In Kad city, everyone loved Musa’s suya. People said it tasted different, spicier and tastier than anything they had ever tried. Some joked that he had a secret ingredient, Others said he must have made a pact night spirits. Musa only smiled his quiet smile, but in reality Musa did have a secret .A secret he kept close to his heart. A secret that kept customers coming back again and again. It started years before, after his life fell apart. His wife, Halima, had died in an armed robbery gone wrong. The police as usual were completely useless. But Musa never actually healed, his heart hardened. At first, it was an accident an opportunity mixed with grief, and once he realized that no one questioned the “unusual flavour” his suya had, a door opened inside his mind, one he never closed again. He became the man who was always around when someone “disappeared,” who knew every alley, every quiet turn of the night. He chose his prey carefully, strangers most especially. Musa wasn’t sloppy; he was patient. calm and mmeticulous. He told himself he wasn’t evil.
A young boy a regular customer who used to buy suya from him before his wife died but went to the university and was now back approached him. “Baba Musa, this suya sweet, but ive noticed its not been the same flavor as the one I used to know.” Musa’s hands froze. He hadn’t expected anyone to notice. The boy tilted his head,and said. “But I like it. It’s kinda different.” Something in Musa’s chest tightened. A rare, uncomfortable feeling. Guilt? Fear? Or worse recognition that he was losing control, even of himself. Later that night, as he sat alone in his shed with his spices, he muttered to himself, He stared at his hands steady, He knew he had crossed a line long ago, but suddenly, for the first time in years, he wondered whether he could ever come back. Whether he even wanted to. And so the next day, Musa opened shop again. The customers came as always with praises. And Musa smiled back, the same hollow smile that never reached his eyes
Love the story! It has some Sweeney Todd vibes!
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