Once upon a time in the city of Ilesha lived a young man, Biodun, and his wife, Bose. Bose and Biodun had been married for six years but Bose had been unable to conceive and their neighbors had started spreading rumours that Bose belonged to a secret witch cult and that her fellow witches ate her eggs every month. Biodun had heard these rumours but he brushed them aside because he knew his wife was a devout Christian and that she was innocent.
But after a while, Biodun and Bose started getting into fights over the most trivial things and sometimes they would go for days without speaking to each other. When they absolutely needed to communicate, they would send notes to each other.
Bose was particularly bothered about this because Biodun no longer ate her food. She tried to reconcile with him in bed but all to no avail. She knew it had to do with her inability to conceive and she would spend whole days crying. Things went from bad to worse. One night, in an effort to remedy the situation and get them on talking terms again, Bose decided to cook Biodun's favourite meal- Pounded Yam and Egusi. She wrote a note and put it on his bedside table so that when he came back from work, he would read it and join her in the dining room for dinner. Bose waited in the dinner room for five hours but Biodun did not return home that night. When it was midnight, she cleared the table, went up to her room, folded the note and placed it in the middle of her journal, and cried herself to sleep. The next morning, she got up early and went to see her mother.
Biodun came home early the next day. He had had a busy day at work the previous day, preparing a report that was due the next day and towards the end of the day, his computer suddenly crashed and he had to spend the night in the office and start the report from scratch. When he was finally done at 7a.m, he rushed home to shower and get a change of clothes.
The house was quiet when he got home. "Bose! Bose", he called. But there was no answer. Biodun started to worry: "Did she sleep at home last night? If she didn't, where did she go? Oh no! What if my friends were right; what if she is a witch? What if she went for the witches' meeting?" When he got up to their bedroom, he started searching the drawers. He opened her journal and a note fell out. It read: "Let's eat Biodun". "Oh my God!", Biodun screamed, "she is a witch!" . He ran out the house as fast as he could and and alerted the neighbours. They hurried to see what was happening. When they came in, he showed them the note. At that moment, Bose walked in and they immediately grabbed her and started beating her, forcing her to confess. They said they had evidence and they showed her the note. "Oh!", Bose exclaimed! I'm not a witch. She immediately brought out her pen and put the comma where it should be and showed them the note again explaining how she had waited for several hours for Biodun to come home the night before. "Oh!" the neighbours responded, laughing at the misintepretation. They let go of her and apologized. Bidoun apologized as well and Bose and Biodun made up.
Two weeks later, Bose found out that she was pregnant. She was overjoyed! Today, Bose and Biodun and Gbadegesin- their little boy- and Gbemisoke -their little daughter- are the happiest family in Ilesha and every now and then, Bose thinks about that comma that saved her life.
The end.
Let's eat Biodun--> Let us all eat BiodunBut after a while, Biodun and Bose started getting into fights over the most trivial things and sometimes they would go for days without speaking to each other. When they absolutely needed to communicate, they would send notes to each other.
Bose was particularly bothered about this because Biodun no longer ate her food. She tried to reconcile with him in bed but all to no avail. She knew it had to do with her inability to conceive and she would spend whole days crying. Things went from bad to worse. One night, in an effort to remedy the situation and get them on talking terms again, Bose decided to cook Biodun's favourite meal- Pounded Yam and Egusi. She wrote a note and put it on his bedside table so that when he came back from work, he would read it and join her in the dining room for dinner. Bose waited in the dinner room for five hours but Biodun did not return home that night. When it was midnight, she cleared the table, went up to her room, folded the note and placed it in the middle of her journal, and cried herself to sleep. The next morning, she got up early and went to see her mother.
Biodun came home early the next day. He had had a busy day at work the previous day, preparing a report that was due the next day and towards the end of the day, his computer suddenly crashed and he had to spend the night in the office and start the report from scratch. When he was finally done at 7a.m, he rushed home to shower and get a change of clothes.
The house was quiet when he got home. "Bose! Bose", he called. But there was no answer. Biodun started to worry: "Did she sleep at home last night? If she didn't, where did she go? Oh no! What if my friends were right; what if she is a witch? What if she went for the witches' meeting?" When he got up to their bedroom, he started searching the drawers. He opened her journal and a note fell out. It read: "Let's eat Biodun". "Oh my God!", Biodun screamed, "she is a witch!" . He ran out the house as fast as he could and and alerted the neighbours. They hurried to see what was happening. When they came in, he showed them the note. At that moment, Bose walked in and they immediately grabbed her and started beating her, forcing her to confess. They said they had evidence and they showed her the note. "Oh!", Bose exclaimed! I'm not a witch. She immediately brought out her pen and put the comma where it should be and showed them the note again explaining how she had waited for several hours for Biodun to come home the night before. "Oh!" the neighbours responded, laughing at the misintepretation. They let go of her and apologized. Bidoun apologized as well and Bose and Biodun made up.
Two weeks later, Bose found out that she was pregnant. She was overjoyed! Today, Bose and Biodun and Gbadegesin- their little boy- and Gbemisoke -their little daughter- are the happiest family in Ilesha and every now and then, Bose thinks about that comma that saved her life.
The end.
Let's eat, Biodun --> I'm talking to Biodun and I'm asking him to eat with me/us.
People come here-->This place is visited by people.
People, come here--> I'm talking to a group of people whom I have chosen to collectively refer to as "people" and I'm asking them to come to me.
Happy birthday boy--> The birthday boy is happy
Happy birthday, boy--> Happy birthday to you whom I have chosen to refer to as "boy".
Merry Christmas Bidoun--> The Christmas Biodun is merry.
Merry Christmas, Biodun--> I wish Biodun a merry Christmas/ Merry Christmas to Biodun.
Happy new year everyone--> I hope the new year everyone is happy.
Happy new year, everyone!--> I'm wishing everyone a happy new year.
Let's eat Biodun--> Let us eat Biodun
Let's eat, Biodun --> I'm talking to Biodun and I'm asking him to eat with me/us.
Punctuation saves lives.
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