I Live For You

They sat together holding hands, watching a local movie channel. He stretched out his hands to hold her and their fingers clasped together, he found himself looking at those hands now and reminiscing of the old days; it seemed just like yesterday when he first beheld this beauty.  There was always the need for him to make physical contact. She used to jokingly tease him “This woman wrapper, won’t you leave me alone for once”. To which he will reply “I am still harvesting from what I planted, the pride price I paid on your head has not been recovered yet”. “Which bride price, in fact I will tell my father to call you to pay more because you cheated him out. The price has appreciated and don’t act as if you don’t know”. She had also learnt to reach out and hold him, hug him and love him the way a man deserved to be loved. At 38 she was still the most beautiful woman he knew; her chocolate skin was flawless, though she had added some weight but it suited her perfectly, people that didn’t know her well always found it difficult when she tells them that she had 5 children, she still looked as if she was in her late 20’s. The hands have become much firmer by the years, they were now marked with maturity and confidence. It was her face that always captivated him, it was beautifully sculpted into an oval frame. Her nose was pointed and fitted her face perfectly. Her mouth was full– it made him want to kiss those lips all the time as if they were inviting him, he found himself wishing the movie could end quickly so they can go to bed. She was engrossed, yet she turned to spare him a knowing look and tickled his fingers. No words were uttered. There was so much serenity in his life, his family gave him a lot of joy and countless times he found himself wondering if he really deserved them. The children were growing up and doing well in school, the Odina’s were well known in the school for their excellent performance. The movie that was showing on the screen was something about a philandering and abusive man who molests his wife, it made him a bit quieter and at the same curious to know how it was all going to play out, he had lost concentration a few times and had tried to drag her into a conversation – but she was watching keenly. He started shaking his head when he saw the husband in the movie slap his wife, hehad pushed her down and was now choking her by the throat. She was screaming wildly until someone rushed into the room to separate them. Involuntarily he removed his hands from hers; after sometime she reached out to him and held him again. He found himself trying to switch off the channel, but the wife took the remote control from him and changed it back, she was enjoying the movie. “Please leave it, I want to watch this”. She pleaded jokingly. He let it be. He looked at her and saw the laughter she was struggling to stifle, their eyes held and she laughed at him shaking her head, her husband was becoming very uncomfortable and in a way, she found it funny. Had it been that someone else was in the room with them, they would probably not understand the unspoken words between these two. Her laughter calmed him down, he was tired of watching this movie. The abusive man in the movie had left his family and fallen into the hands of a daughter of Jezebel who dealt with him, he lost everything including his family. His wife had relocated abroad with the children and he couldn’t trace them, he went back to live in the village where he became a drunk and wasted away. All these local movies always seemed to end the same way, the lesson was always the same. They talked about the movie and how it ended. They talked about other things till they decided it was time to go to bed. The beautiful couple got up and went to bed. The unique thing about them was that they still seemed so very much in love even after 20 years of marriage. They always craved to hold hands at the very least opportunity they got to do so. Every other person in the house had slept. After prayers, they both tucked In to bed, and he reached out to kiss her goodnight. As routine as this action has become it never lacked the love it always carried. She kissed him back and they found themselves wanting more, holding each other tightly and kissing deeply. She groaned and for an instance he was baffled at how much he desired her, how much he needed her and how he has never stopped wanting to hold her and make love to her. They made passionate love, no one else and nothing else mattered except their love and their need to make each other happy. They clung onto each other, not wanting to let go. “I love you” was whispered amidst kisses and they held on to each other until she drifted off to sleep. The movie had resurrected something in him, he was finding it very difficult to sleep this night. It may have ended sadly for him too; the thought could not leave him as much as he tried. He untangled himself from his wife's gentle grip and went off to sit by the rocking chair close to the window. Theirs was a very beautiful estate, he gazed at the sky, the moon was very full today. He looked out and saw one of his neighbor’s driving into his house at that odd hour of the night. “Where could he be coming from by this time of the night again” he wondered. Here everyone minds their business, he made a mental note to try and befriend his neighbor. He had seen his young family a couple of times and wanted to make sure they were not having problems. The memories kept pouring in, today he could not stop himself from remembering.  And he remembered everything. ...