With his cards in his hands and a look of confidence in his face, he smiled and yet again, he won the game. In the space of a few minutes, Ayo had won almost fifteen thousand naira. Game after game, he was unstoppable and was racking up all the cash.

Looking at the loot that he had gathered, he decided to have mercy on his victims and not take any more of their money.

"I think you guys have had enough, I'll be on my way now" He said mockingly. As he started to leave, an angry-looking guy stood in his path and demanded he relinquish all his winnings, accusing him of having cheated.

"I don't know what you're talking about, man. I won fair and square" Ayo said, refusing to be intimidated.

The angry guy got even angrier and pulled out a gun and pointed it at Ayo. Suddenly, a wave of fear came over him, and he realized he was in a bad situation. Some of the other guys playing tried to calm the armed thug, suggesting they just beat Ayo up and take the money instead of shooting him. As they spoke, Ayo noticed they were distracted and decided to make a run for it. He took to his heels and made for the exit but before he got there, the gun went off and Ayo fell to the ground. Shocked and confused, everyone ran away and left Ayo on the ground, bleeding to his death. 

The police arrived at Ayo's home to inform his family of the tragedy. His mom fell on her knees crying. His younger brother and little sister were also devastated. Timi, being the closest sibling to Ayo, was affected the most but had a look of guilt on his face, rather than sadness. Ayo's funeral was held a few days later. The air smelled of rain and the wind blew rapidly. Everyone left the cemetery, one after the other until only Timi was left.

"I am so sorry, brother mi, I'm sorry I couldn't help you, couldn't protect you like you always protected me. Please....Forgive me" Timi lamented with sadness in his voice and pain in his eyes. Then, he started remembering a time when his brother had saved him from trouble.

It was two years ago, Timi was only 15 years old and Ayo was 18. Timi had gone to watch a football game and the team he supported had been victorious. So, on his way back home, he ran across some older boys arguing about the upcoming football games. Timi stood and listened to them because he loved football debates. He intended to only listen and not speak, but when one of the older boys criticized Timi's team, he spoke out quite boldly that the boy was "foolish for saying such nonsense". The boy and his friends felt insulted by Timi's comment, so they chased after him with the intention of beating him up. As Timi ran from them, he bumped into his brother Ayo and was thankful to the heavens. He stood behind his brother for safety as the boys chasing him caught up.

"Guy man, abeg, help me bring that boy come, make I beat am" Said one of Timi's pursuers to Ayo.

"Please guys, this boy is my brother, whatever he has done, forgive him cause he is just a little boy" Ayo said. The boy then demanded that he would have to give Timi a slap on the face as a way of teaching him respect and much to Timi's surprise, his brother agreed. As the boy walked up to Timi and raised his hand to slap him, Ayo caught his hand in the air.

"Not on my watch" Ayo said and kicked the boy across the street. Although he was outnumbered four to one, Ayo was ready to fight them all and instructed Timi to run home. The boys surrounded Ayo and attacked and like a ninja, Ayo blocked and countered their attacks, landing hard blows of his own. One of the boys picked up a stick and swung it at Ayo, but he was quick and dodged the swings quite easily. He grabbed the boy's hand and threw him over some dustbins. Suddenly, Ayo was grabbed from behind by one of his attackers, while another moved towards him with a glass bottle in hand. Ayo pushed himself down and raised his feet to the boy with the bottle, smashing it against his face. He broke free from the hold of one of the boys and punched him several times in the face. They all laid on the ground, groaning in pain and Ayo stood above them, literally untouched.

As Ayo looked around, he noticed that Timi hadn't ran home but was hiding and watching in a corner. Ayo walked to him and held his hand and they walked home together. "I thought I told you to go home?"

"I couldn't leave you to fight those guys alone"

"Ahh, so why didn't you try to help?"

"I wanted to but you beat them up so quickly. You were amazing like Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. I didn't know you could fight like that" 

His brother was his guardian angel and protector but now, he was dead and buried six feet under, and like Timi was realising it for the first time that he would never see his brother again, he was overcome with anger and let out a scream. The rain had started pouring and Timi's tears were lost in the rain on his face. " I will avenge you, I will make sure the person responsible for this pays dearly, my brother". Timi said as he fell on his knees.

He then felt like he was being watched and he looked behind him and around, but there was no one there. After the rain had stopped, Timi got up and left the cemetery.

The school year had just begun and Timi had to go to school a few days after his brother's death. He was not looking forward to it, but life goes on and he had to too. He stood outside the gates of his school almost afraid of going in because he knew he would be reminded of the one thing he didn't want to talk about, His brother.