To be falsely accused

Have you ever been accused of something you didn't do? If yes, you will agree with me that it is an unpleasant episode in this beautiful experience called life. Here goes my story.


A few years ago, I was on my way to an internet café when I received a phone call from an unknown number. The network was so poor that after several attempts, the lady left a voice message. I listened to it while on my way back to the campus.

"Please leave my husband Mr. … alone…” I tried to look into my friendships to know which married man I could be accused of dating. I was as single as the sun at that time. I saved the voice message and took it to my best friend Mel to have a listen. After listening to it, he asked if I actually listened to it to the end, I said no. He said, “This lady is saying if she loses the baby she is carrying she will hold you responsible”. At this point my mouth dropped open in shock.


I asked Mel what we were going to do about these serious but unfounded accusations. He said let’s go see the couple and let the lady tell us exactly what she is basing her accusations on.
I had nothing to worry about as I knew I wasn’t dating any married man. First day, we didn’t meet any of them at home. On the second day, we arrived when the lady (whom I was seeing for the first time) was lying on the sofa, visibly pregnant. We told her we would like to meet her husband. He came in and I explained why I was there: Madam should tell me why she is accusing me of something I haven’t done. I told him I still have the message on my phone for his listening pleasure.


He took us out to the veranda and told us that there is nothing to worry about, I should just forget about it. He said she probably read the text message I sent to him on New Year’s Eve and that is why she called me. If I recall well, the message read something like this: “At this time of the year I would like to wish a very special friend like you a very happy new year”.


He went into the bedroom as he was getting ready to step out. Mel and I went back into the living room. Madam sat up and told me she was very sorry for falsely accusing me. Here I was, in a position to forgive or not. If only she knew the anxiety she had put me through the past few days. Come to think of it, even when you have a clear conscience about something, you will still be uncomfortable if someone falsely accuses you of something you didn’t do! From her message, she sounded so sure of herself I even thought it could be true!


I told her that the text message she saw in her husband’s phone was a message I sent to every close friend on New Year’s Eve. Reassuring her, I told her that if I had her number, I should have sent hers too.


When Mel and I got back to the campus, we tried to analyze the unfolding of events. It was evident that the guy wasn’t treating her well. Pregnancy is a time when a woman really needs tender loving care from her man. Apparently she wasn’t getting any. And she assumed he was giving it to some other lady. So she would check his phone and get back at anyone sending him any kindhearted messages. The last I heard of them, the guy had abandoned her with two kids and gone to seek greener pastures in Europe, not even keeping in touch with her.


She later on took up acting as a career. I still see her from time to time. And whenever I do, I remember the incident. Don’t get me wrong, forgiving and forgetting is not as easy as it sounds. You may forgive someone all you want but forgetting? Common guys, we are all human aren’t we?