It all started one Wednesday evening in Ibadan,
Timide had just returned from work, tired and hungry, when he noticed that his girlfriend, Folusho, was smiling at her phone again, now, under normal circumstances, that should not be a problem, people smile at their phones all the time.
But this was the third day in a row, and for some weird reason, Timide's mind just refused to let it go.
"Who dey make you laugh like this every day?" he asked jokingly.
Folusho looked up.
"Hmm? Nobody oh."
"Nobody?"
She laughed.
"Na person dey chat me, but no be wetin you dey think."
That last sentence was the problem,because once somebody says, "No be wetin you dey think," your mind immediately starts thinking plenty things.
Timide laughed it off, but the seed of suspicion had already been planted, over the next few days, he started noticing things, or at least he thought he was noticing things.
Folusho would receive calls and step outside, she would smile while typing messages sometimes she would even lock her phone quickly when he entered the room.
"Omo..." Timide muttered one evening.
His imagination began working overtime, one night he called his friend Kunle.
"Guy, I think something is going on."
Kunle immediately sat up.
"Wetin happen?"
Timide explained everything , Kunle was silent for a moment, then he said the worst possible thing.
"Guy, shine your eyes."
That was all, just three words, but those three words poured fuel on the fire, from that day, Timide became an FBI agent.
Every movement looked suspicious, every phone call became evidence every smile became a mystery.
One Saturday afternoon, Folusho announced she was going out.
"Where you dey go?" Timide asked.
"To meet somebody."
"Who?"
"My friend."
"Which friend?"
Folusho narrowed her eyes.
"Since when did you start conducting interviews?"
Timide forced a laugh.
"No reason, just asking."
But inside, his mind was already running calculations, the entire afternoon, he couldn't relax.
By evening, he finally called her.
"Where are you now?"
"I'm still out."
"With who?"
Folusho sighed.
"Timide, wetin dey worry you?"
"Nothing."
But something was definitely worrying him, that night they argued for the first time in months.
"You don't trust me again," Folusho said.
"I trust you."
"No, you don't."
Timide wanted to deny it,but even he wasn't sure anymore.
The following week things got worse, the suspicion had become a habit, He was constantly looking for proof of something he couldn't even confirm existed, then one Thursday evening, something happened.
Timide was returning from work when he saw Folusho entering a restaurant with a man, His heart nearly stopped.
"Omo."
Without thinking, he crossed the road.
The two of them entered the restaurant laughing.
Timide stood outside staring through the glass, his mind had already concluded the case.
"This girl don finish me."
For almost twenty minutes he stood there watching, then suddenly something unexpected happened.
The man stood up and hugged Folusho, Immediately after that, a woman walked over and joined them.
Then two children.
Then another elderly woman.
Timide frowned.
"Wetin be this?"
Confused, he entered the restaurant.
The moment Folusho saw him, her eyes widened.
"Timide?"
The entire table turned.
Folusho stood up.
"What are you doing here?"
Before he could answer, the elderly woman smiled.
"So this is Timide?"
Folusho froze.
Then realization hit her.
"Oh my God."
The man started laughing.
Folusho covered her face.
The man was her cousin.
The woman was his wife.
The children were their kids.
And the elderly woman?
Their mother.
Timide wished the ground would open and swallow him immediately, for a few seconds nobody spoke, then the cousin burst out laughing.
"Guy, you look like person wey just fail exam."
Even Folusho couldn't hold her laughter anymore, the entire story came out that evening.
The calls.
The messages.
The secret meetings.
Everything
It turned out the family had been planning a surprise birthday celebration for Timide.
For weeks.
All the suspicious behavior had been connected to that.
Nothing more, Nothing less.
As they drove home later that night, Timide looked out the window quietly,Folusho finally spoke.
"So, Detective Timide."
He groaned.
"Abeg leave me."
She laughed.
"No, tell me. How many suspects did you arrest in your head?"
Timide shook his head.
The truth was embarrassing, all that stress, all those assumptions, all because he allowed suspicion to grow without asking the right questions.
That day he learned something important, suspicion is like a small crack in a wall, If you ignore it, it keeps growing until it starts damaging things that were perfectly fine, and sometimes, the thing you are suspecting isn't even there in the first place.
Sometimes na your imagination just dey run marathon.
[image Generated with Chatgpt]
