Story Title: Beyond the Will

Last Updated on October 19, 2024 by Joshua Isibor

“I can’t cope with this any longer!” Matt gritted his teeth at the sight of the messy kitchen. “How exactly did I get myself into this?” He walked out to the sitting room again, tossing his briefcase onto the couch.

It was the odious ratty smell that got his legs moving towards the kitchen area in the first place.

“Vera! Vera! Vera!” He stalked in  ascension of the stairs towards the master bedroom, it’s been a week now, since Vera kept promising to clear up the dirty dishes, “won’t you answer?” He ranted. Cracking the doorknob unlock, he dashed into the room, his eyes trailing every nook and cranny of the unkempt room, finally landing on the woman figure lying on the bed.

“Jeez!” His teeth-gritting even more.

“Wake up, wake up!” He tapped on Vera persistently.

“Love!” Vera lazily stretched, yawning with her hands over her wide-opened mouth. “Oh? You’re back!” Wiping her eyes for the umpteenth time, her gaze instantly fixed on their apple-shaped wall clock directly before her. “What?!” Being so shocked, as regarding the fact that she hadn’t finished her chores in the house. The time read 4:35 in the evening, she was only able to do the laundry and cleaning of the sitting room. She still didn’t turn to see the state of the raged man before her.

“You’re rather early today,” she yawned again, turning her face to him.

“Owww!” She gasped, his raged looks bringing her to the limelight of the room’s state. “I’m sorry love, I didn’t mean to…” She jumped out of the bed at once, not completing her words.

“Oh my! Where could the scrubbing brush be?” She tried to fix the hairnet properly on her head, confusingly pacing back and forth several times, before eventually dashing down in descension towards the storeroom that housed cleaning items and some other necessary stuff. “Gosh, how much longer could I have slept?!” She blatted, cracking the door open.

Getting the necessary items that’ll be needed for the clean-up, she dashed upstairs again, with no waste of time.

By the time she had entered the room and begun cleaning, Matt’s raging countenance had cooled off a bit. He was seated on the sofa now, with head bent, rubbing his glistening shaved head.

Raising up his head again, he stared towards the petite yet walnut skinned-colored woman before him in bewilderment.

The way her skimpy straight legs kept crossing each other in movement, as she busied with scrubbing the corn-silk tiled floor, seemed a little fascinating.

He’s really never taken a proper look at the woman who he’d just barely gotten married to, three months ago. She looked rather small-natured but was one audacious woman he’d ever crossed paths with.

She had just finished parking the dusty dirt into the dustpan and hurried towards the wardrobe, beginning to take down the clothes hanging on the wardrobe’s panel door, alongside the ones scattered within it.

He wondered why it seemed so difficult for her to cope with doing simple house chores. Wasn’t she the one who’d been a secretary worker all these years, How come she was so lazy? If not his insistence that she should quit her job, how would she have coped with combining the chores and her job? Obviously, with observations, Vera seemed totally out of it when it concerned the home.

Massaging his forehead lightly, he heaved a deep sigh.

“You should take off your office wear love, don’t you think so?” Her fruity voice came through softly, “and then go have a shower.” She continued, “I’ll be done with this in few minutes, then fix up something for you to eat!” She concluded, folding the clothes neatly.

Trying not to raise his voice, “in few minutes you say.” He replied instantly. “What then happens to those dirty dishes in the kitchen that smells like a dead rat?” He pointed a finger leftward, as if the kitchen was just around there somehow. Meanwhile, it was downstairs.

“I’ll clean them up, don’t worry!” She beamed a smile, tucking the neatly folded clothes into their respective drawers, and hanging the ones to be hung on the hanging rail.

That smile of hers again, he mused, rising to his feet. That smile had a melting effect that made his heart skip in fervor beats. How is she even able to do that to him, especially now that he’s so pissed off with her indolence. He meandered towards the dressing room to undress.

Talking about fixing up something for him to eat. Aside from junks, fried noodles, and maybe tea, Vera wasn’t one who could prepare a wholesome meal, even with stuck groceries in the fridge, and at this moment he wasn’t even ready to gulp down anything insatiable.

How did I even end up with a piece of baggage like this? He heaved another sigh, walking into the bathroom he cracked the door locked. Turning on the shower, he wriggled his head involuntarily, as the soothing chills of water ran down his body, calming his nerves.

*****

In few minutes he was out. Walking into the room, there was no trace of Vera in it. He went about putting on his shorts and armless polo shirt, and then sauntered in descension of the stairs towards the sitting room, but the beautiful vocal tune, his ears took in, rather got his legs moving towards the kitchen area.

With legs crossed and arms wrapped around, he leaned his back against the wall very close to the kitchen’s entrance. So enthralled from the tune, his eyes slowly drifted close, taking all in.

“Ouch!” His fantigue was cut short by the shriek, his feet racing into the kitchen at once. Vera’s finger was bleeding profusely, the knife covered with soapy water inside the kitchen’s sink had her finger injured, but it wasn’t a very deep cut.

Yelping, “gosh! You should have been more careful.” Anxiously taking hold of Vera’s finger, he brought it under the running tap.

Dashing up to their room and coming down again, he brought the first-aid kit. Helping her up the kitchen’s counter, he went about opening the kit.

Vera’s face contorting, “arrghhh!” She cried with eyes closed. as Matt cleaned the injury with the methylated spirit. Studying the contorting features of her face, he found himself admiring her. She looked even more pretty like a toddler hissy fitting.

Carefully, he wrapped the injured finger with a bandage. His gaze lifting met with hers and for a moment of worth silence, both became lost in their own world.

Matt had really never taken a good look at this woman, this woman was having some good effect on him. Wasn’t it this same woman, he feels was nothing close to what he deemed a perfect lady? She was the first to approach him for marriage, stating she was only obeying supreme orders.

After about four months of fervent prayers, series of confirmation from God followed, but he kept doubting, and the more he doubted, the stronger the confirmations became.

Vera had disappeared immediately after obeying her so-called orders, and this had added to his doubts at that time. All the same, he eventually became willing to go on with the marriage proposal after about seven months passing, only because it was God’s concern, not that it was what he desired for, the very reason he rates her audacious because not just any woman would have dared such orders easily.

Now, Matt had grown into a sadist, totally despondent about anything regarding tieing the knot, after being turned down directly and indirectly by eight women already. Not that he wasn’t suitable or desirable enough. In fact, most, if not all showed interest in him to a good extent, but anytime he’d forged ahead to click the green button, it simultaneously turned red. Not knowing why that kept happening to him, he resolved that being single was his fate, so he closed his heart and eyes up from looking at any female direction.

His marriage to Vera was and still isn’t the romantic kind. Not that he really hated her, but he didn’t love her all the same, the love ignition to him was lost.

Interestingly, their marriage of barely three months was seldom blissful. They hardly never had problems, except for the fact that Vera was one indolent woman, and that always got to him.

As he gazed into those fiery black eyes, his hand gently stroking the oily yet tender oblong face, his heart fluttered. He was already getting drawn to her in some sort of way, maybe the spark in him was not lost after all, because this small-natured woman was gradually stirring up something within him.

Suddenly jerking from the almost gentle touch of their lips, he withdrew his hand from her face instantly, and at that moment, the serenity around them turned awkward.

Walking to the kitchen’s sink, “I’ll take it up from here, you can rest now.” He said not looking at her. Vera gave no reply. Instead, a surge of disappointment and anger had taken over her.

Jumping down from the counter she’d been sitting all along, she stalked out of the kitchen. Matt could feel the rage from her steps, yet he restrained himself from going after her, burying his head about cleaning the dishes. This wasn’t the first time they’d gone to an extent of their own world, but he had always been the one ending the light-up flame.

Half an hour later, Vera’s perturbing and insistent dials of a number on her phone’s screen, was eventually answered.

“He doesn’t even touch me, doesn’t even look at me, I’m beginning to feel I’m just a slave here,” pacing in angst back and forth in the room, chopping off her fingernails anxiously with her teeth. “It’s barely three months of marriage with him, but how long will it take for me to feel like a content wife? Do you really think I can cope with this Nne?” Her heart-squeezing inside of her gave way to soft sobs.

“He gives me mixed feelings! Am I not beautiful enough Nne, ehn? His touching me always ends up making me feel like dirt. Wait, does it have anything to do with my petite nature, I can always get fat you know?” She kept pouring out, not even allowing her mum whom she had called speak.

“His not relating to me as his wife, that alone is another case that just gets to me Nne, in some dark way. My heart aches Nne, it aches badly, I feel like I’m going to lose my breath.” She groaned, with her hands squeezing the middle part of her chest.

“I was better off just being single you know. Is this some sort of punishment for me, God? Arrghhh! Where have I gone wrong?” The phone slipping off her hands, her knees giving in to a cringe got her butts dropping down on the corn-silk floor, as she cried her heart out defiantly.

She could barely hear the poor woman who was calling out to her through the phone until the woman hung up with a resolve to call her later.

*****

Matt was just at the entrance to the room, his ears taking in every word Vera had said. He didn’t realize how deeply affected he was until a tear trickled down his cheek.

It was about time to become a duly deserving husband. He hadn’t even noticed until now, how much of a cool-blooded monster he’d become, dwelling in the negativity of his past predicaments, and how he didn’t take note, that within the cheerful and warming personality was a woman so completely broken.

She was totally undeserving of all the pains he’d caused her. Hiding through that heart-piercing smile, was a well of sadness unknown to him, and it was now his dawn to put his acts together.

Not knowing how his feet got into the room, he squatted before her, taking her into his bosom, but she pushed him away.

“I’m sorry for everything Vera. Tell me, just how can I amend this, and I promise…”

“Just love me, that’s all. Is it too much to ask?” Vera interrupted, with reddened eyes and tear-stained face.

“Teach me, I’m afraid I don’t know how,” Matt replied softly with shaky hands. “Or maybe I’ve forgotten how, after I’d lost myself.” He sighed, rising up to his feet.

She looked up to meet his perplexed gaze, “tell me, tell me all about it. Maybe just then, you’ll know how to, once again.” He instantly nodded in reply to her. He just couldn’t keep it in anymore, he needed to air it all out. Maybe just then he’ll be able to live in the light again. Vera wiping off her tears took her husband’s hands.

“I’ll have to fix up something for us to eat first. After that, I’ll tell you all about it.” He retorted.

Sniffing, “okay, I’m starving you know.” She beamed her heart-melting smile.

“As much as myself.” Matt retorted. They giggled, and with Vera’s leading, they hurried down towards the kitchen, still holding their hands.

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Originally posted 2021-04-26 15:17:58.