from the park, I got hungry and stopped by a local restaurant to refresh myself.
“Madam, wetin you get?”
“I get Egusi, I get Dror soup, Oha and Bitter
Leaf. I also get Stew-Rice, Ofe Akpu and
Pepper Soup. Which one should I brought
for you?”
“Give me Bitter Leaf.”
“Garri or Akpu?”
“Akpu.”
“Make I put how many meat?”
“A plate with one meat how much?”
“N400″
“Ha! Madam ee too cost oo.”
“My son ee no cost oo. Ee go bellefull you
well-well.”
“The meat na today meat?”
“Na today meat nah. We no dey do carry
over for here oo.”
“Okay oo, oya bring am nah.”
“Okay my son.”
“(Soliloquizing) Inside IMT campus, a plate
of food was N150 back in 2008. I don’t
know if it has increased by now oo. No
matter the increment, if at all there is any,
it won’t be up to N400. For what? Is that
how much I’ll be spending on food? N800
for two meals a day? From tomorrow, I’ll be
eating inside campus. And I’ll still patronize
that my 2008 madam. At least she knew
more than embarrassing me by asking how
many meats I wanted because she know
say I no dey chop meat.”
After eating, I stayed back to watch
television until it was closing time and I
left. I joined a bus that was going to New
Heaven, with no exact destination in mind.
When the bus got to Otigba junction I told
to conductor to stop. I stopped because it
is always very lively there and remains so
till the next morning. What made that place
lively were the hookers that normally hung
around there waiting to be picked up by
customers. I located a nearby bar and
ordered for bottle water, sat there sipping
the water little by little while feeding my
eyes. That became a normal routine for me.
During the day I would go to a valley by
Ebano tunnel where water constantly flowed
through an opening on the surface of the
rock to have my bath. That place was more
like a stream for the guys. Girls were only
permitted fetch water and leave, and that
only happened when no guy was bathing. If
any guy was bathing, a girl that wants to
fetch water would have to wait some
distance away till the guy is through before
being allowed to step in and fetch. The
wonderful thing about that place was that
there had never been a rape case there,
even though the environment was conducive
enough for that. Sometimes, there could be
up to 20 guys bathing and just one girl
waiting to fetch, yet, no guy would harass
her. Besides that, every other thing you
could think of happened there, from weed
smoking to ritual sacrifice all went on
there.
Meanwhile, I had not forgotten the purpose
for which I embarked on a journey to Enugu
in the first place, so I was busy trying to
find what to do before I ran out of money
since a place to freshen up and a place to
spend my nights had been settled. One day
I stumbled into a little café with some
inexperienced workers. From the look of
things, the café was struggling to stand and
could not afford paying for the services of
capable hands. I took advantage of that and
offered to render professional service for
whatever amount they could pay. They
doubted my capabilities at first and brought
out a typing project with they had at hand
and told me to type. They offered to pay
me N50 for each page I typed, and that
motivated me a lot. Omor come see typing!
After my JSSCE exams, my mother had
enrolled me in computer institute, and out
of all I learnt, typing without looking at the
keyboard was the lesson I was most
passionate about because I watched
American actors do so in the movies and I
so loved it. So when I had the opportunity
to learn about computer, I took it upon
myself to study and master typing. I
became a very fast at typing, and as soon
as I had learnt how to type, I stopped going
for the computer lessons. Eventually, I
worked with a computer firm where I
acquired the rest of the basic knowledge of
computer. So when I was given this very
project to type, I shone very well. I typed
50 pages within 90 minutes and got
N2,500 for it. Oh, what a wonderful day!
They asked me to come again the next day,
as there was still so much to me typed. The
typing lasted for 12 days, after which I was
employed as a full time staff with a
monthly pay of N5,000 only. How I wish
there was always something to type. That
way, I would make more money to rent an
apartment. Well, no problems. Half bread is
better than none.
One of those days I did a lot at work and
was so exhausted. After dinner I went to my
normal spot and bought a bottle of water. I
started sipping the water and feeding my
eyes, but before long, I fell asleep on the
chair I sat on. I felt a very soft hand
tapping me on the shoulder. I could tell that
whoever had the soft hand was trying to
wake me up, but the softness of the hand
made it seem like a massage to me, so I
lay back and enjoyed it while it lasted. If
that hand had continue to try waking me up
in the same manner it started with, there
would have been no end to my slumber. But
after a while of trying to wake me up
unsuccessfully, I heard a slap on my left
chick and the soft tone of a gentle voice
screaming; WAKE UP! Immediately, I woke
up. I noticed everyone running helter-
skelter. It seemed like there was chaos,
and I started weeping. LORD, PLEASE HAVE
MERCY ON ME! HAVE MERCY ON ME DEAR
LORD! DON’T LEAVE ME HERE WITH THE
ANTI-CHRIST. PLEASE I WILL GET IT RIGHT
THIS TIME. JUST GIVE ME ON MORE
CHANCE.
“What’s wrong with you? The gentle voice
which woke me up asked.”
I didn’t even pay attention to it. I thought
the RAPTURE had taken place. I was still
weeping deeply and asking the Lord for
mercy, and then the soft hand that had
slapped me before did so again. Then I
noticed that it belonged to a very pretty
damsel who was squatting beside me as
though hiding from something or someone.
“What is wrong with you? She asked again.”
“Can’t you see that the world has come to
an end? I replied. The saints have been
taken up to heaven by the Lord and the
sinners have been left behind. Now we will
have to suffer for not paying attention the
commandments of the Lord.”
“I can see that you had so much to drink
today. That’s the only reasonable
explanation to this drama, said the girl.”
“What do you mean by drama? I asked. Or
are you so ignorant that you don’t even
have a clue what’s going on?”
“I should be asking you that, she said. The
police are here arresting people and there
you are, pleading for mercy and begging for
a second chance. Better keep your head low
before we are spotted and arrested too.”
“You mean it is not the rapture?” I asked
with much excitement. “So it’s the police?
Thank God!!!”
There was a great relieve within me that I
even forgot the police were on operation
and nearly screamed but the pretty damsel
stretched out her arm and covered my
mouth with her palm.
“Are you crazy? She asked. Do you want to
be arrested? Well if you want to, I don’t,
she said. Just wait till I’m out of here
before calling such attention to you.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. And suddenly, my
courage, which seemed to have left me
temporarily returned, and I remembered
everything I had forgotten.
“What is your name?” I asked her, smiling.
“Seriously?!” She exclaimed. “Do you really
think this is a nice place for that? We are
caught up in the middle of a mess and all
you can do is ask my name? Are you really
that drunk? I bet the next thing you’ll ask
for is my number. Crazy dude!”
“Don’t take my wanting to know your name
the wrong way,” I said. “I’ve got a perfect
idea of how we could get out of here
unnoticed by the police. You know if we
keep hiding here long enough, they will find
us.”
“Really? Okay, my name is Ogechi”
“Now ogechi here’s what will
happen……………………………………….”
I devised a means by which we escaped to a nearby hotel where we hurriedly checked into a room.
To be continued.
