I live on somewhere on the mainland. I paid a two year rent to the landlord before my wife and I moved into the compound I’m about to tell you about. It was a compound my wife and I regarded as our dream compound.There was water; the compound was spacious enough for cars and for hosting a group of people to an outdoor event.
We lived peaceably with everybody, though we hardly stay home. We occasionally meet fellow tenants either on our way to work or when we are returning from work. The landlord also lives in the compound too.
Eight months before the expiration of our rent, the landlord called for a meeting of the entire tenants. During the meeting, the landlord told us that his two sons got admission to study in the UK. My fellow tenants were ecstatic; they all rose to their feet and made their way to the landlord to shake him. Initially I wasn’t sure how to react to the news since I already had an incline to where the landlord was heading.
When the congratulatory messages died down, the landlord delivered the rest of his message. He told us that as a result of the admission, he would require us to pay for next year’s rent in 2 months time. Mine was the closest; it would be due in eight months time. For other tenants, their rent would be due in nine to ten months time according to them.
Nobody uttered a word. Silence enveloped the meeting. I cleared my voice and told the landlord that for me, I would not be able to meet that demand, that I had other commitments.
My response didn’t go down well with the landlord. He accused me of planning to undermine the interest of his family.
That was the beginning of my ordeal in the hands of the Landlord. Whenever he parked behind us, he would take his time before he would move his car. He started locking the gates very early at night. Sometimes, I would stay up to thirty minutes waiting for the gate to be opened.
One day, he brought some people to check our apartment. My wife did not allow them access to our flat. When they were leaving he told the people not to worry that the apartment would soon be vacant.
He kept throwing all sorts of antics at us. He cut off water supply to our flat. He would not allow my wife to make use of the clothes line. My wife and I have decided we would not react aggressively to whatever he did to us; the peace we hitherto have enjoyed disappeared. We were daily inundated with drama from the landlord.
After watching him persecute us for about two months, I walked up to him one day to confront him; I told I had something to tell him.
The five minutes he listened to me was one he would never forget in a hurry. “I have never insulted you or anybody in this compound. I have never said anything evil about you or anybody in this compound. I will never do that to you or anybody in this compound. You want to frustrate me out of this compound. I understand that very well. However, let me make something very clear to you. It will be in your benefit to retrace your steps; otherwise you might incur the wrath of God with the way you are treating me and my wife. Something tells me that is eminent ” I said to him.
I left him still rooted to the ground. He did not utter any word.
The following day I noticed a change. The gate was not locked when I returned from work. My wife told me he greeted her when they met at the staircase in the day. That was the end of the ordeal. The man never disturbed us again until we left that compound.
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