THE OFFER
502 Words
The Risk
That night, the hospital corridor had grown quiet.
Most visitors had gone home. The nurses moved silently between wards, and the sound of distant medical equipment echoed through the building.
Jamal and Kabir sat together on a bench outside Aisha's ward.
Neither man spoke for a long time.
The weight of the day hung heavily between them.
Finally, Jamal broke the silence.
His eyes remained fixed on the floor as he spoke.
"It is a lonely road. My heart is still wrapped in chains. I have lived my life beneath falling rains that strike as hard as hailstones. Many nights I lie awake with tears in my eyes. I fall to my knees and pray to God, carrying pains too heavy for words.
I swim in an ocean of troubles where peace does not flow. Life itself seems like a journey of madness, a repetition of tragedies. Everywhere I travel feels like a battlefield I was never meant to win.
Other men stumble on stones.
I stumble on mountains."
Kabir listened quietly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The corridor fell silent once again.
Jamal slowly turned his head and looked at his friend.
His eyes were tired.
His soul was exhausted.
Yet beneath the exhaustion was a desperate determination.
"If there is a way out of this nightmare," he said softly, "tell me."
Kabir took a deep breath.
He looked around to make sure nobody was listening.
Jamal stood still for a moment, as if trying to understand whether Kabir was joking or speaking from a darker truth.
Kabir lowered his voice, leaning closer.
“I know my boss has been running an illegal business,” he said. “Today he received twenty million naira in cash… and a small box of diamonds in a silver briefcase.”
Jamal’s eyes tightened.
Kabir continued quickly, urgency creeping into his tone.
“I have a spare key. We can duplicate it. I’ll give you a copy. You’ll go in, take the money… maybe even the diamonds.”
He paused, watching Jamal carefully.
“I know it’s risky… but it’s worth it.”
Jamal finally shook his head slowly.
“No,” he said firmly.
Kabir frowned. “What do you mean no?”
Jamal’s voice hardened, steady but emotional.
“I am not a thief. I cannot do that.”
Kabir exhaled sharply, half in frustration, half in disbelief.
“You’re talking about pride while your life is sinking, Jamal. Think about your wife. Think about those twins coming into a world with nothing waiting for them, what about your mother and Zainab.”
Jamal stepped back, as if the words physically pushed him.
But he didn’t answer.
Not because he agreed…
But because for the first time, Kabir’s words had found somewhere weak to land.
Kabir shook his head, as if disappointed in something deeper than just the decision. Without another word, he turned away.
His shoes struck the tiled walkway harder with each step, anger guiding his pace.
- Writer
