THE POISONED HAPPINESS (FICTION)

This very pathetic but, true story, was narrated to me by a friend of the victim. The lady who told me this story is an Italian woman and married to a Nigerian. Her name’s Sonia. This is Sonia’s story. 

I was born in the suburbs of Rome. The neighbourhood was middle class and, childhood was great. We all knew each other and, it was like living in one huge extended family. This was how I met Maria, my friend, the person whose story I’m now telling you.

      Maria and her family lived two houses away from ours. Both our fathers worked in the same Agnelli Techniko plant situated a few kilometres outside the city, and our mothers were good traditional Italian housewives. We both belonged to large nuclear families and, even larger extended families. In fact, you could say that Maria and I had a lot in common.

      With such similar backgrounds and being born and growing up so close to each other, it was natural that Maria and I were not just neighbours, but friends; almost like sisters. We both attended the same Catholic basic and middle schools. Later on, we were both fortunate to be admitted into a university in Roma.

      Even though Roma has been the greatest city in the world for over two thousand years, and we were indigenes of this great city; attending the university was a unique experience for both of us. At the university, we were exposed to people from different parts of the world. The staff and student population at the university were like a tiny United Nations, with scholars and learners coming from different parts of the world; just like in the days of the ancient Caesars. It was in this environment that our lives changed.

My decision to marry Yusuf was very disturbing to my parents and all my friends.

      I was in my second year at the university when I met Yusuf. Yusuf was a young and exotically handsome African who hailed from the northeastern part of Nigeria. He was studying engineering on a government scholarship and had just a year left to finish his programme. Our meeting was both strange and funny. I had just finished confession and was leaving the church when this tall African fell in step with me. He said that he would have loved to be my priest and know what a lovely creature like me had to confess. The way he said it and the expression on his face, made me burst into laughter; and that is how we hit it off.

      Over the next few weeks, we kept seeing each other and, within a few months, we were inseparable and deeply in love. It was at this stage that we decided that we were going to spend the rest of our lives with each other.

      My decision to marry Yusuf was very disturbing to my parents and all my friends. My parents couldn’t understand how I could decide to marry an African, abandon my family and everyone I knew, to return to Nigeria with him. They used every trick in the book to try and dissuade me from marrying Yusuf; including committing suicide and pretending to have a stroke, but nothing worked. My brothers threatened to harm Yusuf, but I made it clear that if anything bad happened to Yusuf; something bad would happen to me. After some time, they shifted ground and gave their permission for the union, but they insisted that we remain in Italy.

 This amazing story is to be concluded in Parts 2-4. Watch out!!!