AGAINST THE TIDE [Excerpt]

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER FIVE [pages 47-51]

        They sat in the shade of a building in the park and talked for a while. Ndidi taught her some simple things she had learnt from Ebere.
         They were there for a while when suddenly; pandemonium broke out in the park. Some hawkers ran into the park with their wares, either, all thrown away or still dropping. They had run from the express road near the park. Shouts were heard outside the park by men saying, “Hold them! Catch them!”
         All the people in the park, especially the young ones, took cover. The hawkers who had run in were crying. They spread the news: Two children who were hawking had just been forcefully kidnapped on the express road by three men in a car. They had sped off and were a far distance when people around realized what had happened and some tried pursuing them but couldn’t catch up with them. They seemed to have planned to perpetrate the crime when the roads will be free of vehicular traffic. So there was no impediment to a smooth sailing in their kidnap.
         Ndidi and Nkechi were sad and scared.
  “Let us go home now.” Ndidi said, shaking with fright.
  “From where?” Nkechi asked.
  “Let us look for another way out.”
         They left the motor park immediately, through an apian way bypassing the express road. As they walked home, they avoided cars that were parked by the side of the road with men inside. Whenever a car came close to them, they would run far from it.
  “I don’t think I will sell again o,” Nkechi said as they walked home.
  “Me too,” Ndidi agreed.
  “Those people are wicked.”
  “Who knows what they will do to the children?
  “The police will catch them.”
           When they got the point where they parted ways, they both walked home in haste. When Nkechi got home, her aunty was around. She told her what happened.
  “Is that a story you made up as an excuse for not selling anything today?” her aunty asked her.
  “No aunty. It really happened.”
  “Where is the money you got from the sales?”
           Nkechi gave the money to her, wondering why she cared more about the money than her well being.
  “The money is complete,” her aunty said. “Thank your stars. I would not have believed you and you would have paid. Go and fetch water!”
    Nkechi sadly left to fetch water.
           When Ndidi got home, only Ebere, Onyi and Jerome were around. Ebere always brought them back from their school on his way back from his own school. Theirs was in the neighbourhood so it was not difficult for him.
   “Mummy is not back yet?” Ndidi asked as she dropped her empty bucket.
  “No,” Onyi answered. “She is still in the shop.”
    Jerome came to her and she carried him.
  “You came back early today,” Ebere said.
  “Something bad happened today.”
  “What happened?”
          Ndidi told them what happened in the express road that afternoon. They listened with rapt attention and Jerome kept asking questions which she answered.
…
           She went to do some chores while Ebere and his siblings played in the parlour. When their mother came back that evening, they told her what Ndidi had told them.
  “Story story,” she said. “So she did not sell anything today.”
    She called Ndidi with a loud voice. Ndidi came and greeted her.
  “Which cock and bull story are you telling?” she asked Ndidi. “Did you sell everything?”
  “Yes aunty.”
  “Where is the money?”
    Ndidi went into the room and brought some money and handed over to her. She counted it.
  “You are lucky,” she said and went inside her room.
    Ndidi exhaled to diffuse tension when she was out of sight and Ebere gave her an ‘I told you’ look.




_______________________________________________________________________________

About The Book

“Against the Tide” is the story of a young girl named Ndidi; the third child of her parents, who up until the death of her father was living in affluence. The story follows her ordeals, hardship she passed through and what eventually happened to her.

“Against The Tide” is a well written fictional story that highlights certain issues concerning child labour and abuse as evident in household slavery, street hawking and sexual harassment. The book tries to pick up causes and effects and goes on to make little effort in proffering solution



for more info,
-- https://www.facebook.com/Against-The-Tide-178275012313259/?ref=bookmarks

-- https://www.facebook.com/Nedu-Isaac-148249582031777/?ref=ts&fref=ts

-- +234-813-289-8209 

(c)2015.Chinedu Isaac

BIRTHDAY WISHES: BETTY OTUECHERE

Happy Birthday to a friend, a WTI reader and follower; Betty Otuechere. We pray this new season of your life will bring the fulfilment of all your heart yearns for. You will walk in purpose. Have a wonderful celebration. Cheers!


With love,
WTI Team

AGAINST THE TIDE [excerpt]

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER TWO [pages 23-26]

           Ndidi and Nkechi became inseparable friends. They always went to hawk together and came back in the evening together. They encouraged each other, always talking about a bright future ahead of them, not knowing when and how that would be.
           Another person Ndidi met in the hawking environment was Jude, a boy a bit older than them. He was a hawker of bottled water and bottled drinks. He was a good boy but was always moody and on his own. Nkechi was the only person he related with freely. Ndidi asked and got to know from Nkechi that he was an orphan. He had lost his parents to HIV. He was not a carrier of the virus because his parents were not infected at the time of his conception. It was few years before then that the calamity came upon him. He had made up his mind not to remain in the village but to seek greener pasture in the city. He got to the city few months before Ndidi came into the scene and slept in motor parks. He started with selling pure water and gradually moved up to selling bottled drinks he carried in a basket. His manner of sales was risky as he had to run alongside moving vehicles on the highway. He didn’t have much choice as the vehicles were too much in a hurry to stop for the passengers to calmly buy what they wanted. The exposure to the hazards of street hawking almost took his life one day. He was hawking in his usual manner when a vehicle trying to avoid another one swerved and ran into him. It knocked him unconscious with some broken bones. He was helped by good Samaritans and rushed to hospital by the driver of the vehicle that knocked him down. The man paid his bills and took care of him till he got better. The man found out from Jude about his life and was moved with compassion and decided to take him in and train him through school. Jude didn’t bother taking him to the village as there was no well wisher to see in the village to inform. He was the only child of his parents and his relatives had dealt with him, taking over the little property that belonged to his parents. Thus, Jude went to stay with the man and his sons who were older than Jude in another town in the same state. He told his fellow hawkers who wished him well.
         Ndidi’s promotion examination result was excellent. She rejoiced. However, her joy was short lived when her aunty told her that she couldn’t afford sponsoring her and Ebere in secondary school at the same time and so she had to drop while Ebere continued. She wept. She remained sad for some days.
She thought of going back to the village but couldn’t muster the courage to tell her aunty. Whenever she saw her former classmates preparing to resume school, she would wish she were they.
  “If daddy and uncle had not died, I would also be preparing for school,’ she thought at times.
         When her former classmates got to know about her plight, they comforted her the much they could. Nkechi did all she could to comfort her best friend. Ebere and his siblings also did their best to cheer her up. Only her aunty showed no empathy. She sent her to hawk as usual, and scolded her at the slightest opportunity.
         Few weeks after, Ndidi no longer felt bad. She helped Ebere in his preparation for school. When school resumed, she helped him iron his school uniforms, pack his books and so on, with joy.
          However, her joyful disposition was short lived as her aunty who couldn’t hide her annoyance anymore scolded her one morning with such hatred that she left to hawk, crying.


 (GRAB YOUR COPY NOW!)

for more info,
- https://www.facebook.com/Against-The-Tide-178275012313259/?ref=bookmarks

- https://www.facebook.com/Nedu-Isaac-148249582031777/?ref=ts&fref=ts

(c)2015.Chinedu Isaac

AGAINST THE TIDE [Excerpts]

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE [PAGES 2-4]

          She went closer to Ndidi in an effort to slap her. Ndidi receded a bit, but she held the collar of Ndidi’s blouse forcing Ndidi to rattle out her explanation.
  “No ma, I am not lying,” she said. “When…when I was hawking with Nkechi, an okada man knocked her down. I kept my bucket by the side of the road and went to help her gather her plantain chips scattered on the road and also to make sure she was not badly injured. When I went back later to carry my bucket, I noticed that my moi-moi had reduced in number. I counted them and discovered that five wraps of moi-moi had been stolen. I looked around in search of anyone holding moi-moi so I will know who took them but because the place was rowdy, I didn’t see the thief. That was what happened ma.”
  “I knew you would tell a sweet story to cover up. You liar.”
  “No ma…”
  “Shut up,” her aunty said and hit her repeatedly.  “Because of this, you won’t eat anything this night,” she said when she was satisfied with the beating and started storming out of the kitchen.
  “Am sorry ma. Please forgive me ma,” Ndidi begged, crying, going after her. She stopped and looked back at Ndidi.
  “If I close my eyes and open them and you are still here,” she said, “you will see what I will do to you.”
            Ndidi knew better than to remain there, pleading. She left quickly, managing to dodge another blow from her aunty who was standing close to the door. She left and stood at the verandah sobbing. Whenever neighbours pass, she would either wipe her face or turn her head but they already knew her situation and didn’t bother asking her what the problem was.
  “Ndidi!”
  “Ndidi!” her aunty shouted again and came out to the verandah.
            Ndidi who was called back to reality by the sight of her aunty moved backwards, wondering what else was coming.
  “Did you or did you not hear your name?” her aunty asked her.
  “N…n…no ma.”
  “Come here you liar.” She went towards Ndidi to hit her.
Ndidi retreated but the wall was standing between her and any attempt at escape. She held the wall hoping it would swallow her. As her aunty wanted to hit her, a neighbour came into the compound. Her aunty pretended she was doing something else but the neighbour knew what was happening and passed them without saying a word.
  “Will you go and buy bread for my children!” she said, dropped the money on the floor and went back inside.
            Ndidi picked it up, wiped the tears from her eyes and left on the errand, trying as much as possible not to let people know she had cried.

_______________________________________________________________________

About The Book

“Against the Tide” is the story of a young girl named Ndidi; the third child of her parents, who up until the death of her father was living in affluence. The story follows her ordeals, hardship she passed through and what eventually happened to her.

“Against The Tide” is a well written fictional story that highlights certain issues concerning child labour and abuse as evident in household slavery, street hawking and sexual harassment. The book tries to pick up causes and effects and goes on to make little effort in proffering solution


for more info,
-- https://www.facebook.com/Against-The-Tide-178275012313259/?ref=bookmarks

-- https://www.facebook.com/Nedu-Isaac-148249582031777/?ref=ts&fref=ts

-- +234-813-289-8209 

(c)2015.Chinedu Isaac

(c)2015.Chinedu Isaac

BIRTHDAY WISHES: CHINEDU ISAAC

Happy birthday to the Senior Editor and contributor to Writings That Inspire. This new phase of your life will bring immeasurable blessings. God bless you sir.

with love.
WTI Team

BIRTHDAY WISHES: UGOCHI AMAKA

Happy Birthday to a friend, a WTI reader and follower; Ugochi Amaka. We pray this new season of your life will bring the fulfilment of all your heart yearns for. You will walk in purpose. Have a wonderful celebration. Cheers!


With love,
WTI Team

[more pix after the cut...]

FED UP

(…continued…)

                He told her it was so she would save her airtime. She told him not to worry and they continued talking. He told her in summary what had happened and told her he would be coming back with his brother the next day. He said he would tell her everything in detail when they meet.

  “Did you tell them I was the cause of your injuries?”

                He laughed and told her he did not. He asked after Mabel and her mother, sent his regards and signed off with “I love you”. Cynthia hung up the call and still held the phone close to her ear. Mabel burst into laughter.

  “Why are you shocked?” Mabel asked, laughing.

                Cynthia shook her head and dropped the phone.

  “He said ‘I love you’,” she said.

                Mabel laughed harder. Her mother came into the parlour and asked what the matter was.

  “Chuka told Cynthia ‘I love you’,” Mabel said.

  “So?” their mother asked, laughing.

  “She did not say ‘I love you too’ and she cut the call.”

  “I didn’t know what to say,” Cynthia said joining in the laughter.

  “You would have told him what he told you na,” Mabel said.

  “I can’t lie to him. What I feel for him is more of pity that love.”

  “Only God knows what he will be thinking now,” their mother said.

  “When he comes back tomorrow, we will know.”

  “You would have told him ‘thank you very much’,” their mother said.

  “No oo,” Cynthia said. “That is so outdated.”

  “But seriously, you can’t force yourself to say ‘I love you’ when you don’t mean it, just to give the person hope,” Mabel said.

  “I am happy you are learning fast,” their mother said. “I remember those days you started falling in love…”

  “I was a learner then na,” Mabel said, laughing. “Experience has taught me better.”

  “I was trying to tell you then but you did not want to hear.”

  “You know how it is when a naïve girl’s blood is hot.”

                They laughed.

  “Please keep an eye on the soup,” their mother said as she turned to leave.

  “Ok.”

                She went back to the backyard.

  “What should I do?” Cynthia asked Mabel. “Should I call him back and apologize for cutting the call and not saying anything?”

  “No. Just wait until he comes back tomorrow, then you talk with him.”

  “Abi?”

  “Yes. Don’t rush into any decision now. Any man who is matured and ready knows better than to rush a lady into making a decision.”

  “But I feel bad the way I treat him.”

  “You are not under any obligation to love him back o.”

  “Ok.”

  “It is okay for Chuka to love you much more than you love him. In fact, it is advisable. So he will treat you like a queen and kiss the ground you step on.”

  “How about when he gets jealous all because he really loves me.”

  “That means he is not yet ready to love. No one owns anybody and has no right to lay such claims.”

  “Chuka seems like the jealous lover type.”

  “I noticed that. Well, for now, he is just your neighbor and platonic friend. We are not even talking about dating, let alone courting and marriage. That is still far.”

  “So what should I do? How should I treat him?”

  “Treat him as a friend like every other. Don’t plan your life around him and don’t allow him plan his life around you.”

  “Ok.”

  “Cynthia, check the soup on the fire o,” their mother shouted from the backyard.

  “Ok mum,” Cynthia said and went to the kitchen. She brought the soup down, put off the stove and went back to the parlour.

  “Is it done?” Mabel asked.

  “Yes. I stirred it and brought it down.”

                She sat down and they talked for a while about the situation with Chuka.

  “I know you feel obligated to return his kindness but that is not how things are done,” Mabel said after Cynthia made a case with all the things Chuka had done for her and suffered because of her. “If you want to talk about someone who has done so much for you, it is God, yet He does not forcefully demand your response. He allows you to willingly submit. Any man who doesn’t understand this is not ready for any serious relationship.”

  “You are right.”

  “If you keep returning favours sentimentally, you will not return to only one person o. Anyone who shows little favour will expect return from you.”

  “You are right. Like pastor’s wife will always say, ‘fall in love with your head before your heart’.”

  “She is right. I have learnt that by experience. I will not like you to go through the same. Don’t be sentimental about falling in love. In fact, don’t fall in love, walk in love. Thread with caution, with your eyes wide open, looking out for certain signs. So you will not be blinded by emotion and not know when there is a red flag.”

                Their mother came into the parlour and interrupted their conversation.

  “Mama Ken sends her regards,” she said.

  “Ok,” Mabel replied. “How is Ken? It’s been long I saw him.”

  “He travelled to Malaysia 3 months ago.”

                Mabel looked at Cynthia surprised and asked, “And you didn’t tell me?”

  “I thought you knew,” Cynthia replied.

  “Did you ask how he is coping?” Mabel asked her mother.

  “His mum said he is doing well. That is what she is meant to say, whether it is true or not.”

 “It had better be true o. They have suffered enough.”

  “Yes they have.”

  “They will soon start pricing us for him now,” Cynthia said.

  “She did not say that o,” their mother said, laughing. “We were talking about other things.”

  “You will see na.”

  “Let me go and make food,” Mabel said and got up.

  “Is it not too early to eat?” Cynthia asked.

  “Not at all. It is better to eat dinner early.”

                Mabel went to the kitchen and made the ‘swallow’. Then she dished for her mother and took to the parlour.

  “Let me get water,” she told her mother as she went back.

  “OK Thank you,” her mother said.

                Cynthia went to the kitchen and took her own food. Mabel brought water in a bowl for her mother and then went back to get her own food. They sat in the parlour and ate, making comments on the soup and talking about different soups. After eating for a while, their mother suddenly stopped eating.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP

(…continued…)

                They went through the back. The back door was also locked from inside. Mabel and Cynthia were worried.

  “Why are the two doors locked from inside?” Mabel asked.

                Cynthia knocked and listened. They heard what sounded like movement inside the house.

  “Mummy,” Cynthia called, feeling tensed up.

  “I am coming,” they heard their mother say.

                They were relieved.

  “At least mummy is ok,” Mabel said and exhaled through her mouth.

                Their mother opened the door and they went in.

  “Welcome,” she told them after they greeted her.

  “Why did you lock everywhere?” Cynthia asked her.

  “Did you see that lunatic outside?” she asked, looking at Mabel.

  “Who?” Mabel asked, puzzled. “Which lunatic?”

  “Segun.”

                They burst into laughter.

  “It is not a laughing matter o,” their mother said.

  “He has left.”

  “Did you talk with him? What did he want?”

  “We did not talk with him. We hid somewhere until he left.”

  “You see, we were all hiding.”

                They came into the parlour and Cynthia sunk into the couch.

  “Is he the reason why you locked the door?” she asked.

  “My dear, he was acting strange.”

  “How do you mean?” Mabel asked.

  “He would come into the compound, get close and then go back and stand close to his car, looking. He did that severally.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. And he was talking to himself.”

  “So you locked the door.”

  “I had to. I don’t know what he had in mind.”

                Mabel hissed and dropped her bag and market bag.

  “And you didn’t call us on phone?”

  “My phone battery has been empty. I couldn’t call.”

  “Was anybody with him?”

  “No. He was alone.”

  “As far as I am concerned, he is not a threat,” Cynthia said and stretched her feet on a side-stool in front of the couch.

  “But what is he looking for na,” Mabel asked rhetorically. “He really acted strange.”

  “Call Coker and tell him,” Cynthia suggested.

  “Coker has his personal life to live na.”

  “True. But as long as Segun is still in the picture, you need to keep him in the loop.”      

                Mabel checked the time on the wall clock.

  “He should still be in his fiancée’s uncle’s place by now. I will call him later.”

  “Or you can send him an SMS, just so you don’t forget.”

  “No. He is having a time out with his fiancée. There is a limit to my encroachment.

  “Yea, you are right. She may start getting funny ideas too.”

  “Exactly. In fact I will not tell him unless he calls.”

  “What if he doesn’t call today?”

  “I will not tell him today then. Simple.”

  “Leave story of mad man,” their mother said. “Did you buy the things from the market?”

  “Yes ma,”

                Their mother took the market bag and went into the kitchen.

  “Mummy leave the soup,” Cynthia said. “We will cook it.”

  “I am actually seeing double o,” Mabel said. “Allow mummy to cook it as she willingly wants to, else you will cook it.”

  “Lazy girl,” Cynthia said, laughing. “My back is aching too.”

  “Even me too,” their mother said, coming out to the kitchen door. “My waist is aching. I have been washing since I came back from meeting.”

                They laughed. 

  “Where you thinking I will do everything alone?” their mother said, smiling.

  “Mummy,” Mabel said, looking at her babyishly.

  “I know you need rest,” their mother said. “Even if you don’t do anything, just keep me company.”

  “Don’t mind Mabel,” Cynthia said. “I am coming with you.”

  “Go ahead,” Mabel said, slightly nudging Cynthia. “Good daughter.”

                They laughed as Cynthia went into the kitchen after her mother.

                Mabel went into the room, changed into a simple gown. She took snacks and poured juice from the fridge. Then she went to the kitchen. She sat and talked with her mother and sister as they made the soup.

  “Hope your phone is not silent,” Cynthia asked Mabel after a while.

  “No, it is not,” Mabel said. “Any problem?”

  “Nothing. Just asking because you don’t always know when your phone is ringing. Coker could call anytime.”

  “I made sure of that.”

  “Ok.”

  “Ehe, that reminds me, have you spoken with Chuka again?”

                Their mother dropped the plate she was carrying and looked at Cynthia with a big smile on her face.

  “Mummy what is it?” Cynthia asked, smiling.

  “Answer your sister na,” their mother said.

  “I have not spoken with him.”

  “You need to call him to know how he is doing.”

  “Mummy, are you the one saying this?”

  “Yes o.”

  “You are already giving me away without my consent.”

  “Not at all. He suffered a lot because of you. You need to call him to find out how he is doing, especially what his family said about his injuries and then their plan for him.”

  “Ok. I will wait for his call. If he doesn’t call, then I will.”

  “No,” Mabel said. “Don’t wait for him to call you. Call him. It shows that you are concerned about his welfare.”

  “Ok I will, once we are done here.”

                When the soup was boiling on the stove, Mabel and Cynthia went to the parlour while their mother went towards the backyard.

  “Let me bring back the cloths I washed,” she said as she went.

  “Ok.”

  “Now to calling Chuka,” Cynthia said as she brought out her phone.

  “Immediately.”

                She dialed Chuka. It rang once and he picked. Cynthia was surprised at the speed of his answering.

  “Is like you are holding your phone, waiting for me to call you,” Cynthia teased him.

                He laughed and told her that he was meaning to call her when she called. He asked how she was doing and she told him, then she asked him how he was doing. He told her to hang up so he would call her back.

  “Why?” Cynthia asked him.

                He told her it was so she would save her airtime. She told him not to worry and they continued talking. He told her in summary what had happened and told her he would be coming back with his brother the next day. He said he would tell her everything in detail when they meet.

  “Did you tell them I was the cause of your injuries?”

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP

(…continued…)

                She tried it thrice and the door locked. They went downstairs. They met Risi and her brother and told them to tell their mother that they had left. Then they flagged down a keke and left for their mother’s place. When their keke was approaching their mother’s house, Cynthia saw Segun standing beside his car outside the compound.

  “See Segun o,” she said suddenly and pointed.

                Mabel followed the pointing of her finger and saw Segun standing beside his car, looking into their compound. It was too late to turn because they were already close so Mabel told the keke man to drive past the compound.

  “No be here you say you go stop?” the man asked, puzzled by the sudden change.

  “Oga abeg dey go,” Mabel said

                As they drove past Segun, Mabel raised her head so he would not see her. They got to a safe distance from the house and the keke man slowed down.

  “Madam where you wan go again?” the man asked, when they got to the next junction.

                Mabel looked from the side mirror and did not see Segun.

  “Stop here,” she said, pointing to the junction bend.

                They came down, Mabel paid him and he drove off. They went into the salon of a friend at the junction. They exchanged pleasantries with her and stood in the reception area, making sure to stay away from the view of anybody just in case Segun drove past.

  “What does he want from me na?” Mabel asked.  

  “Maybe he wants to come back to you,” Cynthia said.

  “Hmmm.”

                A young girl, their opposite compound neighbour walked past them. Cynthia called her. She came close and greeted them.

  “Where are you going?” Cynthia asked her.

  “I am going home.”

  “Ok.”

                Cynthia described Segun and his car and told her to check if he was still in front of their compound.

  “If he is there, should I come and tell you?” she asked a bit confused.

  “No. When he leaves, come and tell me.”

  “Ok. Is he dangerous?”

  “He is not, but I don’t want to see him.”

  “How do you know he is there?”

  “Ooohm, stop asking too much questions. I was told he is there now.”

  “Ok.”

                The girl left.

  “Are you sure we are doing the right thing?” Mabel asked. “Hiding like rats.”

  “What do you want to do?” Cynthia asked. “Do you want to go and see him?”

  “I don’t know what he came for and so don’t know what my response will be.”

  “Exactly. If he goes on his knees and begs, you will cry and hug him and throw all your defenses to the wind.”

  “I don’t think so. He hurt me deeply. It won’t be that easy for him at all.”

  “You never can tell. Men have sugar in their tongue o.”

  “Anyway, he still has my number. He would have called or sent an SMS if he really wanted to see me.”

  “He is afraid to do so.”

  “But he sent me an SMS the other day.”

  “Maybe he is even sneaking up on you, to know whether you are seeing someone.”

  “It is possible,” Mabel said and sighed.

  “If not, why did he choose to come by this time?”

  “Whatever. I don’t care anymore.”

                The owner of the salon came to meet them.

  “You don’t want to come in?” she asked.

  “No o,” Mabel asked.

  “We will soon be leaving,” Cynthia added.

  “Are you hiding from somebody?” she asked and winked.

  “Exactly. How did you know?”

  “Your body language gave you up.”

  “You must have heard me talking to the girl.”

  “That one also.”

  “I think we should just go home,” Mabel said to Cynthia. “I need rest.”

  “Yea me too.”

  “If you are sure it is safe to do so, you can go ahead,” she salon owner said. “If not, feel free to come in and stay as long as you want.”

  “And block space for other customers?” Mabel asked. “Don’t think so.”

                They admired each other’s makeup and hair style for a while. Then, Mabel and Cynthia took their leave.

  “He should just go home o,” Mabel said as they walked home. “I don’t want a scene.”

  “Yes o,” Cynthia said. “I have not yet laid my hands on him for all the pain he caused you.”

  “Don’t even go there.”

  “He had better not be there because I don’t know what I will do to him.”

                As they got closer, they saw the girl coming in their direction. They waited for her to come to them.

  “He has gone,” she said.

  “Did he ask anybody anything?” Cynthia asked her.

  “No. He just stood, looking around.”

  “Has it been long he left?”

  “Not quite long.”

  “Ok. Thanks.”

                The girl turned and walked briskly home.

  “Segun Segun,” Mabel said and shook her head. “He should move on o.”

  “Some men don’t just know what they want,” Cynthia said.

  “And when they lose it, they won’t just let go and move on.”

  “Well, until you know why he came, you can’t conclude.”

                They got to their compound and walked slowly to see if peradventure someone would walk up to them and give them a message Segun had dropped. Nobody did.

  “It seems he did not talk to anybody at all,” Mabel said.

  “He must be a psycho then.”

                They got to their house and Cynthia tried opening the door. It was locked from behind.

  “Mummy must be around,” Mabel said.

  “Why did she lock it from behind?” Cynthia asked.

  “She may be in the backyard.”

                They went through the back. The back door was also locked from inside. Mabel and Cynthia were worried.

  “Why are the two doors locked from inside?” Mabel asked.

                Cynthia knocked and listened. They heard what sounded like movement inside the house.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

BIRTHDAY WISHES: CHIOMA NWANNE

Happy Birthday to a friend, a WTI reader and follower; Chioma Nwanne. We pray this new season of your life will bring the fulfilment of all your heart yearns for. You will not lack any good thing. Have a wonderful celebration. Cheers!


With love,
WTI Team

[more pix after the cut...]

BIRTHDAY WISHES: DINMA UCHE

Happy Birthday to a friend, a WTI reader and follower; Dinma Uche. We pray this new season of your life will bring the fulfilment of all your heart yearns for. You will walk in purpose. Have a wonderful celebration. Cheers!


With love,
WTI Team

[more pix after the cut...]

 

FED UP

(…continued…) 

                Mabel went upstairs while Mama Risi went back inside, clutching the money and smiling.  Mabel met Cynthia struggling to open the door.

  “Why is your door hard to open?” Cynthia asked Mabel when she came to her.

  “It is usually not difficult to open,” Mabel replied. “Are you sure you are opening it the right way?”

  “This is not the first time I have opened your door.”

  “Let me try it.”

                Cynthia stepped back and Mabel tried to open it. It was hard.

  “Ah ah, why is the door refusing to open?”

  “Did someone try opening it by force?”

  “Maybe o.”

  “Let me ask mama Risi.”

                Cynthia went down while Mabel kept trying the door. Cynthia soon came back with Mama Risi behind her.

  “What happened to the door?” she asked Mabel.

  “It refused to open o,” Mabel said.

  “We are wondering whether someone tried to force the door open in our absence.”

  “I doubt that because I have been around,” mama Risi said. “If someone had tried to open it by force, I would have heard the noise.”

                Mabel stepped aside and mama Risi tried opening the door.

  “You are right o,” she said after some futile attempts. “Who must have tried to open the door?”

  “I wonder o.”

  “When you locked it when you were going out before, was it hard like this?”

  “No.”

                Cynthia checked around for anything incriminating. She did not find. Everything was intact.

  “What do we do now?” Mabel asked.

  “Go back to mummy’s place and come check on it on Monday,” Cynthia suggested.

  “The cloth I will wear to church tomorrow is here. I don’t have any other one.”

  “What if I call a carpenter?” Mama Risi asked.

  “That will be extra expenses.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  “We will leave it like that till Monday.”

                Mama Risi turned to leave but on second thought she asked, “Let me check the key.”

                Mabel brought out the key and gave her. She examined it for a while and asked, “Do you have the spare?”

  “It is inside the house.”

  “This one is a bit bent.”

  “Who bent it?”

  “It could be me,” Cynthia said. “Because when I tried to open it and it refused, I applied some force.”

                Mama Risi went to the door again and tried opening it, knowing the state of the key. After two trials, the door opened.

  “Hweeew,” Mabel exhaled. “Thanks a lot.”

  “You will have to use the spare key unless you will apply my opening technique,” Mama Risi said as she turned to leave.

  “I don’t have that time o. I will use the spare key.”

                Mabel and Cynthia went in. Everything was intact.

  “How long are you staying here?” Cynthia asked Mabel.

  “Not too long,” Mabel replied. “Let me take the cloth I will wear to church, then we will leave.”

  “Ok.”

                Cynthia lay on the bed surfing the internet while Mabel went through the cloths in her wardrobe. She brought out different ones and showed Cynthia who helped her select the one she would wear. Then she packed the dress, matching footwear, handbag and jewelries into a nylon bag. Then she lay down beside Cynthia.

  “Are we not going yet?” Cynthia asked her.

  “Let me rest a little,” Mabel said. “I don’t want that dizziness.”

  “Are you feeling it now?”

  “No, but if we rush and go now without rest, I will feel it.”

  “Ok. Don’t sleep o.”

  “Even if I sleep, wake me up.”

                Mabel soon dozed off. Cynthia also dozed off. It was the ringtone of Cynthia’s phone that woke her up about an hour later. She stirred and got up. She checked the time on the clock and shouted. The shout woke Mabel.

  “What is that?” Mabel asked her.

  “We slept for too long o,” Cynthia said.

                Mabel looked at the wall clock and jumped up from the bed.

  “You did not wake me up,” she said.

  “I also slept off,” Cynthia said. “If not for my phone that rang now, we would have slept here till night o.”

  “God forbid. If I stay here till night, I will not go out again.”

  “Let us start going na.”

  “Ok.”

                They got up from the bed. Cynthia checked who called. It was Chuka.

  “Who knows whether Chuka is back, this one he is calling me.”

  “You did not pick his call?” Mabel asked.

  “No. By the time I woke up, the call had cut.”

  “Return the call then.”

  “Let me check if I still have airtime.”

                Cynthia checked and it was not enough to make a long call.

  “I will just flash him and hope he calls me back.”

  “Ok.”

                Cynthia tried calling him but his number was not reachable. After four trials, she gave it up. Mabel washed her face and wore light make up. Cynthia did the same.

  “Did you check your phone whether mummy called.”

  “I did but I didn’t get a single call. I can’t believe my phone will stay hours without ringing.”

  “You don’t call and you hardly give unknown people your number so who do you want to call you?”

  “It is well o.”

  “Even your chat, you hardly reply.”

  “Too much work o.”

  “Let’s be going.”

                Mabel confirmed that everything was in order and the appliances put off. Then they went outside.

  “Bring the spare key,” Cynthia told her.

  “That’s true o,” Mabel said and went back into the house. She soon came out with another key. “Let me try locking the door with the normal one and see if Mama Risi’s trick will work.

  “Ok.”

                She tried it thrice and the door locked. They went downstairs. They met Risi and her brother and told them to tell their mother that they had left. Then they flagged down a keke and left for their mother’s place. When their keke was approaching their mother’s house, they saw Segun standing beside his car outside the compound.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac