Hello, fellow Nairalanders, here is an interesting romance story that is faith-based.

It is a story full of intrigues and suspense.

Happy reading.


The Missing Soulmate







(C) 2023




Michael and Mariam are neighbors but he never thought he could fall in love with her. A missing clothing brought them closer. There were intrigues all along. Mariam did the unthinkable to succeed in getting her missing soulmate.




As the bus made a turn on the Opebi Road, I told the conductor I would like to alight at the next Bus Stop. I soon got down from the bus and made my way to Aderiye Crescent. The house at Number 13 was my destination. It was a storey building painted white. There were two apartments of two-bedroom flats on each of the two floors - all together four flats. At the back of the main building, there were also three rooms at the boys' quarter. A room served as the kitchenette while another room served as the toilet. There was yet another room that served the occupants of the BQ as bathroom.

I stayed in one of the rooms at the boys' quarter. It was few minutes to seven p.m when I entered my room. It had been a hectic day and it was certainly not an easy thing to be shuffling between Opebi and Apogbon on Lagos Island where I worked. Thank God it was Friday. I would be resting from the hustle of waking up early to go to work the following day. At twenty-seven, I was a bachelor who was still praying to settle down to marital life. For now, I hoped the lady in my life would transform to a soulmate. I had already bought some things on my way home: two big loaves of bread, some tins of sardines, and some other stuffs. I would take some bread and a tin of the sardine tonight. I had a small fridge where I kept some drinks. A bottle of carbonated drinks would complement the meal. As I took my meal, I thought of Faith, my ladyfriend.

She would be coming around tomorrow and I very much looked forward to her coming. It was not that Faith was a good cook or a house keeper. No, far from it. However, her coming always offered me some companionship. After my meal, I settled down to watch television. I decided, as usual, for a movies channel. It was an action movie I had watched before, but I would not mind watching it again. I later drifted off to sleep and only woke about 11.00 p.m.

I remembered I had spread some clothes outside on the rope we used for that purpose in the morning before I left for work. Surely, they would be dry by now. I went outside to remove the clothes, returned to my room, dropped the clothes on the other side of the bed and sat on the only sofa in the room to continue watching the movie. Few minutes later, sleep came again. I yielded to it with all pleasure.

By eight the following morning, I had woken up but I still lay on the bed. I was still in that position when there was a knock on my door. I quickly checked the time on my phone which was on the stool by the side of the bed. It was just eight minutes past eight. Could that be Faith? Not likely. I wasn't expecting her about now.

Following.

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Following.

Following

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Go on.

Go on.

The knock was repeated. I yawned and got up from the bed. Still clad only in boxers, I went to the door, unlocked and opened it.

"Good morning," Mariam greeted. She was the second occupant of the BQ and we had been neighbours.

I nodded at her. "Good morning, Sister Mariam."

Even though I suspected that we were about the same age, I called her 'sister'. She was a beautiful lady who worked as a nurse in a private hospital. She was quite a snob, so we had only a formal, neighbourly relationship.

"Sorry to bother you, Mike," she went on. "But I happen to be looking for one of my brassiers."

I could hardly believe my ears. So, Mariam was looking for one of her undies and she came knocking on my door?

She must have seen the look of incredulity on my face, for she quickly went on: "I spread and left it outside yesterday. It's a black one with padded cups and lacy edges. You might have packed it among your clothes."

I sighed and shook my head. "Sorry, I didn't see or mistakenly take it."

She stared briefly at me and left. I was back in my room. She should look else where for her bra, I thought in amusement. There was no way I would have made the mistake of taking such a thing.

I switched on the flatscreen again and sat on the sofa. Some minutes later, I decided to brush my teeth and have a bath. I removed my towel from the wardrobe, left the room with my sponge case, brush and toothpaste and went to the bathroom. I had a good brush of teeth and a bath.

Since only two of us used the bathroom and toilet, we were able to make the place clean and decent. Many minutes later, I returned to my room. After sparsely creaming my body, I wore a casual jeans and t-shirts. It was few minutes after nine when Faith came in.

Cool 😎😎

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Go on.

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After sparsely creaming my body, I wore a casual jeans and t-shirts. It was few minutes after nine when Faith came in.

"Hello, darling," she greeted, coming to give me a peck.

"Hi," I replied. "How lucky I am to have you. You look dazzling as ever."

She smiled brightly. One of the good things about me was I could awe a lady easily with words.

"So, how's your weekend, so far?" she asked.

"It has been such a dreary thing, like a desert bereft of life. But now that you're around, it has turned to a forest - a land of beautiful flowers and endless bliss."

She smiled delightedly. "Na wa o for all these your words." All the same, i knew she was delighted by them.

She sat on the bed while I sat on the sofa. Her eyes went to the heap of clothes I left on the bed. "Oh dear, must you always pile your clothes on the bed instead of putting them in the wardrobe?"

Faith was a fastidious lady and was always saying things like this.

"I was actually about to pack them when you came in," I said defensively.

She pouted her lips and started to pack the clothes one by one. I changed the channel of the decoder to a channel she liked to watch. Faith suddenly stopped what she was doing and glared at me.

"And what is this?" she demanded, pointing at an object. I looked at what she pointed at and stood up.

"What! How come?"

On the bed, in between some of my clothes was a black bra with lacy edges. I had no doubt this was the bra Mariam was talking about.

"But ...but how did it get there?" I stuttered.

Faith became indignant. "You're asking me! Oh, Mike, so this is what you've been doing. You've been cheating on me all this while, deceiving me that I'm the only one for you."

I became ultra defensive. "No, no, my dear, it's not what you think. That bra got there in error."

She frowned. "I've been having some doubts lately - that you're too smooth to be trusted. How could a bra get into your room and you are still trying to bring up an excuse. You know what? I am through with this relationship. It is over. Goodbye."

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She frowned. "I've been having some doubts lately - that you're too smooth to be trusted. How could a bra get into your room and you are still trying to bring up an excuse. You know what? I am through with this relationship. It is over. Goodbye."

With that, she made to pick up her handbag on the centre table.

"You don't mean it," I said in astonishment. "Surely you must be joking. The bra is all a mistake. The owner, Mariam, even came to ask if I mistakenly took it among my clothes. I didn't even know the bra was among the clothes."

Faith behaved as if she had not heard a word that I spoke. I tried to block her.

"Listen, Faith. I can take you to Mariam and she will confirm that I mistakenly took it. The worse part was, when she came to ask for it, I didn't realize it was with me."

Faith brushed me aside. "Mike, go and meet your Mariam and leave me alone."

With that, she stormed out of the room. I was perplexed. What kind of thing was this? I could have sworn that I did not take that bra when Mariam came to ask me. It was beffudling that it was right inside my room. Now, the thing had caused a conflict from my darling Faith. I went on to pick the bra and examined it. It certaily looked good and sexy, my carnal mind said. I started imagining how it would look on Mariam but I quickly checked myself. Now, what would I do? What else but to return the thing to its owner and apolopize for the error? I chided myself. I brought a white polythene bag from my wardrobe, put the bra inside it and left my room for Mariam's own. At the door to her room, I could hear gospel music being played. I could not really understand Mariam.

She claimed to be a Muslim but she was always playing Christian music. Inwardly, I shrugged as I knocked at the door. In a moment, she came to open the door.

"Hello, Sister Mariam. Sorry I made a mistake. When I packed my clothes yesterday evening, I must have taken your bra along. It was not long ago that I knew it was with me."

She suddenly looked relaxed and briefly smiled. "So, you mean the missing bra is actually with you? Goodness! Well, at least you are sincere to admit you took it by error and to return it." I smiled too and nodded.

"To err is human." I dipped my hand into the nylon to bring the bra out. "Here, you are."

She received it with more smile. "Thanks," she said.

"You are welcome."

As I turned to go, the smile suddenly went off her face. "Excuse me, but this is not my bra."

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As I turned to go, the smile suddenly went off her face. "Excuse me, but this is not my bra."

Once again, that morning, I was astonished. "What! What are you talking about?"

She shook her head as she continued to examine the bra. "This is not my bra,"she repeated. "I use black La Perla bra. This is another product. Besides, the straps are longer and the cups are bigger than my size."

I could not believe what I was hearing. "So who's the owner of this?" I asked rhetorically.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it belongs to your girlfriend."

It was my turn to shake my head. "No, it doesn't. My girlfriend was even the first to see it in my room. She was angry to see it and she accused me of bringing in another girl, leaving my room in vexation. This bra cannot be hers."

Mariam sighed. "Well, take it back. It's not mine," she countered.

"But it has to be yours," I insisted. "This is the black bra you're looking for."

She too was adamant. "It's like you don't understand. Wait."

She entered her room. As I waited for her, I wondered what she was up to. I didn't wonder for long. She soon returned with another bra, a pink one.

"This is mine and this is my size. Now, let's compare this to the black one you brought." She held the two bras close. "First, the exact tag on the pink bra is not on the black one. The brand tag on the pink one is the tag on all my bras. Secondly, compare their straps. The black one is larger and longer. Finally, look at their cups. The black cups are much bigger. This black bra is not my own."

I could indeed see the differences that she pointed out, but if it was not hers, as she claimed, whose own was it? She returned the black bra to me and I took it back inside my room more confused than ever.

Nice one.

Cool 😎

👍


🧡

Go on.

I could indeed see the differences that she pointed out, but if it was not hers, as she claimed, whose own was it? She returned the black bra to me and I took it back inside my room more confused than ever.


* * *

Some hours later, I tried to relax in my room by watching some live football matches. There was a gentle rapping at my door. My heart raced in excitement. Had Faith realized the folly of her action and had come back? I went on to the door. It was Mariam that was there.

"Can I see you for one moment?" she asked. Her face looked stern and I wondered what was bothering her.

"Sure," I replied. "You can see me right away."

She nodded. "Good. It's on the missing bra issue. I've been thinking about it and I've come to the conclusion that you've not been honest with me."

I was surprised to hear this accusation. I however kept quiet.

"You've not been straight forward at all," she continued. "First, you claimed you did not take the bra. Later, you said you took it, but you only returned the wrong one. Why are you doing all this? Why are taking it as a prank or something?"

I nearly laughed. How could she be insinuating this?

"You're so wrong, Mariam," I said, dropping the sister stuff for good. "You call it prank, how could I be playing such a prank? Faith, my girlfriend, was the first to see it. She accused me of unfaithfulness and left in anger. How could I have been playing pranks?"

"Your prank is your refusal to return my original bra," she retorted.

I became exasperated. "I've given you the one I saw. You're the one claiming it's not your own."

"Because it's not mine!" she fired back. "Look, Mike, I'm aware that some people do sinister thing with people's underwears. If that's your plan, you will fail. Look, I give you three hours to produce my bra!"

With that, she stormed out of my presence. I thought I must be in a bad dream and needed to wake up. See me see trouble! I shook my head and returned inside my room. This was certainly getting out of hand.

How could Mariam accuse me of diabolism? I had been a tenant in that house for the past six months, had she ever seen anything fetish with me? I had a fairly paying job and had never contemplated becoming a 'yahoo boy.'

Interesting.

Cool work.

I had a fairly paying job and had never contemplated becoming a 'yahoo boy.'

The idea of doing something fetish with her underwear was, to say the least, absurd. To me it was reprehensible and silly. Mariam was most likely trying to make an issue out of nothing. I was sure the bra I found belonged to her. I would not believe her claim that it was not her brand or that it was not her size. Why couldn't she take what I gave her? It was few minutes after 2.00 p.m and I should think of what to have for lunch. With Faith not around, it was going to be a very boring weekend.

On the television, the referee blew the final whistle signalling the end of the match. My favourite team had won, but my sour mood called for no celebration. There was another knock at my door. Had Mariam come to make more ridiculous allegations? Slowly, I went to open the door. I was confronted by a girl I knew to be the landlady's house girl.

"Good afternoon, sir," she greeted. "Madam say she want see you and you should come now, now." I nodded at her. "Alright, tell her I'll be coming."

The landlady usually sent the girl to summon me on matter concerning payment of electricity bills, waste disposal and other sundry issues. I went inside to remove my keys and lock the door. I then went to the main building. Madam Abdulrazaq, the widow landlady lived in one of the flats on the first floor. She was a woman in her sixties and she lived with her last daughter who, i understood, was in the university. I pressed the bell to madam's flat and it was the house girl that opened the door for me.

On stepping inside the expansive sitting-room, I saw the madam already seated. Surprisingly, Mariam was seated too.

"Good afternoon, madam," I greeted the landlady.

"Good afternoon, Mike," she replied and gestured towards a seat. "Sit down."

I sat on the seat. "Thank you, ma."

She nodded. "I'll go straight to the point," she went on. "Why did you refuse to return Mariam's bra?"

It was not funny but I felt like chuckling.

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