STORY BY DEBORAH PAUL
OJOCHEMI MY VILLAGE BRIDE
EPISODE 17
OSCAR POV CONTINUES
I opened her door and there she was sleeping peacefully when she almost killed me, when she almost turn me into a cripple… I have never felt such pain in my entire life….it was as if my whole system was shutting down.
seeing her sleep peacefully made me even more angry and my desi-re to kill her grew even bigger.
I moved to her bed and stepped on it slowly so as not to wake her up, I succeeded thankfully she’s a de-ep sleeper….i grabbed her ne-ck and started to press ha-rd, I didn’t care if she died or not….well my intention was to kill her in the first place.
She opened her eyes, shocked to see that I was trying to kill her… like every normal human being they would fight for their lives, fight to stay alive but that witch didn’t fight me, she started to sm-irk immidiately she recognize me.
The more she laughed, the more I hated her, the more I wanted to kill her….and the more I kept pressing her ne-ck.
her eyes were already shutting, her laughter got weaker, and her breath was losing its value………. immidiately I thought of my mum, I thought of my life after my action… I wonder if my mum would survive it if she heard her son killed someone.
I quickly fell back from the bed, almost hating myself for thinking such evil.
I’m a mean man, a ha-rd man, a very arrogant guy but a murderer? hell no I’m not that kind of a man ….. I would never hurt a fly … this lady has pushed me to the lemit that I now see the monster everyone talks about.
I got myself and rushed to the bed to check if she was still breathing, thankfully she was, but very faintly… I rushed downstairs with my painful leg and got her a bottle of water.
I rushed back and feed her with the water, she drank if like someone who has been thirsty for a hundred years ….
After some time she got herself and sat up, she looked at me with no emotion.
OSCAR
why didn’t you fight back?
I asked seating down , my back placed on her door…..she looked at me blankly before she answered me.
OJOCHEMI
why should I? I know beneath this tough man is a weakling.
she said and sm-irk again, that sm-irk that made me become a murderer….
OSCAR
I’m not a weakling okay, I just don’t want to be who you want me to be.
OJOCHEMI
(She smiled)
i know you hate me…..I feel the same way too…..but I know that no matter how crazy and mean you are, you can never kill…. you are a coward…. and cowards only make noise, they bark but don’t bite.
Her words bruise my ego, but I kept my cool, I have always known this girl is a witch and she’s proving me right….she want me to kill her so I can end up in jail or sending my mother to her early grave.
OSCAR
who are you exactly? why is trouble your second name?
OJOCHEMI
says a man who brou-ght home bouncers so he can intimidate me.
I wanted to talk but I was short of words, after some time I got up and held the door handle to leave.
OJOCHEMI
how’s your leg?
(she asked calmly)
OSCAR
what do you care? because of you I’m going to lose a multi million naira contract tomorrow.
OJOCHEMI
I didn’t expect you to walk throu-ghthat door first….i was expecting one of your bouncers and since I also know you won’t go to the kitchen for whatsoever reason I had to set all traps there just in case.
OSCAR
you have done your worse…. thank you
(I said and shut the door after me)
OJOCHENEMI POV
Honestly I knew I was out of line putting those trap in the house… but I only looked at the good side, I didn’t know he would be the one to walk in first…. ever since he had his bouncers he always make sure one is in front while the second is at his back.
When he came into my room trying to trangle me to death, I was scared, of course I was…i mean who wouldn’t?
but I have never in my life surrender myself to pain or fear… and I have always wanted to really know this man…. my guts has been telling me beneath that toughness his tender…..even though sometimes I hate myself for believing that, for wanting to know if he has a good side…. opportunity never came for me… but tonight the opportunity came…. I wanted to push him off my body and save myself, but no, my heart wouldn’t let me, it wanted me to confirm my gut so I stay put and watch if he would actually kill me.
I know you guys would think I’m crazy, and what if he had actually killed me… well maybe I will just die than… after all I’m no good to any one.
My gut is never wrong, I know he didn’t have it in him, his just a coward who is hiding I’m his past.
But something about him lpoked different tonight…. he seem calm and he spoke to me like someone who is worn out from something or stress.
I felt pity for him when he told me he would lose his contract tomorrow because of his leg…. I immediately started thinking of ways to help him but non came to my head.
THE NEX DAY
I woke up very early and made breakfast, to me it was the only thing I could use to apologize for crossing the line.
I made spaghetti and sauce, tony thought me how to cook that…. in fact within this two weeks Tony and I have spent so much time together and I have learnt a lot from him.
I took the food up to his room, I knocked but he ignored me so I pushed the door opened he laid on the bed, his eyes were filled with tears…. I wonder why.
He immediately started to wipe it off so I wouldn’t see it but I did.
OJOCHEMI
why are you crying? is it because of your contract?
I asked but he ignored me, I asked again and he kept mute…. what exactly is his problem? I won’t be here if I didn’t know within me that I had messed up big time.
OJOCHEMI
if you are crying about your contract, don’t worry I already asked Ali to call Tony for me….. I pleaded with him to help you be at that meeting…. let’s hope he brings good news.
immediately he lifted up his face to look at me…. I wonder what was on his mind though.
OJOCHEMI
I’m sorry that you had to step on the trap I made…. but all this wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t bring those fat over size men to the house.
I was just talking to myself, nothing I said he replied… he was just staring at my face and looking like someone who was battling with what to say.
I angrily turn to go back with my food, it’s obvious this tough man isn’t ready to forgive me or even make peace.
I got to the door and pulled the door handle then his voice stopped me
“my leg hurts like hell, I haven’t even taken my bath since yesterday…..I feel very horrible chenemi”
I stood at that sport like I was glu to the ground, it was the first time he said my name since I started living with him.
STORY BY DEBORAH PAUL
OJO-CHENE-MI MY VILLAGE BRIDE
EOISODE 18
OJOCHEMI POV CONTINUES
I stood there like someone who has been glu to the ground, I couldn’t believe he just said my name after all this while.
I turn to look at him, he had tears in his eyes…. my anger for a second subsided and I moved back to his bedside.
OJOCHEMI
So, what do you want me to do now?
OSCAR
I wish to take my bath…..and brush my mouth .
OJOCHENEMI
you still haven’t told me what you nee-d from me.
I wanted him to say what exactly he wants from me…. one has to be careful with this Oscar of a guy…. before he would say I did something out of my own will.
I saw how he battle to say what he wanted from me… though it was obvious he nee-ded a bath and a change of clothes… call it tease or whatever but I just wanted to hear it from his mouth.
OSCAR
I want to bath…. can you help me to the shower?
He finally for-ced out, shutting his eyes ti-ghtly….I couldn’t help but smile.
without much questions I dropped my tray and climb his bed…. he opened his eyes to look at me…. I gave him this cold stare too before I started to pull off his shirt.
He hesitated before he lifted up his hand for me to pull his shirt off.
OJOCHEMI
you want cold water or warm water?
OSCAR
I think cold would do…
I got up and went to bathroom to turn on the tube water so he could go and bath…. I came back and helped him to the bathroom.
OJOCHENEMI
I believe you can off your trouser yourself, it’s not like I crippled you or something.
I told him and went outside to wait for him…. I waited to start hearing noise from the bathroom but I heard no sign, it was as if no one was in the shower.
I knocked slightly on the door but he didn’t answer, so I knocked ha-rder and he spoke.
OJOCHEMI
I am still alive chenemi…. you don’t nee-d to worry about me.
He said my name for the second time and for some weird reason I felt happy, my name sounded perfect in his mouth… I use to think no one calls it better than my dad…..but I was wrong….. Oscar calls it even much better.
I waited for an additional thirty minutes and he still didn’t come outside or make any noise……I became worried and pushed the door open.
OSCAR POV
No one should call me weak, I’m not a weakling okay, I’m just been careful so I won’t let anger take the better side of me.
chenemeI has lived with me for weeks and I have never called her by her name…. at first it sounded weird but it later felt good….. all throu-ghthe night I couldn’t sleep or even change my clothes… the pain in my leg was turning my head .
I was grateful when it was morning, I had confident that I would feel at peace….but the pain grew even worse and stronger.
I nee-ded to take my bath and wear something new, I felt horrible, the most annoying part of it is that my stup*d bouncers who I put my trust in all left me.
It was Ali that told me last night that they all dropped their resignation letter that they won’t be working anymore.
well would I blame them? I was always quick to scold them or give them a dirty slap when they made any mistake…. they took it all in because the salary was hu-ge…. the very chance they had they ran away without looking back.
on a normal day I would never ask anyone for help, why should I ? I literally have the world at my disposal…. at my age the mind of property and money I control, even the president won’t come close… so why should I nee-d anyone’s help?
But recently I realized pride would only have me killed, stubborn would not solve anything…. I thought of calling my mum, but then I thought of what mum would say if she heard I retaliated by trying to strangle her.
She brou-ght food for peace offering, looking at her made me angry but I had to keep my anger aside, I was starving and I nee-ded a cold bath….
she finally accepted to help me wash up, what I had in mind wasn’t for her to just drop me in the bathroom and leave me there…. but my ego won’t let me tell her I actually wants her to bath me.
after she left me to take off my trouser and bath myself, I tried to take off my trouser, I succeeded in taking my right leg out, but I couldn’t lift the second leg because of the pain.
I tried but the pain was too much for me to bear so I decided to seat on the bathtub arm and ease my pain.
I thought she had already gone out until I hear her knock, I was too ashamed to tell her I couldn’t take off my trouser…so I lied that I was okay and she shouldn’t worry.
I stayed in there for God knows how long, all I know is that chenemi pushed the door and entered without knocking.
OJOCHEMI
you scared me…. you were so quiet in here.
OSCAR
I told you I’m fine.
She took a good look at me and smiled.
OJOCHEMI
but you don’t look it…. all you should have done was ask for help Oscar.
OSCAR
I didn’t want to be a pin
(I said looking away.)
OJOCHEMI
it seem like you are finding it difficult to take off your trouser…. is the pain that terrible?
OSCAR
I feel like I’m in hell.
I said and she burst into a serious laughter, as she laughed she apologized and laughed again until she became tired.
OJOCHEMI
I’m sorry for laughing…. I will be right back.
she said and excused herself, she came back with a small stood and kept at an empty space….
OJO-CHENE-MI
(She hits it)
seat on it.
I gave her this look that says ” how’s this going to ease my pain or take out my trouser” she smiled and held my both hands and helped me to seat on the stood.
She slowly went on her knees in front of me and held that leg that is paining me and slowly pulled out the trouser with her eyes fix on mine.
I stare back at her, the stare was so intense that I didn’t even feel the pain of the leg and didn’t even realize she had pulled out the trouser from my left leg.
OJOCHEMI
I’m going to put you in the bathtub now.
She said and got up on her feet….she wrapped her arm around my wai-st and helped me to the tub
OJOCHEMI
I can’t take off your boxers because I don’t want to go blind….so we are going to shower like this.
OSCAR
you are very correct.
I felt very embarras-sed that chenemi of all people is the one bathing me…I felt embarras-sed that she had to even see me ba-re che-sted.
STORY CONTINUES
NOT EDITED