He Vanished After Killing My Wife
Chapter 8: The Shoe in the Sand
Wetin finally catch Shuaibu na him cloth shoe.
No be everybody for village dey wear that type—na Hausa style, black, always dey drag sand. If you see shoe print for farm, you go just shout, “Na Shuaibu pass here!”
Na ordinary old Hausa style cloth shoe, wey dem dey sell for market one thousand naira per pair.
Old men dey wear am go mosque, but Shuaibu wear am everywhere—even for bush.
Most villagers dey wear rubber shoe for farm, sandal for house—no many people dey wear that black cloth shoe.
Na so people sabi am—he no get time for fine-fine thing.
Shuaibu dey wear am all year. E be like him signature.
People even dey laugh say, "See Shuaibu, shoe never wash tire."
We follow bloody shoe print.
For ground, e clear—like when goat dey run for wet sand.
The blood mark lead comot gate, enter palm grove, pass field reach big river, na there the shoe dey for bank.
When we see shoe for river bank, everybody shock. Old men begin dey pray, small pikin dey peep from tree. Old mama cross chest, whisper, “River people don carry am.”
The footprint end for there.
No sign say person cross to the other side, but river get strong current that time.
Everybody believe say Shuaibu jump enter river, swim cross, escape.
You know say for this side, if person disappear for river, e mean say juju dey or spirit carry am.
The other side na main road, people and keke full everywhere. Footprint scatter—case don loss.
Police no fit track am reach town, because rain don wash mark, and road busy.
But that time, we think say all these clue enough.
People relax, say na only time before dem go catch am. Dem no know say village get longer memory than city.
Na later we know say we miss something.
