Yesterday Lives – Chapter 2

Ayorinde and Ayotunde ran towards the dark alley just opposite the bridge. When they got to their regular spot, Ayotunde handed over the mobile phone to Ayorinde before throwing out all the contents of the bag on the ground. She picked out the wallet and opened it. It was filled with one thousand naira notes and she whistled. Ayorinde was already taking out the sim card from the phone and fixing the back cover of the phone into its place. Ayotunde started counting the notes. She counted six notes. She nudged her brother and smiled. It was going to be a good day for them. She handed over the notes to Ayorinde who put them in the back pocket of the jeans he was wearing. He dropped his shirt which looked two sizes bigger and made sure his back pocket was well covered.

Ayotunde bent down and started rummaging through the items she had thrown on the ground. A make-up bag, some chocolates in a Ziploc bag and a hand sanitizer. She opened the wallet again and found two ATM cards. She took them out and dropped them on the ground. She was about putting the wallet back into the bag when Ayorinde stopped her.

‘Drop the wallet. You can’t take it.’

‘But why? It’s a beautiful wallet.’ Ayotunde asked.

‘It may put us in trouble. Leave it and take any other thing you want in there. I will get you a wallet if you want one.’

‘Thank you.’ Ayotunde smiled as she put back the items she had initially thrown on the ground into the bag except the wallet and the ATM cards.

She trusted her brother’s judgment and would dare not go against whatever he said.

Ayorinde turned the phone to the right and to the left. The silver lining on the phone glistered in the dark. ‘Let’s go home and eat first. We would sort this out tomorrow morning.’ He said to his sister.

She nodded her response.

He stretched out his hand and she took it as they passed through the dark alley and crossed over to the shanties behind.

As they edged closer to their abode, they heard a woman screaming. ‘You go kill me today oh. You go kill me.’

Ayorinde and Ayotunde looked at each other. Tears gathered in Ayotunde’s eyes but Ayorinde signaled a no with a wave of his fore finger and head.

She nodded as she looked at her brother with admiration. He always knew how to handle any situation.

Ayorinde took a detour and avoided the entrance of their house. He went towards the back of the house and led his sister in.

The voice of the screaming woman rose above the night breaking the peace and quiet of the environment.

Ayotunde put her hands on her ears trying to block the vulgar words spewing out of the woman’s mouth from filtering into her ears. Ayorinde noticed and hugged his sister. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. ‘I have told you not to cry. It will soon be over.’ He reassured her.

Ayotunde sniffed as she wiped the tears that were now spilling onto her cheeks. Even though she was just twelve, she understood everything that was going on around her. Her brother, who was five years older than her, was her only source of comfort in the crazy world that she lived in.

At the age of seven, she was about to be sold into prostitution but for the timely intervention of her brother, Ayorinde. He had overheard the conversation between his mother and the prospective buyer; Madam Something Nice. Everyone knew Madam Something Nice bought girls from their parents and flew them out of the country to prostitute but their mother had been indifferent. She had always told Ayotunde that she was her cheque out of poverty. She always sang it into her daughter’s ears that she was the one to take her out of the valley of wretchedness which their father had thrown them into. Ayotunde never really understood but she always nodded and smiled anytime her mother said so. At a very young age, she believed she would get her family out of poverty.

The night she was to be sold, Madam Something Nice had come knocking on the door of their room in the decrepit face to face apartment where they lived. Their father was out on night shift where he worked. Kevwe had jumped up immediately she heard the taps on the door. She had instructed Madam Something Nice to tap three times so as not to wake her children up. Kevwe opened the door quietly and stepped outside. She spoke in a whisper to Madam Something Nice asking her if she came with her bodyguard as agreed. His job was to carry her daughter while she slept. Madam Something Nice had confirmed in the affirmative. Kevwe asked for her initial deposit and Madam Something Nice had told her she needed to see her daughter first before she could make any payment.

The whispers from outside the door had roused Ayorinde from sleep and he had listened intently to the conversation. When he realized what his mother was about to do, he had woken Ayotunde up. She was still groggy and he told her she needed to go pee. She had only nodded as her brother half-carried her. As Kevwe opened the door to reveal her daughter to Madam Something Nice, she was shocked to see Ayorinde fully awake with his sister half-asleep. Ayorinde’s arms were wrapped around his sister as he dragged her up. Kevwe asked where he was taking his sister to and Ayorinde said Ayotunde woke him up saying she wanted to pee. Kevwe had no reason to doubt her son and she told him to make it quick.

Five minutes later, when Ayorinde and Ayotunde refused to emerge from the bathroom down the hall, Madam Something Nice became impatient. Kevwe pleaded with her to hold on as she would go check on them. Kevwe got to the stalls down the hall and knocked on the stall that was occupied. She called her son’s name and he answered her. She asked what was taking them so long. Ayorinde responded that his sister had decided to poo. Kevwe became edgy and asked him to get his sister to hurry with her toilet business. She walked back to Madam Something Nice to apologize to her but Madam Something Nice would have none of that. She told her she had other places to go to and if she was truly ready, she would have to bring her daughter herself. Kevwe knew this was near impossible as Madam Something Nice was hardly in the country. She only travelled home when she needed more girls.

Ayorinde came out of the stall a few minutes later to confirm if his sister’s abductors had gone. When he noticed the coast was clear, he called Ayotunde out of the stall and warned her never to go anywhere with their mother alone. He told her that going forward, they had to stick together.

Kevwe had been furious with Ayorinde when he came back from the bathroom with his sister. She slapped her son and asked him why it took him so long to make his sister use the bathroom. Out of anger, Ayorinde had spoken up. He asked his mother what Madam Something Nice was doing in front of their door at that time of the night. He asked his mother what business she had with Madam Something Nice as everyone knew her reputation. Kevwe had been shocked as Madam Something Nice had hidden in the dark and she did not realize that her son knew she had a visitor. She had been lost for words and unable to gather her thoughts together after the accusation.

She had not envisaged that she would be caught in her act. She had everything planned out or so she thought. Their father, Ayo would leave home for work where he worked as a security guard attached to a service company. He would go for the night shift at 6:00pm as usual. The kids would have dinner at 7:00pm and by 8:30pm, they would be in bed. By 11:00pm, they would be fast asleep and Madam Something Nice would come with her bodyguard, carry Ayotunde to their car while she slept and be gone before anyone noticed.

Ayo would be back at 1:00pm the next day and would ask about his daughter. She would respond that her cousin, Ejiro had arrived very early from Ghana that morning and taken Ayotunde with her so she could enroll her in school and also take care of her. Her husband would have believed her and would have been happy because even though he longed for his children to be educated, he couldn’t afford to send them to school right now.

Everything would have worked out as premeditated but all her plans had been thrown into disarray by Ayorinde. She looked at her son with anger blazing in her eyes. Ayotunde crouched behind her elder brother as he stood chin-up to his mother daring her to answer his question. When she refused to give him an answer, he took his sister’s hand and led her back into the room. He lay on the bed and hugged his sister just in case his mother tried to play a fast one on him while they were asleep.

Kewve refused to go back into the room immediately. She stood outside the door as she deliberated on the night’s event. What if Ayorinde related what had transpired to his father? No, he won’t. She thought. He wouldn’t dare. He knew what she was capable of doing. But what if he did? She sighed. It would be his words against hers. She would never own up to wanting to sell her daughter. She opened the door quietly and lay on her side of the bed. She looked at Ayorinde who was already asleep but had his arms wrapped around his sister. She turned towards the wall as she bit her lips. She wasn’t a bad mother, she just wanted the best for herself and her family; she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

———-
The story continues…

Are we mentally aware?

“Aunty, I took care of your car while you were away”. The man said.

I looked at him briefly and ignored him.

“You have a nice car and you are very pretty.”

I tapped the unlock button on the car remote once and eased in. I locked the door and started the car.

“Aunty I just need hundred naira.” He said through the wound-up window. “Please Aunty….” He kept saying as I drove off.

*****

This is the fourth time this well spoken man probably in his late 40s or early 50s would be accosting me. He walks the length and breadth of the popular streets in Surulere every day. The first time he accosted me, I did not realize he had a problem. As I eased into the marwa that was to take me to my destination at about 6:15a.m, he walked up to me and complimented my hair. I had packed it all up and it fell like the leaves of a palm tree around my head.

“Aunty, I like the way you packed your hair. It makes you look like an African beauty.”

“Thank you.” I had replied as I looked away and hoped the marwa would fill up on time so we could move. I was already running late and not in the mood for any chit-chat with anyone early in the morning.

“I just need hundred naira, please.” He had asked.

It was at that point I actually looked at him. A tall, well spoken man begging for hundred naira early in the morning. I was confused.

Thankfully, the marwa filled up and the driver eased in and drove off.

 

The second encounter with him was in the afternoon. I was walking with my son. As we attempted to cross the road, he looked at my son and smiled at him.

“How are you? Hope you are taking care of mummy.”

“I am fine, thank you.” My son replied.

I immediately recognized him and I held tightly to my son as we crossed the road.

“Aunty, please I need just hundred naira.”

 

On my third encounter with him, I had stopped to buy suya from my regular customer. He walked up to me and said; “I thought you had a baby on your back. I didn’t realize it was your knapsack.”

He started with his compliments as usual and kept talking. I ignored him and faced my business. He asked for hundred naira and when he realized I wasn’t looking at him, he walked away.

The guy selling suya to me smiled and I asked if he knew him.

“Yes, I know am well well. He dey waka everywhere dey ask for hundred naira.”

“Ahn…ahn…” I lamented.

“I hear say na this street im papa house dey. Dem say after im papa die, na so he kolo.”

“Wow!!!” I exclaimed. “He no get family?”

“Dem say im brother just leave am for house. I hear say he don travel comot.”

I paid for my suya, thanked the guy and walked away.

 

Whether the story about his father dying, his brother travelling out and leaving him alone is true or not, I have no idea. But one thing is sure, the man needs help and it seems like he has been left to his fate.

—–

Photo Credit: http://www.chinalawandpolicy.com

Love, Lies and Murder – Part 1

This Monday, Olubukola’s Thoughts serves you another African love story broken into three parts. 

Please enjoy, drop your comments and don’t forget to use the share buttons below.

Thanks 

*********

As the police led Mojirayo away from the scene of the crime, she looked at the faces of her parents. Her mother put her hand on her head as she threw herself on the floor in lamentation. Her father who she expected to be man enough to handle the situation wasn’t any better. He was crying in broad daylight. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he looked at his first daughter. His pride, the one who was meant to take them out of the depth of poverty. The one who was meant to be the shining light to her nine younger siblings. The one he had given out in marriage at the age of sixteen because he needed to provide a better life for his family.

 ******

      Mojirayo raised her head high. She wasn’t sorry for what she had done. She showed no remorse. This was not the time to be sorry. This was the time to be happy. The time to jubilate because she had finally been delivered from the hell she lived in. Yes, it was hell but her parents thought otherwise. Even though she hadn’t planned what happened, it had worked perfectly in her favour.

:

Baba Ibeji was a pain she endured the past twenty-four months. He had a pot belly that irritated her anytime he tried to hug her. He had a terrible mouth odour that nauseated her and made her puke when he kissed her. After retching, she washed her tongue with her toothbrush vigorously so that she did not also become a victim of his terrible sickness. When he visited her room to satisfy himself, he grunted like a goat during his height of ecstasy and snored like a generator that was about to knock its engine immediately after.

:

Most times, she picked up her pillow and went to the living room to sleep. When he awoke in the morning and asked if she enjoyed him, she faked a smile and nodded like an agama lizard. Her three senior wives would hiss and spit at her for the next three days. She was the intruder. The one who had come to reap where she did not sow. The one who had come to take advantage of their husband’s goodwill to better her own family. The selfish, bad-mannered girl who was old enough to be a daughter to them but was sleeping with their husband and keeping him away from their rooms for the most part of the month.

******

      Twenty-six months ago, Mojirayo was about to write her SSCE exams. Every day, she reminded her father about the payment for the exams but she got the same answer each time; he did not have the funds. Shina was an okada rider who lived in a one room face-to-face apartment with ten kids. His wife was a petty trader who sold Ugwu leaves for a living. Mojirayo once asked her mother why she had to give birth to many children when they could not afford to cater for them. She had received a resounding smack across her face as her response. She was told never to stop the flow of God’s blessings. Family planning had never been an option. To her mother, it was a sin.

:

But Mojirayo had overheard their neighbours making jest of them many times. They were the butt of the neighbours jokes in the building. They said Shina could barely feed himself but never ceased to get his wife pregnant. They said he was either trying to prove his virility or was too stupid to look for another form of recreation besides the bedroom.

:

When Mojirayo refused to allow her father rest, he decided to approach members of his okada riders association for a loan. He however received sad stories from everyone. They also had obligations to their various families that they couldn’t fulfill.

:

This denial made him take a visit to Baba Ibeji’s house which was a stone throw to theirs. Baba Ibeji was their landlord. He was a big time farmer who dealt in cassava plantation, fish farming and piggery. He had a number of employees working for him and he built the face to face apartments with the proceeds from his business. Shina had pleaded with Baba Ibeji to loan him the money for his daughter’s exams. Baba Ibeji had gladly accepted to oblige him but under a condition. Shina had promised to accept whatever condition it was. He had assumed that Baba Ibeji would probably ask for a free supply of Ugwu to his family or ask for his monthly rent to be increased to cover the cost of the loan.

:

He was however in shock when he heard Baba Ibeji’s condition. He wanted to make Mojirayo his fourth wife. Shina had stammered and asked if Baba Ibeji was serious. Baba Ibeji had gotten upset and walked him out of his house. Shina had gone home dejected. How could Baba Ibeji want to take Mojirayo who was old enough to be his own daughter as wife? What about his other three wives? Shina had been unable to sleep that night. He had tossed and turned on his tattered mattress. Even when his wife, Omowunmi had tried to touch him, he had turned his back to her. She had been surprised as Shina never refused her advances. They always practiced Proverbs 5 verse 18 – 20 and Ecclesiastes 9 verse 9 to the letter.

******

      The next morning, Mojirayo greeted her father with news. She wasn’t going to write the SSCE exams because she was yet to pay for it. She had been told in school the previous day. Shina made up his mind immediately. He went to Baba Ibeji and agreed to his conditions for the loan. Baba Ibeji smiled as Shina almost prostrated before him. He had eyed Mojirayo for a while. She was a stunning beauty and he felt she should live a happy life; away from the poverty of her parents. He gave Shina cash on the spot and asked him to bring Mojirayo to his house immediately after her exams were over. Shina nodded as he collected the cash and left Baba Ibeji’s house. Baba Ibeji smirked in a self-satisfied triumph. He touched his nether region and licked his lips. Mojirayo was going to be his trophy wife.

******

      Tears streamed down Mojirayo’s cheeks when her father told her about his agreement with Baba Ibeji after her last paper. Shina had thought it wise to allow his daughter write her exams without any distractions. Mojirayo told her father that she would have rather missed writing the exams than get married to Baba Ibeji.

:

Shina told her that she needed to look at the bright side of the situation. Baba Ibeji was rich and he would offer her a better life. She would be able to have the nicer things of life which she would never have access to under his roof. She would be able to help him send her younger ones to school which he could barely afford to do at the moment. She would make all their neighbours envious and he would have the last laugh as they would all love to be in her shoes. There was nothing Mojirayo said that made sense to her father. As far as he was concerned, this was a dream come through for them. Mojirayo was their ticket to a life out of abject poverty.

******

      Two weeks after Mojirayo’s exams, Shina was yet to take his daughter to Baba Ibeji’s house. He knew he was meant to fulfill his promise but he wanted to have his daughter for one more day. He told himself he would do it tomorrow but tomorrow never came. He noticed his daughter’s countenance had changed since he told her of his agreement with Baba Ibeji. She wore a sad face permanently and looked as if she was waiting to be taken to the slaughter house.

:

Even though, he also felt bad about the agreement, he consoled himself that it was for a better life. Once she became Baba Ibeji’s fourth wife, their fortune would change. All those neighbours who taunted him would see the other side of him. He would make sure they apologized for all the insults they had heaped on him all through the years. He would stop riding an okada because Mojirayo would urge her husband to buy him a nice Toyota camry 2001 model which he would use as a taxi cab. His other nine children would change their school and move to a private school in the area. Omowunmi would stop selling Ugwu leaves and start doing supplies like Baba Ibeji’s first wife. She would rub shoulders with the big women who tied their geles like a satellite dish every Saturday. She would supply party souvenirs, canopies and chairs and maybe even start cooking for large parties. At least, she loved to cook and the aroma of her food anytime she was cooking was the reason why she was called “Ìya Mojíráyò, Ölówö síbí” by their neighbours.

:

He had just finished a bowl of eba and edikaikong soup as his mind played around with ideas shooting them into the goal post. He smiled and picked his teeth with a broom stick as he thought about what he would do once he became rich. A hard knock on his door jolted him out of his reverie. He wondered who could be banging his door that way at this time of the night. Another bang on the door got him upset and he stood up to accost the intruder.

:

He opened the door and standing before him was Baba Ibeji. He had an angry stare on his face which highlighted the tribal marks on his cheeks. Many of the kids in the compound whispered to each other whenever they saw him that he must have fought with a tiger to have such terrible marks. Shina knew the wait was over. Baba Ibeji asked him to pack his family and wretched belongings and leave his house the next morning or fulfill his promise. He pleaded with Baba Ibeji and told him Mojirayo would arrive at his house first thing the next morning.

——
The story continues…

:

******

UPDATE: 

The concluding parts of ‘Love, Lies and Murder’ have been published with other short stories in a book titled – Tears, Blood and Death.

Tears, Blood and Death (A collection of Short Stories) can be found on Amazon kindle

Buy-on-Amazon

Do click on the link above and you would be directed to the Amazon website to purchase a copy of the book.

I hope you enjoyed the story thus far. Please share and don’t forget to send me your reviews. I would appreciate it.

Thank you.

——

Photo Credit: http://www.123rf.com

Wedding Chronicles – Are we family?

The wedding procession was taking place inside the church. The bride’s brothers, sister and sister-in-law were outside the church trying to make sure that the reception venue which was within the church premises was neatly arranged and ready.

While they were at it, a sister of the bride asked for a pack of juice. Her brother and sister-in-law told her they would help her get one. There was a large drum stationed beside the church building. It contained chilled drinks. They went to the people manning the drum and asked for a pack of juice for their sister. The men said they had been instructed by the groom’s family not to give anyone anything. They explained that it was for the bride’s sister but the men turned a deaf ear.

When they were about to leave, the groom’s sister walked by. The bride’s sister-in-law went ahead to explain the situation to the groom’s sister. The groom’s sister looked at the lady standing before her like she was some piece of trash. “Yes, I gave that instruction and no one gets anything. If you knew you wanted a drink, you could have come with yours.”

The bride’s sister-in-law was embarrassed. She was about to give the groom’s sister a befitting response when the bride’s brother pulled her away. “Just don’t say anything. Leave her alone.” He said to her. They went across the road, bought a pack of juice and handed it over to their sister.

 

The church service was soon over and guests trooped out to take their seats under the canopies arranged outside the church. The bride’s family had made arrangements for food for all guests and they served everyone present.

While the reception was underway, the groom’s family brought out another meal which had kept to be served at a later hour. They started to dish out the meal to their guests and another sister to the bride went to them to ask how she could be of help so she could serve some of their own guests. The groom’s sister refused and told her the meal was brought strictly for the groom’s family’s guests.

The bride’s sister-in-law stood afar and watched the drama taking place. If the groom’s sister could do this on her brother’s wedding day to the bride’s family, she wondered what awaited the bride in the future.

———
Photo Credit: http://www.123rf.com

Many reasons to be thankful!

This is the last post for the year 2016 and I have every reason to be grateful.

  1. I am grateful for life.
  2. I am grateful for sound health.
  3. I am grateful for my family; immediate and extended.
  4. I am grateful for my friends, colleagues and acquaintances; especially my course mates I hooked up with after 18 years.
  5. I am grateful I have a roof over my head.
  6. I am grateful for my job.
  7. I am grateful for my business, NDJs and how far God has taken it.
  8. I am grateful for my clients, without which my business does not exist.
  9. I am grateful for my talents yet untapped and business ideas still being cooked in my head.
  10. I am grateful for Olubukola’s Thoughts; and I am grateful for the eyes reading this.

grateful-thankful-blessed

If you are truly grateful for the year 2016, share in the comments section below.

Here’s wishing you a happy new year!

See you in 2017 by His grace!

——

Photo Credit: http://www.marvlunreed.com

The Emergence of Married Bachelors

I won’t call it a new trend because it has been around for a while and has come to stay. However, I wonder how it became so acceptable. Some years ago, it was considered an anomaly. Some years ago, to be an absentee father was totally wrong. Some years ago, to live apart from your legally married wife was termed immoral (unless you had a harem). Some years ago, it was not a choice to live apart from your family. Those who lived apart for genuine reasons such as work, war, education; longed for when they would live together as a family. In the past, family values were passed from generation to generation by fathers while mothers held those values and ensured they were adhered to in the family unit.

Absent Fathers_Married Bachelors

Fast forward to this generation, it has become a fad to live separately. Hmm……the things this generation does; at times, I wonder what the next generation would do. Blame it on technology! It is a technology driven world. Yeah, right! I wonder if technology also helps in managing a bonded family. I hear Skype, Face time, Snapchat, Hangouts, Viber, Tango, WeChat etc. Does technology train a child or help the father see those habits that need to be quickly nipped in the bud? Does technology have arms to hug a child early in the morning or late at night? Does technology give a child the warm assurance when he is scared of shadows at night? Does technology get into bed with a child to allay his fears when he is having nightmares? Does technology whip a child in the butt when he misbehaves? Does technology sit with a child to assist with homework brought back from school? Does technology give a child good night kisses?

Absent Father_Married Bachelors 2

I wonder if training a child has now become the sole duty of the mother alone. I hear a bad child is the mother’s. So if the good child is the father’s and the father is an absentee, is it right for him to also claim the good child as his? Being that, the mother wore both the father and mother hat.

The emotional needs of the wife is another topic for discussion. If marriage is for companionship, then why marry and live apart on purpose? Why burn with passion and suffer in solitude when you have paid the price in full for uninterrupted satisfaction. Sincerely, I need valid answers to these questions.

Married bachelors

————
Photo credit: http://www.womansday.com
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke
http://www.famousquotes.com