'After The Storm' - Chapter Twenty-Five

   


     Akeem felt better after his shower. He knew he should eat but didn't feel like it. Bassey was away on a catering course. He had told Akeem he wanted to open a restaurant in the near future. Bassey had been a faithful employee for so many years and even though he knew he would have to look for a new cook soon, he had been happy to sponsor the course.      He poured himself a drink and flicked on the TV. He hoped the drink coupled with his tired body would be able to lull him to sleep.      He settled on CNN and tried to listen to the newscaster but Tanya's words kept flitting through his mind in between. She always sounded so sure about her beliefs. He knew he had been bullish with her but he had been irked by what Hasan's pastor had preached during the service of songs. To him, there was nothing remotely joyful about his death and he resented anyone calling it any other thing than what it was. A tragedy, Fullstop.       He took another sip of his drink as Tanya's words about Hasan being at peace  to the end came back to him. That had struck a chord. From the conversation they had that last afternoon at the hotel, he was almost certain that Hasan would not have been afraid of death, not the way he had heard many people were. He wondered how he would have felt had he been on that flight. Fear was not an emotion he entertained but would he have succumbed to it then? Would he have wondered if there really was anything to a life after death as people like Tanya claimed? And If there was really a God too, would he have been ready to meet with him?      Fayona talked about Hasan like she would see him  again someday. Oh she wept for long periods when the pain of his departure became too unbearable but she was strong even in the midst of her pain. He had wondered what gave her such strength and hope in the face of her loss. She had even found the strength to encourage him. He felt he should be the one encouraging her but he had nothing to offer other than financial help and Fayona would not need that anyway.       He took another sip of his brandy. He wondered what life was really all about. Moreover he had to admit that there really was something different about his friends since they started all their religious stuff, a kind of inner serenity which puzzled him. Something he lacked. He had money, connections and priviledges that many men would envy but he also had an emptiness inside him that no amount of success had been able to bridge.   He stared broodingly into space for a moment "If you are real as they say, then show yourself to me" He muttered.     He looked around as if he expected to see something but came to himself and laughed out loud. What was he thinking of? Losing his friend must be affecting his reasoning. He took another sip of his brandy and concentrated on the news.








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