POISON & WINE (Preview)

16; Nepenthe Coterie

Katsina.

Abbas blinked open his eyes drunkenly, his lips extremely heavy. His heartbeat increased the minute his brain started functioning, the little light sliding from beneath the door leading to his living room made his eyes hurt. He groaned and buried his head deeper into the pillow, wishing he'd disappear just like his head did into the fur.

Minutes later, his eyes snapped open again. Sleep evading him because it felt like he's been doing that for ages.

A wary moan escaped his lips before he blindly searched for the phone he's put in airplane mode so as to not be disturbed. Of course he's been granted the leave he's worked so hard for but he now wish they didn't give him that three weeks holiday. He wants to go back to work and avoid all that's been going on in his life but then again, he is not ready to answer questions from the people that know him.

Most of them know that his marriage with Surayyah has been called off. He is not keen on talking about it just yet. A lot of them don't know that he's been married to Mariam Abdou Baldé in place of his other fiancée just in a different location.

He yawned, an emptiness gathering in his head making it hurt like he's never felt before. He turned on his phone to check time only for him to curse and drop the phone back for two reasons: the light was blinding and he found out he's been sleeping for an entire day. Twenty eight hours to be exact. Making him wonder, how much cough syrup had he gurgled?

He sat up with great difficulty, his bones feeling like jelly but he made it to his feet in record time. His pulse started racing all over him; facial, carotid, radial, brachial and femoral artery all fluttered rapidly like new turned butterflies but what he feels wasn't pleasant. This should all be thanks to the coflin syrup he took yesterday, five bottles to be exact.

He had to go to different locations to get them but they were worth it at that time. He wanted to go numb, it worked. Not anymore. He is back to reality.

Just that the emotions are now rushing back like cold water poured on someone who's gone days without bathing.

Abbas shivered as he padded his way to his bathroom, his eyes closing. He had to take deep breaths before turning on the lights in the bathroom, it surged and made his head bang. His breath caught briefly, adrenaline rushing through but he entered the bathroom.

He's got so many prayers to do and forgiveness to ask so limping behind won't help now. Neither is he going to think about anything right now, it's going to be between him and his Lord.

He prayed all the prayers he's missed and took longer minutes asking for forgiveness and guidance for all he's going to endure in the coming days. Things are only going to get more rockier from this place onwards and only Allah is going to aid him through. There's a particular beautiful woman that's been sent into his life as Shaytaan himself. Prayers first before the game begins. It's just a matter of time before things tumble over in searing havoc.

With a tightness in his chest, he stumbled back to his feet an hour later, tied his hands with his dark gloves and changed into shorts only. He made his way to the room that stored his best friend, his punching bag, to cool his incandescent wariness, anger and defeat.

With stiff neck and jaw, he aimed his first kick and continued for a full five minutes without stopping. Where he got that strength from is beyond him but there was no halting, no putting a cessation to his therapeutic technique.

His conversation with his parents flooded in his head like a broken recorder. So much for not thinking about the past. Or anything related to a certain whore.