Silence descended the large room claiming dominion despite the crowd that crammed themselves in.

I stood in the dock, encouraging my legs to maintain balance as it trembled before the piercing gaze of the inscrutable judge. I stared hard at the smoothly cemented floor, unable to raise my face to take even a glance at the audience, my family included. I had failed them and had become one of the successes of the EFCC. I was sure a higher percentage of the people who were at my hearing were there for some pieces of gossip to take home. Especially the press; with their cameras flashing in my direction every now and then. The real gossip mongers. The headlines of my story would surely be on the cover pages of the newspapers the next day. And subsequently, 'Notorious' would become the adjective coming before my name.

As I reminisced on my jolly past, I realized I should have known who exactly the devil was before dining with him. Perhaps, in my next world, I definitely would not dine with anyone. Not even myself.

****Year 2018***

Being the first child of my...