He was very still. At that
moment, Rita let out a scream.

The house maid was the first to hear her scream. She
rushed to the master bedroom. There, she saw her madam
holding her husband, shaking him and calling his name
amidst sobs.