¤¤PROLOGUE¤¤
It was five days to christmas and the preparation for the much anticipated day(Dec 25th) was in top gear. As companies prepares for their end of the year award dinners, the government were preparing for their end of the year carols, programmes and seminars, schools prepares for end of the year parties and christmas carols, families prepares for the christmas day and other subsequent festivities. The yuletide season of this particular year(2011) was one to remember, as the city of Ibadan lost one of her most illustrous son, Barrister Lekan Agboola.
---------Barrister Lekan Agboola's Bodija residence--
Traditions have been in existence before us, traditions remain even after we have gone and one of the few things that rarely goes into extinction or obscurity remains tradition and culture which is the other part of tradition.
The Agboola family comprising of Barrister Lekan Agboola, his wife, Angela and their three children, Samantha, Mike and Matilda always treat themselves to a pre-christmas dinner. The dinner which could pass for a christmas day lunch allowed each member of the family to invite a friend over and the date for the dinner was always on the 20th of December.
Even though, Barrister Agboola couldn't get to invite any of his friends over, his wife despite her social status couldn't bring any of her friends, Mike and Matilda schools outside Ibadan(Lagos & Ilorin) their eldest sister, Samantha was running her 9month programme in advanced legal studies at John Hopkins university, and despite this, her boyfriend Raymond was present at the dinner.
"Daddy, won't Samantha come home?" Mike asked five minutes into the meal.
"She has a few things to round up at school. She'll be home on the 27th." Barrister Agboola replied.
"You don't talk while eating." Agboola's wife said.
"Even if its an emergency?" Her husband asked.
"There is no emergency during meals." She replied and everyone bursted into laughter. As it was no new thing that their mother sees life from an entirely different perspective.
"Raymond, you are a politician right?" Barrister Agboola asked his daughter's boyfriend.
"Yes dad. I studied political science and I felt I should go into politics." Raymond replied.
"Am sure you know how politics is done in this country and Oyo state especially." The popular legal practitioner said.
"Of course. I have moved with a couple of experienced politicians and I think I am good to go." Raymond replied.
"That's good. Just make sure you try as much as possible to be friends with even the enemies on the other side of the political divide to stay out of trouble. You are a young man, you know?" Barrister Agboola advised.
"Noted sir." Raymond replied.
The sounds of cutleries hitting the plates and the cups brushing the sides of the plates was all that could be heard until it was time for desert.
"Mum! I want more." Matilda, the youngest of the children cried.
And just then, the light went off and everywhere went dark.
"What's going on?" Barrister Agboola asked bravely.
"I don't know." Mike who immediately after the blackout had rushed to the window to see if other houses suffered the same. "We seemed to be the only one in this." He added.
"Come with me Raymond." Barrister Agboola said as he walked out of the dinning area with his battery powered torchlight.
------ 7am, the next day.
The neighbourhood was thrown into mourning as a special ambulance drove out of the Agboolas compound conveying the corpse of Barrister Agboola, his wife and two children. As well as another ambulance carrying Samantha's boyfriend, Raymond who was in commatose.
Will Samantha be able to bear the loss of her loved ones?
That's the reason why you have to read this.
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©Durodola Olawale 2015
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