A darn good year ....Episode 1

LAGOS (AJAH) 2:35pm

 Mrs. Toba Lawson.

The home of the Lawson’s was unarguably one of the best on 21road of Sun view estate, classy but not flamboyant with well mowed grass to the flowers that welcomed one into the house one cannot help but feel intimidated by the presence of the house. Nothing in the world is perfect they say but this was near perfection.

In the bar sat a 49yr old lady, with dark circles under her eyes, rough hair and generally looked unkempt. This is the woman of the house, Mrs. Sam Toba-Lawson. 

Samantha poured herself another glass of scotch iced it and marched to the living room in careless abandon as she struggled to pull her robe closer to her chest. She sank into a nearby sofa looked lazily at the grandfathers clock across her and suddenly remembered that Shelly her best friend who went on sabbatical to lecture in Australia just breezed into the country. Shelly promised to check on her today by 3pm. Instinctively she stood up and dragged herself to the bathroom ran water in the tub, still holding the bottle of scotch in her hand. She steadied herself as she sat by the edge of tub and smelled her breathe. Awful. Speaking sluggishly she said “will have to clean my mess, Shelly must not find me in this sorry state” and she slipped into oblivion.

LAGOS (AJAH) 3:10pm

Shelly walked into the familiar building with a smile on her face, gaining entrance now into the high and mighty Toba –Lawson was like the proverbial camel going through the eye of a needle. The security men were expectedly strict and firm, thank God for the instruction Sam had given earlier in the day to her entrance once she had identified herself and satisfied their probing questions.

The last Three hundred and sixty five days, though short but a lot had happened. Her best friend Sam had become more secretive than ever and hardly talked much or replied the phone calls and emails they exchanged while she was in the land of the kiwis ever since……. “Jeez, I’m meant to make her happy, not to bring back those sad memories” she said aloud and quickly cautioned herself as she walked into the living room.

 A glass cup was carelessly dropped on the couch and she could perceive a faint smell of liquor, she picked the glass and smelt it, it was still fresh. “Since when did Sam start drinking, or is someone else in this house” she said clearly irritated. Sam, Sam, Samantha….” She called out with no answer she started walking through the rooms in the building when a strange thought crossed her mind “loneliness means suicidal” she froze and all of a sudden she doubled her pace and started searching frantically for her. She entered another room and could hear the sound of running water, straight to the bathroom and she found her friend unconscious, drowning in her bath tub.