NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. PT 1

    There was something about being a teacher that was interesting and fun. Standing alone in front of over twenty to thirty young minds, looking up to you as if you were the all knowing, trusting in the fact that whatever it is that comes out of your mouth as a teacher, is the truth and nothing but the truth. Expressions as different as the colors of rainbow, ranging from interest to boredom and in between, exist those who don’t even care at all and those who just stare at you blankly, minds thousands of miles away.

The frustration, the boredom, and the routine of it all added to the charm of the work.

And the biggest advantage of being a class room teacher is, I thought as I drive through the gate to park my Honder next to that of my wife’s Camry, the distraction the kids bring you once you stand before them. The funny naughty ones make you laugh and the brooding nasty ones make you wonder about their own problem and not yours.

     Stepping into my living room I transform from a happy jovial teacher to a married man—an unhappy married man.

It crossed my mind briefly that the door was open but I dismissed it as the carelessness of Selena my wife. I was willing to bet my two eyes that there was no one on the surface of this earth that was as lazy as Selena.

No one.

The house was airily quiet as I glance up at the wall clock.

2:30pm.

I closed from work today at 1:00pm but because I didn’t feel like seeing my wife yet, I had stayed back to do some markings.

Where was she? I thought to myself as I walked past the small library and she wasn’t there. She usually spent all her time reading Novels that I never know how they benefit her.

I opened the door to our bedroom and stepped in, leaving my shoes just inside the door. I got to the four poster bed and saw her in it.

Of course.

It was her next favorite past time…sleeping.

I feel the anger seeping from my heart to spread through my system, as I watched her. She slept like she didn’t have a single care in the world. That was Selena for you. In fact if I didn’t know her better I would have thought there was something wrong with the way she slept. But my wife slept like a cat, notorious for adopting various fetish positions, so long as she was comfortable.

Today she adopted her favorite foetus position but instead of her head curving inwards towards her chest, it was angled upwards and burrowed in one of the seven pillows surrounding her. No one knew how to enjoy sleep better than my wife.

    I walked past her to my reading table and placed my bag on the floor next to it. I emptied my pocket of my phone, car keys and some cash on the table before heading to the closet while I unbuttoned my shirt. Two minutes later I was in the shower, washing off the day’s stress. When I got out and changed into white shorts and a polo shirt I was feeling a little refreshed. Back to my reading table, I pulled out my laptop and got to work, sending and replying mails, doing some recordings and book-keeping. I was absorbed in reading an account forwarded to me when I thought I heard my wife. I glanced towards her absently, her face now looked towards me and I thought I saw her lips move while her brows furrowed. I frowned and ignored her, feeling disgusted. For the past three days we haven’t spoken a word to each other. She had told me she had resigned from her handsomely paying job with a tech company where my brother was the boss. I was furious because first of all she didn’t tell me before resigning and secondly she didn’t give me any good reason when I asked her for it.

I got bored with the job honey. I hardly get anytime to myself. We would simply look for something else for me….except teaching of course.

And she laughed in that low sexy way of hers.

I was so furious I smashed a wine glass to the wall. Nothing I did could make her change her mind, the obstinate woman.

She made a sound again in her sleep and this time around when I looked at her, her hands seemed to stretch towards me, fingers clutching at the sheets.

I hissed and left the room. I was hungry anyways.

In the kitchen, I went straight to the fridge for fresh pineapple juice, as I poured myself a glass I noticed the pizza on the counter and my face broke into a huge grin. My God but the woman really knew how to please a man. I bent to grab the knife from the floor then paused to simply stare at the object.

Why was it on the floor?

 I looked around and took in my surrounding. Something wasn’t right.

There was flour everywhere, a lot of things weren’t where they were supposed to be, like the pots she had used were still in the sink, there was a broken plate by the oven, the microwave was standing open, the blender was sitting there still connected to the socket and wasn’t washed, the pineapple peels where still on the sink. To some extent this wasn’t really abnormal, but this was Selena, for while she was inherently lazy, she was a neat freak.

I shrugged and went to slice up my pizza, there was always a first time for everything.

I took a plate and helped myself to some slices. I carried it with my juice to the dining where I devoured it; in two minutes I was done and had washed it down with the juice.

Damn but she was good. Why wasn’t she doing this for a living again?

Oh yes, it would be stressful.

Ok so maybe my wife wasn’t as lazy as I might have portrayed her. She was kind and considerate and she really loved me as I loved her. She just…liked to have a lot of free time. That wasn’t really laziness right?

I thought of the remaining slices of pizza in the kitchen, five will be too much for her, I thought as I went back for more. I placed two more on my plate leaving her with three, and then I removed one and added it to mine, mentally apologizing to her as I went back to the dining.

Biting into the first slice, I started to think maybe I had over reacted. The woman had had a rough childhood and fortunately for her she ended up marrying a young handsome millionaire, which was me.

Family money: heir apparent and all.

That I love to work doesn’t mean she has to. She was my wife and should be pampered and taken care of.

Moreover I miss her.

Not just the warmth of that slender delectable body, but her laughter and the stupid stories she liked to tell me from the books she read or the movies she watched.

I smiled, remembering the day I made the mistake of dozing off while she was narrating a pirate story to me, my God I never thought my ears would recover from the scream she unleashed upon me when she noticed I was long gone and she was only talking to herself. She was so hurt that I had to get her the jewelry she had been begging me for weeks to get her.

The woman got angry over the most unexpected of things. Smiling I shook my head and contemplated joining her in bed, but then I remembered the football match I was supposed to watch by four pm. I glanced at the wall clock and it was a minute to four. So I pushed back my empty plate, contemplated going for one more slice of pizza but resisted and went to the living room. I turned on the TV and settled back into the chair to enjoy the match.

      The shrill sound of the phone ringing had me jumping up, I had dozed off and didn’t even realize it, I turned down the volume of the TV checked the scores; none of the team had scored even a goal.

Where was her phone ringing from? I thought recognizing my wife’s ring tone.

Dining?

I got there and realized it was coming from the kitchen; I picked up my plate and glass and took it to the kitchen it was while placing it in the sink that I saw the Tecno phone peeping from under a plate.

What was her phone doing in the sink?

It had stopped ringing so I had to put the password to see who was calling her, at the same time wondering if she was still sleeping. My legs took me to where the pizza was and I unconsciously picked up another slice and bit into it.

Yummy

I unlocked it and instead of showing me the missed call I saw she had been recording with the phone. That brought a smile to my face.

Let me guess, she was singing. Always loved to record her voice, one of these days I would summon the courage to tell her that her voice when she was singing sounded like a freight train.

I pressed play, and readied my ears for the onslaught of her voice.

She didn’t disappoint.

Two minutes later the phone was stretched far away from me as I stared at it in disbelieve.

What was she saying?!

All I heard was an ‘aaah aaah baby aah aah’

I was popping the remaining pizza in my mouth when the song stopped and I heard her say

‘Who is there?’

Then

‘I am coming please.’

There was silence then a shuffling sound, and something like a lock turning.

By now the phone was pressed to my ear.

‘Oh it’s you.’

I heard her say.

‘Yes were you expecting someone else?’

‘My husband.’

A sound like the door closing

‘Of course’       

‘You can wait for him here if you want, he will soon be back.’

Who was it? I couldn’t recognize the voice.

‘Selena I came to talk to you.’

‘About what?’

‘Look I know you…’

‘Why do you like touching me? Keep your hands to yourself.’

Slowly I leaned off the counter, a confused frown on my face. She was obviously upset.

‘Relax it’s just your shoulder.’

‘I am a married woman don’t touch me.’

‘Stop the pretense you harlot! I know you like my touch.’

At this point I was shaking with anger, the voice was so familiar.

‘I want you out of this house…my husband will soon be here.’

 I could tell her voice was shaking. She was angry…but it was laced with fear.

‘Stop!’

Then a plate crashed. I glanced at the broken plate close to the oven.

Just like that the image of her on the bed flashed before my very eye. ..her fingers curling towards me.

Could it be she was not…

No, no no!

I dropped the phone and took off for the bedroom.

“Selena!” Her name ripped out of my throat as my heart seemed to have ceased functioning.

I crashed upon the door and stumbled into the room going around the huge bed to my wife.

Then I stopped short. My heart throbbing painfully against my chest, my breathe ragged and hot tears stinging my eyes. The room was silent except for that of the A.C humming softly far away in the background.

Slowly I climbed the bed throwing away pillows like I was in a slow motion scene.

But my wife was nowhere to be found.

Then came the guttural scream that tore through me to disappear into thin air, leaving me clutching the sheets drenched with blood.