Short Stories

The Living Dead

Dear Yardie,

I have lost interest. I no longer feel the urge to finger my keyboard.
The reason I did it last night, was to share this horrible experience.
“What horrible experience?” you may ask.
It’s not what you are thinking. Not that one, lol…

 This is what happened in foreign, October 5:
I returned from work. The phone rang. I answered.
“Horace!  Mi cyan believe dis… Dem shot yuh computer fren in Ochi. Him body deh yah right now and a big-big crowd gather roun!” thundered the rather animated caller from yard.
I understood him to mean the victim is my long-time friend Chris who is a computer technician.  That’s why he was referred to as my “computer fren”.
When I relocated to Ochi some eight years ago – fresh out of high school – Chris was my very first friend in the resort town. He was few years my junior, but he managed to show me the ropes. That’s one reason his sudden death would have been a devastating blow.
Still in shock, I threw myself in the sofa. Memories flashed through my mind like large bolts of lightning in a terrifying thunderstorm.
I vented on my BB: “R.I.P Chris. Thought I would return home to see you again, but the guns didn’t allow.”
Then I turned to the social networking site, Facebook.
“R.I.P Chris,” I posted along with a quite befitting song entitled “Rest in Peace” and done by another good friend, Melloquence.
Melloquence saw the post and started a Facebook conversation about the same shooting. I sensed something rather odd. Melloquence’s description of the victim was totally off. It didn’t match the identity of my friend Chris.
I was confused. Therefore, I picked up the phone and went on a search for clarity. While some persons were not aware of the incident, others knew of it but couldn’t ascertain the identity of the victim.
“Stupid! Why don’t you call Chris’ phone,” an inner- voice pricked.
I dialed Chris’ number. Guess whose voice I heard….
 
{DRUM ROLL}
 
Chris answered the phone. I thought he was a ghost. I thought I was sleeping. I thought I was…nothing.
Chris’ baby girl started making noises in the background, probably trying to tell me: “You stupid. My dad isn’t dead (or is resurrected lol).”
I then discovered that the real victim, who was one of Chris’ “computer” friends, was gunned down near Chris’ workplace.
Chris told me he was getting calls from several people who wanted to know if he was actually dead. (LOL) Did I really call a “dead” man’s phone to find out if he was actually dead? Did a “dead” man really convince me that he is alive?
 
I didn’t stop there:
I called my other friend who initially informed me that Chris was dead.
His explanation was that he heard the shots and over-heard someone saying it was the “computer guy” who was killed. Gosh! Can’t believe he could have thought Chris was the only “computer guy” around. (SMH)
 
Advice:
The next time you pick up the phone to call someone overseas about a murder, make sure the DEAD man is actually the one KILLED.

Make sure no one is actually KILLED.

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