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The Tenth Generation - Literature (2) - Nairaland

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Re: The Tenth Generation by avicky(f): 10:39pm On Dec 24, 2012
Wow! If only Chika had died. He never knew d consequences of his offer to d gods.
Gentle Chima, RIP.

Weldone Frank. More power to ur elbow.
Re: The Tenth Generation by larride(m): 9:52am On Dec 25, 2012
More power to your keyboard. This is so interesting. Keep it up.
Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 10:51am On Dec 25, 2012
thanks all, but i am still thinking if i shuld send the second part... but i believe reader have gotten a glimpse of what the second and third part will be like. so far, the response have been scanty, its either much pple hve not read it or its not as interesting as i thought.

well for now i am not yet convinced that i should post the second part, till then, i really hope u all enjoyed "the covenant"
Re: The Tenth Generation by wizb: 11:50am On Dec 25, 2012
frank3.16:
thanks all, but i am still thinking if i shuld send the second part... but i believe reader have gotten a glimpse of what the second and third part will be like. so far, the response have been scanty, its either much pple hve not read it or its not as interesting as i thought.

well for now i am not yet convinced that i should post the second part, till then, i really hope u all enjoyed "the covenant"

Frank why na? I really enjoyed the first part and I have been refreshing this page since yesterday. I'm sorry I should have commented earlier to encourage you. Anyway well done. You are really talented. Please try and post part two.
Re: The Tenth Generation by avicky(f): 1:27pm On Dec 25, 2012
frank3.16:
thanks all, but i am still thinking if i shuld send the second part... but i believe reader have gotten a glimpse of what the second and third part will be like. so far, the response have been scanty, its either much pple hve not read it or its not as interesting as i thought.

well for now i am not yet convinced that i should post the second part, till then, i really hope u all enjoyed "the covenant"
Frankly speaking, aren't we important? Don't u want to satisfy d Oliver twist in us?
Frank, dnt be disturbed by d scanty remarks, but be encouraged with d little accolades u see here. Dis story is so interesting dt i've bookmarked it.
Compliments of the season.
Re: The Tenth Generation by larride(m): 2:28pm On Dec 25, 2012
Don't be discouraged... Keep it up
Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 2:39pm On Dec 25, 2012
all right, in the spirit of xmas and for the few following this thread, lets continue and see how far we can get. merry xmas everybody



PART TWO: THE BIRTH (1980)
(Owerri Imo State, Nigeria)

CHAPTER SIX


The long queue of cars made Juliet Nwankwo wonder if she was ever going to reach her destination. The taxi she had boarded had come to a halt for the past thirty minutes along Douglas Road, a big lorry had broken down somewhere ahead of them and the little space that was left for cars to pass had been blocked by impatient drivers. All over the street seemed to be filled with only taxies as their yellow and white color decorated the street. There was so much noise coming from the car horns, Juliet felt like her ear was going to burst, and the drivers added more to the noise by yelling at each other. The taxi driver that drove Juliet and four other passengers did not help matters. The volume of his radio was at its peak, he seemed to be enjoying the noise, not even mindful that it was making his passengers restless. Everybody was sweating because of the hot sun that was shining as if it was going to be its last day to give light to planet earth.

It has always been like this in Owerri; a place where everybody seemed to always be in a hurry. A place that has an equal amount of the rich and the poor, the fast and the slow, the aggressive and the gentle hearted. One very good thing about Owerri was that its citizen were relatively violent, there was scarcely news of violent robbery, or mob action. Just a few cases of misunderstanding between neighbors, couples or drivers just as Juliet was experiencing at the moment. Here people seem to always want to mind their business except when they feel another is standing on their way. It also has a large amount of careless people, who didnt really care, but lived life the way they saw it, they make no attempt to change their condition, instead they take pleasure in blaming their condition on their environment. Juliet’s father and the taxi driver fall into this category of people.

One of the female passengers sitting very close to Juliet couldn’t bear noisy car stereo any longer, “please reduce the volume of your stereo, it is really disturbing us.” She pleaded to the driver. And other passengers joined in agreement to her request.

“Madam, it seems like you don’t appreciate good music,” the driver said as he stretched fourth his hand to reduce the volume of his stereo.

“This has got nothing to do with good music, it is just noisy” the woman replied.

“How can you say it is noisy, do you know whose music I am playing? I am playing Bob Marley’s song. I can stay here all day listening to it and I won’t know when the day will be over.” He stretched his neck out of his window and shouted to another driver, “hey, what is wrong with you, is that how you mama thought you to drive?”

The whole passengers laughed at the drivers little joke except Juliet. She wasn’t even listening to what they were saying; there was so much in her mind that worried her. And she needed so badly to get to her friend’s place, drop her belongings and do some thinking about her life.

Nature, God or who and whatever was responsible for life events have been very unfair to her. She didn’t know who to blame for her misfortune, her father? Who was a drunk and preferred playing the game of draft with his friends in the neighborhood to thinking about his wife and five children.

Her mother? Who had never known the right thing to do, always being very loyal to her husband who never deserved her loyalty. She allowed her whole family to depend on the little money she gets from the sales of fried yam and bean cake. Taking all the unnecessary beating from her husband, and never challenging him to pick a job and think about training his children.

Her boyfriend? Who had gotten her pregnant and rejected her.

Or God, who sits there and watch it all happen, when all it takes from him was to say a word and her situation will turn around.

Juliet Nwankwo was the third child and the first daughter of Mr. Collins Nwankwo; she had never really attended any real education system, all she had managed to go was local government primary school which was free and after that, she had gone ahead to get some training on how to be a hair stylist. At the age of eighteen, she secured a job as a hair stylist in one of the local and cheap saloons in Owerri, there she earned very little, barely to cater for her needs and that of her demanding family.

Juliet had been introduced to sex at the early age of sixteen, a day that will continue to remain fresh in her mind. He was a student in Imo State University, Owerri, and she had always thought that people in universities were special people, therefore associating herself with them made her feel special. It didn’t take him much effort to convince her to come over to his place where he stayed alone as a student. He lavished her with sweet words, telling her how beautiful he thought she looked and how much he loved her. He ended up convincing her that what he was going to do to her would be enjoyable and she had no need to fear. Juliet lost her virginity to him.
That was her first experience and since then she had always fallen victim to different men, all because of her ignorance. Most of her friends, especially her co-workers kept on telling her “ Juliet, you need men in your life, you don’t have to love them, all you want is for them to take care of your needs since the little you earn from this saloon is not enough to cater for all your needs. The only thing that you will give them in return is good sex, that way you will get all you want from them without anyone getting hurt.”

“You mean like a prostitute?” Juliet would ask them in astonishment.
“No, prostitution is very different from what we are talking about. Here you can call them your boyfriends but you don’t really care about them.” They would answer.

“I don’t see the difference between prostitution and what you girls are talking about.” She would firmly reply.

The fact was that Juliet wasn’t really interested in what she would get from men; all she wanted was someone to show her real love and affection. Someone who will make her have a sense of belonging. She had never known real love, not even from her parents and she desired it more than money. Yes, I deserve being loved, she always says to herself. She wasn’t an ugly girl, and she could be charming whenever she smiles. She was tall enough for a lady and she was blessed with a pair of beautiful legs, this had always been her major source of attraction, and so she does her best to always expose them. She had a very beautiful shape and was light in her complexion. What more could a woman ask for?

But she had never understood why she had always been very unfortunate in relationships with men. This was her major source of dilemma. Her desire for love had brought about her doom. And now she wished that she had heeded to the crazy advice of her friends. Now she was pregnant, homeless and forsaken all because she had desired love.

Juliet had met Mark Agu on one of her trips to her workshop at Okigwe road. He was a very attractive man and she fell in love at the first sight of him. She tried her best not to get involved with him, thinking about her past broken relationships, but he never gave her the chance to give it a third thought. He was very persuasive, capitalizing on her weakness and vulnerability, and finally convincing her that he truly loved and cared for her.

Without much consideration Juliet believed him, she believed that he was what she had been searching for all her life. He had a good job, was caring and looked responsible, what more could she ask for?

She gave him her body, heart and soul, making herself available when ever he needed her and saw that he never complained about anything especially sex. It was a blissful relationship until she found out that she was three months pregnant for him. Juliet was ignorant of her situation until her mother detected a change in her behavior and appearance, it was confirmed that she was pregnant.

“I have always known that you are a useless girl!” her father shouted “do you think that I will allow you to disgrace me? Look, you better tell me who the father is so that you can go to his house and have his child for him.”

Before the face off with her parents Juliet had told Mark about the pregnancy, but he suddenly changed from his loving self into something strange. “I don’t understand what you are talking about, why are you pregnant?”

“What sort of question is that? I am pregnant with your baby”

“Pregnant with whose baby? You don’t know what you are talking about, you better go and look for the father of that baby before it is too late.”

“Mark, who else could be the father if not you, you are the only one I have been sleeping with for the past eleven months, what else are you talking about?”

“You can’t tie me down, go and check very well if you are pregnant and if it is true, then you have a big task of finding the father amongst your numerous boyfriends. You think I have not been hearing about your adventurous life. Well nemesis has caught up with you, and you can’t get an ordinary secondary school teacher like me.” He looked so mean, just like a devil. “Or you will just have to abort it.”
“You can’t do this to me, you know I have been very faithful to you, and you know that whatever they’ve told you about me are lies. Oh Mark please stop saying all these to me.” She sobbed.

“The best thing for you is to just go for an abortion, I know a good doctor who will do it for you. That is the only way I can help you.”
“Mark, you know people die doing abortion, I won’t do it. You have always said that you loved me, how could you suggest to me that we should go for an abortion, besides I will be committing murder if I do it.”

Since she railed against his suggestion, Mark became very cruel to her. He walked her out of his house asking her never to come around him again.

She had nothing to tell her father about the father of the unborn child, so he also threw her out of his house. In all the action that took place between Juliet and her father, her mother stood there and watched without doing anything to help her daughter.

The only help God could give her was to provide shelter for her through her friend and co-worker Amaka who lived at a low-cost area in Orji.

The taxi finally began to move slowly, some road safety agents were at the scene and have tried to get the traffic back to order.
She finally got to her destination and walked straight to Amaka’s one room apartment. She already had her friend’s house key with her, so she opened the door and walked in with her bag that contained her few cloths.

The compound was always busy and noisy, it wasn’t a comfortable place to stay, not for somebody in her condition, but all the same she appreciated the shelter, she will have to manage it. Once she dropped her bag and relaxed on the big sized bed that almost covered the room, she began to cry. It was a little bit comforting to cry, so she allowed herself to continue without controlling the free flow of tears that rushed down her eyes.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 2:43pm On Dec 25, 2012
At twenty eight, Emeka Dike was a very successful lawyer. All the credit of his success should be given to his father who had ensured that his son got the best education Imo State could ever give. His father had not only ensured that he got quality education, he had also always been there for his son, guarding him diligently as he grew up into a man, inculcating in him the habit of dedication and perseverance. “Never take things for granted, no matter how little they seem,” his father would always tell him. Emeka never neglected the word of his father, and he never regretted it. His success as a lawyer was attributed to the role his father played in his life; he was amongst the top five most successful lawyers in Owerri.

At the moment he was in a blissful state. His wife has just been delivered of a baby boy, thereby giving him a new status of fatherhood. He couldn’t believe it, it was all like a dream to him, to crown it all, his wife had gone through the labor room without any complication. He couldn’t take his eyes off the baby; it inherited his pointed nose and cute lips, but shared all other facial features with his wife.

He will have to send a massage home to his parents in Duruji village, but first, he will spend the day in the hospital with his wife and baby. Then he could rush down to the village very early tomorrow and get his parents informed.

Emeka was very tall and handsome; with broad shoulders that earned him the look of a model. He had very deep eyes and thick attractive lips. He could be very stubborn and determined but his father had taught him to channel these traits to something more productive, instead of being a nuisance in the society. But it was obvious that his success as a lawyer could also be attributed to his doggedness and fearlessness.

He had been very selective in choosing a wife for himself and finally got himself the most beautiful woman his eyes could behold. Now that she had given him a son, he made up his mind that he was going to be there for the both of them just like his father had been for him and his mother.

Emeka had tried all that he could to bring his father back to the city, but the old man had conveniently declined, claiming that he felt more at peace with the serene atmosphere that is always being experienced in the village. Emeka could not understand what the old man loved about that underdeveloped place. Duruji, even with all the development that is witnessed in neighboring towns, had still remained undeveloped. It lacked the presence of basic social amenity one needed to make life more interesting; just a few houses were built with cement and blocks. The access roads were nothing to write home about.

At last he allowed the old man and his mother to have their wish, but he made sure that he visited them at any little opportunity he got. Today he looked forward to seeing the delight that will come on his face and the dance of merriment his mother will exhibit when he tells them the good news.

The next day, before ten am, he had already arrived Duruji and was heading towards his father’s compound. It was a large and clean compound that contained the five bedroom apartment Ikenna Dike had built some years ago when he was quite younger. There was a big tree in the middle that provided shelter for the old man and his wife.

The whole village was very quiet at that hour, everybody seemed to be inside their houses or have gone to the farm. There were bushes every where with mud houses obviously out numbering the modern cement houses available. His father was among the first few people who built a house with cement and roofed it with iron sheets.

Dike had become a very successful business man in his early twenties, and he was one of the most successful men in Duruji village. But even in his wealth, he had never liked the pressure of the city, so as soon as his son became matured enough to have his own family Dike parked all his belongings and went back to settle in the land of his birth.

He loved the cool atmosphere and cool unpolluted air in the village. Off course staying in the village has its own disadvantages, but, then, that is the way life is. Filled with good and bad, the only thing one must do is to try to balance the two. Dike had only two children, his second child - a girl, was happily married in a neighboring village, but stayed in a distant city with her husband, therefore he and his wife didn’t see any reason why they should remain in the city.

As Emeka Dike walked towards the family house, he hoped that his parents would not delay him in this place, and that his mother would be chanced to follow him to Owerri to assist his wife in all the post-natal attention she needed.

Grace, his parent’s house maid saw him and shouted with excitement, “Brother Emeka,” she ran to him and collected his small bag after hugging him.

His mother who was in the room with her husband heard the shout from Grace and quickly rushed out of her room to meet her son, Dike followed behind her. Nkiru Dike was a big woman; she was dark, beautiful and youthful. Emeka got the trait of tallness from his mother.
Before he could say “mother”, she hugged him with so much enthusiasm. Dike slowly came out to welcome his beloved son. They all went inside together, bombarding him with different question concerning his general well being.

“How is Adaku my daughter? How is she copping with the pregnancy? Is she not supposed to have delivered by now?” Nkiru asked her son.

“Mother, you all should allow me to rest and put something in my stomach first. Don’t worry all your questions will be answered.” He cheerfully answered.

“Grace!” his mother called, “please get Emeka a cup of water” facing him she asked, “my son, what will you like me to prepare for you?”

“Relax mother, I will just like to take a cup of water for now, I will eat later.”

Dike continued to study his son; his only son. They’ve really been great friends and he had not been disappointed in him in anyway. Instead Emeka had made him proud. Right now he was very sure that the boy had good news for them, he could notice the excitement on his face and he couldn’t wait to hear the good news. Dike had actually expected his son to come home with a car.
“What are you doing about buying a new car for yourself? He asked.

“Oh! Papa, you must understand that I have been carried away by Adaku’s pregnancy, I promise you that when next I come home I will come in my own car.” He didn’t want to rush to disclose to the good news to them. After taking the glass of water from Grace, he slowly drank from it. They watched him in apprehension. There were a lot of questions to ask, especially by his mother. She was wondering if Adaku had given birth, of course that should be the reason why her son had come visiting, the pregnancy was supposed to be due by now.

He dropped the cup, there was silence. Then he looked up into their wondering faces and said “Mama, Papa, Adaku have just put to bed a bouncing baby boy! You now have a grand son.”

It was a blissful moment for the Dikes. A joyful noise filled the air. Everybody was in high spirit.

Neighbors heard the noise and they all came out to find out what was going on. There was merriment in the air as everybody danced with delight.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 2:45pm On Dec 25, 2012
Mark Agu was in the bathroom taking his shower; the cold water was chilling as it flowed down his body. He allowed himself to feel the moment of pleasure that the cool water gave him. He loved the effect of cold water on his body; it was like the sweet and gentle touch of a woman. Right now, he was trying all his best to get the thought of that stupid girl out of his mind. His effort was not good enough. The thought of her still persisted.

How on earth could she allow herself to get pregnant? He thought, he knew very well that it was his baby, but the last thing he could do was to allow himself to get tied up with that illiterate who never found her way to secondary school. She wanted to reap where she did not sow. He wasn’t even ready to be a father, not yet, he has not less that three years of fun ahead of him. The stupid girl didn’t even want to go for an abortion, what did she expect? That he will kneel down and beg? Or happily take her into his home and make her his wife?
But there was this feeling of guilt that lingered within him. Juliet had been a very good friend and a good lay also. She had always been there for him whenever he was in the mood; he will sure miss the fun she gave him. He wanted to start reminiscing on the sweet moment he had shared with her, her sensuous beautiful body, but he got hold of himself and shrugged the thought from his head. Well, there are other girls, he consoled himself. Right now he had about three other girl friends, he will have to attach himself with them and thinking about Juliet will not do him any good.

Mark was twenty seven years, tall, and good looking and intelligent. Ladies refer to him as Mr. Handsome and always makes it obvious that he has lovely full lips that brilliantly separate his strong jaws. His brown skin seems to scare away any kind of spot, with an athletic body even though he hardly exercises. His major weakness in life was his desire for women and sex. His over indulgence in sexual acts would cause him to stoop so low so that he can just feel the moment of ecstasy with any available female. Mark didn’t have a choice when it comes to women, they could be tall or short, old or young, fat or slim, educated or illiterate, beautiful or moderately beautiful. But one thing he was sure of was that when it comes to marriage, he will definitely be selective.

His intelligence had been his gateway to being a successful teacher in Government Secondary School Owerri, one of the best schools in Owerri. He was well respected among his fellow teachers and even the pupils. He was the dream man of most of the single female teachers in the school, but it was unfortunate that he could only date just one teacher. If Mark had had his way, he would date them all.

When he met Juliet, he was very joyful that he had found himself a cheap and beautiful lay; she almost took his attention from his other girl friends because of the quick and easy sex he always got from her. He had tried his best to keep the relationship secret and had been really successful except for this new development concerning her pregnant state. He hoped that she would be stupid enough not to come back to bother him.

What will his formal friends and admirers say when they discover that such a novice was carrying his baby? That will surely be a scandal. His reputation was at stake here.

He raised his head up to feel the cold water as it flowed down his body; he was really looking for something that would take his mind off Juliet. He must build an imaginary fence around him so that neither Juliet nor the thought of her would ever come to him again.

It was a cool evening and Mark was waiting for his friend, Andrew Akpan, to come around so that they could both go and check on their girlfriends. He came out naked from the bathroom, walked straight into his bedroom and stood in front of the mirror. The black bead hung on his neck; it was really getting tight and making him uncomfortable. He touched it like he had done over a million times in the past. What was it about this bead that made him felt like he had a special bound with it? Perhaps it was just about the sense of belonging it gave him. He looked at it for some time, not knowing what to think of it. It was given to him by his late father since he was three years old. Friends have always asked him why he always wore the bead and never for once took it off, but he would usually ramble on some funny stories and intelligently digress from such conversation. Why were they interested in an insignificant bead on his neck? People can’t just mind their business.

Clara his rich girlfriend was always being very punctilious about the bead, showing so much antipathy towards it. She always complained to him that it made him look devilish and cultic, but he would smile and think to himself; I guess we all have something devilish about us all.

He was about to put on his shirt when he heard a knock on his door. He rushed to it and opened it for his friend Andrew. They saluted informally, before Mark excused himself to get dressed up. Andrew was Mark’s best company and he thought it was funny how excited he got whenever his tall dark and attractive friend comes around. Mark and Andrew often argue among themselves who is taller. He is a little bit darker than Andrew and prefers to keep more hair on his head and face than Mark.

Andrew had a fiancé, but, like Mike, he always craved for the exciting times he had with his numerous girlfriends. He, like Mark, couldn’t imagine himself glued to just one woman for the rest of his life. He had allowed himself to get engaged to Chioma because of the pressure from his mum that he should get married and give her a grand son. He was his parent’s first child and at twenty nine they couldn’t understand why he resented marriage. His mates were already having at least two kids.

But he had decided that before he finally gets tied in the twine of marriage he was going to make sure he really enjoys himself as a bachelor and Mark’s company provides the fun, even at its peak. Mark was full of ideas, he knew the right move and the right place to go, and he was also fun to be with.

Mark and Andrew had known each other since they were in Alvan Ikoku College of education situated in the heart of Owerri. They were very compatible with each other; their personality and life style was almost the same thing, they had remained inseparable since then. After graduation, they both secured jobs a few months later, Andrew as a civil servant and Mark as a secondary school teacher, both still planning to further their education. They hardly kept secrets from each other. Andrew became the first and only person to know that Juliet was pregnant for Mark. He had been very much aware about the relationship, how excited Mark had been about having a girl who would give him sex anytime he wanted. And now that she was pregnant, he wasn’t comfortable with the fact that Mark had denied her and sent her out. The poor girl, he thought, what will become of her?

He made himself comfortable in Mark’s sitting room as he waited for his friend. Mark was more successful that most teachers Andrew knew. His three bedrooms flat was beautifully furnished, with his new set of electronics adding more color to the room.

Mark entered into the living room unnoticed and succeeded in startling his friend. Andrew pretended like he hadn’t been taken unawares by the sudden appearance of Mark and asked “what do you intend to do about Juliet. I don’t think you should leave her stranded just like that, she is carrying your baby you know?”

This was the last thing Mark wanted to talk about at the moment. The weight of guilt the conversation gave him was too much for him to carry. “I am not even sure that the child is mine, besides, you don’t expect me to put that local girl in my home, as my wife.” He shook his head, wanting to make his friend sound unbelievable. “What do you think people will say? Sometimes you surprise me Andrew. In fact I don’t even want o talk about it, I thought we’ve discussed this before, don’t you think that that topic is becoming boring?”

Andrew gave up; he wasn’t here to pick up quarrel with his friend. It wasn’t really his problem. He stood up and walked towards the door as he noticed that Mark was already ready to leave the house, he got outside first and waited for him to lock his door.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by Dstar4u(m): 3:45pm On Dec 25, 2012
I started reading your story this morning and I've read it up to the last post. You've got a nice story! So interesting and I also commend your "use of words", so simple that 7 yrs old person could comprehend. Kudos to you, I wish I could write like this.
Re: The Tenth Generation by IZUKWU(m): 4:22pm On Dec 25, 2012
Merry xmas frank. Thanks for the updates. More flow to your writeups.
Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 4:27pm On Dec 25, 2012
thank you very much @Dstar4u and merry christmass to u IZUKWU,

want to hang out with friends in celebration of xmas now, peharps i might come home drunk and wouldnt b able to update, thought i should do it now.
Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 4:31pm On Dec 25, 2012
Mark never liked going to his village of origin - Duruji. After the death of his father, Mark decided that there was nothing reasonable he was going to do in that village again. His mother had died when he was very young, he couldn’t even remember what she looked like. His two younger sisters had already gotten married long time ago, even before the death of his father. They never had the motherly care, but their father did his very best as a single parent.

Mark cannot say from whom he got his womanizing attitude, because, his father was clearly not a womanizer. Much of that could be blamed on the kind of friends he socialized himself with. Growing up in the city was very exciting for Mark. With his father in the village, Mark had so much freedom to do whatever he liked with nobody checking on him. His father had ensured that all his children schooled in the city, rather than in Duruji where the quality of education was very poor. But they would still have to come back home every holiday to their father. With time he was able to differentiate between the city and the village, and promised himself that he would never for anything settle in Duruji like his father. The death of his father when he was twenty one years was a reasonable excuse for him not to even go visiting his village any more.

He loathed Duruji and its uncivilized environment. He was always overwhelmed by uncomfortable creepy feelings once he was there. The strange quiet environment, the constant loud squeaking sounds of insects, and the strange looks of the very old men and women that are there. As a matter of fact they always reminded him of witches and wizards that fly at night and suck blood, but come out in the day time in the disguise of old men and women.

Once he heard a very strange story about his fore fathers, and if the story was true, then he really can’t imagine himself as being a part of their linage. Something about a great god of destruction, and how one of his fathers had created a dynasty through the help of this god. It was a very dreadful old story, and Mark doubted the authenticity of the story.

How could someone kill his brother for the sake of land and trees? To him it wasn’t worth it, not even reasonable.

But somehow he could see the manifestation of the legend in Duruji even in this modern time.

There was evidently a strong discrimination between his family and another who are believed to come from the same linage. Legend has it that the event that described the activities of the great god could be the reason for this discrimination.

Surprisingly, nobody could explain what happened to the great god of destruction, and this was one of the reasons why Mark doubted the story. How and why did it stop existing? Where did it go to? How comes there was even no trace of its existence?

But the question that kept hunting Mark was; how come the origin of this mind triggering tale that described the greed, ruthlessness and quest for power that controlled the lives of his fathers?

Well, whatever really happened, he thanked God that such things didn’t exist any more, besides, he had already found himself at home in Owerri, nothing was going to take him to Duruji, not even the whole women in the world.

He was born to enjoy city life, and not settle in the rural area like his father. Not to be surrounded by people whose pattern of thinking reflects only the ancient times, when the world out there was fast moving ahead.

To him the big trees that overpopulated the village reminded him of monster and ogres waiting to embrace him when it got dark. Even in his unbelief, Mark had this strong feeling that somehow the ancient god that had become a great legend for Duruji, was still in the air, but inactive, waiting to be unleashed by some forces he couldn’t describe.

He won’t allow that to bother him for he had found solace in the more exciting environment of Owerri. Why should it bother him? When he has got his job, his girls and his future to worry about?

This night Clara would be coming over to his place to spend the night with him. He looked forward to the ecstatic moment when he will be exploring her beautiful body.

Among all his present girlfriends, Clara was the most presentable. She was also the richest and the most educated. For this he had already decided that she will be the one he will take to the altar whenever he makes up his mind to get married, he wasn’t afraid of losing her; he was sure of her love for him. But he wasn’t ready to get married yet and so avoids sending her marriage signals and giving her any impression that he had harbored such thought in his mind.

He waited impatiently for her, partly because of the sexual pleasure that he derives from her and partly because of the company she will provide. Andrew had just left him for his home and he was already beginning to feel lonely. Being alone makes him wonder about a lot of things like marriage, Juliet’s pregnancy and his dead parents. He never liked anything that would make him uncomfortable.
Mark hated discomfort.

He felt a tidal wave of relief run through him when he finally heard her knock on his door. Without waiting for him to ask her in, she opened the door and walked in majestically, making him want to grab her and do all sort of things to her on that spot.
Clara was twenty four years old, average in height with a strong air of wealth around her. Her full oval face signifies she is well fed and her soft brown skin, perfect curves with full sexy legs was everything a man could desire.

“You kept me waiting” he said, his voice displaying the fact the he had been so eager to see her.

“You know how it is with the traffic these days in Owerri.” She answered, looking at him and hoping he was not hurt.

She loved him.

He was naked from his waist up, except for the strange black bead that hung on his neck like a dog’s chain. She had to go through so much effort to restrain herself from talking about it. She didn’t know why she even allowed it to bother her anyway, not that the strange object has any significant effect on his behavior. As far as she was concerned he was perfectly alright; since he had decided to put it on, no matter her opinion, why not let him be.

“Come to me,” he said as he stretched out his hand towards her. She walked closer to him and allowed herself to be dragged by him to the bed. He wrapped his hands around her and said “I miss you so much,” enjoying the great feel of her beautiful body.

“Mmmm, I miss you more than you can imagine” she said in a sexy voice. “I love you so much Mark.” She allowed herself to be cuddled by him.
At this same moment, Juliet was on her bed, holding her pillow, and was crying while she reminisced on the wonderful time she had shared with Mark.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 4:34pm On Dec 25, 2012
CHAPTER SEVEN

Amaka had been trying her best to cheer Juliet up, but it seemed her effort was not good enough. Juliet had refused to go to work since she came to put up with her. She was no longer her old self; she now always wears very sad and distressed look, transforming completely from the Juliet she used to know to a different person. It was really funny and surprising how people change at the sudden emergence of crisis.

Few weeks ago she had been a very jovial and outgoing girl, always talking about her darling Mark. She had felt that Mark was God sent for her; he was every thing she had ever hoped for in a man. But Amaka had never seen Mark from that angle. Not that there was any reason for her to feel that Mark wasn’t the right person for her friend, but she had always seen men as chameleons, especially when everything about them seemed to be perfect. Instinct had always told her that Mark was a lion in sheep clothing. But she had never thought it a nice idea to convey her feelings to Juliet, since she had no justification for such feeling.

Now she had actually been proven right, but how could she have known that her suspicion was going to be right after all? She could have warned her friend to be careful of how she was giving her heart to him. Poor girl, she had actually lost in this game of love. Juliet was too innocent to go through such cruelty, all she did was to give her heart to the man she loved and now here she lays suffering for it.

How could somebody be so depraved? Men…, one minute they are perfect, the next minute they are so mean and callous. How could somebody be so heartless to threat such a harmless girl this way? She felt so much pity for her friend and was putting so much effort to help her any way she could. She therefore did not relent in trying to cheer her up.

“Juliet you must understand that there is nothing you can do about your situation except being strong for your sake and for the sake of your baby. You just have to get hold of yourself and move on with your life.”

Juliet was sitting on the bed with her right hand supporting her jaw from her laps, looking so gloomy. “I just wonder what will become of me and my baby. May be I should have gone for the abortion.”

“Talking like that will not help you in any way; abortion is out of the question. It’s too risky because u could lose your life, besides, that is already too late.”

“Where do I get the money to take care of myself before and after the child is born, pay for the hospital bills and survive? You can’t imagine what I feel inside. Am not even talking about the heart break I feel inside, Amaka, everything is horrifying. I wish I could just die at this moment, I don’t think I will be able to stand this hell I am going through” she suddenly began to cry.

Amaka quickly sat besides her putting her around Juliet’s shoulder, not knowing what else she could say to console her. She was quite aware of the fact that the situation was worse than anyone could imagine. Juliet cried painfully on her shoulders making her the more confused of how she could console the poor girl. She just sat there with her and allowed her to cry wishing there was something she could do to help. She didn’t even want to allow herself to think about how the future will be if Juliet’s condition does not change for the better. If Juliet does not get someone to take care of her, how will they able to handle the pre-natal and anti-natal upkeep? One thing she was sure of was that she will never stop being there for her friend; she will not be able to throw her out of the house no matter how bad the situation gets.

Amaka felt it was her responsibility to bring her friend out of her bad mood. There was no need feeling bad when it won’t help change the situation of things at the moment. Juliet had always been her very good friend, who had always been kind and harmless. All she always wanted was someone who could give her the love she never got from her parents.

Somehow Amaka felt guilty that she was not actually providing sufficient help for Juliet the way she should. Things were getting worst instead of getting better all because of her inability to handle the situation.

Juliet was now five months pregnant; in the next four months she should be having the baby, but her present condition was very scary. She seldom eats her food, which was the reason she looked so thin and malnourished. Her health condition was not impressive at all. For someone who was expecting to give birth in the next four months, her situation was very bad and it seems nothing could be done about it.

There was not even enough money for anti-natal care. Right now the only thing that could save the situation was a miracle from God right from heaven.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 4:37pm On Dec 25, 2012
Dike was waiting for his son to come back home. Emeka had gone to officially inform the elders of Duruji that his wife had just been delivered of a bouncing baby boy. Dike had advised him to do it, for it was very significant in their culture that all matter concerning any citizen must be made known to the elders at the king’s palace. This act was regarded as a sign of respect for the elders and rulers.
In doing this, the individual concerned would bring along with him a jar of palm wine, seven cola nuts and different food stuffs of his choice. Only male members of Duruji are allowed to make this call. In situation where by one has bad news like the announcement of death to the elders, there was no need for the provision of food stuffs. Most times, elders are usually summoned for reasons concerning news of death, marriage, and proposal to build a house, child birth, naming ceremony and thanks giving of any sort.

Dike did not go along with his son to break the news to the elder because he had to go his in-laws to inform them, and upon his return home, he was very tired to join his son, so he decided to rest.

The news about the arrival of his grand son had been so thrilling to him and it made him feel real proud of his growing family. He couldn’t wait to see the infant, carry him high up in the sky and looking at him directly in the eyes.

He sat down in his sitting room and relaxed himself after taking a cup of cool water from his wife. Then he allowed himself to savor his life achievements. It gave him a strong feeling of integrity and pride. Then he projected into the future, he saw himself sitting under a large tree, answering childhood question from his grand son.

Everything around him was going on perfectly except for one very sensitive issue. A few years ago, a group of well respected men in Duruji approached Dike in his home and unveiled to him a secret he had never in any way imagined could be possible. The men told him that they belonged to the secret group known as the saviours and would like to recruit him for a number of important reasons.

“I remember being told about the horrible activities of Alaogbaga by my father, but that was what happened in the past. How could it be possible that he could be born? It really does not make sense I must confess.” He had replied in disbelieve.

“We all felt the same way when we heard the true story of the end of the reign of the god,” Mazi Amadi, the leader of the group said. “But the sign of the covenant is there for you to see. We all grew up seeing the black bead on Agu’s neck even before he gave it to his son Mark. We didn’t understand what the bead meant until we were recruited. It is really important that you believe us Dike. The time is almost at hand and we need you especially because you are a descendant of Chima.”

“What has being a descendant of Chima got to do with your recruiting me?” Dike had inquired.

“You see, the Saviours have continued to monitor events even before we were recruited. By itself, the fact continued to unveil right before us. Being a descendant of Chima implies that you belong to the family line whose blood was used for the covenant. This makes you worthy of destroying the bead without being hurt when the time comes. We know that your son lives in Owerri, the same city were Mark, the bead bearer recides. You can use him to monitor Mark since he is far away from us.”

“My son? Are you people also trying to bring my son into this?” Dike asked in discomfort.

“This a very serious issue Dike, and we will do whatever we can to save the world. We swore an oath to this. You and your son are our only hope because Mark has refused to be part of Duruji since he lost his father years ago. He does not visit, neither does his communicate with his kinsmen, but despite all that we must stop him from giving that bead to his first son and destroy it for the good of the world and our children.”

“How could you believe this? How are you sure that Mark is going to have a son? You don’t even know anything about him.”

Mazi Amadi smiled and said “Mark will surely have a son, the bead will ensure that. The birth of the child must come to pass, nothing can stop that. It is our duty to stop him from existing.”

Dike remained silent in disbelieve, they could all see that he wasn’t really interested in joining them because he doubted their story.
“You must stop doubting us Dike, bear in mind that you have nothing to lose if our story is false, but you have everything to lose of the story is real and you don’t help us.” Another member injected.

After much persuasion, Dike allowed himself to be recruited. He found out that the saviours were a very organized and meticulous people. They had already mapped out a well planned strategy on how to handle Mark should Dike agree to join them. The members were committed and believe so much in their cause. After a period of time having them around him, he started to believe them. They had every detail of what happened between Chika and the god of destruction. He heard the story like he never heard it before; it was so real and clear. Their version made so much sense and he began to fear for the future should nothing be done about the story.

Mark and his son Emeka were age mates and even thought they weren’t really great friends he knew they communicated with each other once in a while over there at Owerri. Through Emeka, he found out that Mark wasn’t yet ready to get married. With this information and update, the Saviours patiently waited and continued to plan.

The major problem was getting his son recruited. He didn’t know how he could convince Emeka to believe the story and join him in the quest to save the world and despite all pressures from the Saviours, he still found himself hesitating and procrastinating. They were running out of time. The only good news was Mark’s antipathy towards marriage.

He had noticed that the frequency of Emeka’s communication with Mark was becoming less frequent and would be worst with the birth of his son. The fatherhood business would surly distract him from certain unimportant involvements. Therefore if Emeka’s is not revealed the fact and what is at stake, he wouldn’t understand why is was important that he keeps the communication between him and Mark alive.

Now was the right time to recruit Emeka into the Saviours.

The best thing was to wait for the return of his son. Today, he was going to let the cat out of the bag. Dike hoped that Emeka would make things easy for him by not doubting the story and joining them.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 4:41pm On Dec 25, 2012
Emeka got back home very late that evening. The meeting with the elders had been very satisfactory. He had given them their rights and they had in turn given him and his family their blessings. He had left them feeling very contented with the day’s event.

The distance from the king’s palace to his father’s home wasn’t much so he trekked home, besides the only means of transportation in the village, which was motorcycle, was not available for him to board. The village was so lonely at that time of the year; most of the young men had gone to the cities in search of greener pastures. But during any celebration period like Christmas most of them would endeavor to come home to show off what they have achieved throughout the year and also see their loved ones.

So he went straight home knowing that there was no need to check on some of his age mates.

On his way home, he allowed his mind to reflect on the completely different life style in Owerri when compared with what was obtainable here in the village. Owerri was filled with so much hustling and bustling but this cool atmosphere was the reason why his parents preferred to settle here.

Well, that was for his parents, as for him, he didn’t think he would ever choose to settle in Duruji. He preferred the life in the city. His mission here was over for now; he couldn’t wait to get back to his wife and lovely baby.

He would be going back the next morning with his mother to the city. She will help in taking care of his wife while she recovers from the stress she had undergone through out the whole period of pregnancy.

As he got home, he met his father sitting in front of the house under the big tree that provided shelter for the compound.

“Ah, papa. Good evening.” He greeted. The air under the tree was cool. There was an empty chair near his father. Emeka guessed that his mother had been sitting with his father before his arrival. He felt like sleeping immediately he sat on the empty chair, the air was very soothing to his skin. “Where is mama?” He asked looking towards the house.

“Welcome my son. Your mother had just gone inside the house to prepare something for the evening.” Dike answered while he sat up. “How was the meeting with the elders?” He had already made up his mind that he was going to tell the extraordinary story to his son. He wondered how the boy was going to take it.

“It went well papa, all the elders were pleased, they were glad to give me the blessings I deserved. They thought that you would have been with me, but I made them understand that you had gone to my maternal home to give them the news. By the way, how are they fairing over there?”

“They are alright. They really wanted to see you, but I explained to them that you have to go back to your wife tomorrow, therefore you had to finish up all engagement today, they really understood, and sent their greetings also.”

“Thank you very much papa.” He relaxed his back on the chair and stretched his two hands, while he made a tiresome sound.

Dike drew his chair closer to his son. And Emeka immediately sensed that there was something serious his father wanted to tell him.
“Emeka, there is something important I want to tell you.”

“I hope all is well papa?”

“Yes… I guess so”

“Okay,” he looked towards the house, “let me say hi to mama first so that she won’t get mad at me.”

“Yes, please do that.”

Emeka quickly stood up and walked into the house. He called unto his mother before he got into the building. Nkiru left what she was doing in the kitchen and rushed out to greet her son. There was a brief exchange of greeting, and Emeka asked that he should be allowed to go back to his father. “There is something papa wants to talk to me about.”

“That is okay my son; your food will soon be ready.”

“Alright mama, please hurry, I am hungry.” He went back to meet his father under the big tree.

“Is she not going to bring you your food? Dike asked his son looking very concerned.

“She will soon come up with it. What is it you want to talk to me about papa?”

“Emeka, you must listen very carefully.” He cleared his throat before he continued. “You know Mark Agu?”

“Yes papa, and I do remember that you have always been asking me about him whenever I visit home?”

“Yes I do and that is the reason why I want to speak with you. Can you remember the black bead he had always worn around his neck?”
“Yes dad, what about the bead?” Emeka asked suspiciously.”

“Well, there are serious secrets going on about that bead and its about time I let you know cause you are going to play important role to it all,” he told Emeka all about the secret group in Duruji who call themselves the Saviours, he told him all about great old Chika and his business with the god, the black bead and the covenant. “We are the descendants of Chima and that makes us worthy of destroying it”
“Emeka was silent for a while, he didn’t know what to make out of the story, “this sounds ridiculous dad, I honestly find it all hard to believe. Can this be true?”

“Its all true son, I found it ridiculous at first but after I joined the group, I saw that they knew what they were doing, they are all committed to one goal – to make sure the bead, which you know exists, is destroyed.”

“But is sounds more like a fairy tale dad… I don’t know…”

Well, it is not a fairy tale. A covenant was had years ago and the time has almost come for it all to come to pass.” Dike said.

Emeka remained thoughtful.

“We have all seen cases where children are born and they are said to be possessed with evil spirits, well, this one sounds like its going to be something worse, and we can stop it before it gets beyond our control.” Dike injected.

“So you have always belonged to this group? Why didn’t you let me know all these while?” Emeka asked.

“I had to join them son, especially when I found out that they knew what they where talking about. And you should also understand that the secrecy of this group is what makes them prevail. I also had to make sure that the time was right before I let you in. We are trying to be careful, we want to make sure that the bead is destroyed at the right time and by the right persons so as to avoid avoidable calamity. That’s why telling you now seems very right to me.” Dike carefully replied.

“What do you want me to do now papa?”

“I want you to meet other members of this group, they already have a laid out plan of what you should.” Dike was glad that his son wasn’t making it as difficult as he thought it would be.

“I have always thought that there was something strange about this village, but I never knew that our family was the main force behind it all” Emeka said thoughtfully.

Nkiru came out of the house and walked towards them.

“Are you are ready to have your food?” she asked pretending not to notice the slight tension in the air. She would inquire about that latter. Right now she was more concerned with giving meal to her son and husband.

“Yes mama, I will like to eat my food right away. What about you papa, are you not hungry? Maybe mama should put our food together.”

“Alright you can bring our food together. We will eat outside here; the air here is very cool.”

Later, after their meal, Dike summoned the Saviour and introduced them to his son.

Mazi Amadi spoke up after the brief introduction. “First, I want to thank you for not thinking we are insane. We know that this story that guides our cause sounds ridiculous but we assure you that the faith of the world at large lies in our hands as well as yours also. That is why we need you to fully be part of us, understand us and make sure no mistake will be made.”

In no time, Emeka got recruited by swearing an oath to keep their activities a secret and by promising to do whatever was asked of him. He left the group with promises to keep an eye on Mark and keep them informed of every development that had to do with him.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by larride(m): 7:44pm On Dec 25, 2012
Wow.....don't stop please
Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 9:25am On Dec 26, 2012
CHAPTER EIGHT

At exactly 4:35pm, Stella Johnson opened the door to her apartment walked in and she fell heavily on the long arm chair in her living room. She had had another hectic day with the children at school. Who said teaching was an easy job? Spending the whole day trying to put up with those noisy kids was becoming more stressful than she taught she could handle. The children were becoming more and more impossible each day, like they were getting deaf by the day; more stubborn than she could handle.

As a teacher in Government Secondary School, Owerri, Stella hardly has enough time for herself. She was always too busy marking scripts and going through the pupil’s assignments and making up lesson notes. She taught the junior classes and they gave her much headache but she was hoping that through her hard work she would get promoted into teaching senior classes by the end of the year.

Most times she would console herself with the fact that her salary was reasonable, at least reasonable enough to keep her comfortable and take care of her basic needs.

She finally found a little energy within her and stood up; she walked into her room and prepared herself for a shower.

She stripped herself naked and studied her image on the large mirror that stood on her dressing table. Not bad, she thought to herself referring to her image. At least she was not loosing her shape to the stress that she was going through at work.

At twenty five, Stella was concerned for her celibate state. She had a lot of admirers but wasn’t interested in any of them. She was in love with her one and only boyfriend, Mark. She believed that her long smooth hair, pretty face and her beautiful figure was enough to keep her man stuck to her forever. Stella had the perfect height for a lady, beautiful enough to attract attention anywhere she went to.

She became aware of Mark strong presence right from the first week she secured a job at the School. She had been immediately captivated by his masculine charms and had immediately fallen head over heels in love with him. Like an angel he had been there for her, guiding her through little difficulties that she encountered while accustoming herself with the system of the institution.

She was further carried away by his kind gestures, so that by the time she eventually became part of the system, he had become her only Romeo. There were other qualities about him that made her love for him stuck- his intelligence and popularity- he was admired by virtually every staff in the school
The relationship became stronger by each passing day and she began to fantasies about being Miss Agu one day. Her fantasies got stuck into her head and she started seeing it as something that must come to a reality. She couldn’t imagine life without Mark. He was her all and all. Other men repulsed her; they couldn’t be compared to her one and only Mark.

The rumor of Mark’s illicit activities with women did not pass Stella by. She heard it all, but she chose not to let it affect her feelings for him. To her, he could do whatever he wanted as long as he still cherished her the way he did. She believed that it was natural for men to flirt once in their life but sooner or later they get stuck with the right woman for them. She believed she was the right woman for him.
Her major problem was time.

Time was not on her side, especially with her mother’s constant pressure. Her mother never gave her breathing space whenever she saw her. As a result of that, Stella avoided her in every way she could. To her mother, there were many eligible bachelors in Owerri. If her man was not serious for marriage then she should find herself another man. But it was so sad that her mother couldn’t understand. How could she understand that her daughter can’t be with any other man but her one and only Mark?

There were plenty reasons why her mother always pressured her to get married. One of them was the fact that her younger sister, Kelechi had already found herself a husband.

“I thought that the fact your little sister was married, will make you hasten your pace in this marriage issue?” her mother would ask her. Mrs. Grace Johnson was a thick woman who likes to be in control; even her husband, Gregory recognizes this fact and let her be. From her, Stella and her little sister inherited her physical beauty but both girls inherited their gentle nature from their father.

“Mummy, you should know that marriage does not wok that way. It is something that one has to take her time before…”

“Don’t give me that lecture about marriage. Are you not seeing your mates? Take what time?” she would go on and on, never allowing Stella to explain the situation to her.

Stella therefore had no choice but to make sure that their meeting was only on occasional basis.

The fact was that her mother reminded her of the truth and in this situation the truth was very, very bitter. But it had already been resolved within her that she would either marry Mark or nobody else.

Sadly again, Mark doesn’t even discuss marriage issues with her. He seemed not to have the slightest interest in the institution called marriage. She believed the problem was as a result of his friendship with Andrew, his womanizing friend. Stella so much disliked Andrew and he knew it. With the both of them together, marriage was a distant issue.

She came out of the bathroom and got herself dressed up in a green silk trouser that stuck to her thighs, and a white shirt designed with black spots.
Mark should be here any moment from now, they had already decided that the evening will be spent together, that was why she had hurried home to get herself ready. He had promised to give her a swell time this evening. That was another reason why she loved him, he was full of surprises, making himself difficult to predict.

She impatiently looked up at the large wall clock on her wall, just above the large mirror Twenty minutes past six; he had promised that he would be at her house by six pm. She decided to keep herself busy by marking some test scripts.

Mark entered her home at 6:55 pm looking so cheerful and humorous. The brilliant teacher sure loved enjoying himself. He was wearing a tight sky blue jeans and dark blue polo on it was written “FEEL ME!!” He looked like a movie actor.

“Where is my darling Stella, are you ready to jive? He called out humorously. “I want to make this a night you will never forget!”

She hurried into the living room to meet him. She gave him a full hug letting it linger for more seconds than usual. Unfortunately Mark didn’t come around as often as she wanted him to; he was always coming up with reasonable excuses on how the work load was too much for him. She somehow believed him since her work load was much also?

“What kept you so long, you are almost an hour late?” she asked, mimicking a baby’s voice. She studied his handsome face as she spoke. The neck of his polo was wide enough and revealed the black bead on his neck. He never misses wearing it. What was it about this black and ugly bead that made him so attached to it like this? She thought. She didn’t like it. Why would a young man like him constantly put on such an ancient and diabolic looking object on his neck? It belonged to the museum and not his neck.

Mark was not really in the mood to make excuses. The only thing he looked forward to was the moment he would be holding her and making sweet love to her.

In his scale of preference, she was his second best. She was quite attractive, with full sumptuous skin and lips. But unfortunately he had already been entangled in Clara’s web. Clara was rich, influential, and very pretty also, most men would give anything to have her.

Clara had just left town. She had wasted his time, at the park where he was seeing her off and that was the reason why he had come late.

“It wasn’t easy for me to do away with Andrew. He wanted me to hang around him all evening; the only way I could get rid of him was to accept taking a bottle of bear with him?”

At the mention of Andrew’s name, Stella shrunk away from him. The mention of his name could spoil her evening. Stella was glad that Mark was able to get rid of him. Stella knew that Andrew was capable of making Mark not come to her home that evening. The fact that Mark could come despite his presence in his house was a good development. At least Mark was beginning to give her special preference. She was winning.

Andrew on the other hand had been trying to talk Mark out of the relationship, but Mark felt that he needed a good reason to do that.

He needed time.

“Where will you like to have your dinner” he asked, knowing that nothing more will be discussed on the previous issue, since Andrews name had been mentioned. “I really want to give you a memorable night.”

“Mmmm…I will tell you the place, just give me a little time, let me put on my make up, I will be with you in a minute” she hurried into her living room, feeling like she had just won a jackpot.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 9:28am On Dec 26, 2012
Juliet was on the cheap brown arm chair in Amaka’s living room, it was a neat living room with small colored television and a small C.D set as the only electronics in the room. Thirty minutes ago the power authority had cut of the supply of electricity to the whole street, without offering any explanation. Orji inhabitants were already used to the constant seizure of electricity; nobody ever bothered to ask questions.

The house was hot and boring. Juliet needed somebody to talk to. She couldn’t wait for Amaka to come home. Amaka’s presence was the only reasonable thing in her life for now. She had been very nice to her, always making herself available and providing her with soothing words that had helped in calming her a little in the past weeks.

Juliet was in the eight month of her pregnancy. Her stomach had so enlarged that Amaka and the neighbors often wonder it she wasn’t going to give birth to twins.

The bad news was that Juliet was not looking healthy at all. She looked so thin, causing her large stomach to be disproportionate with her entire body. She was always complaining that her baby was too heavy for her to carry, and that she felt that the baby was feeding on her blood rather than receiving nutrient from her through the umbilical cord.

Amaka had done all she could to ensure that she goes for her anti-natal checkup at least once a month. The doctor had asked her to take out enough time and relax and to avoid so much thinking since her blood pressure was running too high for a pregnant woman. He didn’t know what to make out of her two major complains but had attributed it to too much thinking and poor feeding.

Deep down he knew something was wrong, something strange.

It was a very abnormal pregnancy. He hoped that she will be aright.

Amaka had also tried to provide her with enough fruits, based on the doctor advice, but Juliet never seemed to get better.

The whole stress had not been easy for Amaka to handle, she had insisted that they should contact either her father or Mark but Juliet had declined, saying that she would rather die than having those two have knowledge of her condition. Amaka knew that her friend was going through a psychological trauma but choose not to go against her wish.

Amaka was very much concerned about her friend’s condition, she was afraid that if nothing was done things might not really go well in the labor room. Juliet was looking too sickly despite all her efforts. She was becoming more and more apprehensive of the whole situation wondering if she had taking the right decision by accepting her into her home in the first place. Yet she had tried her very best not to show her fears, instead she continued to be very supportive.

Juliet was very distressed; she never meant to make her friend go through this much stress. But what would she do? Nobody else would accept her. She knew that her father wouldn’t accept her, and even if he did, he will make her regret every morning she wakes up and see the sun. Mark on the other hand she really didn’t want to see again. She won’t be able to go through the heartbreak that the sight of him will cause her. She was already going through enough just at the sound of his name.

But somehow the whole event was beginning to harden her heart. She was getting toughened by the day. It had caused her to make up her mind to go through the stress without either of them. At least, Amaka’s helping hand was enough. She looked forward to having her baby and giving it all the love she never had.

Juliet was not aware of the presence of Amaka in the room. She suddenly felt a faint sensation of someone’s starring at her. She immediately looked up.
“Amaka” she called, looking both surprised and a little shaken as she adjusted herself by sitting up. “When did you enter and how come I didn’t notice the door open?”

“You know you shouldn’t be thinking too much. It is all for your health. I have been here for the past thirty seconds watching you. I never knew you were into the act of soul traveling, because your soul actually traveled from my observation here.” While she spoke she threw her hand bag on an empty seat near Juliet, quickly removed her shoes and sat heavily on another empty seat. She felt hot; she began to fan herself with her handkerchief, “Is there no power?”

“No, the power authorities have done what they know best. It has been so for the past forty minutes or so. How was your day?

“Normal and nothing really serious, how is our baby?” she returned the question as she starred at her friend.

“It gets heavy every passing day, I feel like I am carrying a stone. Is this how all pregnant women feel?”

I don’t know, I have never been pregnant, but don’t worry it is just only a matter of days.”

“I can’t wait” Juliet answered starring at the multicolored carpet that gave the room a feminine look. There is some food in the kitchen; you can help yourself if you are hungry.” Juliet raised her head to stare at her friend. She was really getting worried with the feeling that her presence in the house was beginning to inconvenience her friend even though she wasn’t complaining.

“Oh, no, I am not hungry, this guy I told you about that have been asking me out bought me lunch. Right now I am filled to the brim. You remember him?
Jonah.”

“Yea”

Suddenly Amaka changed the subject. “Juliet, I have been thinking about what will happen to you and the baby when it finally arrives.”

“How do you mean?”

“Look, you have nothing, not even money and you know that you can’t stay here forever. I think the best thing that you should do is to contact your parents immediately the child is born, I don’t believe that your mother will reject you, not with the new infant. You know people have soft spot for babies.”

“I understand what you are saying Amaka, but left to me I’d rather die with my child than contact my parents. But, that is okay; we will let them know when the child is born. At least by then I will recover enough to go to work and earn little money.”

To Amaka, that was a better bargain. She had been wondering how she was going to cope with Juliet and the baby. She didn’t want to sound rude to her friend, but she thanked God that Juliet would at least have a better attention when the child is born.

“Oh, Amaka I have gone through a lot with this baby, I want to see it and hold it. I want to look into its eyes and take good care of it. I will love it with all my life. There was a note of excitement in her voice.

Amaka was deeply touched; she starred at her friend as if she was seeing her for the first time, not knowing what to say. She hopped that everything would work out the way Juliet wished.

“It is going to be alright, you are going to look into the eyes of your baby and tell it all you want.” She stood up and walked towards the room. “I want to go and have my bath, mean while I don’t like the idea of you sitting down there and just thinking and wishing. Immediately I am through with having my bath, we will settle down for a game of Ludo. Tighten your seat belt and watch as I am going to teach you the lesson of your life.”
“Alright hurry up I am waiting” Juliet loved the exciting atmosphere Amaka creates in the house whenever she comes home.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 9:30am On Dec 26, 2012
Stella was sitting on the longest arm chair in her sitting room. She was fond of stretching her legs to the other end of the seat whenever she was sitting on it. It allowed her to relax, while she watches television programs. It was her favorite seat.

It was a Saturday morning and she had just finished having her breakfast. Saturdays was the only day of the week that she finds time to relax her nerves, so she makes sure that she gives herself the best treat she could get.

Although there was an interesting program being viewed on the television, Stella wasn’t really interested. Instead, She was lost in thought, trying to figure out how she was going to spend the day. She was definitely going to give herself a good time.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. She wasn’t excepting anybody but she quickly hurried to open the door, and was faced with her cousin Jude. He was much younger than Stella and lived at Amakohia in Owerri, much closer to where her parents stayed. At first, Stella was apprehensive that he had come with a bad news, because it wasn’t usual for him to visit at such an early hour of the morning. But the look on his face suggested that in fact something good had happened.

He looked excited.

So Stella warmly welcomed him and offered him a seat while she also sat by his side. “Jude, you really look good. I don’t think you are going through so much stress at school. How is your study?”

Jude smiled feeling good about the comment, lately everybody seemed to notice and compliment on his good physical condition. “I am trying my best sister, I am just managing it, and by next week we will be having our final exams.”

“That is good; I hope you have really studied hard for it?”

“Yes Sister”

“What of Mummy and Daddy, how are they faring?” she further inquired.

“Not much problem. Mummy is okay, but daddy’s blood pressure had not been encouraging lately.” He briefly replied.

It is all mum’s’ fault, she thought. She will never allow the old man to have rest of mind, always looking for whom to blame for every thing that happens.

“I was even planning on visiting them one of these days but I have not really been chanced, so much pressure from my work place.” She explained. “I know there must be something serious and important that brought here so early like this. Spill it, I am all ears.” She was eager to know the news that he had for her.

“Sister Kelechi had just been delivered of a baby girl,” he said it in a slow but excited way.

“Thank God!” That is great!” She jumped up from her seat like she was just told that she had won a million naira. “How is she and her baby doing?”

“The are alright; perfectly in good health”

Stella felt like dancing, she was very happy. “Was it this morning that she had the baby?”

“Yes, Mummy sent for me early this morning, she said the sister Kelechi came out of the labor room around 1 am this morning.”

“Which hospital are they?”

“They are at Federal Medical Center. Mummy, Daddy and Uncle Daniel are all there, you are the only one absent.”

“Alright, please wait for me. Let me go and freshen up so that we can go there together. You can have some juice from the fridge, I will be right back.” She hurried to the bathroom to have her bath. This was very good news coming to her this morning. The only bad side of it all, she thought, was that it was going to be enough reason for her mother to remind her that she was still single.

Stella really loved her little sister. They were the only girls out of the five children in the family. Their eldest brother, Bob, was a successful engineer; he was already married with two kids. The second male, Justine, was also an elder to Stella, a business man who was fond of complaining about how bad business was. Stella was the third child and the direct elder to Kelechi, and they were very close to each other. Their last born, a boy was studying economics in Abia State University. As the first child, Bob saw it as his responsibility to always ensure that the families’ whole financial problem was taken care of, since their father had already retired and not earning much.

They were a very loving and peaceful family.

In a very short while Stella was dressed up. She was very eager to get to the hospital; she couldn’t wait to behold her little niece. She was filled with delight, but also hoped that her mother who would definitely still be at the hospital, would not pester her and embarrass her with the same old complaints right there at the hospital.

She came out of her bedroom looking very beautiful in a sharp red gown. “Alright Jude, I am ready, lets go.” As they walked towards the exit door, she asked “Have you seen the little honey?”

“Yes I have”

“Who does she look like, her mother or her father? I know she will definitely look like her mother, yes she will take her mother’s beautiful looks”
Jude did not reply the question, he could not reply, Stella was so excited to even listen to his own opinion about how the baby looked.
She locked her door and said to him, “Let’s go.”

2 Likes

Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 9:34am On Dec 26, 2012
Federal medical Center was located at Amakohia in Owerri. It was a government hospital with a very high standard, and highly qualified doctors.
As Stella and Jude walked into the hospital environment, Stella noticed a different scene altogether. It was filled with busy nurses, patients and their caretakers. Every patient seemed to be needing attention, the nurses were looking and acting frustrated as a result of being called here and there. There was also different facial expression written on the numerous faces in the hospital; some faces looked very sad, some looked happy while some looked indifferent. Stella belonged to the group that looked happy.

It was surprising how one could be oblivious of the large amount of sick people in the hospital as a result the so much hustling outside this environment.

Stella’s Mum was holding the baby girl in her arms looking at her with so much delight written all over her face. The baby was sure a pretty little queen. She was a mixture of her father’s handsome look and her mother’s beauty resulting to perfection.

Everybody was smiling with so much gladness. There was something about the innocent, pretty little girl that created an atmosphere of joy. Something that could be associated with the soft spot everybody seems to have for little helpless babies. They all looked up to acknowledge the presence of Stella and Jude.

Present in the hospital room where Kelechi was admitted were: Kelechi’s husband Daniel, Mary his younger sister, Stella’s mother, Kelechi’s house maid and a young pretty nurse who wore charming a smile on her face. Kelechi was sitting on her bed, looking very strong and healthy. Stella was expecting her to be lying down on her bed looking weak.

The room was becoming crowded as Stella and Jude joined them. Stella sat beside her loving sister looking at her with so much joy on her face.

“Kelechi, you look so strong, I was expecting to see your lazy body on the bed. I never knew you were this strong.” Everybody laughed at Stella’s teasing.

“The doctor was even very surprised and impressed at her strength. He said this was one of the most successful deliveries he had had for a long time.” Daniel happily said. He was very happy to be a father.

Daniel Nwoke was a very tall and dark 30yrs old man. He was a very handsome man with very friendly manners, always cheerful and gregarious. Daniel was a successful business man who dealt with the importation of electronics into the country and so he always had to travel to different countries to make ends meet. He was very committed to his business.

But his commitment to his business did not stop him from being there for his wife. He loved her so much and never allowed her to lack anything. To him she is the mother he never had.

Daniel lost his mother when he was very young, just at the age of six. He didn’t even know what she looked like in reality, except for the picture image of her, which didn’t present a true picture of her. His father, who was a bus driver did all he could to single handedly raise up his two motherless children. He didn’t remarry after the death of his wife and so put all his attention on his children. Daniel joined the importing business immediately he finished secondary school education. And by the time he was twenty five years old, he had started earning enough money to lend his father a helping hand in providing the bills for his little sister’s education.

His father died two years ago, leaving him and his sister motherless and fatherless.

He met Kelechi on one of the occasions that he was visiting his little sister at Federal University of Technology Owerri. Kelechi was just leaving the gate of her hostel when Daniel was about to drive into the compound. He did not hesitate to create a medium of interaction and that was the beginning of the journey into a very blissful marriage.

Daniel’s gregarious nature made it easy for Kelechi to fall in love with him. To her, he was the best company she ever had and the most loving man she had ever dated. Although Daniel was always traveling around for his business engagements, the little times they sheared together was memorable.

He made sure he was around his wife all through her pregnancy period, especially during the last two months of pregnancy. He provided everything she needed and made sure they got a reliable maid who was always there to help her whenever he was away. As luck could have it, he was present the night his wife started having labor pains and his presence gave psychological comfort to his wife through out the labour period.

While they all stood in the hospital room, a stranger would easily guess that he was the happiest man in the room. He couldn’t contain his joy, the only little sadness he felt within him was the fact that his father wasn’t alive to witness this happy occasion, but he didn’t allow that to bother him so much since there was nothing he could do about it.

He couldn’t take his eyes away from his beautiful daughter, she was his princess.

Stella stretched out her hand to take the baby from her mother. “Oh, she is so beautiful, Kelechi you gave birth to a goddess, and she is lovely.” She looked at Daniel with a broad smile on her face, “You are supposed to kill a big cow for your wife, for she has given you a gift from heaven.”
“Yes, I have something special for her. She has made me the proudest man in Owerri.” He replied.

“I guess you guys will be needing mum’s help to give those special treatments that is normally given to nursing mothers.” Stella looked towards her mother. “I know mama knows exactly what to do.”

“We have already discussed that, but there is the problem of leaving your father all alone. You know how his condition has not been encouraging lately.” Kelechi quickly said.

“What about Jude, can’t he take care of papa? Besides the house girl is there. Is there any other thing that mummy should do that both of them cannot do? Stella inquired.

Her mother responded “I have explained everything to them; I don’t know why they choose to bother themselves. I will instruct Jude on what he should do. Besides, I won’t have to stay long; I will just be with her just for the first three weeks. From the look of things Kelechi, won’t need so much attention from me. If I go the house maid will take care of other things.”

Everybody nodded in agreement with her explanation.

The doctor entered the room. He also had caught the excitement bug that was in the air. He was looking very cheerful as well, looking smart in his white over all. “Ah, this is a full room.” He said warmly to every one with his eyes fixed on the baby. “And how is the little princess doing?”
“She is perfectly alright doctor, look at her peaceful face.” Daniel answered.

“I can see for myself, she seems to be enjoying the conversation you guys are having. Well it is time to take a break, she has to go back to the nursery and have a special chat with her mates, its girl talk, and you all don’t want to hear it.”

“No, no, no…” they all chorused, and then Kelechi’s mum said, “She is free to go, we also have some matured talk here, it won’t be pleasing to her ears.” They all laughed, it was a very happy moment for them all.

As the nurse carried the baby away, Jude and the house maid were instructed to go back to the house with Mr. Greg at home. He had left earlier to get some rest at home. Stella planned that immediately she was through with them at the hospital, she would seize that opportunity to see her old man. Her mother called her outside; she wanted to have a chat with her daughter. Stella knew what was coming next; this was the moment she despised.

Outside, both of them sat on one of the pews provided by the hospital authorities for visitors to sit.

“Forgive me Mummy; I was carried away by the sight of Kelechi’s baby, how are you and daddy doing. I have not really been chanced to visit lately, but I was planning on doing that.” Stella quickly said.

“There is no problem with that, everybody is excited and happy; we are all expected to be carried away. But I don’t accept your excuse for not coming around as often as you used to.” She was trying to sound mean and hurt despite the joy she felt within her at the moment.

“I am being honest mummy; I am really having a stressful time at my work place. I have been assigned to more classes and the children are becoming impossible to handle, this require more effort and time. I even seldom find time for myself. I come home from work stressed out and I still have to prepare for the next day’s classes.

It has not been easy mummy, but I hope to squeeze out time and visit, please understand and forgive me mummy.” Stella pleaded.

Mrs. Grace saw more reasons why she should talk to her. “Oh my daughter, you are stressing yourself too much, look at you; you have looking so thin and worn out, how will men find you attractive when you don’t even have time to feed well and even socialize. Stella what are you doing to yourself, I can see that you are not even thinking of marriage. Do you know that you are not getting any younger? Look at you younger sister…”

“Please mummy, don’t start again, we are in the hospital, a public place for God sake. I have asked you not to worry about this marriage of a thing. When the right time comes I will definitely get married.

You don’t expect me to go around and ask every man I see to come and marry me just because my younger sister is married and my mother wants me to get married?” Stella was already upset, but was going through so much effort to control herself. “Please mummy, don’t let us talk about this again. I understand how you feel, but you must understand that I feel worst or do you think that I am happy about my single state? I believe something will happen soonest.”

“Oh God, please come and answer my prayers” Mrs. Grace was looking up and rising up her hands as if she could see God. Stella was beginning to feel embarrassed.

She quickly changed the subject, “How is daddy, I hope he is taking his medication.” She immediately went sober, “Poor daddy, the old man have suffered so much from this blood pressure, he can’t have fun like his mates.” Tears began to roll down from her eyes. Stella had the habit of expressing so much joy when something good happened, and express excessive concern and sadness when something bad happens.

“We won’t stop praying to God that your poor father gets better. And that God should bring into your life a man who will marry you before it is too late.”

Stella shook her head, her mother will never let go of this marriage issue. She looked up and saw Daniel coming from his wife’s room, she was glad; he was coming at the right time.

“I want to go home and give the house maid some instructions. Mummy, I will leave you with Kelechi. I will come back later in the afternoon, the doctor said that everything is alright.” Daniel said.

“That is alright my son, I will stay with her. Please make sure that the house girl comes early, it is almost mid-day.”

“Alright Mummy,” to Stella he said, “Good bye for now, hope you will be coming to the house to spend some time with us?” he was already walking away.
“Sure, I will, see you later!” she stood up and said to her mother, “Mummy, I want to go inside and stay with Kelechi for some time, before I go and see Daddy.” Her mother stood up and they both walked together into the hospital ward.
Re: The Tenth Generation by Oluwafunmilayo95(f): 3:47pm On Dec 26, 2012
Niceeee..... I love the way you describe ur xters. We can actually "feel their feelings ". cheesy cheesy
Re: The Tenth Generation by Dstar4u(m): 5:46pm On Dec 26, 2012
More ink to your pen. Nice one!
Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 9:27pm On Dec 26, 2012
Oluwafunmilayo95: Niceeee..... I love the way you describe ur xters. We can actually "feel their feelings ". cheesy cheesy

mmmnnnnn thanks, ever been to zaria?
Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 9:45pm On Dec 26, 2012
Mark was watching his friend with special interest, he couldn’t believe the information his ears was feeding to his system. Andrew was surprising him with the way he was talking and behaving. Mark couldn’t understand why his friend sounded very, very enthusiastic as he talked about nothing but his up coming wedding.

This was a topic he had shown so much resentment towards in the past. All of a sudden it seems the only thing that mattered in his life.

Andrew’s wedding was coming up in a month’s time and something about it seems to have gotten all over him, something beyond Mark’s understanding. Andrew had completely transformed to a different person and it was getting on Mark’s nerves even though he was trying his best not to show it. It very obvious that Andrew was followed him to check on their numerous girls just to please him, he wasn’t finding the act interesting any more.

The change in Andrew was so sudden that Mark was finding it very difficult to get used to. Andrew chose to talk about nothing else but the wedding, a line of discussion that really, really bored Mark. He felt very uncomfortable with it but chose not to allow it get between him and his friend, believing that with time either one of them will get over the new change.

They were in their favorite bar sipping some bottles of beer and at the same time expecting some new female friends to join them in the next forty minutes.

“We have almost taken care of everything, I have gotten a suitable hall, paid for the wedding gown and suit and have even put down enough money for both foreseen and unforeseen expenses.” Andrew was speaking, he took a large gulp of beer from his cup before he continued, “You need to see your suit, the tailor is through with it. I am sure that it is perfectly your size.” He said it with real enthusiasm. Mark already knew that he was going to be Andrew’s best man. He couldn’t reject his friend’s request; it was funny that he was going to lead a partner in crime to the altar to make an everlasting vow to stick to one woman!

At first Mark thought that it was going to be impossible for his friend to keep such promise, but with the way he had been acting recently, Mark was not sure of what his friend could do any longer.

He knew that he had to contribute to the statement just to keep Andrew going. “How is Chioma preparing for the great day?” he didn’t really know what to say.

“You need to see how the up coming event has exhilarated her. She is telling almost everybody she knows about it. She is really happy to be my wife, can you believe it? I never knew that she really loved me this way.” He stopped to take another sip of beer. He didn’t even notice the surprised look on Mark’s face. He was too excited to notice. “The invitation card we printed is already almost finished and I haven’t even invited all my friends yet. The most lovely part of it all is the joy that have overtaken my mother recently, she says that it all look like a dream to her, maybe she is yet to wake up. She can’t wait for the D-day to come to pass. Oh Mark, the whole world is waiting for my day.”

Mark looked at his time piece as he wondered what it was in this world that was keeping these girls. Andrew was here making him feel like a worthless bachelor. He was now very sure that something was wrong with his friend. Just few weeks ago this same Andrew had been complaining to him of how he couldn’t stand the thought that he will soon be getting married to one woman all his life.

Finally, when Mark couldn’t take it anymore, he asked, “Andrew, I just don’t get it. A few months ago, you were talking and acting like you felt daunted by marriage and you regretted ever accepting to get married to Chioma. Today and suddenly you are completely the opposite. I know this is something that you should be happy about, but considering the way you have behaved in the past, the change in you is too much. Maybe something is wrong with me.”

“In fact, I don’t even understand what is happening to me. You know marriage is an institution that was created by God himself?”

“Yes” Mark answered, not really understanding what his friend was talking about or where he was going to.

“Maybe he created something in us humans that makes us suddenly crave for it at a point in time in our life. Just take a look at me, isn’t it like a miracle to see me act like this? I know you will get there some day, it is just that we can’t experience the same thing at the same time.”

“Tell me more, you are now the preacher” Mark said as he relaxed backwards, as if he was suddenly ready to listen to whatever Andrew had to say.

“Seriously, it is beyond human explanation. You know marriage is a once in a life time thing. I have suddenly realized that it was going to be one of the most important day in my life. Therefore I have learnt to accept it and prepare myself for it. Further, I have seen that through this on coming great event in my life, I have been able to make so many special people in my life happy. Look at my parents, my siblings, Chioma and my friends. They all suddenly treat me with a unique respect that I am really enjoying at the moment.”

“That is interesting” Mark said, and he really meant it. Andrew was making meaningful statements. “I have never really thought about it this way, you are really making a point, I wish you all the best, but I don’t think…..” he suddenly looked up and saw the girls they had been waiting for coming behind Andrew and a different wave of excitement took over his emotions.

He made a sign to Andrew who immediately understood what he meant. They both composed themselves and pretended to be discussing something different other than marriage.

Andrew immediately felt guilty that he was doing the wrong thing. He must find a way to stop involving himself with all these girls and get down with his bride to be. But he didn’t want to hurt his friend. They have always been in this together and he understood that his up coming new status would not be easy for his friend to handle. He hoped that their friendship would not be affected even as he leaves bachelorhood at last.

Mark was not thinking of any other thing but the great time he was going to have to night. The girl that was meant for him among the two had a wonderful body, she looked flexible and sexy. He couldn’t wait to have her alone in the room.

2 Likes

Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 9:47pm On Dec 26, 2012
After dropping off the girls, they both stop for sometime at Mark’s place as usual. It was easy for Mark to detect that Andrew wasn’t looking as excited as he used to look at previous outings, but he chose to pretend like he didn’t notice the coldness in his friend. They both looked withdrawn this time around, each feeling guilty for different reasons.

Andrew was thinking of his up coming wedding and asking himself why he had to sleep with another woman. He felt that it was time for him to take break and start acting like a married man. He needed to live a life of dignity. He should at least show some respect for the vow he was soon going to make.

He must learn to exercise self control since he was soon going to be a family man.

But the problem was that he didn’t know how to withdraw from this habit without hurting his best friend. He had actually been the one encouraging this sort of life style; therefore he didn’t want Mark to feel misled.

Mark on the other was also thinking. Yes, he had just had a wonderful time with the girl he just hung out with. She was something else, with a body just like a model’s. He had enjoyed every moment she had given him. But the way Andrew was acting had gotten him thinking instead of reminiscing. And the little sermon that Andrew had given him earlier on came flooding back like the tidal wave of an ocean. A strange feeling of guilt had suddenly taken over him. What was really wrong with him? If Andrew could change and even give him advice, why couldn’t he? Here was Andrew talking to him about being the source of happiness to so many people and how it equally gave so much joy. He looked back at his own life style, how many people had he really made happy? Instead he had hurt so many women who really cared for him.

The drama he had with Juliet some months ago was still very fresh in his memory. No, he was not going to think about that, thinking about it would only complicate issues and make him feel worse.

But he felt that it was high time he also settled down like his friend. He should start thinking of being a family man and stop hurting innocent girls.

Choosing who to marry among his numerous girlfriends would definitely not be difficult. It was, no doubt going to be Clara. She was the most qualified among all of them, and he would stand to gain a lot if he marries her.

Speaking of hurting people, how would he break up the relationship he had with Stella without hurting her? He could easily detach himself from the other girls he knew but Stella’s case was sure going to be a tug of war.

“Andrew, you know I have been thinking about the little sermon you gave me before the girls came around this evening. You really made a lot of sense, I think it is high time one settles down and get married,” he said.

Andrew was astonished. It was like Mark had been able to read his mind and decided to make things easier for him. “So what are you planning?”

“I have decided that soonest I will pop the big question to Clara. For now, she is my choice for a wife. But I think I am going to have a serious problem with Stella. She had been coming on strong lately, making it clear that she really loved me and is looking forward to a future for us.”

“But you can’t go against your wish, a choice must be made. Or do you want to go against your wish?” Andrew asked without, caring much about Stella.

“No, but I really don’t want to hurt her. She is actually a very nice lady, and doesn’t deserve to be treated other wise. But I know I am more advantaged if I get down with Clara. I am really confused.”

“Look Mark, you just have to do what you have to do. And the earlier you call off the relationship with her, the better for both of you. She is not getting any younger you know? Let her go, she must know that she has to go and find another man, a man that will fulfill her dreams. You don’t have any choice Mark.”

Easier said than done, Mark thought. He knew that Andrew was speaking out of the dislike he had for Stella. But he must find a suitable way and time to let go of Stella. He saw that Andrew couldn’t possibly give a suitable solution to his problem with such a biased mind, so he dropped the subject.

Andrew looked at his time piece and thought that it was getting late, he wanted to go home. He made Mark aware of his intension as he stood up to leave.

Mark walked him to the door, bade him good bye and went straight to his bed. He was still thinking about Stella and Clara issue; he didn’t know when sleep took over his consciousness. He didn’t even change into his night ware.




At the same moment Stella was also on her bed. She couldn’t sleep. She was thinking of the strategy she would use to make Mark marry her. Up till now in the relationship, she wasn’t even sure of what he wanted, but she felt that if he had wanted to let her go, he would have done that a long time ago.
But she was really troubled since she didn’t know where the relationship was heading to. She must stop worrying, instead she will let her mind think of better strategy to get him get himself entangled in her web.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 10:10pm On Dec 26, 2012
CHAPTER NINE

It was the last week of the ninth month into Juliet’s pregnancy. Around 7 pm on Friday evening, she had no idea that she was going to experience the worst pains she had ever experienced in her entire life.

She was listening to a program on the radio which was getting really boring to her. She stood up to change the station to something more interesting.

She had to go through so much effort to get up from her seat; the child in her tummy was getting heavier and heavier.

Her large tummy protruded out of her thin and emaciated body. It was a wonder how she could carry the baby for nine months in that body with her failing health. She walked slowly to the radio. Then she felt a very sharp pain in her belly and screamed.

Amaka was in the kitchen preparing dinner when she suddenly heard the uncomfortable sound from the living room. It was Juliet.

They had been expecting the baby for the past two weeks. This was the information that was given to them by the doctor. In fact the doctor had expected it earlier, and had shown surprise when the baby lingered. He had instructed Amaka to keep a closer watch on her friend for it could happen at any moment.

Amaka had prayed fervently that the baby should not come while she was away at work. She had come home every evening hoping that it had not happened at her absence. As the days rolled by, they waited patiently and well prepared.

Now the sound that came from the living room meant that Juliet probably was in labor. She immediately left what she was doing and rushed into the living room.

Juliet was lying on the floor, beside the radio. She was fainting, but she tried to say, “The baby is coming out, please help me.”

It was just a matter of luck that Amaka heard her. She was alarmed, but tried to get hold of herself. She managed to lift Juliet up from the floor to the long arm chair in the living room as she gave her words of encouragement. “Don’t panic, it is going to be alright, hold on please let me get help.

Try to relax, I will be right back.” She swiftly dashed out of the house, not liking the look on Juliet’s face. The terrified look would continue to remain in her memory.

She went straight to one of her female neighbors, Ann, a newly married lady who had closely observed Juliet. “Juliet is in labor; please can you help me and stay with her while I get a taxi so that we can take her to the hospital?” Amaka said to her. The tension within her made her speak hysterically. She hurried towards the road side to get a taxi.

Anna did not hesitate; she quickly rushed into Amaka’s room to offer her assistance.

Amaka stopped the first taxi that she saw, “Please drive into this compound; we have to take a woman in labor to the hospital right now!” she spoke very fast; the only words the taxi driver could make out were labor and hospital. They were significant enough to get him alarmed.

He quickly drove into the compound following Amaka behind as she ran towards her apartment.

In the room, Anna was trying her best to calm the freaking Juliet down. It was very obvious that the pain she felt was tearing her apart.

Quickly, they helped Amaka lift her up as she kept on screaming at the top of her voice. Within the next forty seconds the driver was driving out of the compound, towards St Magdalene Clinic where Juliet had been going for anti-natal care. The clinic was located deep within the interior of Orji. It was just two kilometers from Amaka’s house, which was normally three minutes ride. But the driver was there in the next fifty seconds. He couldn’t bear the shrieking sound that was coming from Juliet.

All through the way, Juliet was holding Amaka’s hand, screaming “This baby is trying to kill me!! Oh my God, he is killing me!!”

The nurses in the clinic noticed the way the taxi pulled over in front of the clinic, and became immediately alerted. They quickly brought out a stretcher and carried Juliet straight to the labor room.

St Magdalene clinic was not a classy medical facility. It was mostly patronized by the lower status citizen in Orji and its environment. It had very limited equipments and the available ones were getting worn out. It was a very old government clinic which had not witnessed good times recently. The government seemed not to care if it actually existed. All the complaints from the doctors to the authorities seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

This was probably the reason why nurses and doctors always appear less friendly. They weren’t well paid.

Dr. Victor Saul was called upon and he quickly rushed to the labor room. He was the hospital chief gynecologist who had been attending to Juliet all the while she had been coming for her anti-natal care. He was thirty seven years old man with very concentrating eyes and thin lips. He carried an air of authority and importance but didn’t actually exert it. People always get surprised whenever he displays his humorous personality. It gave a different impression of what he looked like.

All the nurses in the labor room were trying to calm Juliet down. She continued to scream in pain and was deaf to all that was being said to her.
“Oh my God, I am going to die. This baby is going to kill me, it is taking my life, please God help me!!” she screamed.

“Calm down please, I promise you that you are going to be alright, just take it easy and calm your self down.” The doctor tried to console her.

Deep down within him, he was not comfortable with Juliet’s physical condition. Few months ago, when she was brought here by Amaka, he had ensured that she registered with the hospital. He also asked her to make sure she reported to the hospital every two weeks for medical check up. Her physical and psychological condition had been very poor for someone who was expecting a baby. But it was that she lacked the finance to secure a proper medical checkup and nutrition for herself. She could only attend the session once, sometimes once in two months.

He had tried to inquire about her husband, but from the answer that he received, she had probably been impregnated by a hit and run street guy. Amaka was the one who stood in for her. She had signed all the necessary documents and paid at least half of the bill since there seemed to be no male partner who had claimed responsibility for the unborn child.

Looking at her now, he doubted if she would be able to go through the painful process of delivery.

The process of delivery commenced after Dr. Victor had ensured that every required instrument was ready and the nurses that were meant to be there were present and ready.

Spreading her legs apart, Dr. Victor, in a very soothing and gentle voice said, “You have to calm down, I want you to be strong. Alright… push, push… yes, yes, you are doing alright, push…. push.”

For Juliet the pain was unbearable. Something was happening inside her. She could feel her internal body organs tear apart. The pain was striking through her brain. She even found it difficult to breath, “Oh!... I can’t do it doctor… I can’t. The child is cutting me up inside, it is killing me, tearing me apart!!” her voice was getting weaker, and her strength was fading.

Dr. Victor began to feel anxious; there was no slight indication that this delivery was going to be a successful one. Further, he didn’t really understand what the patient was talking about; she was experiencing a different kind of pain entirely and the pain was very, very internal. Maybe she was having internal bleeding.

He calmed everybody down and continued to do his best.





After settling half of the bill as the doctor has asked her to, Amaka’s anxiety couldn’t allow her to relax a bit. She was very restless and shaky. The way Juliet was crying made it difficult for her to calm herself and be optimistic that she would come out of the labor room safely.

Few seconds later she felt it was best that she rushes down to Juliet’s parents and inform them that their daughter was in the labor room.

She quickly left the hospital as the suggestion came into her mind. She really needed something to keep her mind busy; standing out here in the waiting room, could make her go mad.

She stopped the first taxi that came across her way. “Please take me Old Klent street, very close to Emmanuel College Owerri and off Douglas Road”

“What number? You know I won’t go deep inside, the road is bad” the taxi driver said carelessly, as Amaka got into his car.

“I am going to number twenty one. But there is no problem, any where you drop me in Old Klent is alright, I will find my way from there. Please hurry.” Amaka anxiously answered.

As the car drove of from the hospital scene, Amaka allowed her mind to ruminate though all the possible problems that they were likely to come across when Juliet was through with having her baby. The major problem was the settlement of the remaining half of the hospital bill.

Juliet had been able to save some money, although it was very little, not even up to half. Her own little contribution had enabled them pay just half of the bill. But she didn’t know how they were going to get the remaining half which is supposed to be paid before Juliet could be discharged from the hospital.

She just had to let Juliet’s parents aware of the situation their daughter was in. Perhaps they could source for fund even if it means begging or borrowing. One sure thing was that Juliet must leave that hospital after the delivery of her baby.

“I won’t go beyond this; the road is very bad from here.” the taxi driver announced.

Amaka was jolted out of her rumination. “It’s alright; the house is not far from here.” She paid him and got out of the car walking as fast as her leg could carry her through the dark and rough road.

She was relieved when she found out that Mr. and Mrs. Nwankwo were at home. Normally Juliet’s father would be somewhere in the neighborhood drinking locally made gin until late into the night.

It was a dirty looking two bed room flat, that obviously had not been painted for a very long time. A view of the houses from the front would immediately remind an observer the unpleasant feeling of poverty.

As Amaka was ushered into the living, by Mr. Collins Nwankwo’s unfriendly voice after she had knocked, she immediately experienced an unpleasant feeling that she might be asked out of the house if she lets out her reason for visiting.

Mr. Collins was sitting on a dirty and rough arm chair. He looked very depressed and tipsy. Perhaps he had already gone to sip some dry gin, and was already back home for the day. The look on his face disclosed the fact that he was wondering why she was calling at his home by this time of the night.

“Good evening sir” Amaka politely greeted him.

“Yes? Good evening, who are you looking for?

His voice sounded exactly like the kind of person he was, Amaka thought taking into cognizance all the stories that Juliet had constantly told her about him; like someone who didn’t care if the world was coming to an end in the next three minutes.

“Sir, I am a friend of Juliet’s,” she was still standing since he hadn’t yet asked to sit. It really didn’t matter to her; the condition of the chair didn’t even encourage her to want to sit on them.

Collins kept on staring at her, like he was just seeing her. The mention of Juliet’s name seemed to have brought him into reality. He wasn’t ready to talk about Juliet right now and bringing her topic up was a sign that he was not going to bothered with matters concerning her. She had willingly carried her burden out of his house and his life, he thought. He was already feeling relieved by her absence and didn’t even know why her friend should come to his house in the first place. “Ehhe…?”

“She is presently in the labor room having her baby” Amaka found herself going straight to the point.

He continued to stare at her like she was yet to announce why she was visiting. But he had heard all that she had said, and thought that it was best he invite his wife to come listen to what the girl was saying. She had been the one who had been bothered about her well being.

“Where is this woman? Eh… Ijeoma!” he called on one of his daughters, “call you mother; tell her she has a visitor.” The romance between Collins and his wife Kate had died a long time ago. The fact that they were still together was for a reason that even they themselves couldn’t understand. Perhaps they have no choice or they have never thought of it.

Kate came into the room with a puzzled look on her face. Ijeoma her daughter had actually told her that there was a young lady in living room with her husband.

She was a slender woman with hard skin, indicating a life full of stress. She looked more like Juliet’s grandmother.

“You have a visitor” Collins carelessly said to her, trying to pretend like he had blocked his ears from whatever they were going to discuss. He knew that he was going to hear it all and that it wasn’t going to be pleasant.

Kate asked Amaka to sit down as she also sat down very close to her.

Amaka reluctantly obliged, she was sure that the seat was definitely going to stain her cloths. She had quickly scanned the room before Juliet’s mother entered. The best word she could use to describe the room was ‘scattered’. It gave her a feeling of nausea. She couldn’t wait to get over with this whole business and get the hell out of this refuse dump.

She went straight to the point, “I just left Juliet in the labor room at St. Magdalene clinic at Orji. I thought it is best that I should let you know, so that we can decide how to take care of her. We have to get back to the hospital to be with her, she has nobody to take care of her.”

“My own Juliet? Oh God... Where, when…” she stood up hysterically. “Where have she been all this while?” she looked at her husband. “Collins, what are you saying? Do you want us to leave our daughter there to die? Please come with us, let us go and see our child”

Kate had actually been furious with Juliet when she discovered that she was pregnant, and was not bothered when Collins sent her out of the house. But over the months, she had repented for her actions and really wanted her daughter back. But she had been scared of what her husband would do and she also was financially incapacitated. So in her normal life style, she let it go.

“Where is her husband? I don’t think I have any role to play there,” he looked at Amaka and asked, “Are you her husband?”

“Sir, I am her very good friend, she had stayed with me all the while that she was pregnant and had no where to stay.” Amaka responded.

“Is her husband at the hospital? Was he the one who sent you?” Collins probed.

“No sir.”
“So what do you want me to go there and do? Take responsibility of a child that I don’t even know its origin? I won’t do that, if you expect me to walk out of this house with you, then you must be drunk.” From the way he sounded, the two females knew that there was no need talking to him any further about it. Kate was very much aware that the reason why he didn’t want to get himself involved was because he didn’t want to be faced with the responsibility of having to cater for the new born and its mother. He wasn’t just capable of doing that.

She turned her attention to Amaka, “Young girl, what is your name?”

“Amaka”

“Please wait for me, let me get myself ready, I want to see my daughter,” she looked at her husband with disgust and hurriedly left the living room.
She came out in a minute and hastily asked Amaka to lead the way.

2 Likes

Re: The Tenth Generation by decoderdgenius(m): 7:55am On Dec 27, 2012
The only time I have been so engrossed in a book like I am in yours was when I read things fall apart by chinua achebe. Thanks and thumbs up to you.
Re: The Tenth Generation by Oluwafunmilayo95(f): 10:16am On Dec 27, 2012
frank3.16:


mmmnnnnn thanks, ever been to zaria?
nah...neva been there...
Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 10:47am On Dec 27, 2012
It is a baby boy! Juliet had exhausted all her strength as she went through the painful process of delivery. After the baby finally came out, she still lay motionless on the bed, there was so much blood every where. She had bled more than normal. Dr. Victor was observing her. Sometimes mothers pass out and faint after the stressful delivery of their baby, but some could still be strong and eager to set their eyes on the new born child.

But neither of these two conditions was Juliet’s case at the moment. During the delivery session, the doctor had noticed that she was getting weaker and weaker and was loosing so much blood. He had wondered where she was getting the strength to push out the baby. Because it was coming out alright, the way strong and healthy women give birth. Yet the young mother was fainting, bleeding, and passing out.

Now starring at her, he didn’t think that she was alive.

But something else caught his attention, even the nurses were all amazed. The baby was not crying, the way newly born babies do. Yet his little infant eyes were wild open starring directly at them all, as if eager to see the world. That was strange. Although it still had that infant look, but something about the wide open eyes wasn’t familiar to them all. Babies don’t open their eyes at birth. Everybody was shocked and nobody was able to utter a word.

Dr. Victor shifted his gaze back to the motionless mother.

She was dead.

He was very sure of this, but it was professional that he confirms his fears. Using his stethoscope, he observed her heart beat then her pulse. The look on his face made the nurses realize that the poor girl had given up the ghost. She didn’t even get to set her eyes on the baby she had carried in her womb for nine months.

“She is dead” he officially announced. He sighed sadly and said, “Take the baby to the nursery, and prepare her for the mortuary.” The day had ended badly with Juliet’s death. Nothing disturbed him like whenever he lost a patient; it gives him an uncomfortable feeling of doubt on his expertise in his profession. The feeling was worst when he lost a mother to child birth. This evening was going to be a bad one for him.

He worriedly walked out of the labor room.

The nurses felt very weak in all their joints.

“She said it,” one of the nurses said, fear was written on her face. Something about the birth of the child made the atmosphere in the labor room suddenly eerie. “She said it that the baby was going to kill her. Did anybody notice a change in the environment once the child came out of his mother’s womb or was it just me?”

“Yes I did, the room became cold and… I just can’t explain. He really scares me. I can’t stand his sight, like he wants to pounce on us, destroy us and drink our blood. I don’t know what to make out of this,” complained a second nurse who was terrified.

“Hey, you all, this is just an innocent infant. It is not his fault that his mother is dead. Instead of making ourselves scared, we should actually feel pity for the baby. I think we are all scared because death had just occurred and the way the poor lady screamed before she died. We shouldn’t blame it on the baby,” a third nurse tried to be courageous despite her fears. She was the one carrying the child. She carried him to the nursery while the others dressed the lifeless body of Juliet and cleaned up the blood stained labor room.

She was astonished as she stared into the baby’s face. A child who was barely thirty minutes old, she thought, having the boldness of an adult. There was a confident and devilish look on his face that gave her the chills and made her want to drop the child and make sure she never gets near the child again.

She hurriedly entered the nursery, dropped him on one of the empty couches and quickly left. She tried to believe that they felt this way about the baby because part of them really wanted to blame the baby for the death of its mother. Once outside the nursery, the nurse noticed that the three other infants in the nursery had started to cry. She quickly sent for their mothers, suggesting to them to pick up their babies and breast feed them.

On a first glance, Juliet’s baby was like any other infant, but the strange thing about it was that there was an unexplainable unnatural feeling that people felt once around it.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 10:52am On Dec 27, 2012
Dr. Victor was just coming out of the labor room when he saw Amaka coming towards him in a hurry with a companion who was much older than her. This could be Juliet’s mother, he thought.

He was so unhappy that he didn’t even care if they had noticed from the look on his face that it had all gone wrong in the labor room.

Amaka, who’s memory was still fresh with Juliet’s scream, could easily detect that he was depressed. She was very sure that something terrible had happened. Oh god, she thought, please let her feelings be wrong.

He kept on looking at the older woman, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Amaka. “Is this Juliet’s mother?”

“Yes Dr. Victor, I rushed down to get her while Juliet was still in the labor room. Doctor, is everything alright? You look worried.” Amaka probed.
“I will have to talk with the both of you in my office immediately.” Dr. Victor simply replied as he led them into his office.

They both followed him apprehensive of what was really going on. Kate couldn’t hold her peace. Besides, she wanted her presence and concern to be felt. “Doctor, please, how is my daughter? Has she been successfully delivered of her baby?

Dr. Victor didn’t think it was wise for him to answer any question until they got into his office. Besides, she wasn’t even the right person he should be talking to, this wasn’t the right time for her to just come around and start probing. To him, Amaka had been the one who had taken care of Juliet when she was pregnant and so that made her more eligible to get the feed back on what happened in the labor room.

They got to his office door and waited for Dr. Victor to unlock his door. He held it wide open for them to enter, closing it behind him before walking gently to his chair.

It wasn’t quite a comfortable office for a doctor. The furniture was looking quite old, even his chair squeaked as he sat on it. The table that separated him from his clients was filled with old documents, files and outdated instruments.

“Mrs. Amaka and Mrs. …”

“Nwankwo Kate,” Juliet’s mother completed.

“Mrs. Nwankwo, I must let know that you daughter and friend did not make it out of the labor room. She died immediately she was delivered of her baby.”

Both women’s head began to swing. They sat tightly on their seat digesting what the doctor had just told them.

“Amaka can bear me witness that she wasn’t looking both psychologically and physically healthy prior to this day.” He continued, “She suffered so many psychological and physical problems that left her unfit to go through the process of child bearing. Her strength failed her and she could not make it.

Her baby is alright, a boy, he is in the nursery. You can go and see him there. I am sorry, we tried the best we could but we couldn’t save her.”

Amaka was blot out from the blue, she couldn’t believe it, Juliet dead! It was like a dream. Juliet had always fantasized on how she was going to take very good care of her baby and give it all the love she never had. She wondered what she would have done with the baby if she had not gone to notify Juliet’s parents.

But life could be so cruel, how could it have allowed poor Juliet to go through pains for the past nine months for nothing? A cold shiver ran through her spine as she wept bitterly. She was really going to miss her friend so much.

Kate on the other hand, was also shocked. She could not tell if the shock she felt was because of just the loss of her daughter or because of the guilt she felt as a result of the cruel way she and her husband had treated their daughter six months ago.

She felt like someone who had personally strangled her own daughter just because of her ignorance. Juliet was only a victim of circumstance. She had allowed her state of lack to make her reject her daughter who had only made a mistake. She didn’t think she could live through the pain and guilt she felt. She cried continuously. Juliet was gone; there was not even a chance for her to ask her daughter for forgiveness. She cried and wailed and rolled on the floor as she remembered so much about her daugther.

It was already too late for her to do anything about her past action. The best she could do now was to make sure she took care of Juliet’s baby.

Dr. Victor allowed them to express their bitterness. After about twenty minutes of crying, they asked him of the baby, Kate’s grand son.

He led them to the nursery where the infant lay on his couch. The doctor noticed that it was the only baby left in the nursery. He remembered that he had not yet discharge any of the three nursing mother in the hospital. Perhaps the babies were being fed by their mothers, he thought.

There was a strange strong feeling of dislike that took over both women the moment they set their eyes on the baby. Amaka couldn’t understand the reason why she felt the way she felt. It was either because she had unconsciously attributed the death of her friend to the child or because the baby actually elicited a creepy feeling from her.

Unlike other babies that Amaka had frequently seen, Juliet’s son reminded her of wickedness and evil instead of a feeling of softness, tenderness and joy that was associated with the sight of infants.

To Kate, the child was repulsively creepy, eliciting negative feelings from her. She couldn’t imagine herself taking this baby home and nurturing it. It reminded her of a blood sucking killer, very strange indeed. No wonder Juliet had died while giving birth to it. Somehow, Kate felt that Juliet had been killed by her own baby, but she couldn’t explain why she felt that way.

They both starred at it in horror, not knowing what to do with it.

“I guess you are going to take him home, he has no mother now,” Amaka said to Kate who wasn’t sure if it was a question or just a statement.

“This is a very difficult situation for me. I don’t know what to do. We are really finding it difficult to even feed at home and to take care of ourselves. Adding of an extra person will complicate the already difficult situation at my home.” Kate sounded helpless; she wouldn’t be talked into taking the infant home

“But, this is just a baby, you can’t reject her again just the same way you rejected her mother. Something must be done about him.” Was Katen declining to take the baby home because of its strange impious look? Amaka wondered.

But that wasn’t the baby’s fault neither was it enough excuse for her to reject him. He was her grand son. Amaka wondered what kind of people Juliet’s parents are.

“Yes, I know, but taking him home is almost out of the question. My husband might send me out of the house if he sees the baby, she stopped as an idea immediately came into her head. “Can’t we make arrangement with the hospital so that the child can be sent to the orphanage?”

“That is ridiculous!” Amaka was surprised, “This is your grand child we are talking about. Are you not feeling enough guilt already that your daughter lost her life all because of you and your husband’s cruelty? Now you still want to send her child away.”

“You must understand my position here. The orphanage will be a better place for this child, taking this child home to my husband will be like taking him to hell. I can’t afford to watch him suffer in my home knowing that there is nothing I can do about it.” Kate pleaded to the young girl like she was the one whom it was in her power to determine where the child would be.

They were quiet for some time, both starring at the child and thinking.

“Alright,” Amaka said “Then we have to talk to the doctor, but it is left for you to convince him that the orphanage is the best place for him for now.”

They both walked back to Dr. Victor’s office. He was with a patient. He looked up and asked them to wait for him in the reception while he finishes up with the client.

After about fifteen minutes Dr. Victor opened the door to his office and allowed the client to go out. He gave the women a sign that they should come in.

They sat down once again in the doctor’s old chair and waited for him to settle down. “I guess you have seen the baby, he will have to be left here for some time so that I can give him closer medical attention before I can be sure that he is fit to be taking home.” Dr. Victor said while he was still busy with some files on his table.

“Yes doctor, in fact there is a problem that I would like to discuss with you.” Kate stopped and looked at Amaka who encouraged her to go on by nodding her head. “The condition in my house is not favorable to bring up a child.” She continued.

“I don’t understand what you mean by that.” Dr. Victor said, suddenly paying more attention to the women.

“I and my children strive to eat at least twice a day. Sometimes we don’t eat at all. My husband does not make it easy for us either. He comes home drunk and bullies everybody at home. Doctor, I can picture exactly what he will do when he sees this child. He will tell me to take it back to his father and it will give him a new reason to be more troublesome. Further I know within myself that I don’t have the resources to take care him. I can’t ask Amaka to take care of him either; I know she won’t be able to handle it.”

Dr. Victor felt empathy towards her. “Was this the reason while you neglected your daughter when she was pregnant?” he asked.

“I must be honest with you doctor, my husband sent her out, and I didn’t do anything about it, not that there was much I could do.” Kate replied, guilt was written all over her face.

Dr. Victor could picture the type of person her husband was, and imagined the type of home she was running. It was written all over her face.
“So what exactly are you suggesting?” he asked at last.

“I plead that he should be kept in the orphanage for now; maybe in future I will come and take him home.”

Dr. Victor was quite for some time. The infant needed to be cared for, he thought. And this woman was telling him that her home cannot provide the comfort it needs. He must contact the hospital social workers so they can advise on what best must be done. For now the best option was to take the child to All Saint’s Orphanage Home. He was very familiar with the staff there and was always in constant communication with them. But he thought he should persuade Kate a little.

“Do you realize that this is your grandson? You are the only relative he has.”

“Doctor, right now I have no choice, I don’t know who or where the father is. Whoever he is, he had definitely denied the pregnancy and now that Juliet is dead we cannot do anything about it. The orphanage is the only choice unless there is somebody who would adopt him.”

Dr. Victor looked at Amaka not knowing if she wanted to say something or not. She was looking so gloomy that he felt sorry for the poor girl. He knew how hurting one could feel if a friend is lost. He had noticed that they had been very close to each other.

Everybody was quiet and confused. Then Dr. Victor broke the silence. First with a loud sigh, then he said. “You have to be here tomorrow with your husband. I don’t care how you do it; your daughter must be buried. Then we will all meet the clinic’s chief social worker and discuss issues concerning the well being of the child.” He directed his gaze at Amaka. “It is also important that you make yourself available tomorrow.” Then back to Kate. “You should be grateful to this young girl who did her best in taking good care of your daughter when you and your husband threw her out. Where did you expect her to go? Your action was ridiculous and now you have lost your daughter.” He had an angry look on his face.
Nobody said anything, Dr. Victor discharge them claiming that he had other things to do.

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Re: The Tenth Generation by frank317: 10:54am On Dec 27, 2012
Mr. and Mrs. Nwankwo, and Amaka were the first visitors Dr. Victor had in his office the next morning.

Mr. Collins sat carelessly on his chair; he didn’t look remorseful because of the death of his daughter neither was he wearing a guilty look. Rather he wore a look that said, ‘hurry up with this I want to get home as soon as possible.’

He was a medium sized man, who might have been handsome if not for the makeover poverty had done to him. His over all out look was like someone who was not bothered about things that happened around him. His skin was also shrunken like his wife’s, but Dr. Victor could easily tell that his was more as a result of excess intake of dry gin rather than life’s stress.

After a brief exchange of greeting, Dr. Victor asked them how they would like to handle their daughter’s corps.

Kate spoke up, “We have made arrangement about that, our friends and kinsmen have accepted to help us with the burial, the body will be taken from here later in the day.”

“What about the baby? Are you still insisting that we take him to the orphanage? Can’t your kinsmen and friends also help you with his upkeep for now?”
“Doctor, these people don’t know the condition surrounding our daughter’s death. We had to lie to them to get their sympathy, telling them about the child will…”

“We can’t keep the baby. We don’t know his father. I think the father is in a better position to take care of that.” Collins interrupted his wife in a rude way.

“But… Mr. Collins, he is also your grandson, you should be concerned…”

“A bastard cannot be my grandson. I can’t accept him into my home. Now way! I am not even going to see him” he said, definitely.

Both Amaka and Dr. Victor were immediately filled with dislike for him. Dr. Victor saw that there was probably nothing he could do about the situation, so he told them to wait while he sent for Dr Peter Chukwu, the chief social worker for the clinic.

Dr. Chukwu came in a few minutes later, he was the same height with Dr. Victor, but quite older. He was a well trained psychologist who was very good at showing empathy at people’s problem. People find it very convenient to confide in him their personal problem primarily because of the understanding he shows and the expertise in which he uses to approach matters.

He sat down in an empty seat very close to Mr. Collins as Dr. Victor told him the situation and introduced him to his visitors.

“Mr. Collins, the baby can’t just be left all alone like that. At least something can be done, we must think of something.” He answered, after digesting all that he had been told.

“I think I am through with whatever brought me here, I didn’t come here to discuss matters concerning a bastard. If the baby is so important to you, you can bring out your time and look for his father. Whatever you do with him is not my business.” Collins stood up and spoke to his wife, “Woman, are you coming with me or do you want to spend some time with you dead daughter?”

Dr. Victor wanted to speak but Dr. Peter touched him, meaning that he should let him go.

Amaka and Kate were visibly worried; Kate knew she had to follow her husband out of the hospital. Amaka was wondering what the doctors were going to do about the baby. But the look on the older doctor’s face showed that he had everything under control; perhaps he was used to this kind of situation.

“It is okay, Mr. Collins, you can leave, I am sorry for the death of your daughter”

Collins grunted something no one in the office understood and walked towards the door. Kate hurriedly stood up and followed him.

“Sometimes you don’t waste your time trying to convince people like this. He is avoiding responsibility and he could go to any length to make sure he does not get it.” Dr. Chukwu explained. “We can’t force him to take home a baby he does not want. It is our responsibility to ensure that the child is well catered for, we have faced this kind of situation before and therefore we can always handle it.

“So what is going to be done about the baby right now?” Amaka asked.

“We will take care of him for sometime until he is strong enough to be taken to the orphanage. Mr. Collins’ wife does not seem to have a mind of her own, she is allowing her husband’s decision to control her, if not I would have been optimistic that in later she would come and ask for her grandson.”
“Besides the baby does not look like something one would wish to take home.” Amaka found herself saying; she was surprised she said that.

Dr. Chukwu looked up towards his fellow doctor. “Are we talking about the strange baby everybody had been talking about?”
“Yes, I think everybody is associating him with the death of his mother” Dr. Victor Said.

“Well a baby is a baby no matter how it looks” Dr. Chuks concluded.

Amaka stood up, “I have to go doctors, thank you for your concern. I will come around in the afternoon; I will like to know when and where my friend will be buried. And I will be coming often to check on her child.”

The doctors excused her while they discussed other issues.

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