When Love Travels - Episode 8

 

Final EpisodeEpisode.

The next morning Ken went back to his house, got dressed and drove down to his former residence. He heard Caterpillar had moved back to Kundulo Street. He rolled up the 
glasses of his car, as soon as he swerved into the ghetto. The last time he perceived the 
oozing smell from the ghetto slum, he almost vomited in his car. He wondered how he survived in such a place.

Ken thought about a number of things he could do to get his pound of flesh . He thought of how he could reveal to the police that Caterpillar had murdered someone before. But then, he felt like it was unnecessary. Finally, he made up his mind to forgive him. 

“Leaving Caterpillar idle might make him dabble into something nefarious” he thought.

When he got to the house, he met Gbegege, the beggar. 

“Fine Oga, we meet again. I know say, my ancestors must bless me today”

“Gbegege, you no go leave this kind life?” he asked while pressing a bundle of cash into Gbegege’s breast pocket.

“Fine oga. God bless you”

“You’re welcome Gbegege”

Ken walked into the house. He found Caterpillar trying to hang himself

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. He hurriedly 
picked a knife from the kitchen to cut the rope which was hanging from the concrete ceiling. 

“Caterpillar it has not gotten to this extent. Suicide no be the way” Ken said hysterically

“Omoh suicide na the way o. I no deserve to live” he responded while crying. He continued

“Ken I don hurt you no be small. Na jealousy make me do the things weh I do. Abeg forgive me”

“Mehn you hurt me so bad. I never thought you could do such to me. Aria told me everything”

Caterpillar knelt down and clung to Ken’s legs 

“Ken abeg forgive me. I’m sorry” 

After some minutes, Ken lifted him and hugged him.

“Ken I get one more confession. That rich man weh been dey date Aria. The man weh I and Tolu go rob that year”

“Yeah. I remember warning you not to do that. You made it look like, you were going to fight for me. I never knew you were fighting for your selfish interests. I was never interested in the money you stole, if that’s what you want to confess”

“My brother abeg forgive me. I r*pe e wife. I do am make e pain the man well, so that e go leave Aria for me. The woman na…” Caterpillar was stuttering at this point.

“The woman na wetin Caterpillar?”

“Na she…..Na she…Na she be….Your fiancée” Caterpillar muttered

Ken rushed at him and gave him a thick blow on his mouth. He threw furious punches at him for some minutes, soon Caterpillar became unconscious. Ken removed his phone from his pocket to call his girlfriend, to tell her he had found the man who r*ped her.

The phone call was disrupted by a loud noise that came from the door. 

Amadi, the hit man who Miranda contracted to punish the man who r*ped her, stormed into the room with two men. He pointed a gun at Ken and ordered him to kneel down.

“Caterpillar! So after two years, I finally have you to myself” Amadi boasted in his thick bass voice.

Ken was confused and tried to tell them that, Caterpillar was lying unconscious on the floor but one of Amadi’s boys sent a bullet through one of his legs.

“Easy dragon the mission is not to kill but to…” Amadi groaned.

Immediately, the two boys bundled Ken, ripped his trousers with a knife. 

Ken managed to hold one of them by the 
throat.

“Oh really! Wanna fight boy?” Amadi ranted.

Amadi pounced on him, he attempted to punch Ken. Ken dodged the punch and returned a blow to Amadi’s lower abdomen. Then another punch to his face, and another, and finally gave him an upper cut on his jaw, which sent him straight to the cold floor. One of the boys shot Ken on his other leg. Amadi rose and staggered towards Ken. He removed his knife and tore Ken’s trousers completely. In few seconds, he had castrated Ken. 

Mission was accomplished. They made to leave. 

Paa! Paa! Paa! Caterpillar managed to 
accurately send three bullets into Amadi and his boys. They died at the spot. Caterpillar fell back to the floor, and was too weak to even move his fingers. He watched Ken’s blood travel on the cold floor towards him. He 
remembered the fun moments, he and Ken 
shared right from their teenage days. He 
remembered the day; Ken saved him from the police and promised never to let anything harm him. 

More of Ken’s blood sailed passed Caterpillar’s face. A drop of tear flowed down Caterpillar’s eyes.

They say the walls have ears. 
If they also have mouth to speak; they will tell this tale of how love travelled and pain rose to take its place.

*****************************************
EPILOGUE

Fifteen years later. Jerere Prison, Osun State. 

“Hey! Idiot!.Come here. You are leaving my shit hole now” a fair skinned lanky prison warder ranted

One could see the ray of hope on the faces of the prisoners in cell 18, as they all chorused 
“me?”

“Shut up. No be una. You!. Get your big ass up” he said pointing his finger at Caterpillar.

Caterpillar had always dreamt of the day when he will leave the shit hole called Jerere prison. 

After the incident that swallowed the life of his childhood friend, Ken, he turned himself over to the police for r*ping Miranda. He told Miranda the whole story of how Ken took the bullets meant for him. The thought of her mistakenly murdering her lover was more painful than the r*pe incident itself. The only reason she didn’t commit suicide was the child she had for Ken. Immediately after Ken’s burial, she permanently relocated to Sweden with her son, Shawn.

For Caterpillar, fifteen years of being stripped of freedom and a normal life, made him turned a new leaf.

“Big fool!. You go leave my sh*t hole abi you wan sit down there dey think for another twenty years” the prison warder ranted again

Caterpillar hurriedly stood up and followed the warder.

“Sorry oga I was just thinking. I’ve lost everything. No family, no friend, no money”

“But you’ve got life. Trust me when I say you have everything”

Caterpillar put on the old tattered clothes the prisoner handed over to him. When he got to the prison gate, he turned to look at the prison one more time. 

“Paa! Paa! Paa!” an unknown gunman shot Caterpillar thrice. He died at the spot. 

THE END