THE TRAGEDY!
Episode 13
“What is keeping this girl from opening this door. You want this $h!t to come out shey ?” What kind of embarrasment is this, walahi. Alhaji complained and mistakenly pushed the door open. My heart jumped to my mouth as what Alhaji’s reaction would be flashed throu-gh my mind.
I did not know the door was unlocked, I looked behind, Moses still la-id there, half n-ked. Alhaji c@m£ in holding his p@n-ts, was about to rush to the guest toilet when he saw Moses moving on the floor, shocked
Alhaji: “A’uzubillahi…! Wayo Allah na! Shiber…who is this akuya (Goat) standing n-ked in our fallow (parlour)? Young man, dan iska, what are you doing here? n-ked man answer mana or you want me to call the folis (police)? Shiber, why are you too n-ked? What is happening po (for) here?”
Me: “B…bbb…baby, he is my friend…I…I…” I kept quiet, seeing Alhaji’s trou-sers we-t.
Alhaji: “Why Shiber, why? Am I not enough for you? Why bring this black skeleton to our house? Why ? Or is his thing sweeter than my own? Don’t I satisfy you enough? Shegiya kewai. I though you said mine was the sweetest? Or are you saying that I am no longer man enough for you after you got admssion?”
Me: “I am sorry Alhaji, it was…”
Alhaji: “Shut up! You want to blame the devil? You are the devil Shiber. ” he c@m£ closer to me, I took some steps backwards.
“Let me call the folis! A bastard is here tapping from my Shiber yoghurt. Armed robber in my house, ra-ping my Shiber… shikenan !”
Me: “plea-se sir, no sir. plea-se…”
Alhaji: “Oh you now call me Sir? Me, Alhaji Mohammed Yahaya Abdullah, Sir? God will punish you wallahi” he stretched his hands to hit me, Moses interrupted
Moses: “Don’t you dare t©uçh her!” he stood up to st©p Alhaji.
“Are you not ashamed? This girl is young enough to be your grand daughter…”
Alhaji dropped his hand, held his trou-sers in shame and left the house; I was scared, what was he going to do next, I asked myself.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
I had not heard from Alhaji for weeks, I went to his office to apologise several times but his receptionist would not let me in. Distracted, I did not bother going for lectures because I did not know what plans he had for me. Meanwhile, Moses had been acting so weird, he would return from school and wouldn’t check on me; I decided to go see him. He was not home, I met him arguing about politics in the school cafeteria
Me: “Sweety, you and politics. I checked, you were not home. I just knew you would be here” I smiled
Moses: “Can’t you see I’m busy and what ‘s that sweety I just heard you call me? I told you to use such pet names only when we are together. Why did you have to come all the way here, you should have waited at home” he whispered, pushing me out of the cafeteria
Me: ‘But I ba-rely know when you are back. I haven’t seen you in days. We nee-d to talk, baby plea-se” I followed him out
Moses: “let us meet at home, I am busy discussing something important with my guys. Why are you so rigid?”
That was how he discharged me that day, he had clearly shown me that our relationsh!pmeant nothing to him. Loneliness sapped me dry; Alhaji had not replied my letters to him, I could not figure out what he was going to do to me. I also did not have any friend to talk to, I was devastated, waiting for Moses to get back to his s-en-ses, I took one of my notebooks and began to write, the things I had gone throu-gh- I knew it would made me feel better.
“Where is that prostitute, where is she,
danbanza !” I heard Alhaji’s voice from the gate
Running as fast as I could, I began to gr-ab my treasured accessories. He c@m£ in with two hvge men, dragged me by my hair; my b©dy swept the whole floor as I screamed for help.
Alhaji: “Shameless prostitute, I didn’t even know I would find you here. Where is that armed robber you call a b©yfri£nd, why don’t you call him to save you from this shame?” he looked at the men
“Have your share and throw her b©dy in the streets where she belongs to. I am done with her!” he ordered the men
One after another, the men took turns; Alhaji watched as I bled and screamed for help. Finally, the dark skinned man turned me around and stuck his thing in my an-us, the memory of Mr. David began to fly in my head, once, I saw his face, the vision was blurry, and my whole b©dy was on fire…
Alhaji: “Good job young men. When she gets to the other side, she would tell them this story. No one toils with the heart of a Kaduna Man!” he announced
Those were the last words I heard, in fact, they were the last words I thought I would hear on earth.
…………………
Moses: “You have to wake up o. I don’t have money to take you to the hospital, what kind of trouble have I gotten myself into like this…” I heard a familiar voice
Then I opened my eyes slowly, the sharp pain from my pelvic region held me down as I tried to stand up to know what was happening and who was holding me.
Moses: “Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. You almost st©pped me from attending the SUG meeting, now I’m late. That Alhaji must be so mean. See how he messed you up” he dusted his shi-t and left his house.
When he returned and found me where he had left me, he told me what had happened. After Alhaji and his men had had their time, they dumped me outside the gate n-ked. It was with the help of the gate man that he brou-ght me in; Alhaji had thought I was dead. Nothing surprised me more than the way Moses made it a big deal; he had stressed the fact that he had to bathe me and clean me up. He lamented like I was not his girl friend but a stranger. Exams were approaching very fast, I could not go to the hospital to treat myself; Moses was broke and Alhaji had taken everything he had given to me.
The smell oozing from my an-us was worse than the smell from newly hatched chicken eggs, it was the fluid coming out from there I guessed; whenever his friends c@m£ around the house, he would open the windows and spray the whole house with his room freshener. It was so bad that I could perceive, I knew I was rottening inside me; he c@m£ back from school one day and let his heart out
Moses: “Shiber, this smell has chased my friends. I have a suggestion o” he declared
Me: “What is it, my darling? “ I asked, folding his bo-xers
Moses: “Why don’t you go to any of your sisters or friends for now, until you are better. You can’t keep staying here. My mother is coming next week, even my dad too, and that my niece I told you about. They are all coming to stay for like three months. They can’t meet you here…I’m sorry”
Moses knew I had nob©dy, he used to tease me about that; he also told me he was like me and had no family. Were his parents coming out of the dead? I asked myself. I dropped the last bo-xers I folded and quic-kly knelt down, holding his trou-sers
Me: “I don’t have where to go, plea-se give me till the end of this semester then I would find my way…plea-se sweetheart” I pleaded.
He looked away and frowned,
Moses: “I feel for you. I have made so much sacrifice, I cannot continue. plea-se leave, Shiber” he pu-ll-ed his leg from my hand and walked away
I knelt there with my head buried in my palms
“Where do I go from here?” I asked.
TO be continued!
Chai.. Eeya
QUESTIONS
Will Moses reconsider his decision? How will Shiber overcome the awful smell? Will she survive?
How will life be with no one by her side?