Behind the tears

" let me check what's going on online " Adigun said to himself as he laid on the couch after a hectic day at work coupled with the notorious Lagos traffic , he felt so tired as he scroll through his cell phone. His job as a lawyer and human right activist is so tediously demanding especially for a bachelor like him Its already telling on his relationship as his fiancé is beginning to complain about his unavailability when she needed her the most. Finding nothing that really catches his fancy online, he settled for his bed as he will have to leave as early as 5 a.m tomorrow morning if he want to beat the traffic along the third mainland bridge. He barely closed his eyes when he began to hear noise coming from the other apartment of the compound " These people has come with their wahala again" he complained " I pray they resolve their issue on time and allow the compound to rest" he said as he covered himself with the duvet

Mr. and Mrs. Fred has been a mess the whole compound has to deal with for quite a while, there will always be something to fight over by this couple almost every night and the ripple effect of their their fight on their neighbor is sleeplessness especially Adigun whose flat is the closest to theirs.

What always baffles their neighbors including Adigun is the fact that no matter how tensed their fight or argument is, when you see them the next day you won't believe they had fought the previous night as they will be laughing and cuddling like some love birds.

"This episode of the fight is not gonna end soon" Adigun murmured as he stand up from the bed to go get some water . The noise is getting louder and the sound of glassware being broken echoes in the air. " I just pray this man will not kill his wife one day" he was thinking as he opened the fridge ,brought out a bottle of water and poured some into the cup. He was about drinking the water when he heard a bang on his front door. " who can that be " he said while he looked up to check the clock on the wall which read 12:15 am. The knock became intensed and this time accompanied with a voice " uncle Adigun! Please open the door don't let this beast kill me" That's obviously Mr Fred's voice , Adigun recognised immediately " why is she coming to my flat ?" He asked as he rushed to the door. He opened the door and Mrs. Fred rushed in with bruises all over her body, Adigun closed the door. "Madam what happened?" Adigun asked but Mrs. Fred ignored as she was panting heavily " what about your husband?", I hope He's OK" he further inquired. " I can't say " Mrs Fred managed to answer " he wanted to kill me and I had to fight back, I hit him on the head with a flower vase and ran out of the house " she concluded " You hit him on the head? What If he die ?" " to hell with him , somebody that wanted to kill me, look at my body everywhere is bruised" she began to open her body for Adigun to see " I have really suffered in the hand of this mam, there has never been a peaceful day for me in that house" she began to cry. Adigun was confused and he began to wonder what she's still waiting for in the house of a man that constantly and steadily abuse her " I think you should leave him if you really love yourself because this man will eventually kill you or render you incapacitated one day " Adigun was forced to talk " leave him ? , where will I start from? I love him and he loves me. He's all I've got" Mrs Fred said with tears rolling down her cheeks. Adigun was watching with astonishment . "madam if you love yourself you should find something done as soon as possible and I can help you if you would allow me" he advised. He barely finished his statement when they heard a loud bang on the door " so you are hiding in your man friend's apartment abi ? you better open this door now before I pull it down Ashawo" Mr Fred screamed from the outside . " Me , boyfriend to a married woman ? God forbid " Adigun said to himself as he was so surprised to hear him say such things and so embarrassed by the attitude at the same time . " I think you have to go back to him before he do something stupid he told Mrs Fred , he unscrewed the door and open it for her to leave suddenly he felt a bang on his head , the pain was so severe that he began to feel dizzy and weak his head is swelling and his feet could not hold him anymore he had to look for a support. " next time you will learn not to interfere with husband and wife matter " Mr Fred said as he dragged his wife by hand while they both leave Adigun's apartment.

Adigun could not sleep through the night as his head was aching badly even after taking some analgesics to suppress the pain. ". I will sue this bastard" he swore to himself " first thing tomorrow morning, I will report him to The Center Against Domestic Violence before he kill that woman" he concluded.

Early in the morning , Adigun drove directly to the CADV's office to report the case and two officer was given him to invite the couple for interrogation. During the questioning, Mrs Fred denied the fact that her husband abuse her , she even went further to state how loving and caring her husband his since they got married two years ago. She said her husband only had a little misunderstanding with Adigun the previous day over a parking space and that might be the reason he reported them. The case was later dismissed for lack of substantial evidence and credibility.

It's been over two weeks since the incident happened and Adigun has been minding his business in the compound he make sure he avoids interaction with anybody especially Mr. and Mrs Fred. On a sunny afternoon, Adigunwas in the supermarket to buy some groceries when he bumped on Mrs. Fred , he tried to dodge her but it's obvious she's seen her already as she walked towards him with a dazzling smile "Uncle Adigun, how are you ?" She said as she stretched her hand to shake him but Adigun ignored " I'm so sorry for the other day but I had to do that I don't want to loose him " Adigun looked on in amazement " look at the car outside" she said as she pointed to the Toyota Venza parked outside " that's the gift I got for getting beaten that night , so don't blame me for the choice I made i prefer to be crying inside a Porsche than to be smiling on Okada" she continues "poverty is not good my brother " she concluded carried her groceries and left. Adigun still standing and wondering whether he heard right or he's dreaming. The statements kept on ringing in his head as he drove away "its better to cry inside a Porsche than to be smiling on okada . what's this world turning into? " he asked himself again and again