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Today�s piece is a puzzle. Being privy to both recent and past happenings in this country, I guess it would not be difficult for you to decipher. There is this beautiful, courteous and hardworking damsel who had the onerous duty of choosing a partner. There were many suitors but the real competition was between two men. Both were handsome, hardworking and from good families. One was very sweet-tongued. He promised her heaven on earth, claiming he was as pious as Yesu Kristo himself. He also pledged to shower love on her to prove he cared for her. His mantra anytime he visited the beautiful damsel was �I care for you�. Being very honest, the other gentleman tried as much as possible to paint a very true picture for her. He told her life was not a bed of roses so she should not allow herself to be fooled by the sweet words being whispered into her ears. He, however, promised to do everything in his power to make life comfortable for her. Oblivious of fact that the other gentleman was only singing the tune she wanted to hear, the beautiful lady did not even ponder over it before making her choice. The sweet promises hoodwinked her into choosing the sweet-tongued chap over the honest bloke. The two love birds hugged and kissed as the loser walked miserably back home to lick his wounds. It is almost four years since the romance started and the beautiful damsel is yet to see any of the goodies promised her. The sweet promises from Mr I-Care-For-You have all turned into bitter realities. Indeed, the man who promised her heaven on earth made life a living hell for her; and the once beautiful lady who was the cynosure of all eyes became a pale shadow of herself. Thanks to her parents, the damsel has now regained her lost beauty. She is now the talk of the town as many suitors try to snatch her away from the sweet-tongued Mr I-Care-For-You. Leading the pack of suitors is the honest bloke who lost the competition to Mr I-Care-For-You some four years back. Of course, the honest bloke is also making some promises in order to win the heart of the lady. They are promises he knows he can satisfy and is determined to redeem if given the opportunity. They are promises the lady herself knows will help improve her standard of living, if fulfilled. Mr I-Care-For-You is now in a fix. He cannot make new promises because he knows too well that the lady wouldn�t believe him. She wouldn�t believe him because he has failed to redeem the ones he had made to her some years back. Indeed, it will be foolhardiness on her part to believe such a dishonest bloke. In the meantime, the honest chap is slowly warming his way into the heart of the lady. The damsel is gradually falling for him because the things he has promised her are the very things she needs. She is falling for him because she knows he is a gentleman, a man who treats ladies with respect. What does this mean for Mr I-Care-For-You? It is obvious, isn�t it? He is losing the love of his life and has to do something to save the situation. Not just something, but something very drastic. Desperate to keep his lovely girlfriend, Mr I-Care-For-You resorts to using the trick known to be the only weapon of losers. That is, painting one�s competitor black in order to gain favour. He tells her in a very caring tone that the promises are unreasonable and unattainable. He further poisons her mind with the excuse that all the promises by the honest bloke are nothing but sweet words to hoodwink her into falling for him. Gradually, he succeeded in planting the seed of doubt in her mind. Human as she is, the lady has started wondering if the gentleman could be able to redeem his promises should she give him her heart. And why wouldn�t she wonder? After being fooled for four years by sweet-tongued Mr I-Care-For-You, she is very justified in being careful who next she gives her heart to. That is the consequence of a broken promise. After your hopes are raised and later dashed as a result of a broken promise, you are bound to take any promise from any other person with a pinch of salt. But there is hope for the honest chap. The lady knows very well that he has, on many occasions, redeemed promises he had made to others. Her friends and loved ones are equally aware of the honesty and incorruptibility of the gentleman. One is therefore tempted to believe that she would clear the fog of doubt dangling in her medulla and make the right choice. The beautiful damsel is no fool. I trust her to read between the lines and recognize the fact that Mr I-Care-For-You is only trying to put sand in the honest bloke�s gari. I trust her to make the right choice because she is very discerning. I, however, would like to entreat the beautiful lady to remember this simple fact: For every human emotion and action, there are consequences. Whatever choice she makes has its consequences. Swallowing the sugar-coated pill of Mr I-Care-For-You has its dire consequences, while giving the honest chap a chance has its consequences as well. Abusuapanin, who, between the two, will be her choice? Will she wise up and move on, or stick with the sweet-tongued chap? Your guess could be as good as mine!