The Dice #34

Dunni tossed and turned all night, sleep eluding her. Tade’s betrayal gnawed at her—he had hidden his family’s wealth, a truth he had kept from her. His calls had been relentless, but she couldn’t answer. And today, Moses was leaving, the thought of it tearing her apart. He had been away six long months out of the country, but this felt different. It felt final. Their strained relationship only deepened the ache in her chest, and she couldn’t understand why it had come to this. Moses had been a constant in her life for so long that she couldn’t imagine a world without him.

As the first light of dawn crept into her room, she was almost grateful. She scrambled out of bed, moving slowly as she readied herself for work. Today was packed with meetings, and she was determined to wrap them up by 3 p.m. so she could rush to the airport to see Moses off. The plan was to meet Ola and Moses at the airport after sharing a farewell dinner at Cactus Restaurant the night before. She had gone through the motions of that evening, trying to maintain a facade of normalcy, pretending that everything was as it should be.

But the day slipped away from her faster than she anticipated. After her last meeting in Lekki, she raced to her car, eager to beat the traffic and get to Murtala Mohammed International Airport. But as she hit the Third Mainland Bridge, the standstill traffic stopped her. A tanker accident had blocked the road, and despite no casualties, the wait for it to be cleared felt like an eternity. Desperation clawed at her as she realized she wouldn’t reach the airport in time. She texted Ola, heart heavy with disappointment, and reluctantly turned her car around.

But halfway through her retreat, something inside her snapped. She spun the car around again, determined to get to that airport no matter how long it took. If she missed Moses, it wouldn’t be because she didn’t try; it would be because fate had decided it wasn’t meant to be. But at least she would know she had given it everything.

At the airport, Ola stayed by Moses’s side while waiting for check-in. Moses kept glancing at the entrance, his eyes betraying the anticipation he couldn’t hide.

“Dunni’s been stuck in traffic for four hours,” Ola informed him, his voice heavy with the weight of the situation. “She had to turn back.”

Moses’s shoulders slumped, disappointment etched on his face.

“You need to let her go,” Ola said gently but firmly.

“I know,” Moses replied, his voice low, staring into the distance. He could fix anything—anything but this. His heart clenched at the mere mention of Dunni’s name, a pain he knew would only dull with time. Until then, he would wear his grief like a heavy cloak, carrying it with him as he moved forward.

He hugged Ola tightly before walking to the boarding gate, not daring to look back. He would have seen Dunni walking through the revolving door if he had.

She arrived just as Ola was leaving. “You made it,” he said, a touch of surprise in his voice.

“Yeah,” she replied, her tone hollow. “But what good did it do? He’s already gone through the gates.”

“Yes,” Ola confirmed, watching her carefully, trying to gauge her emotions. She simply shrugged, her voice empty. “I made it, though.”

Ola handed her the small pair of dice Moses had left for her. “He asked me to give you this,” he said softly.

And that was when Dunni’s composure shattered. The tears came, a torrent of grief she had been holding back for too long.

“I’ll walk you to the car park,” Ola offered, knowing no words could ease the pain between these two friends who were so clearly meant to be together yet were now worlds apart.