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The events, characters and firms depicted in this story are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual firms is purely coincidental and unintentional.
WE ARE
OUR FATE
AUSTIN I. WILLS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. ABSTRACT
2. DEDICATION
3. CHAPTER 1
4. CHAPTER 2
5. CHAPTER 3
6. CHAPTER 4
7. CHAPTER 5
8. CHAPTER 6
9. CHAPTER 7
10. CHAPTER 8
11. CHAPTER 9
12. CHAPTER 10
13. CHAPTER 11
14. CHAPTER 12
15. CHAPTER 13
16. CHAPTER 14
17. CHAPTER 15
18. CHAPTER 16
19. CHAPTER 17
20. CHAPTER 18
21. CHAPTER 19
22. CHAPTER 20
23. CHAPTER 21
24. CHAPTER 22
25. CHAPTER 23
ABSTRACT
When tragedy strikes, vengeance ignites. After Helen lost her sister, hate, grief and anger consumed her. but as she digs deeper into the truth, she uncovers a web of secrets and lies that lead her to question everything. Will she find justice, or will the truth destroy her?
For the rest of us who lost that we loved most
CHAPTER 1
HELEN
I once heard a quote that went like this “Love is like a cigarette, it’s fun at first but eventually it kills you”. It took me a while to realize how true this quote is.
I had a friend back then, his name was Albert, our friendship started since the day we stepped foot in primary school. At first, we started as prime enemies but later grew to become best of friends.
I can still remember vividly at exactly 2:00pm in the afternoon when my school closed, Albert was following me backing his big backpack that was stacked with books. We made a left turn and entered a street called ‘Ife Street’. Ife Street wasn’t a big street, it was a peaceful one and few people lived there. The scourging heat of Ogun state was quite unbearable and, on the floor, laid a lizard road kill. At Ife street everybody knew everybody else and people kept waving at me from time to time to welcome me.
At Ife street was a shop that sold music cassettes and in that hot scourging afternoon, the shop was playing Bob Marley music from the big speaker that was placed at the entrance of the shop. The old school cars were parked at their respected apartments and as of that time, if you had one of those cars, you will be regarded as a big man. I remember a woman who went by the name Miss Claire, she had a small restaurant and you can perceive the sweet aroma of the food she sold just by walking past the restaurant, some people gave her the name “Queen of Amala and Ewedu” because she wasn’t just good, she was divine. The street boys gathered at her shop and poured out the smoke of their cigarette to the atmosphere. As soon as Miss Claire saw me, she waved and said something but I was too far away to hear her.
“Here”- Albert said to me handing me his physics and math’s notebook.
“What is this?”- I asked after collecting the book from him and stopped at the apartment I lived at.
“My homework”- Albert said with a smile on his face as he placed his hands in his pockets.
“Take this thing from my hand joor”- I said and gave him back his books.
“Remember I did your last homework’s”- He said then I gave him a long look and hissed- “Collect am from my hand jareh. A deal is a deal”
“I hate home works eh”- I said opening his physics notebook- “Imagine, just look at your handwriting”
“What about it?”- Albert asked stretching his neck to look at his book then I closed it and flickered my eyes up to look at him.
“It looks like you placed the pen in your anus”- I said then Albert snort a laugh.
“That one no concern me, you can place the book close to your eyes if you want but at the end, do my homework for me”- Albert said then I placed his book in my bag.
“I hope they give us five homework’s tomorrow, so that you will do mine for me”- I said and walked to my gate.
“See you at the milky way later today?”- Albert asked
“Yeah”- I said
“Young woman do that assignment you hear? I don’t want to hear stories”- Albert said walking away.
“I make no promises”- I said and waved at him as he leaves, he waved back at me then I opened the gate and entered the compound.
As soon as I entered the compound, I saw mummy Emmanuel chasing his seven years old son ‘Emma’ with a cane. Emmanuel ran to me with his wet cheeks and hide behind me.
“Helen save me from my mother”- Emmanuel said behind me crying.
“What did you do?”- I asked
“Emma who broke that television? I am asking you for the last time”- His mother asked with an angry voice.
Mummy Emmanuel was a chubby Edo woman that always disturbed the compound with her loud voice, she wore a wrapper that matched her head band and left her foot bare.
I gave a loud breath and smiled; it was a norm to see Emmanuel being chased around the compound by his mother.
“It’s not me”- Emmanuel said behind me, even a toddler could tell he was lying, everyone knew young Emmanuel for his wild and playful nature, he played like an animal, but one thing you cannot deny from the young boy was the fact that he was good in school even though he was a stubborn and rough boy.
“You are still lying abi? What did I tell you about lying?!”- Mummy Emmanuel said and stretched her hand to flog her son but Emmanuel protected himself behind me.
Anyone who saw me that day could tell I was exhausted and hungry and I didn’t have time for mummy Emmanuel’s drama, but still it was a funny thing to see a mother and his son being cat and dog.
As soon as I entered my house, I took off my bag and uniform and went to take a shower. By the time I was done bathing myself, I went to check on the pot of jollof rice I left on the electric stove.
“Jesus”- I said after opening the pot, the food got burnt. I picked a rag quickly from the floor and took the pot away from the electric cooker- “Which kind bad luck come be this one today?”
I took another pot and made another food before my eldest and only sister comes back from work in the evening, then I picked the TV remote from the couch and switched on the hunch back TV that stood on a wooden table. I dropped my legs on a glass table and placed the plate of food I was holding on my laps. I took a spoon of the jollof rice I made and immediately squeezed my face.
“God, watin I cook like this?”
Five hours later, I sat next to Albert on a wooden seat looking at the stars that shone brightly in the skies. The place we were was called ‘The Milky Way’ because just look at it, it looks like a milky way, we gave the place that name because of how beautiful the skies looked in the night. The place belonged to a Muslim, Hausa man who was a friend to my sister.
“So, Helen have you done my assignment?”- Albert asked after tilting his head to the right to look at me.
“Um… Yes?”- I said then he laughed
“See don’t play with me, as soon as you reach your house, let that assignment be the first thing you do”- Albert said then we were silent for a while.
“What if I say I won’t do it?”- I finally asked and met Albert eyes
“Trust me when I say they no born you well”- Albert said then I laughed and gave him a playful punch on his right hand.
“Olodoh”- I said then he turned to look at me and smiled, I smiled back and rested my head on his right shoulder looking at the moon in front of us.
“Look over there, that star”- Albert said pointing me a white dot that was in the sky.
“What about that star?”
“That isn’t a star, that’s Venus… See the other one that is shining close to it”- Albert said pointing me something.
“Albert there are millions of stars shining close to it right now, which one?”- I said laughing.
“Follow my fingers nah”- He said then I followed his finger and saw what he was pointing at.
“I can see it now; I wonder what you will say next…”- I started and continued by mimicking his voice- “Helen that isn’t a star that is Jupiter”
“How did you know?”- Albert asked then I took off my head from his shoulder and laughed
“What?”- I said laughing
“I’m serious you are correct”- Albert said and laughed a little then we grew silent again- “Actually you are wrong, I just wanted you to feel good”
“See your head like that mango tree”- I said then we laughed out loudly
“I don’t want to say anything about that your amorphous head “- Albert said then I laughed even more.
“I’m not doing your assignment again, if it’s fight, we will fight. You have mind to call my head shapeless”- I said laughing together with Albert then we stopped and stayed silent for a while.
“Do you want to hear something interesting about the universe?”
“Apart from the ones you have been telling me?”- I said and chuckled
“Do you know that when you look at some stars what you see is yesterday?”
“So, what you are saying is that- that star over there”- I said pointing at a star- “can be like I’m looking back in time to when I was just six years old?”
“Yes, it’s possible you are looking far back at the eighties”
“That’s really interesting”- I said then we chuckled.
“I know, you see? The universe isn’t as boring as you think”
“Maybe you are right but if you come to think of it, we are more like a parasite or tiny microscopic cells in this universe”- I said
“Why did you say that?”- Albert asked
“The same way that we are not aware when a cell dies in our body, is the same way the universe does not give a crap who or what died in it”- I said then Albert chuckled- “It’s just too big to care, filled with billions of unanswered questions”
“But it’s still good to marvel at it sha”- Albert said and relaxed his back on the seat.
That same day when I got home, I saw my sister sitting on the couch watching the TV. As soon as she saw me, she gave me a long look.
“What?”- I said
“What’s the meaning of this nonsense?”- She asked referring to the plate of food she was holding- “What happened to the food I cooked and where are you coming from?”
“Mallam Ibrahim place”- I said and sat next to her.
“This taste like a rotten mouse”- She said and dropped the plate on the glass table.
We were silent for a while watching a movie then my sister finally cleared her throat and said
“Helen, don’t tell me that rice in the dustbin is the food I cooked this morning”
“It got burnt”- I said
“Again? Stay there and be wasting food you hear? Do you think I pluck money from trees?”- My sister said and gave a long hiss- “Tomorrow we are doing fasting sef”
I was holding myself from a laugh but I failed and found myself laughing.
“I’m sorry”- I said trying to hold my laugh as she gave me a frown.
“Don’t worry garri, you know what is garri ba? That is what we will drink throughout this week and the next”- My sister said then I laughed even more- “Helen do you think I’m joking?”
I pursed my lips and with my right hand, I moved my hand across my lips as if zipping my mouth shut.
I really thought she was joking until the next day’s morning when she served a cup of garri on the dining table. I moved my eyes away from Albert homework that I was doing to look at my sister’s face.
“Rebecca, what’s this?”- I asked taking a look at the garri in the cup.
“When I said we will be having garri throughout this week and the next, you thought I was joking abi?”- Rebecca said and placed two sachets of cold water on the table, together with groundnuts and sugar.
“Oya sorry nah”- I said
“It’s not a matter of sorry, this is the only food we have”- Rebecca said and poured out a sachet of water into her cup.
When I was done with drinking my garri, I washed the cup and took my school bag from the couch. My sister was on the couch counting the bundle of naira she was holding and before I could leave, she held my hand. I turned backwards to look at her then she placed the money on my right hand.
“That’s your school fees money, lost it you hear?”- Rebecca said standing up.
I looked at the money on my hands for a while and hugged my sister.
“Thank you”- I said with a smile and released the hug.
“You are a smart girl; I don’t like how you have been chased from school”
“I will wash all your clothes because of this your kind act”- I said
“For a week”
“What is a week? Forever”- I said then we chuckled.
My sister was my everything, the only one that truly understood my personality. When she entered the university, she has been the one that was paying for her fees and that of mine, it wasn’t like she had a white-collar job, she worked as a tailor in one of her friends’ shop. I don’t know how she always managed to take care of us but she always found a way.
Two years after she entered the University, she had a boyfriend, a tall dark kid with a charming smile, he had a handsome face too, a face that could make someone like my sister fall for him. The first time I saw him, I didn’t like him, I don’t know why… I just thought to myself, “How can someone be as handsome as the devil?”. I can’t deny the fact that when my sister fell for him, they looked beautiful together, I even thought they were going to get married.
After school closed for that day, I came back home and saw my sister with her boyfriend sitting down on the couch laughing at something they were saying. They didn’t even notice me when I entered the house.
“Oh, Helen you are back”- Rebecca said after spotting me standing close to the door.
“Um-hmm”- I said and met the eyes of Michael Henry her boyfriend- “Hey, good afternoon”
“Good afternoon, how far nah? How school?”- Michael asked then I smiled because of how my sister looked, she was trying so bad to be mature again after I saw her laughing and acting childishly to her lover. I started walking away from them smiling and from behind me my sister said.
“There’s food in the kitchen”
I didn’t give her a reply, I just walked to my room to take off my uniform.
I sat by the dining table with my house clothes on eating the plate of beans my sister made when Michael Henry, her boyfriend was about to leave.
“Helen, later nah”- Michael said to me as he stood up to walk to the door. I gave a smile that quickly faded and continued with the food I was eating.
“Thank you for the money, I really appreciate”- Rebecca said helping him to the door.
“It’s nothing, I can’t allow Helen to drink garri throughout this week”- He said and moved his eyes to look at me, I chuckled then he gave a long smile and left the house.
My sister turned backwards to look at me.
“You can follow him if you want, I’m fine”- I said then she opened the door and left.
Sometimes I asked myself “How did the both of them meet?”, I once asked my sister that question but when she tried narrating the story, I found myself sleeping. How did my sister meet Michael? Michael was the son to a very rich man; his father was a politician that went by the name ‘Honourable Commissioner’. I don’t know how they met but that didn’t matter because Michael was assisting us too by the stack of cash he left on the hands of my sister.
Two days later after Michaels visit, my sister stood looking at the window making a phone call. She was speaking to the end user with French while I sat on the couch arranging my books in my bag. My sister was a very smart person, she was the only person I have seen that could speak thirteen different languages, the medals and the trophies in her room could testify of her academic excellence. When I looked at her, I wondered if she was a robot, she found a way to balance her work with school, acing school was like breathing to her, it came naturally unlike me who struggled to take third position in class.
My sister made my house look foreign, her love for languages was the closest thing I had to a foreign country. I had never travelled out of the country before and it got to a point where I began to see Ogun State like a planet on its own. The only place I had travelled to was Anambra State to see my mother and apart from that, the only thing closest to a foreign land was the different tongues my sister spoke.
When I was about to leave the house to go to Albert house, my sister stopped me by saying something with French. I turned backwards to look at her with a blank face.
“English please, no be everybody understand this your language way you deh speak”- I said
“I might not come home today”
“Where are you going to?”- I asked
“I will be staying in my friend hostel today but I will be back tomorrow by six, okay?”- Rebecca said then I nodded and left the room with my backpack to meet Albert.
My sister might be good at languages but I was better than her when it came to fashion designing. Fashion designing was something I earnestly loved doing. As a child I would practice by tearing off old pieces of newspapers and sewing them into dresses. My dream was to be a fashion designer someday and work with a respected organization where I could put my talents to good use.
When I was six years old my mother bought me a sketch book for my designs, because I really loved drawing cloth designs. The ticking clock on the wall of my room read 5:30pm and the skies were very dark because of the heavy rain outside. My room was lighted by candles and I sat on a chair directly facing the window as I placed my book on the table sketching something. That was when I started hearing a noise coming from the outside. I stood up and walked to the window, then I used my right hand to shift the curtain so that I could get a better look at the outside.
Mummy Emmanuel was the one making the noise, she was yelling at her son Emmanuel who was playing in the rain undressed. I sighed and closed the curtain then I went back to sit on the chair I stood up from and continued with my drawing then the loud sound of thunder shook me with fear.
“What! Abeg oh”- I said then the telephone behind me started ringing making me shook with fear again.
I turned backwards to look at the telephone that rested on a small table close to the door. I stood up and walked to the telephone, it was my sister calling.
“Bonjour”- My sister said at the other end of the phone
“Bonjour”- I replied
“I just called to remind you…”- Rebecca was saying
“You have nothing to worry about, everything is fine, the roof isn’t going to come down”- I interrupted
“Yeah, maybe you are right but don’t forget to switch everything off and don’t forget to place the buckets outside”
“Of course,”- I said then the call hanged up.
I dropped the telephone and went back to sit close to the window but before I could get there the telephone started ringing again.
“Seriously?”- I said and exhaled loudly walking back to the telephone, this time it was my mother calling.
“Helen baby”- My mother said at the other end of the phone.
“Mummy I thought we agreed about the nicknames”- I said to her but with Igbo language.
“Keep quiet, no matter how tall you grow you will still be my baby”- My mother replied with Igbo.
“Good evening ma”- I said
“How are you? How is school?”
“School is very fine… and I’m fine too”- I said
“Okay”- Mother said
“What-what about you? How are you?”- I asked
“Since you are okay, I’m okay”- Mother said with Igbo then I chuckled- “Have you eaten?”
“Yes ma”
“What did you eat?”- My mother asked
“Um, beans and yam”- I said smiling
“Let me guess, your sister prepared it?”
“Well, yes”- I said
“Helen better learn how to cook, you hear”
“Mummy what’s that supposed to mean, don’t I know how to cook?”- I asked with Igbo
“You are a woman, learn how to cook before you cook poison for your husband when you get married”- My mother said with Igbo then I laughed.
“I’m trying believe me”
“The last time you cooked, I almost went to my grave early”- Mother said then I snort a laugh.
“Seriously?”- I said laughing
“It was that bad trust me”- Mother said then we were silent for some seconds.
“How is village nah?”- I asked breaking the silence.
“Watin man go do? Village deh as in deh oh”- Mother said
“How is the rain there?”- I asked
“The rain is spoiling people houses and removing trees”
“Wow”
“It’s that serious o, that’s how a house collapsed on someone yesterday night, as I’m speaking to you now, it hasn’t been long they took his body to the mortuary”- My mother said with Igbo and continued- “Helen later nah, my card has finished”
As soon as the call hanged up, the sound of thunder was heard behind me. I dropped the phone down and turned backwards to see the window.
Can I ask you a question? If you have the power of knowing the future, your future, would you do it? We live in a world we don’t know what will happen in the next five seconds. Sometimes I ask myself, how will the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan react when you tell them that the United States was going to send them a nuclear bomb tomorrow? How will the people who created the titanic feel when you tell them that the huge titanic, they so much brag about was going to come crashing down by the hands of a small pile of ice? When Napoleon said “There’s nothing we can do”, did he have a glimpse of his future or was he saying it because of the current condition of his life? What about there’s something we could do in this meaningless life? What about the only thing we can do, is nothing? Napoleon was right after all, whatever is your fate will be. Let the future worry about itself, there’s nothing you can do.
My sister stood looking at the mirror as she wore herself makeup. I was lying down on the couch reading a fashion magazine.
“I’m going to Michael’s house”- Rebecca announced- “Are you listening?”
“What?”- I asked, finally looking at her as she stood by the door holding the door knob, she wore a red gown and had a black purse.
“You weren’t listening to anything I said?”- She asked
“Ahh… no?”- I said then she slapped her forehead with her right hand in disappointment.
“Michael’s house? Seven o’clock”
“Oh! Yeah, I remember, you two are going for a date, right?”- I asked standing up from the couch to pick a piece of paper that flew away from my hands.
“How do I look?”- She asked smiling. I walked closer to her to see those eyeballs of hers that hid in her glasses, she was very happy, Michael was her everything, she loved him so much and to say the truth I was happy for her.
“You look… Bad”- I said then she laughs a little.
“Can you just lie for once in your life?”
“Have fun”- I said then she opened the door.
“I will be back by twelve, twelve sharp I promise”- She said and started going for the outside
“Wait!”- I called then she stopped walking and turned backwards to see my fifteen years old face- “Be safe, be safe I beg you”
“You have nothing to worry about little Michelangelo”- She said then I smiled
“You have your pepper spray abi?”- I asked
“Plus a dagger, just in case the pepper spray doesn’t work”- Rebecca said then I chuckled- “You know I love you right?”
“Stop, don’t make me vomit”- I said pretending like I was going to barf.
“What? Mummy’s girl”- She mocked
“Don’t let Michael hear you”- I said with a whispering voice
“No… you are my one true amour”
“What does amour mean?”
“Mi amour, amour means love”- Rebecca said
“You mean amour plastique?”- I asked
“How do you know about amour plastique?”
“Let’s just say I’ve been practicing”- I said then she chuckled
“No amour amour not amour plastique”-My sister said.
Those were the last words she said to me before she passed away “Amour amour not amour plastique”. That’s French for “Love love not plastic love”
“Remember, don’t be yourself”- I said then my sister laughs leaving the house and slammed the door.
I locked the door with a key and sat on our couch; the TV was showing Spongebob Squarepants and the volume was mute. I stretched my hand for the remote and unmuted the TV in front of me. I kept watching till I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I saw the TV was still on and when I checked my phone the time read “2:03am”. I dialed my sister’s number but she wasn’t picking up her phone, I tried again but nothing. This made me worried and called mother, mother told me it was nothing, she told me “Maybe her phone went missing or traffic”
Come on now, if your phone gets missing can’t you just come back home? I knew immediately something was wrong. I quickly switched off the TV, wore my black leather jacket and took my bicycle from our store room. It has been a long time since I rode that bicycle, I took it because it would be quicker than walking, since Michaels house was a little bit far from my house and the skies was very dark. I opened the door of my house bringing the bicycle out with me and rode quickly out of the compound to the direction of Michael’s house. I rode quickly like I was chased by a ghost not looking backwards.
It took me ten minutes to get there and when I got there, the gates were opened which was strange, Michael’s bull dog was chained at the side barking at me angrily. I parked my bicycle and walked up to the door. I gave the first knock on the door but nobody replied then I placed my ear on the door as if trying to hear any sign of movements but when I placed my ear on the door, the door opened. I walked slowly into the building, the room was dark so I took my phone and put on my phone torchlight to see clearly.
“Hello?”- I said, walking further and further into the room- “Rebecca, are you here? Anyone here?”
When my eyes met the staircase, my mind started contemplating if I should climb it. I was scared and kept giving out loud breathes.
“Helen what are you doing?”- I asked myself as my heart kept pounding- “Maybe she isn’t here”
I shrugged the feeling and started walking away, dialing my sister’s number and some few seconds later I started hearing her phone ringing from the first floor of the house. I stopped walking and turned backwards to look at the staircase. I have watched a lot of horror movies in my life and in all those movies, I learnt nothing good awaits you when you climb the staircase.
After climbing the staircase, my eyes caught a lamp that stood on a small wooden table and next to the table was a slightly opened door. The more I walked closer and closer to the door, the more a force kept resisting my motion. I finally stopped by the door, opened it and entered inside. The room was dark so I used my phone torch to glance through the room. I dialed my sister’s number again then it started ringing in the room.
“Where did they go?”- I said and put on the lights after finding the light switch.
Her phone kept ringing and I followed the sound till I stopped at the bed. The phone was covered with the pillow on the bed, I picked her phone up and saw the twenty missed calls that showed on the phone home screen. As I was leaving, I saw something red on the floor, I bent down to look at it and used my finger to rub it. I moved my finger closer to my nose to perceive what it was and realized that it was blood.
“Blood?”- I said and moved my head slowly to my right and saw Michaels wardrobe. This time my heart was beating like it wanted to escape my body. I stood up and walked slowly to the wardrobe.
As soon as I opened the wardrobe, someone fell on me and I fell down together with the person. I moved the body away from me and moved my eyes slowly to my left to see who or what it was. That was when I saw something that I would never forgot, it was the body of my sister, the painful part was her body was decapitated.
“Ah! Jesus- Jesus”- I found myself saying as I stood up from the floor quickly, I held my chest because of the freight that arrested my body and ran quickly from the house.
xxxxxxx
Four hours later, the police raided the building and took my sister’s body away, if I cried all my tears in a bucket, I promise you it would fill the bucket and spill. The police took me to their station to ask me some questions.
“So, what did you say happened?”- A male detective asked me holding a notebook, he sat in front of me wearing a black suit and a black poly cap that shielded his eyes, his hands were placed on the table that separated us and his phone was close to his hands as he recorded what we were saying. I couldn’t speak and my hands were quivering rapidly, I knew the universe was good at doing things you do not expect but what happened to my sister was a one in a billion ways I thought she would die- “Young woman, you have to play your part”
I rose my eyes up for him to look at my face, my cheeks were soaked in tears. My eyes spotted the long tribal marks on his cheeks that clearly showed he was a Yoruba man and he looked like he should be in his forties. I smacked my lips and waited a while.
“She…”- I started with a crying and cracking voice- “She went to her boyfriend house for a date”
“So, what you are saying is that her boyfriend did this to her?”
“Maybe… I don’t know”
“What’s her boyfriend’s name?”
“Michael, Michael Henry Adewale”- I said
“Any relations with Honourable Henry Adewale?”
“Yes, that’s his father’s name”- I said
“Oh…”- He said then we sat silently for a while- “Child look at me, I promise you that we will find who is responsible for this and bring him or her to justice”
If bringing them to justice would bring my sister back then I would have cared about the police bringing the perpetrators to justice, but I knew even If the person that killed my sister was locked behind bars, it won’t bring her back because all I wanted was her.
“Officer”- I called
“Yes?”- He said
“What happens now? Where am I going to stay?”- I asked looking at him.
“We spoke with your mother and from the way she’s sounding it will be nice if she can see her second and only child with her own eyes… it’s also our duty to make sure you are safe”- The Officer said then I nodded and sobbed even more.
“Okay”- I said with a crying voice.
“I’m sorry for your lost”- He said and stood up from the seat he was sitting.
A tall light skinned police man entered the room we were in and saluted the Detective who was asking me questions.
“What is it?”- The Detective asked
“Sir! Commissioner of police is here to see you sir!”- The police man said and left the room.
The detective turned backwards to look at me and with empathy in his eyes, he sighed and left the room, leaving me alone.
That same day after being interrogated by the police, they released me and personally drove me to my village at Anambra State to stay with my Mother. I cried in their car till I got to my village, it was like the closer I got to Anambra State, the more the cry intensified because the closer I got to my mother, the more it dawned on me that my sister was really gone. I tried to imagine myself living in this world without her by my side and I couldn’t, sometimes I try to tell myself that maybe all what was going on was just one big mistake and misunderstanding but I was there, I saw her body with my own eyes, her death wasn’t a rumor that I could have second thoughts of, I saw her lifeless decapitated body right beside me.
My sister together with all the people of history, if they knew their fate, would they have embraced it or would they have found a way for it not to happen? If my sister knew that her fate was to be killed that way, would she have gone out for the date? Or if I knew she was going to die that night, would I have let her out of the house? Of course not. If I knew she was never coming back, I would have locked her indoors and make sure her foot doesn’t step to the outside. Do you now understand what Napoleon meant when he said “There’s nothing we can do”?
I remembered a quote by William Shakespeare that went like this, “Life is like a stage and everyone in it is a character in one big story and one day the stage curtains will have to be drawn down”. There’s a lot of truth in his quote, life is like a stage and we are like characters, but do you know what is false about this quote? All characters or should I say Actors in a stage knows everything about the script, they know how the story ends. We are denied of the script, we don’t know how it all ends, but who knows? maybe it’s a good thing.
As soon as I arrived at my village, I didn’t say a word to anybody including my mother, I went straight to my room and continued crying on my bed. My mother didn’t even bother to ask me if I was hungry, she knew that in such a condition, there’s no such thing as hunger, some space was what I needed, not food.
I refused to eat or drink anything for a week and I grew sick because what I saw haunted me in my dreams. I would wake up sometimes and forget that my sister was dead, sometimes I would pick my phone to call her then it will dawn on me, feeling the same pain over and over again. To feel a pain over and over again is the right definition of torture. My sickness worsened in such a way that my mother had to call a doctor if she didn’t want to lose a second child. The doctor placed me on a drip as I lie on my bed, he wanted to take me to a hospital but I was too weak to stand on my feet. My mother tried to look calm but if you could see through her, you will know that she was going through a lot of hurt.
“Helen please eat”- My mother said with Igbo language as she sat on a small stool next to my bed, she held a plate of rice on her hand and was trying to feed me with the spoon she held.
“I’m not hungry”- I managed to say with Igbo as I gave out loud breathes.
“Please, just take one spoon just one spoon”- Mother said but I was silent looking at her with my barely opened eyes.
Have you ever heard a quote that goes like this? “When we are in pains, we make a hole in our heads so that we can have something to blame the pain on”. The illness was the hole in my head that I could blame the pain on, I preferred to be sick. The sickness was an excuse to the pain I was feeling, the sickness gave me a hope that I might meet her too and the truth is I prayed to remain sick, to forever lie on my bed with a drip connected to my hand and never see the world outside me, but you know one thing with wounds? Wounds with time heal, some might leave without leaving anything behind while others leave a scar.
It was in the evening when my mother sat outside singing, a song she used to sing to us when we were kids. I was on my bed listening to her old voice crying and singing at the same time, she was with her brothers and they were planning my sister’s burial.
When the burial of my late sister finally came, I waited inside till the time they finally buried her. I walked outside supporting my hands on the wall and the light of the sun welcomed me, I used my right hand to shield my eyes from the sun and saw the large crowd of people that was outside my house, few of them I actually knew. It’s funny how life works, when you are alive no one would gather just to see you but when you die, they crowd themselves at your burial and say stories about you when you were alive. I knew many of those people just came to struggle with the food while few actually bore pains in their heart, especially those who were direct relatives or those who saw my sister grew up in their eyes.
I walked tiredly to where they buried her and watched her tombstone for a long time, a tear finally dropped on my left cheek then I used my hand to clean it quickly.
“I’m sorry”- I said and sobbed even more.
I stood there for a while sobbing until someone touched my shoulder. I shook with fear and turned backwards to see Albert, my best friend.
“I’m very sorry if I scared you”- He said then I hugged him and started crying on his shoulders, he gave me a tight hug, a hug so tight and comfortable at the same time that I wished we never let go- “I’m sorry Helen, I’m very sorry for your lost”
xxxxxxx
That night I and Albert was lying on the floor of my room, just looking at each other’s eyes.
“What are you thinking?”- Albert asked me with a smile on his face.
“I am thinking or should I say wondering why the police haven’t gotten back to us since then”- I said
“Don’t worry, whoever did this will be arrested, forever locked behind bars”
“I don’t want them arrested for this Albert”
“What do you want then?”- Albert asked me with a confused look.
“I want them dead also, I want them, all of them to die worse than how my sister died. I want to hold a knife on my hand and I want to stab anyone who did this to her”
“Are you okay?”- Albert asked with a worried voice
“Do I look okay? It’s like a part of me that cared was buried with my sister. I… I suddenly feel different”
“What do you mean by different?”- Albert asked then I was silent for a while just looking at his eyes.
“I am not the same; I just want my sister to get justice”
“She will, I promise you that”- Albert said and smiled at me but I didn’t smile back.
Albert stayed with me for more than a week, as a child I was known to be a talkative but after the death of my sister, I became mute. I drew into myself like a snail entering its shell for refuge and hardly spoke to people.
I remember lying down on my sister’s grave one-day crying, the skies were dark and I was the only one outside. That day, that night I promised myself and my dead sister that I will pay back all those who did that to her. At that time, I didn’t know how but I knew I will, even if I died trying, for I knew it was better to be dead than to live a life that doesn’t have my sister in it.
“Helen!! Helen o!”- I heard my mother behind me calling and when she opened the door, she saw me crying on my sister’s grave, she walked up to me and sat next to me- “You shouldn’t disrespect the dead by lying on their grave Helen”
“Do you think my sister would care if I lie down on her grave or not? Don’t you think she will want us to be next to her?”- I said with my crying voice.
“Your sister, my daughter together with her consciousness is dead Helen, and if you want to speak to her, don’t cry, it will be nice having a good conversation with her and not remind her that she is dead”- My mother said and placed her wrinkled hand on my back.
“I want them to die, anyone that did this”- I said after the long silence.
“Should I tell you a story?”- My mother asked
“No, I don’t want to hear a story mother, I just want to be alone, okay?”- I said crying a little
“Are you sure?”
“I’m not a child mummy, can you please leave us alone?!”- I yelled angrily.
“At least a piece of advice?”- Mother said then we were silent for a while- “I read a verse in the bible that says ‘Revenge is for the lord’, we should rely on only God, the one who sits on the throne, to fight our battles for us. My God my lord, do not rest until you scatter my enemies, do not rest until you destroy whoever did this to my daughter, see the way they kill my pikin, me?”- My mother said and stood up-“I speak to the earth, I speak to the wind, I speak to fire, I speak to water, do not rest until my daughter gets justice. This earth will not rest, this earth will know no peace until my daughter gets justice”
My mother said and started sobbing.
“Ah Rebecca my daughter I am sorry, I am sorry, please forgive me, I know I haven’t been the best of mother to you and your sister. Rebecca! Do not rest!! Do not pity!! You know their faces!! Begin to scatter them!”- My mother said and burst into more tears
“It’s okay”- I heard Albert mother consoling her behind me.
“I couldn’t even see my daughter face before I buried her”- My mother said but with Igbo language.
A week later I sat on a couch in the living room of my mom’s house watching TV with mother, Albert and his mother. My head was rested on my mother’s shoulder as she kept changing the channels with the remote, she finally stopped at a news channel and dropped the remote on the couch. My eyes caught a picture of my elder sister on the wall, a picture taken when she graduated from secondary school.
“In other news, earlier this morning the Honourable Henry Adewale son, Michael Henry who has been missing for some time now has been reported alive together with his friends Hillary Johnson and Tosin Ade after being kidnapped from his house. According to the Nigerian police…”- The female journalist was saying.
“Mummy can you please increase the volume?”- I said then my mother increased the volume.
“According to Michael Henry and his friends, they were attacked at Michael Henry’s house which led to the death of one Rebecca Ebube. The Nigerian police have identified the faces of the culprits and they were all killed due to exchange of bullets with the police in the process of hindering the police from saving the hostages”- The Journalist was saying and the pictures of the culprits were displayed on the screen.
I rose my head slowly from my mother’s shoulder and met her eyes.
“Mummy Helen, are you hearing this?”- Albert mother asked
“Michael Henry and his friends are reported safe and back with their families… And in sports the Nigerian Super Eagles…”- The journalist was saying
“God doesn’t sleep, does he?”- My mother said to me with Igbo and a tear escaped her left eye.
After watching that news, it only left me with more unanswered questions, it still didn’t make sense. Why did the kidnapper kidnap only Michael Henry and his friends and killed my sister in a horrific way? And why did they decapitate her? Why did it take them so long to keep Michael and his friends as prisoners without beheading them too? What was so unique about them? Is it money they needed? I know Michael was from a rich family but come on, it doesn’t add up. Somehow, I felt like the police was hiding something, I felt like the so-called culprits weren’t even the real culprits.
I’m not a fan of murder mysteries but when your life becomes a twisted mystery, you have no choice than to lean into it. I hate the truth in a fact that goes, “Trying to forget something, is the same thing as remembering it”. I tried so much to move on, to forget until the only thoughts I could think of was my sister. I stayed up all night putting the puzzles together since having a good night sleep became an impossibility. I tried to make use of the reports the police made on my sister’s case but all what I found was meaningless lies.
My index finger was pointing directly at Mr. Michael Henry and his friends for the death of my sister. I had two reasons why I added his friends to the death of my sister. The first reason was the fact that they were in the house when they were… according to them kidnapped, I mean it was just a date between you and your girlfriend, so the question is, what was your friends doing there? The second reason for blaming his friends was the fact that they must have been there to assist Michael in holding my sister just in case she tries struggling.
Sometimes I would close my eyes and imagine how he kept stabbing and stabbing her neck, until eventually it separates from the body. Sometimes I imagined the way my sister struggled, just imagine the pain she felt, she must have kicked and fought to survive but she couldn’t because Michael’s friends were there to help him, I wondered how it will be like when she finally stops resisting and her breathe lives her body. That right there, is the real definition of a devil, that right there is the very definition of wickedness, someone like that does not deserve to be alive.
One question crowded my thoughts though, why did Michael do what he did? What was his motive? Whatever was his motive I guess he succeeded; he and his friends should be somewhere enjoying their filthy money by now, but what they didn’t know is they messed with the wrong family.
“An eye for an eye, blood for blood”
CHAPTER 2
HELEN
I got up early in the morning one day, by now Albert with his family have left back to Ogun State to continue his school. I went to my mother’s room and stole some money from her saving box. I took some of my clothes and prepared to run, but I didn’t want to leave without a goodbye, so I took a note and wrote “Good bye mother, until we meet again”.
I placed this note next to her on her bed, as she slept innocently and left the house to board a ride to a park. At the park, I bought tickets and entered a bus that was going to Lagos.
I know this might be the stupidest thing for someone to do with his or her life but I wasn’t doing this for my sister only, I was doing this also for myself, how will you feel when someone that murdered the one you love is roaming freely, partying, having fun while you suffer? I decided to go to Lagos because that was where Michael relocated too, I knew this because he was spotted in University of Lagos (UNILAG), where he started schooling.
I ran because the pain was too much to bear, everyday only reminds me of my sister and I tried so bad not to, but how can you forget when the person you are trying to forget so badly is buried outside your house?
I know if my mother knew I had plans of running away, she would have stopped me. I knew every action had consequences and I try to push every negative thought away from me. I knew that when my mother read the note next to her, she might have a heart attack but as I said, my running away was me finding a way to breathe.
When the bus finally stopped at Badagry, I came out of the bus with my back pack that had some of my clothes and some money in it, by now the skies were dark and the time on my phone was 10:00pm.
“Gala-Gala-Gala!”- A male hawker was saying pushing a wheelbarrow that was loaded with sausage rolls and other items- “Fine girl you want gala?”
“No thank you”- I said and started walking to nowhere really.s
“Where you deh go? Come make we go”- A taxi driver said to me and before I could answer him another one hissed to grab my attention.
Lagos is like the internet if you ask me and the hustlers in it are like popup ads. Someone who had been to Lagos will relate to what I’m saying. That day was my first time being in Lagos and everything I’ve heard about there isn’t what I was seeing. The noise there was something and everywhere you turn your eyes to, someone would be pointing you his or her product for you to buy making you lose your sanity slowly.
Another thing I heard about Lagos was it was dangerous at nights; I mean where isn’t? But after seeing the creeping eyes of boys who gathered themselves in dark corners, smoking and speaking loudly gave me a bad lump in my throat and if I told you I wasn’t scared, I will be lying. I just kept walking and sometimes I would turn to look behind me to see if anyone was following this vulnerable lonely walker who didn’t know the way around.
Everything has a limit; they say and I guess even my feet had enough. I finally stopped walking and stood at the corridor of a small shop that was closed, by now the time on my phone was ’12:53pm’ and my tummy was singing like an alarm to remind me that I haven’t eaten anything reasonable enough to fuel my body.
I lied down on the corridor of the shop and used my bag to support my head, the choir of crickets kept reminding me that it was night time and the street I was at, was awfully quiet. I moved my eyes to my right-hand side to look at the stars that hung on the dark sky. Why did I leave? To seek revenge of course but how can I avenge my sister’s death without a plan? I had no plan; I just believed the universe will someway align itself to help me achieve my goals and if it doesn’t then maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe I was being a child by running away to achieve something that looked impossible for someone like me to pull off, plus it was my first-time avenging anyone’s death. How do they do it? Is there a pattern in which you follow in order to get your hands on the person you are looking for? If yes, how do I find that pattern? How does the pattern look like? I guess after running away made me to realize my decision was crap, since the odds were against me.
Just by mere looking at me you could swear I am like every normal girl, only if you know the weight, the hate, the rage and the pain that played in my heart, like a group of campers dancing around a fire. It’s funny how much a death of someone you love can take from you, you don’t want to know the feeling. My sister’s death took not just my love for people and the world but it took also my sanity, slow and steady my sanity drained from me like water in a basket, I felt like I was running mad, maybe that’s because I was running mad, what I was doing is something some people will call madness.
I yawned still looking at the sky, a feeling in me told me Albert would be somewhere across the world looking at the same stars that I was. I once asked him why he loved the stars so much and he told me that the stars reminded him of home, he feels like he belonged to the stars, like he came from there and someday he will go back to the universe. I closed my eyes finally because my eyes were too heavy to be kept opened then I gave a loud yawn and waited for sleep to arrest my body. I don’t know how long I was sleeping there but I guess it was long enough for the owner of the shop to come back.
“Who pikin be this? Excuse me, young girl what is your name?”- I heard a woman asked
I opened my eyes and when I saw a woman standing next to me, I got up quickly and said
“Good evening ma”- I said then she gave me a long look that later showed pity.
“Nah my shop be this, watin you want?”- She asked curtly
“Sorry, I go leave, I just deh find where to sleep”- I said and started walking away.
“Who be your mama?”- She said stopping me from taking another step.
“I no get anybody”- I lied and turned backwards to look at her face.
“So, where you come deh go now?”
“I don’t know ma”- I said
“Come, watin happen?”
“I need somewhere to sleep ma”- I confessed
“Just wait here okay? make I commot something from my shop, no go anywhere”- She said and started opening her shop with the keys she held.
When she finally found what she was looking for, she closed the shop with her padlock and said
“Follow me, it is not good for small girl like you to deh parole this street for this time”
“Ma, where we deh go?”- I asked following her.
“My house”
Her house was a one room apartment and two children, a boy and a girl were sleeping on the bed, I suspected immediately that it was her children. Her room was lighted by the green bulb that rested on the ceiling and the fan that hung above us gave a loud creaking sound as it rotates. The woman took a mat from under her bed and sprayed it on the floor for me.
“Are you hungry?”- She asked me with a whispering voice then I nodded.
Some minutes later she arrived with a plate of Jellof rice and placed it on the floor.
“Come on, don’t be shy”- She said and tapped on the floor twice with her hands for me to sit down. I walked closer to her and sat next to her, hiding my eyes from her staring eyes that looked like it needed answers.
“Thank you, ma,”- I said innocently
“So, what happened to you? What’s your story?”- She asked with her Yoruba accent but I remained silent. Her English wasn’t as polished like her house, because the way she spoke sounded like she was really trying her best to speak good English, but the only thing or should I say things that were polished in that house, was the good heart of the woman who sat next to me with her rappers wrapped across her waist and the two lovely children that slept on the bed peacefully- “Okay let’s start like this, what is your name?”
“Helen, my name is Helen”- I answered and took my first spoon of the rice, her gaze was so hard that I could almost feel it on my skin.
“Where are you from? What are you doing all alone by this time of the night?”
“I am from Anambra State, after my mother died I had nowhere to go, so I ran away and came to Lagos State”- I lied obviously.
What were you expecting me to say to her? The truth? We all know she will be kicking me out of her house the instant she realizes I came to Lagos to payback all those who killed my sister and when I say payback, I don’t mean it in a good way.
We were silent for a while, the room started feeling hot, that was when I moved my eyes up to look at the fan. The fan was rotating seriously like it was doing any work, a feeling in me told me the woman sitting next to me also knew the uselessness of the fan above our heads, but maybe the uselessness of the fan is part of what made their home unique from other homes, it’s a characteristic that made their home a home.
I dropped my eyes down and took a spoon of the rice she made, even though it was hard for me to eat because of her hard look.
“What killed your mother Helen?”- She finally asked after clearing her throat.
“Land issue ma”- I said then she sighed.
“But don’t you have any relative?”- She asked then I shake my head to signify a ‘no’
“I have nowhere else to go”- I said
“Why did you choose Lagos? You have nowhere to run and you came here?”
“I could have gone anywhere ma”- I said then we looked at each other’s eyes for a while.
The way she looked at me I was sure this time she has seen past my innocent and pitiful eyes and saw something fishy in me. When I waited for her to say the hurtful words to me and then drive me out of her house that day, she did something instead that I never saw coming.
“Don’t worry, you are safe and I promise to take care of you”- She said with a smile on her face.
“Why?”- I asked because I was surprised, I never thought somebody like her existed, somebody so nice to invite a stranger into her house and promise to take care of her just like that.
“I don’t know; I just feel like I should help you”
I knelt down immediately and started thanking her, she told me to stand up and told me to get some night rest.
“Who said the wind is silent? It is not; it picks a rumor and spreads it around”
CHAPTER 3
HELEN
TWO YEARS LATER
You will be surprised how much information the wind picks up and spray around. Information are like dried leaves on the floor, when a wind picks it up, it sprays it around to a different location, only if we can just sit down silently and listen.
I stayed with Madam Rakiya for two years, she was a very kind woman and her kids were delightful. I lived with her and took care of her small business, to build trust, I guess. All through my stay with Madam Rakiya, I never understood her, how can someone be so kind?
Madam Rakiya was a church kind of lady, she never joked with going to church and every time she goes to church, she would take me. I remember the day she told me the story of her husband, how her husband was arrested and killed for a crime he did not commit, I never understood why after all she have faced in life, she’s still kind to people. Madam Rakiya couldn’t afford my education, so I had to work, I worked for her, made sure I didn’t hide any of her money.
One day, I sat on a wooden bench outside of Madam Rakiya’s shop, in front of me sat two bare-chested men, one of them had a long scar on his face and was more muscular than the other one who sat on the same wooden chair with him.
“How far you hear the news?”- The man with a scar on his face asked the fellow that sat next to him.
“Which news again?”
“Capon don lap street”
“Since when?”- The other one asked
“Wait you no sabi? The way street hot now eh”
“I no understand watin capon the look for Eshegun Street?”
“Guy you dey talk as if you no know where capon base, capon no deh this street nah”
“Then where him dey?”
“Guy watin dey shele na? You no know capon territory again?”
I just sat watching the two grown up street men speaking and smoking in front of me.
“Sorry but nah who be capon?”- I finally asked interrupting them. They moved their head in unison to look at me then the one with the scar on his face cleared his throat and said
“Watin concern you concern capon?”
“I just dey curious”- I said
“Don’t, capon is a very dangerous man, the most dangerous person you have ever seen in your life”- He said with a cold voice this time.
The more he described this capon of a man, the more I wanted to see him, I still haven’t forgotten why I came to Lagos and the only way to beat somebody who is dangerous is to be dangerous yourself and the only way to be dangerous is to learn from the best.
“If let’s say I want to meet this capon of a man, how will I do it?”- I asked
“Is like this girl get sugarcane for ear, you no hear anything way I just talk?”
“Watin be your problem Scorpion?”- The other one next to him asked
“Which kind question come be that one now”
“You deh talk as if capon nah one Lucifer abi watin? Shaa small girl make I no lie you, that man bad pass Lucifer, but if you just go Okoro Street, close to that junction, you sabi that junction?”
“No”- I said shaking my head
“That junction nah, way deh close to that nigga way deh smuggle drugs house”
“Okay”- I said nodding even though I still didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Nah there you go fit find am”
“But if I reach the street, how I go know am?”- I asked
“Don’t worry when you see am, you go know am. You no need anyone to direct you, if you enter the street, the oddest thing you see for the street, just know say nah there the devil deh”- The one regarded as scorpion said with his cold and serious voice that almost made me scared.
“And if you won see am you gat only tomorrow”- The one sitting next to scorpion said and sipped from his herbal bitters.
“He goes by many names, his friends call him capon, his enemies call him more names, some call him the white devil, others call him the white death but the popular name his enemies call him most is ‘The devil in short nikka’- Scorpion said and placed his unlighted cigar in his mouth, he took a lighter from his right pocket, lighted his cigar and poured the smoke to the atmosphere.
When it was evening that same day, I bathed Madam Rakiya’s children when I got home, I made something for all of us to eat and we sat in the living room watching TV. She reminded me of my mother sometimes, the way she laughed, the way she played with her children. it only brings back memories of my past life and that night I knew, I knew it was time for me to leave her and make sure the oath I made to my sister comes to realization.
xxxxxx
The next day when the sky was sunny, I closed Madam Rakiya’s shop and placed the key in such a way that she will see it when she comes to check on me.
I boarded a tricycle that took me straight to Okoro Street, I thought Okoro Street will be a small street from the way those men described it. How can I find the capon here? - I asked myself because the street was a big and busy one, then I remembered what one of them said to me- “When you see him, you will know, look for the oddest thing in the street”.
I kept moving my eyes, looking at the different structures in the street hoping to find something odd then I found it. In front of me some few distance away was a betting shop, the betting shop was surprisingly crowded by a lot of people. I knew street guys like betting but the crowd there was the oddest thing in the street. What made me knew the capon would be inside the shop was the fact that the people that made up the crowd looked like bad guys, some looked like cultists others looked like they have stabbed a man in the heart before.
“What you want, is what you shall get, depending on how bad you want it”
CHAPTER 4
CAPON
I sat on a king like chair inside a betting shop when a fair complexion boy entered the shop and announced to me that a girl was looking for me. Like every bad guy would say, I said.
“Girl keh, drive her away nah”
“Sir this girl get hot blood, she no won listen”- The boy said
“DPO”- I said to the police man who was kneeling in front of me with his two hands raised upwards to the air and his face soaked in sweat.
“Sir”- He said, his eyes looked like he was in pains.
“You no won talk abi? Nah here you go remain”- I said standing up- “Oya blackky come show me this girl way you deh talk about”
I walked with the boy to the outside and followed him to where the girl was. The girl stood in front of me wearing a black gown and black shoes. I wondered why she had to dress up like that to meet me, as if I was some kind of prince.
“Good… Good afternoon sir”- She said politely, by mere looking I knew she hasn’t killed a fowl before.
“Watin you want? talk sharp, I gat important things to do”- I said
“I fit talk to you alone?”- The young girl asked hiding her eyes.
“Who you be to summon capon like that, watin be your level?”- A bare-chested muscular man wearing black glasses said by my right-hand side.
“Oya make una give me space”- I said with my authoritative voice then my boys left me alone with the child- “Oya you don get all my attention, why you summon me?”
The girl was silent for some seconds, she finally gathered the courage and muttered to me something I wasn’t expecting to hear.
“I want to join your gang”- The girl said.
As soon as she said those words I started laughing, it started from a chuckle and exploded into a full-grown laughter. What I saw in front of me was a chicken begging a lioness to be part of her cubs.
“Young woman, go home, you are too decent for this. You suppose deh kitchen deh help your mama”- I said walking away then she stopped me by saying.
“You go allow me join abi you no go allow me?”
I turned backwards to look at her
“If you give me five concrete reasons, then I go allow you”
“I get the spirit…”- She started then I chuckled.
“People way get spirit but no get brain, nah them deh die first for battlefield. I will ask you some questions, if you fit answer am then you go join my gang, if you no fit then loose guard, commot from my presence, run far away without looking back, you hear?”- I said then she nodded.
“Okay”- She said
“You don kill person before?”
“No”- She answered
“As you deh like this, you fit kill person?”
“Capon, DPO don dey talk”- Somebody said behind me
“I dey come, just give me some minutes”- I said then he left- “Small girl I’m listening to you”
“I want to be strong… I no longer want to be the prey, for once, let me be the hunter!”- The girl said then I smiled.
“Well to join my gang no be like home lesson o, I no be your home lesson teacher”
“I won learn how to be rugged”- The girl said then I laughed harder this time, the more I saw her, the more of a chicken I see.
“Chicken won deh rugged, truly there’s nothing new under naija sun.”
“I want to be close to you, to learn from you”
“As I said, I no be your home lesson teacher and for your information Cinderella, I dey commot here today”
“Capon abeg take me with you”- she said and knelt down.
What kind of girl was that? For a moment I wanted to ask her if she was a girl, she can be anybody, she can be part of popo(police) or a spy from my rivals. There was something about her I couldn’t trust, because she was too eager. I mean it’s not every time you see someone on his or her kneels begging you to be part of a criminal organization, you don’t have to tell us that we are criminals for us to know, we already know who we were, we were terrorists.
I looked at her for a while unsure of what to say.
“Is that tears I see on your face?”- I asked then she cleaned her wet cheeks, was this girl crazy? - “Are you a spy?”
“Sir?”- She asked
“Are you a spy? Which cult group you come from? Speak before we butcher you for here”
“No one sir”- She said
“Then that means you join popo be that”
“I don’t know what popo means sir”
I have been in the business of causing havoc for years now and I know when someone is lying or telling the truth, that girl in front of me was too innocent, she was telling the truth.
“It’s like you no grow for ghetto”- I said then we were silent for a while- “Stand-up”
She stood up quickly and started dusting away the dirt from her kneels
“You won join abi?”- I asked
“Yes”
“Wait, nah watin be your age sef?”- I asked
“I’m seventeen”- She said then I laughed a little.
“Well I no go force you, but to join all this type of thing no easy at all, it involves pain”- I said
“How much?”
“A lot Cinderella, a lot. Do you think you can handle it?” - I asked and started walking away from her - “Cinderella this is the part where you follow me”
“Okay”- She said behind me and started following me
“Wait here…”- I said to her- “make somebody find sit for Cinderella”
One of my men stood up for Cinderella to sit down, so charming.
I was in the betting shop for hours hoping when I come out, she might have given up and gone home but when I came out from the shop and the skies were very dark, I saw her sitting exactly where I saw her last. Her hands were supporting her jaw, that was when I knew truly that-that girl was relentless. As soon as she saw me, she stood up, why can’t she just go home and be like every normal beautiful girl?
“This night is our initiation, I am giving you a last thought, go home now while you have the chance”- I said and waited a while for her to answer.
“I don’t have a home”- She finally said
“Your choice, not mine”- I said and walked up to my car, she followed me from behind
I looked inside my car from the window and saw my sons sleeping. I knocked thrice on the car door then they all woke up quickly.
“Shortest oya stand up and go to the back seat, today we get visitor”- I said to my oldest son who sat close to the driver’s seat.
He came out from the car and went to the back seat and sat with his brothers, Tallest and Fattest. I opened the car and entered but the Cinderella was still standing outside as if waiting for me to open the door for her like how they do for princesses.
“Are you coming or should I leave you?”- I asked then she entered the car cautiously and uncomfortably, I mean who will enter a car with me feeling cautious and comfortable? No one, trust me, no one.
“When we lose someone, we make a hole on our heads so that we will have something to blame the pain on”
CHAPTER 5
HELEN
I placed my head on the car window watching the outside, the memories of my sister moving freely in my head. I know what you all are thinking, some of you have already condemned me as a bad person for leaving Madam Rakiya just like that without saying a word, maybe you are right, I was a bad person but do not forget I once left my mother without saying a proper goodbye, if I can leave my mother just like that, is it Madam Rakiya I couldn’t leave?
If you come to think of it, I was doing her a favour by running away, I knew it would hurt her, I knew she would be worried sick by now, looking for me desperately. A part of my heart felt sad though but I didn’t come to Lagos to stay with her, she was a good person, that I could not deny but I knew it would be easier for her to move on and forget about me.
“What is your name?”- A child around my age asked behind me snapping me back to my reality.
“Helen”- I answered
“Sounds more like Hell inn to me”- The child replied and laughed mockingly.
I turned backwards to see that it was the one called ‘Shortest’ that was speaking to me. He was nothing like his name, he wasn’t short, in fact from all the children in the car, he was the tallest, and I knew from that moment that I was going to hate that boy for the rest of my life.
“Shortest be nice”- The Capon scorned.
My eyes met the two other kids at the backseat, the other one was called fattest who actually was the thinnest and the last one was called tallest, who was the shortest among the children. It seems ‘The Capon’ was a man who loved metaphors.
I took my eyes off the children behind me and placed my head back on the car window listening to a slow piano music playing from the car radio.
After driving for a while, ‘The capon’ finally stopped his Toyota Solara close to a small river. We all came down from the car and waited for ‘The capon’ to come out; when he finally came out, he inserted his cigar into his mouth and lighted it.
“Come here my boys, today you will make your father proud by passing the initiation and someday you will take over from where your father stopped, I’m speaking to you especially Shortest”- The capon said to his children then his eyes met mine. He walked up to me and stood at a safe distance.
By my left-hand side a group of women with white robes were walking to our direction, some with lighted torches and others with talking drums. Their faces were decorated with drawings and they placed a feather in their mouths, while by my right-hand side, a group of bare-chested muscular men were walking to our direction, all of them holding a koboko (lash) and a pot. The capon placed his right hand on my left shoulder and said to me.
“You can still runaway if you want”- He said to me then the people gathered round us and the women started beating their drums.
We the children took off our clothes but they allowed us keep our under wears.
“Who is going first? Oya Shortest nah you be senior, go first”- The Capon said cleaning his teeth with his chewing stick, then I watched as naked Shortest entered the water and met the two women and two men who were waiting for him. They stood round him, to be sure he wouldn’t escape then they made him dip himself into the water and then out, just to make sure all his body was wet.
He finally knelt down in the water then the men with their lashes unleashed on him, every lash that touched his skin created a sound that made me shook with fear, the higher the sound means the greater the pain. He was there screaming because of the pain until he stopped and collapsed into the water. For a second there I thought he was dead, then I saw the two men bringing him out of the water and dropped him at the feet of his father. He was just on the floor shaking, his whole body bathed with injuries, by now fear was about to kill me and I could tell the two children next to me were scared too, we were all scared.
“Who’s next?”- The Capon asked and placed his hand on my shoulder- “You look older than the rest”
I walked into the river and met the four personalities waiting for me, my eyes first met the frowning women who were holding the lighted torches then at the frowning men who were waiting to unleash on me, they made a circle and I was in the circle. One of the muscular men placed his hand on my shoulder and dipped me into the water, when I came out from the water I looked at the stars above me then the first lash landed on my body, and then the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth until I started bleeding from my mouth. I fell and when even I thought I was dead, I saw Rebecca smiling at me and I remembered her last words to me “Amour amour not amour plastique” I don’t know how or from where I managed to get strength from, but I stood up and raised my head up high.
“You can leave”- One of the frowning men said to me then I walked out of the water with a shaking movement, I was badly beaten, badly beaten that each step I took felt like someone was breaking all my bones. I walked tiredly and stood face to face with ‘The Capon’.
“I’m no Cinderella”- I managed to say to him breathing heavily then he smiled at me and tapped Tallest twice on his shoulder to signify that he was next.
That day, after we all passed the test without dying, we all went to ‘The capon’s’ house. He lived in a very big and beautiful house, none of us slept that night, we just kept whimpering on our beds in pain, hoping the pain magically goes away. That was how I made a new family that day.
“My worst nightmare, is me”
CHAPTER 6
HELEN
SEVEN YEARS LATER
When I was nineteen years old, the capon took me together with his sons to Kaduna to learn how to shoot and fight from a group of terrorists and when we became masters of our craft, he looked at each of us in the eyes and gave a proud smile. I became almost like a daughter to him, he was proud of me most, according to him I reminded him of himself. I became tough, the toughest in the group, none of the capon’s children were better than I was and I guess this made his eldest son ‘Shortest’ to be jealous, jealous because he wasn’t up to his father’s expectations.
During my stay with ‘the capon’ I learned many things, I felt many things and one of the things I learnt and felt was power, I felt powerful.
Shortest and I were ash nemesis, I hated him and I knew he hated me too, shortest real name wasn’t shortest (of course), his real name was ‘Daniel’. Daniel who was the first son grew up to become a prostitute, you cannot see Daniel without a woman by his side, he could not do without a woman, just like peanut butter and jelly, one cannot do without the other- now you see why I hated him, don’t you?
Tallest was the second son of ‘the capon’, his real name wasn’t tallest but ‘Jeremiah’, we called him ‘Jerry’ because it was shorter. Jerry was a very good sniper and a huge fan of football and Chelsea.
Thinnest was the fattest among us and his real name was ‘Justin’. Justin ended up being a nerd, he was the last and youngest son of ‘the capon’, unlike everyone, he had the kindest heart and sometimes he reminded me of a pink pony. I preferred talking to Justin most among the capon’s children because he was the different one, the good one. Justin was too parallel from his brothers and if you don’t know him, you could swear he wasn’t related to his brothers. He was a shy one who had very few friends, the only one among his brothers who continued his education, the truth was, he loved school and one day hopes to be a computer Engineer.
“Knock knock”- I said knocking at Justin room door.
“Who is it?”- Justin asked inside his room then I opened his door to see him with a towel that covered his nakedness- “Hey! I no talk say you fit enter”
“Shut up I need your help jareh, watin you get way I never see?”- I said then he chuckled
“I’m busy, I have to study and I need to clean up my room, as you can see it’s a mess”- Justin said
“What happened in this room?”- I asked
“Never mind”-
“I hope you use condom”- I said then Justin moved his head quickly to look at me.
“Jesus Helen!”
“What? You are a brother to a man who can’t breathe unless he gets past a woman skirt”
“For your information, it was a nerd hang out”
“Whatever, I need your help with something”- I said then he paused looking at me for a while- “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You know say I no trust you abi?”
“Even I don’t trust myself Justin”- I said
“What can you possibly need my help for?”- Justin asked picking his clothes from a couch.
“It’s classified”- I said
“That right there, that’s the reason why I’m not helping you”
“I’m not asking”- I said then he looked at me for a while.
“Why don’t you ask Jerry?”
“You know jerry and football”
“Or Daniel”
“Seriously? Daniel?”
“Well as I said, I no fit help you, I’m busy plus I have an assignment to work on”- Justin said
“You really won’t help me abi?”- I asked walking closer to him
“For your mind you think say I go fear you abi watin? Even my other selves from other realities will say no to you right now and there’s no way you will make me help you”
xxxxxxx
Twenty minutes later I and Justin found ourselves in a Honda Accord, Justin was handling the wheels and I was sitting down at the back seat.
“What are you even doing self?”- Justin finally asked me but I remained silent, he drove his car and stopped at a club, a club called ‘Blues spot’- “Since when did you go to parties? To rich parties for that matter?”
“Remember the plan; you know where to pick me right?”- I asked and wore my clown mask.
“I hate mask parties”- Justin said and drove his car close to the red carpet- “Helen before you go, what exactly you won do here? Because I know you are not the party kind of person”
“I just want to party, okay?”
“Then why are you with a gun? You are hiding it at your right lap, aren’t you?”
“That is correct”- I said
“That is dumb, they can easily find it. Hide it somewhere nobody will ever suspect”
“That is why I need you with me”- I said
“Who you won delete?”
“Why do you wish to know?”
“You need me, don’t you? How will you feel if you come out and you don’t find me here?”- Justin asked and placed a lollipop in his mouth.
“Fine, I won delete the Deputy Governor, Tosin Ade”- I said then Justin started laughing, it started from a small chuckle and exploded into a full-grown laughter.
“You want to delete the Deputy Governor of Lagos State like this? I’m not sure you even have a plan. Do you know how many security guys guide that man? Just look at the entrance, can you see the uniform men? You must be mad Helen”
“Watin you talk? Did I just hear you insult me?”
“Sorry but I’m just advising you because I care about you Helen, you know say you be my paddy”
“But I’m serious though”- I said then we were silent for a while.
“I can sketch out a plan for you, if you want?”
“Don’t worry I get plan, I no be mugu like Daniel”
“Watin Deputy Governor do you sef?”- Justin asked then some cars behind us started horning.
“You know where to pick me up”- I said and came out of the car.
“Don’t die”- Justin said behind me
I walked to the entrance majestically and stopped at the two muscular security men guiding the door, each holding a gun.
“Tickets”- One of them said
“Oh”- I said with a smile on my face and showed him the tickets, he took it from me and took a look at it, finally he nodded to confirm that it was accurate and handed it over to me- “Thank you so much. Can I go in now?”
“We still have to search you”- The Security man by the right said and started searching me, he started from my toes and moved his hands till he reached my breasts, he didn’t care if I was a woman, he squeezed my breasts to be sure I wasn’t hiding anything in there.
“Rude”- I said to him- “Are you happy now? At least you don touch woman breast today, only God know how many you don touch, just pray your wife no catch you”- I said and walked past them to the inside.
The inside was huge and disco lights were everywhere, the music in there was so loud and different masked people were dancing wildly. I stopped walking and looked around then my eyes caught the Deputy Governor upstairs at the VIP lounge talking to someone and laughing at the same time.
“Helen, right?!!”- A masked woman asked in front of me with a strong Hausa accent.
“Yeah!”- I said
“I like your mask!!”- she said
“Let’s get this over with, shall we?!!”
“Oh yes, right this way!!”- She said to me showing me the way with her right hand.
I followed the woman to the VIP lounge. A room filled with prostitutes entertaining themselves. We helped ourselves on a sofa and some distance in front of us was Tosin Ade.
“I need you to get me closer to the Deputy Governor”- I said
“That won’t be hard”- She said with a shrug.
If you are wondering who this woman I was speaking to was, don’t worry I got you covered. Her name was Fatima and the first time we met was five years ago at Kaduna. Fatima was the Acting Manager of the ‘Blues Spot’ club and she also worked for one of the most dangerous man in the country, who goes by the name Alhaji Mustapha Abubakar. Alhaji Mustapha Abubakar was a man of few words and the truth is no one truly knew how he looked like, he was almost like a god.
They say “a bird cannot change its feathers”, I guess Tosin Ade has gotten himself more than he could chew. The Deputy Governor of Lagos State Tosin Ade had doings with the Alhaji and he broke his trust, he betrayed the Alhaji, this made the Alhaji furious and ordered Fatima to assassinate him. What this meant was that, I wasn’t the only one planning of killing the Deputy Governor and what that also means is that there was no way Tosin Ade was going to live to see the next day. This brings us to one question, whose hand will be the first to end Tosin Ade, mine or Fatima’s?
I sat on the sofa with my mask on and kept watching the Deputy Governor some distance away from me drinking and smoking with some of his friends, while his guards stayed by his side.
Fatima stood up and went to meet him, she whispered something into his ears then he stood up and followed her together with his security men.
After waiting for a while, an averaged sized man with suit and dark sunglasses walked up to me.
“Fatima calls right?”- I asked and stood up.
“Wait”- He said and moved his mouth closer to my ears and with a whispering voice he said- “Be careful, we are being watched”
I nodded and followed him to where Fatima was and saw Fatima standing close to a door, Tosin Ade’s bodyguards were standing next to her with their rifles.
“Come with me”- Fatima said then we walked to somewhere private.
“What is it?”- I asked her angrily
“I’m giving you an hour; my team will raid this place one hour from now. Go in there and get the job done, okay?”- Fatima said with a whispering voice.
“Okay”- I said with a nod- “Fatima, thank you for giving me the chance to end him myself”- I said then she smiled.
“You deserve to kill him more than I do, now go”- Fatima said then we walked back to the room the Deputy Governor was. After the bodyguard searched me thoroughly and found nothing, they allowed me inside and there the chubby Deputy Governor sat on a couch smoking a cigarette.
“I think I will like this one”- Tosin Ade said as soon as he saw me.
“Yes, she’s one of our best”- Fatima said with a professional smile on her face then my eyes caught the eyes of a young man standing next to the Deputy Governor. The young man wore a black suit and his eyes kept looking at me, I swallowed and prayed that he didn’t see the quick move I and Fatima did before we entered the door.
“Young girl, can you make a grown-up man like me have a good time?”- Tosin Ade asked me.
I snapped back to my reality and realized it was time to act like a whore, I moved to where he sat and sat next to him.
“I can make you lose track of time”- I said
“This one she’s still wearing her mask, only God knows how beautiful those eyes of yours are behind that mask”- Tosin Ade said then I giggled.
“You want to find out?”- I asked using my hands to rub his chest
“Truly you can make an old man have a good time, I can see that”- He said and laughed- “Ayo!!”
“Yes sir”- The young man next to him said
“Excuse your boss”- He said then I met the boy’s eyes again.
“Okay sir”- The boy said and left the room.
“I will be leaving now, if you need anything just call me and I will get you exactly what you need”- Fatima said with her professional Hausa accent and a smiling face then she left the room, leaving I and the Deputy Governor alone.
“What is your name?”- Tosin Ade finally asked
“Rebecca”- I lied
“That’s a lovely name”- He said then we were silent for a while looking at each other’s face, he moved his lips slowly and started kissing my neck.
“Wait”- I said and released myself from his lips
“Is anything the problem?”
“No, it’s just that I need to use the bathroom first, where’s the way to the bathroom?”- I said and faked a smile.
“It’s in the bedroom”- He asked with a confused gaze wondering how he got me offended.
“After I’m done with the bathroom, I want to see you all naked on the bed, because I’m literally going to take your soul away”- I said and stood up.
Tosin Ade followed me from behind and climbed on his king size bed. I opened the door to the bathroom and entered, then I took off the mask I was wearing to look at my face at the big mirror. I sighed and brushed my purple painted hair off my shoulders with my hands.
“I’m waiting”- Tosin Ade said in the bedroom.
“I’m almost done”- I said and took out the gun I was hiding at the back of my trouser.
I know what some of you might be thinking. How is it possible that the body guards didn’t find anything on me but I magically have a gun now?
The thing is I didn’t even enter the club with a gun, I lied to Justin when he asked me if I had a gun on my lap, I lied because if I succeeded on that mission, he will respect me more than he already did. So, how come am I with a gun now? Okay, let me take you on a joy ride on what really happened. As soon as we (I and Fatima) entered the room Tosin Ade was, Fatima quickly gave me the gun behind me, we did it so quick and in such a way that no one could have easily seen us.
I took off my clothes and it remained my underwear, then a voice in my head said “You have to do this”. I reminded myself of the reason why I was there and why I needed to kill that bastard in the bedroom. I closed my eyes for a bit and imagined how my sister struggled to survive, how she kicked and screamed until her heart stopped beating, then sadness and anger grew inside of my heart. I gave a loud sigh and walked out of the bathroom with the gun hidden at the back of my underwear.
“You look even more beautiful without your clothes on”- Tosin Ade said, he sat on the bed with only his boxers- “Come on, come give me that body of yours”
I climbed his bed like how a whore would and kissed him on his cheeks
“You like that?”- I asked
“Yes, but don’t stop there give me more”- He said and started kissing my neck; he used his hands to touch my body and his lips to kiss. I stretched my hand behind me and took out the gun and when he stopped kissing my boobs and flickered his eyes up to look at my face, what he saw instead was a gun pointing straight at his forehead.
“Shh… don’t even think about shouting for help”- I said with a whispering voice and came down from the bed, still pointing the gun at him.
“Who are you? What do you want?”- He asked with a scared voice.
“Hold your mouth”- I said then he held his mouth, his face sweating like he ran a race.
“There are things which must cause you to lose your reason or you have none to lose.”
CHAPTER 7
JUSTIN
I was in the car watching an Indian movie on my android phone, waiting for Helen to be done with whatever she was doing so that I could get back home and possibly eat some Fufu, by now the skies were dark, the street was quiet and the crickets were singing.
A few hours later, three black vans drove quickly to the direction of the club. I paused the video I was watching to look at the outside, but I shrugged the feeling and continued with my movie. The last thing I expected to hear was the sound of gunshots, I hid myself and dialed Helen’s number but she wasn’t picking up. I raised my head up a little to get a closer look at the outside and saw some masked men about twenty of them, opening fire at the security men guarding the club.
“I knew I shouldn’t have followed her, this girl brought me here to die”- I said, my heart felt like it was going to explode- “Pick your phone nah, pick your phone”
“An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior”
CHAPTER 8
HELEN
“Please don’t kill me”- Tosin Ade said then I chuckled
“When my sister told you that did you listen?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about”- He said
“Shhh… I thought I told you to shut your big mouth”- I said and placed the gun on his head- “Now you shall die like how you killed my sister”
“Who’s your sister?”- He asked
“Rebecca, Rebecca Ebube. Do you remember her?”- I said then he widened his eyes.
“I see; I knew you looked familiar”- He said
“Any last words?”- I asked
“We…both… know you won’t survive this”- He stammered
“Watch me as I do”- I said
“You are making a very big!!…”- and before he could finish his sentence, I shot him because of his loud voice.
“Fool”- I said and quickly went back to the bathroom to wear my clothes. I took out my phone from my right pocket and answered the call.
“Justin what is it?”- I asked wearing my mask
“You need to get out of there fast!!”- Justin said at the other side of the phone.
“Calm down, what’s going on?”
“Are you deaf? Can’t you hear the gunshots? The club is under attack”- He said
“Don’t worry, I will soon be out”
“Fast abeg before they notice me”- Justin said then I hanged up the call.
When I came out of the bathroom to the bedroom, I heard a knock on the door; I held my gun firmly and walked cautiously to the door.
“Who’s there?”- I asked holding the door knob.
“Open up, it’s Fatima”
I opened the door then Fatima entered the room hurriedly with a masked dead girl
“Close the door quickly”- Fatima said dragging the body of the dead girl inside
“Jesus Fatima”- I said closing the door
“Listen to me, we have to get this right”- she said then I nodded
“Who is she?”- I asked pointing at the dead girl.
“No one knows how you look like, right?”
“Except for him”- I said pointing at the dead body on the bed, she followed the direction of my hand and saw dead Tosin Ade for herself.
“Congratulations”- Fatima said taking off the clothes of the dead girl.
“I think I’m beginning to understand your plan. Do you think her clothes will fit?”- I asked
“It has to, she’s the same height like you are”- Fatima said and turned backwards to look at me- “Don’t just stand there, help me out!”
Some minutes later I came out of the room with a different cloth and a different mask. I walked confidently to the direction of the exit, by now Fatima’s gang were shooting at people, except for me of course. Instead of running away like the rest, I marched into Fatima’s gang and the screams of all those they were shooting at echoed in my head.
When I finally came out of the club, my eyes met the dead bodies on the floor then I moved my eyes and saw Justin’s car, so I walked to the direction where it was parked.
“Don’t come any closer”- Justin said to me pointing a gun at me through the opened window of his car- “Who are you?!”
I walked closer to him and grabbed the gun forcefully away from his hand
“Ow!”- He whimpered
“Imagine someone attacks you, is this how you will be a goner by now?”- I asked pointing the gun at him then I removed my mask for him to see my face.
“Thank goodness”- He said holding his chest
“You look like you are going to get a heart attack”
“Just enter the car before I suffocate because of this emotional damage”- Justin said then I entered the car, he immediately started the car and drove off.
xxxxxx
I slept after that day like a child, because one of my problems was down, two more to go but those two was a fight for another day. Two days later after what I did at the club, a knock on my room door woke me up. I opened my eyes and met the window, the light from the sun touching my face.
“How far open the door jare!”- Daniel’s said with an angry voice banging the door
I got up from the bed and went to the door, I opened the door and met Daniels face. He folded his hands and had an annoying face on.
“Watin happen?”- I asked closing the door slowly.
“Capon won see you”- He said then I stopped closing the door and opened it to see his face.
“Why capon won see me?”- I asked then Daniel hissed.
“Stand there and ask me questions”- Daniel said and walked away. I closed the door and turned backwards to look at the window.
Some few minutes later, I came out of my room with my pajamas on and walked to the living room. In the living room, Daniel sat with his hand crossed on a girl’s shoulder, Jerry was smoking a cigar and at the same time his eyes were glued to the football game playing at the TV. Justin on the other hand sat close to a window checking something on his laptop.
“I wonder why people still smoke after reading what is written on the pack. Why do they choose to invite death or don’t they know the more you smoke, the more your lungs die and they more likely you are to dying?”- Justin said referring to Jerry.
“Will you shut up? Over sabi!”- Jerry said and hissed
“I’m very sorry continue with your cancer”- Justin said and met my eyes – “Hey Helen, Good morning”
“Yeah”- I said with a distracted focus, looking at the new specimen who sat in the middle of Jerry and Daniel.
“Goal!!! Una reach?”- Jerry yelled in excitement and shook hands with Daniel.
After celebrating, Jerry turned backwards to look at me
“Oh, if it isn’t the one and mighty Helen”- Jerry said
“Hell inn”- Daniel said
“Who’s the new girl?”- I asked then she turned backwards to look at me and gave me a big smile, but I wasn’t smiling.
“The name is Ruth, nice to meet you”- She said politely but I was silent giving her a blank face, this made her look stupid.
I left them and climbed the stairs, then I stopped at ‘the capon’s’ office.
“Come in Helen”- The capon said before I knocked. I opened the door and found him sitting at his office chair- “How is your morning?”
I walked into the room and stood in front of him
“Daniel said you want to speak with me”
“Yes, that is correct… sit”- The capon said then I helped myself on a seat.
The capon is a lot older now and had a deteriorating health but still he was the most dangerous person, I have ever met. He picked a remote from his table and increased the volume of the TV behind me. I turned backwards and saw that the news channel was talking about what happened at ‘Blue Spot’ club. The capon cleared his throat and continued.
“Are you involved in this?”
I turned backwards to see the capon’s face looking at me as if waiting for an answer quickly. I smacked my lips and waited for some seconds.
“I have my reasons, sir”- I finally said
“This is the Deputy Governor we are talking about; you killed the Deputy Governor of Lagos State… you are national enemy number one”- The capon said, we were silent for a while then I turned backwards again to look at the news.
“I know”- I said
“The police are investigating this”
“I know”
“You could have gotten Justin killed”
“I know”- I said again and moved my eyes to see his face.
“Why?”- He asked then I raised my eyes up to look at the ceiling- “Are you even listening?”
It was like somebody was turning the volume of the world down; I was lost in my head again and only God knows what the capon was saying.
“I don’t know why people ask me that question”- I said
“What?”
“They think I’m distracted while I possess a remarkable sense of focus”- I said still looking at the ceiling- “Have you read the story?”
“What story?”
“Do you know what the talking drum story is about?”- I asked then the capon waited a while before saying.
“Revenge” – He said then I dropped my eyes down to look at his eyes
“Exactly”- I said and moved my eyes back to look at the ceiling
“June twelve, two thousand and three”- I said
“What happened on that day?”
“My sister was gruesomely murdered on that day, she… she was my everything but they took her away from me, for that reason they must pay”- I said and brought my eyes down again to look at his face- “Have you heard about the Rebecca Ebube’s case? The girl who was murdered and her case goes away, like the wind?”
“Now I know why you wanted to be strong”
“Yes, and you made me strong”- I said then we were silent for a while.
“Have you gotten what you wanted?”- The capon finally asked
“Maybe”- I said then the capon started laughing
“Do you know why I’m laughing?”
“No, I don’t get it”- I said almost getting pissed off.
“I was once like you, Helen. Do you want to hear a story?”
“Will it be quick? I have something doing”- I said and met the capon angry eyes
“It’s like you no know the repercussion of watin you do”
“What? No be like the police go know say my hand dey inside”- I said
“Did I command you to do anything? Hmm? Right now, you are being a cat, when you allow a cat out, it comes back with a dead mouse. You just brought in trouble”
He was right, I just brought in trouble but why should I care? I mean I just killed one of my problems, isn’t that something to be happy about?
“I’m sorry”- I said and scratched my itchy right hand
“Are you okay? Why are you so itchy?”
“It’s nothing, go on with your story”- I said
“Are you sick?”
“I’m not”- I said
“Yes, you are!”- The capon said and gave me a stern look- “You need to stop the drugs, it’s killing you”
“Capon with all due respect, the last time I checked… I’m already dead”- I said scratching my hand and hoping the itching stop soon.
CHAPTER 9
CAPON
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. As a child, I was very respectful, smart and also very handsome.
My mother, Omowunmi Oluwasegun was a devoted Christian while my father was the head of the most dangerous cult group in the area. When I was seven years old, he initiated me into his cult group, a kind of initiation called “One fate”.
This type of initiation involves you being beaten up badly in a river; if you survive then you will end up having the same fate with your father. This is a type of initiation that a child performs, so that one day he will end up being the leader of his father’s gang just in case his father passes away. This made my mother furious and ran with me out of my father’s house.
In my school, I was the best; I kept taking good grades as if it was a curse, my brain never failed me and my mother bragged about me to her friends. I remembered the first time I fell in love; I was nineteen years old when I met Shola, God that girl was beautiful.
My mother did everything possible to take care of me, she almost hustled her breath away, she wanted to give me a better life, a life without a father in the picture. It isn’t easy for a child to grow up without his father, every day and every night I thought about him. The only thing I had of him was a family picture we took some years back.
When I was twenty years old, I went to meet him and to say the truth, he was a wise and kind man, he was unlike everything my mother said of him. I ended up loving the man.
When my mother figured out, I have been meeting my father, she got upset and cursed me, at that time I couldn’t understand why she was so mad, I mean I heard all the stories she told me of my father as a child but when I met my dad again, I liked him.
“Ajao!”- My Girlfriend Shola called me dragging me back to my reality.
We sat on the corridor of the backyard of my house as she plaits my hair.
“Yes?”
“Where were you?”- She asked
“I don’t understand”
“You are lost in your head again abi? Any time you get stuck in that your head, it’s as if you are in another dimension”- She said then I laughed.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that a lot have been going on lately and it has got me thinking”- I said
“Oh”- She said then we were silent for a while- “But there’s this question I want to ask you sha”
“And what is the question?”- I asked
“Do you have a father? I mean since we met you never spoke of him”- Shola said.
It was surprisingly that it took Shola this long to ask me that question. I was silent; I didn’t give her a reply.
“I’m really sorry”- Shola said
“It’s okay”- I said then we were silent again listening to the crickets sing.
“You also haven’t told me how you got all this scars on your body”- Shola said behind me still plaiting my full and beautiful hair, I told you I was handsome as a child.
“You really won know?”- I asked and turned backwards to look at her face, she nodded.
“Was it an accident or…?”- She was saying
“It wasn’t”- I interrupted
“Did your father treat you bad?”- She asked but I was silent looking at her beautiful eyes for a while.
“Have you heard of the ‘one fate’ initiation?”- I finally asked
“Watin be that one now?”
“It is a kind of initiation that rewrites your fate to be someone else’s”
“That is rubbish, no one can rewrite his fate”- Shola said
“Well… the reason why I have all these scars on my body is because my father made our fates one”- I said then we grew silent again.
“Does that mean when he dies is when you die? hmm?”- Shola said jokingly and chuckled
“No, not when he dies but how he dies, how he dies is how I will die”
“Stop it; you know you shouldn’t believe in all those things”
“I was seven… Seven when I was beaten severely till the point that I almost stopped breathing”- I said and met her eyes.
“That is awful, why will any father do that?”
“Well, my father isn’t like every other dad’s out there… He’s a very complicated man, a dangerous one too but in the middle of his complexity and vicious nature lies a very good person”- I said
Shola was silent for a while as if unsure of what to say to me.
“I still don’t get why a father will want his child to have the same fate like him”- Shola said
“As I said he isn’t like every other father’s out there”- I said and smiled at her, she had no choice than to smile back.
“I’m still sorry though, for everything you had to pass through”
As time went on, I kept going to my father for advice, I knew he was a dangerous man, a very bad man, this is a fact I cannot deny but still he possessed an unnatural wisdom and anytime I was around him, I learnt something new.
One morning, the news came that my father is dead, my mother didn’t want me to get involved but I couldn’t stand by. How can my father die and you expect me to look away as if he was some kind of waste? No matter who he was or what he did, he was still my father and I couldn’t allow whatever drama my mother had with him to stop me from seeing him, especially in a time like that. I disobeyed her, I had to, even though it would hurt my mother’s feelings.
I ran quickly to the direction of ‘Okoro Street’ and prayed silently to God that whatever news I heard should be nothing but a rumor, but the closer I got to ‘Okoro Street’ the more my heart got saddened, the more I begin to think otherwise, the more my hopes of the news being a rumor deteriorated.
At Okoro Street, a huge gathering of people waited for me. I cried as I pushed myself into the crowd to see what they were looking at, and saw my father dead body on the floor. His head was broken in such a way that made his brain come out a little, his fingers were chopped off and from that day forward all what filled my heart was hatred, hatred for everyone and everything around me.
I took my place as the leader of my father’s gang even though my mother warned me not to; she disowned me and drove me out of her house since I wanted to be like my father, my mother did everything for me, I know and it was like I was betraying her for ending up like my father. The only thing she wanted from me, was for me to be a good boy, to have a better life and my decision of becoming the leader of my father’s gang was not the way my mother pictured my life and when she saw the hatred and the evil in my eyes, she knew one of us had to leave each other’s life and that was me. There was no way she was going to leave her house for me to stay in it, I was the one who needed to go.
It was the same evil and hatred she saw in my eyes that she saw in that of her husband’s and even she came to a conclusion that there was nothing she could do to help me, I was gone, I was lost in my quest for vengeance and I didn’t mind washing my hands in blood to achieve it.
I gathered my father’s gang together, to avenge his death and I thought that when I finally get the chance to end the life of the human who killed my father, I would feel different, feel okay, I thought when I finally put a bullet to the head of the person who did that to my father, everything will go back to normal, that I would finally find the peace that my heart desperately longed for.
But when I finally killed my way to the person responsible for the death of my father, I couldn’t pull the trigger. He knelt in front of me and my gun was pointed at his forehead. I mean there he was, pleading for his life, the man I have been waiting for, finally I got the chance to end him and I couldn’t.
“What are you waiting for nah?”- My friend, Yakubu asked me. He was standing by my right-hand side with a cigarette in his mouth.
I lowered the gun down and sighed briefly then I started walking away out of the river we were in. As soon as I left the river, Yakubu shot the man kneeling twice at his chest and when I turned backwards, I saw Yakubu pointing his gun at the dead man in front of him.
“At such a moment it is not the physical pain which hurts the most; it is the mental agony caused by the injustice, the unreasonableness of it all”
CHAPTER 10
HELEN
After the capon finished his narration, we were silent for a while listening to the TV behind me speak.
“And why didn’t you pull the trigger? You just let him go alive?”- I finally asked
“Who said I let him go alive?”
“And your mother?”- I asked and met his eyes.
“I never saw her again. Helen vengeance isn’t the answer; it won’t help trust me… I have gone through that route and since then that peace I longed for, I haven’t found it”- The capon said and sighed then we grew silent.
“I’m sorry for not following your orders but I have to go now”- I said and stood up, I walked to the door and when I held the door knob the capon called.
“Helen”
I turned backwards and said
“Yes?”
“Don’t beat Justin up”- He said then I nodded and left the room.
I know he said “don’t beat Justin up” but as soon as I left his office Justin door was the first place I walked to.
“If you go enter enter, no use knock spoil my door abeg”- Justin said inside then I opened the door. He was standing folding his blankets.
“Justin did you by any chance tell your father about what happened two days ago?”- I asked walking closer to him
“Uhh… No… you know it’s hard to hide anything from him”- Justin said walking backwards.
“That means you did tell him”- I said then Justin back met the wall.
I rose my right hand up then Justin blocked his face with his hands as if trying to protect himself from a slap. When he opened his eyes, he saw my right hand on the wall next to his left eye.
“I need your help again”- I said then we were silent for a while
“You almost got me killed the last time…”- Justin was saying
“Please”- I said then he stopped talking- “Have you ever heard me said please before?”
“What do you want exactly and can you please give me some space?”- Justin asked.
“Here”- I said handing him a passport of Hillary Johnson.
“What do you want me to do with this?”- He asked collecting the passport from me with his left hand
“I want you to track his location and tell me where he is”- I said
“What if I say no?”- Justin asked then I took my hand off the wall.
“You won’t… After telling your father what happened two days ago, I’m supposed to beat you to death”- I said then Justin chuckled.
“Watin you fit do?”- Justin asked and met my angry eyes- “Sorry, very sorry”
“So, can you help me?”- I asked
xxxxxx
That night I couldn’t sleep, the memories of my sister wouldn’t let me sleep. My mind clung to my sister’s image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look. Real or not, her look was then more luminous than the moon and the stars that hung in the skies outside the house.
I stood up quickly and began searching for my pills. I opened my wardrobe and brought all my clothes down, searched each pocket one by one and finally, I found a half pill of molly in one of my jeans. I quickly swallowed the molly and waited for my head to shut up, but it didn’t. That was when I realized a half pill of molly wasn’t enough to solve my problems.
I searched for my phone and called Jerry quickly
“I hope you know you are calling me in the middle of the night”- Jerry said with a sleepy voice after answering the call.
“Jerry come my room sharp”- I said
“Is anything the matter?”- Jerry asked with a worried voice then I hanged the call up.
When Jerry opened my door, he saw me searching desperately for something.
“What are you looking for?”- Jerry asked entering the room to see the mess I’ve made.
“I’m running mad right now”- I said still searching, Jerry walked up to me and held me.
“What’s wrong with you? You are a mess”- He said then I burst into tears like a child.
“I’m in pains Jerry”- I said and cleaned my cheeks- “Do you have drugs left?”
“Look…”- Jerry was saying
“I need even if it is a small pill”- I said
“Shut up”- Jerry said
“I will pay you back”
“Yeah, like how you have been paying the other ones?”
“This one will be different”
“Shut up!”- Jerry said with a loud voice then I kept quiet- “Just look at you, you look pathetic”
Jerry said then I looked at myself
“You don’t need molly or cocaine Helen, what you actually need is a hospital! Look at yourself, these pills, they are killing you, you are dying”- Jerry said then we were silent for a while.
“Why don’t you say that to the people you are selling it to? You are a drug smuggler, that’s what you are! Don’t come here pretending like you care”- I said angrily.
Jerry sighed and kept looking at me silently.
“You don’t know me!”- I said again
“I feel like I know you more than you know yourself”- Jerry said with a low and calm voice.
“Then you should know that I’m in pains, I’m in actual pains Jerry!!”- I said breathing loudly.
“I do care for you Helen, I do. In fact, we all do and I’m worried about you. I wish I can help you but even my father warned me not to sell you drugs. You keep telling me you are in pains and I keep selling it to you hoping it might somehow fix you but instead, it’s killing you and I don’t want that to happen.”
“Why do people keep saying it’s killing me?!”- I said holding my head, I was truly running mad.
“Because it’s true!”- Jerry said pointing me his index finger.
“How can you kill something that died years ago? Huh? I’m already dead Jerry… what you are seeing speaking to you is nothing but a walking dead!”- I said and sat on the floor because my vision was getting blurry and my head was spinning like a spiral.
“Before I met all of you, a lot has happened in my life, none of you here know me, okay?! Do you know my hurt? No, you don’t but this memory of mine has been haunting me, draining every single breath out of me and if you truly care about me like you said then help me!”
I said then Jerry was silent as if looking for something to say, his eyes showed pity, anger and love. He finally cleared his throat and said
“Fine… but this is between me and you”
“Of course, sure”- I said nodding
“If my father knows about this, I’m dead”
“Thank you”- I said with an exhausted voice then Jerry left my room, leaving me alone.
My sitting down there on the floor suddenly made known to me the silence of my room. The room was silent and I could hear the crickets outside, this made me to remember my mother. When I was a little girl, there was this song my mother used to sing to me and my late sister every night before we go to sleep. It has been a long time since I sang that song but somehow the wordings of the song, one by one kept coming to me. I sang and cried, sometimes I asked myself- “How did I find myself like this?”. My reflection in the mirror only left me with disgust, I hated being in my own skin.
When I stopped crying, my phone started ringing behind me, I stretched my hands behind me and took my phone from my bed.
“Hello”- I said with my exhausted voice.
“I’m sorry to call you this late, I know it’s very unprofessional but you haven’t still given us a reply”- A masculine sharp voice replied at the other side of the phone.
“Yeah, I’m sorry also”- I said
“Are the designs ready?”
“I’m almost done with it, maybe by tomorrow I will be done with it”- I said
“Oh okay, well good night then”
“Good night”- I said then the phone hanged up
That was the CEO of Fashion Lagos who called me. He was the boss of the place I work. When I’m not making plans on how to avenge my sister’s death, I do fashion. Fashion designing has always been my thing and growing up it helped in silencing my head.
I worked at Fashion Lagos as a Fashion designer. What that means is, I draw unique cloth designs and they pay me a huge ton of money for it.
When the next day came, I took my sketching book and began my work till I was done. I breathed out tiredly and started hearing noises from the outside. I stood up from the chair I was sitting to look at the window and saw Daniel and Ruth (the girl he brought) quarrelling about something. Daniel was sitting on his car trunk while the girl stood in front of him yelling at him, I watched as he yelled back at her angrily. Daniel was somebody who couldn’t control his anger, something little can make him blow up like a volcano. I watched as Ruth started walking away from him to the gate and Daniel like the asshole that he was followed her from behind, probably apologizing.
My phone on the table started ringing then I closed the curtain of my window and went back to the table I stood up from.
“This is the Secretary of Dean Fashion Lagos speaking”- A feminine voice said at the other side of the phone after I answered the call.
“Yeah, I know who you are”- I said
“Good morning, Helen”
“Is anything the problem?”- I asked
“No-no- not really. The CEO is inviting you to a Fashion show party that will be hosted at Ogun state, he wants to know if you will be chanced enough to show up”- The Secretary said then I was silent for a while.
“Are you still there?”- She asked
“Yeah-yeah, I’m still here. Tell the CEO that I will think about it and give you a reply soon”
“Okay”
“Yeah bye”- I said and hanged up the call.
As soon as I hanged up the call, Justin came rushing into my room quickly like one possessed by a demon.
“I did it!!”- Justin yelled happily behind me. I turned backwards to look at him, he was wearing his boxers and had a yellow shirt that had the words ‘Girl Power’ splashed on it.
“And what did you do?”- I asked
“Yes!!- you owe me; you really owe me Helen”- Justin said
“Are you just going to stand there with your boxers or are you going to speak to me?”
“Okay-Okay”- Justin started as if calming his mind down before it over heats- “There’s this app I’ve been working on”
“Okay”- I said nodding
“This app helps its users to get people information from the internet using pictures”- Justin said and saw my blank face, he knew I didn’t care about what came out of his mouth- “Okay, just pay attention. Imagine you want to find your lost classmate in the internet but you don’t know how, you can use my app in finding your friend by using any picture you have of him”
“What about he or her is all grown up?”- I asked
“Now that is an intelligent question. The app can predict how he or she will look like when he or she grows up”
“How is that possible?”- I asked
“Science baby, science”- Justin said with enthusiasm- “Ah God, just think about how many millions I can make from this app”
“What about that friend you are looking for isn’t on the internet?”- I asked
“Another intelligent question, you see that right there is practically almost impossible.”
“I’m not in the internet”- I said.
“You are trust me”
“I’m not”
“Anyways I don’t have time to argue, follow me”- Justin said then I stood up and followed him to his room.
Some minutes later, we found ourselves sitting close to each other on his bed. Justin was showing me his app on his laptop and was explaining something to me. I was with him and the same time, not. I just kept looking at his laptop and nodding to whatever he was saying like I was actually paying attention.
“Wait stop”- I said after Justin opened the image of Hillary Johnson. He looks older now and his beards were bathed with white spots. At the picture, he wore a nice suit and held a bible smiling widely at the camera with his hands crossed on a shoulder of a woman and a child, which I suspected to be his family.
“Yeah, here’s your guy”- Justin said
“Are you sure this is him?”
“Yep”- Justin said with confidence- “He goes by the name Pastor Hillary Johnson now, looks like a nice guy to me”
“How did you do it?”
“You haven’t been listening to all what I was saying?”
“Like how?”- I said then Justin laughed a little
“You want me to explain the science or…?”- He said then we were silent for a while- “What intrigues you so much about this guy anyway? Do you want to see him for deliverance? If yes please do and if no, also go because you need deliverance Helen, a lot of it”- Justin said then I chuckled
“Said by the guy that is fat like a possessed pig”- I said then Justin laughed out loud.
“Okay that was good”- Justin said laughing- “Helen this your mouth bad well-well “
“But I must admit sha, you are a genius”
“Helen are you okay? Are you well?”
“Why are you asking?”- I asked
“I’ve never heard you complimented someone before”- Justin said then I gave him a playful punch on his shoulder, this made him to smile childishly.
“That your mouth go soon make me beat you”- I said then Justin laughed a little more and we both found ourselves silent.
“I must confess Helen; you are the sister I never had”
“I know, beating you always give me dopamine”- I said then Justin laughed
“I no deh hear word sha”- Justin said then we were silent again.
“So, where does he live?”- I asked
“Oh, he lives at Abeokuta”
“Wait Abeokuta… as in Ogun State?”- I asked
“Yeah, I have a lot of information about him, I have his house address, his church address and even his car plate number. I don’t know why I should know that one”
“Justin, this means a lot”- I said standing up
“You sound like I just helped you found your daddy”- Justin said
“You have no idea”- I said removing my phone from my pocket quickly- “I need you to do something for me, I need you to write everything you know about him on a piece of paper, okay?”
“Okay, but what do you need from him anyways?”- Justin asked
“I need to take a call”- I said and started leaving his room- “I guess I’m going to Ogun after all”
It seemed to me like the universe was actually helping me, I mean how is it possible that I get invited to a fashion show at Ogun and the person I’ve been tracking for a while now is also in Ogun? Was that coincidence? No, I don’t think so. What I do believe is, it was my destiny to avenge my sister’s death.
I parked everything I needed for my trip and told the capon that I would be leaving.
“Everything, sooner or later will come crashing down”
CHAPTER 11
DANIEL
On a Thursday evening, I found myself in my car together with my brothers waiting for Helen. The skies were getting darker now and I was wondering what was taking Helen so long to get herself out of the house.
“Hello”- I said after answering my phone.
“Hello baby”- A feminine voice said at the other side of the phone.
“Hey babe”- I said
“Last night was epic”
“Yeah”- I said
“I miss you so much, when next will I see you again?”
“I will come today”- I said
“Promise?”
“Promise”- I said then we were silent for some seconds
“What are you doing now? Are you at work?”
“Umm, no… I’m going to drop my sister at the park, she’s travelling”- I said then Helen entered the car and sat next to me.
“That’s okay, I’m waiting… love you!”
“I love you too Isabella”- I said then Helen faked a coughed, I knew she was just trying to annoy me.
As soon as the call hanged up, annoying Helen started talking.
“Isabella, another one. Guy you deh try o, you just deh change women like how you deh change cloth”- Helen said
“And no be like the nigga fine sef. Only God knows the kind HIV way full the guy body”- Jerry said behind me
“Jerry better watch that your mouth”- I warned
“Or what?”- Jerry asked and hissed.
I gave him a stern look for a while and finally I muttered
“Anyways can we pray please?”- I said and cleared my throat- “Justin drop that phone from your face before I slap you”
I said then Justin placed his phone in his pocket and breathed out loudly.
“Father lord…”- I started- “Our annoying sister over here is about to go on a journey, please make sure she doesn’t come back. Father, I know say you no deh loose guard all those way be your own, so God today should be the last day I see this devil called Hell inn. In Jesus name we pray, amen”
As soon as I finished praying Justin and Jerry started laughing behind me.
“Don’t worry Daniel, because of this your prayer I will be back two days earlier than I planned”- Helen said then Justin and Jerry laughed even more.
“I wonder why those two morons at the back are laughing sef, what’s funny?”- I said and started driving.
There’s something about Lagos I love the most, it isn’t the stunning view of the place because I have been to places far stunning than Lagos. What I love about Lagos is the smell of hustle that moves freely in the air, everywhere you turn your eyes to, you will see people hustling, working hard to put food on their table. My eyes met the bus conductors that kept yelling the places they were willing to go, sometimes I wonder if those people were human beings, some of them have become immune to the scorching heat of Lagos State. It’s funny when I think about what money can turn people into, it’s funny how much a man is willing to work just to get a piece of paper.
After driving for minutes, we finally stopped at our destination.
“Omoh guys! This blue spot matter never die down o, police deh investigate the matter like mad”- Jerry said behind me.
“They never catch the people way do the thing?”- I asked unfastening my seatbelt.
“I heard the police caught some people sha. Guy like this thing the trend all over social media, news just deh carry the thing”
“There’s a conspiracy theory that it was a planned attack against the Deputy Governor”- Justin said then Helen turned backwards to look at him.
“Those guys way raid the place wipe out the security men, kill people. The manager survived sha, nah God help am, they for just blast am”- Jerry adds
“Wait, is there no camera at that place?”- I asked
“They destroy all the footage nah, no evidence”- Jerry said
“Hmm, those niggas plan that their thing wella…”- I said and moved my head to look at Helen- “You see Hell inn? Now that’s how to be a bad ass”
Helen smiled and shook her head in disappointment.
“We better start going before it gets too late”- Justin finally said
“You are right, we don’t want Hell inn over here to miss her drive out of my life”- I said then we came out of the car. Justin and Jerry helped her with her luggage like a gentleman but you know me, I’m no gentleman.
We followed her to where she could board her drive then I paid for her ticket personally and told her that-that was my way of telling her my final goodbye.
“I heard the roads are dangerous these days”- Justin said
“You for just use airport instead”- Jerry said to Helen
“I hope something happens to you on your way there”- I said to Helen then she snorts a laugh.
“Don’t worry yourself Daniel, I love you too”- Helen said and winked at me then we all laughed.
“For your dreams”- I said then Helen squeezed herself into a bus.
We watched as the driver entered the bus and drove away from our sight. Somehow, I felt like that was going to be the last time I would see her.
“Umm… Daniel are you crying? Is that tears I see?”- Justin asked me.
“Nope, for watin? I never cry”- I said and cleaned my right cheek. Jerry chuckled and said
“Come on guys, let’s go home”
“Whatever you do is like a boomerang, it back fires”
CHAPTER 12
HELEN
After the bus took off, I called the CEO of Dean Fashion Lagos and told him I was on my way. He told me his secretary would be waiting for me when I get there.
I inserted my earpiece in my ears and placed my head on the car window listening to some music. The drive was uncomfortable of course but it was the only way I could smuggle my guns without being caught. The truth was I wanted to use a flight to Ogun but I thought about how risky it will be, since I had guns in my bags. At the airport, they search thoroughly but when it comes to buses, they hardly. Even if you find a policeman on the roadside, the driver of the bus would just grease his hands and your bus is good to go.
“Excuse me”- I heard someone next to me said. I took off my earpiece and found a girl around the age of six or seven looking at me curiously.
“What’s the problem?”- I asked with a sigh and placed my earpiece back into my ears, hoping the child leaves me alone. But guess what? She didn’t, she used her right hand to tap me in order to get my attention.
“What is it?”- I said getting annoyed a little.
“I’m sorry… I just want to ask you a question, that’s all”- She said innocently.
“And what can this question be?”- I asked and hissed
“I have a question bothering me”- She said then I moved my head to my left to look at her. We were silent for a while looking at each other’s eyes.
“Do you want me to ask again what the question is?”
“Okay… Em… Dead people and the living ones, which one is more?”- She asked
“Seriously? Are you joking with me right now? You got my attention to ask me that?”- I asked then she nodded. I can see that girl was sent by the devil himself to torture me- “Okay, why do you want to know?”
“I’m just inquisitive”- She said with a shrug. I gave her a long look and from the look of things, she was the type of children that grew smarter than their age. I mean children her age that I had seen don’t make use of the word ‘inquisitive’ and I was beginning to wonder if she understood the meaning of the word herself.
“You are smart, aren’t you?”- I asked
“I guess”- She said and placed a cheese ball in her mouth.
“How many human beings are on the planet?”
“More than two billion people”
“Okay and how long have humans lived on the earth?”- I asked
“More than two thousand years”
“Does that answer your question?”- I asked
“Not really”- she said then I breathed out loudly out of disappointment.
“Everybody who have ever lived in the past century and everyone alive currently will die and more people are dying every second, the more the babies, the more the death”- I said but her face was still blank.
“More than one thousand people die in a second, now add all that number by all those who have died before”- I said and paused to look at her, I knew this time she was understanding my point- “Thousands of people keep dying child”
“And thousands of people keep giving birth”- She said
“And thousands of people keep giving birth, filling the empty spaces of all those that got lost”- I said
“And so, the circle continues?”- she asked
“Yep, we are in a fucked-up world”- I said and relaxed my back on my chair.
“My father always warns me not to use foul language”- She said then I chuckled
“Trust me child, even I wish I didn’t but it is what it is”- I said and moved my head to look at her eyes which was already looking at me.
“My dad over here wants me to be a doctor”- The girl said then I moved my eyes to see the man sleeping and snoring next to her.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”- I asked
“I want to be a psychologist”
“You can make someone go psycho I will give you that”- I said then we both laughed
“I’m sorry if I’m being annoying. My friends say I talk too much; others just call me a weirdo”
“So, how do you feel when they call you a weirdo?”
“Bad, it hurts to be different”- She said then we grew silent for a while.
“Yeah but being different is actually a good thing”
“How?”- She asked
“Be the weird one instead of standing on a red line because you feel safe there or you feel like everyone else… Weird people? They rule the world”- I said then she smiled, I smiled back at her- “I won’t lie to you sha, you are the creepiest child I have ever met”
I said then she gave a loud laugh almost waking everyone in the bus up.
“Really? How?”- She asked with a long smile on her face
“Do you know the time? What kind of child stays awake at night comparing the number of dead people and that of the living? Are you a serial killer?”
“I’m not but I feel like if I kill someone, I will get away with it”- She said with confidence.
“And you are very sure about that?”
“Yep”
“That right there is creepy pro max”- I said then we laughed
“My dad and I are fans of murder mysteries. I have tons of books about murder mysteries and I love watching movies about murder mysteries”
“Are you sure you are not a serial killer? Should I call the police right now?”- I said then she covered her face as if shy- “Why are you going to Ogun sef?”
I asked then her mood suddenly changed into sadness, she paused her lips for a while looking at me with her sad eyes.
“My Mother’s burial”- She finally said then we were silent again. I sighed and placed my head on the car window looking at the outside- “What about you? What takes you to Ogun?”
“To make things right… and I’m sorry for your lost”- I said then she rested her head on my left hand.
I wanted to tell her to get her head off but I decided to let her be
“I like you”- she said
“I wish I like myself like you do”- I said then she gave a loud yawn and started sleeping on my shoulder.
When the bus arrived at Ogun, I came out and saw the Secretary of Dean Fashion Lagos waiting for me with a roofless sports car. I collected my luggage from the driver and waved the little girl who was entering into a black Honda Accord bye. She kept waving at me until I lost sight of her then I dragged my bags to the direction of the Secretary.
“I hope the road wasn’t that bad”- The Secretary said with her neatly ironed suit and dark sunglasses. The Secretary looked like she was around the age of twenty-one or twenty-two and she had no hair on her head. Sometimes, she reminded me of ‘Okoye’ from the Marvel Black panther movie.
“We both know Ogun isn’t that far from Lagos”- I said
“You must be tired, you look tired”- She said with a warm smile
“Nice car”- I said
“Why not explore Ogun with style? Hmm?”- She said and helped me with my bags.
The roofless car gave a nice view of the stars in the sky and the wind that touched my skin felt amazing. The roofless sports car made us conspicuous as we drove on the road of Ogun and the Secretary was playing a mournful rendition of “La Llorona” from her car radio.
Ogun changed so much from the last time I saw her and the lands which was abandoned was now filled with tall buildings. When we arrived at the apartment I will be staying, the Secretary helped me with my luggage.
The apartment was too classy for someone like me, the inside almost looked more beautiful than the outside. There were different artworks on the wall and the room looked like it was meant for an artist. I knew immediately the CEO picked this apartment on purpose, in order to fit into my personality.
“Wow”- I found myself saying
“I hope you like it; it took us a long time to find this one. If you think it’s bad, I will…”- The Secretary was saying then I interrupted her by saying.
“No-no, it’s perfect”
“Are you sure?”- She asked then I sat on a red sofa chair.
“Yeah”- I said and breathed out tiredly- “It’s comfy”
“I’m glad to hear that, like literally. I don’t want to go through another phase of looking for another apartment”- The Secretary said and chuckled.
“So, this party I’m going to, it’s, tomorrow right?”- I asked
“Yep, I will come pick you up and take you there myself”
“Okay”- I said with a nod- “Are there any drinks here, especially strong ones?”
“Yeah, in the freezer. I can show you around the apartment if you want”- The Secretary said and gave a professional smile. There was this awkward silence between us that someone needed to break.
“Uhmm…”- I finally said- “You know what? I will show myself around”
“Of course, sure”- She said with a nod- “See you tomorrow?”
“Bye”- I said then she left the house awkwardly.
I don’t know why but when the Secretary was around me, it was like she was new in her job, or maybe I was the one making her job hard for her. I mean the girl was a nice girl but she looked too cheerful, too happy, too energetic and too colorful that it contrasted with my personality.
xxxxxxx
The next day a knock on the door woke me up from my peaceful sleep
“Yes? Who’s it?”- I asked with a sleepy voice but the knocking on the door didn’t stop, so I stood up from the couch I was sleeping and started walking to the door.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t prepared yourself”- I heard the Secretary say outside then I opened the door and met her annoying smiling face. She wore herself a big pink sweater, black jeans and two nice sneakers.
“Why are you here this early? What time is it? Five in the morning?”- I asked
“It’s twelve in the afternoon miss Helen”- The Secretary said and entered the house- “Did you sleep on the couch?”
“Maybe”- I said and closed the door
“Don’t mind me asking or anything but are you on drugs?”- The Secretary asked after her eyes met the mess, I made on the glass table.
“I’m on prescription”- I lied easily
“A prescription that involves you sniffing cocaine and drinking to get better?”
“Yes?”- I said then she snort’s a laugh- “And the last time I checked, it’s not part of your job to ask me personal questions, Secretary”
“And what’s personal about the question?”- She asked then we were silent for some seconds- “Miss Helen, how long now have we known each other?”
“I don’t know”- I said with a shrug then she smiled
“Five years…”- She said showing me her five fingers- “Five years and you don’t even know my name, instead you call me Secretary”
“I don’t know many people names, including your boss and from the last time I checked you are a Secretary, I call you what you are. You are not only a secretary but a chauffeur and I think you should stick to being professional at what you do and don’t involve yourself in a conversation with me, understood?”- I said and met her offended eyes.
“The last time I checked Miss Helen, you are not my boss”- She said trying to hide the anger inside of her.
“Is that so? How come in the next five minutes you will become my personal chauffeur and why is my comfortability, safety and wellness your number one priority?”- I asked then she was silent as if unsure of what to say, I guess even she too got the point. I knew I wasn’t her boss and whatever I said didn’t even qualify me to be called her boss. We were all employees to one same company and I was just trying to make myself not look weak. One thing I learnt from life was never ‘look weak to the person in front of you’.
That was how I left her standing there feeling heartbroken but was it my job to care about how she felt?
Some few minutes later I dressed up and the Secretary drove me to the hotel the party was going to be hosted. The drive was a silent one and I knew whatever I said to her made her remember something about herself she desperately didn’t want to, and for a second there I was beginning to feel pity for her.
“Secretary look…”- I started, hoping to make her feel better but she interrupted me by saying.
“The name is Felicia, my name is Felicia, not Secretary!”- She said and started sobbing silently. I just sat there watching her sob, unsure of how to console her- “Do you know anything about my life?!”
She asked and sobbed more
“Can I ask you a question? And I want you to be very truthful”- I said then she started cleaning her face.
“Fine”- She said and sniffled
“You are sick, aren’t you?”- I asked
“How did you…? I mean no, no I’m not”- She said but I knew she was lying
“Some people say I have a super power of guessing accurately…”- I said and breathed out loudly- “No wonder you look like the rainbow vomited on you, you are hiding your illness. Does he know this?”
“No, he doesn’t, if he did, I will be fired. A sick and dying person can’t be his Secretary and you know the CEO isn’t somebody you can talk to about this type of stuff”
“Have you tried getting help?”
“From who? Where?”- She asked then we were silent for a while. I moved my head to the left away from her eyes to look at the distant sun.
“It’s cancer, isn’t it?”- I asked then she nodded slowly
“But… how did you know?”- She asked
“Your hospital membership card and other private results might have slipped into my hands”- I said
“How long now have you…?”- Felicia was saying but I interrupted her by saying
“That isn’t the right question to ask… Come on, we have a party to attend”- I said and came out of the car.
Felicia followed me from behind and directed me to where the young CEO was. The CEO of Dean Fashion Lagos sat on a comfortable king like chair and as soon as he saw me, he waved. On his fingers rested different rings, and you can know which one is more expensive based on how shiny they look. He wore a suit and he left his hair full like that of a woman.
“Sit!”- He said to me with his hands then I sat on the chair in front of him- “Why are you late? The show has started”
“Sorry… I was so tired and needed to rest!”- I said
“Oh, no worries. You are here, that’s all that counts!”- The CEO said then we were silent for some seconds.
“Is a fashion show always this noisy?!”- I finally asked because of the loud music
“Not always”- He said and sipped from his drink.
I turned backwards to look at the models who were moving to the stage and out with dresses that looked like the ones I designed.
“Are those my designs?”- I asked
“Yep”- He said then I turned back to look at his face.
“They look even better when they are not just prototypes”- I said then the CEO relaxed his back at the chair he sat and crossed his legs.
“So, let’s get to business, shall we?”
“Yeah of course”- I said and started opening the back pack I was with.
“I can’t wait to see what next you have for us”- He said then I dropped my sketching book on the table.
“Uhh… okay let me start this way, I have always been a fan of learning about different languages from around the world, from their food to their dressing, especially their dressing and I have always asked myself why can’t all this tribe be in one dress? Let one dress represent all the tribes in the world!”- I said
“So, the dress has an element of all the tribes in the world? How’s that possible?!”- He asked
“It isn’t all the tribes in the world but it’s just a combination of some tribes!”- I said
“And why are you merging their dress code?!”
“To pass a message that instead of diversity, we should be more unified… we should be one, plus it’s a personal project of mine that… that gives me dark memories”- I said then the CEO was silent for a while.
“I like it, I mean it’s new and creative”- He finally said and continued- “Do you know why I like your work?”
“No, why?”- I asked as if I haven’t been through that route before. I knew he was going to say “Because it’s like an artwork on the wall, it tells a story” but I didn’t want to ruin the fun, I still wanted him to compliment me.
“Because it’s like an artwork on the wall, it tells a story”- He said
What did I tell you all? Sometimes I felt like I was the one making his company stand. He had many Fashion Designers from all over the country but my dresses sold the most. According to him, the Call of Duty video game is a money-making machine for Activision, because year after year. It sold big. He went further to say that, like how Call of Duty is to Activision, that was how I was to Dean Fashion Lagos, his company. And year after year, I make him richer- I know right? A nice way of telling me that I was making a mistake selling my designs to him.
After the show behind me stopped, the audience started clapping and when the clapping started residing, the CEO stood up, took a microphone and went to the stage to say a word or two.
“Thank you so much”- He started as the clapping resides- “Uhm… I want to thank all of you for coming to this show, I want to thank the sponsors, especially Mr. Tola Adeyinka, the CEO of Gream world and his lovely and pregnant wife. All the designs you just saw was designed from scratch to finish by an outstanding designer who works with us at Dean Fashion Lagos. Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for Miss Helen over here”- He said and pointed at me, this made everyone to look at me and I had no choice than to wave as the people started clapping.
When the CEO of Dean Fashion Lagos was done with his speech, he went back to his seat.
“Why did you mention my name?”- I asked him as I sipped from my drink.
“Because you deserve some credit”
“You paid me a whooping two million naira for those dresses”- I said
“Only God knows how much you gave me in return”- He said and smiled.
After the show was over, the young CEO escorted me to where the roofless sports car was parked. By now we have already completed our business, I signed every paperwork I could in order for me to lose my right for my recent designs and he paid me for my work.
“What are you going to be doing in Ogun for the next four days?” The CEO asked
“Hmm”- I said as if thinking.
“I have some suggestions”- He said
“I am very capable of showing myself around”- I said and entered the car.
“Fine, have fun and see you at Lagos next week”- He said
“Yep with my resignation letter”- I said then he gave a loud laugh.
“A visit from my past”
CHAPTER 13
ALBERT
Do you know what’s more annoying than plugging your phone before you go to sleep only to realize the next day that you didn’t put on the wall socket? it’s when you are trying to get a good night sleep and someone interrupts you, this is more annoying than when your girlfriend calls you just to tell you it’s over.
It was precisely 6:30 am in the morning when my phone started ringing.
“Hello”- I said with a sleepy voice after answering the call
“Ah Albert I hope I’m not waking you up”- A woman said at the other side of the phone.
“Madam Hadiza good morning”- I said
“How was your night?”
“It was fine until you ruined it”- I said and sat on the bed with my back resting on the wall.
“Sorry, don’t be angry, I have this fan at my house that’s giving me issues, are you free so that you will come and fix it?”- Madam Hadiza asked then I yawned- “Hello? Albert?”
“Yeah, I’m free... I will come”
“You will come or you are coming?”
“Okay I’m coming, I’m coming”- I said standing up from my bed quickly
“Albert let your I’m coming be I’m coming, because I know you, you have a language of your own”
“Madam Hadiza I’m coming”- I said taking off my clothes to take a bath.
“And please be quick”- She said then I hanged up the call and wore myself a towel.
If it was on normal days, I would have turned down Madam Hadiza’s offer because I knew her, she was just inviting me to her house so that she could ask me questions about my life. On that day my pocket and bank account were dry of funds, so I had no choice- Sometimes I ask myself “Why must man hustle? Why must man break his back and at the end get a loaf of bread? Why can’t life just be easy?”- I hated going to the street Madam Hadiza house was located, the reason was because that street held much memories. I had a friend who used to live at that street-Ife street. Ife street has changed over the past few years, they are a lot of new faces too, people with different ‘wahala’
When I stopped at Madam Hadiza’s house, I knocked on her door and when she opened her door, I met her frowning face.
“Albert, I’ve start understanding this your language. When you said you are coming now-now, what you actually mean is twelve o’clock”
“You know how hard it is to get a keke these days plus traffic nah another wahala”- I said but her face was expressionless, like she didn’t care. I guess even she too knew I was lying.
“No be keke I deh see plenty for road?”
“Where’s the fan?”- I asked because I wasn’t there for her trouble. She chuckled and opened the door for me to come in.
After fixing the fan, I signaled Madam Hadiza’s youngest son, Mr. Zaki to put on the fan and after he switched it on, the fan started spinning properly.
“Nice”- Mr. Zaki said with a nod.
“Sir, please can you tell your mother I’m done?”- I said coming down from the ladder I was standing while Mr. Zaki went to call his mother.
Madam Hadiza was a rich woman, why? Because she married a rich man. All her sons were far older than I was, including her youngest son Mr. Zaki. Madam Hadiza was my mother’s best friend since when they were in secondary school and when my mother passed away, she took it upon herself to take care of me, even though I didn’t want her to. One thing I loved about her house was the artworks that rested on the walls. Her husband was a fan of art and he changed the artworks on the wall from time to time.
The door behind me opened to review Madam Hadiza and her son.
“The fan is working now, thank God”- Madam Hadiza said with a sigh of relief.
“Yep”- I said and moved my eyes to look at the fan that was working like it should.
“Soo Albert… How much is your money?”- Madam Hadiza asked
If I did the work for someone other than Madam Hadiza, I would have requested something like ‘Five Thousand Naira’ but since it was Madam Hadiza we are talking about, I decided to say.
“Ten-Thousand-naira ma”- I said backing my backpack.
“Ten Thousand?! Albert Ten Thousand is too much abeg”
This is the problem I had with rich people; they complain that people are over pricing them and the truth is they are right.
“It’s because of you I called that price sef, if it’s another person only God knows”- I said then Madam Hadiza started tapping her phone. After some seconds I received an alert on my phone.
“That’s Twelve Thousand”- Madam Hadiza said before I could reach my phone to see the alert. I knew I should have charged her more than the amount I told her.
“Thank you”- I said and started walking away.
“Em… Albert”- Madam Hadiza called
“Yes?”- I said and turned backwards to look at her and her son.
“Are you leaving so soon?”
“I have other work to catch up with”- I lied, I thought this excuse would make her allow me go.
“Albert, kindly join us for dinner please”- Madam Hadiza said with a smile on her face then I moved my eyes to look at her son face who nodded at me to accept his mother’s offer.
xxxxxxx
Some few minutes later and I was at the dining table with them, in front of me was a plate of rice, sprinkled with a stew that scented so heavenly and a huge lap of meat that was by the side. I wished that was something I ate on a normal basis and not the garri I was addicted to.
“Albert how has work been going?”- Madam Hadiza asked then I stopped eating.
Here she goes with the questions.
“Uhm… Not bad”- I said and continued eating. We were silent for a while but Madam Hadiza interrupted the silence by saying.
“Your birthday was two days ago, Albert. Why did you refuse coming to my house to celebrate it?”
“Because I was busy, sorry”- I said and dropped my spoon.
“Albert, there’s something I have to tell you”- Madam Hadiza said.
That didn’t come as a surprise, she always had something to tell me
“Okay”- I said and moved my eyes to look at her son who was staring at me.
“My son and I were having a conversation the other day about your education”- Madam Hadiza said then I sighed out loudly.
“What about my education?”- I asked and continued eating
“What is your plan for the future Albert? Is school in the picture? Or…?”- Madam Hadiza asked but I was silent for a while, still eating.
“It is”- I finally said – “And I have told you this before”
“Albert you are a very smart and intelligent young man”- Her son started- “You are very good with computers”
“What’s that thing he said he likes again? Pro-gambling?”- Madam Hadiza interrupted her son.
“It’s programming”- I corrected her and chuckled
“I know how much you love what you do and that’s why I want you to go to school and study for a while”- Mr. Zaki said
“I’m already good at what I do”- I said quickly
“I know but you know how the country is these days, you might be a guru at something but they will still ask you about your school certificates”- Mr. Zaki said and continued- “When you are done with the University, you don’t have to worry about looking for a job. I will personally link you to a tech company”
“Albert, you have to leave Ogun. You have to see new faces, see new places, the world is far bigger than just Ogun and who knows maybe you might fall in love, get married and start a family. I’m sure your mother would want that; I would want that…”- Madam Hadiza was saying
“Please don’t remind me of my mother”- I interrupted
“Albert you are not getting any younger, you are a man now, a twenty-five years old man. You need to buckle up and get yourself back up”- Madam Hadiza said then her son’s phone started ringing.
“It’s my wife, I have to take this call”- Mr. Zaki said and left the dining table, leaving I and his mother alone.
“Albert what’s bothering you? You are holding on to your hurts, why is your chest so heavy for you to carry?”- Madam Hadiza said with a sweet and motherly voice but I was silent, every appetite I had for eating suddenly vanished and the only thing I could think of was the very thought I didn’t want to remember.
“I know you don’t know this story but when your mother was alive, she told me that she doesn’t mind selling all of her wrappers just to make you live a good life, just to see you happy. She told me your happiness is everything she will ever want”- Madam Hadiza said and cleaned a tear that escaped her cheek.
I cleaned my cheek also and sniffed
“Who am I making proud then?”- I asked
“Hmm?”
“None of it matters anymore… I know I have grown; I know I’m a man now but one thing people don’t know about me is, I may look like a man but inside I’m that little Albert you knew, the only difference with me and that Albert is that he was happier. No disrespect Madam Hadiza but you don’t know me, you don’t know what’s wrong with me”- I said
“Then tell me, what’s wrong with you?”- Madam Hadiza asked with a whispering voice.
“I miss her… I miss her a lot and I know I’m supposed to act like my age. Be a man, they say but I can’t breathe well without her… without her in my life I want to die, without her here with me, nothing makes sense. “- I said with a crying voice- “And I thank you Madam Hadiza for taking care of me, all these years. You are a good friend; you are like a mother to me too and I know you are just trying to help me”
“Albert, you know I love you”- Madam Hadiza said and placed her hand on the back of my right hand- “And I want the best for you”
“I want the best for me too but this pain has glued to my brain. I might be doing something now and with a snap of a finger, my mind would just shift and I will become distracted. This second I’m happy, the next I’m sad”- I said and sobbed silently, Madam Hadiza joined me too.
“Well… Do you want to be happy?”- Madam Hadiza asked with a crying voice
“Can you help me to be happy again?”- I asked and cleaned my cheeks
“Will you be willing to let me?”- She asked then I was silent for a while.
“Please don’t get mad at me over the years, I’ve not been myself and I just need my space”- I finally said
“I’m not mad my son, I understand”
“That means you will understand when I tell you I have to go right now”- I said and stood up slowly from the chair I sat- “And thank you for the meal, it was delicious”
“You are welcome”- Madam Hadiza said then her son appeared
“Albert you are leaving?”- Mr. Zaki asked
“Yes, and I will think about what you said”- I said with a sad voice and left the house.
When I came outside, the skies were darker and the time on my phone read eight o’clock in the evening. On normal days, I would have used a tricycle home but that day, I decided to walk, to explore the Ife Street that held so much memories, walking helped my chest to be free from a lot of things.
I kept walking till I stopped at the land my childhood friend used to live. On that land used to be erected a storey building, but I guess the owner of the land sold it and the person who bought it decided to destroy the building and leave the land filled with bushes and the remains of the storey building.
I kept looking at the land which now lay in ruins and the memories of my childhood flooded my mind. I remembered Helen, I always do and sometimes I wondered if she’s okay. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t know when a woman walked and stood next to me by my right-hand side.
“What happened here?”- The woman next to me asked, snapping me back to my reality.
“It got sold, I guess”- I said and moved my eyes to my right to look at her. She had a purple long hair and wore black sunglasses.
“Now it just looks like something from a horror movie”- The young lady said then we were silent for a while.
“My childhood friend used to live here”- I said and sighed
“I use to live here too, as a child”- The lady said
“I haven’t seen her ever since”- I said and sniffled
“Are you okay?”- The lady asked
“Yeah”- I said trying to control myself
“Well I bet your friend is okay”
“I like to imagine it like that too”- I said
“See you some other time, stranger”- The lady said and started walking away
“Wait!”- I called then she stopped walking- “What’s your name?!”
“The name is Helen”- She said and continued walking.
“It was nice speaking to you, Helen”- I said but she was too far away to hear me. I turned to my left and continued walking, that was when it dawned on me.
Wait, did she just say her name was Helen? And did she say she use to live at that abandoned land? - I asked myself and turned backwards to look at her but I couldn’t see her. I ran to the direction she took and used my eyes to look for her but she was nowhere to be found.
“Helen!!”- I called but nothing.
When I finally decided to give up and go home, I found her entering a black Toyota land cruiser Prado car, so I boarded myself a taxi and told the driver to follow her car.
CHAPTER 14
HELEN
I sat on a chair close to the window, making plans on how I will end Hillary Johnson my next target when suddenly my phone started ringing. It was an anonymous number calling and I knew immediately it was trouble.
“Hello Helen”- A voice too deep to be a human being said at the other end of the phone.
“Who’s this?”- I asked
“Your worst nightmare”- The voice said and gave a wicked sinister laugh.
“Who is this?”- I asked again
“I know what happened at the blues spot club, I know what you did”- The anonymous caller said- “I have one of your friends here with me, she told me her name is Fatima. Fatima say hi to your friend”
“Helen, run”- I heard Fatima say tiredly.
“What do you want from me?”- I asked
“I want you dead for what you did to Tosin Ade”
“Run!!”- I heard Fatima scream.
“But first, I will have to put sweet Fatima over here to sleep”- The anonymous caller said
“Fuck you!”- I heard Fatima said and as soon as she finished her sentence, I heard a loud gunshot that made me shook with fear.
“There… your friend is now where she belongs. I know where you are Helen, you cannot run from me, I know your family. I will take everything from you like how you took everything from me, but yours won’t be so quick, it will be slow and painful and trust me when I say I will love every single moment of it. Expect me Helen because I will come visiting you soon”- The anonymous caller said and hanged up the call.
As soon as the call ended, I heard a knock on my door behind me, this made me shook with fear again. I picked up my pistol from the table I was resting my hands on, then I stood up slowly and walked cautiously to the door.
“Maybe it’s the wrong house, no it can’t be nah. What is wrong with me sef?”- I heard someone saying by the door.
I held the door knob and waited for a while, then the person knocking gave up and started walking away. I hid my gun at the back of my trouser and opened the door quickly.
“Who are you looking for?”- I asked then the tall fellow with dreadlocks stopped walking and turned backwards to look at me- “I’ve seen you before”
“We met close to the abandoned land, remember?”- He said with a smile on his face.
“Are you following me?”- I asked
“No-no”- He said
“Then what is it?”- I asked- “I don’t have any money to give you”
“I’m not here to beg you”- He said smiling widely this time
“Talk sharp abeg”- I said hoping he gives me a reasonable reason for why he was knocking on my door by that time, because after the call I just had, if he failed to produce a reason, he might not live to see the next day.
“You said your name was Helen”- He said quickly
“So?”- I asked
“My name is Albert”
“I don’t give a fuck what your name is and no you can’t have my number, I’m not a whore”- I said and started walking back to the door.
“You don’t remember me?”- He asked then I stopped walking and turned backwards to look at him.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are”
“Do you by any chance have any friend as Albert when you were a child? If yes, this is him speaking to you and if no… if no then I’m sorry for disturbing you”- He said and started walking away.
“Albert”- I called then he stopped walking- “Is that really you?”
He turned backwards to look at me then we were silent for a while looking at each other’s face.
“Helen”- He said with a smiling face- “You are… alive”
“You have grown”- I said then he laughed.
“It’s really you, look at you”- He said with excitement- “Oh my God, I knew this day would come”
“Albert”- I said
“Yes?”
“You have to go”- I said and sighed
“Why nah? we just met”- He said this time less happy.
“This isn’t a goodtime, maybe some other time”- I said
“Oh… Okay”- He said and started jogging away- “See you tomorrow?”
“No, not tomorrow”- I said but he was far away for him to hear me- “Or ever”
I went back inside and continued with my plans but the thought of Albert and the threat from the anonymous caller kept interrupting my thinking. I was in trouble and someone was hunting me. At that point, I became the hunter and the hunted. Whoever that person may be, I will be waiting, because no one was going to stop me from achieving my revenge, even if I die trying. The only problem I had was Albert, the more he was seen with me, the more of a target he became.
xxxxxxx
Early the next morning, I drove the Toyota Prado car I rented from a company and stopped at Hillary Johnson’s house. When he finally came out, I wore myself my black sunglasses and followed his car. After driving for minutes, he stopped his car at an orphanage home, two bare chested muscular men were waiting for him and as soon as he parked his car, they helped him to bring down the two bags of rice from his car trunk.
I took my sniper gun quickly and aimed at Hillary Johnson from my car.
“Sleep tight”- I said and placed my finger at the trigger but before I could pull the trigger, a Muslim woman hawking groundnut obstructed my view- “Which kind witch be this?”
When the woman finally left, Hillary Johnson was nowhere to be found. I moved my eyes and found his car on the road. I started my car quickly but before I could get close to him, he made a left turn and his car went missing.
“Shit, shit”- I found myself saying angrily.
That evening when I drove back to my apartment, I saw Albert sitting on my corridor waiting for me. I came out of the car and slammed the door.
“There she is”- Albert said standing up.
“Albert what are you doing here?”- I asked angrily.
“Good evening to you too”- Albert said then we were silent for some seconds.
“Do you think this is a joke? Is this a joke to you?”
“I don’t understand”- Albert said
“Albert you are not supposed to be seen with me!!”
“Why?”- Albert asked with a calm voice then I slapped my head in disappointment.
“I’m happy to see you too, I really am but I am not the Helen of ten years ago”
“Are you pushing me away?”- Albert asked and shook his head in disgust- “Is it because now you have acquired wealth or what that now you see me like a pile of garbage? You forget that it is from the slums both of us grew up from”
“How do I explain this to you… How do I… How can I tell you without hurting you? I don’t know how I can make you leave me alone… Albert, leave me alone!!”- I said and met his offended eyes.
“This isn’t coming from you Helen…. Is this how you are now? A jerk?”- Albert said with a loud and angry voice.
“Albert”- I said hoping to calm him down.
“Do you know how my life have been since the day you disappeared for no reason? Have you asked me about my mother? Or your mother? Do you know how your mother is coping? No tell me, when last did you speak to your mother? Helen I’m speaking to you!!”
“I don’t know okay”
“Why? Why don’t you know?”- Albert asked then I itched my forehead, I didn’t have an answer to his question- “Why did you leave Helen? Why?!”
“I don’t know how I will explain it and you will be okay with it”
“At least try nah”- He said this time with a lower tone in his voice.
“I can’t”- I said then we were silent for a while- “But I can tell you this. I have gotten myself in a lot of things I can’t easily get myself out of, and you being close to me is like someone playing with a grenade… I miss you so much Albert and I’m sorry for whatever pain I have caused all of you… I’m not telling you to leave me alone because I’m a jerk, I’m telling you to leave me alone because I care for you, please understand!”
Albert finally nodded and shielded his chest with his hands.
“Okay, I will leave”- He started then I sighed out of relief- “But”
“But what? What do you mean but?”
“We will make a deal, I need one wish and after you grant my wish, I will disappear from your life”
“And what can this wish be?”- I asked then he smiled.
Some few minutes later, we were in my car heading to a place called “The Milky way”. When I was a child, there was this empty land I and Albert use to meet almost every evening. We called that land “The Milky Way”, because at nights you can see the stars perfectly.
When we finally arrived, I was the first to come out of the car. The empty land wasn’t so empty anymore, a big restaurant now erected on the land.
“Mallam Ibrahim sold the land three years ago”- Albert finally said as if reading my confused gaze.
Mallam Ibrahim was the owner of the land, as a kid he once told me he would give the land to me if he passed away. This is because I always kept him company and I always loved staying at the land as if it was mine. Sometimes I and Albert would help him clear the weeds with herbicide every time the weeds sprung up. We even created something to sit on out of woods and on that seat, we would sit together and just look at the stars.
“What did they do to this place?”- I asked and followed Albert to the direction of the entrance. Two security men were guarding the gate and when they saw us, they greeted and opened the gate for us to go in.
“I like it when this place used to be just for us”- Albert said then I followed him to a small seat made out of woods. The same seat we created a long time ago.
The seat was a little bit far from the restaurant itself and the environment where it was, was quiet and lighted by street lights.
“This seat is still here?”- I asked and sat next to Albert
“Yeah Mallam Ibrahim told them to leave it”
“Why?”- I asked
“Maybe because I might have told Mister Ibrahim not to allow them destroy it”-Albert said then we were silent for a while looking at the big moon in front of us.
“Do you still come here?”- I finally asked
“Yeah, sometimes. When I’m free… the sky is so beautiful at this place”
“Yeah, it’s nice being here… it brings back good memories”- I said
“I know right?”- Albert said then we chuckled.
We sat silently for a while listening to the crickets sing.
“Who knew time would move so fast?”- I finally said and breathed out loudly
“Maybe it’s a good thing, who knows?”- Albert said then we grew silent again
“Albert I’m being a bad friend if I don’t ask you about your mother”
“She… she died”
“Oh… wow”
“Yeah, two years ago from a car accident”
“I’m very sorry to hear that”
“Only God knows the type of pain that still brews in my heart”- Albert said
“I know how you feel, that feeling hurts a lot”- I said then we grew silent again
“I remember when we will come here just to look at the stars”- Albert finally said
“Yeah, I remember too”- I said and sighed
“It’s possible our past is sitting here, looking at the same stars we are looking at”- Albert said
“Looking at some stars is like looking at the past, you once taught me that”- I said and looked at him to see him smiling.
“Yeah, I guess I did… sometimes I wonder, if little Albert knows his future what would he do?”
“I still remember how Mallam Ibrahim would chase you around with a whip”- I said then Albert snort a laugh.
“That happened once, just once”- Albert said laughing then I chuckled and cleaned a tear from my left eye quickly before Albert notices.
“We really had a hell of a childhood”- I said with a sad voice.
“Yeah”- Albert said and sniffled then he took his phone from his right pocket- “Do you mind if I play some music?”
He finally dropped his phone close to me and a song titled “On my mind” by Leona Naess started playing and as the song wept, a part of me wept with it, for on that same day was someone’s birthday. That someone was in another world that was completely out of reach. That someone was my late sister.
“I almost forgot, today is supposed to be my late sister’s birthday”- I said and met his eyes.
“I’m sorry”- He said then I used my right hand to clean my eyes.
“It’s okay”- I said trying to control myself from crying but my eyes failed me. He kept looking at me as if unsure of what to say, then he cleared his throat and said
“Do you want to dance?”- Albert asked
I cleaned my eyes quickly with the back of my right hand
“Dancing is for stupid people”- I said then Albert stood up
“Then let’s be stupid for one night, what’s the worst that can happen?”- He said and stretched his right hand for me.
I took his hand and stood up. He placed his hands on my waist then I placed mine on his shoulders, he smiled, a very warm smile that almost reached his ears.
“What happened to your hair?”- I asked then he chuckled
“You like it?”- He asked
“It’s not bad”- I said and smiled briefly.
We were silent moving to the sad songs playing from Albert phone.
“Albert you deserve the truth, I… I left because”- I was saying then he interrupted me by saying.
“Shh… that’s not why we are here remember?”
“Why are we here then?”- I asked
“To say goodbye”- Albert said with those sad eyes hiding in his dreadlocks.
“It’s funny this is our way of saying goodbye”
“After today we both leave each other’s lives. So, let’s make today one to remember”- Albert said then we were silent again dancing slowly- “No matter what, this place will be just for us”
I rose my eyes up to look at the stars that hung in the sky.
“It makes sense now, maybe this place was never meant to be just for us”- I said
“Why did you say that?”- He asked then I dropped my eyes to look at his face
“Because the milky way isn’t created to house just two heavenly bodies”- I said
“Yeah, maybe you are right”- Albert said looking up to see the stars
“Just like how the milky way house billions of stars”- I said
“We are among the infinite number of stars”- Albert said
“Yeah… it’s the same with us too, maybe we were never meant to be”- I said then he sighed and nodded.
We didn’t spend much time at the ‘Milky Way”, we found our self in my car again, this time I was driving Albert to his house following his directions. When I finally stopped the car, we became silent, we both knew that day was the last time we were going to see each other.
I sighed and said
“I guess this is goodbye Albert”
“Goodbye Helen”- He said and left the car- “I can show you my door if you want”
I came out of the car and followed him. At his compound was a dog chained to the wall, as soon as the dog spotted us, it started barking.
“Don’t mind that dog jareh, she behaves like she can fight but cannot do anything”- Albert said then we continued walking.
Albert lived at the first floor of the building, so I followed him and stopped at a door he called his house.
“It’s so quiet here”- I said
“Yeah, it’s a new apartment and they are few people living here”
“Let me guess, you are the only one living at the first floor”- I said
“Yeah, it’s very lonely here”
“Why?”- I asked
“No much neighbors”
“Enjoy it now because when this place start getting crowded you will start making plans of finding a new home”- I said then he laughed a little.
We were silent again looking at each other’s eyes. He breathed out loudly as if pouring out all his sadness.
“How do I say this Helen? I’m really going to miss you”- Albert said and sprayed his hands to hug me but I went backwards away from his hands.
“I’m not a hugger”- I said
“Don’t say no”- He said with a smiling face and hugged me, I hugged him back- “There you go, much better”
We stayed that way for a while and a part of us wished we could stay a little bit longer.
“I… uh… I have to go”- I said and released ourselves- “I know this is goodbye but I want to see you again”
“There’s a saying that no one ever says goodbye unless they want to see you again… I wish we don’t have to say goodbye”
“Yeah me too but it’s for your own good… I’m not disappearing from your life that easy, I’m still watching you, I guess that’s the highest I can do, watch”- I said and started walking away.
When I reached my apartment, I started preparing for tomorrow. The day when I get hold of my second prey. I arranged my guns in my backpack and listened to “Trouble maker” by Rema from my earphone as I smoked and drank hoping to silence the voices that screamed in my ears.
xxxxxxx
The next morning, I arrived at Hillary Johnson’s church. I wore myself a long and stylish hat together with a red robe and black boots. On my right hand was my black purse and on my eyes was my dark shades. I walked confidently into the church and the usher showed me where to sit with his hand.
“Thank you”- I said to the male usher then he smiled and walked away.
Hillary Johnson was standing at the altar preaching. On that same altar his wife and daughter sat on a stylish and comfortable chair behind him. He wore a neatly ironed suit and preached with energy. His congregation seemed to love whatever he was saying and they were cheering him as he preached their hearts, but I was just there waiting for the church to close.
It was a long Sunday service but finally the church closed and everyone was leaving.
“Excuse me ma but can I help you?”- A young girl around the age of sixteen asked me.
“I just need a word with the pastor”- I said then she nodded and left to meet the pastor.
When she met the pastor, they both exchanged words then she pointed at my direction as if showing the pastor who was looking for him.
The pastor shook hands with the members as they leave one by one and signaled his wife to go home without him. Finally, it was just I and him in the church. He walked closer to me and sat on a white plastic chair in front of me. It was very unusual for anyone to sit like that, he didn’t even turn to look at me.
We were silent for a while and I could hear his loud breathes.
“I was just fifteen when it all happened”- I started and took off my glasses- “Have you heard about the Teheran story?”
I asked but he was silent.
“I will take that as a no”- I said and continued- “Long time ago a rich and mighty king once walked in his garden with one of his servants. The servant cried that he had just encountered death, who had threatened him. He begged his master to give him his fastest horse so that he could make haste and flee to Teheran, which he could reach that same evening. The master consented and the servant galloped off on the horse. On returning to his house the master himself met Death, and questioned him, “Why did you terrify and threaten my servant?” “I did not threaten him; I only showed surprise in still finding him here when I planned to meet him tonight at Teheran” said Death”
When I finished narrating the story, he finally cleared his throat and said
“Early this morning the lord spoke to me. He told me my past sins will come haunting me, I know who you are and why you are here”- He was saying then I stood up angrily and placed a gun at the back of his head.
“What did she do to deserve such a cruel thing? Do you know the pain you and your friends have caused me!!?”- I asked but he was perfectly calm as if a gun wasn’t on his head.
“I understand how broken you are; it is written all over your face”- He said with his calm voice.
“Any last words then before you die?”- I asked
“Yes. Today is my daughter’s birthday and I would like you to celebrate with us”- He said
“How will your daughter feel then if you don’t show up for her birthday?”- I asked and cracked the gun.
“You need answers, don’t you?”
“Why are you still speaking? What’s wrong with me? Just shoot his head off!!!”- I said with a loud voice and held my head. My head was hurting, hurting so bad that my vision was getting blurry.
“I will tell you everything you need to know about that day”- He said
“Shut up!!”- I said pointing the gun back at his blurry figure
“Are you okay?”- He asked looking backwards to see me.
It was like I was high, maybe that’s because I was high. The world to me at that time was like a roller coaster and I was moving together with it.
“I can help you”- He said again with a kind voice.
“I said shut up!!!”- I said
My head was like a mining operation and everything around me became so blurry that I couldn’t see anything. I fainted.
The next thing I remembered was, I woke up on a couch and my body was covered with a blanket. I sat uprightly on the couch and the pain kicked in.
“You fainted”- Hillary Johnson said then I moved my head to my left-hand side. He was sitting on a chair facing the window. I searched myself hoping to find my gun with me but nothing- “Oh, I took your gun away if that’s what you are looking for”
“Where am I?”- I asked
“My house”- He said and turned backwards for me to see his face.
I stood up from the couch and took a lamp from a small table.
“I don’t need a gun to kill you”- I said
“What’s your name?”- He asked
“My name isn’t your concern, right now your concern should be if you will survive today or not”- I said walking closer to him holding the lamp firmly.
“That isn’t my concern, Helen”- He said then I stopped walking- “Helen, let’s make a deal. Allow me to witness my daughter birthday party and I will tell you anything you wish about what happened that night”
“How do you know my name?”
“Is it a deal?”- He asked ignoring my question
“And after you tell me?”
“Then it’s up to you to decide if I’m worth killing or not”- He said and stood up- “I will give you your gun then you can drive us to somewhere silent and pull the trigger”- He said and walked past me- “Come on, the party is about to start and please drop my lovely lamp”
Who was that man? And why couldn’t I end him? It was almost like he wanted to die, he was the first man I saw that in the eyes of death, somehow found a way to be calm, a way to remain fearless. I mean what’s the fun in that? What’s the fun in killing someone that isn’t even scared? I was so confused that I wanted to know how it would all end, so I dropped his lamp and followed him out of the room to where his dining room was.
At the dining room, his daughter and wife sat close to the dining table. The dining room was decorated with balloons and the balloons had the words” Happy 8th birthday Angela” splashed on them.
“She’s awake”- Hillary wife said with a smile on her face and continued- “How are you feeling now?”
“She sure looks better to me”- Hillary said before I could answer his wife. He took a seat and I stood there for a while watching them.
“Please sit, this isn’t an office that you will not seat unless you are told so”- Hillary said again then he and his wife gave a warm laugh.
I walked and sat next to his daughter.
“I thought this is a birthday party”- I said
“A party is exactly what’s going on right now”- Hillary said and chuckled.
“Our daughter over here is almost allergic to people”- Hillary’s wife joins
“Is that right? She looks like the quiet type sef”- I said and smiled
“When we gave birth to her, she didn’t cry and growing up she has been unusually mute”- Hillary wife said.
“You know I wish I’m more like your daughter”- I said
“Why is that?”- Hillary asked
“There’s a lot of things you can learn from her”- I said
“Okay”- Hillary said with a nod as if interested in what I have to say next.
“Words are precious; they are like a treasure. We should speak only when we have to, only in issues that are worth talking about, not in useless talks that doesn’t bring up a reasonable conclusion”- I said then we were silent for a while, I moved my eyes to look at Hillary, he finally curved a smiled.
“That right there is wisdom”- He finally said
“Excuse me, let me get us something to eat”- Hillary wife said excusing herself to the kitchen, leaving I, Hillary and his daughter alone.
“Let me warn you, I am not the type of person that possesses the empathy trait”- I started and continued- “Even after all this, don’t be surprised when I pull the trigger. Just make sure you spend a good time with your daughter today”
Hillary’s wife brought the meal and placed them on the table. We prayed and ate the meal she served. Somehow, I trusted that Hillary wasn’t bad enough to tell his wife to poison my meal. After we finished eating, I watched Hillary and his wife sing their daughter a happy birthday song and I watched as little Angela blew her candle. Hillary danced with his daughter and gave her-her birthday gifts. The truth is, watching them made me smile, a real smile. Watching them left a hole in my heart, it broke me. I remembered when I was a child, an event that was nothing but mere memory. In that memory I was happy, I was like every other child my age.
“Darling, I have to go drop this visitor, okay? I promise to be back as soon as I can”- Hillary said to his child then the little child nodded with a smile on her face and wore back her birthday cap- “Ah, see how this cap makes you look like a princess”
Hillary said and stood up from the floor he was sitting with his daughter.
“I will be leaving now”- I said standing up from the couch I sat.
“Okay goodnight, may God be with you”- Hillary wife said sipping her cup of coffee as she sat on a couch.
“Thank you”- I said walking to the door
“And daddy please drive safe”- Hillary wife said then Hillary nodded and we walked out of the house and entered his car.
“You shouldn’t have promised your daughter that you will be back”- I said looking at the car window by my right.
“I know”- Hillary said and sighed. He started his car and drove to the road.
After driving for some minutes, he finally stopped at somewhere silent.
“I always fantasize myself dying close to a river”- He said and sat down on the ground. He tapped the ground by his right-hand side for me to sit down, I sat next to him then we were silent for a while looking at the river in front of us.
“Do you even love your family?”- I finally asked
“Why did you ask?”
“You are just going to allow me kill you?”
“Yeah, I mean isn’t that what you want?”
“It is but is that what you want?”- I asked then Hillary gave a loud laugh. It was later even I realized how stupid my question was.
“I know this day would come, exactly how I pictured it. You might not know this but after that night your sister died, her death has been haunting me. I believe whatever is meant to be, will be”- Hillary said and paused his lips.
The wind there was cool and gentle and the river in front of us was moving wherever the wind took it, the skies were getting cloudy and it looked like it was going to rain.
“At exactly June 12, 2003 by Seven 0’clock in the evening, I received a call from Tosin Ade to come to Michael’s house”- Hillary began his narration.
CHAPTER 15
Hillary Johnson
Ten years ago
I picked a ride quickly and went to Michael Henry’s house address. Tosin Ade and my other friend Michael was waiting for me by the door. I got down from the motorcycle and went to meet the both of them.
“Bad man”- Tosin Ade said with a big smile on his face and shook my right hand.
“I got your call, what do you mean by you have found a way to get money?”- I asked with a hint of happiness in my voice.
“Come inside”- Michael said and crossed his hand on my shoulder as we walked into the house.
When I was a boy, I made friends with rich kids, children whose parents were people of caliber. Unlike me who came from the slumps, Tosin Ade and Michael Henry fitted in that category of rich kids, we all met at the University of Lagos State. At first, I wasn’t the type of boy that would hang out with girls or go to a club, I wasn’t a boy who handled drugs but when I became their friend, I became use to that kind of life.
We were children who wanted money without working and cracking our backs, we wanted money and at all costs. If you asked us then what we would do with that money when we get it, you will realize most of what we will use that money for, will be for lavish reasons. It made more sense that a boy like me should be the one chasing money, but when it came to Tosin Ade and Michael Henry who already had money was quite a mystery.
When I got a call from Tosin Ade at my house, I rushed quickly to hear their update. The truth is, I knew I didn’t fit in but staying close to them was at that time, promising.
After we got inside Michael and Tosin kept telling me about a ‘baba’ they met who gave them a way to make quick money.
“Guy we don blow!”- Tosin Ade said and sat on the couch drinking cognac from a glass cup, from all of us he was the violent and rebellious one.
I helped myself on a couch in front of the one Tosin sat, Michael walked up to me and handed me a glass cup with whiskey in it.
“Bro remove leg from my table”- Michael said to Tosin then he dropped his leg from a wooden table.
“We don blow!!”- Tosin yelled this time with excitement and laughed.
‘Blow’, the word that can mean two things, positivity or negativity. It is either you blow in a good way or in a bad way and as a child who grew up in the streets of Nigeria, to blow is always a good thing, I wanted to blow and at all cost.
“You two should not keep me waiting nah, update me”- I said losing my patience.
“Yesterday we met a baba nah”- Michael said and sat next to me, when he said “baba”, I never thought what he meant was a ritualist.
“Baba keh”- I said and chuckled
“That bastard way put leg for my table link us to one baba like that”- Michael said
“Nah your papa be bastard”- Tosin Ade said and finished his cup of cognac.
“I still don’t understand”- I said then Michael tapped me twice on my left shoulder and stood up.
“Guy freshen yourself, tonight we will be multi- millionaires”- Michael said and walked to climb the stairs. Tosin stood up and followed him from behind leaving me alone at the living room.
I was so happy that I never stopped to ask them how the so called ‘Baba’ directed them on how they were going to get the money. I followed them upstairs and entered Michaels room. As soon as we entered Michael’s room, Tosin dived on Michael’s bed as if diving into a pool and kept moving his hands and legs as if he was making a snow angel.
“Michael why your bed sheet deh smell like shit?”- Tosin Ade said sniffing Michaels bedsheet and squeezed his face like he placed his nose close to a decaying body. Michael frowned his face and showed him his five fingers.
“You don forget say nah you shit on top?”- Michael said then I laughed and sat on the bed close to Tosin who was occupying most of the space.
I breathed out loudly and rested my back on the bed looking at the ceiling for a while then I moved my eyes to my left to look at Tosin whose eyes were already looking at me.
“Can you feel it?”- Tosin asked
“Feel what?”- I asked back then he inhaled and exhaled loudly.
“The cold wind already hitting your skin?”- Tosin started and closed his eyes- “It’s like paradise, can you see it?”
“Nope, the only thing I can see is Michael itching his buttocks”- I said then Michael scoffed and walked to his window tapping the keys of his blackberry phone.
“I can already see myself on a yacht, next to me is a sexy girl with bikinis and behind me is another who is massaging my shoulders”- Tosin said and smiled like he was already feeling the pleasure.
I moved my eyes this time to look at Michael who was looking at the outside through his glass window, I heard him speaking to Elizabeth, his girlfriend and invited her for a date at his house and promised her he had good news to tell her. As soon as Michael finished speaking to his phone, Tosin stood up from the bed and removed a black bag from under the bed and placed it on Michaels bed. Afterwards, I watched as they took out weapons from the bag and arranged them on the bed.
“What’s going on nah?”- I asked out of curiosity
“Guy chill”- Tosin Ade said to me and kept dropping the weapons from the bag. After they were done, we all lied down on the bed again looking at the ceiling.
“Since when una start do iron condemn?”- I asked
“Deh play”- Tosin said then Michael chuckled
We stayed that way for a while looking at the ceiling as if waiting for something exciting to happen then we heard a knock on the door.
“Guy your babe don lap”- I said to Michael with a whispering voice.
“Go open the door abeg”- He said to me.
“For watin? Nah my babe?”- I said and hissed
“Please and tell her to come here”- Michael said then I stood up and left the room to the living room to open the door.
As soon as I opened the door, I met the eyes of Elizabeth, who dressed beautifully almost as if she was getting married, she was smiling at first but when she saw me, her smile slowly drained.
“Hey”- I said to her
“Oh, it’s you Hillary”- She said with low enthusiasm in her voice- “Where’s Michael?”
“Oh, he’s at his room, he’s waiting for you there”- I said then she entered the house and walked up the stairs to meet her lover while I went to the toilet to ease my heavy stomach.
I inserted my earpiece into my ears as I excrete every waste that accumulated in my guts. After I was done, I washed my hands with soap and clean water and bathed my hands with hand sanitizers. I remember as a child my parents feared that I would suffer from OCD because of how I hated anything dirty.
When I got out from the toilet, I went straight to Michaels room to check out on the crew to discuss further about the good news.
“Why una loud music like this?!!”- I asked closing the door.
When I turned backwards to look at them, what I saw instead almost took my breath away. Fear, that word was written all over my face, it was like I was confronted by the devil himself and I was trying my best to control my breathing.
“Hillary, calm down”- Michael said to me with his bloody hands while Tosin Ade placed what looked like the head of Elizabeth in a sack bag.
The fear I was feeling made me to run out of the room, but Tosin Ade followed me from behind and grabbed me before I could leave the house.
“Somebody help!!”- I screamed then Tosin covered my mouth with his bloody hand.
“No go fuck our opportunity. Guy for once in your life, don’t be a weakling, if you shout and police see us, what do you think they will do to us hmm? As you no the think”- He said and released my mouth.
Michael Henry switched off the lights in his room and took the sack bag from the ground. They washed themselves and told me to do the same thing. I wore one of Michael clothes and some minutes later we entered Michael’s car with the hopes of meeting the ‘baba’ who asked for a human head. I was busy crying in the car, my heart was pounding. I knew I was in trouble and there was no way I would escape it.
“Both of you are fools, you guys did not plan this thing well”- I said
“Shut up jare”- Tosin Ade said and hissed- “As if you no go spend the money”
“Look Hillary, I know say you deh fear but listen we gat do this thing. After today you go forget all these things way you deh feel”- Michael said, I wonder if he thought what he said would make me feel better about the whole thing.
“How can you do that to someone you love?”- I asked by the backseat.
“I didn’t want to but later I had no choice. Sacrifices must be done, Hillary”- Michael said
“You guys are so stupid, you decided to kill her at your house, your own house!”- I said angrily at them then they both looked at each other simultaneously seeing the wisdom in what I just said.
“We go japa nau, it’s not that hard”- Tosin finally said
“Japa go where? Ah! I’m dead, I’m dead”- I said
“Hillary get yourself together because if we mess this thing up, we will be dead truly”
As we kept driving, the worst happened. In front of us stood some police men who were flashing their torchlight. Michael stopped the car immediately after a police man signaled him to stop with his hand.
“Where are you all off to this late?”- A police man asked
“My house officers”- Matthew said then the police man moved his eyes to look at the passengers in the car. By now it was like my heart was going to burst open my chest, but I was trying to look natural.
“And these are?”- The Officer asked
“My… My friends”
“Hmm I see but I have to check what’s in your boot sha”- The officer said and started walking to the car trunk.
“Officer you can’t check the trunk”- Tosin Ade said and came out from the car quickly.
“And why shouldn’t I check the trunk?”- The Officer asked
“Because… em… there’s something fragile in there”- Tosin Ade said then the police man looked at him for a while and hissed loudly, he grumbled about something as he walked to the trunk. When he finally arrived, he placed his chewing stick in his mouth and opened the trunk.
“What is this?”- The Officer asked
“It’s goat meat”- Tosin said
“Where are you all coming from again?”- The Officer asked
“The market sir”- Michael said coming out of the car
“Which market opens this late?”
“We first went to the market then we went to one of my guy house”- Michael lied then I slapped my head, I moved my head to look at them from the car window, the police man paused looking at the both of them with suspicious eyes. He finally cleared his throat and moved his hand to touch the bag but Tosin stopped him by saying.
“Officer what’s the meaning of what you are trying to do? Do you know who we are? Do you know who this young man is?”- Tosin asked referring to Michael.
“If it’s goat meat like you said, you wouldn’t mind if I have a look at it?”- The Officer said
“You can’t”- Tosin said
“Why?”- The Officer said then Tosin hissed
“Why we deh follow you talk? Officer it’s getting late; we have to go home as soon as possible”- Tosin said
“The only thing that’s making all of you to remain here is the both of you”
“Officer wait let me understand something, do you think we are criminals?”- Michael asked then the police man shrugged.
“You are the ones that’s making yourself suspicious, if you are not of a suspicious character you would have allowed me take a look in this bag and by now you guys would be home”
“Officer look you can’t, you are not respecting our privacy as citizens”- Tosin protested
“Tah!! shut up there!”- A tall police man who stood in a dark place with his colleague yelled.
I swallowed and kept breathing loudly, that day I understood that you don’t need to die to see your life flash before your eyes. I swore I saw myself as a child playing happily with my childhood friends. I moved my eyes to look at Michael’s face, I don’t need to be a mind reader to see defeat written in his eyes.
That was how we were caught and arrested by the police that day. At the police station we were allowed to make a phone call, we kept denying that we weren’t the ones responsible for the crime. Michael called his father and his father came right away to our rescue. When he heard what transpired, he knew it was a bad name to his political image and asked the Commissioner of police how he could clean his image and that of us, before the news of what we did escalated.
The commissioner of police told him he had an idea but it was a type of idea that involved Michael’s father losing millions of naira for bribe.
They took us to an undisclosed location to stay hidden for a while and when I say a while, I mean months. No one knew our whereabouts including I and Tosin parents, the only person who knew was Michaels father. A propaganda started that we were kidnapped and the police were looking desperately for the culprits.
On a special Monday afternoon, Michael’s father came to meet us at our undisclosed cell. He wore a black agbada and had a blue native cap on his head. The Commissioner of police was with him with his uniform.
“Here they are”- The commissioner said then Michael’s father opened the cell himself and signaled the Commissioner to leave with his hand.
He looked at each of our eyes for a while with distaste in his eyes and finally cleared his throat and said.
“Tosin can I ask you a question?”
“Yes sir”- Tosin answered with a nod innocently.
“Tosin is your father a wealthy man or not?”- He asked Tosin
“He is… sir”- Tosin said then the Honorable moved his eyes to look at his son.
“Michael, am I a wealthy man or not?”- He asked his son with Yoruba language.
“You are”- Michael answered back with Yoruba trembling, we were all trembling.
“Then why are all of you looking for money again? Michael you? I swear with my life, I will allow this police people beat all of you to stupor for this”- The Honorable said with an angry voice and continued- “Michael you think you can ruin my life? My career? Do you know how hard it is to be in my position?!!”
We were silent for a while, our bodies shaking out of fear. We weren’t wearing our shirts; we just had our trousers on.
“You all will suffer; you will all suffer for this!!. If you all were caught smuggling drugs, I know that one is a normal thing because I have bailed your sorry asses for that many times, but to kill somebody and no be any kind killing, to kill somebody in the way all of you did, is an offence that is punishable by death according to the Nigerian constitution”
“Sir please help us!”- I said crying
“Daddy please abeg, we will… I will never involve myself into this again”- Michael also begs.
“Please sir”- Tosin joins
We kept begging him and he just stood watching all of us.
“Shut up!!”- He yelled then we kept quiet- “Criminals… you all are lucky I found a way to kill this matter. All of you will be released today but you are not leaving here just like that. I lost millions because of the three of you and for that reason, these policemen must first deal with you people”- He said and left the cell.
We begged him as he left and it took me a while to realize we were being stupid for begging, why were we begging when he already told us we would be released? Was it the beating we were scared of or did we think we would escape without a little scar on our skin? To me, the beating was mercy, we deserved nothing more than death. I have no right to say I was innocent, because there’s a saying that goes, “A friend to a thief is also a thief”. I wasn’t innocent, I knew very well the people I called friends but I still continued to be their friend.
There’s a Yoruba proverb that says “An old man threat doesn’t go with the wind”, we were beaten brutally just like the Honorable said, we were beaten badly that I couldn’t even recognize my face, my eyes were swollen and my pupils hid inside like a snail in a shell. My face was bathed in blood and I couldn’t even get up. I thought mine was bad but when I saw Michael and Tosin, I realized whatever amount of beating I collected couldn’t compare with that of Michael and Tosin. After the police men were done dealing with us, I was the only one who managed to get up, Tosin and Michael was lying down on the floor like they were dead.
The police released us at around 1:30am in the morning so that we could meet our families, each of us entered different police vehicles and the police single handedly drove each of us to our various homes. I placed my bloody face on the car window looking at the police vehicles that contained Michael and Tosin, I kept breathing, that was the only thing I could do. I watched as their cars drove to different locations and the sound of police sirens echoed as we left. That was the last day I saw them face to face and I thanked God for that.
The police vehicle I was in, drove me straight to my father’s house and to my surprise my father and mother was waiting for me outside with an umbrella above their heads, shielding themselves from the rain.
“Who said life doesn’t serve people things on a golden platter anymore?”- The police man who was driving the car I was in said after stopping the car, his voice was deep and cold and he kept looking at me from the windscreen mirror. He put off the car engine with his key and laughed.
“This is a part of your life you will never forget, good luck with your life”- He said then my parents rushed to me and assisted me out of the car, shielding my head from the rain with the umbrella.
“Are you okay?”- My father asked me
“What kind of question is that? You can see he’s clearly not okay”- My mother said- “My son Thank God nothing happened to you”
“Sorry”- My father said as I churn in pain.
“God thank you oh”- My mother said looking upwards to see the stars.
“You have no idea, how much pain I and your mother has passed through”- My father said
“You must be very hungry, come on”
I never became a normal person after that day, they truly thought I got kidnapped but how could I tell them I wasn’t? Where do I start from? How do I start? I never told them the truth of what really happened, I decided it was better that way, only if we knew what people hide from us. I never forgave myself for what happened and sometimes I would think about Rebecca’s family, how much pain they would have been going through.
Two weeks later, I sat on my hospital bed watching the news. The policemen who stopped our car that night and found the bag were accused of the crime we committed and killed by their fellow policemen. They were also accused with kidnapping and the gruesome murder of Rebecca. They weren’t the only ones who were killed, they were others who the police tagged as “Accomplice to the crime”. The next time I saw Michael and Tosin was on TV, they were all grown up like I was and they were contesting for Governorship and Deputy Governorship positions. What surprised me the most was the fact that they won what they were contesting for.
CHAPTER 16
HELEN
After he finished narrating the story, I found myself crying uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry Helen, I’m very sorry”- He said and cleaned a tear from his cheek.
“Why?”- I said crying as I stood up.
“Now you are the judge, am I worth killing or not?”- Hillary said and gave me my gun
I cleaned my eyes quickly and placed the gun on his head. I tried to push every remorse away from my heart and allow my sister’s death to be my motivation.
“You are a good person Helen, never forget that”
“Goodbye” – I said and pulled the trigger.
When he opened his eyes and wondered why he wasn’t dead. He turned backwards and saw me at a distance walking away quickly to escape the rain that was about to fall.
Why did I spare his life you may ask? The truth is he was the first man I couldn’t kill. That day reminded me of the story ‘The capon’ told me. After ‘The capon’ finally found the person who killed his father, he found himself unable to pull the trigger. I wished someone was there with me to get the job done, just in case I couldn’t.
Some few minutes later, I entered my car that was still parked close to Hillary Johnson church, by now my clothes were wet because of the rain and the clouds was pouring down rain heavily. As soon as I entered the car, I couldn’t control my breathing, I was breathing loudly and the only thing that could make me feel better was my pills. I searched the car for my pills and when I found it, I used a table water to swallow it down. I waited for my head to calm down then I started the car and screamed loudly for the universe to hear.
I drove to Albert’s house and it was still raining. I rested my head on the car window looking at the building where Albert lived and the fun memories we had moved freely in my head.
Everything that is bound to time is prone to change, nothing, absolutely nothing will last forever. I hear couples all the time say, “I will love you forever” but how true is that? When the person who is saying it and the person who he or she is saying it to will not last forever? It’s funny how fast time can be, it’s funny how your life can suddenly change like a snap of a finger.
I remembered a quote by Satre which says, “The worst is yet to come” but what can be worst, more painful than the life I lived?
As soon as the thunder sounded loudly almost shaking the ground, my eyes met three men who wore black suits and dark sunglasses coming out from the building Albert lived and entered a car. I came out of my car and watched as they drove their car to the road. I ran quickly to Albert door and found his door slightly opened and inside his room loud music was playing.
I left quickly back to my car; I knew immediately that they have done something to Albert. I started my car and drove to the direction they followed. Luckily for me I caught up with them, I drove my car in such a way that their car was by my left-hand side and I could see all of them inside.
The road we were was a bridge and beneath the bridge was a small market. I picked my pistol gun and aimed through the car window, I first shot the person sitting next to the driver then I had a better view of the driver himself, I pulled the trigger and the bullet met the driver forehead. Their car was immediately out of control and they fell from the bridge to the market below. As soon as their car crashed, it exploded.
I went back to check on Albert, I climbed the staircase and finally stopped at Albert door. I opened the door slowly and saw Albert on the pool of his own blood.
“Albert no! no-no-no-no-no”- I found myself saying and placed his head on my laps. He was stabbed badly all over his body- “I’m sorry, I’m sorry this was all my fault”
I cried badly because the last person I considered family was gone and it was all my fault. The men must have followed us and knew where Albert lived. This only means one thing, someone was watching me, spying on me all along and somehow, I knew who.
CHAPTER 17
CAPON
Two hours later after Albert attack.
I have lived a long life, well not too long but long enough. As a child, I loved eating eggs. My mother once told me that if food could grow in a human stomach then my stomach will be a forest of eggs.
The skies were dark when I took two eggs from the crate and a fry pan to fry them. I was alone at home and my children were out of the house to only God knows where, leaving their old man all by himself.
“Jerry, Daniel…. Justin is that you?”- I asked because of the loud noise I heard in the living room but there was no response. I took a knife just in case and went to go check it out myself, leaving the eggs frying on the fry pan.
I walked cautiously to the direction of the living room and some few seconds later, I heard another noise, this convinced me truly that someone was trying to ambush me.
From behind me, someone grabbed my neck trying to strangle me but I used the knife I was with to stab his leg then he let go of me. In front of me suddenly appeared another man holding a gun and before he could fire at me, I used the other guy that got stabbed by the leg by me to shield myself from the bullets.
When I noticed that the man with the gun was reloading his gun, I quickly removed the knife from the leg of the dead man and threw it to the man reloading the gun. The knife got his throat and he feel down dead.
“If you know you are here, start coming out!!”- I yelled picking the gun from the man I killed, I reloaded it and started walking to the living room slowly. I knew the fight wasn’t over yet, it couldn’t be that easy. Anyone who was trying to attack me must have inquired who I was and what I was capable of doing. I mean the name “Devil in short nikka” wasn’t a nickname, I earned it.
When I got to the living room, I found two men standing with a gun and another was sitting down on a couch smoking a tobacco. As soon as they saw me, the one sitting down on my couch started clapping.
“Now I know why they call you the devil in short nikka”- The one sitting on the couch said and stopped clapping.
“Get out of my house at once!”- I yelled angrily
“But we just got here nah, why your blood deh hot?”- He said and laughed sinisterly.
“What do you want? Who are you?”
“That is an intelligent question”- He said then we were silent for a while. He finally stood up and continued with what he was saying- “One of your pikin don go chew something forbidden”
“That one nah lie, I know watin all my pikin fit do”- I said
“I won ask you question…. If person pikin go find another pikin trouble, I think that pikin go run go report to his or her mama or papa ahbi? But what about no be the pikin trouble e look for, what about nah the papa or mama themselves? Tell me oga, I know say you wise well-well, watin you expect that pikin parents to do?”
“They go take actions for their hand”- I said still pointing the gun at all of them.
“This man, you truly commot from ghetto”- He said and laughed – “One of your seeds nai make us come visit you today”
“Which one?”- I asked as if not knowing.
“The one called Helen ahbi?”- He said and continued- “As you no fit control your pikin, we go teach you how to. Boss man, your cup don full, today nah your day!”
He was saying then I started laughing.
“You know how many people don tell me that thing? And yet see me stand the talk to you”- I said then he frowned and motioned his men to end me.
Before they could shoot me, I shot one of them at his head. The other one shot me on my stomach and before I could shoot him, their boss shot me by my right hand. I screamed loudly and shot the second man, leaving I and their boss as the last contender. Before he could shoot me again, I slapped the gun off his hand and gave him a great nod, this made him to fall down. I picked his own gun from the floor and pointed it at him.
“Haven’t you heard? Those who kill by the sword, dies by the sword”- I said and pulled the trigger.
I took off my clothes and saw my bleeding stomach, the pain was unbearable. I churned in pain as I staggered to the kitchen; there I found my eggs on the fry pan awfully burnt.
“Shit”- I said and picked some new pair of eggs.
I get it now, ‘The one fate’ initiation wasn’t true. You cannot rewrite someone’s fate or even yours. Your life is in your hands and your actions create different possibilities. Life is sad at times; can’t we at least have power over how we die or how we look when we die? Sometimes you die and they wear you the cloth you hate most. I didn’t want to be a victim of that, so I went to my office and wore my favourite suit together with my favourite glasses. I sat on my office chair and placed my plate of eggs next to me, running out of blood. I sat and began to think of the life I lived, ‘I didn’t die like my father, after all’ but if you come to think of it, I did. I tore away a sheet of paper and wrote my last words to my sons.
CHAPTER 18
DANIEL
A terrible thing occurred to me on a Monday morning, so terrible that it can’t be forgotten. I remember leaving one of my girlfriend’s house to my house. When I came home, I parked my car quickly because there were a large number of vehicles and people in my compound.
“What’s going on here?”- I asked a man but he didn’t say anything, his face was mixed with sadness and anger as he went to enter his tricycle.
I ran to my house and saw the large crowd in the living room.
“Who are you guys?”- I asked slamming the door shut behind me. Justin walked up to me with his wet cheeks.
“Daniel”- He said with a crying voice.
“Justin, watin the sub? Why you deh cry? Who be this people?”- I asked and placed my right hand on his shoulder.
“Papa”- He finally said
“Watin do papa?”- I asked
“Capon… Capon don die”- Justin said and burst into tears.
I looked at him with an eye of disbelief for a while then my eyes met Jerry, who was standing close to the staircase with his hands folded and his back resting on the wall. I left Justin and walked to meet Jerry.
“Jerry, where papa?”- I asked then he motioned his fingers upstairs. I climbed the stairs and entered his office. My father was sitting on his chair and he wore his favourite suit and glasses. The way he was sitting and the way he looked was hard to imagine him dead. I stood in front of his corpse and behind me Justin and Jerry entered the office.
“We found this letter on his table, he wanted you to have this”- Jerry said then I turned backwards to look at them. He was stretching a white sheet of paper to me. I took it from his hand and started reading it.
“Daniel if you are reading this, I want to let you know that this war isn’t yours. Do not avenge me, you and your brother should stay away from this. I know I have trained you my whole life for this moment, to lead my gang but all I’ve believed in was a lie. From now hence forth, my trusted friend Yakubu will be the leader of my gang, he will be the one to avenge me not you. I wrote a separate letter for him telling him exactly what to do and who did this to me.
My sons, I don’t want any of you to be like me anymore, you cannot bear the same fate with me. Because our fates are different, even though it shares some similarities. I want you all to live a good life and I want you to look for Helen before it’s too late because she’s in a lot of trouble. Behind this letter is her address in Ogun and other necessary information you need to know in order to find her.
Good bye my sons, until we meet again.”
As soon as I finished reading the later, I grew angry and held Jerry by his neck, choking him to the wall.
“Where were you, where were all of you?!!”- I yelled angrily.
“Let… go… of… me”- Jerry said with his choking voice
“I swear I will kill you!”- I yelled
“What are you doing?!! Imagine father is alive right now, do you think he will be happy seeing you do this?!”- Justin said behind me.
“It’s both your fault!”- I said
“It’s all our fault! Now let go of him”- Justin said then I released him. He started coughing immediately.
I turned backwards to look at my father’s corpse once more and a tear escaped my left eye.
“Ah! Who do you this thing?”- I said and made a fist with my hands- “That person must die”
“The devil in short nikka, no body go do you this thing go scot free”- Jerry said behind me.
“Jerry!!”- I called
“I deh here!”- Jerry answered
“Justin!!”
“Boss”- Justin answered
“Today nobody go chop… nobody go chop, they no born you well make you chop, una hear me?!!”- I said with an authoritative voice.
“Yes”- They all replied in unison.
“What does the letter say?”- Justin asked behind me
“Jerry and Justin papa want us to look for Helen, Helen is in trouble”- I said and turned backwards to look at their faces- “Jerry you are more fit for the job than Justin, park your things at once and protect her”
Jerry gave a nod with his head and left the room.
“Are you the leader of the gang now?”- Justin asked
“No…”- I started, walking away from him- “None of us are”
That day nobody ate, including the members of my father’s gang. It was a great loss for all of us. That night all of us gathered at the living room listening to General Yakubu plans.
My father was attacked on a Sunday night by a group who went by the name ‘The black vipers’. My father recognized the group because of the tattoo they had on their necks.
According to Yakubu, before my father died, he called him to come to his house at once and when he came, he disposed the bodies. He gathered his squad after reading the letter my father wrote for him. Nobody was allowed to eat or sleep until the group who did that to my father, dies.
It makes perfect sense that my father would make Yakubu the leader of his gang, Yakubu was a heartless man, a man so cold and experienced with what he does that makes him a perfect candidate of leading the gang.
That night, Yakubu made alliance with other cult groups and they promised to fight by his side. That night a large number of people went out to avenge my father. The streets of Lagos state went upside down and everyone was scared to come out. I just stood and watched as they leave my father’s house in large number to avenge my father’s death. The police mounted at different streets that was known for violent activities in order to stop the chaos that was about to unfold.
CHAPTER 19
HELEN
I sat on a chair close to the window arranging my guns, I couldn’t stop myself from crying. The sorrow was too much for me to bear.
As I kept arranging my guns, I felt a gun at the back of my head.
“I promised you I will come meet you”
“I was waiting for you, Ayo”- I said
“The name is Ayomide and how did you know?”
“I suspected you must have seen Fatima giving me a gun when I entered the room. Some few minutes later after you left the room, the club was under attack, so you left to fight back but when you saw that things were going out of hands, you ran away from the club”
“I saw you when you were leaving the club. They didn’t shoot at you, it only meant that you were part of the scheme”
“You know I have been waiting for you more than you were waiting for me”- I said and continued mantling and arranging my guns.
“Stop what you are doing at once!!”- He yelled
“Ayo, if I do not kill you today call me bastard”- I said and dropped the last gun I mantled on the table.
“Not if I kill you first”- He said then my eyes met the window glass. His finger was going for the trigger but before he could pull it, I moved my head away from his gun quickly and he ended up shooting the window.
I stood up quickly and slapped the gun he was pointing at me away from his hands. He picked a ceramic jug and slammed it on my head. This made me to fall.
He rose me up and gave me a punch to my face, I threw my hand to punch him but he grabbed it and punched me again, this time successfully bursting my nose.
“So, you can bleed this quick?”- Ayomide said and threw a punch at me but I held his hand and gave him a great nod at his face. He used his left hand to hold my hair then I nodded his face again, this made him to let go of my hair.
I held his other hand and kept nodding him till both our faces became bathed in blood.
“You are nothing but a boy”- I said and nodded his face for the last time. He fell down and when I threw a karate kick at him, he grabbed my left leg and gave me an elbow on my bloody face. He held me by my hair and shattered the high glass table with my face.
“Who is a boy now?”- He asked watching me as I churn on the floor out of pain.
“Why. Do. You. care so much?”- I asked standing up, holding my stomach.
“Because the person you killed was not just my boss but my father… he picked me from the streets and made me his son, he gave me everything, everything then you killed him. I will have to kill you too!”- He said
“Don’t just stand there, give me all you got boy”- I said and spitted out my bloody saliva. He yelled angrily and ran to my direction. I rose him from the ground and slammed us on another glass table. I picked him from the floor quickly, holding him by his collar and placed his back on the wall for him to look at my furious eyes.
“You made a mistake attacking that boy, that is the biggest mistake you have made in your life”- I said then he curved a big smile to review his bloody teeth.
“How does it feel? The pain? I promised you I was your worst nightmare”
“You are not close to being my worst nightmare, my worst nightmare has already happened… we both know I have to kill you now”- I said then my phone started ringing from my right jean pocket.
“Go on, answer it”- He said still smiling
I removed the phone with my left hand and answered it.
“Hello Jerry”- I said
“Helen, I’m heading straight to you right now, listen to me you are in a lot of trouble”- Jerry said at the other side of the phone. He sounded like he was on a power bike.
“What happened?”
“Father was attacked”
“What… what happened to him?!”
“Capon is dead, Helen”- Jerry said then I was silent for a while.
Ayomide started laughing then the call hanged up. I sighed and gave him a punch on that mouth he was using to laugh.
“It’s funny ahbi? Tell me, who are you? Who sent you?!”
“The enemy of my enemy”- He said with a big smile on his face.
“Look at me, It’s over!”
“No, it’s not over… it has just begun. Do you think I’m a fool? Do you think I don’t have backup? Do you think I will come to you alone?”- He said and gave a sinister laugh.
“What do you mean by that? Answer me you asshole, who sent you?!!!”- I asked angrily.
“Do you seriously think you can make me answer those questions of yours?”
“Don’t worry, torture will… torture always works. It’s up to you to choose, we do this the easy way or the hard way?”
“What was your question again?”
“Who do you work for?”- I asked
“You are about to find out”- He said and before I could defend myself, someone from behind shattered a bottle on my head. This made me to release Ayomide.
“Asshole”- I said to Ayomide and fainted
xxxxxxx
A hot slap brought me back to life to see myself sitting on a wooden chair with my hands tied behind my back and my foot was also tied. In front of me was Ayomide with his disfigured face holding a gun at his right hand, and next to him was the Governor of Lagos State himself Michael Henry who was sitting down on a chair just looking at me with his grim face. A girl around the age of seventeen or eighteen was by his side and her face looked scared. The building we were was a tall abandoned building and the walls were made of glass.
“Daddy who is she?”- The teenage girl asked her father.
“Oh, you are awake, it’s nice seeing those eyeballs of yours”- Michael said to me not minding the question his daughter asked.
“Michael, long time no see”- I said tiredly, breathing every oxygen I had left.
“Look at you Helen, the last time I saw you, you were tiny like this”- He said showing me how small I was with his hands.
“It’s funny you haven’t changed a bit”- I said then he burst into laughter and later found himself choking.
“I like your sense of humor”- He said with a serious face after he stopped laughing and motioned Ayomide with his right hand to put me back to my senses. Ayomide walked up to me and gave a slap to my face, this made Michael’s daughter to vibrate out of fear. I spitted out my bloody saliva and bowed my head, breathing like I ran a race.
“Just look at yourself Helen, you just want to die for nothing trying to accomplish an impossible task”- He said
“How did you feel?”- I asked breathing out tiredly.
“What?”
“After you killed her, how did you feel?”- I asked then he leaned forward and started laughing.
“You think you knew your sister, have you ever asked yourself this question ‘How did we meet each other? How did we fall in love?’”
“You will pay for what you did”- I struggled to say as life drained out of me.
“Your sister was a whore, we met at a club… and for your information, I didn’t kill your sister”
“Liar”- I said with a weak voice.
“The girl thinks she knew her sister”- He said laughing- “Did you think we would get married? I know that I didn’t kill your sister but if your sister is truly dead then I wish I was the one who placed her out of her miseries”
“You are a coward”- I muttered and struggled to set myself free but it was no use.
He signaled Ayomide again with his hand then Ayomide walked to me and reset my senses with a punch.
“My princess, what’s wrong?”- He asked his daughter
“Who’s she?”
“The person who killed uncle Tosin”- Michael answered
“Are you going to kill her too?”- The girl asked with a scared voice, she looked like she was going to get a heart attack.
“Me? Kill her? No! no one is killing anybody my princess”- He said with a calm and assuring voice to his daughter. He signaled Ayomide with his hand then he took a remote out of his pocket. Ayomide pressed a red button on the remote and afterwards came a ticking sound.
“What’s that ticking?”- I asked tiredly barely leaving my eyes opened.
“I’m not going to kill you Helen… I mean not with my hands, the bomb will”
“What… what bomb?”- His daughter asked
“You are bluffing”- I said
“Father are you trying to blow all of us up!”- His daughter asked
“Shut up!!”- He yelled at his daughter then she kept quiet- “Are you not the one that was crying and praying that the person who killed your uncle should die also, are you not the one that said you want the person responsible to die?”
“I know but… but”- She was trying to mutter something as her hands quiver.
‘It’s funny… it’s funny how you regard Tosin as her uncle”- I said then Ayomide gave me a punch that made me fall down together with the chair I was sitting on.
“Do you think this is a joke?!!”- Ayomide yelled angrily pointing his gun at me.
“You look more handsome now that your face is like this”- I said and smiled. He got furious and almost pulled the trigger but Michael stopped him by motioning his hand.
“It’s surprising how much blood she has lost and she’s still standing… Helen… Helen, what have you done with your life? Look at what you have become; I almost feel sorry for you”
He was saying then I started sobbing.
“You went all this while trying to achieve something even you know is impossible! Just look at yourself now on the floor, soon to face death”- Michael said and stood up from the chair he was sitting. He walked up to me and continued with what he was saying.
“I’m a man of mercy, that’s why I’m giving you a much preferable death, it’s fast and less painful. There’s no way of stopping that bomb from counting now that it is activated”
I moved my eyes tiredly and met a small machine that rested on a table. The timer was counting quickly and it was remaining just fifty minutes.
“Give up Helen, it’s all over now”- He said and squatted down for me to look at his face. He used his right hand to brush my hair- “Don’t forget to say hi to your sister when you get there”
He stood up then my eyes met his nicely polished shoes. I gave a loud sigh and started sobbing, it was all over just like he said. I asked myself, did I come this far, just to die like this? Even if they untied my hands and feet, I had no strength left to fight my way out of there. There was nothing else to do than to lie there in defeat, cleaning my bloody cheeks with my own tears. Maybe it was never my fate to avenge my sister’s death.
“Any last words? Because I’m about to leave”- Michael said then I flickered my eyes to look at them, all of them.
My eyes met a red laser light pointing directly at Ayomide’s head. I smiled and started laughing, it started from a small chuckle and exploded into a full-grown laughter.
“Can’t you see Michael? Fate brought you to me”
As soon as I muttered those words, Ayomide received a bullet on his head.
“Sniper!”- Michael yelled and before he could run far, he was shot at his chest.
I can’t believe the bastard wanted to save his own life and didn’t care about his daughter. As soon as he fell down, his daughter rushed to meet him.
“Daddy”- She said with a crying voice as she knelt close to him.
“Ani… Anita”- Michael struggled to say as he gushed out blood from his mouth. He placed his right hand on his daughter left cheek and finally died.
“Daddy, daddy”- She said tapping him but he was gone.
CHAPTER 20
JERRY
By the time I arrived at Ogun State, I hurried to the address of the apartment Helen was staying. When I got there, I saw two men entering a black ford SUV suspiciously. The way they looked around as if hoping the coast was clear was quite questionable and I waited for them to head to the road. I followed their car till they stopped at a tall abandoned building. I watched from a distance with my binocular as they brought out half dead Helen out from the back seat.
One thing I learnt was, never follow the enemy to their hideout alone unless you have back up. I didn’t have back up but I had something they didn’t which is ‘an eagle eye’. I may be incapable of ambushing them one on one but what about they didn’t see what hit them?
I reversed my power bike and stopped at a hotel some few distance away from the building they took Helen. I paid for a room at the upper floor and a fair chubby looking lady directed me to my room.
“Here it is”- The lady said to me with a sigh of relief
“It will do”- I said then she gave a professional smile.
“Do you want something to eat?”
“Uh… no that won’t be necessary”- I said then she nodded
“Of course, have a great stay sir”- She said and left the room.
I dropped the black bag I was holding on the bed and opened the curtain to brighten the room a bit. I allowed my eyes to look at my room for a while, first at the wooden ceiling then to the faded paint that colored the walls green. The annoying part of it all was the fan that hung above my head, making a creaking sound as it rotated. The hotel wasn’t five star and from the look of things the owner of the place had no intention of renovation.
I sighed out loudly and took my bag from the bed. I moved to the door and opened it slowly to check if the coast was clear. There was a lady who wore a red gown making a call on her phone, I hid my eyes watching her and hoped she ends her call soon, but you know women when it comes to gossiping, she kept talking and talking till she started walking away.
I opened my door and left to the direction of the roof quickly before she could notice me. I walked to the door that lead to the roof and opened it. The bright sun light of Ogun welcomed me and I used my right hand to shield my eyes. I closed the door behind me and walked forward.
Some group of pigeons by my left-hand side flew away quickly after spotting me and I was quite surprised when I saw some clothes that hung on cloth hangers and others that rested on air-conditioning machines.
I stopped walking and looked to my left and then to my right and saw the tall building where Helen was taken to some distance away. I turned to the position of the building and dropped my black bag. I opened the bag and took out my black gloves, I wore it on together with my black mask. Inside the bag was my sniper gun, I arranged it properly and positioned my finger at the trigger.
Helen was tied to a chair and she was on the floor. There was a girl and two men with her and they looked like they were having a conversation. I waited patiently for the right time to pull the trigger and when I finally saw that opportunity, I didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. The other man standing close to Helen took off but before he could go far, I shot him down also.
“Hey! Na watin you deh do there?”- I heard a feminine voice behind me and when I turned backwards to see who it was; I saw a security woman pointing a gun at me. Her hands were shaking and I could tell that was her first time.
“I don’t mean any harm; I promise”- I said
“Put your hands in the air and slowly walk towards me… and also take that mask off your face!”
“Which should I do first? The raising of my hands or the removing of my mask?”- I asked moving my hands slowly to the gun at my back pocket.
“Your hands up!!”- She yelled then I stood up and rose my hands up.
“Fuck”- I said
“Now take off your mask, slowly no sudden movement!”
“I’m sorry but I can’t do that”- I said
“I have to call for back up”- She said
“No, don’t do that”- I said and before she could reach her walkie talky, I shot her on her right hand. This made her to fall down and go unconscious, I arranged my stuff back into my bag hurriedly then I walked towards the lady and dragged her unconscious body to the second door at the roof that had the words “Emergency room” splashed on the faded green paint just above the door. I sat her unconscious body and rested her back on the wall, her head was tilted to the right and her right hand was bleeding.
Truly I was convinced the security lady hasn’t faced a real challenge since the time she enrolled into a security job. I mean how can you get shot on your hand then you pass out?
That was when my eyes met the ring on her finger, no wonder her hands were quivering rapidly as she pointed me her gun.
“I’m sorry for that”- I said and walked away from her.
I went straight to my hotel room and took the keys of my motorcycle from the bed. I left my room and told the hotel I was going out for a stroll. My power bike was parked at the parking spot for vehicles, I picked my helmet and wore it on then I started the bike and rode it to the road, heading to the direction of Helen.
The building where they took her was no longer far from me as I rode my power bike quickly. The power bike made a loud sound, making me look conspicuous as I rode full speed ahead towards the building, but the unexpected happened. Something I never saw coming. The building exploded. A very serious explosion that made me lose control of my power bike. My bike went crashing with a car and I fell badly from it. The fall was so bad that I dislocated my left leg and the helmet screen that was shielding my eyes got broken.
As I lay on the floor, coughing out blood and whimpering in pain, I looked up and my eyes met the burning building not too far away from me.
“Helen… no”- I said and started sobbing
Some few seconds after the explosion, people started running in a haphazard movement for safety.
“Helen, ah! No-no-no-no”- I was still saying
A small group of people came to check up on me if I was dead. They rose me up then I whimpered in pain because I stood with my dislocated leg.
“Are you okay?”- The lady who I crashed my bike on her car asked me as she supports me up.
I moved my eyes to search for my motorcycle and found it lying some few steps away from me and next to my motorcycle was my black bag.
“I have to go”- I said and released myself from their hands.
“Where are you going to? You need a hospital”- The lady said behind me but I staggered to my bike and picked my bag from the floor. I stopped walking and turned backwards to look at the remaining part of the building that was collapsing. I got on my bike and fired to the road.
CHAPTER 21
HELEN
Before the explosion
Michael’s daughter knelt close to the body of her father crying, she held his right hand and begged him to come back to life miraculously.
“Hey-hey!”- I said to her.
“What?”- She said rudely.
“Listen to me child, your father is gone”
“Yeah and whose fault is that?!”- She said and continued crying.
“You shouldn’t be crying for your father like this… Your father wasn’t who you thought he was”- I said with my weak voice.
“You speak like you knew him”
“Actually, I did. Hey this isn’t the time to cry, there’s a knife at Ayomide’s left pocket, take it out and set me loose from here”- I said
“Why should I trust you? You killed my uncle and my dad!”
“Did you see me kill any of these people you mention?! Did you see me kill your dad? Just listen to me, I am the only one who can get you out of here alive. Your father died because of his own sins, you don’t deserve to die because of him!”- I said then she was silent for a while, I wonder if she knew it was remaining fifty seconds before the bomb will explode.
“We don’t have much time, come on!”- I said then she took out the knife from Ayomide’s left pocket and stood up. She walked up to me and started cutting the rope that tied my hands.
“Hurry up!”- I said because it was remaining twenty seconds left.
“I’m trying!”- She said cutting the ropes that tied my legs.
As soon as she released me from the chair, she started running. I looked at the timer bomb that stood on the table and saw that it was remaining just ten seconds left. I stood up and ran towards her with whatever strength I had left. I grabbed her tightly and used my back to shatter the glass wall before the bomb exploded.
If you asked me why I took that risk, I don’t think I would have given you a reasonable explanation. Maybe I jumped because my instinct told me to or I was just trying to protect the girl, but either ways, we fell into the river behind the building.
The river was quite deep and as soon as we fell, I lost my consciousness. My body started sinking into the river, the same way like how my life drained out of me.
The only thing I could see was darkness, but out of the darkness came the image of my sister smiling at me, she was just seventeen years old by then. The next image that appeared in my mind was Albert, sitting next to me and looking at the moon. The last image I saw was my mother singing I and my late sister a lullaby. The sweet voice of my mother sang in my head as my body sank deeper. My sister was next to me, her twelve years old self. We were sleeping on my bed while my mother chant us to sleep with a traditional lullaby.
Darkness came again for some seconds then I started hearing my sister’s voice calling me. I opened my eyes and found myself in the house I used to stay with her before she died.
“Helen, are you there?”- She asked searching me all over the house as if I was a needle, while I was standing right in front of her.
“I’m… I’m right here”- I said then her eyes met mine
It was surprising that I was standing right in front of her and she didn’t see me until I told her I was there.
“Oh, there you are”- She said and smiled.
“Where’s this place?”- I asked looking around.
“What do you mean? You are home”
“Is this real? Are you real? You are alive?”
“Uh are you okay? You are getting me scared”- She said with a worried voice then I gave her a tight hug.
“I missed you so much”- I said sobbing.
“I missed you too but you have to go”- She said with a whispering voice.
“Go-Go where? I want to be right here, with you”
“You will but not now”- She said and released the hug.
“Wha- What do you mean?”
“Helen you need to wake up. This fight isn’t over yet”- she said with a voice that echoed in my head repeatedly until I finally opened my eyes and saw myself sinking.
The water looked like it was glowing because of the burning building at the surface, and parts of the building was falling into the water. I won’t lie but that view was stunning.
I moved my eyes to my left and saw Michael’s daughter sinking, she was unconscious and looked like she was not too far from death. I swam to her and grabbed her, then I swam to the surface and dropped her on land.
“Wake up”- I said and started pressing her chest. I tried and tried again but she wasn’t waking up, so I stood up and concluded that maybe it was better that way.
When I turned backwards to walk away, she started coughing the water out of her mouth.
“We are not dead? How are we still alive?”- She asked breathing tiredly then I turned backwards to look at her- “You saved me… why?”
“Because you saved me first. I have every reason to kill you for what your father did to me, but I won’t… You-you are not part of my war”- I said and heard the siren of the police getting closer and closer to our direction.
“I have to go”- I said
“Wait! Who are you really?”
“I don’t know”- I said
“Well you can’t just leave me here, what should I say to the police?”- She asked and stood up from the ground.
“What kind of question is that? Tell them what happened”- I said and started staggering away.
“No, you can’t leave me here!”- She said and started following me.
“Stay back!!”- I warned and turned backwards to look at her face- “Are you insane? Do you know who I am that you want to follow me? Where should I take you too? You want me to take you so that they can accuse me of kidnapping? Where should I take you too? Hmm?!!”
“But… but”- She was trying to mutter something.
“You are the daughter to the late Governor, you have nothing to worry about, everything will be all right!”- I yelled and met her offended eyes.
“You know the police will dig this up and come looking for you, right?”- She said
I turned backwards and continued walking.
“Let them come, the only thing they will arrest is my corpse”- I said
I left her standing there and walked to the direction of the road. When I finally stopped close to the road, I waved at a tricycle and the driver stopped close to me.
“Hospital ahbi? Nah which hospital you deh go?”- The driver in the tricycle asked
“When did I say I’m going to a hospital?”- I asked
“I’m sorry madam but you really look bad. Thank god sha that-that explosion did not do you anything”
“Shut up and take me to sunny estate”- I said rudely and entered his tricycle.
“Sunny estate here we come”- He said and drove to the road.
The tricycle driver stopped at my apartment some minutes later, by now the sun was slowly going down and above my head was the migrating bats. I came out of the tricycle and walked to the door. I held the door knob then the door opened. I went in and saw the ruins I made at the house. The house used to be very luxurious when I first arrived, now it looked like something the devil himself puked out.
I staggered and put on the lights to see the messed-up room clearly then I went to my bedroom and arranged my stuff in my bags.
When I started leaving, I saw my phone on the floor. I bent down to pick it up and saw that the screen was cracked, I pressed the power button and miraculously the phone went on. I wasn’t expecting the phone to work because of how awful it looked. I placed the phone into my left pocket and went to the outside. That was when it dawned on me that the sweet Land cruiser Toyota Prado I rented has expired and the company I rented it from must have come and picked up what belongs to them.
I sighed out loudly, wore my black glasses and covered my face with my hood, walking painfully to the tricycle driver who was still waiting for me. He drove me to a park and helped me to bring down my bags from his tricycle. I walked to where I could buy tickets and paid for a drive to Lagos.
CHAPTER 22
DANIEL
The time on my phone read 11:00 pm when I and my brothers sat outside. We sat on a chair that was capable of accommodating only two people. I and Justin sat on one of the chairs while Jerry sat in front of us on another with his bandaged broken leg. A wide ceramic table separated the two seats and our phones rested on the table.
We were silent listening to each other’s sigh and loud breath, the news we have gotten over the past few days was capable of making anyone commit suicide, first was my father, now Helen.
I never liked that girl to say the truth but still she was family and now that she was gone, I missed her. My phone started vibrating on the table interrupting the silence, Isabella was the one calling.
“What is it?”- I asked curtly after answering the call.
“Hey, how have you been?”- Isabella asked at the other end of the phone.
“Isabella please leave me alone”
“Baby look I’m sorry for the death of your…”- She was saying something then I hanged up the call and placed the phone on the table.
“Mtchew”- I hissed and met Jerry’s eyes looking at me.
Some few seconds later, my phone started ringing again and it was still Isabella calling me. I took the phone and hanged the call up.
“This girl strong o”- Jerry said then I dropped the phone down on the table.
“Justin, I thought you left something cooking”- I said then Justin stood up slowly and left. Anyone who saw him could tell he was sad; we were all sad.
“We never stop to ask ourselves how life will be like when the other person next to you is gone. I know it is painful losing someone, just like how we lost mother but father’s death is too painful for a bad man like me to bear”- Jerry said and rested his head on the table.
“Helen… I tried saving her but I couldn’t and now she too is gone”- Jerry said with a crying voice.
“You did your best Jerry”- I said then my phone started ringing again. I refused to pick it at first but it kept ringing and ringing, making my sanity drain away from me slowly.
Some few minutes later, Justin appeared with a tray on his hand and placed it on the table.
“Hello Isabella are you mad?! Are you mad?!!! I said leave me alone, what’s so hard to understand?!”- I yelled angrily after picking up the call.
“Who is Isabella?”- Helen asked with a weak voice at the other side of the phone.
“Hel-Helen, is that you?”- I asked then Jerry and Justin looked at me in unison.
“Of course, it’s me mumu, open the gates joor”- Helen said then I started laughing.
“You are outside?”- I asked with a smile on my face.
“Yeah, I have been knocking like a crazy person, where are you guys?”- She asked and hanged up the call.
Justin and Jerry were looking at me curiously as if waiting for me to say something.
“Well?”- Jerry finally said
“Helen… she’s by the gate knocking”- I said then Jerry curved a smile.
“Are you serious?!”- Justin asked with enthusiasm in his voice as he stood up.
“Let’s go-let’s go- How is she alive?”- Jerry was saying as he took his crutches. He stood up and with the help of his crutches, he walked slowly to the direction of the gate. I rested my back on the chair I was sitting and laughed a little.
“Daniel are you coming?”- Justin asked behind me.
“Hey, wait for me jareh!”- I said and stood up from the chair I was sitting.
Justin was the first to open the gate like a possessed gazelle then we saw Helen standing outside with her bags, her hands were folded across her chest as if shielding herself from a cold, her face was covered with a hood and her eyes were covered with her dark shades.
“Wh-where were you guys?”- Helen struggled to say then Jerry hugged her quickly. Justin followed but I stood there watching.
“You don’t have to be grown up all the time”- She said to me with a weak voice then I hugged her.
“I’m so glad you are alright”- I said
“We thought you were dead”- Justin said
We stood that way for a while then Helen fainted on our hands.
“Helen- Helen”- Jerry was saying
“Justin quick ready my car let’s take her to the hospital!”- I said handing Justin the key to my car. He ran back to the house and some minutes later drove my car out. We placed Helen at the back seat of the car and drove quickly to a nearby hospital.
As soon as we arrived at the hospital, some nurses helped us. They placed Helen on a stretcher and pushed her quickly to the hospital. We followed them, moving quickly with them. Helen was on the stretcher unconscious; the nurses placed an oxygen mask on her nose to help her with her breathing. I was scared because she looked like she was going to die.
They pushed her to a room and told us to wait outside. The doctor who was in charge of treating her rushed quickly to the door of the room they took Helen, but before he could enter, I held his hand and with a sad voice I asked.
“Sir, please is our sister going to be okay?”
He looked at me with pity, and with an empathetic voice he said.
“I promise to do my best, okay?”
I nodded then he left me to the room. I and my brothers sat down on a chair facing the door, Justin was tapping his feet on the floor repeatedly while Jerry kept sighing from time to time.
“God, oh God”- Jerry muttered out and rested his back on the chair he sat. He raised his eyes up to look at the ceiling, he looked like he was suffering from claustrophobia and sooner or later he was going to explode.
I moved my eyes to look at Justin who rested his head on his laps and kept breathing out loudly.
I closed my eyes and swallowed.
“God please don’t let her die”- I prayed with a whispering voice.
xxxxxx
I didn’t sleep till the day brightened while my brothers rested their heads on my shoulders sleeping. After the doctor entered that room, no one else came out till the day brightened. The doctor finally came out of the room some few minutes later with two nurses by his side and saw me sitting on the chair with my brother’s head resting on my shoulders.
“You are still here?”- The doctor asked me.
“Well, how’s she?”- I asked and shook my brothers head off my shoulders.
“Her ribs were fractured; her case is a very serious one”
“Your voice sound like she is dead”
“No- she isn’t”- He said and sighed- “She had a cardiac arrest by two am in the morning and we pronounced her dead”
“But?”- Jerry asked
“But she miraculously got back to life”- He said and finally smiled. Jerry and Justin sighed out of relief as they both stood up.
“That’s good news doctor… Can we go in? To see her?”- Justin asked
“Yes, but we have to arrange she and the room first before allowing anyone in there”- The doctor said
“Thank you, doctor”- I said then the doctor started walking away.
“Sorry doctor?”- Jerry called then the doctor stopped walking and turned backwards to look at him- “Is she awake?”
“No, she isn’t conscious but she will be later today”
We went back to the seat we stood up from and waited till Helen’s ward was tidied up, then we were allowed to see her. The sound of a bipping machine welcomed us as soon as we entered the room and there, she was breathing with the help of the oxygen mask she wore. They wore her a hospital gown and a drip was connected to her right hand. Her head was tilted to the left as if looking at the opened window and every breath she took sounded like a roaring lion.
Justin sat by her leg area while Jerry sat close to her stomach. I dropped a wooden chair next to her and sat on it then I adjusted her head properly.
“Justin how far, you go-go outside buy her food just in case she wakes up”- I said then Justin stood up and left the room.
I held her right hand that felt weak and cold tightly.
“Ah Helen, nah fighter you be. Helen, I beg you wake up, I know I don’t like you but I need you”- I said and moved my eyes to look at her.
“We need you I swear”- Jerry said
Some minutes later Justin walked into the room and placed what he bought on the floor.
“She isn’t awake yet?”- Justin asked then we were silent for a while listening to the clock that rested on the wall ticking.
“Let’s pray”- I started and cleared my throat- “Una hear watin I talk?”
“Yeah”- Justin and Jerry said in unison and closed their eyes.
“Father, your boys don come again and for the first time ever, I am praying for something good to happen to Hell inn. She may be the most annoying person in the world but still make her well, so that we will go back to being cat and dog. In Jesus name we pray”
As soon as I finished praying, I heard someone chuckle and started laughing. I opened my eyes and saw Helen laughing.
“Go bible study you no go hear, hear watin you deh pray”- Helen said laughing. A laugh that was hurting her, her face could tell she was in pain as she laughed.
“Helen”- Justin said happily.
“I’m happy to see you too”- She managed to mutter.
“Are you hungry? We got you something to eat”- Jerry said showing her what Justin bought.
“I’m not hungry… Jerry I want to thank you for saving my life, if not for you I would be dead by now”
“Family got each other’s back, remember?”
“I am sorry about your father”- She said with her alien voice then I sighed
“It’s okay”- I said.
We were silent for a while again looking at Helen as she drags oxygen in and out.
“I… I have a confession to make”- Helen finally said interrupting the silence.
“Hmm? What confession?”- I asked then she smacked her lips and waited a while before she started her narration.
“When I was just fifteen years old, I had a sister… her name was Rebecca, she was a very smart girl. She had a boyfriend, who was the late Governor of this state. One night, she was invited to his house by him”- Helen was narrating then I stood up and moved like I was walking to the door.
“Her boyfriend, together with his friends killed her in a terrible way. I went to check up on her because she was late and when I went to her boyfriend’s house, I saw something no child my age should see”- Helen said with a crying voice- “I couldn’t sleep at nights after that day and every time I close my eyes, her corpse is what I see, day and night her death would torment me, sometimes I would hear her whispering to me. I was broken from the inside out and the only way I thought would silence my troubles was if I avenge her death. As time went on, I met your father who made me part of his family. I was the one responsible for what happened at the blue spot club. I was the one who killed the late Deputy Governor, he was involved in the death of my sister”
“Let me guess, you also killed the Governor”- I said still backing them looking at an artwork that hung on the wall.
“Not with my hands but he died because of me”- Helen said behind me.
“Why are you telling us this?”
“Your father, he… he died because of me too”- Helen said then I turned backwards to look at her.
“What are you talking about?”- I asked
“After what happened at the blue spot club, some people tracked me and came to your father’s house… there they killed him”- She struggled to say- “He knew everything I was doing”
I went back to where I sat and crossed my leg, she moved her head slowly to look at me.
“I am sorry for everything I have caused”
“You didn’t do anything Helen. I can’t blame you for taking your actions, I would have done the same thing if it was me, I wanted to avenge my father also but he told me not to. I didn’t care much because even though I didn’t pull out my revenge plan with my own hands, I knew… I knew my father allies would actualize my desire for me and that they did”- I said
“But it’s still my fault”- Helen said
“My father has acquired a lot of enemies in his life. His life killed him, not you”- I said.
“Does that make you the leader now? Of his gang?”- she asked
“No”- I said and sighed
“Maybe it’s a good thing”
“I have worked all my life for that position and now it just slips away”- I said
“At least the fight is over right?”- Justin asked Helen
“It isn’t, my fight has just begun”- she said and moved her eyes away from me to look at the ceiling- “Can I ask you all a question?”
“Urmm-hmm”- I said with a nod.
“What happens now?”- She asked
“Well, I was thinking maybe we will have to leave the country, to somewhere safe”- Jerry said
“To start afresh”- I joined.
“Where are we leaving to?”- She asked
“Togo”- Jerry answered.
“And when are we going?”
“As soon as you get better Helen. You see, this life isn’t for us, holding a gun always when you walk isn’t the definition of living. If we continue in this, it will kill us”- I said
“What about the one fate initiation?”- Helen asked
“It only works when you are in the path of the initiator. No one should decide our fate for us, we are our fate”- I said then we were silent for a while.
“We are our fate”- Helen whispered still looking at the ceiling- “How long am I staying here?”
“A week”- I answered.
“I… I can’t follow you guys to Togo”
“Why? We will be safe there”- Jerry replied.
“I’m done running… I have to see someone, someone very dear to me, you all can go, I will be okay”
“And who do you want to see?”- I asked then Helen moved her head to look at me and smiled.
CHAPTER 23
HELEN
I stayed in the hospital for a week. Daniel, Jerry and Justin were with me all through my stay there, they didn’t go anywhere. They even brought their beds to my ward and took care of me till I got better.
It was in the evening when I was discharged from the hospital. Jerry was the one who assisted me to Daniel’s car.
“Jerry be careful nah, you want to kill her? I don’t know how a man on crutches can help another person in walking. You are doing two things at once, no go fall her o”- Daniel said
“Since when do you care so much?”- Justin asked entering the car.
Daniel entered the car and wore his seatbelts. He wanted to start the car but he paused and was silent for a while.
“Are you sure about this?”- Daniel finally asked me.
“Yeah, it’s time for me to go home”- I said as I rested my head on the car window.
Daniel started the car and reversed.
Do you believe in coma? Do you believe in the saying, “what goes around, comes around?” Life is like a boomerang, what you throw at it, is what life will throw back at you. Throw good, you get good, throw bad, you get bad. I know my story isn’t finished yet, there was no way I was going to survive. My enemies will come looking for me, all with the goal of eliminating me.
I wish life is more like a dream, do you know when you get killed in a dream you wake up? Why? Because your brain hasn’t experienced death before. I wish life was something you could wake up from.
Daniel drove for hours while a song titled ‘Me and you’ by Tems played from his car radio. Suddenly my phone started ringing, I removed my phone from my pocket and saw that it was the Secretary of Dean Fashion Lagos who was calling.
“This is the Secretary of Dean Fashion Lagos speaking…”
“Felicia you don’t always have to start a conversation like that”- I interrupted
“Good evening miss Helen, the CEO wants to know when you are resuming work… plus you have to hand him back the key to his apartment”
“Felicia, how are you doing?”- I asked
“Please kindly give Helen the phone”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”- I said curtly
“Helen never calls me by my name… But I’m good sha, you don’t sound so good. Are you okay?”- she asked then I chuckled.
“I will be fine and kindly tell the CEO he will get the key to his apartment by tomorrow, it will be delivered to his office… but Felicia I want to ask you a question”
“Okay, what is it?”
“Do you believe in miracles?”- I asked
“Yes? I think so”
“How much is your surgery?”
“I’m using the company’s phone, every conversation I make is recorded”- She said with a whispering voice, I wonder if she thinks the phone, she was using couldn’t record a whispering voice.
“It doesn’t matter, no one is going to arrest you or sack you because someone asked you how much you need for your surgery… or don’t you want to get better?”- I asked then she was silent for a while.
“Why are you being nice to me?”- She finally asked
“Let’s just say, I met Jesus”- I said then she laughed a little. I chuckled then we were silent for a while.
“The surgery will cost about six million naira”
“Send me your bank digits”
“Oh, you are serious”- She said, she sounded like she was looking for her phone hurriedly.
“Hello, are you still there?”- I asked
“I’m texting it to you right now”- she said and five seconds later I received an SMS on my phone.
“Please use the money to get yourself better, you need it more than I do”- I said and hanged up the call.
I moved my eyes to look at Jerry who was sleeping next to me with his bandaged leg while his crutches rested on his laps. Daniel was the only one awake among his brother’s, I knew he was going to miss me and I was going to miss him too. I couldn’t even believe I could miss that specimen that was handling the wheels, we were literally cat and dogs and now look at us feeling sad that the other person won’t be around anymore.
When the day brightened, we bought food from the hawkers who glued their faces at the car window when there is a traffic jam. We talked and talked and a part of us wished we kept talking, Daniel with his sense of humor made everyone laugh at his silly jokes. We were happy, at least for a while before we say goodbye to each other.
We finally arrived at Anambra State. I told Daniel he should drop me off but he refused and decided to drop me at the door steps of my mother’s home.
“Justin will cry o”- Jerry said mockingly.
“Leave me joor”- Justin said
Daniel drove to my village following my directions and when he got there, the skies were very dark.
“Do you guys see why I called this girl Hell inn? Just look at her village abeg, the perfect definition of hell fire”- Daniel said then we started laughing.
“Helen truly this is your village”- Jerry said after laughing.
“Her village just resemble am”- Daniel joins
“Pass that road by your left”- I said pointing the road with my hands then Daniel moved his steering wheel and took the direction I pointed at.
“Everywhere is just quiet, it looks like a ghost town”- Justin said
“Everybody don go sleep nah, no be Lagos way by this time you go see people deh waka for street”- Jerry said
“At least I get village, do you guys have one? Hmm? Can you point at somewhere and say this is my village?”- I said then we laughed again.
“It is better we don’t have a village than have this type of your village”- Daniel said then I snorted a laugh.
“Helen you think say you get bad mouth; we go finish you today”- Justin said laughing.
“Today is your day”- Jerry adds.
“Daniel no kill me abeg”- I said laughing.
“Imagine, just hear how insect deh sing for this place”- Daniel said
“They suppose name here, land of crickets”- Jerry said
“This Helen village, I don’t know if it’s village I’m entering or a jungle”- Daniel said
“Shut up jareh and pass that road by your right”- I said then Daniel took the road by the right- “This place hasn’t changed much”
“Justin this one that you are quiet like this, you can stay with Helen if you want”- Jerry said
“Justin you can stay with me”- I said smiling
“Can you guys leave me alone? Do I look like a child?”- Justin asked
“Baby rubber, last born”- Daniel said and brushed his hair with his right hand.
“Get your hand off me”- Justin said pushing Daniel hand away from his head.
“Stop here!”- I said then Daniel stopped the car.
“Are you sure this is the place?”- Daniel asked looking at the car window by his left-hand side.
I could see my mother’s two-bedroom apartment from the car window and close to the house was my sister’s grave. The light bulbs outside shone brightly and insects were hypnotized on them. The house was silent like no one ever lived there; it was silent like no children ever played there.
“Yes, this is the place”- I said and left the car to the outside.
“Well… I guess this is goodbye Hell inn”- Daniel said behind me then I turned backwards and saw him sitting down on his car bonnet with his brother Justin. Jerry was still inside the car looking at me from the car window.
I breathed out deeply and cleaned my eyes.
“I’m going to miss you all too”- I said then Jerry opened the door of the car and came out. They walked up to me and hugged me.
“We really wish you can follow us tomorrow, but we can’t stop you from being with your family”- Jerry said.
“Yeah and please take care of Justin”- I said then Jerry chuckled
“We will, you can count on us on that one”- Jerry said again then I released myself from their hands.
“I guess this is goodbye brother’s”- I said
“Yeah, until we meet again”- Daniel said as they left to enter the car.
“Please deliver that key I gave you to my workplace”- I said
“Of course”- Jerry said
I turned backwards to look at the house and sighed.
“Don’t just stand there, go knock at the door”- Daniel said from inside his car then I gathered enough courage and walked to the corridor. I turned back and saw Daniel reversing his car, Justin and Jerry was waving at me from the car, I waved back and moved my eyes back at the door.
I rose my hand slowly and knocked once at the door. It was so hard to knock; it was as if someone was trying to place my hand on a hot coal.
“Knock again!”- I heard Justin from behind me then I knocked twice this time but still there was no reply.
I knocked again and from inside I heard someone’s voice.
“Who’s that? Who’s there? Who can this be? Hmm?”- A woman said inside but with Igbo language as she walked closer and closer to the door.
I was about to knock again but the door opened to review the face of my mother, who looked older now. She wore herself a wrapper and on her right hand was a walking stick. As soon as I saw her, it was like words grew wings and flew away from my mouth.
“Yes? How can I help you?”- She asked with Igbo
“Good-Good evening”- I finally muttered
“Good evening, what do you want?”- She said this time with English.
“I’m…”- I started and sighed- “mama, it’s me”
“I don’t think I know who you are, which compound are you from, who’s your mother? Zobo has finished, come tomorrow morning”- She said and was going back inside but I stopped her from leaving by saying.
“Wait! I am not here to buy zobo”- I said.
“Why are you here then?”
“To see my mother”- I said.
“Your mother keh”- She said with a confused voice.
“She’s the one standing in front of me”- I said then she looked at her sides as if checking if someone else was close to her.
“Me?”
“Yes”- I said and cleaned my eyes. She looked at me for a while and finally widened her eyes after seeing the resemblance.
“Helen, is that you?”- She asked walking closer to me to see my face more clearly.
“Yes”- I said and laughed a little.
“No”- She started with Igbo shaking her head to signify a ‘no’- “Helen!!”
“It’s me mother”- I said then she knelt down and started thanking God with her native language.
“Helen, come-come”- She said happily and opened her door for me to enter the house. I turned backwards and saw my brother’s car driving away. Jerry gave me a salute while Justin was waving until their car disappeared from sight.
I breathed out loudly and followed my mother into the house.
xxxxxx
The next day morning came very quickly, I woke up from my slumber after hearing the voice of people close to the window. I stood up and opened the curtain to see my mother peeling some cassava tubers with some villagers who was helping her. I smiled and allowed my eyes to browse the room I was in. It was like the same way I left the room was the same way I met it. The only thing that changed was the blanket that my mother used to dress the beds.
The room was divided in such a way that my bed was by the right-hand side while my late sister was by the left. The right side of the room, which was my side had fashion related pictures pasted on the walls and the pictures of some of my favorite designers and models. The left side of the room was more vibrant than the right, close to my late sister’s bed was a wooden table and her trophies stood on it. Her medals hung on nails on the wall and close to her bed was a shelf stacked with tons of books. On her wall was the pictures of some of her favorite scientists and people. I know right, she was a genius.
Her bed was arranged perfectly and the person who started sleeping on her bed was a girl around the age of ten who stayed with my aged mother to help her around.
“Aunty”- The girl who was staying with my mother said as she suddenly appeared by the door.
“How are you?”- I asked moving my eyes quickly to look at her but she just smiled. Her eyes looked like she understood nothing of what I said, I smiled also.
“How are you?”- I asked this time with Igbo language.
“Fine, good morning”- She answered with Igbo and continued- “Mama said I should call you”
“Tell her I will be with her shortly”- I said still with Igbo, she nodded and with a childish smile on her face she left.
I moved my eyes back to look at my sister’s wall then I gave a loud breath. Some few minutes later, I left to the living room and saw my mother and the girl arranging some food on the dining table.
“Helen, how was your night?”- My mother asked with Igbo
“It wasn’t bad”- I replied but with English- “It’s time for breakfast so soon?”
“Yes, go and freshen yourself and join me at the dining”- My mother said helping herself on one of the seats at the dining table.
Ten minutes later, I and my mother sat close to the dining table, the MP3 device she placed on the dining table was playing a song by Omah lay titled “Holy ghost”.
“Amarachi come and reduce the volume of this thing”- My mother said with Igbo language then the young girl who stayed with her came out from my childhood room, she walked to us and reduced the volume on the MP3.
“I hope you have started eating”- My mother asked her then she nodded- “Don’t forget to take your medicine when you are done you hear?”
“I will”- She said with Igbo and left back to the room she came out from.
“What’s wrong with her?”- I asked opening the plates in front of me. It was a delicacy of pounded yam and eguisi soup.
“Typhoid fever”- mother answered then we were silent for a while. I watched as mother dug in the food in front of her, she was so happy to see me.
I washed my hands and began eating.
“It’s delicious”- I said with a smile on my face that wasn’t real. I wasn’t lying or anything, the food was delicious but I was rather sad and angry at myself.
“You know your mother nah”- Mother said as she struggled with a meat. I laughed and continued eating.
“Since I was born and now I am getting old, I have never tasted any food that is better than yours”- I said to her then she curved a smile.
I was happy to see my mother again; I was and I could tell the joy she was feeling seeing me. My mother has aged ten times than the last time I saw her. I wished I could keep that smile on her aged face till the day she reaches her grave. The thought that she won’t always be like this, the thought that she won’t always be happy made me rather sad and angry at myself for failing her as a daughter. We might sit and eat together like nothing happened, like I never broke her heart once, we might behave like nothing happened but I knew in the core of her heart lies the question “Why did you run away?”
I stopped eating and washed my hands in the bowl then I gave a loud sigh and rested my back on the chair I was sitting. I flickered my eyes to look at her, she was busy in her food.
“I’m sorry”- I finally said interrupting the silence, she stopped eating and met my eyes- “I’m sorry for running away, I can’t imagine the kind of pain you must have gone through knowing that your daughters are gone, I’m sorry for the pain, for the pain I’ve caused you. I failed you as a daughter”
“You didn’t do…”- Mother was saying but I interrupted her by saying.
“Yes, I did, if only you know the person who is sitting next to you, who is speaking with you”- I said and met the picture of my late sister on the wall. It was her secondary school graduation and she was wearing her graduation gown with the cheque she won from the school on her hands as she smiled widely at the camera. My mother followed my eyes to see what I was seeing and saw the picture I was looking at.
“I’m not like her mother, I never was”- I said with a breaking voice- “After she died, I can no longer think straightly”
“It’s a great loss for the both of us, till today I’m not myself”- Mother said with a crying voice.
“I have changed so much since the last time you saw me but not in a good way… I am a bad person, a very bad person”- I said and sniffled
“Why did you leave?”- Mother asked then I moved my eyes away from the picture I was looking at to see her eyes that was already looking at me.
“Promise me you won’t love me less”
“I’m your mother, I love you till the world ends”- Mother said but with Igbo
I paused for a while looking at her face then I cleared my throat and said
“I left to avenge the death of my sister and that I did. Rebecca was killed in an awful way by Michael Henry. Do you remember him?”
“Yes, I do but when you say avenge her death what do you mean?”- Mother said again with her native dialect.
“How do I tell you mother?”- I said with Igbo.
“Did- Did you kill him?”- Mother asked then I nodded slowly.
“Not just him, together with all those who were involved in her death and all those who tried stopping me”- I said
“Jesus!”- Mother said with English holding her chest.
“I know”
“How do you know they were involved?”- Mother asked with a whispering voice.
“It’s a long story”
“I don’t believe this, I don’t believe, you?!”- Mother said with anger brewing up in her voice- “Why are you telling me this? Why?!”
“I just think you should know”- I said
“Know what? Know that my daughter is a killer?!”
“No one was going to avenge her”- I said
“Why didn’t you wait on God Helen? This girl you have killed me!”- My mother said with her native dialect - “Haven’t you heard? Vengeance is for the lord”
“Vengeance is for the lord they say but if not for me they would have gotten away from the dirty thing they did to my sister”- I said with an angry voice and met her eyes- “What about I am the instrument God used to teach them a lesson? Did you come to think it like that?”
“God didn’t use you to do anything Helen, hate, anger and pain did”- She said with Igbo and leaned forward to look at me- “Now tell me, are you any different from them?”
“I’m not them, they took what belongs to me, I pay them back”- I said with Igbo
“What did you gain? Or does the mere thought of you knowing they are dead fix all your problems? How do you feel now? Are you suddenly okay now? Did anything change? Answer me, did anything change? Is your sister back? Is your sister out of her grave? You can look at the outside if you want!”- She yelled angrily.
I was silent for a while looking at her then a tear dropped on my left cheek, I cleaned it quickly and sniffled.
“You are right mother, I’m not different”- I said
“Helen look at me”- She said then I raised my eyes to look at those motherly eyeballs of hers- “Can you tell me the truth?”
“I can”- I said with a nod and a sad voice.
“Why are you really here? Why did you come back after all those years? Because from the look of things, you are not here to stay”- Mother said with English.
As soon as she muttered those words, I heard the siren of the police getting closer and closer to my house.
“I came back because you are the last thing I want to see before they take me away”- I said then the police stopped at my compound.
The lights of their siren were blinking on the walls of the room we were in. The little girl who stayed with my mother came out of the room she was staying and with Igbo language she said.
“Mama, why is the police here?”
My mother kept looking at me with a grim face then I heard a knock on the door. The knock on the door made my mother shook with fear.
“Yes?”- My mother said standing up from the chair she sat.
“Don’t worry, it’s for me”- I said stopping her, I stood up from the chair I was sitting and walked slowly to the door. I finally placed my hand on the door knob and paused for some seconds- “It was nice meeting you again mother and I’m very sorry I have to walk out of your life for the second time”
I said and opened the door to see the two Officers who were standing by the door. As soon as the door opened, they both turned backwards to look at the door in unison, one of them wanted to greet me but when he saw that it was the person he came to arrest, he removed his badge from his pocket and said.
“Helen Ebube, you are hereby under arrest for the destruction of lives and properties, you have every right to remain silent, everything you say or do will be used against you in the court of law”- He said showing me his badge, the name on the badge was ‘Uche Johnson’
The Officer by his left-hand side held my two hands behind my back and told me to move. Mother was by the door looking at me, I followed the officer to their car then the one holding my hands slammed my head on the car bonnet as he handcuffed my hands.
“Easy”- I said and moved my head to look at my mother who was supporting her hand on the wall, finally my eyes met the silent grave of my sister.
The villagers gathered themselves to see what was going on, the women placed their hands on their waist while the men crossed their hands on their chest. The police man finally handcuffed me as I gave out deep and loud breathes then he rose me up and directed me to the back seat of their car. My eyes were on mother all through and the girl who stayed by her side.
“Enter jareh”- The officer said to me and forced me into the car. The other Officer, the one who had the name ‘Uche Johnson’ pasted at the uniform of his left breast was already in the car waiting for his colleague who later sat next to him.
I placed my head on the car window to see mother. Mother started crying and walked up to me.
“Helen- Helen!”- Mother said as she placed her hands on the car window I was looking at, I cried also but even I knew I brought this upon myself.
“Mummy”- I said with a crying voice then the police reversed their car and drove away.
Maybe it would have been better if I never saw her, but as I said, she was the last person I wanted to see before they took me away.
The end?
HELEN SHALL RETURN
IN
WE ARE OUR FATE
VOLUME II
“No one ever says goodbye unless they want to see you again”
A SNEAK PEAK OF WE ARE OUR FATE
VOLUME TWO
Eleven years later
A dark figure of a man sat in his office looking at the opened window, some few seconds later his telephone started ringing. He stretched his hand and answered it but the person calling was silent.
“Yes? Who’s this?”- A feminine voice finally asked
“It’s nice knowing you received the note”- The man said with his deep voice.
“Don’t mind me asking again, who are you?”
“Someone from your past, you don’t recognize the voice?”
“I don’t think I have heard this voice before”
“You saved my life once, do you remember? You were the one who saved me that day after I was attacked at my house”- The man said then the caller was silent for a while as if thinking who the man might be- “It’s me Albert”
“Al-Albert, is that you? How-how are you alive?”
“I’m alive because of you”
“But how do you know it was me?”
“When I woke up, the medical personnel described who brought me to the hospital”
“I can’t still believe you are alive”- The feminine voice said with a happy voice- “It’s nice knowing you are alive; it really is”
“Thank you, Helen, for everything”
“Yeah”- Helen said and sniffled- “Thank you for reaching out to me”
“I heard you are in prison now”- Albert said and stood up from the chair he sat- “Well, I guess it’s time for me to repay the favour”
“How?”- Helen asked
“You see”
Q&A with the Author
Imaginary interview with the Author
Interviewer: So, my first question is how long did it take you to write this story?
Author: It took me about four to five months
Interviewer: Four to five months? Isn’t that a lot of months?
Author: No, not really. There are some books that takes Authors about a year or two to complete.
Interviewer: Your first book Life as a butterfly, we understand your reasons or should I say your concerns before you wrote it. Kindly take us on a journey, why did you write this book?
Author: I wrote this story for all those who lost that they loved most, because the death of someone you love is capable of changing you, I have seen very good people turn into violent ones because of someone in their life they lost.
Interviewer: Okay. You know, one thing I love about the Helen character is the fact that she might behave or act strong but inside of her is this whole world of hurt. There’s this word she said in the chapter two of the story that got into my heart the most, don’t mind me I’m going to quote her.
Author: It’s okay, go ahead
Interviewer: “Just by mere looking at me, you could swear I am like every normal girl, only if you know the weight, the hate, the rage and the pain that played in my heart, like a group of campers dancing around a fire. It’s funny how much a death of someone you love can take from you, you don’t want to know the feeling”. This part of the story resonates with a lot of people, especially me. We put our fake face on and pretend like we are okay, we smile but inside it’s dark and grime, in the inside we cry for help but on the out our eyes are dry…
Author: we are sad people with happy faces
Interviewer laughs
Interviewer: Right. I think I’m more attached to the Helen character, what about you? What character in this story do you like the most?
Author: I think that should be Albert, there’s something about the Albert character that rhymes with my reality.
Interviewer: Speaking of reality, they say a writer always leaves a clue or something about himself in his story. What part of you is in this story?
Author: It should be Albert and a little of Helen. There’s a resonation between Albert and me, at a time of our lives we were both alone, waking up in the morning to work even though we are sad inside. What I have similar to the Helen character is that, somethings I experienced in life made my heart rather cold, it made me to love sparingly.
Interviewer: What should we expect in the volume two of this book? Why didn’t you just end the story there?
Author: I think the volume two will be more interesting than the volume one, there’s still a lot of secrets Helen needs to discover, very shocking secrets and I believe if one reads the volume one, he/she would not spot those secrets unless I tell them.
Interviewer: Will it be okay if you tell us the secrets?
Interviewer and Author chuckles
Author: No, not yet, I think the volume two will expose some of those secrets.
Interviewer: When you say secrets, what do you mean?
Author: There’s this quote I heard that goes, “Nothing is truly what it seems” and another that goes, “Believe only half of what you see and hear”. I think it will take a genius to tell how I’m going to end the whole thing or what will come next, to summarize it all, we all just have to wait for the volume two.
Interviewer: Okay, time to ask some personal questions. When did you start writing?
Author: It should be in my Jss3, that’s the only place/time I have consciousness of myself writing a story and since then it has been very difficult for me to stop. You know writing is like cocaine or drugs, when you start, it’s hard to stop, only fellow writers will understand what I mean.
Interviewer: Did any part of this story made you sad? And where?
Author: yes, the part where Helen and Albert finally met and they are in that land they called “The milky way” again looking at each other’s eyes with the stars above their heads. When I was writing that part, it was almost like I was there with them, that part should be my saddest part in this story. What about you? Do you have any?
Interviewer: I’m surprised you mentioned that part, well that part didn’t strike me as sad. Mine should be the whole story with every single detail in it, everything about the story is sad no matter how you plan to end it.
Author laughs a little
Author: I’m glad you loved it
Interviewer: Do you have any other books you are working on? Are we seeing the volume two anytime soon?
Author: Yeah, I am working on another book and yes you should expect the volume two soon.
Interviewer: Are you going to be writing both of them at the same time or…?
Author chuckles
Author: I will have to be done with my new book first before I focus on the volume two.
Interviewer: Last question, what do you want to communicate or what lesson are you trying to pass out to the reader?
Author: If you did not learn anything, I just want you to go home with this, “Learn how to let go, learn how to start afresh”, I know it’s hard but you just have to, for you. I’m not saying you should allow people treat you like crap or take you for granted, because not all silence is wisdom. It hurts when someone breaks your heart, it hurts when you lose that you loved the most, it’s hard to watch them go.
Interviewer: This is a beautiful story, I really loved it and I wish you the best of luck and a brighter future ahead.
Author: Thank you very much.
About the Author
Austin Williams is a talented writer specializing in the captivating genres of teen fiction, tragedy, science fiction and other genres. With a unique blend of imagination and emotional depth, Austin crafts compelling stories that resonate with readers of all ages.
Drawing inspiration from the complexities of adolescence, Austin delves into the lives of young protagonists, exploring their triumphs, struggles, and personal growth. Through nuanced storytelling, Austin tackles thought-provoking themes that resonate with teenagers and young adults, touching upon issues such as identity, love, loss, and the pursuit of truth.
Austin's writing is characterized by a masterful command of language, creating evocative scenes and compelling dialogue that keep readers engrossed from beginning to end. With each story, Austin strives to entertain, inspire, and challenge readers to question the world around them.
When not immersed in the world of writing, Austin enjoys exploring nature, seeking inspiration in the beauty of the outdoors. Austin also has a deep appreciation for science, often delving into the latest discoveries and theories that fuel his imagination.
To discover more about Austin and to stay updated on his latest works, visit his Facebook profile: Facebook@ Austin wills or you can send him a message at emailaustinwills@gmail.com.
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