It was last Saturday morning that I received the news from an unknown number about a prize I had just won for participating in The Message Competition- A contest about scribbling ones  thoughts in five minutes into any meaningful message, written in any form of writing on the dedicated site for the bout. 

Getting updated on how I'd won that amazingly fun competition, I was told their dectective software had analysed the truism of every click, tap, space and press that came through each contestant's electronic inputing device they used to access the site to contest for the prize and they had discovered everyone cheated except few entries that were genuine as mine. And that after thorough examination and cross examination of the 40 shortlist, they found the wow factor they'd expected in my entry.

All I could do during this explanation by the organiser's representative was to nod and sigh to the receiver end, without forgetting to say "thank you" before dropping the call.

*****

So, one could say I won a competition I entered out of boredom and grieve from the fire that gutted Mr and Mrs Badmus House, my friend's parent house,  5 kilometers away. Since the incidence, my friend, Tomiwa had been very far away from my reach. Aside that, he had stopped receiving my calls. The reason for the sudden change of attitude I was yet to know until the call that came in this morning which i'd suspected to be his but wasn't.

*****

The Prize Day for The Message Competition had been fixed and I was expected to be there. However, I couldn't go there all alone without my bosom friend, the inspiration behind every idea I poured out for the competition the night I entered for it. I had to summon courage to see him at the remains of their burnt house. But, the thought of how I was going to commensurate with his parents on visiting at this eleventh hour frightened me. I needed to go and see for myself. But, could the media be wrong?

*****

In the next morning, I'd woken up at about 6, brushed my teeth and showered before stepping out of my apartment to Tomiwa's parent house. However, on trekking there, I was greeted with the familiar sight. I couldn't believe my eyes. 

"Had they renovated the house or what?" was the question that wouldn't leave my head as I approached the front door of the blue plastered bungalow and rang the door bell. Guess who came to open the door? It was sister Tinuke, Tomiwa's elder sister. She must had come to spend weekend with the family.

"Oh, Bj! Is that you?", she asked.

"Aunty Tinu, of course I'm the one." I politely replied.

"Stephen, Tomiwa, c'mon here! Bj is here." she called out.

My friend and his younger brother rushed out from the house to the front door to hug me intimately amidst tearful smiles and giggles that left me pitilessly confused.

"What's the matter with you guys? Why are you like this? Please tell me what the problem is?" I stopped to ask the wailing guys. But these dudes kept on crying until their sister intervened.

"It is better you stop this now, or else I will ask him to leave and never come back. You should be happy now that he's here.", said sister Tinuke while she led me into to the house. And I stepped in to see more of surprises. Everything showed on the television the other day broken and destroyed by the fire was intact! I moved closer to inspect every item in the sitting room and everything was perfectly okay.

"Tomiwa, What's going on here. Help me friend, I'm currently in cloud?" I conceded.

"Fortnight ago, you were reported in the news to have been involved in a ghastly accident which took your life and it's since that moment that your friend here and Stephen had been literally mourning you."  Sister Tinuke replied.

I was left in shock by this revelation. I had to relay my purpose of showing up at their house and the news that I had also watched that had left me being ashamed of myself to stand the feelings of my friend and his entire family. They had in response laughed profusely.

Except, Mr and Mrs Badmus, who must had been home already and had overheard us or listened keenly without being notice and only disclosed their presence with a sharp question that saved the day.

"Where were you, Tomiwa and Bolaji on Saturday evening of the 1st of April, this year?".

"We were at Bomodeoku Football Pitch" I answered.

"Watching a match between Fox and Eagle," Tomiwa added.

Mr and Mrs Badmus shook their head and brought out the bottle of the drink we immediately remembered  sipping when parting to our various home on that fateful day after the match that saw Fox winning Eagle one goal to nil.

Tomiwa and I exchanged glances and moved toward Mr and Mrs Badmus. We collected the empty bottle and read its description note silently to ourseves. We both exchanged glances again and exclaimed unanimously aloud.

"We now know who light the fire. Hope we're forgiven."

(C) Abdulhafeez T. Oyewole

Artwork: Zazzle