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@Bilqees

Escaping death by the whiskers Last Sunday, there had been a football match between a certain Barcelona and a certain real Madrid. I was made to understand that these two footballing Giants were very popular and had a large fanbase spread all over the world. **Thank** **you** 🙏 The universities where shut down due to an indefinite strike embarked by the the union of academic staff. After getting bored of staying in school, James had decided to spend part of the holiday with his elder brother whose house was in thesame city as the university . He planned to do some couple of weeks there then he would travel back to his hometown. After the warm welcome, his sister-in-law informed him that his brother was out of town to attend to another business. Priscilla was a nice and caring lady and James thought he was lucky to be blessed with such a Godly sister in-law. James was a very passionate fan of Barcelona FC since childhood. He informed Priscilla that he would be going out later in the evening at around 9pm to see a game of football. Priscilla was not comfortable with this arrangement. "Why don't you watch the match at home. There are alot of football channels on our DStv", she said. But James never fancied watching the games at home. He had always preferred hanging out with other excited football lovers in a sports bar where they could drink and talk about the game in progress. Priscilla became more worried when James told her that he would return home at about some minutes after 11pm. Priscilla desperately tried to persuade her brother-in-law to stay back home because of the worsening condition of insecurity around the neighborhood. She breathlessly told James about neighbors who had been ambushed and seriously assaulted by hooligans on their way home." It could be very dangerous for one to be found outside at such a time of the night", she pleaded . But James insisted that watching football alone in the house would be very boring. He assured Priscilla that nothing would happen to him and he could look after himself, since he was a "man". Priscilla felt like crying as soon as James left the house. "If anything happens to this boy, I would be held responsible'. she said to herself. James really enjoyed the game, his beloved team had thrashed the other side four goals to nothing. As soon as he had left the viewing center, he waited for some minutes by the roadside but he couldn't get a taxi or motorcycle to take him back home as it was already late and most drivers have retired for the day. So, he had no choice than to walk the distance home. It was almost 1am when he entered the street that led to his brother's house. After walking a few meters, James realised that he had missed his way. He was definitely walking in the wrong street since he couldn't locate his brother's house. There was no electricity that night and the whole street was as dark and silent as a cemetary. Panic gradually begin to build within him as he quickly turned around and began to walk briskly. He met a man standing at the head of the next street, with hands in his pockets. James hurriedly greeted him and asked for his assistance. He told the strange man that he was new to the area. He had just returned from a football viewing center but couldn't locate his brother's house again. The man asked who his brother was and James gave him a detailed description of his brother and his sister-in-law. The man studied James for a few moments and then smiled. He introduced himself as one of the security guards of the estate. James was sick with horror when the guard brought out a gun. The guard told him that he had been observing him for a while when he saw him walking aimlessly on the other street. He was already getting ready to shoot him as he thought he was one of the criminals who comes to survey the neighborhood from time to time before launching an attack. The guard told James that he couldn't just understood why he didn't shoot until he came so close to him. "I felt a little voice kept telling me that you weren't a criminal and I couldn't just pull the trigger. Maybe someone somewhere else was praying for your safety, I must say you are a very lucky boy, I would have killed you. I have shot some guy in the past who didn't even come as close as you did". The guard said to James who had already started wetting his trousers. The guard volunteered to walk James to his brother's house. From the description he had given him about Mr. Steven, the guard was very sure that James was his younger brother and as he flashed his powerful Torchlight on James face, he could see the striking resemblance between the two men. Priscilla jumped up from the sofa when she heard a knock. She carefully moved towards the window and saw James standing by the door with Musa, who was the head of the watchmen securing the estate and she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Priscilla was very shaken when Musa told her how he almost shot her brother-in-law. she fell on the floor and her whole body quaked as she cried. She kept thanking God for answering her prayers by saving James life. ******************************* I dedicate this short story to one of my dearest friend here @Ellen-he . God bless you for your continual support and generosity . I really appreciate and donot take it for granted. 💖💖🙏🙏 Thank you all for staying with me 🙏🙏💖 💖

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