Hello, fellow Nairalanders, here is an interesting romance story that is faith-based.

It is a story full of intrigues and suspense.

Happy reading.


The Missing Soulmate




(C) 2023




Michael and Mariam are neighbors but he never thought he could fall in love with her. A missing clothing brought them closer. There were intrigues all along. Mariam did the unthinkable to succeed in getting her missing soulmate.




As the bus made a turn on the Opebi Road, I told the conductor I would like to alight at the next Bus Stop. I soon got down from the bus and made my way to Aderiye Crescent. The house at Number 13 was my destination. It was a storey building painted white. There were two apartments of two-bedroom flats on each of the two floors - all together four flats. At the back of the main building, there were also three rooms at the boys' quarter. A room served as the kitchenette while another room served as the toilet. There was yet another room that served the occupants of the BQ as bathroom.

I stayed in one of the rooms at the boys' quarter. It was few minutes to seven p.m when I entered my room. It had been a hectic day and it was certainly not an easy thing to be shuffling between Opebi and Apogbon on Lagos Island where I worked. Thank God it was Friday. I would be resting from the hustle of waking up early to go to work the following day. At twenty-seven, I was a bachelor who was still praying to settle down to marital life. For now, I hoped the lady in my life would transform to a soulmate. I had already bought some things on my way home: two big loaves of bread, some tins of sardines, and some other stuffs. I would take some bread and a tin of the sardine tonight. I had a small fridge where I kept some drinks. A bottle of carbonated drinks would complement the meal. As I took my meal, I thought of Faith, my ladyfriend.

She would be coming around tomorrow and I very much looked forward to her coming. It was not that Faith was a good cook or a house keeper. No, far from it. However, her coming always offered me some companionship. After my meal, I settled down to watch television. I decided, as usual, for a movies channel. It was an action movie I had watched before, but I would not mind watching it again. I later drifted off to sleep and only woke about 11.00 p.m.

I remembered I had spread some clothes outside on the rope we used for that purpose in the morning before I left for work. Surely, they would be dry by now. I went outside to remove the clothes, returned to my room, dropped the clothes on the other side of the bed and sat on the only sofa in the room to continue watching the movie. Few minutes later, sleep came again. I yielded to it with all pleasure.

By eight the following morning, I had woken up but I still lay on the bed. I was still in that position when there was a knock on my door. I quickly checked the time on my phone which was on the stool by the side of the bed. It was just eight minutes past eight. Could that be Faith? Not likely. I wasn't expecting her about now.

Following.

Seat booked.

Waiting for more.

Go on.

Keenly following.

Go on.

The knock was repeated. I yawned and got up from the bed. Still clad only in boxers, I went to the door, unlocked and opened it.

"Good morning," Mariam greeted. She was the second occupant of the BQ and we had been neighbours.

I nodded at her. "Good morning, Sister Mariam."

Even though I suspected that we were about the same age, I called her 'sister'. She was a beautiful lady who worked as a nurse in a private hospital. She was quite a snob, so we had only a formal, neighbourly relationship.

"Sorry to bother you, Mike," she went on. "But I happen to be looking for one of my brassiers."

I could hardly believe my ears. So, Mariam was looking for one of her undies and she came knocking on my door?

She must have seen the look of incredulity on my face, for she quickly went on: "I spread and left it outside yesterday. It's a black one with padded cups and lacy edges. You might have packed it among your clothes."

I sighed and shook my head. "Sorry, I didn't see or mistakenly take it."

She stared briefly at me and left. I was back in my room. She should look else where for her bra, I thought in amusement. There was no way I would have made the mistake of taking such a thing.

I switched on the flatscreen again and sat on the sofa. Some minutes later, I decided to brush my teeth and have a bath. I removed my towel from the wardrobe, left the room with my sponge case, brush and toothpaste and went to the bathroom. I had a good brush of teeth and a bath.

Since only two of us used the bathroom and toilet, we were able to make the place clean and decent. Many minutes later, I returned to my room. After sparsely creaming my body, I wore a casual jeans and t-shirts. It was few minutes after nine when Faith came in.

Keep it coming.

Ride on.

After sparsely creaming my body, I wore a casual jeans and t-shirts. It was few minutes after nine when Faith came in.

"Hello, darling," she greeted, coming to give me a peck.

"Hi," I replied. "How lucky I am to have you. You look dazzling as ever."

She smiled brightly. One of the good things about me was I could awe a lady easily with words.

"So, how's your weekend, so far?" she asked.

"It has been such a dreary thing, like a desert bereft of life. But now that you're around, it has turned to a forest - a land of beautiful flowers and endless bliss."

She smiled delightedly. "Na wa o for all these your words." All the same, i knew she was delighted by them.

She sat on the bed while I sat on the sofa. Her eyes went to the heap of clothes I left on the bed. "Oh dear, must you always pile your clothes on the bed instead of putting them in the wardrobe?"

Faith was a fastidious lady and was always saying things like this.

"I was actually about to pack them when you came in," I said defensively.

She pouted her lips and started to pack the clothes one by one. I changed the channel of the decoder to a channel she liked to watch. Faith suddenly stopped what she was doing and glared at me.

"And what is this?" she demanded, pointing at an object. I looked at what she pointed at and stood up.

"What! How come?"

On the bed, in between some of my clothes was a black bra with lacy edges. I had no doubt this was the bra Mariam was talking about.

"But ...but how did it get there?" I stuttered.

Faith became indignant. "You're asking me! Oh, Mike, so this is what you've been doing. You've been cheating on me all this while, deceiving me that I'm the only one for you."

I became ultra defensive. "No, no, my dear, it's not what you think. That bra got there in error."

She frowned. "I've been having some doubts lately - that you're too smooth to be trusted. How could a bra get into your room and you are still trying to bring up an excuse. You know what? I am through with this relationship. It is over. Goodbye."

Nice update.

She frowned. "I've been having some doubts lately - that you're too smooth to be trusted. How could a bra get into your room and you are still trying to bring up an excuse. You know what? I am through with this relationship. It is over. Goodbye."

With that, she made to pick up her handbag on the centre table.

"You don't mean it," I said in astonishment. "Surely you must be joking. The bra is all a mistake. The owner, Mariam, even came to ask if I mistakenly took it among my clothes. I didn't even know the bra was among the clothes."

Faith behaved as if she had not heard a word that I spoke. I tried to block her.

"Listen, Faith. I can take you to Mariam and she will confirm that I mistakenly took it. The worse part was, when she came to ask for it, I didn't realize it was with me."

Faith brushed me aside. "Mike, go and meet your Mariam and leave me alone."

With that, she stormed out of the room. I was perplexed. What kind of thing was this? I could have sworn that I did not take that bra when Mariam came to ask me. It was beffudling that it was right inside my room. Now, the thing had caused a conflict from my darling Faith. I went on to pick the bra and examined it. It certaily looked good and sexy, my carnal mind said. I started imagining how it would look on Mariam but I quickly checked myself. Now, what would I do? What else but to return the thing to its owner and apolopize for the error? I chided myself. I brought a white polythene bag from my wardrobe, put the bra inside it and left my room for Mariam's own. At the door to her room, I could hear gospel music being played. I could not really understand Mariam.

She claimed to be a Muslim but she was always playing Christian music. Inwardly, I shrugged as I knocked at the door. In a moment, she came to open the door.

"Hello, Sister Mariam. Sorry I made a mistake. When I packed my clothes yesterday evening, I must have taken your bra along. It was not long ago that I knew it was with me."

She suddenly looked relaxed and briefly smiled. "So, you mean the missing bra is actually with you? Goodness! Well, at least you are sincere to admit you took it by error and to return it." I smiled too and nodded.

"To err is human." I dipped my hand into the nylon to bring the bra out. "Here, you are."

She received it with more smile. "Thanks," she said.

"You are welcome."

As I turned to go, the smile suddenly went off her face. "Excuse me, but this is not my bra."

She frowned. "I've been having some doubts lately - that you're too smooth to be trusted. How could a bra get into your room and you are still trying to bring up an excuse. You know what? I am through with this relationship. It is over. Goodbye."

With that, she made to pick up her handbag on the centre table.

"You don't mean it," I said in astonishment. "Surely you must be joking. The bra is all a mistake. The owner, Mariam, even came to ask if I mistakenly took it among my clothes. I didn't even know the bra was among the clothes."

Faith behaved as if she had not heard a word that I spoke. I tried to block her.

"Listen, Faith. I can take you to Mariam and she will confirm that I mistakenly took it. The worse part was, when she came to ask for it, I didn't realize it was with me."

Faith brushed me aside. "Mike, go and meet your Mariam and leave me alone."

With that, she stormed out of the room. I was perplexed. What kind of thing was this? I could have sworn that I did not take that bra when Mariam came to ask me. It was beffudling that it was right inside my room. Now, the thing had caused a conflict from my darling Faith. I went on to pick the bra and examined it. It certaily looked good and sexy, my carnal mind said. I started imagining how it would look on Mariam but I quickly checked myself. Now, what would I do? What else but to return the thing to its owner and apolopize for the error? I chided myself. I brought a white polythene bag from my wardrobe, put the bra inside it and left my room for Mariam's own. At the door to her room, I could hear gospel music being played. I could not really understand Mariam.

She claimed to be a Muslim but she was always playing Christian music. Inwardly, I shrugged as I knocked at the door. In a moment, she came to open the door.

"Hello, Sister Mariam. Sorry I made a mistake. When I packed my clothes yesterday evening, I must have taken your bra along. It was not long ago that I knew it was with me."

She suddenly looked relaxed and briefly smiled. "So, you mean the missing bra is actually with you? Goodness! Well, at least you are sincere to admit you took it by error and to return it." I smiled too and nodded.

"To err is human." I dipped my hand into the nylon to bring the bra out. "Here, you are."

She received it with more smile. "Thanks," she said.

"You are welcome."

As I turned to go, the smile suddenly went off her face. "Excuse me, but this is not my bra."

Nice update.

More...

As I turned to go, the smile suddenly went off her face. "Excuse me, but this is not my bra."

Once again, that morning, I was astonished. "What! What are you talking about?"

She shook her head as she continued to examine the bra. "This is not my bra,"she repeated. "I use black La Perla bra. This is another product. Besides, the straps are longer and the cups are bigger than my size."

I could not believe what I was hearing. "So who's the owner of this?" I asked rhetorically.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it belongs to your girlfriend."

It was my turn to shake my head. "No, it doesn't. My girlfriend was even the first to see it in my room. She was angry to see it and she accused me of bringing in another girl, leaving my room in vexation. This bra cannot be hers."

Mariam sighed. "Well, take it back. It's not mine," she countered.

"But it has to be yours," I insisted. "This is the black bra you're looking for."

She too was adamant. "It's like you don't understand. Wait."

She entered her room. As I waited for her, I wondered what she was up to. I didn't wonder for long. She soon returned with another bra, a pink one.

"This is mine and this is my size. Now, let's compare this to the black one you brought." She held the two bras close. "First, the exact tag on the pink bra is not on the black one. The brand tag on the pink one is the tag on all my bras. Secondly, compare their straps. The black one is larger and longer. Finally, look at their cups. The black cups are much bigger. This black bra is not my own."

I could indeed see the differences that she pointed out, but if it was not hers, as she claimed, whose own was it? She returned the black bra to me and I took it back inside my room more confused than ever.

Interesting so far.

Go on.

I could indeed see the differences that she pointed out, but if it was not hers, as she claimed, whose own was it? She returned the black bra to me and I took it back inside my room more confused than ever.


* * *

Some hours later, I tried to relax in my room by watching some live football matches. There was a gentle rapping at my door. My heart raced in excitement. Had Faith realized the folly of her action and had come back? I went on to the door. It was Mariam that was there.

"Can I see you for one moment?" she asked. Her face looked stern and I wondered what was bothering her.

"Sure," I replied. "You can see me right away."

She nodded. "Good. It's on the missing bra issue. I've been thinking about it and I've come to the conclusion that you've not been honest with me."

I was surprised to hear this accusation. I however kept quiet.

"You've not been straight forward at all," she continued. "First, you claimed you did not take the bra. Later, you said you took it, but you only returned the wrong one. Why are you doing all this? Why are taking it as a prank or something?"

I nearly laughed. How could she be insinuating this?

"You're so wrong, Mariam," I said, dropping the sister stuff for good. "You call it prank, how could I be playing such a prank? Faith, my girlfriend, was the first to see it. She accused me of unfaithfulness and left in anger. How could I have been playing pranks?"

"Your prank is your refusal to return my original bra," she retorted.

I became exasperated. "I've given you the one I saw. You're the one claiming it's not your own."

"Because it's not mine!" she fired back. "Look, Mike, I'm aware that some people do sinister thing with people's underwears. If that's your plan, you will fail. Look, I give you three hours to produce my bra!"

With that, she stormed out of my presence. I thought I must be in a bad dream and needed to wake up. See me see trouble! I shook my head and returned inside my room. This was certainly getting out of hand.

How could Mariam accuse me of diabolism? I had been a tenant in that house for the past six months, had she ever seen anything fetish with me? I had a fairly paying job and had never contemplated becoming a 'yahoo boy.'

Cool 😎 work

I had a fairly paying job and had never contemplated becoming a 'yahoo boy.'

The idea of doing something fetish with her underwear was, to say the least, absurd. To me it was reprehensible and silly. Mariam was most likely trying to make an issue out of nothing. I was sure the bra I found belonged to her. I would not believe her claim that it was not her brand or that it was not her size. Why couldn't she take what I gave her? It was few minutes after 2.00 p.m and I should think of what to have for lunch. With Faith not around, it was going to be a very boring weekend.

On the television, the referee blew the final whistle signalling the end of the match. My favourite team had won, but my sour mood called for no celebration. There was another knock at my door. Had Mariam come to make more ridiculous allegations? Slowly, I went to open the door. I was confronted by a girl I knew to be the landlady's house girl.

"Good afternoon, sir," she greeted. "Madam say she want see you and you should come now, now." I nodded at her. "Alright, tell her I'll be coming."

The landlady usually sent the girl to summon me on matter concerning payment of electricity bills, waste disposal and other sundry issues. I went inside to remove my keys and lock the door. I then went to the main building. Madam Abdulrazaq, the widow landlady lived in one of the flats on the first floor. She was a woman in her sixties and she lived with her last daughter who, i understood, was in the university. I pressed the bell to madam's flat and it was the house girl that opened the door for me.

On stepping inside the expansive sitting-room, I saw the madam already seated. Surprisingly, Mariam was seated too.

"Good afternoon, madam," I greeted the landlady.

"Good afternoon, Mike," she replied and gestured towards a seat. "Sit down."

I sat on the seat. "Thank you, ma."

She nodded. "I'll go straight to the point," she went on. "Why did you refuse to return Mariam's bra?"

It was not funny but I felt like chuckling.

Nice update.

👍

It was not funny but I felt like chuckling. "I've returned it to her, she's the one that refused to collect it."

Madam shook her head. "But she said you tried to give her what is not her own."

I shook my head too. "I believe what I tried to give her is hers. It doesn't belong to my ladyfriend, so it must be Mariam's own, yet she refused to take it back."

The madam sighed. "Let me ask you: when she first told you about the missing bra, what did you tell her?"

"Madam, the truth was I couldn't imagine I wrongly picked hes clothing, so I told her I did not see it."

She nodded. "That turned out to be incorrect. The bone of contention now is she came to report that she wants her own bra back."

I shook my head adamantly. "The truth of the matter is that the one I gave her is the one I had seen. By the way, Mariam, tell me how much is it? I'm ready to pay double the price."

Mariam shook her head. "I don't want money. It's my bra I want back."

Madam grinned. "Alright, you know what, Mariam, leave me with him. We'll talk this over."

Mariam stood up to go. "Thank you, mummy," she said and left the sitting-room.

Madam turned to face me squarely. "What went wrong between the two of you?" she asked. "What wrong did you do to her?"

I shook my head. "My relationship with her has always been smooth and cordial without any rancour, until now. Believe me, ma, the insinuation she made that I could use her underwear for something diabolical can never come to pass. I can never do such a thing in my life."

The landlady nodded. "Since you became a tenant in this house, I have never known you for any bad behaviour. Mariam has been here before you and I've not known her for any bad behavior too. What I will advise you now is to try to be friendly with her. May be you've been aloof before. Now, try to be closer to her. Meanwhile, if you've deliberately withheld her bra, return it."

I had to swear to the madam that Mariam's clothing that I had was the one that I tried to give her, which she rejected. I thanked her for the advice and left her flat.

Interesting story.

I had to swear to the madam that Mariam's clothing that I had was the one that I tried to give her, which she rejected. I thanked her for the advice and left her flat.


* * *


When I left the main building, I went straight to Mariam's room.

She opened the door as soon as I knocked as if she was expecting me.

"Can I see you for a moment?" I asked.

She nodded. "Okay, come in." It was the first time I would be entering her room. We had always talked outside. I remembered the advice given by the landlady. It appeared she might be right after all. Mariam's room was the same size with mine but I liked the way she arranged everything. From her rack of shoes, I could see that she had many pairs. The room had fine scent. Unlike me, there was no clothing on the bed.

There were two settees facing the bed. She offered me one while she sat on the other. I thanked as I took the seat.

"Concerning this current issue," I began. "I want to start by saying first and foremost, I'm not a diabolical person and I will never use your underwear or any one's own for any ritual. God is my witness and I'm ready to swear if need be. Secondly, the one I showed to you is the one I really saw. I can give you my girlfriend's number to confirm. She was even the first to see it. If you're still in doubt after all these explanations, I can take you to my room so that you will do a thorough search."

I paused to get her response. She appeared to be weighing in the the words I just spoke.

"There will be no need for that," she said. I nodded.

"Alright, thank you for believing my words. Since I came here, you and I have no issue until this missing bra matter came up. I admire your decent and easy-going way of life. I will like us to be good friends. I want to assure you once again that I do not have any bad intentions towards you. Thank you for your time. Should I go and bring the bra I have with me now?"

I said this, hoping my gambit had paid off. Once again, she appeared to be weighing my words.

Still following.

I said this, hoping my gambit had paid off. Once again, she appeared to be weighing my words.

She suddenly shrugged. "Okay."

I smiled radiantly at her. "Good. I shall be back with it in a jiffy."

I patted her left shoulder, stood up and left the room. Amazing! Women must be amazing creatures! Not too long ago, this same lady was insisting that the bra in question was not her own. Now, with little pet talk, she had agreed that I should bring it. Wonderful! May God bless madam landlady. I was happy when I unlocked my door and entered my room. Now, I could rest from the hassles of a missing bra. The white polythene bag containing the bra was still on the edge of the bed where I had left it. I went to pick the bag and immediately stopped short. Nothing was inside the polythene bag. Was it not in it that I kept the bra? I turned the nylon upside down. Nothing came out of it. Jesus!

Where did I keep the bra? I opened the wardrobe and started searching. I could only see my clothes. The bra! My mind screamed at me. Where was the bra? I searched under pillows, the edges of the mattress, under the bed, behind the camp cooking gas cylinder and everywhere. The item could not be found. I opened the fridge and the cooking pots, still, I could not find it. To show how desperate I was in the search, I lifted my t-shirt to be sure I was not wearing it.

That was preposterous, right? How could I, a man, ever wear a bra? That was desperation at it peak. This was astonishing to say the least. Now, what would I tell Mariam? Would I just say I could not find it; that the thing just disappeared? I had told her I would bring it and she would be waiting. What would I do now? I had never been as confused as I was now in my life. My mind frantically tried to find a reason. Had someone entered the room to take the bra when I went to the main building to see the landlady? Who could have done that? Besides, I remembered clearly that I had locked my door. Then, my mind wavered. Wait a minute. I gave Faith a key to my place so she could access it in case she came and I was not around. Did she come around when I was in the main building to see landlady? That could explain it, my mind said.

I picked up my phone to call her. I had earlier called her around noon but she refused to pick the call. This time, I hoped she would. The ringing went on and on. Oh, Faith, pick your call, pick your call, I muttered under my breath. She did not pick it. I redialed her number. It started ringing again. Oh everlasting Father, make Faith to pick this call, I found myself praying.

Goodness, she picked it!

Goodness.

Nice one.

Goodness, she picked it!

"Hello, Faith," I quickly spoke into the mouthpiece. "Were you in my house not too long ago?"

"What are saying? Of course I was there in the morning."

I grimaced. ''No, I'm not talking about that one. I mean, did you come back to the house when I was not inside? Did you take the bra?"

"Bra?" Faith yelled. "What nonsense! What nonsense bra!"

I was aghast. "Calm down," I quickly put in. "I'm talking about the bra you saw in my room in the morning. Did you come around to take it? I need to take it back to the owner."

I could see that I was sweating.

"Are you high on something?" Faith yelled again. "How could you imagine I would take somebody's bra!? As if I don't have my own bra! SMH!"

Before I could say anything further, she cut the line. I was exasperated. Faith was the only person that had access to my place. If, as she said, she did not take the bra, who did? There was a knock at my door. I quickly brought handkerchief from my pocket to dab the sweats on my face. Then, I went to see who was at the door.

The whiff of the of the perfume the person was wearing hit my nose as soon as I opened the door.

"Hello, Michael."

My mouth dropped open on sighting the intruder.

"Funmi!" I said in wonder. "What are you doing here? How did you find this place?"

She smiled and corked her head to a side. "Are you not going to let me in before your barrage of questions?"

I was not in the mood to entertain visitors but I had no option than to let Funmi inside. Funmi was my ex lover as well as a benefactor. We met during our university days. She was a benefactor in the sense that she assisted me a lot financially back then.

She quit the relationship about two years ago when she told me she had met an American based Nigerian that was serious enough to propose marriage. It was not easy to say goodbye to her, but I had to move on with life. Seeing her now was a complete case of a bolt from the blue. She entered the room and looked around it appraisingly.