13/02/2025
So, I almost died because of egusi soup. And no, it wasn’t poison. My own greed nearly sent me to my ancestors.
It all started when my girlfriend, Amaka, invited me over for the first time. We had been dating for three months, and she kept hyping her cooking skills like she was the head chef at a five-star restaurant. “Babe, my egusi soup is legendary,” she said. Me, a certified foodie, believed her.
When I got there, the aroma alone weakened my knees. The kind of smell that makes you start reconsidering your entire life. I saw the pot, deep, steaming, with palm oil floating seductively on top. My guy, the soup was thick. Not the type that looks like soakaway water, but the kind that when you scoop it, it respects itself and follows the swallow obediently.
She served me a mountain of fufu and a whole basin of soup. My village people were already clapping in the background. I should have respected myself. I should have taken my time. But no, gluttony is a disease.
I dived in like a possessed man. First bite; heaven. Second bite; ancestral approval. Third bite; problem.
I don’t know if it was excitement or greed, but I swallowed without chewing well. My people, a lump of fufu and bone got stuck in my throat. I tried to cough it out, but it refused. I reached for water, but Amaka, thinking I was just enjoying the food too much, smiled and said, “Babe, don’t rush na. Eat gently.”
Gently ke? I was fighting for my life.
At some point, my vision started blurring. My hands were shaking. I banged the table twice, BOOM! BOOM! That’s when she realized something was wrong.
“Chai! Babe, are you okay?”
I wanted to answer, but all that came out was “Hrrghhkk.” Next thing I knew, I saw darkness.
I woke up on the floor, my shirt drenched in water. Amaka stood over me, holding an empty bucket. The girl had BATTERED me with water like a soaked garment in Ojuelegba.
Her neighbors were peeping through the window, some already laughing. One woman shouted,