OKEZIE

(...continued...)

                When his neighbours saw him, they came to him. He knew they wanted to know what had happened so he braced himself to answer their questions. If he made any attempt to evade being question, some will not give up, while others would go about with a wrong assumption and paint him black.

  “What happened?” Mama Ciro asked him.

  “Mama it was a set up o.”

  “Set up how?” another person asked. “What did they say you did?”

  “They said I stole money from where I work.”

  “I hope they did not hurt you.”

  “My God vindicated me.”

  “Wicked people. They are looking for a way to send you out.”

  “I wonder o,” Okezie said and walked in.

  “Don’t mind them you hear.”

  “Thank you.”

                Okezie went into his room and locked himself in. He thought about his life and what he had just done. Thoughts of Nkechi went through his mind and he felt dislike for her. He shook his head and forced himself to think about something else. Before long, he fell asleep. Almost immediately, he heard a tap on his door. It sounded like the person wasn’t confident in knocking. He turned the other side on his bed. The knock came again. He got up angrily, hissed and opened the door. He saw Ebuka standing outside looking remorseful. He immediately banged the door and locked it.

  “O.k.” Ebuka called him. “Please open the door. I am sorry.”

                Okezie ignored him and lay on his bed. Ebuka called and knocked for a while and then walked away. Okezie hissed and closed his eye. He slept off. The next knock that woke him up was his aunty’s knock on the door in the evening. He stired, got up and peeped through the window. Then he opened the door.

  “aunty good evening.”

  “ehe,” she answered as she entered his room. She stood by the door and observed Okezie for a while. Then she asks him, “what is it that I am hearing?”

  “What aunty?” Okezie asked, pretending not to know what she was driving at.

  “That you were arrested today.”

  “Aunty it is a long story o.”

  “I have all day. Tell me what haooened.” She sat down and waited.

                A thousand thoughts ran through Okezie’s mind.

  ‘what should I tell her now?’ he thought.

                He couldn’t bring himself to lie because of how close she was to him. She was like a mother to him and one of his stunch support in the town. On the other hand, if he told her the truth, he wasn’t sure what would be her reaction.

  “I am waiting.” She said and interrupted his thoughts. “Or you don’t want to tell me?”

  “It is not that aunty.”

  “Then say something because I am not going anywhere till I hear what happened.”

                He told her the truth.

  “Aunty I stole money in my office.”

                It came like a bombshell. The poor woman moped at him, mouth agape, short of words. It was not what she expected to hear.