Dr Soso stretched out himself on the sofa, his face beaming with light as he stirred endlessly at the fading paint of the ceiling of his rented house. It will soon be over he muttered to himself over and over again. Surely, our sacrifice will pay off soon. Then as if to confirm a thought, he called out to his wife in the kitchen: Honey, Honey, just a minute.
“Ok, I will be with you in a jiffy, replied the sonorous voice of Mrs. Soso”
“Honey” said Dr. Soso, “What type of car would you prefer that I buy for you alongside the house plans that I showed you yesterday night once I receive the return on our investment from the treasure man?”
Mrs. Soso stood speechless as she gazed at her husband as if he had lost his mind. Her watery eyes betrayed her emotion.
“What is the matter, honey?” her husband asked straightening himself up in a hurry as if bitten by a venomous serpent.
“You are deceived” came the replied. “A bird at hand is worth two in the bush. If only you have informed me about this deal before investing the family money into it, I would have discouraged it. You can just forget about this scam of a treasure stone. This man is a fraudster. Forget about the investment of our lifetime saving into this treasure stone. And let start over again”
“Honey, I am sorry, I didn’t carry you along but don’t be such a doubter. I spoke with the guy yesterday. He is yet to sell the stone. He assured me it is worth 2 million US dollar at present. And it will appreciate with time according to him. So, we don’t have to be in a hurry. He actually showed me the precious stone. Besides, this guy has got a good review online and offline.” Dr Soso said with gusto.
His wife who was hitherto standing up, took a sit. “Let me tell you a story” said Mrs Soso to her husband soberly.
“I am all ears” he replied eagerly.
“When I was 15 years old, I had a dream. I had gone to the stream to fetch water for the family. There I met a young but relatively older man who had a glittering stone in his hand. Upon seeing the stone, I had the understanding that it was precious and could make me wealthy. Seeing that I came from a poor family, I wanted to seize the opportunity to be wealthy. Therefore, I asked the man where he had gotten the stone and how I could get one. He told me that he had gotten it from the ancient river through the guidance of a foreigner. Then he said if I would marry him, he would give me the precious stone. I agreed to do so. So, I took him home. My parents confirmed from our local goldsmith and a few other experts that it was a precious stone indeed. After a month of living with us, the date for our wedding was fixed and the whole village was gathered to rejoice with us. On the day of the wedding, the young man who had the precious stone could not be found. I cried my eyes out until I woke up from the dreamland. I narrated the dream to my mother who discarded the dream as childhood fantasy! I never thought anything about that dream nor remember it until yesterday when you told me about the investment in precious stone!” She stopped to take a glance at her husband whose eyes were riveted on her lips.
“Are you implying that your dream was a preview of our experience?” Dr Soso asked skeptically.
“You ought to know that by now” said Mrs Soso assuredly and walked away.
Upon hearing that, Dr Soso set out to prove his wife wrong by locating the treasure man but he was nowhere to be found. The website no longer exists and his phone numbers were no longer reachable. The treasure man was gone.
Dr Soso lost his appetite and could hardly sleep for days, his wife attempts to console him, notwithstanding. It took a week of bed rest to restore him to normalcy.
Ten years later, a battered and shattered man came looking for the Sosos. It was the treasure man. He had become a trash man having been struck with diabetics, hypertension and stroke. He could hardly speak.
“What do you want this time?” asked Dr Soso gently
.
“I want your forgiveness” answered the ex-treasure man.
“What about all the money you ran away with” asked Mrs. Soso inquisitively.
“I have squandered it and brought these diseases upon myself” he answered soberly.
“What informed your seeking forgiveness?” asked Dr Soso tenderly.
“I had a dream. In my dream, I saw you running after me, I had an accident in my attempt to escape and was rushed to the hospital. Then, a foreigner came to visit me in the hospital who told me that he was from the ancient river. He affirmed that I was reaping the fruit of the wild seeds that I had sown. He counselled me to turn around and seek the forgiveness of those that I have offended if I wanted to live” answered the ex-treasure man.
“You are forgiven” said Dr Soso and his wife in unison.
Mrs. Soso took a glance at her husband and asked curiously, “Do you now believe in dreams?”
“Yes, now, I believe in dream” said Dr Soso heartily!
Thank you for stopping by.
