Hi Immortals’ Code fans,
I’m sorry that I can’t bring episode 7 today cos I don’t feel so well. Please bear with me and return next week. And also…please do pray for me.
Monthly Archives: April 2013
To Tame A Virgin #5
Read Previous Episodes HERE
“She what?” Dike held laughter on his face as he looked into his friend’s equally amused eyes that twinkled in the dimness of the office they were seated in.
“She kissed him!” His friend replied in laughter and Dike laughed as well but he stopped just as he started.
“Why did she kiss him?”
“You know how Dami is nau. She was in one of her moods and wanted to piss me off. So she grabbed the poor boy and forced her tongue into his mouth!” Dike’s friend came apart in laughter again. “You should have seen his face when she finally freed his lips. It was classic.”
Dike expressed slight amusement, then frowned. “Who is this boy sef?”
“You won’t know him. Some corper like that. But from what I can tell, she really likes him. She has even mentioned that I move him to a better office.”
Dike grunted and hissed.
“Na madam she be nau,” the other man chuckled. “She has shares in the firm too. She’s also demanding to be senior partner.”
Dike who was initially scratching a spot on his trouser looked up into his friend’s eyes.
“Felix, you have to find a way to domesticate that girl oh. She’s going too wild. And I’m saying this not because of the history I share with her…I’m saying this because I truly care…”
“Tah! Care my ass!” Felix threw a casual hand in the air and leaned back on his chair. “If you cared, you wouldn’t have had an affair with her in the first place. Dami’s young enough to be your daughter.”
“Haba, Felo! Are we going down that road again? You know it wasn’t my finest hour nau. I was going through midlife…”
“Mid gini? Mtsheew! Make I no slap your face with shovel this evening! Commot dia! If Damaris had willingly given you access, you would have hit that thing without stopping.” Felix leaned forward. “And speaking of which… Kachi spoke with Ene after the naming yesterday.”
“And?” Dike frowned.
“You cannot let this get back to Kachi because Ene promised to keep it a secret.”
“What did she tell her?”
“She thinks you’re cheating again.”
Dike made a snout and turned his face away. “She’s always suspecting me. If she thinks I’m not faithful, she should willingly divorce me.”
“But are you cheating?”
“Me? With who nau? Abeg, I no get time for that one now.”
“Na so.” Felix didn’t believe him. “Jokes apart, Dike, if you’re having an affair, you better stop.”
“You don start again.”
“But mehn, what happened to you? You used to be one of the few good guys around.”
“And nothing has changed.”
“But dude, I’m telling you. Extra-marital affairs are not worth the trouble in the end. Look at me. Happily married for fifteen years and I have been faithful to my wife the entire time.”
“Because Ene is a good woman. She treats you like a king, she doesn’t nag…”
“And na Kachi come be bad wife?”
“Felo, you no understand. I’m not admitting to anything but when you have a wife like Kachi, it’s hard to be devoted to her. I dey tell you. Na women dey cause their own wahala for dis world.”
“Me, I’ve said my own. You cheat on your wife and your blessings begin to diminish. I’m suspecting that it might be the reason for your failure in business.”
Dike laughed. “Felo, you for just become pastor make all of us hear word. See, no mind Kachi. Make she dey dia dey suspect me, make she no concentrate on reviving her womb for another child.”
“Yeah, I heard about that too. It’s about time…”
The intercom on Felix’s table buzzed and he answered.
“Mr. Enenche, your four o’clock is here,” his secretary chirped.
“Tell them to wait,” Felix replied.
“E be like say na go get me now.” Dike stood to his feet and straightened his trousers. “How far with that your investigation on that website nau?” he asked Felix.
“I’m still on it.”
“Any progress?”
“Not yet oh but I swear if I catch the guys behind that thing, it will be bad for them.”
“But you go blame dem? Dami is unruly, seeing four guys at the same time and with this one she just kissed… then before the month runs out, she’ll dump them all and go for new meat. You really have to control her or better, send her back to her modeling job abroad.”
“Her father wants her to settle down. My guy, just leave Dami matter for now. E dey give me headache.” Felix stood and shook his friend. “Good luck on job hunting and baby making and if all else fails, you should consider my offer for partnership.”
“I might just do.” Dike smiled and walked out of the office.
************
Kachi blew a bubble into the minty gum in her mouth and drew it back in with a pop. Chewing noisily, she moved her bum restlessly in the seat beneath her. She was uncomfortable, her waist felt like it was on fire and her bladder threatened to explode. She had been sitting in Ene’s car for two hours and the long wait was beginning to tell on her. Yet she held on. Dike was going to appear from Greek Elysium anytime soon and she was going to follow him to his mistress’ home. Kachi didn’t care if the woman lived in a different city; she had a full tank, a car full of snacks and even a bottle to pee into if it came to that. She felt a sharp pain in her left temple and concluded it was time to throw the gum in her mouth away. It had awoken her migraine veins and stiffened her jaw. She let down the window and spat it out. Next, she looked for something else to put in her mouth. She found a can of Pringles and went for it.
************
Somewhere else in town, in a popular private clinic in Maitama, Temi had just been handed her blood test results. She carefully dropped her handbag on the waiting bench behind her, stared at the paper in her hands numbly and spoke incoherently to the nurse standing before her.
“I can’t hear you,” the nurse said impatiently.
“Aunty, wh-what is this? I came for malaria and typhoid test and you’re showing me this? What is this?”
“Are you not Temidire Olaniyi?”
“Yes but…”
The nurse gave Temi a nasty eye work-up that went down and up and down again before she stopped on her face.
“Am I the doctor that ordered a pregnancy test? He said, ‘take her blood and tell the lab to do a pregnancy test in addition to the other tests’. Was I supposed to say no?” She hissed. “You should be thanking God that you can get pregnant. Many women want children but they can’t find.”
“Three weeks?” Temi said to herself, still staring into the paper. The irate nurse turned and marched away. Staring vacantly in confusion, Temi slipped slowly into the waiting bench and dialed her estranged friend, Hafsa. Predictably, Hafsa did not answer the first two times until she dialed the third time.
“Hafsa?” Temi’s voice was low and shaky. “Please, I need you. Come. I’m at Abuja Clinics.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Well, thank God you called. We need to talk; I’m on my way.”
Hafsa hung up. Temi held her phone in both hands and was tempted to dial Dike but commonsense prevailed and she put the phone away. The moment she dropped it her handbag, it buzzed in and she got it out. It was Dike pinging her. He was asking if she was home. She put the phone away again but it began to ring. She didn’t have to be told he was the one calling. She took out the phone and there was a moment’s hesitation before she answered.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“I’m at Hafsa’s,” she replied.
“I thought you were ill.”
“I am.”
“Come quick, abeg. I’m getting dinner. What do you want?”
“Rice and coleslaw,” she answered.
“Drink?”
“Just water.”
“Give me thirty minutes. And hey…I really miss you.”
Temi bit her lip and nodded before she replied. “I’ll be there soon.”
************
Kachi watched Dike on the phone as he emerged from Greek Elysium and neared his car. He opened the driver’s side door and threw in his suit before he got in. Leaving his left leg outside in typical fashion, he concluded with his call. Unable to wait, Kachi started the car and left the engine running. Finally, Dike got into his car and drove out of the area. Kachi tailed him closely but gave him a good distance. As they approached a busy street, her phone started ringing; she stared at the caller ID and saw that it was Ene calling. She ignored it just like she had ignored her calls all day. She knew what Ene wanted to tell her. It was the same thing that had gotten Kachi all riled up the night before.
“Kach, I blame you for Dike’s misbehavior. A woman should know how to handle her man and from what I’m seeing, baby, you’re not doing your job well.”
“So Dike is parking his car into another garage apart from mine and it’s my fault? Inukwa! Just because your husband is faithful to you, doesn’t mean all men are like him. Unfortunately for me, I have gotten the bad end of the stick and it has nothing whatsoever to do with me! Dike is to blame! What he did with Dami is unforgiveable! If she had not exposed him, he would have carried on with her behind our backs, not being even sensitive to the fact that our families are close!”
“Kachi, if you’re still harboring this much beef over that ended affair, why did you come back?”
“To work on my marriage!” Kachi had risen up at this point and she was towering over Ene angrily. “And it’s sad that no one is seeing my efforts! It’s all Kachi’s fault. Kachi this! Kachi that! What about Dike? Hmmm? What about the fact that he is desecrating my bed and sleeping with someone who smells like citrus and coconuts? Then he comes back home and puts that same dirty penis inside me and expects me to have an orgasm and scream out his name! I hate him, Ene! I hate my husband, yet I love him so much that I can kill for him!”
“Abeg oh!” Ene exclaimed. “See, I’m just saying you should try a different tact than this anger and nagging…”
“Please, please, please, don’t give me that load! No one knows Dike more than me and I know how best to deal with him. I will first start with the bitch he’s banging behind my back and I will show her why they fear Igbo women and when I’m done with her, I’ll unleash my wrath on him!”
“Kachi? Kachi?” Ene reprimanded. “This your anger will make you lose your marriage oh.”
“Did I tell you that I’m fighting Dike? I’m not. At least, not yet. Until I finish with the slut he’s sleeping with.”
“Kachi! Listen to reason oh. Calm down.”
“Ene, abeg, I don’t want to hear! Your over-sabi is too much. I’m going home! Goodnight!”
Kachi could clearly recall the expression on Ene’s face as she had walked away from her. Her friend was evidently wounded. She had always been a fine friend. She was the only one who had gone out on a limb to ensure that Kachi got back with Dike. While she was still in Suleija, Ene would call her almost every day and would begin each conservation with, “when are you coming back home?” It was also Ene who submitted Kachi’s CV to a new primary school in Jabi and arranged a date for the job interview for her. Kachi had reluctantly gone for the interview, making it to Abuja and back to Suleija on the same day, without seeing Dike. She had not expected the school to call back but when the call came, she knew it was time to listen to Ene’s good sense and save what little was left of her marriage. Ene was definitely the guardian angel God had put into her life and Kachi was filled with regret as she recalled her insensitive words to her. She erected a huge mental signpost to call and apologize later. Also she had to apologize for stealing Ene’s car key and driving away with the car from right outside her boutique earlier.
Kachi parked across the street from an eatery Dike had gone into earlier. As she waited, she descended on her Pringles and a bottle of warm water. Then her phone began to ring again. Ene was calling for the twenty-eighth time. Kachi watched it ring with a growing annoyance as it added to her throbbing migraine. Sighing, she visited that mental signpost and decided to pick the call.
************
“Dike is a married man. I can bet my life on that.”
Temi looked at the strange, scrawny girl Hafsa had brought to convince her that Dike was married. Temi had never met the girl before and at first glance, she concluded that she didn’t like her, especially her pimpled-tattooed face.
“Dike is divorced,” Temi mentioned smugly and the girl shook her head at her.
“His wife is my customer. And sef, I saw him in church on Sunday with her. She even gave thanks for the healing of their son and he was there.”
Hafsa turned from behind the wheel and looked at Temi who was seated behind carrying a stubborn expression on her face.
“Didn’t I tell you?” Hafsa scolded. “I told you but you were forming spirit and refused to talk to me for a whole month! Because of a cheating, lying bastard! Now, see. Here’s the proof and you’re still there, forming strong head.”
“See,” the girl cut in, “if you don’t believe it, let me take you to his house and you will see for yourself,”
It sounded like a tempting idea but Temi stubbornly stuck to her argument. “He’s not married. Maybe you’re mistaking him for someone else.”
“Ha-ahn! I did the wife’s hair just this last week na. She’s my client and I have her number with me. If you want I can give you.”
“I don’t want any number. Dike is not married! Period!”
The girl couldn’t believe Temi’s stupidity. “Shebi he’s that tall, fine Igbo guy with a dimple on his right cheek and he drives one Audi S6?”
Temi’s eyes shifted to the left and right as if trying to escape the truth. She sensed a wave of tears sprint up from her insides but her buzzing phone in her pocket stopped her from crying.
Dike was pinging to let her know he was already waiting for her at her place.
“Take me home, please,” she told Hafsa. Hafsa said nothing and turned on the engine of her car. The three girls drove to Temi’s neighborhood in silence and when they came to the gate, Temi stepped out of the car.
“Wait for me. You can park where he won’t see you. But wait… I won’t stay long.” She got out and walked into her building.
************
Kachi was doing another long wait. At least, that was what it seemed like but she had only waited for ten minutes. Dike’s car was hiding under a grove of mango trees near a house that had a TO LET post on the gate. Kachi had followed him on foot when he got out of his car and trekked to Temi’s street but she stopped when she saw the house he walked into. Kachi noted the house number and name of the street and went back to wait for him. Her heart was a bit lighter after apologizing to Ene; now, all she needed was to catch Dike in the act. But she felt he was taking too long and she needed to take a pee badly. She crawled to the passenger seat, got out through the door and stooped down beside the car to do her business. After she was done, she stretched into the car to get a tissue and she noticed Dike strolling down with a beautiful and fully endowed girl. They were approaching his car. Kachi stumbled back into the car with her jeans and underwear halfway down her bum. Pushing her petite frame in back behind the wheel, she lowered herself but kept her eye level unblocked. Dike and the girl stopped by his car and they both got in. Kachi raised herself to get a clearer view and was dismayed to find the duo kissing in the car. Unrestrained, she began to steam up like a pressure cooker and reached for her Pringles to control her. Stuffing chip after chip into her mouth, she chewed furiously as Dike continued his lewd act in dimming daylight. When she knew she couldn’t take what she was seeing any longer, she started the car and drove out of the neighborhood in a rage.
She hadn’t much to say to Ene when she dropped the car off minutes later. She simply thanked her and got into her own car and maintained her rage as she drove home.
************
The three girls in Hafsa’s vehicle were riding in silence again. Having said goodbye to Dike, Temi agreed to be driven to his home to ‘see for herself’. She had now folded and unfolded the pregnancy test result till it had formed dirty, rough edges. She had tried for tears but found they were far from coming. She didn’t know exactly what she felt. A part of her (that kissed Dike unrestrainedly in his car) refused to believe Hafsa and the scrawny girl; another part of her itched to share the news of the pregnancy to Dike and damn the consequences; yet another part drew her to seek the truth.
“Tems, are you okay?” Hafsa asked in concern and Temi nodded with a smile. She had missed her friend for a whole month and held back in calling her because of her big ego. Still, it was a good thing they fought, else she wouldn’t have gotten close to Uyi whom she found herself thinking about very frequently, even more than Dike. She pressed a button on her phone and the backlight came on, illuminating the car which was currently as dark as it was outside.
Temi began to thumb her phone and sent a quick text to Uyi.
Miss u. need to see u. desperately. urgently. in an hour or so. Please?
She added a batting eyelash smiley and sent the text. Uyi replied immediately with a full grin smiley.
Working overtime. Will be there when I’m done. Hope there’s food and a warm blanket 4me. Might sleep over.
Temi smiled. Uyi always made her smile.
“We’re here,” the girl said and Hafsa slowed the car. “That’s the house. They live upstairs.”
“Okay. We’ve seen. Can we go now?” Temi grumbled but Hafsa stopped her.
“Look… That’s Dike’s car!” Hafsa pointed to Dike’s Audi S6 driving down the road towards his building. As he approached, all three girls docked. Dike stopped outside his gate and blared his horn. The girls slowly raised their heads again as another smaller car came into view with bursting speed.
“I think that’s the wife’s car,” the girl sitting in front announced. Hafsa and Temi strained their necks forward to have a look. The small car stopped behind Dike’s and the driver, a short, beautiful but troublesome-looking woman, alighted from the car. Dike also got out from his car and hugged the woman, lifting her off the ground to give her a kiss that caused Temi to swallow painfully. She spied Dike’s wedding finger and saw a gold band she had never seen on him before. She proceeded to bite her lip really hard and when she felt she was going to bruise it, she chewed her nails very fast and angrily.
“Convinced now?” Hafsa asked Temi, watching Dike and his wife discuss by his car. Temi looked at the pregnancy test result in her hand and tapped the girl in front of the car.
“Please can I have that number? His wife needs to hear about her husband’s latest accomplishment.”
©Sally @moskedapages
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To Tame A Virgin/ The Immortals’ Code New Schedules
Hi guys,
I’m happy to announce to you that I’m now being featured on Manswersonline, 360nobs and fictionboardnigeria! Now, here’s the not so good part: I would not be posting To Tame A Virgin here for the next two weeks, but I will be featuring old episodes on 360, so if you have not read the first four, you can catch them there. But I’ll be back here in two weeks to sync up with them and we’ll be running as usual.
As for Immortals’ Code, you can get it here and also on Fictionboardnigeria every Saturday but you can hook up with old episodes on fictionboard.
Please remember to share and leave comments!
Gracias!
Board on a Ball
Justin shut his eyes and shut the world out. It had been one month following his daughter’s death yet it felt like it had just been yesterday. He was told he would heal, that a time would come when he would begin to smile. They were wrong. He hadn’t healed; in fact he was even more saddened than the day she had died. His state of mind was still lost in her and it was beginning to eat what little was left of his soul. Plainly put, he was going mad.
Familiar faces came in and out of the house with food and to clean the place but no one could reach past the force-field around him. All that he loved had been taken away from him in an instant. Why then should he have to give a damn?
As he spread out on his bed, his subconscious took over and he slowly fell into sleep. A sharp crunching sound seared through him and he knew that a familiar stranger was in his domain. The entity filled him with a probing presence and he began playing the story of the landmarks of his life, retold in unhurried movement. Justin knew who this stranger was that forcefully shut his mind and made the world fade away in an instant. As a mix of foreboding and feverish sadness shook his insides, he embraced the familiar darkness enshrouding him and fell through. How many times this happened within a day, he couldn’t tell and how crazy he had become, he couldn’t compute. All he knew was that he had lost his mind in profound degrees and he wasn’t ready to gain it back.
Demon, some might call the stranger in him, or a ghost from the past, but Justin knew it was neither; he knew it was the twain spirit of his soul come to torture his heart and mind. When Gift had passed, that moment she had breathed her last in his arms, the entity was born. Like something out of a movie, it detached from him and stood in a corner, watching him go through the pain of his loss.
Gift had been Justin’s strength, his little angel when the world had become a dark place around him. And it didn’t matter where he turned, she was always on his mind, the one thing he had left, the only thing he told himself he was going to live for. She was more than her name destined and he always kept thoughts of her to help him stay grounded.
The night she had passed had been like every other. The only difference was that the rains had doubled that day, causing massive traffic gridlocks on busy streets. Justin turned on the television to one of the local stations to listen to the evening news and get updates on the endless downpour that had halted businesses and daily activities for five days but Gift showed up at his bedroom door with a large board in her small hands. On the board were pieces of Buckingham Palace, the building model Justin had given her on her birthday just a couple of months before.
Gift had been model-crazy ever since her genius brain was developed enough to put things together. It started with the Lego bricks her aunt bought for her on her third birthday. Before the party was over, she had created something beautiful with it; and a week later, had tired of it entirely. Putting things together seemed to come naturally for her and when Justin realized that her brain was too advanced to play with model toys for kids, he boldly moved her to work on more complicated structures. The first was a house with a picket fence but Gift had it pieced together before bedtime. Ships, cars, planes and more intricate structures were bought for her and as usual, she completed the elaborate models in an astonishing time and with such thorough effort. Justin had watched her from the sidelines and lent a hand a few times and without his helping it, had become addicted himself. Many times he had had to pull her away from the models and forced her to eat. Kicking and screaming, she would cry and make a fuss at mealtimes until she got a good spanking. But he understood her addiction because he shared it too and at bedtimes, would walk into her bedroom and together, they would piece the models.
“Daddy!” Gift impatiently called to him from the door as she tried to keep the pieces on the board from falling. Justin sighed. Just recently, out of lack of what to do as the rains pounded on the roof, he had slipped into her room while she slept and built the palace completely. How she had presently dismantled it all was a mystery to him.
He walked to the door and helped her in with the board but when he tried to assist her put the pieces together, he got shoved away.
Not long after, a call came from one of his political associates and he was wanted at an impromptu meeting somewhere in town. With heavy eyes that desperately craved for sleep, he dragged Gift to his neighbor’s, an unkempt but kindhearted woman who sold smoked fish outside his house. With clear instructions to the woman to put Gift to bed immediately, he hurried on to his meeting, listening to the dull patter of the rain outside his luxury car as his chauffer drove him to his destination. In no time, stretched out on the backseat, he fell into deep sleep and had a peculiar dream.
He was in his bedroom, putting together Buckingham Palace from the scratch. It seemed a lot easier in the dream than it did in real life but what was so different about it was that he was building it on its board which strangely stood on a ball. And for the whole time he worked on the model, the ball never moved. It was as still and steady as a rock. When he completed his work, he smiled satisfactorily, admiring the little people that surrounded the palace, and the animals, trees, flowers and grasses he had given life to. Of this, he congratulated himself and sat down to rest. But suddenly, without warning, the lights in the room went out and a gloomy presence took over, forcing in a terrible wind from the windows. Fearful that his masterpiece was threatened, Justin sprang up to protect it but the more he walked towards it, the farther the palace seemed, like it was literally moving away from him. Then as if jolted by an unseen force, the ball began to rock and swirl dangerously and try as he might, the palace rolled away from his grasp. Finally, after spinning perilously for an unending moment, his creation fell to the floor, crashing into tiny, singular parts. In trepidation, Justin stared at the people and animals and trees. Everything had been destroyed right under his nose. Some of the figures were lost under parts of the building and some were under the trees; but others were still standing erect, immobile, unmoved and untouched by all that had happened. Now, everything was left for Justin to restore, but when he bent down to pick the pieces, he was jolted away from his dream.
Justin banished the dream away without giving it a second thought, on and ordered his chauffer to hurry on to his late night meeting. It was something he was used to now, being called at odd times to deliberate over matters concerning state and financial policies. Many times his conscience bugged him for abandoning Gift in the hands of strangers but he told himself he was doing a public service to the people and lesser issues had to be put aside for the greater good. So much did he believe in the idea of his goodness that he didn’t notice when he lost his humanity as he got caught in the daily struggle to make his mark in the world. He had also lost his purpose and deviated from his dreams to bring healing and relief to those who weren’t as fortunate as he was. At that point, it became necessary for him to focus on being a leader but he easily forgot that his people needed him. Legislations came into play, red tape and endless protocols took over the comforting presence his lowly company once offered the simple people who came to seek his service. Then came the pleasures his office presented which included meetings with men of high repute, the holiday trips to exotic lands, and the gift bags and envelops that turned his eyes away from what had to be meticulously watched. With time, his mind delved into other pursuits as he sought for higher opportunities to better his career and lifestyle. Ultimately, he forgot about why he was who he was in the first place.
“Justin?” someone tapped him and he stirred weakly, raising an eyebrow to stare at the image of his sister standing over him.
“What is it?” he asked gruffly, scratching a disheveled stubble.
“Some delegates from your constituency are here to see you.”
“I don’t want to see anyone. Didn’t I tell you?”
“Justin, these people need your help, they need their homes rebuilt. The flood devastated everything and they have nowhere to stay…”
Justin turned away from his sister and her voice quickly faded off. He shut his eyes again but the dreadful twain entity that was his detached conscience sent from hell to punish him took over his mind and began to assault his thoughts once more.
This time it began fixing images from a recurring nightmare into Justin’s mind—a dark and empty street, a moonless sky, the absence of electricity, the sound of dogs howling, dead bodies strewn across the street, the stench of death and finally, rubble in the place that had once been his neighborhood, the place Gift had breathed her last. These were images and sounds of a world gone under.
Justin was forced to blame himself for her death, even though he made it in time to save her from the drowning shack of the fish woman whom he had left in her care. Now in his head, as he sat and watched the ruin before him, he couldn’t help but see the sharp contrast his house threw against the woman’s. Though his remained standing and hers was completely brought to rubble, they had both lost everything to the flood that night. It tore him to think that every day he had driven past her and sometimes honked to have her move her wares out of the way but it never stirred him to affect her world for better. He had been convinced that the few notes he shoved into her hands every time she watched over Gift was more than enough for her just because she curtsied appreciatively whenever she received them.
Like a broken record, he sat himself on the pavement of the street of his pain where his nightmare had abandoned him for the past twenty-eight days and there he stared at the same dead bodies with the same aching in his soul. He had not met any of them in reality but he met them on that street every time his head hit the pillow in his sleepless dreams. They were people like the ones he almost encountered in his office every day, the folks with one problem or the other that came in for help only to face the legislations that barricaded him from them. Everyone knew the flood was not his fault but only he knew where he had failed. Didn’t he call himself the man of the people?
Now, more than ever, he was aware that the shadows in his heart like every man’s, each day, darkened the light of life that humanity had been given as a gift, and spread like a dark cloak over all that once was good, leaving the world which was formerly a beautiful garden, a haunt for jackals. It had become a place where wickedness thrived and justice was seldom heard; where evil and good were no longer white and black but were now pictured in relative terms till neither was what it was known to be, just grey edges smudged over by lies. Justin knew he had been part of that evil torrent that drowned the innocents and the helpless of this world. It was also made clear to him that man who never made anything out of nothing had to destroy in order to create, and the result was the irreversible death of humanity and the intractability of extinction which most dare not look into. Yes, the human race would rather continue their arduous laboring and long before nightfall draw the curtains over the windows of their souls so desiring to reason than stop for a second to ponder the state of things to come. For perhaps if they did, they would have changed a thing or two around them, there would have been a safety net to cushion the fall when everything crumbled and they would have found that the power to control their fate actually lay in their hands.
Justin lifted his head and faced his torturous twin entity as it stood before his house, the only building left standing like proof of his cold-heartedness. The entity beckoned Justin forward and he followed without demur, even though it took everything out of him to make it to the door. Pulling his heartstrings till they tore, he trudged forward, drawn in by memories of Gift and happier times. Her essence floated all about what was left of his shredded being and though he reached out to grasp it, all he caught was the air. When he couldn’t hold it in anymore, he fell to a heap at the door of his bedroom, the place he had last been with her. At this point, he was left alone, his twain friend gone from his cognizance. It seemed like an eternity as he lay there on the floor, mourning her one final time but even if he was given the whole of forever and then some, it wouldn’t have been enough for him.
He heard his sister’s voice far away, calling him back to reality, dragging him against his will, and he knew it was time to let go. There would be no coming to back to this place. So he crawled with all his might even as the world around him began to fade to nothingness, taking the essence of Gift away. He crawled to the place where she had settled by his feet that night and there he found the model pieces of palace and he began putting them together, bit by painful bit…
“Justin?”
He eyes forced open and he looked up at his sister. She was still standing above his head, still talking to him.
“Your people are waiting for you, Justin. I think it’s time you listened to them.”
Writer’s Note:
Many people died to the floods last year and we have been informed that there would be more flooding this year. Our government officials, as usual, were too preoccupied with bettering themselves to care about what the little people went through, how much they lost, and how many lives were taken during that time. Women and children were raped in relief camps, people were killed, diseases spread and many lost their occupations. It was a terrible time and people are yet to recover from it. We can’t fight nature but we can fight our nature if it is killing us. Every day, I see helicopters fly over my house here in Lagos yet people were stranded on the major highway that connected the north to the south for days. Imagine what difference these private companies or individuals would have achieved if they had helped. I know sometimes talking about bringing a change in Nigeria seems like a futile effort but we can try with the little we do.
To whom much is given, much is expected. Even your little can do a lot more than another person’s much. Let this be food for thought.
Protected: Eggshell (Private Post!) by Shai
To Tame A Virgin #4
Read previous episodes HERE
The weather was strangely cold and Uyi watched as Temi shivered in her seat even though the AC in the office was turned off and the window next to her was closed. He wondered why of all days, she had decided not to wear a sweater. But needless to say, she was looking good in a plain white top that made no attempt at hiding her breasts and Uyi was glad that she had gone the extra mile to appear sexy. She had been a sight for sore eyes for him, a distraction from the complex matrix systems he had been staring into all day.
“Thank God it’s Friday!” A colleague exclaimed with his hands in the air and Uyi knew it was four o’clock. He smiled at the colleague who had gone back staring into his screen through thick glasses. He was a strange guy who rarely smiled nor frowned but did weird things like dance his way in or out the office, bang his head over his keyboard incessantly whenever frustrated and scream out ‘Thank God It’s Friday’ each time the clock struck an hour every single Friday. He was the only form of entertainment they had in the office since television was not allowed.
Uyi pushed out his chair and walked to Temi’s table.
“Hi.” She managed out a smile.
“Are you okay?” he asked and she nodded. “You don’t look too well. Is it the cold?”
She nodded again and he felt her forehead.
“Tems, your temperature is up.”
“Is it?” She let out a sniffle. “I have sore throat, headache and runny nose. I’ve taken Paracetamol sha.”
“You need something stronger. I’ll just run down the road and get you Actifed.”
“Work ends in an hour, so I can manage. Thank God it’s Friday. Phew!”
“You need to rest. Work has been so bad this week. As in, I’m seeing double on my monitor.”
Temi sneezed.
“Sorry.”
“Your perfume is strong. Go away.”
“I’ll walk you home and nurse you if you promise not to jump on me again.”
Temi’s little, shy eyes shifted uneasily and she pushed him away playfully. “Go jor. I do one silly thing and you keep reminding me. Haven’t I behaved myself since?”
“By dodging me throughout the week and boning as if we’re fighting? Plizz! What if we had slept with each other?”
“Shhh!” Temi looked around, embarrassed, scared that a colleague had heard him.
“Go nau. I have work to do.”
“Omoruyi!” someone called and Uyi turned in the direction of the door to see one of the senior partners’ secretaries.
“Oga wants to see you immediately!”
Uyi nodded and turned back to Temi.
“Mr Enenche wants to see you?” Temi asked. “What have you done now?”
Uyi shrugged.
“I don’t like the guy. He looks like a pedophile.”
“Now, Temi…”
“What? It’s a vibe I get around him.”
Uyi shook his head and walked away. Outside his office he took a flight of stairs that led him up and came out to a long hallway. He walked to the last office on his right and peeped in. The secretary who had called him earlier was behind her desk and she pointed to Mr. Enenche’s door. Uyi walked straight to it.
As most bosses appeared, Mr Enenche was older than Uyi but he was still in his prime. He was bald with no signs of gray in his beard and was totally bereft of wrinkles. And also, like most men his age, he wore glasses that just wouldn’t rest anywhere else but on the tip of his nose. An Omega watch adorned his wrist and a suit that squeezed at the armpits but swagged of wealth was covering his upper body over an equally expensive-looking shirt. The weather did not seem to bother him because his AC was on and at a very low temperature.
“Good evening, sir.”
Mr. Enenche nodded but stuck his face to his laptop. Uyi watched the movement of his pudgy hand as it caressed the touchpad of his laptop.
“I need you to hack into a site for me. Can you do that?”
Uyi wondered if it was a trick question. Of course, he could hack into anywhere he wanted but it was against personal principles and work ethics. He replied nothing and fixed his eyes on a church poster behind Mr. Enenche.
“I asked you a question, dude. Can you hack into a site for me?”
The ‘dude’ unsettled Uyi but he replied, “I can, sir, but I’d rather not.”
“I knew you wouldn’t,” Mr. Enenche continued, his head still crouched over his laptop. “But if you have a younger sister whose virginity has become the butt end of randy men’s jokes, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to make sure you secure her honor?”
At this point, Mr. Enenche looked up into Uyi’s eyes.
“I know you’re aware of the site running solely to see Damaris ruined?”
Uyi considered this another trick question but saw through the man’s piercing eyes to know he was in trouble if he lied.
“Yes sir, I’ve heard about the site.”
“You know the people behind it?”
“No, sir.”
“I heard they work here.”
“I’m not aware of that, sir.”
“Do you know why I called you in particular?”
“No, sir.”
“Because I have watched you closely. Apart from the fact that your work is outstanding, you seem to have a godly comportment which is very hard to find in your peers.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“That wasn’t a compliment. I just stated a fact. Anyway, it pains me to see my little cousin being treated like a commodity on display.”
“Sir, your little cousin is Dami… Sorry, Damaris?”
“Yes. And she is under my guardianship. Her father will skin me alive if any bastard messes her up. I know she has her flaws but she needs direction and that is why I need you to find out what idiots are running that site. In short, I want the IP addresses of all the people who log on to that site. All of them!”
“Yes, sir.”
“Be sure that you’ll be rewarded.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“And by the way, I’m inviting you to my house on Sunday for my baby’s naming ceremony.”
“Congratulations, sir.”
Mr. Enenche went back to his laptop.
“My secretary would give you the details. Come with your girlfriend. I like to know my employees one on one.”
“Okay.”
“And Omoruyi,” Mr. Enenche lifted his head. “Please keep this between us, will you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.” He dismissed Uyi who walked out and hurried down the hallway. As he got to the stairs, he came across Dami who was speaking on her phone but she stopped him with her free hand and had him wait for her. During the wait, Uyi studied everything about her carefully, his eyes adoring her features without letting on what he was doing. Her face was carved to perfection with high cheekbones, twinkling brown eyes, a straight nose and full but wide pink lips that caressed each word she uttered. The touch of her hand on Uyi’s was smooth and she distractedly but gently stroked him, leaving goosebumps on his flesh.
“Hi.” She smiled at him after ending her phone call. Her hand was still resting on his and she applied gentle pressure with every word she spoke. “Uyi, right?”
“Dami, what’s up?”
“You didn’t ask me how I got your name,” she said and Uyi spared her a half smile.
“Does it matter?”
“Not that it does but hey, nice meeting you again.”
“Same here.”
“And you smell really nice.”
“Thanks.”
She started up the stairs and Uyi made his way down.
************
“How do you feel?” Uyi searched Temi’s face as she rested her head on her pillow. He thought her eyes looked too sunken without her glasses.
“I’m fine,” she replied him and bit her lip. “Please close the windows.”
“No, you need clean, fresh air.”
“I’m still cold.”
“You’ll be fine under your blanket and once the drug kicks in, it’ll send you straight to sleep. Where’s your boyfriend by the way?”
“He’ll come later.”
Uyi thought he saw a lie in her eyes but he didn’t dwell on it. He reached for his laptop carrier from the floor and pulled out his laptop.
“You’re always insulting Naruto. Well, today, I’ll introduce you to it and I promise you that you’ll love it.”
“Whatever. Just play it. Hopefully it will put me to sleep faster than the Actifed.”
Uyi turned on his laptop and played the cartoon in question. Initially, Temi seemed interested in it but after she received a call from someone whom he suspected was her boyfriend, she turned her face away and backed Uyi for a long time. He could hear her sniffing every now and then and he suspected she was crying but he didn’t pry. Finally, she turned around and spared him a weak smile and continued watching.
“So who’s this guy with tribal marks?” she asked, pointing at the screen.
Uyi laughed. “It’s not tribal marks.”
“It’s what nah? Three lines on each side of his face like my grandfather.”
Uyi smiled. “He is the Naruto.”
“Okay. And that’s his babe?”
“Sakura? She’s his friend but she’s in love with his former best friend, Sasuke, who is now his enemy.”
“And from all indication Naruto is in love with the babe but she’s forming friendship abi?”
“Yes.”
“But wait oh, why do they run with their hands behind their backs?”
“The ting tire me sef.” Uyi laughed and Temi hissed in amusement.
“You guys can watch rubbish.”
“But it’s better than watching Cuando sex me.”
Temi burst into laughter and went into a terrible coughing fit until Uyi held her up, rubbed her back and it subsided.
“It’s not Cuando sex me,” she corrected after finding her voice. “It’s Cuando Seas Mia and it means when you are mine.”
“Whatever. It’s cheesy nonsense. I can’t watch that mush with a gun to my head.”
“Speaking of guns to heads, why did Mr. Enenche want to see you sef?” Temi asked.
“Nothing serious.”
“It can’t be nothing serious with that man. It’s either he’s about to fire you or promote you. Which one?”
“Do they promote corpers?”
“Why did he call you nau?”
“He simply wanted me to find out who is running that totameavirgin website.”
Temi hissed. “I thought it was even something serious. Isn’t he a hypocrite!”
“What do you mean?”
“The person that is running the site is his very close friend.”
“For real?”
“Yeah. So how come he doesn’t know?”
“Well, friends stab friends in the back. But who is the person?”
“I’m not telling.”
“Temire, you’re not being fair.”
“I gave my word.”
“So did I and see how I just broke it by telling you.”
She stuck out her tongue.
“And they say women don’t know how to keep secrets. But seriously, you won’t tell me?”
“Nope.”
“I hate you. And by the way, your nope sounds like dope. All your Ns are now Ds.”
Temi sniffed. “Stupid catarrh. And stupid hypocrite Mr. Enenche. He and his friend like to follow small-small girls and use them anyhow. So it serves him right that people want to use his cousin.”
“Wow. That’s harsh. What’s eating you like that?”
“Nothing. Back to our argument. Admit that romance movies and series are good.”
Uyi mock-vomited and she hit him with a pillow. Then they fell into an argument that dragged on for a while and in the end, Uyi had to admit that he had enjoyed some cheesy movies. Temi blessed him with a hug and rested on her pillow again. They settled into silence for a while as the exotic Japanese language coming from the cartoon pulled Temi into a snooze. When Uyi turned around to explain a scene to her, he found her asleep with her mouth slightly open due to the blockage in her nostrils. He pinched out some mentholated balm from a small container and applied it below her nose; he also moistened her lips with some of her cherry lip balm and lifted her blanket to cover her properly. He wrote a note and placed it by her nightstand before he left. Slinging his laptop carrier across his shoulder, he walked off into the night, hoping to catch a cheap cab being that all he had on him was three hundred naira.
************
There was no one home when Uyi walked in through the front door. Earlier Ovie had complained about being too broke to host anyone for their customary Friday shindig and made plans to go see his elder sister to raid her freezer. As usual, Peter also made plans to tag along, keeping to his scrubby nature. Now, with the house to himself, Uyi made a meal of jellof rice and sausages, popped open a can of cold beer and settled to eat and continue with his Naruto when Edet appeared. The front door was locked, so he pressed his face to the window and made gestures at Uyi to open up for him. But Uyi being in no mood to do so, continued with his alone time. Edet moved away from the window and went to the door and began banging on it, yet Uyi remained seated and upped the volume of his laptop. Edet returned to the window and peeped really hard to be sure someone was within, that he wasn’t just imagining things.
“Uyi, your papa! You dey craze?! Open dis door jor!”
Uyi ignored him and after more insults, he disappeared from the window. Uyi finished his meal and cartoon and went for another can of beer but Edet showed up again. He came with a loud bang that rattled the door and riled Uyi up. Uyi got to his feet, marched to the door, unlocked it and inivited him in. As Edet took the first step, Uyi rammed the door in his face, knocking him out cold on the floor. He remained there as Uyi locked the door again and went back to his beer. The night wore on and he listened to love songs on his laptop and went off to sleep, forgetting Edet outside.
The next morning had him waking late and to the buzzing of his phone. He stared into the screen to see Temi’s name and he took her call.
“Hey sicky-sicky. You’re up already.”
“Yeah.”
“You got my note?”
He heard a smile in her voice. “Yeah. How sweet.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Still not good oh. I’m still running a fever.”
“Okay. I’ll come over but hope your boyfriend is not going to be there. I don’t want wahala.”
“He traveled. Just come.”
“Okay.”
************
Uyi had a wonderful time with Temi again. As he guessed, she wasn’t as bad as she had projected on the phone but she still needed little more nursing. He administered her drugs and held her head over steaming, balmy water to clear her nasal passages. Afterward, they worked on a client’s account, watched a movie and argued about trivial things. When it was getting dark, she begged him to stay awhile and made him a big bowl of soup to take home.
“Thank you, Uyi,” she said and hugged him in her tight kitchen.
“Anything for a friend.”
She released him and headed out first, deliberately brushing her backside against him. Uyi smiled at the seemingly innocent act but kept a blank face when she turned around to look at him. She went for her sweater and walked him out the door but didn’t go far. There was another hug and this time he felt her lips brush against his neck as she let go.
“See you on Monday,” he said.
“Good night.” She walked back in and he went home.
************
Sunday service was one of those long affairs. The pastor had too much to say, the choir had so much to sing about, people were thanking God for too many things and all the people that had starved church attendance in a while decided to show up. It was well past 2pm before the pastor said the closing prayer. Like many members, Uyi joined the church bus and it dropped him right at the junction of his street. Feeling satisfied and refreshed with himself, he walked home with a gospel tune in his head. Ovie and Peter were not back yet but Edet was in the compound when he walked in. He saw a plaster over the poor creature’s nose but he ignored him and he walked past.
“Uyi, abeg, make I explain wetin happen between me and Vivian.”
Uyi allowed him all the way to his flat and pretended to listen to his unpardonable excuse as he unlocked the door but when he stepped in and Edet tried to do same, he slammed the door in his face again. Fortunately for Edet, he wasn’t standing so close this time around.
Uyi made himself a large bowl of eba, had his lunch and fell asleep.
He woke up three hours later and dressed up to head to Mr. Enenche’s party at Asokoro. Following the address the secretary texted him, he found himself on a street that was lined with expensive cars. He could hear music in the distance and it drew him to the venue easily. He walked in through an open gate to face a magnificent house with a spacious lawn. There were large canopies with chairs covering the whole area. Women and children littered the place mostly but there was a section where men were hurdled together, sipping on beers and peppersoup. Uyi could spot some people from his office and they were mostly from management, but there were a few junior staff too, none of which he was acquainted with. He protectively held the gift he had come along with as a pair of little girls ran past him. He smiled at them and strolled straight to the front door and entered a sitting room filled with so many people. Nodding a greeting to anyone who cared, he waded further in, towards the dining area to see whom he could speak with. To his relief, Dami appeared. She was angrily walking past him as she murmured incoherently to herself but he stopped her and she slowly released a taut smile when she saw him.
“Hi,” she commented and hugged him tersely. “So good to see you, Uyi. The ass invited you?”
Uyi wasn’t so sure who the ‘ass’ was but he had a good idea that it was Mr. Enenche.
“He’s in his room,” she said. “Let me call him.”
She disappeared and reappeared a while later with a drink for Uyi. Mr. Enenche came out subsequently, looking tired but having a smile that Uyi had never seen him spare at the office.
“Omoruyi, you came. Welcome.” He shook his hand warmly. “I’m sorry I can’t offer you a seat because I don’t even have one for myself. I didn’t budget for this many people. It seemed everyone from my church showed up and more are still coming.”
“It’s how these things are.”
“You can say that again. Come this way, though.”
Mr. Enenche led him further into the house to a room that looked like a guest room but had a small parlor with a single plastic chair.
“Please, sit. I’ll have them bring you something.”
“Sir, this is for the baby. It’s small but…”
“Thank you, Omoruyi,” said Mr. Enenche, taking the gift Uyi was offering. “My wife would appreciate this. Thanks.”
“My pleasure.”
Mr. Enenche walked out and Uyi could hear him call Dami’s name out. He heard her reply back in a rude tone and they both began exchanging words in Idoma. Their voices faded away immediately and Uyi busied himself with his phone. While doing that, someone poked her head in and announced to him that everyone was needed outside because the pastor was about to give his final blessings to the family before leaving. Uyi nodded and she left but he had no intentions of making it outside. He sat put and continued with his phone as the house emptied gradually. Minutes passed by and he could hear only a few voices around him and for that he was relieved, but not long after, he heard Mr Enenche and Dami at it again. There was another female voice in the mix and Uyi suspected it was Mrs. Enenche’s. He listened as they lashed out loudly in Idoma. Dami was the angriest as her tone rose with every syllable. He heard her pause to prevent a lump in her throat but a sob had broken in and she raged on with staccato words all fired out in Idoma and English. Not so sure if he should hang around any longer for the private family spat, Uyi got up and began heading for the door. However, he was stopped short by Dami who was storming out of one of the rooms, tears streaming down her face.
“Hey.” He put a gentle hand around her. She hesitated at first but the calm stare from his eyes made her turn around and crumble in his arms. It wasn’t what he had expected but he didn’t know how to push her away even though he knew it was the right thing to do, considering Mr. Enenche could show up any moment and have the wrong impression.
“Stop crying. It’s okay.”
But Dami held Uyi tightly and all hope of escaping her grip vanished out the window. He brought out his hanky and wiped her face just to have an inch away from her but she stuck to him and remained there. And just as he had imagined, Mr. Eneche and his wife appeared from nowhere and stood looking at both of them questioningly. Uyi tried to pull away but Dami held him tight and fixed stubborn eyes on the couple. She wiped her eyes angrily.
“You were asking who my boyfriend was? Well, here he is.”
Uyi’s mouth dropped open, and he wished it hadn’t because just as it hung there on its own accord, Dami shoved her tongue right through his lips with an angry kiss; and all Uyi could think of as he tasted her alcohol-flavored mouth was catching the next, available flight out of Abuja.
©Sally @moskedapages
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