BACHELOR OF LIFE

An emotional and thought provoking story, love is the theme but how far can one really go for the sake of love? find out in this fresh story from the OTB Master.

 

BACHELOR

OF LIFE

 

(AN INSIDE THE BOX STORY)

 

 

 

 

 

Written By Emmy Blinks

Aka DA OTB MASTER

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

Gbagam! Gbagam!! Gbagam!!!

The bells rang continuously, as we made our way quickly but steadily to the dining hall, as we crossed the long passageway in double files, I glanced around and my eyes caught the large wall clock that hung loosely on the wall, it was 3.05pm. Obviously lunch had come rather late on this day, I looked beside me and he was right there, the guy with the Afro hair style. For these six months he had always being the one beside me whenever we had to go for meals at the dining hall. I didn't know his name, neither did I care to know the name of any other person in this god forsaken place.

Even the one with whom I shared the same room, (If I should call that a room) didn't know anything about me, neither did I know anything about him, by the way who cared?

I had quickly earned the nickname 'THE LONER', I was always by myself, cherishing my own company far more than I could cherish any other.

During my first few weeks here, I could over hear some people whispering rumours that I was probably deaf and dumb, it was little wonder then, that most of them were all dumbfounded, the first day I screamed at the self-acclaimed bully for meddling in my affairs, I guess their surprise bore roots from two major foundations. Firstly was the fact that the supposedly deaf and dumb guy could speak, secondly and much more terrifying was the fact that I was seemingly the first person to have stood up to this bully.

They called him 'Presido' and he had many followers too but who cared?

Newton's third law 'for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction'.

I knew the consequences of standing up to 'Presido' but I sure didn't expect that kind of attack, it was brutalising and traumatic, left me in the hospital bed for three days, at least I was away from that horrible place for three days, which was indeed a relief.

 

A soft nudge on my back from behind me reminded me that I was in a queue and my absent-minded state was impeding the advancement of the people behind me, I continued with the motion and we eventually got to the dining hall, picked up the plates, walked to the food servers, got our two spoons of watery beans, walked to my seat, ate in silence and waited for the bell to ring so we could head back to where we had come out from.

As we made to cross the passage way again as we returned to the room, a door to one of the offices along the passage way was left ajar, somehow my eyes darted into the office and caught sight of a big poster on the wall, brightly coloured in red were the words 'LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND'

The words struck me like a sharp arrow to the heart, I shook my head in regret, as I continued walking down the passage way, whoever coined that phrase sure didn't know what he was talking about, how could anyone ever think love was a good thing?

Indeed, no sane human being should believe in love, Love sure didn't exist, maybe the only one that was capable of showing love was the one who had created LOVE itself.

The words on the poster suddenly began to arouse suppressed wounded feelings in me, I suddenly began to feel the same way I had felt on that damned day, the same day I had made that damned decision that had taken the whole joy out of my very existence.

I really wished I could turn back the hands of time, yes if I could, I would turn back the hands of time but it wouldn't be because I wanted to set things right, rather it would be because I wanted to make my wrong more perfect, It would be because I wanted to have another chance to unleash terror on the world in general and make them feel a part of the pains I had gone through, yes a part of it, because even the world couldn't carry the kind of pain I was made to carry.

To me 'LOVE' didn't exist, maybe it once existed in the most remote part of my life but that part of my life had been buried and forgotten. This heart didn't have time for frivolities like 'LOVE' anymore, all that existed in my heart right now were pains, regret, anger and vengeance.

I stepped into my so called room, my roommate was already seated on the edge of the foam (we had a small sized tattered looking foam in the very small room that we shared) he was one of those so called 'Christians'. He was reading a bible as he had always done for the six months that I had spent here.

I sat on my side of the foam and backed him, he had always tried to start conversations but I always ignored him and stared at him blankly whenever he was talking. I was once a Christian too, I once believed in God and in his LOVE, oh, LOVE, how much I now detested the sound of the word.

My heart was burning with so much hurt, so much pain, so much regret, and then, I don't know what came over my roommate, He crossed over from his side of the foam and came and knelt in front of me, he held my hands, I made no effort to resist this time, He looked me deep in my eyes and said the words 'Brother, no matter where you have been, Jesus still loves you, he wouldn't abandon you'

I looked up at him, my natural impulse would have been to land him a jaw breaking slap, but I didn’t know what held me at that moment, pictures of Adewunmi suddenly flashed in my memory, the only image that had been in my head since I got here, I still couldn't understand it but at that moment, I could feel hot tears running down my eyes, it was the first time I had cried since I was sentenced to life imprisonment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

My name is Afolabi, I was born into an apparent broken home, the only son of my mother, and My Dad was someone I never came to know because he had impregnated my Mum during his youth service corps in my Mum's village and had abandoned her and fled to the city after false promises of marriage.

Hence If I say I grew up with a strong hatred for the world, you would know that it was quite justifiable, growing up under the care of a single mum wasn't the kind of life anyone would have imagined living.

We were poor and we didn't have the luxury of people around us helping us because in the village I came from, when you had a child outside matrimony, you were automatically considered an outcast.

My Mother's family had turned their backs on her too, but who would blame them? My grand mum had kicked the bucket earlier and my grandfather was a polygamous man, He hardly could cater for his immediate family talk more of caring about an extra grandchild that decided to allow herself to be put in the family way.

In simple terms, my mum was all I had and I was all she had, she loved me so dearly and was willing to go through all the odd jobs and every single labour there was just to ensure I became a successful Person.

 

You would then wonder why I was given such a name, despite the circumstances that surrounded my birth and early childhood.

My name Afolabi was a name given to one who was born into wealth. Hehehehe, 'irony right?' that was the type of Mother I had, She was as optimistic as the word optimistic, she never ever saw the dark side of things and at early childhood I developed that same perspective on life too.

 

My mum was an ardent believer, she exposed me to God's word at a very tender age too and I learned to love and trust God at a very tender age.

Most times God always had a way of compensating his children for some of the hurts they might have gone through in one way or the other and indeed God compensated my mum by giving her a son like me.

I was the personification of tall, dark and handsome, sweet charming yoruba boy.

And as if that wasn't enough blessings already, I was blessed with the brain of a genius. I was academically balanced and supercharged.

 

My Mum only had to suffer so hard for me before I got into school but from the moment I was in, my academic prowess made way for me and I was soon soaring on the funds of the Ondo state government on a scholarship scheme that saw me through primary school, secondary school and eventually to study Mechanical Engineering at the Federal University Of Technology Akure (FUTA).

 

Hmmmm, Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), the school of my dreams. I was one of the few to have first secured admission into that school from my little community at Idanre local government. The community people even threw a party for me on the night before I eventually left for school, You should have seen them all hovering like flies around our small house, even my extended family wasn't left out, you should have seen my half cousins feeling like stars seeking every opportunity to hold me or be with me just so the other villagers present would know I was their relation, even my two step grand mums didn't fail to attend the party and somehow it seemed they couldn't remember my name again, as every single time they called me, it was always 'My Son'. 'My son come and do this, My Son have you done this, My Son come and meet this, My Son, My Son, My Son' God, they almost destroyed my ear drums with 'My Son'.

Such an irony of life, talking about the stone that was once rejected becoming the chief corner stone.

 

Nothing gave me so much joy than looking in my mum's eyes and seeing it beaming with pride. I so much loved this woman and she was the only person in the world I was sure I could die for. Yes! I practically loved her to that extent.

 

'Brother Afolabi'

I didn't have to turn back to know who just spoke, that was the unmistakable voice of the only girl I had come to love half as much as I loved my Mum.

I turned back swiftly and faced Jumoke, my friends Seun and Jide who I had been chatting with swiftly disappeared and missed up with the crowd.

I hugged her with so much joy, like they would say in my church (with Jesus joy in my heart)

I had been so engrossed with discussions with my friends at our favourite spot 'under the mango tree' in front of our house that I hadn't taken time to search for my dear Jumoke among the crowd that had come to my send forth party.

 

There was something about Jumoke on this particular night that I didn't understand, even when I hugged her, she didn't respond as she usually would, her face also wore this pale and sad look that my own joy suddenly began to disappear.

I released her from the hug and tried to look into her eyes but she swiftly turned away but I was quick to notice that she had been crying.

I held her hands and tried to make her face me but she refused. 'Jumoke, what's wrong, please talk to me, this is not a day to feel sad'

She turned to look at me, and slowly muttered 'please Brother Afolabi, can I see you in private?'

I was a little hesitant but there was this urgency in her voice and I just didn't like seeing Jumoke in this mood, I held her hands and led her to the back of the house, we sat on the wooden bench, that lay close to the Zinc made kitchen, and then I asked her, 'please Jumoke, talk to me, what is wrong?'

She turned to face me, the tears were dropping freely and this time she didn't even try to conceal it, the next words that came out of her mouth? I swear I didn't see it coming.

 

She looked in my eyes and in tears broke the words

'Brother Afolabi, I am Pregnant'

The words hit the core centre of my heart as it echoed over and over again in my ears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER THREE

 

I resumed school the next day as planned, I didn't inform my mum about any of the events that transpired between I and Jumoke the night before even though she had observed my suddenly moody disposition and enquired times without number if there was anything bothering me. It was quite easy for me to lie about what troubled me and tell her that it was because I was going to leave her all by herself and go to school. Even though she didn't seem convinced by my answers, she had no option but to trust me to be able to take care of myself, after all I was a little above nineteen  years old.

 

(Now you may be wondering why an academic genius like myself got into university at that age? It is quite simple, I couldn't start school until my mum could save enough money to be able to pay for my school fees and buy me other school necessities, so actually I started school later than I should have before I eventually got a scholarship that eased my mum's stress)

 

Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) wasn't so far from my hometown back at Idanre, so it was quite easy for me to find my way to the school.

The evening before, I had called a cab driver on phone who was a friend of the family to come and assist me with moving my things to the school. We had nicknamed the cab driver Ojukokoro (Ojukokoro was a word used to describe a covetous person in my locality, in colloquial terms it meant long throat) we had nicknamed him thus because Ojukokoro was a very covetous person. When it came to business, he always wanted to milk you dry and make outrageous profits no matter how friendly he was with you. Rumours even had it that Ojukokoro was once apprehended for trying to steal yam from his Mother in law's barn, even though he had a big barn himself. Ojukokoro was covetous to that extent but all the same we still did business with him because like they say 'the devil you know is better than the angel you don't know'

 

Ojukokoro had reported at our house as early as 7am that morning, I was still trying to get dressed when I heard the loud sound of his car horns, 'doesn't this man sleep?' that was the first thought that came to my head, I had told him to come in the morning but how would a human being come by 7am? Was he so badly in need of this cash? I had to rush out and beg him to give me a few more minutes.

'that one go cost you another eight hundred naira o' It was Ojukokoro replying me, I immediately became angry but I knew how to handle him, 'Haha, Oga mi, You wey suppose to even carry me go school free, we don already agree for one thousand, five hundred naira, you wan come still dey add money? Nor come make me dey reason you as enemy of progress o, abi you nor happy say I get admission?'

His face dropped a little when he heard that, 'Ok, you go just add six hundred naira join make I manage am'

Haba, I swear, this man was just impossible, 'Ok, Oga mi, nor worry, I go arrange Kemi for you, you know say you don dey tell me say you like her well well', Immediately I said this, his face shone brightly, he smiled and shook his head like a ram, 'ehen, na now you dey talk jorh, oya ready fast fast make we dey go, if you arrange Kemi for me, naim be say na only four hundred naira you go come add join the one thousand, five hundred naira for time wasting'

I swear, I felt like slapping him as he said it, I was in no mood for arguments anymore, I simply said 'Ok' and went back into the house, I didn't even bother to invite him to come and have a seat inside, although as I entered my room to finish up with my preparations, I could hear his voice in the sitting room asking my mum to come and buy him malt. I hissed and muttered 'na that malt go kill you just now'

 

In another thirty minutes, we were on our way to the great and prestigious Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA). The journey was uneventful for me though, Ojukokoro was busy cracking non funny jokes, not even one of his jokes made sense to me, at that moment he became 'KDJ' King of Dry Jokes.

 

My head was too busy with the events of the night before, I just couldn't believe that this was happening to me, how could Jumoke want to do this to me?

This was totally insane, why would this even happen at a time like this? Now that fortune had smiled on me and I was on my way to becoming one of the greatest Engineers that would walk the earth, the devil was trying to spoil God's work in my life, I was so deep in thoughts that I didn't even notice when we got close to the school, it was when Ojukokoro tapped me and asked me which of the hostels that I became conscious of my environment again, 'Jibowu' I quickly replied, to access Jibowu, we had to go through the school's North gate.

In a few minutes, we were at the hostel and I quickly got out my stuff before Ojukokoro would add an extra amount for further delay, I gave him his one thousand, nine hundred naira that he demanded, and as I made to leave him, he wore this stupid smile on his face and asked 'aburo mi, shebi you go still arrange kemi for me o?' I looked at him and smiled, the answer I had in my mind was 'kemi kor, kemi ni, may kemi destroy your mouth there' but what came out of my mouth was 'Hehehehehe, Haba trust me now, you don get her already' he shook my hands and hailed me 'ha, egbon, you are the master, o ti po ju, you are too much'

 

As he drove away, I moved my things into my hostel, dropped everything on the bed, luckily for me I was the first to arrive at the room so I had enough time and privacy to myself to sit and think about the events of the previous night.

Why was Jumoke trying to do this to me? The events came flooding in my head again.

 

I could see Jumoke's face as she sat beside me with tears in her eyes and broke the news to me.

'Brother Afolabi, I am pregnant'

I didn't know how to react to the words I just heard, the next words that flew out of my mouth were 'what do you mean you are pregnant?'

She looked at me rather confusingly and repeated the words 'I am pregnant, Afolabi, I am pregnant'

I was quick to observe that this time she didn't add Brother to my name again like she always did.

I immediately became angry, at this moment I felt like killing Samuel, I knew Samuel had to be responsible, I had warned Jumoke times without number about Samuel, even when he had asked her out and she had said yes to him, I still warned her to be very careful, Jumoke was my closest friend and I really liked her so much, it hurt me so much that she allowed herself to be impregnated by that notorious and irresponsible area boy called Samuel.

I didn't want to blame her but I didn't know any other way to say this without putting some of the blame on her.

'But Jumoke, I warned you about Samuel, I have always warned you about Samuel now see what you have done to yourself'

She looked up at me with a surprised face and asked 'what are you talking about?'

I was rather taken aback by her question too 'Who is responsible for your pregnancy, is it not that irresponsible Samuel? Or do you want to go about defending him all over again? Come on Jumoke.

My words were caught short by what I heard next, I stopped short, looked at her with a little horror in my eyes and tried to assume she was trying to make a joke, but her eyes were dead serious, I asked her 'What did you just say?'

She looked at me with even more seriousness and replied with the exact words I heard before

'Bro Afolabi, I am Pregnant for you'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

I suddenly found myself laughing, of course it had to be a joke, Jumoke couldn't be serious.

I looked at her face again, it scared me to even look at her face, the kind of seriousness she wore on that face was one I had never seen on her before. Jumoke suddenly looked mean and brutal.

'But Jumoke, this is not funny anymore, I don't think am liking this joke anymore, are you really pregnant? And if you are, who is responsible?

She looked at me again with sudden contempt, 'do I look like a kid to you Afolabi? I am pregnant and you are responsible for the pregnancy, I just came to inform you so you would start making plans to come and see my parents'

With that, she stood up and started walking away, I didn't even know when I pulled her back roughly and forced her back on the bench, the expression in her eyes showed that she didn't expect such a violent action from me either.

'Jumoke, you have to tell me what is going on here now and you better do that fast' She pushed my hands off her shoulder and stood up to face me. 'Afolabi, I am pregnant for you and I am going to have our baby, just come and see my parents before you go to school'

BANG!!!

I swear she didn't see that coming neither did I see it coming, I landed her a dirty slap across the face before I could hold myself. I have always had this ill temper from childhood, immediately the slap landed, she burst into tears, covered her face with her hands and began to run away quickly, meanwhile even with her tears filled voice she didn't fail to repeat the words that she was pregnant for me and that rather than accept my responsibilities as a man, I was trying to beat her up so she would conceal the truth.

Before I could even stop her and apologize for the slap she had run away in tears.

 

I couldn't explain the way I felt at that moment, this was all seeming like a movie to me, this only happened in Nollywood movies, for Christ's sake I was a virgin, I had never had sex with a lady talk more of Jumoke, that I had come to see as a sister. Jumoke was even a year older than me even though she still preferred to call me Brother, indeed we were very close, in fact too close to a fault, we were always together, in school, at home, in fact she was like my twin, whenever you saw Afolabi, just know there was a Jumoke beside him, naturally people would assume we were dating but nothing was happening between both of us, even my mum had warned me many times about my closeness to Jumoke but I always cleared her doubts that I and Jumoke were both Christians and we feared God so nothing of such was ever going to happen now see where it had landed me, in hot soup.

 

I couldn't understand Jumoke's plan or the motive behind her actions but I decided to put on my 'odeshi mode' and call her bluff.

I thought about telling my mum but again I decided against it, I was above nineteen years old for crying out loud, I was already a man in the making, I just needed some time off to be alone and really think this through and who knows, it might even be a joke after all, maybe Jumoke was just trying to test me by playing a game with me.

I suddenly began to regret the fact that I had slapped her, but it wasn't my fault, it was my bad temper jorh.

I was still in my hostel room juggling my thoughts on the events that happened the previous night when my phone rang and jolted me back to reality.

I picked up the phone from the bed, the name on the screen threw me off guard, it was 'Brother Segun', this was the first time Brother Segun would be calling my phone, in fact I wasn't even supposed to have his phone number, it was the last time Jumoke called him with my phone that she saved his number on my phone. Brother Segun was Jumoke's eldest brother who lived in Ibadan. He was married with kids and he lived and worked at Ibadan.

I stared at my phone screen and suddenly my heart rate increased, why would Brother Segun be calling my phone? I ignored the call and allowed it ring till it got disconnected. The phone rang again almost immediately, I summoned courage this time and answered the call, and my 'Good morning sir' was greeted with the following words

'So you think you can mess up with my sister's future and get away with it? Listen to me Afolabi, you are a very young man and you do not know anything about life, I would advise you to think about your decisions very carefully because no one, I repeat no one can mess up with my little sister's future and get away with it'

Before I could even reply a word, he hung up.

 

What in God's name was happening to me? It suddenly dawned on me that Jumoke had taken this far above a test or games level as I had assumed it was, if her elder brother was involved, then it means her parents were involved already and if her parents were involved, then....

It suddenly struck me 'Oh my God, what was I thinking? Why didn't I tell my mum about this the previous night? I immediately picked up my phone to dial my Mum's number but just then, my phone rang and it was my Mum calling my phone.

I really felt bad seeing her name on my phone screen, it was obvious she already heard the incredible story and it hurt me so bad because she hadn't heard it first from me.

I answered the call and the weakness in her voice immediately confirmed it to me that she had heard Jumoke's version of the story. I greeted her and she responded, I could tell that she had been crying, 'Afolabi, why? Why would you chose to hurt me so much?' I tried to explain to her on the phone but I knew I had already messed up, eventually, she seemed to believe my version of the story but her final words totally shocked me,

When she said the words, I knew this challenge had just moved from zero degrees to a thousand degree Celsius. Only God could save me now.

CHAPTER FIVE

 

The message was clear and simple, I didn't even know it could get to this level.

I was being summoned to the palace of the owa of idanre, I couldn't help wondering, was that how people rushed into decisions hastily?

At least we would have sat to discuss this on a family basis before Jumoke and her family decided to take it to the palace. Something just wasn't right here, something was seriously fishing and that something was what I intended finding out, I was sure going to see the end of all these.

 

This was a serious disorder in my plans, it meant I had to travel back to idanre the next day since the meeting was for morning.

Again, I thought about it, why even wait till the next day, I had to see my mum and clarify issues and possibly go over to Jumoke's house and see her too, I deserved a right to know what was happening.

So I jumped from the six springs bed I was lying on and picked up my small school bag, stuffed two shirts into the bag and began to make my way out of the hostel, as I made to open the door, the door opened and someone I guessed would be my room-mate entered the room.

He just walked passed me and dropped his travelling bags on the other bed opposite mine, I stared at him as I thought in my heart 'what kind of rude person is this one, he couldn't even greet or say something'

I mouthed a half-hearted 'welcome' he replied 'thank you' also half-heartedly, I just threw the keys to the room at him and walked out of the room, who cared? I had better things to take care of.

 

My journey back to idanre took less time than it usually did or so I thought. In a few hours I was sitting uncomfortably at home listening to my Mum remind me of how she had always warned me to be careful with Jumoke.

She was as shocked as I was, she was also as confused as I was, and we both put our heads together but couldn't come up with any possible reasons why Jumoke would decide to lie against me.

I suggested we both go over to Jumoke's house and see her parents but my mum wrote it off, on the grounds that since they had decided to take the issue to the palace without first trying to solve this mystery on family basis, then it meant they were up to something and it was better we waited till we got to the Palace the next morning.

 

I agreed with her and decided to go and visit my friends Seun and Jide, they were my closest pals in the area and I sure needed their advice on this one.

 

I met Seun's Mum when I got to Seun's house but Seun was out and she was surprised to see me because she expected me to be in school already, I lied and told her I didn't go again that day because of some arrangements.

 

I moved on to Jide's house and as I entered his compound, there was Jide and Seun chatting excitedly, they were so engrossed in their discussions that they didn't notice me till I was only a few meters away from them.

 

It was Seun that first turned and saw me, I could see disbelief in his eyes as he tapped Jide to look in my direction, Jide looked also and wore the same expression, indeed they were surprised to see me, by all standards I was meant to be in school.

'What is this man looking for here? You lost? It was Seun speaking, Jide just continued staring at me, he was the eldest of us, he knew something was wrong 'Aburo mi, kiloshele?' it was Jide who spoke now, I couldn't even respond, I just made my way through and sat between both of them as they stood looking at me, totally short of words.

When I finished my incredible story, Seun sprang up in anger, 'Afo, we can't take this nonsense Na, that girl too small to dey use you play like this, Afo let's go to her house and teach her a lesson she will live to remember’. ‘No, Seun, it hasn't gotten to that, we have to be careful in handling this matter, I would suggest we all wait till tomorrow, let's know where this case is going to' that was Jide speaking again, he was the cool tempered one, if it was up to I and Seun, I am very sure we would have really gone to Jumoke's house to make some trouble because at this point, I was really mad at Jumoke.

The night ran so fast, I couldn't get any sleep, I practically rolled on the bed all night till it was eventually the next day and in a matter of hours we were seated at the palace of the Owa of Idanre. Jumoke and her parents were there and I and my mum were there too.

The Owa was sitting there, four other chiefs were in attendance too, this was way bigger than I thought, I just couldn't wait to see the end of all these.

Chief Oladipo presided over the meeting, he was the palace spokesman, the Owa only spoke on very important occasions but he was always present to give sacredness to every meeting. Chief Oladipo performed the usual welcome rites and made it clear that the meeting wasn't called for fights but to settle the issue amicably.

He called on Jumoke to present her case, Jumoke began by telling long stories of how we had being friends for a long while, how we had always done things in common and all the usual gist I was quite aware of, but when she began to talk about our last day in secondary school, the day we wrote our last papers, I suddenly became uncomfortable and then she went on to recount the night of that same day and all the events that transpired and when she was through with her story, not even one person would have regarded me as innocent, indeed any pair of eyes that looked in my direction would have passed the guilty verdict on me, I wasn't even sure of myself again at that moment, Jumoke had just revealed a past that I never saw as important, A past that I had thanked God I escaped unhurt, A past that I least expected would come haunting me, now I was sweating profusely even with all the fans that were switched on, I didn't even hear when the Chief called me up to present my case, my mind had travelled back to four months ago, the night of our last exams in secondary school.

When I eventually mustered up courage to speak for myself, I wasn't sure of myself anymore, I wasn't sure if I wasn't responsible for Jumoke's pregnancy.

 

            ********************

I stood up to speak with shaky voice, my hands were trembling, I couldn't even look at my mum, I recounted my own story which corroborated most parts of Jumoke's story.

Indeed the day of our last papers in secondary school, I and my friends had decided to get a little wild, we had finished exams at about past 5pm and decided to stroll to the bar, we were about eight in number, I, Jide, Seun and Samuel were the guys and Jumoke and three other girls were there with us too, I didn't take alcohol normally but on this fateful evening my friends coerced me into taking a little and before I knew it, I was down in bottles of alcohol, I had blanked out after then and woken up the next day in Jumoke's room, her parents had travelled at that time so she had the house to herself.

I had woken up beside Jumoke on the bed that morning and I was only putting on boxers and Jumoke was only tying a wrapper across her chest, I had enquired in fear if anything had transpired between us in my drunken state but she had assured me that she only took me home to clean me up and take care of me till I was able to go home and that nothing happened. I was therefore shocked beyond words to hear a new version of the story that something happened between us that night and the result was Jumoke's four months old pregnancy.

I didn't even have any defence to make, my story seemed to corroborate Jumoke's story and proved the fact all the more that I was responsible for her pregnancy, I looked at my mum and I could see the tears trickling down her face, indeed I was a disappointment to her and to myself, I really wished the ground would open up and swallow me at that moment.

 

Chief Oladipo consulted in low tones with the Owa and signalled me to sit and as he made to give his final verdict, a guard rushed in from outside the palace and whispered in his ears, his eyes suddenly brightened as he whispered back to the guard who vanished out of sight again as quickly as he had appeared.

He cleared his throat and paused for a while to create the desired tension in our hearts, then he spoke 'Before I pass the final verdict, I would like to inform the house that there's a new development'

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER SIX

 

Chief Oladipo took his time, obviously he meant to create the suspense effect and indeed it worked like magic as the atmosphere suddenly became so cold, I could feel the chilling wind deep down in my lungs, there was dead silence over the palace, and one could almost hear the thumping heartbeats of the occupants of the room.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to inform this honourable gathering that there's one more participant in this unfolding drama' It was Chief Oladipo again, he paused again after he said this and his gaze fell on our faces one after the other.

'Participant kor, participant Ni' I couldn't help wondering what was going on here, was this a game or something, what has a new participant got to do with all these events that were slowly unfolding before my eyes.

Chief Oladipo cleared his throat to regain our attentions and spoke 'Ladies and Gentlemen, permit me to introduce to you, Adewunmi, the daughter of Chief Badmus'

 

She marched into the palace, with slow and precise steps, every head turned to look in her direction as she marched forward with style and grace, I looked into her eyes and I still don't understand but am very sure that that was the moment it all began...

On that day, Adewunmi became my vindication and Jumoke's nemesis.

 

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'Come on, go on'

it was my cell mate, he had being so engrossed in my story, I could see genuine concern in his eyes, he really wanted to help me out here, but indeed I was sure I had gone far beyond redemption, I just couldn't continue the story anymore, I felt a very strong pain in my heart, I was hurting so much, this was the first time I was replaying my life story as it had been so far.

This was the first time I was allowing anyone into my world since I came into this prison, six months ago.

I just continued staring at my cell mate, suddenly the anger and hatred I felt for the world began to return, and I didn't feel like talking to him anymore or anyone for that matter.

What the hell did he mean by 'Jesus loves you' where had Jesus being when I was getting involved in this mess, I was a true follower of this Jesus, I trusted him and this is where I now found myself. My hatred suddenly grew in leaps and bounds, my uncontrollable anger, the same anger that I had no control over from childhood till now suddenly came over me, I hated the world and I wanted it to remain that way.

'What about Adewunmi, what happened? My cell mate inquired with this softness in his voice that even made me hate the world more.

'Don't you ever mention her name, don't!!!' I screamed into his face, I could tell he wasn't expecting that kind of outburst from me from the shock I observed on his face, but I didn't care, I just turned away from him and lay on my own side of the foam, locking my heart doors again, I was ready to carry my cross alone, I didn't need anyone to help me with it, I could and I would handle myself.

I could tell he was standing now, looking at me as I backed him and tucked my face into the foam, I knew he still wanted to reach out but I sincerely prayed he didn't because I was burning with so much hate, I didn't want him to be a victim of transferred aggression.

After a few seconds, he relocated back to his part of the bed and said the words in low tone but those words are words that have forever remained in my heart till these day, he said

'No hurt in the whole world could ever be compared to the blessedness of having Jesus'

Those words meant so much to me then and right now they mean so much to me because those were the last words I heard from a cell mate that I never cared to know about.

 

We went to bed on the same foam that night, but my cell mate never woke up the next morning..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

 

No one knew what happened to Paul that night, that was the name he was called, I got to find out the name of the one I had spent six months in prison with only when he had passed on to the great beyond.

Paul had slept on peacefully and had being translated peacefully from his sleep to eternity, I still remember that morning and cold chills run down my spine, We had heard the bells for the morning labour, I had woken up, normally I wouldn't bother to wake him but I was feeling guilty because of the previous night so I tapped him and said 'wake up'

The coldness of his arms gave me reasons for concern, this coldness was familiar because it reminded me of only seven months ago, and it was scary because it was familiar.

My heart suddenly began to beat faster, I shook him a couple of times and there was no response, I didn't even know when I shouted for help, even before the warders came and took his body away and confirmed him dead, I knew Paul was dead.

I didn't mean to cry but I couldn't hold the tears, it hurt so much that the last words I had said to Paul were angry words, I wished I could have just one last chance to say sorry for my words.

Somehow, I just couldn't overlook the guilt that seemed to weigh me down, I really wished I had treated him better when I had the chance. He had always wanted to be there for me but I had always reciprocated his seemingly good gestures with very cold shoulders.

I decided to overturn the foam, I really didn't have a special reason for doing this, maybe it was just a superstitious belief I once had that if someone died in their sleep then one should overturn wherever they had last lain on so that their spirits can peacefully depart.

So as crazy as my superstition appeared, I went ahead to overturn the foam and as I did this, I saw a neatly folded paper lying on the floor just underneath the foam on Paul’s side. I picked it up and my name was boldly written on it, apparently, Paul had left me a note and it suddenly dawned on me, Paul knew he was going to die.

I couldn't describe how I felt at that moment, I didn't know what to feel, it was the exact way I had felt a few years ago when Chief Oladipo had introduced 'Adewunmi' in the palace in my incredible encounter with Jumoke.

 

My mind slowly drifted back into the palace as the events that happened that day slowly found their way back into my thoughts.

 

Adewunmi marched slowly to the centre of the palace with such grace and style like I had never seen anyone possess before.

I didn't know her or most appropriately I would say her face wasn't a familiar one.

I tried to catch the expression on Jumoke's face but it was as blank as the one I wore, it seemed she didn't know Adewunmi either.

Who could this Adewunmi be? Did she just drop from the sky or something? My thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Chief Oladipo, as it translated me from my world of imaginations to my reality.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to announce to you that there has being a little twist to this story, yesterday night, our dear Adewunmi here had come to the palace to share a rather important piece of information with us, so we had decided to allow her share it with every one of us seated here today and we had invited her to this meeting too. So ladies and gentlemen, I would allow Adewunmi repeat to this house what she had told us yesterday night in this same palace.

 

We all listened in rapt attention as Adewunmi began her seemingly incredible story, it wasn't a long one but it was a very revealing one, she didn't waste any time giving unnecessary and boring details she went straight to the point and when she was through, it felt like a grenade had just been unleashed in the Palace.

All eyes swiftly turned to Jumoke, her reply to these shocking revelations made by Adewunmi counted a great deal.

The silence in the palace was broken when Jumoke burst into tears saying she was 'sorry'.

 

Sorry!!! Come on, did she just say sorry? So all she had to say was sorry, she was going to drag my entire reputation and career to the mud and all she could say was 'sorry'

Chief Oladipo was wearing a very angry face this time, He turned his face towards Jumoke and her mother, Jumoke's mother was burying her head in shame, she too was sobbing softly, she had misled her daughter, she had being blinded by greed and covetousness, she didn't care what it would take to get it.

'I must confess that I am very disappointed in you and your family' Chief Oladipo was referring to Jumoke's Father now, It is one thing to lie against someone, but it's another thing and indeed most grievous to tell a lie in the presence of the great 'OWA' and even in his palace at that. You can take your family and get out of this palace right now, when the palace has decided on what to do with you and your shameless wife and daughter, we would get back to you'.

Jumoke's father lifted his skinny body frame from the chair, his head hung down in shame, he didn't even wait for his family, and he apologized to the Owa and took his leave in slow and very heavy steps. His wife and daughter shamefully followed behind shedding crocodile tears as they followed him out of the palace, their heads bowed in shame.

Chief Oladipo looked at me and nodded 'young man, I hope this has taught you a lesson on being very careful, also you have to thank your God and of course Adewunmi here who had decided to come forward to vindicate you'

'You all can leave now, we have matters to discuss right now in this palace as a matter of urgency' turning to Adewunmi, he spoke again 'young lady, may the gods bless you and be with you for having the courage to do the right thing' and with that he waved his hands at us indicating that we could leave.

 

Adewunmi's story was simple, she was privileged to be idling away in one of the rocky and small trees sites (we had much of them in my village) two days before when Jumoke and a friend of hers happened to pass by that path, they had rested under the tree, without a single idea that she was nesting on top of it and Jumoke had related to her friend how she and her mum had perfected plans to robe a certain young man with her pregnancy. The motive had being simple, the young man had obviously great potentials and was on his way to becoming a mechanical engineer, what better way to secure the future of herself and her  unborn child than to throw the responsibility on him, after all, she had a past experience with him that would serve as the perfect alibi. Samuel was the real father of the baby, but everyone knew Samuel was a 'no good fellow', without a future, moreover if he even heard she was pregnant, the best he would do would be to run away.

Jumoke confided in her friend and told her about the plans to take the case to the palace so that nothing could contest the plot. Indeed it was a well laid out plan that was bound to work, the only drawback to the plan was the fact that Adewunmi got to know about it, though she didn't know who the young man was, she had told her father 'Chief Badmus' about it and he had prompted her to report the matter to the palace at once and that was how she had found herself in the palace the night before.

 

My mum and I couldn't express our gratitude enough to Adewunmi and her Father for saving my future. We visited their house that evening with gifts though they refused to collect it from us.

It was during the visit that I got to know that Adewunmi had being with her uncle in Benin for most part of her life and she had only returned to Idanre a few weeks ago as her Uncle had relocated and travelled out of the country.

The visit wasn't a long one, Chief Badmus treated us nicely, Adewunmi only appeared in the sitting room twice, the first time was to greet I and my mum when we arrived and the second time was when she brought drinks for I and my Mum.

I didn't even see her when we took our leave, but I was sure I had indeed made her understand how grateful I was to her.

News spread like wildfire, by the morning of the next day, news of Jumoke's deceit was all over the village, the Palace had told them to pay a rather too heavy fine but I didn't care the least, all I was interested in was returning to school that day, I already had enough of village trouble in the past two days.

I got into a bus and was on my way to school but then the same thoughts that had being disturbing my head since the previous night wouldn't just allow me be, it was beginning to seem like I had no control of it. I was beginning to have a hard time concentrating on anything, I hated to admit it but it was the glaring truth, 'I was thinking about this strange girl from Benin too much'

Was it because she vindicated me? Was it the way she had walked into the palace? Was it the special way she spoke and counted her words? I really couldn't pin point any special reason, but one thing was certain

 

'I was beginning to fall for Adewunmi'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

 

I resumed school that day, arriving at my hostel and discovering to my dismay that my hostel which was originally meant for four people per room was already having eight occupants, If I included myself that would make nine, every of my hostel mate was having a squatter, to top it all, the annoying roommate that I encountered the last time in the hostel was squatting three people in addition to himself making them four and the worst of it all was that they shared the same side of the room with me.

God!!!  this boy was really annoying, it seemed he brought all his people from the village to come and dwell with him in the hostel, they were very noisy and specialised in cooking bad, smelling food, they were always cooking, most times I wondered if it was study they came for or they came to eat in school.

His name was Oladimeji meaning wealth in double or abundance if I should crudely translate that. Oladimeji kor, Oladimeji Ni. This boy should have been called 'Oshi di merin' crudely translated as 'poverty in four places'

He wore poor looking clothes, cooked very poor looking foods, never had money to spend and yet he was as haughty as King Herod.

He was in his three hundred level studying computer science and the village people he was squatting were all in their first year like me, studying what I didn't care to know.

My other two legitimate room mates were Akin and Ifeanyi, Ifeanyi was from the east and he was the only one I was able to bond with, he was in his first year like me, studying Electrical/Electronic Engineering, he too was squatting a two hundred level statistics student.

Whoever said school wasn't stressful should try FUTA. The moment I resumed school, academic matters hit me hard.

I had plans to make my Mum and community proud by graduating with not just a first class honours but also as the best graduating student in my department, So I didn't only take my academics seriously, I practically treated it like the oxygen I needed to survive.

 

Trust me, my hostel didn't even favour me being there for long so I practically spent most parts of my twenty four hours either at the class or the library, I only visited the room to have my bath and probably sleep, if the village boys would allow me any of it.

My mum didn't have to provide money for me as my state scholarship scheme afforded me the benefits of a hundred thousand naira per session, from this fund, I was able to take care of my academic requirements as well as squeeze out a little more for my upkeep and even still squeeze a very little sum for my Mum too.

I wasn't one of the big boys in school but I didn't belong to the poor boy's league either, at least no one could tell from looking at me that I was from PH (hehehehe, PH means Poor Home)

I got so engrossed in academic activities that I soon lost contact with my emotions, I guess my brain had become so engulfed by academic soft wares that the feeling I thought I was developing for Adewunmi was suddenly relegated to the background.

Although thoughts about her occasionally flew into my mind, it never really stayed for long, it might just flow in singing Celine Dion’s 'I am your angel' but before I could even begin to dance to its tunes, thoughts of Differential Equations would strum in singing Olamide's 'Shakiti Bobo' and who was I to resist the call of differential equations?

And so it was, for me it was strictly FACEBOOK, nah, you got that wrong, I meant facing my academics, I didn't even have a social life, it was class, hostel and library for me, that was my triangle. A very scalene triangle at that, the longest part being the library, and the shortest part of it being the hostel.

The only thing I engaged myself in apart from academics was fellowship. I didn't play with my God, I was a strong believer and I didn't joke with my regular fellowship and communication with God.

 

The semester ran very fast, academics went on quite well, study was interesting and fun for me and before we knew it, the semester came to an end and we had our semester breaks for three weeks.

Meanwhile, I hadn't made any friend in my class, neither male nor female, I preferred to be a one man squad and it worked well for me. I related well with some of my class mates though but I couldn't refer to any of them as friends though, I and Ifeanyi weren't really friends as a matter of fact but since we came to class together most times, we bonded better than I did with any other person.

And so the semester ended and I relocated back to Idanre for one major reason, to see my sweet Mum once again. Indeed I had missed her so much.

My first week in Idanre was pretty uneventful, of course the first two days were awesome, seeing my mum again, sharing stories and all my adventures, meeting my friends again, feeling like Obama when they all listened attentively as I told them about school, not forgetting to over exaggerate some special details though.

After the first two days, I naturally became bored, I was beginning to long for school and my books again, I had left my books in school because I thought I didn't want to mix my holidays with academic work but how wrong I was, now I really wished I had come with some of them.

 

My holiday officially began to make sense on the first Sunday I spent in Idanre during my three weeks holiday.

I had gone to church that morning as I would naturally but I must confess, the same way I went to church that morning wasn't the same way I returned at noon.

I guess when the Pastor spoke in church and said 'you will not return home the same way you came' he was definitely referring to me.

That Sunday was indeed the beginning of an adventure for me, an adventure that right now I don't know what to feel about it.

 

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I was immediately jolted to the reality of my 'prisoner' life when three prison warders burst into my cell room and the words of the head warden struck me like an arrow from Legolas in 'Lord Of The Rings'

'You are coming with us, for the murder of your cell mate, Paul Owoleye'

I couldn't believe my ears, my jaw dropped in total shock and disbelief

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER NINE

 

'Murder!!!'

I mouthed the words softly as the head warden walked into the cell room followed by two other warders.

I looked at his face and was about to speak in defence when I saw that familiar comic expression in his face, the old man was trying to prank me

Gosh! That was a close one, I heaved a sigh of relief, the warden and his colleagues laughed softly, they had really gotten me off guard, everyone in the prison had become used to the expensive jokes of this warden, somehow I was just caught off guard.

'Your mind be don fly abi?' It was the head warden that was speaking to me now 'Even if na you really kill am, wetin we fit do na? After all, you don already get life imprisonment, the best we go do na to add death imprisonment join' he laughed a little louder this time and his colleagues joined in the laughter this time around,

 

To me these jokes were totally not funny, if only this old man knew the kind of increase in blood pressure he had caused me to have just a few minutes ago, he wouldn't be here laughing.

'Your cell mate died of heart seizure, seems he has been having issues with his heart lately, we are just going on routine checks, we would be bringing you a new cell mate soon, so don't feel too lonely' he winked at me and laughed his odd laugh again as they made their way out of the cell room and locked the bars behind them.

I watched them exit with a certain level of indifference, if I had my way, I would have hit that old man on his face maybe that would have been funny to him too.

I opened my right palm and the note Paul had left for me was still sitting safely in it.

I opened the note slowly as I began to read the one paragraph letter that Paul had left me.

 

'My dear friend, the fact that you have this in your hands right now, means that I have gone to be with the Lord. Indeed, I have been ready to meet him since the first time I came here and I knew he was going to call me anytime soon that's why I took the pain to leave you this note. My first gift to you is my bible, you can have it, that’s the most priceless gift anyone could give you, take it from me and I hope we would meet again someday in heaven, God bless you my Friend'.

 

'Was that it?'

Was that all Paul had to say to me? I felt a little disappointed, I wished the note was longer, I really wished he had written more words, now I so much missed his presence and wished I could have him back even if it was for a day. I really wanted to make up for the bad attitude I had shown him for the six months that we had been together.

I looked towards a corner of the room and there lay Paul's bible, I moved towards it and grabbed it, as I lifted it up, it fell from my hands to the floor that was when I noticed that my hands were trembling, I couldn't understand why, was this fear or what?

I made to pick up the bible again and memories of the first Sunday I spent in Idanre after I became a student of FUTA came flooding in again, this was the same way my bible had dropped from my hands as I tried to make my way out of the church when we closed that Sunday.

 

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As I made my way out of the church's main entrance, I tripped and was almost falling before I quickly regained balance but I couldn't protect my bible from falling as it slipped from my hand and fell to the floor. As I bent down to pick up the bible, I heard a familiar voice speak up from behind me.

'You would have to write an apology letter to heaven for doing that'

I picked up the bible and quickly turned to confirm my guess. Of course it was Adewunmi. Boy! Was I glad to see her? I was totally elated and again did she look pretty? She was astonishing and I would confess that I was dumbfounded in every sense of the word dumbfounded.

'Why are you looking at me like you saw a ghost, Mr School boy?'

I didn't even know I had been staring so hard, 'hi Adewunmi, wow, I didn't know you worshipped here also and I must confess you look amazing in your outfit'

She smiled shyly and moved towards me 'thank you, you do look handsome too'. She grabbed my hands and spoke rather quickly almost in whispers 'I have to be home early enough to make lunch for my Dad, so if you don't mind, let's walk quickly' with that she pulled me behind her as we made our way out through the church gate.

 

My house wasn't far from the church and her house wasn't far from mine either, so the distance from the church to our homes was one that could easily be covered on foot, so we hit the road as we made our way home.

'So, you have been in this town and you couldn't even check on me? haba, Afolabi, that's very unfair'

I didn't know how to reply her, indeed I swear, I had almost forgotten about her, if not for the fact that I had seen her in church.

'Adewunmi, I am sorry, its book work o, you know, one has to do so many things in such a little time'

'En, people that are in university, I greet you sir, tell me about the workload, I know I am not in school now o, but one day shebi me will still enter?' she replied though she was teasing rather than being serious.

I didn't understand how I was feeling, as she was talking, every single thing she did was registering twice in my head, I was tripping for this girl so badly, her voice, her eyes, the way she walked, the way she teased, the way she laughed, even the way she was quiet when she wasn't saying anything.

'You didn't answer my question, Afolabi' her voice brought me back into consciousness, I had been so carried away, I wasn't even listening to what she had been saying,

'Emmm, sorry, what was the question?'

'Haba, so you weren't even listening to me? I said, where is your mum, doesn't she worship at Grace Chapel too?'

'Oh, yea, she does, but she couldn't make it this morning, she wasn't feeling too well'

'Really, and you didn't even bother to mention it? I guess I would just stop by your house and check on her before I hurry off to make lunch, so we better quicken our steps' with that she pulled my arms again, as she increased her steps and I quickened mine to meet up with hers.

She actually stopped by my house to see my mum, even my mum was surprised to see her, she promised to return in the evening to check on my mum again, I saw her off to very close to her house and when I eventually had to return back to my house, I couldn't help but look forward to her coming to see my mum again that evening.

 

As I watched her open the gate and enter into her compound, I knew it, I didn't need a soothsayer to confirm this for me, I had fallen for 'Adewunmi' hook, line and sinker, so help me God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TEN

 

True to her words, Adewunmi was in my house that evening, she didn't just come alone, she also brought pepper soup for my mum.

Indeed my mum was thrilled, I could see it in her eyes, Adewunmi spent a little time with my mum telling stories and saying things that would lighten up her mood, she made sure my mum had the pepper soup in her presence and I was lucky to have the remnant to myself and I must confess, this Adewunmi could really make pepper soup, she should have being a professional pepper soup maker.

After she had spent some time with my Mum, I stylishly held her hands and drew her out with me to my favourite spot in my compound under the mango tree so we could talk one on one.

One special thing about Adewunmi was that she had a great sense of humour, she cracked so much jokes that evening that I felt she should have been a comedian.

If she wasn't teasing, then she was telling a funny story. She made so much fun of my village and its people that for a split second I was almost shy I had come from the village.

We talked about so many things, school, religion, hobbies, likes, dislikes, childhood and even relationships. Our conversation that night was entertaining and revealing as well.

 

She was the only daughter of her mother, her mother had left her dad while she was still a kid and no one knew where she was till this day, her uncle had eventually taken her to live with him in Benin, and he had taken care of her till He had to travel abroad for academic purposes. Her Father on the other hand had a second wife who lived with him, she had two sons and one daughter and they all liked Adewunmi, there was this love that existed between them all that I rather found difficult to believe because in our own part of the country, polygamous families were always characterised by hatred and jealousy for one another but in her own family, it was a very different scenario.

Iya Bose, (that was what villagers called her step mum) was like a mother to her and she called her 'mami'

She had schooled in one of the best secondary schools in Benin and had intentions of having her tertiary education in University of Benin (UNIBEN) or Federal University of Technology (FUTA),

I was only a year and few months older than her, but she sounded so mature that you would think she was older than I was. She was a good Christian too, had intentions to join the church choir soon, she loved music and could play drums and the keyboard.

She was more like a 'jack of all trade, master of all' she was a great sportsman, she could run and jump, she had won awards for both race and long jumps back in secondary school. She could dance, she could draw, she could make hair, sew, apply make ups professionally, act and I had also confirmed that she could cook, hmm, she was really 'Jack of all trade'.

One of the flaws she admitted having was that she wasn't an exceptional academic student, she had actually failed her JAMB twice and was about to write her third JAMB, she was very hopeful though that she would make it this time as she was already getting old according to her and needed to be in the tertiary institution.

 

She practically did most of the talking that evening, I only had something to say whenever she asked a question and even when she did and I was providing the answer she would have a way of cutting me off before I finish and continue with her interesting stories.

 

'Do you have a boyfriend?'

I can still remember the emotion that had appeared on her face when I asked her this question, it seemed like I had just told her that I was the devil, there was this shock in her eyes that I found myself wishing I hadn't asked such a question.

'Boyfriend??' she repeated the words, then she laughed in a rather funny manner, 'Boyfriend kor, boyfriend Ni, what would I be needing a boyfriend for? What do they have to offer me? I am not going to have any of such relationships till I am sure I am ready to get married, and then it would be God's choice for me and it would be in God's own time'

She looked at me again in this way that seemed to suggest that I was the devil, 'do you have a girl friend?' she asked me, I didn't even have to think about it, this one that she sees relationship as the devil so, I was quick to answer 'girl friend??, no, I have no intention of having one, till I am ready to be married'

She looked at me again curiously, as if trying to search my eyes for the truth, after a few seconds, she smiled that her overpowering and killing smile and said 'that's better'

'Wheew, ile I gidi gan' this one was really strong, Adewunmi wasn't just a special girl, she was also a very principled girl. She carried herself with such confidence that you would think she was royalty.

 

We talked more for some time and she suddenly looked at her wristwatch and stiffened, 'oh my God!! I have to go home right now' it was a few minutes past 6pm, she explained to me that as a lady she had to be home before 6pm, she dashed into my house quickly, told my mum goodbye and declined my request to see her off on the grounds that I would delay her, she practically ran off but not before we exchanged phone numbers.

 

 

'Is that our new wife?'

my mum teased as I opened the door to enter the house, somehow, just the mention of Adewunmi as 'my wife' gave me goose bumps, I suddenly realised that I wanted to marry her, I didn't even know I was smiling so sheepishly until my mum spoke again 'hmm, Afo, Afo, that smile on your face can kill any small demon o'

I laughed softly and replied her 'Mami, she is not o, but you know I can't lie to you, I think am beginning to like her too much o'

My Mum nodded slowly 'Afo, I am your mother na, I observed, but I must warn you, you have to be very careful o, when it comes to matters of the heart, one must be very careful, it can be related to crossing the road, you must look left, look right and look left again before you cross, just be very careful my son, at least you are a man now, but you must be careful'

'Thank you mami, I appreciate your advice, I promise to be very careful'

 

That night, I tried so hard to resist the impulse to call her, I was trying to be careful as My mum had advised me, this feeling was becoming so difficult to control, I couldn't conclude so easily that it was love, after all, I was just beginning to know her, but one thing that was certain was that this wasn't lust or infatuation, it wasn't borne out of a desire for her body rather it was borne out of a strong desire to care for her and be there for her, I just wanted to guard and protect her, be her guide, be her companion, be her friend, wow, I wanted to be her everything. Cupid had really shot me point blank with his arrow and this was a heart shot I swear. I fought with myself for some minutes and finally decided I wasn't going to call her, I had to take things slowly, I had to be very careful, after all that was what my Mum advised me to do.

 

 

'Hi, Adewunmi, I was wondering if you were still awake'

Hehehehe, that was me on the phone with Adewunmi that same night, I swear, when it comes to issues of the heart, no one is a superman, my heart won over my head and there I was calling her on the phone.

'Hey, Afolabi, it's good to hear your voice, no I am not asleep, I was actually having a hard time sleeping....'

And you know the story, I had called her at about past 11pm, and we had talked till past 12am, and officially that was how I and Adewunmi began MTN free midnight calls.

 

I would always stay up every night, till it's exactly 12.30am and would dial her number and it only rang once because she was already awake too waiting for my call. We would talk from 12.30am to 4.30am every night and there was never a dull moment.

Adewunmi always had something to talk about, our talks always covered a variety of topics, we even talked about politics sometimes, we talked about sports, about the government, about movies, there was nothing we didn't talk about, we were very good friends and we were very close too, we shared practically everything, there was nothing hidden between us,

God knows how much I wanted to take this relationship to the next level but I was scared, I didn't want to lose her friendship in the process so I chose to enjoy our friendship till that special time came.

 

The remaining two weeks of my first semester break was all about Adewunmi, we spent most of the time together, I began to coach her on the subjects she had problems with, I opened her eyes to the unravelled mysteries of chemistry and physics, as those were her major weak points, she developed a passion for chemistry especially, I also was able to convince her to apply to FUTA on the grounds that she was an indigene of Ondo state and would have better chances meanwhile my real reason was so that I could be closer to her.

 

It almost hurt to return back to school after the semester break, Adewunmi practically cried when I had to return back, we were sure going to miss each other.

My returning to school, didn't affect our friendship in any way, I continued to keep in touch via phone calls, WhatsApp, bbm, in fact, the only thing that stopped was the midnight calls, and Adewunmi was still all over my head.

She eventually made her JAMB and passed her PUME and got admitted into FUTA to study Biochemistry. Was I happy? No I wasn't, Happy is an understatement, I was overjoyed, I felt like I had won the lottery, now Adewunmi was going to be with me full time, this indeed was worth celebrating.

 

I was so carried away by the good news and the encompassing feelings I had for Adewunmi that I wasn't prepared for the shocker that hit me towards the end of the semester.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

I had being so busy falling in love that I didn't remember I had to be standing for my academics. The semester exams hit me like a rude shocker, I sure wasn't prepared as I should have.

When the exams came rushing in, I discovered to my disappointment that I didn't have enough time to prepare. I had being so carried away by Adewunmi that I had forgotten my commitment to graduating with a first class honours, I had gradually spent less and less time studying and more and more time talking to Adewunmi on the phone and another large percentage of my time thinking about her. Even when I tried to study, concentration was quite difficult and I suddenly had problems with understanding seemingly difficult concepts.

The exams came and indeed they hit me very hard, I wasn't on top of my game like I used to be and to make it worse, I even found myself asking questions from course mates in the exam hall, this was something I had never done before in my life even in my nursery school days.

The exams came and I did the best I could and began to have faith in God, probably I was hoping the Holy Spirit would make a magic happen in my favour.

I returned home for the semester break with all joy and enthusiasm, of course I was going to be with my dear Adewunmi. We practically spent the holidays together, and trust village gossips, news began to make the rounds that we were dating, and even my friends began to doubt me when I told them that I and Adewunmi were only friends.

 

My Mum didn't fail to remind me to be careful, she reminded me of the episode with Jumoke and never failed to advise me on the value of being careful.

I always promised her that I would be careful, but I was already carried away by Adewunmi's charm and aura, nothing really mattered to me anymore, all that mattered to me was Adewunmi, I was in love and I totally loved the feeling.

The session resumed rather quickly and this time, I resumed school with my bestie, Adewunmi. She got a hostel accommodation and I also got a hostel accommodation, our hostels were located close to the school's north gate, I at Jibowu and she at Ibule, so we weren't so far away from each other.

My first session results were released and indeed I was disappointed in myself, I barely crossed a 4.0 G.P.A, in simple terms, I didn't make a first class as I had anticipated, I made a second class upper division and it seemed I might have even had less than a 4.0 G.P.A if it wasn't for the fact that I had made all A's in my first semester results. My second semester results were really bad and it had pulled my G.P down.

 

This wasn't good for me and I knew it, there and then I decided to concentrate more on my studies and really handle my feelings before things got out of hands.

As they would say in pidgin 'to talk am dey easy Na to do am be the main thing'

I really had a problem keeping up with my new decision, whenever I saw Adewunmi, I was always carried away, suddenly, study wasn't a priority for me anymore, we would sit in front of her hostel almost every night talking till late into the night and I would leave her hostel and go to my hostel and sleep.

I still didn't have the courage to ask her out, every time I tried to raise a topic that could lead to it, she stylishly changed the topic and every time she had an opportunity, she tried to indirectly remind me that she wasn't going to have a relationship till she was ready for marriage.

And so it was, we continued on friendship terms and even though it killed me that I couldn't date her just yet, I hung around in the friend zone.

I always made sure I was there for her, helped out with studies, assignments, did practically everything I could for her but one thing we always argued about was money, she always refused to accept money from my hand, She always made it clear to me that her uncle still took care of her and so she had enough money for herself, rather than accept money from me, she spent her money on me most times, buying me gifts, cooking and bringing me food and all such.

 

The Ondo state government scholarship fund was reviewed for tertiary institutions and it suddenly included the clause that all benefactors of the scholarship fund in tertiary institutions must maintain a sessional G.P.A of 3.5 and above for continued access to the scholarship funds.

When I received the mail, I practically laughed over it because I actually wondered why anyone as brilliant as I was would make s sessional G.P.A that was less than 3.5, hence the mail didn't give me any course for alarm, I was working towards topping my game and recovering my first class honour's position.

 

One early morning, I decided to push my luck a little, so I sent Adewunmi a good morning sms and included in it that I had a dream and in the dream, I was taking her down the aisle. I sent the message and anticipated a reply with my heart pounding heavily.

The reply didn't come until about an hour later, when I had even forgotten I sent her an sms, I grabbed my phone immediately I saw it was from her and still with a thumping heart beat I opened the message and scrolled down as I read the disappointing reply.

'God or even the devil couldn't have showed you that kind of dream, if that was meant to be a joke, I didn't like it'

I couldn't believe my eyes, I scrolled the message up and down again, to be sure I wasn't seeing double, I checked the message sender again to be sure it was Adewunmi, indeed it was her. Wow, I really didn't expect this kind of reply, I suddenly began to feel guilty and the guilt gradually turned into fear, I didn't know she would take offense at this o, I immediately dialled her number, but it rang thrice without response.

I sent her another sms apologising for my first sms and stating that it was only meant to be a joke. She replied the sms and said it was okay but she didn't like those kind of jokes.

 

And that was how my first attempt encountered a fatal crash. Our friendship continued but I observed that we weren't so close anymore, she would find excuses to be away from me, most times when I called her at nights so we could meet up in front of her hostel, she always had one excuse or the other to give and so we began to see each other less and less and even talk on the phone less and less too but what I felt for Adewunmi didn't depreciate for one day, this her new attitude was really killing me slowly and it eventually manifested in my sessional results.

 

The session ended and a new session began, I was now in three hundred level and she was in two hundred level, we both got spaces in the school hostel, but this time, I couldn't get an hostel at Jibowu, rather mine was at the school south gate area at Oba kekere.

My two hundred level results were a shocker, I made a G.P.A of 3.6 just a 1.0 addition over the required G.P.A for the continuation of my scholarship fund.

Oh my God!! This was something I never saw coming, I didn't think I could ever drop down to this level academically, I was really far gone in this emotions I couldn't control for Adewunmi.

Now, it wasn't just about fighting to make a first class, it was more like fighting to retain my scholarship. Adewunmi had drifted away from me a lot more, we hardly saw in school, she didn't pick my calls most times and even when she did, she always found an excuse to end it quickly so that we didn't have to talk for long.

It baffled me that a simple sms could cause all this, but I saw it as an opportunity for me to regain my academic grounds and bounce back.

I really did bounce back on my academics, the same vigour I possessed in my hundred level returned, I still accommodated overpowering feelings for Adewunmi but I could handle it better now especially as I didn't get to see her or hear from her regularly anymore.

I was in class one afternoon, reading hard and preparing for my three hundred level first semester which was due in a month's time when my phone rang, I looked at the screen and saw a strange number, I wanted to ignore it since I was engrossed in my books but my curiosity had the better part of me and I picked up the phone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWELVE

 

'Hello, is this Afolabi?  please my name is Kemi, I am calling from Saint Philomena hospital Akure, we need you at the hospital right away, please it's a matter of urgency, be here as fast as you can'.

Saint Philomena hospital keh! The line went dead before I even had an opportunity to seek clarifications on further details.

There was only one saint Philomena hospital in Akure and it wasn't so far away from FUTA. I really hoped nothing serious was happening to anyone I knew, I quickly got hold of my bag, packed my books and set off for the hospital, the lady on the phone really sounded desperate, I moved with quick steps as I boarded a shuttle to the gate and made my way to Saint Philomena hospital.

I arrived at the gate of the hospital and met the gate man, told him who I was and about the call I had received, he didn't seem to know anything about it but he directed me to the reception and asked me to ask there, I got there and saw two ladies across the reception desk, as I made to introduce myself, one of them asked 'Are you Mr Afolabi?' I nodded, and she asked me to follow her.

I quickly followed her down the hall, into a passageway, and from the passage way into a room and I didn't believe my eyes when I saw her lying on the bed, looking so sick, my heart jumped into my mouth.

'Mum, what are you doing here?' I practically ran over to her as I sat on the hospital bed beside her and held her hands, I looked into her eyes and they were really looking sickly.

 

'A taxi driver rushed her here a few hours ago, she had collapsed inside his taxi van on their way to the shopping mall' I looked up at who was speaking, this was a new face, she seemed to be a doctor at the hospital, she was quite young and beautiful, I didn't even know when she walked into the room.

'What’s wrong with her? What do you mean collapsed? Hope she's going to be fine? What are you doing about her condition now? The questions tumbled out of my mouth in quick successions, I couldn't bear to see my mum in this condition.

'Please, I would require you to come with me to my office, so you can understand the realities of the situation at hand'

 

'Coronary Artery Disease?' I sure wasn't a medical student neither did I have a thorough knowledge on the intricacies of it but I sure knew it was a Cardio Vascular disease, a kind of heart disease, I came out of the doctor's office feeling helpless, I didn't know what to do, why would this kind of disease come upon the only treasure I had left in the world, I thought about what she had just revealed to me 'Jeez, forty five thousand naira, just to carry out a series of tests? What then would it take to cure her totally?

The total money I had both at hand and in bank was roughly twenty thousand naira, My mum herself didn't even have any reasonable amount of money too, I was quite aware of that, we had really been down on cash in the past few months, expenses had just seemed to rise far above our income level.

I went into the room where my mum was lying, she still had her eyes open, she really couldn't speak, I just held her hands and continued to assure her that everything was going to be all right. I didn't tell her about the money required for the tests, I didn't have any intention of increasing her blood pressure higher than it already was.

 

I came out of the room and stood in the passageway, I felt very empty and lonely, I had been struggling with the impulse to call Adewunmi and tell her about the situation on ground but I didn't want to, I felt telling her wouldn't amount to any good, it sure wouldn't make my mum feel better or the money appear. I thought about my extended family members, they were not even an option in this matter, I was really confused on what to do, who else could I go to? How could I raise extra twenty five thousand, since I had roughly twenty thousand with me both at school and bank, I really needed someone to speak to at this point and it was only one person that came to mind, I picked up my phone and dialed her number.

The phone rang twice without response, this had become a usual custom with Adewunmi, she hardly answered my calls. I decided to send her a sms, at least she couldn't block that from entering her phone.

The message was brief and simple, I only told her that my mum was currently on admission at St Philomena's hospital and I would be grateful if I could have her around.

The message had barely delivered when my phone rang and it was her name on my phone screen, I answered the call at the first ring and it was her voice on the other end of the phone.

'Please Afo, just stay where you are, please wait for me, I will be right there in a matter of minutes' and she ended the call before I could even reply.

 

In about twenty minutes, I could see her almost running down the passage way as she made for the door that led to the room, she came towards me and without even making an attempt to say hi, she hurriedly whispered in short gasps 'where is she?' I opened the door for her to enter, she rushed to where my mum lay and held her hands with such strong emotions that you would think it was her own Mum.

I just watched them as I stood by the door, my mum still couldn't speak but there was this brightness that suddenly appeared all over her face when she opened her eyes and saw that it was Adewunmi who sat beside her.

She smiled weakly and even though she tried to conceal it, anyone looking at her could tell that she was in pains. All I could hear Adewunmi say was that it would all be fine, she kept encouraging my mum and asking her to be strong for us for over five minutes before she eventually stood up from the bed, came to me, held my hands and drew me out of the room into the passage way with her.

 

She inquired about the situation on ground and I quickly filled her in on the details and how money was posing a big obstacle to the commencement of the medical tests and examinations on my mum.

After she had listened to me, I looked in her eyes and it seemed she was far away in thoughts, I had to tap her before she returned back to consciousness of our immediate surroundings, she again asked me how much I could possibly lay my hands on, I told her I was sure I could rag twenty thousand naira, she asked me to go get it immediately, that we would plead with the doctor to begin with that, we both left the hospital at the same time, I was on my way to the bank and she said she wanted to go see an uncle who could talk to the doctor for us.

 

I returned back to the hospital about thirty minutes later, Adewunmi was already there waiting for me, she was sitting beside my mum on the hospital bed when I entered the room, she jumped up immediately she saw me and asked that we go see the doctor immediately, I inquired about the uncle that was meant to go with us to plead with the doctor, she put her forefinger to her lips signaling me to keep quiet, she opened her purse and produced a neatly folded brown envelope, she handed it to me and said softly 'We won't be needing him if we have the money, now we have the money so we don't need him'

I reluctantly took the envelope from her hand, I opened it and indeed there was money in it, I counted the money and it was thirty thousand naira. 'No Adewunmi, please I can't accept this from you' the way she looked at me, I am quite sure my spirit ran away from my body.

She didn't say anything, neither did she stretch out her hands to receive the money back, she just kept staring at me with her hands folded across her chest. 'But Adewunmi, where did you get this kind of money, please I really shouldn't be accepting this money from you' I said this with a much lower tone this time around.

'Better take that money and let's go to the doctor already, I really don't understand what you are blabbing about, If you don't really want it, then see it as a loan and pay me back whenever you have the money to pay back', but for now, stop wasting time, add that money to the one you have with you and let's go see the doctor'

'Adewunmi, am so grateful for this, I promise I would never forget this your act of....' she cut me short as she interrupted 'blah blah blah, don't worry you can thank me later, let's just go and see the doctor, please!!!'

I obeyed and brought out the twenty thousand I was able to get, now it was fifty thousand, I tried handing over to her, the five thousand that was extra, the way she looked at me made me retrace my steps quickly before I received holy ghost slap.

We eventually saw the doctor and handed the money over to him, he assured us that the tests would be carried out immediately and that we could go home and return the next day when he would have the results ready for us.

 

Adewunmi went back with me to my hostel, this was the first time she had come to my hostel since the beginning of the session, She spent a very long time with me assuring me that all will be well, she was such a great comfort, back at the hospital, she had even volunteered to stay back with my mum for the night but the doctor had assured us that there was no need for that as my mum was in a rather stable condition and they had nurses who would keep an eye on her through the night.

Adewunmi eventually left my hostel very late that night, she had even volunteered to go and get me food from her hostel but I had refused the offer because I even lacked the appetite to eat.

She left with a promise that she would meet me up at the hospital the next morning, so we could get the results of the test. When she left, I just couldn't help myself, it seemed she had just come to reawaken all the feelings I had for her that I thought I had been able to suppress, the feelings I had for Adewunmi suddenly sprang up again with so much force that I totally lost control, I was back to square one again, Adewunmi was the dream of every man, I had only been deceiving myself when I thought I could control it. I went to bed with two heavy thoughts on my mind that night, one was thoughts about my sick Mum in the hospital and the other was thoughts about Adewunmi and how she had conquered my heart.

 

I received a call from the hospital early the next morning demanding my urgent presence, it was barely past 6am, I was still lying on the bed trying to decide whether to wake up or sleep some more when the call came in, it wasn't a familiar voice but it was a call from St Philomena hospital all the same, I didn't take my bath, I just quickly brushed my teeth, put on a pair of trousers, threw on a red sleeve shirt, picked my bag and ran off to get a shuttle, but I sent an sms to Adewunmi before I left the hostel.

I spent about ten minutes in the Doctor's office, it still seemed like a joke to me, my ears still rang from what the doctor had told me a few minutes ago, his hands were still on my shoulders as he led me out of his office into the passageway, as we walked down the passageway, I saw Adewunmi running down the passage, she stopped right in front of us, she didn't even need to ask us what had happened, it was written in my face, I believed she only asked to confirm her fears.

 

'Afolabi, where's mummy?'

I looked at her face and looked away again, I couldn't answer her, she looked like her face was going to tear in pieces

 'Afolabi, answer me where is mummy?' I still couldn't answer her, she grabbed my shirt, this time her voice sounded tearful 'Afolabi, please tell me, where's mummy?'

 

I didn't cry when the doctor had told me the sad news a few minutes ago but as I looked into Adewunmi's eyes that moment, I couldn't stop the tears from falling, for the first time, it really did strike me hard, I wasn't going to see my loving mum again, I broke into tears as I broke the news to her 'Adewunmi, Mummy is dead!!!!'

 

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

Indeed, my mum passed away, as unbelievable as it sounded, It was true, she had a heart attack early that morning and there was nothing the doctors and nurses could do about it, she had passed on in her sleep just like that.

As expected, the doctor didn't return our money to us, actually the tests had already being carried out before my Mum passed away the next morning. He tried handing the test results to me that morning at his office, but who cared? The blow of losing my mum was indeed too great to handle, nothing mattered to me anymore.

My Mum's family didn't allow her body stay in the mortuary, she was buried almost immediately with little or no rites to follow. She was buried the same week she had died.

That weekend was one of my worst weekends ever, I practically cried like a woman, I couldn't help myself, when she was eventually laid into the ground and covered in sand, I felt like jumping into the grave with her, it really hurt so bad, I was never able to get over her death.

 

The weeks that followed my Mum's death and burial were killing to me, I experienced such deep pains like I had never experienced before, many times I had even contemplated committing suicide and I am sure I would have if not for Adewunmi.

Adewunmi became a real blessing to me during this trying period, she stood by me throughout the period, from the loss of my mum, to when she was buried, even after the death and burial. She gave me so much support that I began to wonder if this was the same Adewunmi that had almost ended our friendship a few months ago.

She was such a huge support that I always wondered how I would be able to pay her back, she was a huge financial support during the burial and even after, I still couldn't understand where she got money from but she gave me close to twenty thousand naira when I tried to calculate how much she had given to me before, during and after the burial, anytime I refused to take money from her she would frown and look at me in such a way that my spirit would always run out of my body. We were so close this period, she practically left school and came back to Idanre just to be there for me.

Throughout the period of the burial preparations, she stayed with me for most of the time, she brought me food, she did so much for me, she was just so extraordinary during this period, she meant so much to me during this period and I couldn't help but imagine how blessed my life would be with her in it as my wife.

After the burial and after I had spent another extra week at home, I returned back to school but Adewunmi didn't stop being there for me, it seemed the loss of my Mum suddenly broke that bridge that had suddenly come to exist between us before, We were back to our old time sweet friendship, we spent more time together, this time it was even much more stronger than it had been before she started her attitude thing.

 

The first semester exams came quickly and I wasn't ready for it, my Mum's death had de stabilized me so badly, I sure knew I was going to do poorly in the exams I wrote that semester, I really found it hard to concentrate on studying after my Mum's demise, all that came to mind at that point were thoughts about her and how life suddenly became meaningless without her, Adewunmi was my only consolation and if it wasn't for her, maybe I would have even dropped out of school then because even financially, I was suffering so much, after giving all my last money to the doctor and spending the little my mum had left on her burial, I was thoroughly down in cash, but Adewunmi didn't stop supporting me and the occasional menial jobs I engaged in assisted in helping me pull through school for that semester.

 

The first semester break was a big relief to me, I really needed some time off school to spend on my own and probably get myself back, I really needed a source of income and I began to engage in some form of community labor so I would be able to raise some money to begin second semester.

Adewunmi became much more closer this time around, She always visited and stayed for long hours, most times she even exceeded her 6.00pm deadline and didn't seem to care, we became so close that I was quite sure if I asked her out again, she wasn't going to reject me, so I perfected plans to try my luck one more time before school resumed for the second semester.

I eventually summoned up courage one evening, it was the last week before We resumed school for the second semester, I had just returned from the youth Leaders house where I had gone to get my own share of the money for the work we had done that morning, my share was one thousand naira and if I added that to what I already saved, I was having close to eleven thousand naira, at least I would be able to begin second semester with that and probably find a tutorial class to offer my services when school resumed so I could survive.

I returned home at about 4pm, I knew Adewunmi would be coming anytime from then, I quickly took my bath, changed from my dirty clothes and put on some clean clothes. I sat under the mango tree, waiting for her to come, my heart beating very fast, the anxiety I felt at that moment was indeed very alarming.

I found myself looking at my wristwatch over and over again, I just couldn't be at ease, I knew that what I was about to do could either go well for me or might even mar our friendship forever considering what had happened the first time but I didn't care, I just had to take this friendship to a whole new level even if it would cost me the world.

It was a few minutes past 5pm before she arrived, I guess the anxiety and excitement of seeing her showed so clearly on my face that she had to ask me 'what was happening'

She was full of many gists as usual, cracking jokes, teasing, sharing stories and all that, but I doubt if I heard up to fifty percent of all she said that evening, the only thing on my mind was asking her to be mine.

It didn't take long before she observed that I wasn't really interested in her long gists, she suddenly stopped talking and stared at me in a way that indicated a very deep level of concern

 

'Afolabi, what's wrong with you, you are absolutely not yourself this evening, please tell me what is eating you up'

I tried to look into her eyes but I just couldn't, the emotions I had for her at that moment was absolutely overpowering, I didn't look into her eyes when I spoke but when I heard my own voice, I could perceive it was soaked with so much emotion that even a nun would have considered my proposal at that moment.

'Adewunmi, I really can't hold this anymore, I really can't help myself anymore, the more I try to hold this to myself, the more I find myself dying, I really do love you, I really want you to become a part of my world, I am convinced you are the only one that would be perfect for my life, please Adewunmi, just find a place in your heart to love me in return, please Adewunmi, be my soul mate, the one I would spend the rest of my life with'

I practically rushed the words, as I spoke the words my heartbeat quickened so much that I was scared I might stop breathing before I even finished what I had to say.

I managed to look at her face and till today that face still remain glued to my memory, that face spoke lots of words, Adewunmi loved me too, I didn't need her words to confirm it, the emotions I saw on her face that evening were the same emotions that made me so glued to her that I was ready to kill for her.

Her facial expression twisted slowly from surprise to a blank one, then gradually to this face that had so much fear and uncertainty written on it, then it broke into a smile and suddenly it was a sad expression and that was when the tears began to drop down her face.

I was so engrossed in looking at her face helplessly that I didn't hear her when she said the words the first time, it was when she spoke again that I picked the words

'Afolabi, I love you too, I have always loved you but I have always being scared, maybe its high time I let go and follow my heart after all'

I couldn't believe my ears, was this real?

She stopped and looked at me again, she wiped her face with the back of her left palm, held my hands and looked deeply into my eyes, the words that she spoke as she looked into my eyes had remained in my memory till this day and I am sure would follow me to my grave.

 

'I really love you Afolabi and I would want to be with you not just for this moment, but forever and even in the afterlife, I want to be your Queen Afolabi'

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 

And that was how I and Adewunmi began a relationship that I without doubts believed to be ordained by God or rather would have been more appropriate if I had believed it was ordained by the gods.

We resumed second semester as confirmed love birds, we had the kind of love that people admired from a distance, Adewunmi loved me so much, she didn't have a life outside of me, she was ready to share everything she had with me, even though we were dating she still refused to accept money from me, she always provided so much support that at some points I had to feel shy.

Seun and Jide my friends back at idanre called her 'my wife', they were happy for me, indeed I was happy for myself too, I had found my missing rib at last.

Second semester exams came and I did the best I could but I was sure I still wasn't at the top of my game though but did I even care? Come on, I was in love with Adewunmi jorh, I didn't even care about making a first class anymore, to me 'one with Adewunmi was majority' I already had what I needed from life, every other thing would be added to me and even though I wasn't expecting a first class G.P.A from my three hundred level results, I sure wasn't expecting the rude shocker that hit me at the resumption of my four hundred level first semester.

 

School resumed and I resumed on the first week with very high hopes, I was in my penultimate year for crying out loud, I was going to be a confirmed Mechanical Engineer in less than two years.

I had barely settled into the hostel that fateful Wednesday afternoon when my phone rang and looking at the screen, it was my course adviser, Elder Olu.

A call from Elder Olu was the last thing I expected, he had never called me on phone before, he had being my department course adviser right from my first year in school and that would be the first time he was calling me on phone.

I received the call and he informed me that I had a letter from the office of the Idanre local government that I had to pick up from his office first thing the next morning and he ended the call.

Letter from Idanre local government? I immediately knew it had something to do with my scholarship fund, the state scholarship fund was always delivered through the local government to us and I felt happy because there were rumors going round that the state government had plans to double our scholarship fund, I was so happy, I didn't even wait till the next day before I called Adewunmi to tell her that I had a letter from the local government and all indications pointed to increase in the scholarship funds being made available to us.

She was happy and rejoiced with me over the phone, we couldn't see that night as she had traveled to Idanre to see her Father over some pressing issues.

I went to bed that night with lovely dreams about receiving two hundred thousand naira as scholarship fund. Anxiety didn't even allow me sleep much, I continued to wake at intervals until it was daybreak.

I was at Elder Olu's office before he even arrived at his office that morning, when he saw me waiting at the door of his office at about past 8am that morning, he was surprised. 'This man, you didn't sleep yester night? He looked at me in a quizzing manner as I sidestepped for him to open his door, he got into his office and handed me the letter.

Immediately I got out of his office, I tore open the envelope, I didn't even have enough patience to get back to the hostel before reading the letter, I anticipated great news but the contents of that letter dashed my hopes to pieces.

 

It was a formal letter, a very formal one, it was too formal for my liking, the words were straight to the point, and no ambiguity whatsoever, the government was discontinuing my scholarship fund because my three hundred level results didn't meet up with the required G.P.A for continuance of the state scholarship fund.

I was dumbfounded beyond words, normally my department always compiled my result and sent it to the state scholarship board before the beginning of a new session so that we can have our funds early enough into the session. This simply meant my results had been sent and I didn't make up to a 3.5 G.P.A in three hundred level.

But this was impossible, totally impossible, how could I make a G.P.A that was below 3.5? That was unacceptable, I didn't know when I barged into the course adviser's office and started raising my voice annoyingly stating how it was impossible for me to get a G.P.A that was below 3.5, I was so enraged and my weakness 'Anger' got a better hold of me, I wasn't even able to control my outburst, I was eventually bundled out of his office by security men that fateful morning.

Even at the security post, I still couldn't control my anger as one of the security men infuriated me all the more by slapping me.

I still don't know what came over me that day but I had to spend the full day in detention at the security post that day and officially a file was opened for me as 'a suspected cultist'.

It took the intervention of my fellowship cell leader and my bible study secretary before the school security agreed to release me that day.

Adewunmi was thoroughly angry with my actions, she had returned to school that evening and had gotten wind of my irresponsible behavior, bad news sure spread like wildfire, the news that made the rounds was that I had accosted my course adviser and was trying to bribe him to upgrade my three hundred level results and when he had refused I had attempted molesting him and would have succeeded if not for the timely intervention of the security men.

This was what Adewunmi heard, that was the story they sold to her, no wonder when I was eventually released from the security post, she refused to pick my calls, I continued calling her throughout that night she continued to ignore till her phone went off, I guess she had to switch off her phone on me.

I already perfected plans to go to her faculty to see her the next morning, I really had to make her understand what had happened and the fact that I had lost my scholarship, as I got out of my hostel room prepared to go to her class that morning, I came face to face with two police men standing at my hostel door. I didn't understand why they should be there, I made to ignore them but as I took a step forward, one of them spoke 'are you Mr. Afolabi?' I stopped and regarded them before I nodded in the affirmative.

'You have to come with us right now to the station for questioning and to clarify certain issues'

I stopped walking immediately like one that was frozen to the ground, I looked at two of them and the expressions on their face showed that they weren't joking.

I respected myself and went with them to the station to avoid any further unpleasant show.

Elder Olu had gone to the police station to make a statement against me that I had threatened his life, I couldn't believe my ears, I had to sign an undertaken that if anything unusual happened to him, I would be held responsible, this was all seeming like a movie to me, this was getting much more serious than I thought it would.

It seemed the Police were a rebranded one because they didn't take any money from me, according to them, Elder Olu didn't want any trouble, he only made a statement to protect his life. The Police released me after further questioning, most of the questions boiled on involvement in cultism and things like that, when they were through with their interrogations, they let me go.

I had spent over three hours at the police station, by the time I got back to school that day and to Adewunmi's department, her class had already ended, I tried calling her over and over again but her phone was still switched off, I went to her hostel but she wasn't there either, her hostel mates confirmed the fact that she had left for classes in the morning but she hadn't returned since then.

At about 8pm, I was still trying to get to Adewunmi on phone and her phone was still switched off, I was beginning to get really scared and worried when my phone rang and her name appeared on my screen, I almost thought it had to be someone else but indeed it was Adewunmi, she asked me where I was and after confirming I was at the hostel she asked me to wait for her that she was coming to see me.

Adewunmi was still mad at me, she had refused to pick my calls the previous night because she didn't want to say anything she would regret saying, she told me she had to travel back to Idanre very early that morning again on another urgent request from her Father and that her phone battery had died that's why her phone was switched off. She apologized for the inconvenience she knew she had caused me and was rather shocked and had pity on me when I eventually narrated my own part of the story to her.

She didn't act so bitter that I had lost the scholarship even though I could feel she was bitter, she didn't attack me, she knew I was hurt too and she concentrated on encouraging me and assuring me that we would definitely pull through, she reminded me that she loved me so much and nothing was going to change that. She assured me that no matter what it took, she was going to stick by me and that this was only a little temptation that we were going to pull through together.

I said Amen, even though deep in my heart, I didn't even know where to begin from, I had courses to register, dues to pay, and many other things to do with money and the only money I had both at hand and in bank was two thousand, five hundred naira, the leftover from what I had been able to hustle during the holidays.

The next morning, Adewunmi came to see me in class, she handed me an envelope and left in a hurry claiming she had classes to catch, when I opened it, there was money inside, I counted and the money inside was sixty five thousand naira.

Adewunmi had been giving me money but this was the first time she was giving me this kind of large sum at a single instance.

For the first time I really began to exercise a degree of worry, where was Adewunmi getting money from? She had always told me it was from her uncle who had traveled out of the country but for the first time, I was having second thoughts about Adewunmi's truthfulness.

 

I was beginning to doubt Adewunmi's source of income. My sixth sense told me something wasn't right and if there was anything I was very sure of, it was the fact that my sixth sense had never being wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 

The next day was a Saturday, Adewunmi had given me the money on a Friday, I didn't see her for the remaining part of the day, her phone was switched off too so I couldn't get to her.

This was a new development, Adewunmi's phone going off, I really needed to talk to her, I really needed to put my mind at ease concerning the money she had given me, I didn't even touch it, I neatly put it back into the envelope and had kept it inside my box deep down under my clothes, if she didn't give me a good explanation this time, I was going to return the money to her.

I woke up very early on Saturday morning and dialed Adewunmi's number, her phone was still switched off. Now this was really beginning to give me concerns, what exactly was happening with Adewunmi? Hope she was alright, I couldn't go to look for her in any hostel as she hadn't secured an hostel accommodation yet, what she told me was that she was squatting with some friends off campus and she wouldn't want me to come see her there as the friends didn't like male visitors coming around.

As strange as it sounded I believed and didn't question further, after all in a few days she would be able to secure her own accommodation. As for me I was lucky to secure a temporary accommodation in the school hostel pending when the school officially released hostel accommodation to students.

I couldn't be at rest that Saturday, I wasn't comfortable that I couldn't get to her, I didn't even have any of her friend's numbers to inquire about her, it was a terrible Saturday for me, I even went to her departmental lecture theatre to sit around for some time in case she might have decided to go to class to study but still there was no trace of her.

By Sunday at about 12pm, I was very sure I was about to go mad with worries when my phone rang and it was Adewunmi on the phone.

She didn't even sound remorseful on the phone, she was even sounding happy rather than sad, she asked me to meet her at 'Cool Fantasies' in an hour time and even when I tried to protest she just sweet talked me and before I knew it I was making plans to be at 'Cool Fantasies' by 1.00pm.

 

But come to think about it, why Cool Fantasies? I kept asking myself as I prepared to leave the hostel. 'Cool Fantasies' was one of the most expensive hotels in Akure. It had a fast food, a bar and a hotel all in one, I didn't understand why she wanted me to meet her there, what happened to my hostel where she usually came to see me before?

I guess I made up my mind to meet her up at Cool Fantasies more out of curiosity than a willingness to go there. I really wanted answers to many questions, I slid my small school bag over my back and made sure the envelope containing the money was seating safely inside my school bag before I left my hostel and began to find my way to 'Cool Fantasies'.

I arrived cool fantasies a few minutes to 1pm, this was the first time I was entering the place, the best I had done before was to pass by the massive building. I called her phone from outside the gate before I went in, she asked me to wait for her at the bar, I got in and found an isolated place to wait for her at the bar, and it took another fifteen minutes before she showed up.

I was lost in thoughts and was just killing boredom playing chess on my phone when the swinging door opened and as I raised my head I saw Adewunmi walking in with so much grace and style that my heart beat suddenly increased,

As she moved towards me, she wore that smile that always catapulted me to the high heavens, she came and stood in front of me looking at me in a funny way

'Come on, so you won't even give me a hug? As she spoke, the flashing smile accompanied her words, I thought I was still mad at her but I didn't know when my legs assumed standing mode and my arms assumed out spread mode as I hugged her. She smelled so nice, whatever cologne she was putting on should have being a very expensive one.

I freed myself from her overpowering hug and moved a step backwards so I could have a better view of her, Adewunmi was expensively dressed, her wristwatch and necklace looked really expensive, I simply sat down and from the expression on my face she could tell I had many things on my mind,

She picked a chair from opposite me and brought it to my side, 'Afolabi, what's wrong? Why are you like this?

I couldn't believe she could be asking me such question, when I replied her there was anger in my voice

'Adewunmi, when was the last time we talked? You would just go off for two full days, no form of contact whatsoever and then you would just return and expect me to be all smiles right?'

The expression on her face showed that she didn't expect that kind of voice tone, I had never really raised my voice at her before.

She quickly switched to this 'pity me' facial expression as she shifted her chair closer to me and held my hands 'Afolabi, my love, I am so sorry, I really am, It's still about my dad, I told you there is a project we are working on that has always been taking me to Idanre, please my love, don't be angry with me, I am really sorry'

Adewunmi's charm melted my anger immediately, but I just had to keep up the anger show so she wouldn't know she got away with that easily

'So, is that why you would just go off and switch off your phone, no calls, no messages, leave me alone jorh, am angry with you' I removed my hand from her grip

'Ha, Afolabi my baby', *omo, my head spark sweetly for that one*

'It’s me o, it's me your one and only Queen, am really really sorry baby, I promise to make it up to you'

I didn't know when I was smiling sheepishly, as I replied 'hmmm, it's ok baby, but please don't do that to me again'

Her face brightened with that her killing smile, 'hmm, thank you my king' now let me spoil you a little'

She signaled the bar man to attend to us, the barman came and greeted her with a level of familiarity like one who was a regular customer.

 

I mentally noted that down and saved it as 'question to ask later'

I didn't know the worth of everything we had eaten and drank until the bill came and she handed about twenty thousand naira to the bar man and asked him to keep the change.

'Ah!!!! This was just too much, it was either I spoke now or forever hold my peace'

 

'Adewunmi, what's happening' I said this in the calmest way possible

She looked at me with a rather surprised expression 'what do you mean by what's happening?

'Adewunmi, I don't understand anymore, the way you are spending money, where are you getting all these from?

Her face suddenly turned white like she couldn't believe I could be asking such a question, 'Afolabi, are you serious? I thought I already told you my Uncle overseas loves me so much and sends me more than enough money to take care of myself, come on Baby, why are you being like this? Don't you trust me again?

As she was talking, I brought out the envelope that contained the money out of my bag, I held it out to her, 'Adewunmi, if you don't give me a better explanation, I am sorry, I can't accept this money from you'

Her face suddenly turned red with anger, I had never seen her wear that kind of expression before

'Afolabi, so it has really gotten to the point that you now doubt me? I could see a tear drop from her eyes as her voice broke into a tearful one, 'Afolabi, you have really hurt me, I must tell you the truth, if you really won't accept my money because you are doubting me, then throw it away' with that she packed her bags and stood up to leave, I quickly grabbed her hand and switched to beg mode 'Honey, am sorry, I am not saying I don't trust you but I can't understand why your uncle would be spending so lavishly on you,

She stared at me with these eyes that seemed like she wanted to strangle me, the tears began to drop from her eyes this time in torrents, I just couldn't understand why, she didn't even bother to answer me, she just picked her bag and walked out of the bar, I made an attempt to run after her but she was faster than I moved, before I could compose myself and find my way out of the bar into the hotel compound, she was gone. I couldn't find her, I tried her phone number but she had switched it off.

 

I went back into the bar, the envelope containing the money was still on top of the table, my glass was still half full with the expensive champagne she had ordered, I sat down, picked up the cup and held it to my lips, probably the drink could make me forget my sorrows because at that moment I just couldn't think anymore, I was dying on per seconds billing,

 

Adewunmi was killing me, I was deeply in love with this girl, merely thinking about losing her was already causing my heart to beat very hard and very painfully too.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 

I was startled back to my prison life reality when my cell bars opened, it was one of the warders, 'wetin you dey think?' obviously he had observed I was deep in thoughts, he looked at my hands and saw what I was holding

'So you too na Christian? His voice sounded more like mockery than anything else.

I didn't even bother to answer him, then someone else entered from behind him.

It was that prisoner with the Afro hair, the young boy that I had always taken strange notice of whenever we went to have our meals, I stared at him rather confusingly

'Na your new cell mate be that o, take care of am o' the warden spoke rather sarcastically and left the cell room shutting the bars behind him.

 

'My name is Afolabi, what's your name?' I didn't believe I had just said that and more unbelievable was the fact that I stretched my hands to him for a handshake, this was the same me that had never spoken to anyone in this prison since I came here, I could observe he was surprised too because everyone in the prison had come to nickname me as 'The Loner'.

He accepted my handshake, but he didn't reply.

I didn't get it at first, it was when I observed his facial movements and when he eventually backed it up with hand movements that it dawned on me.

My new cell mate was deaf and dumb.

 

I looked at him in pity as he walked passed me with his little bag and sat on his own side of the bed, then he did something that totally amazed me, he opened his little bag and brought out a book and when I peeped above his shoulders, it was a bible.

Gosh!!! That was the moment that changed my life forever, this was a deaf and dumb prisoner that still had reasons to serve God, I didn't know when the tears started dropping from my eyes.

I should have stood there staring at him for close to three minutes before I remembered Paul's note to me and his gift of the bible.

I picked up the bible from the top of the bed again and opened the very first page, there were letters written in blue ink on the first page, Paul had left me a message on the first page of the bible. There were five bible verses on the first page, the first one was 2nd Corinthians 5 vs 17.

I didn't have to open the bible to know what was written in that passage, that was a familiar bible verse, I had even learnt to recite it by heart as a kid but I decided to open the bible and see that verse again, at least if it was only to honor the memory of Paul.

'Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.

Reading this verse of the bible again began to arouse certain strong emotions in me, I just couldn't help myself as I kept repeating the last lines in my heart 'old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.

'Could everything really become new? I couldn't help but ask myself, I thought about my life from the point Adewunmi had walked away from me in hurt at Cool Fantasies to my life here at the prison, I really wondered if the life I had lived could actually become new.

My mind slowly drifted back to the experience at Cool Fantasies when she walked away from me.

         *************************

 

I finished the drink and as I made to leave the bar, I remembered I hadn't asked Adewunmi the question I had wanted to ask her, the one I had made a mental note about, I walked towards the bar man, I wore my brightest smile and asked

'Bros abeg nor vex o, abeg I be wan drop message for that aunty, you know when she go fit dey around again?

The bar man looked at me suspiciously and replied 'I am sorry, we can't give out information about such high value customers, if you really have to drop a message for her, then you would have to get to her through some other means, not through me'

'Though I felt the bar man was unnecessarily rude, though I felt he would have been able to say that more politely, but my fears were already confirmed. Adewunmi was a regular visitor of Cool Fantasies, My heart began to pound heavily again, I walked away from the bar, went out of the hotel and returned back to my hostel with a very heavy heart. This was not the Adewunmi I had fallen in love with,

Adewunmi had become so ostentatious, the way she spent money now was alarming, I still couldn't get it, where was all this money coming from, I was almost certain that it wasn't her uncle, meanwhile the sixty five thousand she had given me was still with me, I didn't want to touch it till she gave me a satisfactory response.

Now, she had walked out on me in anger, I decided I was not going to reach out to her, If I was really important to her then she would reach out to me.

The day ended and Adewunmi didn't bother to call or even send a sms, I tried her phone and hid my number when I did, it rang and when she picked up, I ended the call.

It was obvious she stubbornly didn't want to call, I couldn't be at ease, Adewunmi was hurting me so much, just having the knowledge that she could be hiding things from me was killing, now it was also seeming like she didn't care about what we had. The pains I felt that night was unbearable, I resisted the urge to call her throughout the night, I couldn't even sleep, I practically rolled on my bed till dawn.

At dawn, I couldn't take it anymore, I picked my phone and dialed her number, and it was a few minutes past 6 am, she picked the call on first ring.

'Hello, Adewunmi',

'Hello Afolabi'

She still sounded cold over the phone, I couldn't help it, in spite of the way I felt, I began to apologize 'Adewunmi my love, I am very sorry, I am sorry I had to ask you unnecessary questions, am sorry I acted in a way that displeased you, please my love forgive me, I promise it won't happen again'

'Are you sure it won't happen again?' that was her first response, I felt mad, but I had to control my rising temper and I answered her 'yes, it won't happen again'

She said 'Ok, I forgive you' and ended the call

Can you imagine that? I couldn't help imagining how she could be so blunt to me but I suddenly felt better, hearing her voice again was a soothing relief and I was glad she had forgiven me.

 

She called me on the phone later in the day and met me in my faculty when I didn't have classes, she brought some snacks and drinks for me when she came, we spent some time under a shady tree beside my faculty building chatting and mending our relationship walls.

I observed that even though I continued to apologize she didn't apologize for walking out on me even once, she just seemed to ignore the fact that she had treated me unfairly, I couldn't ask her about her source of income again, I just had to hope and pray she wasn't involved in anything very bad.

She still gave me five thousand naira as she made to leave, I refused on the grounds that I hadn't even started spending the sixty five thousand she had given me before but the look on her face made me swallow my words and accept the money.

She hugged me very tight and whispered in my ears that she loved me so much and all that mattered to her was my happiness.

That was really so sweet, I felt better as she walked away swaying those hips that I loved. I knew Adewunmi loved me so much, I couldn't understand why I had difficulties accepting what she had told me about her source of money.

 

But after that Cool Fantasies incident, I observed a new development in our relationship. Adewunmi suddenly began to have unexplainable mood swings and would suddenly switch to defensive mode whenever I tried to question her about anything.

 

The first time this happened was when she told me she had rented a two bedroom flat outside the campus, we were sitting under our favorite tree shade beside my faculty when she broke the news to me. It came to me as a shock, she didn't even tell me when she was making the plans only for her to tell me now that she had already got it, I fought my anger to a very reasonable level before I spoke, So I was quite sure that my voice was very calm when I spoke.

'But Adewunmi, you didn't even tell me when you were making this plans and don't you also think a two bedroom flat is too extravagant for a student?

I didn't expect that kind of reaction,

'hey, it's enough jorh, I knew you were not even going to support this in the first place, I don't want you lecturing me on how to live my life, with that she grabbed her bag and walked away, as I watched her walking away in amazement, I was totally speechless, what did I say that would have instigated that kind of reaction from her?

I was hurt and angry but when she still didn't call by evening, I couldn't hold myself, I missed her like mad, I still picked my phone, dialed her number and apologized, she accepted the apology bluntly and ended the call again like she did after Cool Fantasies experience.

And that was how I and Adewunmi's relationship became a cat and dog kind of relationship, she would get angry for very weak reasons, if I refused to take money from her she would get mad and not talk to me for days, we could just be talking and this minute we are laughing and in the next minute, she's angry for reasons only the gods could tell. She would switch off her phone for days and when she eventually turns it on she wouldn't even want to explain what happened and if I asked, she gets angry again, I discovered that it was always about Her, she suddenly became high queen, Our relationship assumed this strange trend of Adewunmi always angry over unnecessary issues and Afolabi always having to apologize and make sure high queen doesn't have a reason to get angry the next minute.

I wasn't enjoying the relationship anymore, whenever we were together, I always had to choose my words carefully as no one knew what could make High queen get angry, many times I thought about quitting but even the thought of losing her for one day hurt like hell. I really loved Adewunmi so much and the irony of it all was that she still loved me so much, even though she didn't show it so often, anytime she decided to show it, I could see it deep down in her eyes, whenever she told me she loved me, she meant it with every bit of her heart, I guess that was one thing that made me hold unto her, I knew she was going through a phase and she wasn't willing to share with me at the moment but I was hopeful that if I hung on long enough she would in the long run open up to me and together we would survive whatever it was she was passing through and build back our love that was destined from above.

I continued dwelling on this hope and praying that things would eventually get better until that fateful day I would never forget, the day that changed the course of my life forever, the same day that unraveled the cruel events that led me to where I was at the moment.

 

It was a Sunday, a day specially designed by God for blessings, but that day became a curse to me, I still remember that day now and wish I could turn back the hands of time.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

 

 

Adewunmi had for the first time in a very long while displayed the courtesy of telling me that she was going to travel to Idanre for the weekend to help her Dad with some pressing family issues and that she was going to return back to school on Monday morning.

She had told me the news on a Thursday evening as I sat in her heavily furnished sitting room, slouching on her massive cushion as she lay on it, resting her head on my thighs as my fingers ran through her hair playfully.

Immediately she told me the news, I stiffened, I didn't like the fact that she was leaving, and moreover she had told me that we were going to spend the weekend together in her house earlier that week, why was she changing the plans all of a sudden.

I slowly raised her head from off my thighs and stood up, I walked towards the window and stood in front of it, observing what was going on outside through the elevated portion of the curtain.

I could tell she was sitting up on the cushion and staring at me from behind, I didn't want to argue about this but I wanted her to know that it hurt that she could just change plans anyhow she deemed necessary.

She came towards me and circled her arms around my waist from behind as she pressed her body against me. 'Afolabi, my love, are you angry at me?'

 

I ignored the question and kept on with my act, she tickled me and I smiled but as I turned to face her, I wore the moody expression, I threw my arms around her waist and looked into her eyes as I spoke. 'But Adewunmi, You promised to spend the weekend with me'

I did observe that when she spoke she was avoiding my gaze, that was strange but I took little notice of it and counted it as irrelevant.

'Afolabi, my love, you know that being with you is all that matters to me, I promise to make it up to you, when I come back, trust me I would definitely make it up to you'

She kissed me on the lips, drew me very close in a very warm and extra close embrace and that was all she needed to do to make me happy again and indeed it worked, I was willing to endure another weekend of not seeing her or being in touch with her at least she had assured me that she would make it up to me, so when I strolled back to my hostel that evening, I was having mixed feelings, I was a little sad that Adewunmi would be travelling again the next day and a little happy that she would eventually make it up to me when she returned on Monday, but indeed there was no Monday for us.

            *********************

 

The young boy with the Afro haircut drew me away from my thoughts back to my prison life reality. He stood up from the bed, knelt down and joined his two palms together in prayers, I couldn't hear him. Of course he couldn't make audible sounds but I could see how much he concentrated on his prayers, as I watched his facial expressions, I could sense that he had this special connection with God, there was this special calm I saw in his face that just kept me astonished.

I opened the first page of the bible again and looked at the second verse that Paul had written down for me to read. It was Matthew 11 vs 28.

I wasn't familiar with that verse of the bible, so I opened the bible to see what was written in that verse.

'Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.'

The words from the passage struck me hard, indeed I was heavily laden with guilt and unforgiveness, I had never being able to forgive myself or anyone else for that matter since after the tragic events that led me here.

I didn't even know when my cell mate walked towards me, he held my hands and drew me towards where he knelt down before, he knelt down and signaled me to do same, I couldn't even argue, I was totally broken in my spirit at this time, I knelt down and as he held my hands, I closed my eyes, I still can't explain what happened to me that day but I opened up my mouth and the words that came out were

'Lord Jesus, I am sorry'

 

It suddenly seemed the words had opened up a tap in my heart as the tears suddenly began flowing down my face in quick motion, I couldn't hold it anymore, my whole heart poured out before God, I had been so much consumed with hate and regret that I had easily forgotten God's undying love.

That moment was the moment that changed my life forever, there and then, I rededicated my life to God and for the first time in a very long while, I felt this inner peace and tranquility which no man could give.

 

When we finished praying, I looked at my cell mate, he was crying too, I hugged him and whispered in his ears 'thank you'

The hug reminded me of the last hug I had shared with Adewunmi that Thursday night before that dreaded Sunday that I will never forget came along, as I released him from the hug, my mind traveled back into the past, I was back again at the events that preceded my coming to this place

            ********************

 

I had a boring Friday as Adewunmi didn't come to see me at my Faculty as she usually did, though she sent me a sms that afternoon that she was already on her way to Idanre.

Somehow it struck me as odd, firstly Adewunmi hardly told me when she was travelling, she would just disappear and return anytime she liked, again she was now even sending me an sms after she had already told me before, it felt rather odd but I just assumed she was trying to turn a new leaf and that indeed was a good sign.

I survived Friday and Saturday quite easily but by Sunday I missed her so much, I didn't attend church very often anymore, I always had one flimsy excuse or the other for why I couldn't go to church but this particular Sunday I went to church because I was bored, I chose to attend Christ embassy which was situated off campus and close to Adewunmi's new hostel.

I wouldn't say I enjoyed the service because for most part of it I was busy thinking about Adewunmi but I could say it helped me kill the boredom, after close of service, I walked out of the church and passed through Adewunmi's street but as I glanced at her house again, something struck me as odd, it was a storey building, she lived in the top flat, I could see her window curtains opened slightly.

I could very well remember that when I had passed earlier in the morning, it wasn't that way, my adrenalin suddenly pumped in full, I hoped it wasn't a case of burglary, I increased my step as I walked towards her house, just when I was a few meters away from the gate, the gate opened and behold it was my Adewunmi and a rather old looking man that came out from the house, they were holding hands and laughing excitedly, the man was busy kissing her all over her face, I wasn't very close to the gate but somehow she looked in my direction and saw me, I could sense that she almost froze on the spot but she ignored me, followed the man to his car as he held her waist from behind her, they walked towards a sparkling range rover that was parked in front of the compound, the man kissed her on the lips, opened the door of the car, entered and I saw him hand over to her a very big envelope as he kicked the car and drove off.

 

Adewunmi turned, She still saw me, I stood there totally dumbfounded, at that point I didn't even know what to say or think, I began to walk towards her, as she saw me walking towards her, she removed her gaze from me, quickened her steps and practically rushed through the opened gate into the compound,

There was something in her eyes, I guess it was fear, but there was something more deadly in my eyes, I guess it was what one could term 'murderous anger'

 

My weakness, that dreaded spirit of anger was fully activated, I already knew I had no control of my anger at that moment but I went ahead after her, as I entered the compound and closed the gate behind me, I knew I should have turned back but I didn't, my anger won over my reasoning faculty.

 

 

 

 

 

EPISODE EIGHTEEN

 

The third verse that Paul had written down for me was Romans 8 vs 1.

'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit'

I tried to place that bible passage side by side with the events that occurred that Sunday afternoon, Indeed, I had never being able to forgive myself since that day, I had already condemned myself to hell even before judgment day, to me, the life I now had was worthless, I was only trying to manage with the life till I eventually died, but this bible passage changed my whole perspective about my life in general. My mind drifted back to Adewunmi's house and the events that happened on that fateful Sunday afternoon.

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'Adewunmi, open this door, open this door right now, Adewunmi if I have to break this door in, you wouldn't be alive to tell the story'

Adewunmi had locked the door against me from inside

She was crying and begging 'Afolabi, I am sorry, Afolabi I am so sorry, please let me explain to you, please I can't allow you come in, with the way you are right now, please, just calm down for me, please my love'

I was standing outside her closed door by the passage way, it was four flats in all, it seemed her neighbor who shared the top part of the building with her wasn't home.

'I was really mad but as she continued to beg, the part of me that loved her so much was gradually winning over my anger.

 

'Adewunmi, but why? I trusted you so much, I loved you with all my heart, why would you chose to hurt me in this way?'

'I am so sorry Afolabi, I couldn't afford to lose you, that's why I couldn't tell you'

I didn't understand anymore, what was Adewunmi even saying, she was beginning to confuse me all the more, by this time she was still talking to me with tears filled voice from inside her room, at this point, I really wanted to see her face, I really wanted her to tell me what she meant by 'she couldn't tell me because she didn't want to lose me'

'Adewunmi, please just open the door, please'

It took her another two minutes to contemplate her decision before she finally opened the door. She stood by the door visibly trembling and looking at me with those eyes that portrayed so much fear and indeed I could tell that she was sorry, her eyes were looking really red and heavy from crying, I was still very mad but looking at her face calmed me down to a reasonable extent.

I didn't touch her, I just walked past her into her sitting room and sat on one of the chairs, I didn't even try to look in her face, so many things were going on in my mind, I just couldn't control it, I was hurting very badly.

She came towards me, knelt down in front of me, grabbed my right knee and placed her head on top of it, she was still crying,

'Afolabi, please forgive me, I would tell you everything, am sorry I didn't tell you before now, I didn't want to lose you, I am so sorry'

 

I listened carefully as Adewunmi told me the incredible story, when she was through, I didn't know what to think, I was still very angry, though I couldn't pin point my anger at anything in particular but I knew I was angry.

I stood up from the chair and walked towards the dinning where she had a mini bar, I opened the glass shelf and took out a bottle of baileys, I helped myself to a glass cup, I didn't even feel like drinking but I didn't know anything else to do, I opened the drink and poured some into the glass cup, I didn't even bother looking at her, I could still hear her sobbing softly, I guess this was the point where I was meant to go to her, pick her up, wipe her tears and tell her that everything was going to be fine but I couldn't because everything wasn't going to be fine. With the story she had told me, everything was simply going to become worse.

 

Adewunmi had been engaged to Chief Labiyi from birth, it was done to enable Chief Labiyi write off a very huge debt that her Father owed him, as strange as it sounded, It was true, things like that were common among my people in the village, betrothing their daughters to old and wealthy men was an easy way to pay off very huge debts but I didn't think a Man as Educated as Adewunmi's Father would also do that.

Adewunmi revealed to me that Chief Labiyi had insisted she returned back to Idanre so that his eyes could watch over her properly, that was why she had returned back to Idanre from Benin, even though her Uncle had actually traveled overseas, she had a choice to have remained in his house in Benin, but Chief Labiyi wouldn't hear such, according to him, he was even been lenient by allowing her finish her secondary school education in Benin, If he was going to allow her finish her university Education, then he always had to see her very often.

She confessed that Chief Labiyi had actually sponsored her through school from primary to tertiary level and it wasn't her Uncle as she had made me believe, she told me that all the while she had to go to Idanre from school, it was because chief Labiyi demanded to see her, she told me how she couldn't tell me because she was scared of losing me, that she feared that if I knew about it, I would leave her, she also told me why she couldn't just leave Chief Labiyi like that, Chief Labiyi was a very dangerous man and would stop at nothing to have her even if it meant committing murder.

She said she really loved me so much and was still trying to determine her best course of action, when this unfortunate incident happened.

 

I was still very angry as I sipped the drink from the cup, I suddenly didn't want to talk to Adewunmi anymore, I felt so hurt like I was shot with a thousand arrows, I could even trust Adewunmi with my life, yet she had kept me in the dark over something as heavy as this. I felt really bad, I just hated the world, the world that stole my Mother, stole my scholarship and now was trying to steal from me the only girl I had ever loved.

At this point I was confused but in my confusion the first thoughts of murder started building up and before I knew it, I was seriously thinking about it and even devising strategies on how to make it perfect.

I knew exactly what to do, I was going to murder Chief Labiyi, that was the only way out, if he suddenly disappeared from the picture, then Adewunmi would be mine and mine forever.

As I was still contemplating how to achieve my sinister wish, a car horn honked outside the compound, Adewunmi suddenly had fears in her eyes

 

'Afolabi, please you have to go, please my love I promise we would sort this after, it's Chief Labiyi, he told me he would be back, he only went to attend to a pressing need inside the town, please Afolabi, please go'

 

I looked at Adewunmi again, I didn't want to argue with her, I already knew what I wanted to do, 'it's ok, I would go' I answered her bluntly, I went to her kitchen and from the shelf I grabbed what I needed to accomplish my mission, I slid the weapon into my pocket so she wouldn't see it, when I came back to the sitting room, she was still standing there, fear was written all over her, I picked my bible, and walked passed her, I opened the door and went out of her house, as I was coming down the stairs, Chief Labiyi was climbing up the stairs, we passed each other at the stairs, he looked at me in a quizzing way but I simply ignored him and went down the stairs, I got close to the exit door at the passageway and waited, listening carefully, I heard Adewunmi's door open and close, I waited another five minutes before I turned back and began climbing up the stairs again, this time I dipped my hands in my pocket and got out the small kitchen knife I had taken off Adewunmi's kitchen shelf.

The anger in me was overwhelming, I didn't even care about the consequences of murder anymore, I didn't even have a plan for disposing the body after the deed was committed, all I could think about at that point was killing the one person that stood between Me and my happiness. The way I loved Adewunmi, I was sure I would die if I lost her, so rather than lose her, I was going to take away that Man that was going to stand between us.

 

As I got close to the door, my heart beat quickened, I began to have second thoughts but I pushed on all the same, I knew the door wouldn't be locked, as I stretched my hand to open the door, I thought hard about it again? Was I really ready to kill for Adewunmi?

 

Yes! I was ready, now I could hear Chief Labiyi laughing excitedly inside the room, I just couldn't take it anymore, this old fool had to die, I held the knife on my right hand and opened the door with my left, there was no going back now, Chief Labiyi was going down, I had made up my mind, nothing was going to stop me now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER NINETEEN

 

Immediately I opened the door, Adewunmi jumped off Chief Labiyi's thighs in shock, she wasn't expecting me to return, Chief Labiyi stood up from the chair almost immediately too. I stood there for a few seconds looking at both of them, for a split second I thought about killing both of them, after all Adewunmi had already hurt me so bad, why shouldn't I just end it all for both of them.

'What do you want? And who do you think you are to just barge into my house like that?' It was Chief Labiyi that spoke, He was barking at me like I was one of his workers, He wanted to continue talking but just then I revealed my right hand that was hidden behind my back and he saw the shining silver knife that I was holding.

Adewunmi screamed immediately she saw the knife 'Afolabi no! Afolabi please, don't do this' she was trying to come towards me but the way I shouted at her surprised even me

'Stay right there, don't even move your feet, and don’t even try to come near me' she halted immediately at the sound of my voice, and began to cry as she continued begging me.

I looked at Chief Labiyi, I could tell he was surprised that Adewunmi mentioned my name but he was too stunned to say anything to her, he looked at me again, 'young man, please if it's money you want, I can give you more than enough, please just tell me how much you want'

 

Gosh, I couldn't believe the wave of anger that swept my entire being as he mentioned money, I looked at his fearful eyes and grunted 'I want your life' and with that I charged towards him with the knife ignoring Adewunmi's shout of 'Afolabi, No!!!!'

I had being blinded by anger and had forgotten a fundamental rule of unarmed combat, 'never engage your enemy in anger' anger had a way of crippling your basic reflexes.

As I rushed towards him, he sidestepped and got hold of my right hand that was holding the knife, I didn't expect him to move so fast for his age but again if I had been thinking, I should have known, this man was an Agbero (Area tout) for a long time before he eventually got into politics and stumbled on money, so he was used to the rugged life.

 

He was also powerful for his age, he struggled the knife with me and I before I knew it, his right hand delivered a bone crushing punch to my head, gaawd, it hurt badly but I held on to the knife, his knee connected with my stomach in a deadly knockout jab and that sent me sprawling on the floor, leaving the knife for him.

 

He held the knife and looked at me as I lay on the floor, I could see murderous anger in his eyes too, Adewunmi was busy crying and begging us to stop but I didn't care even one bit, I was watching this man keenly, all my senses were activated.

Now, it wasn't just about murdering this man, it seemed it was more like me 'fighting for my life now' I knew I could take him, I had experiences with physical combat, I had underestimated him before but now I was going to show him the stuff I was made off.

He didn't see me coming, I moved with the speed of a leopard, in a few seconds I was off the ground, I charged at him with so much force, that even though he made an attempt to strike me with the knife, I was too fast for him, my shoulder blade connected with his stomach just as his hand was raised above his head with the knife to strike me, the force of impact was bone cracking, he fell backwards with a loud cry as his body hit the ground with a mighty thud, he held his stomach in pain but I wasn't through with him, I moved swiftly, got the knife from the ground where he had dropped it and sat on his body, as I raised the knife high with intent to bring it down on his chest, Adewunmi ran towards me, she was still shouting 'No!!!' as she tried to hold my hands and stop me.

I was blinded by a steaming anger, I didn't care about anything at that moment, all I wanted to do was to kill this man, as Adewunmi held my hands, I pushed her away with a very great force, I had already pushed her so hard before it dawned on me that I had pushed her too hard.

 

I turned back just in time to see her fly backwards, stagger some more and hit her head on one of the pillars that separated the dining room from the living room. I watched her as her head came in contact with the rough edge of the pillar, the impact was bone crushing, I immediately knew that I had hurt Adewunmi and all of a sudden, it suddenly seemed a veil was removed from my eyes, my anger vanished in a second like it didn't ever exist, a certain spirit of humility suddenly overpowered me, I jumped off Chief Labiyi's body and ran to Adewunmi,

immediately I left him, Chief Labiyi stood up and ran out of the sitting room, I didn't even bother to chase him, I didn't care what he did now, all that mattered to me at the moment was my Adewunmi who was now lying helpless on the floor.

I raised her head and laid it on my thighs, there was blood flowing from her head, she had hit her head on the very rough edge of the pillar and it had broken her head.

'Adewunmi am so sorry, Adewunmi please forgive me, the tears came running down my eyes'

I already knew she wasn't going to make it, she even found it difficult to open her eyes and keep them open, she was shivering, even when she tried to speak, her voice shook, she managed to put the words together 'Afolabi, I wanted to be your Queen and nothing else, I love you so much'

 

And those were the last words Adewunmi said to me before she closed her eyes forever, her body suddenly became very cold, I didn't know what to do at that point, I shouted in grief and would have killed myself if the knife was close to me, the knife was on the floor a few meters away from me but I couldn't leave her body and get the knife, I pressed her body unto mine as I cried loudly, I wished the earth would open up and swallow me, in my useless anger, I had murdered the love of my life, now I had lost everything, My mum, my education and the only girl I had ever loved.

 

I was still clinging unto her body when Chief Labiyi returned back to the house with the Police, I didn't even make an attempt to resist arrest, what else did I have to live for, at that point I just wished the spirit of death would take me.

As I was being led out of the sitting room, I took a last look at Adewunmi's face, chief Labiyi was kneeling beside her, he had tears in his eyes too, and then he looked up at me, the emotions I saw in his eyes made me know that Chief Labiyi wouldn't rest until I paid for my sins in full.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY

 

Just as I anticipated, Chief Labiyi wasn't ready to spare me, if it were possible he would have even had me executed without a court case.

I had little or nothing to say to defend myself in court, even evidences from my school and the police station that had handled my case with my course adviser, Elder Olu, didn't help matters for me, they already labeled me a suspected cultist.

Convicting me in court was very easy as all odds were against me, I didn't even try to defend myself, I pleaded guilty to all the charges, I expected death by hanging or firing squad but the Judge decided to be lenient and gave me life imprisonment.

I couldn't witness Adewunmi's burial but her face lingers on in my memory and the last words she said to me has remained glued to my memory till this day.

After Adewunmi's death, I knew I was never ever going to fall in love again, I knew I had been condemned to be a Bachelor forever, even if I managed to be pardoned and released from this prison, I had told myself that in memory of the only girl I had ever truly loved I was never again going to have any relationship with a woman, I assumed a new status and was contented with being a 'BACHELOR OF LIFE'

 

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My thoughts returned back to the prison, I sat on the foam, my cell mate was lying face down on his own side of the foam, I suddenly felt better now that I had rededicated my life to God, I knew I had being forgiven, now I was ready to use the remaining part of my life to achieve God's purpose.

I read the fourth verse that Paul had written down for me, it was John 1 vs 12

'But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name'

I made a demand on God based on this passage, I didn't even know why I did but I was willing to put God's word to the test, I wanted to see that power work, I didn't sleep that night, I prayed earnestly that God would restore speech and hearing to my cell mate.

The next morning, I spoke to him and expected him to reply, my faith was totally a hundred percent that morning but he didn't respond rather he continued with his sign language, he was still deaf and dumb.

That didn't affect my faith in anyway, I and my deaf and dumb friend began to preach to other prison inmates and most times we would get responses like 'let God heal your partner before we accept your God'

That still didn't stop us from preaching and that didn't stop me from praying for my friend, and God did answer our prayers in his own time.

It was after lunch, during one of our Sunday meetings, the warders had agreed to our request of having a thirty minutes session with other inmates on Sunday afternoons after lunch.

The prison inmates usually came because they didn't have an option but they hardly listened to us, they usually made so much noise in a bid to frustrate our efforts, I usually did the talking while my cell mate always stood by me to help me with whatever I wanted.

On this particular day, the noise was high as usual and I was speaking, suddenly I heard a strange voice from behind me

 

'Please listen to us'

 

Everyone in the prison suddenly kept quiet and began to stare, I looked at their eyes, they weren't staring at me, I looked behind me and there was my cell mate, he had spoken, he himself seemed shocked as he stared too in disbelief,

He continued speaking 'brothers, I am glad to announce to you that God just healed me'

I couldn't help myself, the tears flowed freely, I hugged my cell mate so hard, God had answered our prayers after all,

I could observe many prisoners get emotional in that hall that day, the kind of quietness that was felt in the hall that day had never being experienced in the whole history of the prison.

Twenty eight prisoners gave their lives to Christ that afternoon, which was over fifty percent of the entire prisoner population we had in that prison.

 

The last verse that Paul had written down for me to read was Philippians 1 vs 21

'For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain'

And that has being my guide for the five years that I have now lived in this prison, I am a prisoner in this world but I have the kind of freedom and inner peace only God can give. With the help of the warders we run a functional fellowship inside the prison, we offer counseling and spiritual guidance to most of the prisoners, even the warders come to us for prayers too.

I shared my story with the prisoners during one of our meetings and since then they chose to call me Pastor Bachelor of life, whenever they call me that, I laugh but it always make me remember my dear Adewunmi, the one woman I have truly loved with all my heart.

 

Most times I am still positive that I might be released from this prison in the future, but for the time being I would always remember that to live is Christ, I would use my life here on earth to do his will and if eventually I died doing God's work here in this prison, I would be satisfied that I fought a good fight here on earth.

 

I would never forget My Mum or Adewunmi, these two people are always in my stories whenever I tell stories to the other prisoners, they are so fond of me now, every time I hear Pastor Bachelor Of Life, I know they want me to exhort them again, now am in my cell room writing this last part of my story and I am alone in this cell room, yes before I forget, My former cell mate, the one with the Afro hair was released two years ago, he received a state pardon and has been busy doing God's work outside the prison walls, he still writes me to this day and extends his greetings to the prisoners. The head warden decided to allow me have the cell room all to myself as according to him he wanted 'The Man Of God' to have a special room to himself.

 

Hmm!! My dear readers, I really have to go now, the prisoners want me, I can hear their faint cries of 'Pastor Bachelor Of Life' I better go to them before they come and crowd my cell room'

 

Thanks for reading my story, don't ever forget 'To live is Christ, to die is gain' Use your life to please Christ here on earth.

'Ok, just a minute, am coming out'

Hehehe, that wasn't for you, it was for the other prisoners, they are very close to my cell room now, I have to go out to them'

 

Catch you later, God bless you all, I really do hope you have learnt something from my story, I will keep praying for you and you should pray for me also, God bless you, God bless us all - Pastor Bachelor of Life

(The End)