Bury my sins 14

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Mr. Olamide's ghost sat on a couch in Aminat's mansion early the next morning. He looked relieved, happy, and grateful, knowing his daughters were in safe hands now. 

He waited for Aminat to come out, so he could say his final goodbye before vanishing into the afterlife. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Aminat stepped into the living room, and Mr. Olamide's ghost quickly stood up and began speaking.

"I'm very grateful for what you've done, Aminat," he said. "You've helped me and my daughters a lot, and I really appreciate it." He paused and took a long, deep breath. "I just wanted to say my final goodbye before I go." 

Aminat's eyes welled up with tears. She had grown fond of Mr. Olamide's ghost and regretted ignoring him all this while. He had proven to be a good man with the little time that they had together.

Aminat went back into her room and returned with a nice T-shirt and trousers. "I had plans for a better send-off than this, Mr. Olamide. Please put these clothes on." 

Mr. Olamide's ghost stared at the clothes in Aminat's hands, looking curious. "How can I wear them? I'm a ghost, and I have never interacted with anything physical since my death." 

"The clothes need to leave the physical world for you to wear them," Aminat said. "And I know better than anyone else before bringing them to you."

With that, Aminat left through the backdoor of her mansion, she burned the clothes to ashes at her backyard, and returned to join Mr. Olamide's ghost in the living room.

“Mr. Olamide,” Aminat continued to speak. "Stretch out your hands and think of the clothes you saw a while ago; and they will come to you." 

Mr. Olamide's ghost slowly stretched out his hands in disbelief, thinking of the clothes as Aminat had instructed. To his amazement, the burned clothes materialized in his hands, and he could touch and feel them. "What am I to do with these clothes?" he asked sorrowfully while staring at Aminat with a curious look.

"Put them on, Mr. Olamide, and consider it my final gift to you on your journey to the afterlife," Aminat said.

Just then, Gabriel, Aminat's gateman, entered the living room and saw Aminat standing alone by herself. He did not notice the ghost's presence or the clothes in his hands because they were out of this physical world.

"Good morning, ma. I've brought the guests as you instructed; they're waiting in the car downstairs to come inside," Gabriel said.

"Oh, they're here already?" Aminat asked. "Please go and tell Bosco to bring them upstairs then." With that, Gabriel dropped the car keys on the table and went downstairs to inform Bosco.

Mr. Olamide's ghost, who had gone inside to change into the new dress Aminat gave him, re-entered the room and was smoothing out his new clothes when his eyes landed on two familiar faces. 

He had expected to meet Aminat alone in the living room, but while he was inside changing into his new outfit, Bosco had brought the two guests upstairs and returned to his duty as gatekeeper. The guests were standing hesitantly beside Aminat, staring at the expensive belongings in the room.

Mr. Olamide's ghost's expression quickly shifted from being calm to astonishment. He turned to Aminat with his eyes wide with inquiry. 

"What are they doing here?" he asked in a low voice, looking perplexed. "Did you invite them over?" he asked again, his gaze still fixed on his two daughters, Grace and Loveth who didn't notice him.

Aminat began to speak with her gentle voice. "I know you both might be wondering why I invited you over,” she said, turning to face Mr. Olamide's daughters. "But my thinking is that you both needed to be here because you didn't get to say a proper goodbye to someone who loved you dearly."

Aminat paused, trying to collect her thoughts and choose her words carefully before continuing. "Girls, I know this might sound strange, but I've been seeing your father's ghost for a while now, and he's the one who told me about the properties and what Mr. Chukwuma did. He wants me to help you reclaim them."

The two girls looked at each other with confusion on their faces. They couldn't understand what Aminat meant by seeing their father's ghost. 

It had been over a month since his passing, and they believed he was gone, resting in peace. If not for Aminat's role in helping them reclaim their father's property, which had earned their trust, they would have thought she was crazy. So they remained calm, waiting to hear the rest of her story.

Aminat took out a small bag of salt and poured some into Grace and Loveth's hands. "Put some in your mouth too," she instructed them. 

The girls looked at each other, confused, but did as they were told, and Aminat began to explain.

"This is a tradition in my family that helps us connect with people who have died. It's been passed down from generation to generation, and it's a way we get to meet a deceased person for the last time to enable us to find closure. I never believed I would do this, but Mr. Olamide is a good man, and I wanted to make his final memory worthwhile."

Grace and Loveth looked at each other with puzzled faces, but Aminat's expression was serious, truly like someone who meant her words.

She took a dry leaf and burned it, and the smoke rose up. Aminat began to move slowly around the area where Mr. Olamide's ghost was standing, and the smoke followed her. As she moved around him, the ghostly form became clearer and more visible, and the girls could see their father's ghost clearly standing right in front of them.

"This is your father's ghost," Aminat said. "You have five minutes to talk to him and say goodbye."

Mr. Olamide's daughters stared in shock, their eyes fixed on the ghostly figure of their father right in front of them.

"Dad?" Grace whispered, full of emotion.

Mr. Olamide's ghost smiled weakly. “My girls," he replied with his voice barely audible.

Loveth took a step forward slowly, with tears already streaming down her face. "Why did you leave us, Dad?" she said and began to sob.

"Dad, you promised to be there for my graduation, to see me get my driver's license... to walk me down the aisle on my wedding day," Grace said, also moving closer to him with teary eyes.

Mr. Olamide's ghost hung his head sadly, and his voice began to crack. "I know, Grace. I'm so sorry I won't be there for those moments anymore. But I'll be watching from wherever I am, cheering you on from heaven."

Loveth joined in, with a sorrowful voice. "You promised to help me with my career, to be there for my milestones... to be my rock when things got tough."

"Loveth, my dear, I'm so proud of the woman you're becoming," Mr. Olamide's ghost said sadly. “I'll always be with you in spirit, guiding you through life's ups and downs. Please take care of your sister, and be a mother and a father to her."

The girls moved closer and embraced their father's ghost with tears streaming down their faces. "We miss you so much, Dad," Grace whispered. "Why did you have to leave us so soon?"

Mr. Olamide's ghost's voice was barely audible. "I didn't want to leave, my girls. But my time was up. I'm sorry I won't be there to see you grow into the amazing women I know you'll become."

The girls held their father's ghost tight, crying uncontrollably as they cherished their last moments together. They remembered the good times, the laughter, and the memories they shared. They poured out their hearts, telling him how much they loved him, how much they would miss him, and how they wished he could stay longer.

They just held on to him tightly, soaking the new dress Aminat gave him with their tears while cherishing the moment and the love they shared. Time seemed to stand still as they held onto each other with heavy grief in their hearts.

But slowly, Mr. Olamide's ghost began to fade away. The girls could feel his embrace weakening, and they held on tighter, not wanting to let him go. "No, Dad, please don't go!" Grace begged, her voice shaking as she cried out loud.

Loveth added, "We need you, Dad. We can't do this without you."

But Mr. Olamide's ghost smiled weakly, his eyes filled with love and sorrow at the same time for his daughters. "I have to go now, my girls. My time is up. But I'll always be with you, in your hearts and memories. Be strong, be brave, and take care of each other."

With those final words, his ghostly form vanished, leaving the girls alone. They held onto each other, crying their eyes out as their dad vanished slowly like smoke, the same way Aminat had made him visible.

They collapsed to the ground with grief but were also grateful for the precious moments they had with their father's ghost through Aminat.

Meanwhile, Bosco, the gateman, who also considered himself the chief security officer of the compound, had rushed over when he heard cries. 

He had seen Mr. Olamide's ghost with his bare eyes, without salt in his hands or mouth for repellent. Aminat was worried about him because he had interfered with the affairs of the dead, and it would definitely cost him.

To be continued…..

TITLE: “Bury my sins, Not me”

Chapter 14

QUESTION: What has a loved one promised you and they did not fulfill until death took them away? If you have a rare chance with a loved one who is dead, what will you ask them?