Hello nairalanders; I want to introduce a series of short stories I like to call sinie's series. I hope you guys enjoy it. Watch this page for the first draft of the first story titled "saved"

Looking up at the sky nnonso wondered how long he could possibly survive like this. Chukwunnonso was a young man from the eastern part of Nigeria. He was born as the third son of seven children. Growing up in the village there was nothing remarkable about his life; at age five he joined his mates to register for ota akara (daycare); he would his whole day at school singing songs and learning the alphabet in Ibo. When he turned eigHt his parents told him he was going to live with some people in the city; he couldn't believe it. His cousins that were based in Asaba always told him long tales about the city whenever they came home. He was especially. fascinated by the tales of the bridge. they it was so long and so huge and it floated on top of the water and it was indestructible. They said it floated on top of the water so large it could cover their whole village. Nnonso could not imagine it. One time his cousin Obi told him that on their way to the village their father was on such top speed that two caterpillars collided and the bridge collapsed; but then like magic the bridge rose up again and rearranged itself. Nnonso trembled with excitement as he heard the story "baike bu agbara"(white are witches) Obi had finished
Nnonso just naturally assumed that abroad was where onye Ocha (whíte man) lived and ANYWHERE not their village was Abroad. Which means he could learn to speak baike(English). The only words Nnonso knew in English were Tankusah (thank you sir) and gudumornen(good morning); now he was going to the city he could even learn how to say ABCD in english. He thought he would die from happiness.
The Ibes the family that took him in were based in Warri. Basically his duties in the home were simple. Wake up in the morning, clean the house make breakfast for the family then go to school. When he got back he swept the house again washed dishes and laundry then started dinner. The Ibes had three children of their own. He was given a small store that was converted to a room by placing a mattress on the floor and a cupboard for his little belongings. They were never mean to him, but then he wasn't treated like family either. The children went to private schools and dressed in the best clothes. Nnoso on the other hand went to a public schools and his clothes were mainly cast offs. But nnonso was not stupid; no matter how little it seemed he was provided for he still had more than he could have had if he had stayed back in the village. Every christmas he was allowed to go home for a week to spend the holiday with his family and every year nnonso came back determined to make the most of the life the Ibes were giving him because he could never bear to go back to live in the village
By the time he was through with his secondary school education the Ibes called him and told him they no longer needed his services; their kids were grown up now and living on their own and they wanted to retire abroad. They encouraged him to write JABM and if he got admission they will give him enough money to start up in school from there he can fend. For himself. Nnonso was not a genius but he wasn't an Olodo either. He wrote the exams and got admissions to AAU, Ekpoma. The Ibes gave him the sum of 500 thousand naira and bid him good luck

Following

With the money he did his registration, got an accommodation in school and then started a barbing saloon. He used his business to support himself all through school and even sent money occasionally home
After graduation Nonso sold his equipment, closed down his business and went to Benin city to find a job; he had a total of four hundred thousand naira in his account. His former roomate was living in Benin and told him for 30k he could stay with them in a flat he and hiss friend rented. The flat was located at Uselu the building was dilapidated but they managed to arrange the inside of the house to look a little bit presentable. His friend was a phone repairer, the other flatmate was a complete mystery to Nonso. He never seemed to know what he does for a living and anytime he asked him he always got the same answer " I dey hustle"
After about a year Nonso was running out of money and still no job; nnonso was getting desperate. He started a recherge card buisness which turned out to be à huge failure. He was about to loose it and then out of the blue he got a job as a supervisor in Mr Biggs. The job lasted exactly 3 months and he was fired because he was not able to account for the goods. He was back on the job market. Someone told him about a job as a security man in a five star hotel in GRA. Nnonso had no choice at this point; he took the job. He worked in the hotel for about a year and then out of the blue he was. offered a job as a PA in a publishing firm by one of the patrons of the hotel. This is it' nnonso thought. "Finally this is my chance"
Nnonso said goodbye to His two flatmaTes and moved to another flat in GRA. He was sharing the flats with two other guys but this time the house was well designed and they had all the modern facilities. Alex and Emma his new flatmates were ýahoo boys. Nnonso knew what they did but he did his best to stay out of their biz. He was finally getting there. He was sending money more often home now to help train his siblings and he was even thinking of getting his own place and who knows maybe find a nice ibo girl and start a family. But fates were not on his side. One hot sunday afternoon he was relaxing at home when their house was raided by policemen. Alex was not at home, Nnonso and Emma were arrested. He was kept in a police cell for three months before he was finally released when no evidence was found that he was part of the scam. By tHen His. position in the firm has been filled and just like that he was back in the Job Market. This time there was no one to help and everywhere he went he was viewed with suspicion. Starting a business was out of the question because he did not even have capital
He stood now looking at the sky wondering whaþ he was going to do with his life in his left hand was a file that contained his CV he just submitted for a job he was yet again rejected at. The taxi approached he hailed it ans got in and settled down. Someone else entered and sat beside him; he barely glanced at her as he. was thoroughly lost in thoughts. He just had two months left on the rent and then he will be homeless as well as jobless. At tHis point nnonso felt He would try anything even if it was a crime becuase he just could not go back to the village. He felt the girl besíde him tap his shoulder
am sorry, please do you have change? I have one thousand naira and the driver doesn't have change"
"Nope, I have just fifty naira" even if. hé had he could not spare he thought to himself. He's not even sure yet what he will eat tonight. The taxi stopped and the girl got out and went across the street to buy recharge card so she could get change to pay the cab driver while they waited for her. Nnonso noticed a thick bound leather diary beside him, he opened his mouth to call out to the girl that she forgot her diary; suddenly he noticed some wads of naira sticking out from the book. He froze.... He glanced again at the girl, she was putting on a short blue dress with a high heeled shoe. The scent of her designer perfume still permeated the cab. She seems rich he thought to himself. She won't really be affected by loosing some money. He held his breath as she came back and paid the cab man and they sped off. He quickly Slid the diary into his folder and suddenly started grinning. He will finally get to eat a proper meal in days. Who says Goð doesn't answer prayers?

Glad to have you with us Candis...

He didn't bring the diary out till he got home and locked the door. He got home and counted the money. A total of fourteen thousand naira. "Praise Jesus" he screamed. He took some of the money and went to the shop beside his house
"Bros you never pay me my money oh" the woman snapped at him
"How much be your money"
"Five Hundred and eighty naira"
"Oya take. I wan buy rice and tinned tomato" he said giving her one thousand naira note
"E be like say pepper don rest oh" the woman hailed him
"God dey" he replied grinning at her

Love your write up,please upload more!

Thanks. Will do that later in the day. Have a nice day y'all and stay tuned

nnonso yawned as he looked around the sitting room trying to gauge which properties in the house he couls sell to renew the rent, the flat screen LCD, definitely. the home theatre, the split unit ac; they were all alex and emma's properties and since he wasnt sure if they will be coming back he felt there wont be any harm to sell them and claim he used it to pay their own part of the rent. He glanced at the glass dinning set and wondered how much he will be able to get for it, his eyes caught the lether bound diary he stole earlier, it was onthe table where he had dropped it after taking out the money. He picked it up and turned it around examining it. The leather was brown in color, it was a big book and looked worn as if someone had spent a lot of time reading it, or writing in it he corrected himself as he opened it. Across each colunm a thin line was carefully drawn demarcating as if to create more space to write on: the pages were filled with tiny letters as if the person writing in didnt want any other person to read it. Nnonso squinted at the letters in vain but they were too tiny, he got the recharchable light from the room shone the light on the pages of the book and read the first paragraph
My name Bola am twenty six years old. This is my diary; I call him Ife mi and this is my story....

******
He heard the banging on his door before he woke up; nnonso yawned hugely and rubbed his eyes. The knock came again this time even louder, he frowned sure he knew who was knocking
“Wetin” he snapped at her immediately he wrenched the door open

“Shouu... Which kind sleep you dey sleep wey you no even fit answer me since wey I dey knock”
It was Adesuwa his girlfriend; nnonso wasn’t exactly sure he will classify her as his girlfriend but at least she helped to keep his sexual urges at bay

“Wetin you dey do for here?”

“So I no fit come greet you”

“You for call me nah; I get where I dey go this morning I wan begin dey ready”

“I get credit? No be im make me say make I come see you make I know how far”

“How far as per?”

“How far runs nah, anything for me?”
“Which kind anything for you? You no dey get enough money from the Ashawo work wey yoy dey do?”

“Ah!!!” She screeched; “ME Ashawo; your papa”

“Carry your wahala comot for here abeg”

“I go go but you go give me money for transport wey I take come here”

“I ask you come? No disturb my life now I no get money”

“You dey crase so after I don come from sakponba road u want make I go back notin notin; god punish you
“I ask you come? You no go fnd one big man wey you fit f+u+c+k this morning make e sort you?”

“Iye!!! Me Bleep big man for money? I dey warn you oh I no like this thing wey you dey call me Ashawo ohh take your time oh. She said waving her hand in his face”

“Comot your hand from my face jare” he said swatting at her hand

“Eh!! You wan fight me? God go punish you”
“I no go fight you; I go beat you eh; if I sound that your mouth wey you dey sharp so eh?”

“Try am, try am nah me you wan slap me? Ogun go kill your mama kill your papa”

“Ogun no dey kill ogun nah iron”

“I dey warn you oh; I no even know wetin carry me come here sef, fine me money for transport make I dey go or I go disturb your life today, abi you think say I no ready for you? Except say you go kill me today” she said clapping her hands in his face.
Nnonso sighed hugely very sure that she won’t hesitate to fulfill her promise. “Which kind temptation be this one this early morning”
Stay here” he said to her
He went in and came out with a thousand naira note. Take he said pushing it into her hand “oya come dey go”
“One thousand!!! I yeh oooo you no dey shame. Na only one thousand you fit give me bah?”
“You get luck say I no get change you think say I for give you reach 1k?”
“God punish you make I carry my wahala dey go I no just get your time dis morning”
Bye bye he said slamming the door immediately she stepped out
He stood for a while at the door frowning slightly at it thoroughly irritated.
What kind of life is this sef? His mind went to Bola; the ‘Bolas’ of this world didn’t know what people like him went through every day. With their designer clothes and shoes and wads of thousand naira notes sticking out of dairies in the bus. He felt a little satisfaction that he took the money. Am sure there’s a guy somewhere that will be too eager to replace it. His mind went again to the diary; suddenly he was curious to know the type of life she lived
He went to where he dropped the diary under his pillow and opened it and read carefully from it
I have never been in love in my life. The only emotions I know are passions and hate. But love? What is it? How does it feel to know beyond a shadow of doubt that he belongs to you and you to him. Ife mi you are my only love because I know I can tell you everything and anything
I am still with Deji; but not for long. I know he will leave me soon. He has started getting restless, I see in his eyes that look that they all always have when they feel I have nothing new to offer them or when they have met someone else. I should feel sad that he’s leaving me but I don’t. I feel relieved. No longer do i have to pretend and smile and laugh at his jokes. Maybe when he leaves me I will finally find someone else that can love me and teach me to love him. I am getting excited now ife mi. I even think of leaving him first; but no, I won’t break my rules. I will keep giving him the cold looks and the sassy mouth till he walks. Yes Ife mi; this is what I am and this is what life has to offer me. I will put a smile on my face for the world to see and know that I am alright.

Nnonso looked up and stared at the wall. He knew a little of what Bola felt. He has never been in love himself. Girls don’t fall in love with guys like him. But pretty Bola had problem falling in love too? What a surprise!!! He had imagined that she would have men lined up begging to please her and she would have her pick and enslave the poor bastard for the rest of his life with her sultry eyes and pouty lips. This was a revelation to him. She seemed so perfect and he just assumed she had a perfect life; even her writing was slanted beautifully and her words spoke of a cultured English language command. He glanced at the time, it was getting late and he really did have a job appointment. He got up and started getting dressed.

kip it cumin bro

AMYpurple: kip it cumin bro

will you be my ife mi

IZUKWU: will you be my ife mi

lips sealed

You are late” the secretary snapped at nnonso
“Am sorry I was told to be here by 11am”
“No, you were told to be here by 9am”
“I am very sure the man said 11am” nnonso countered
“Anyway it doesn’t matter; my boss is in a meeting now. He can’t see you
I’ll wait”
“You don’t understand, my boss has already concluded the interview for today and am pretty sure the position has been filled”
“What!!!”
“Am sorry, you shouldn’t have been late”
“I was not late; I was told to be here by eleven”
“Well that means there was a miscommunication somewhere. Am sorry but there’s nothing I can do. Better luck next time”
Nnonso couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Better luck next time This is the only chance I had, my last chance to finally get a job after months of joblessness and you are telling me better luck next time?”
“I think you should leave sir; this is a business place not a market place. This is no place for argument, I have told you the interview is over there is nothing more I can do for you”
Nnonso started at her for a white and then turned and stormed out. He cull not believe his bad luck. He had applied for the job as a driver in the firm and the manager had told him to come for the interview today by eleven. He was very sure he said 11am; only for him to come and start hearing rubbish. He was fuming; he was sure that Adesuwa coming to his house this morning was the one that gave him this bad luck. That’s what happens when you tie your destiny with no good people; they pollute your own luck.
This was the end; he had no job in mind to apply for anymore. All the offices he has been to he has been turned down and now he didn’t even have a clue what to do next. He sighed and went to new benin market, he had a customer there that might be able to buy the electronics in his house.
“bro how far nah” edobor greeted him
I dey oh, how work fine
So how far nah, I don ready to sell thoe things I tell you about oh
Ehen? Oya make I follow you go see am nah, I no fit tell you how much I go buy am unless say I see them
“Okay no wahala but I dey tell you everything still be brand new”.
The deal went very fast and by the time they were don nnonso was 250 thousand naira richer and the house looked like it had been cleaned out by armed robbers. Nnonso quickly went to the bank and deposited the money. At least he will be able to pay the rent of 200k next month and still had 50k of his own to survive on.
On getting home he noticed the door was open. It was unlike him, he never forgot to lock the door, he felt his heart quicken in fear, not that there was anything useful in the house a robber could steal now but still..
He stepped into the house cautiously and almost collided with Alex.
Jesus!!! He screamed. “see as fear catch me, bros when you show?”
“E never too tey, wetin happen to all our property nah?”
Nnonso swallowed feeling like a thief caught in the act

Nonso swallowed hard and stared at alex. How the heck did he suddenly appear anð now of all time.
"Err bros" he stammered " you know say we suppose pay rent next month and money no just dey @ all. I never work since that time I commot from prison. So I Gats sell everything make we still see money at least to pay for house"
"Na Im you just carry everything sell? Even my microwave"
" Ah e no easy. Even as I sell dem finish I still gats add my own like 10k to complete the money, market hard now oh"
"Hmmm" alex said suddenly seeming to loose interest in the discussion
"Bros you dey vex?" Nnonso asked
No e no mean, I no go even too stay here so nothing spoil"
"Its still okay" nnonso said grinning, terribly relieved that he wasn't accused of stealing
"Its still okay" alex replied nodding at him
"How far nah you just disappear when yawa gas" nnonso asked him
" Ah e no easy oh, I suppose lie low nah
"What of Émma?"
They don release Emma bt im say e do dey stay benin again, e don kawa"
"Na wah oh nah serious Bleep up be
that oh"
" Me I get deal wey I wan do now, as I do am I dey commot for bini life, the place don dey too hot abeg"
"Bros I dey believe you oh. Life no easy for this bini at all oh"
"Na so we see am oh" Alex agreed with him "anyway later make I rest small"
Okay oh welcome back"
"Thanks"
Alex went into the room; nnonso sat on the couch and looked round. He really did sell everything, the sitting room was looking empty now. At least they still had he couch he thought to himself patting the couch he was sitting on. He paused thinking deeply, there's been something gnawing at the back of his mind. The thought was slipping away but he knew it was something really important he had to do. Something that has been on his mind all day. It suddenly clicked; Bola!!! He was trying to rush home to the diary; he wanted to read more, to know more about her. He went into his room and shut the door, he brought it out from under his pillow where he kept it; he opened it and began reading from where he stopped


"Ife mi I thought I was dying. I have never know such unbearable pains as the drug tore the baby out from my womb".
Nnonso gasped. She was pregnant? She did an abortion? Why didn't she tell me she was pregnant... In his shock he didn't even realise how absurd he sounded. he shook his head in disbelief. So pretty Bola is not above an abortion like all those useless ashis he knew. He knew Adesuwa has had several, never for him though because he was always so careful with her. So what's now the difference between Adesuwa and pretty Bola? He shook his head and continued reading
"I have been vommitting and stoolinge since last night, I was sure the pain will kill me, and at a point I even wished it did. This is what I have brought on myself. With my naivety and a reckless abandon of sanity. How then can I explain getting pregnant for Deji thinking it will make any difference. I can still see the way he looked at me when I told him I was pregnant and the pure relief I saw in his eyes when I told him I won't keep it. What a wimp; he's not even man enough to bear the responsibilities of his actions. Its over between us now; this was the last straw. I broke my rule and ended the relationship, it never amazes me how I always managed to attract the worst of them all. Last night was a punishment I bore gladly, as I cried out in pains at the back of my mind I knew I deserved it and I was grateful because I have the chance to pay for my sins and my foolishness. This morning the pain is gone I only feel weakness and empty inside. So very empty ife mi. I have purged myself of my need to look for happiness in others; I will never tell anyone of this abortion, to me it never happened. This is a cross I will bear alone, even now I can still feel the blood oozing out from between my legs, ridding my body of an unwanted being that took root in me and taking along with it every fantasy and hope I had that this world was a safe place for the innocent and the simple minded."

Nonso looked up as he heard a knock on the door
"Come in" he said quickly closing the book and sliding it under his pillow
"How far". It was alex
"Am ok"
" Ehen I have something to discuss with you"
Wow nnonso thought. This one he's using correct english it must be serious. Nnonso watched him as he took his seat on the plastic chair in the room.
"I have a business that you might be interested in"
"Really?" Nnonso said excited, this is interesting oh, I have been looking for a job since, no luck. What is it"
"We need you to be sure you really want to do this, infact I would not have even involved you at all if not that we are a man down"
Really? Nnonso said again " what is it"
I can't tell you about it until am sure you are all in"
Sounds dangerous"
" Its not dangerous, you will be well taken care of"
"But its a crime right"
"Its against the law yes"
"Will I have to hurts someone?"
"I can't tell you that" nnonso frowned at him. " Look nnonso just take your time and think about it, if you want to do it, just prepare your mind that it could be anything. I don't want to force you to do something against your conscience but once you are involved there no going back"
"Hmmm" nnoso said thinking deeply
"Your cut will be about one million"
One million naira!!!!!"
"Yes"
Nnonso laughed; " you're joking"
"No joke my man, this is serious business, look just take your time ok"
Alex smiled and left nnonso lost in his thought. This could be a chance for him to turn his life around. With one million naira he can start a good business and who knows other opportunities that may arise. But still nnonso thought, for that kind of money what will he have to do? If its drugs, he has no problem with that. He can do that as long as they assure him he will be well protected. But what if its killing someone, or kidnapping and holding someone to ransom. Nnonso shook his head; the money is tempting but can he really sell his soul? What they will need him to do will be really big for them to offer to pay him so much, 1mil is not 1naira. On the other hand how will he survive if he misses this opportunity waiting for a job he's not evén sure he will ever get. He sighed; like Bola said "the world is not a safe place for the innocent and simple minded"....

ok....ds s gud,hope to c wht he wil decide
wel done dear.

AMYpurple: ok....ds s gud,hope to c wht he wil decide
wel done dear.

ife mi , how are you?

IZUKWU: ife mi , how are you?

me gud.

AMYpurple:
me gud.

me likey ;-)

"I'll do it" nnonso announced to Alex
"Wow, ok. Welcome on board" alex said to him
Nonso nodded.
"Am really glad you decided to join us, I appreciate it"
"So what's the story??"
"Later we'll discuss, let me tell my man you're in"
"Ok" nnoso replied and went back to his room, Alex was already engrossed in his BB, probably trying to inform his 'man' he was 'in'. Nnonso was back to his room, he looked round his surrounding. Suddenly his environment was depressing; he hated everything in his room, in short he hated his life. Maybe when he gets the money he will leave this town. Go to somewhere else and start a new life, maybe Aba or Onitsha. He had a cousin who was in clothes business in Onitsha; he could go over there and get a shop in main market and start no matter how small. But first he has to do the 'job'; he sighed. He still has no clue what's expected of him, right now he tried not to think about it. Alex was still talking to his man, anytime now he'll find out what is expected of him. He lay on his back and brought out the diary again and continued reading. The next few pages were typical female life, he rolled his eyes when she gossiped to her diary about a friend, he laughed when she talked about 'hunting' for a new man. There was something intimate about reading her diary, thoughts that she wouldn't have wanted someone else to read were expressed freely in the book, nnonso smiled because he knew that she probably won't have written something if she knew a complete stranger was going to read them. Like when she talked about her infatuation for her boss. She wrote
"When he looks at me ife mi I am afraid to breathe, my senses leave me, I want to melt in his arms. I know he doesn't see me that way, ave seen his wife around; she's perfect. But I can't help but imagine how it will feel just having him even if its for just one night, his hands on my n+a+k+e+d b+r+e+a+s+t+s, the feel of his lips on mine, drinking me in till he's filled to the brim. My fantasies are getting wilder and I even dream of him. Oh ife mi, am I foolish to long for this one thing I know I can never have so badly"
"Yes you are" nnonso said out loud. Girls are just silly he thought rolling his eyes; why is it that forbidden thing that they long for so desperately and then when their hearts are broken they start crying.
He was startled when he heard the knock at the front door, he glanced at the time, almost 10pm. Who could be at the door this late? As he walked out of his room he saw Alex opening the door for someone. The guy that entered was ridiculously handsome; he had a body designed for modelling. He was light completioned and quite tall, his lips were dark probably from too much smoking but that only added to his beauty. He entered the room with a smile and a little dimple sparkled on his cheek.
" This is Eboh" alex introduced him
" Is this the owi Igbo?" Eboh asked. He was soft spoken and had a slight american accent
"Yea that's him"
"Cool"
They sat in the sitting, Alex was sitting beside Eboh facing nnonswo.
"So I hear you want to join our buisness"
"Yes"
"Okay. Once we tell yóu what it is you understand there's no going back right?"
"Of course"
"Good good"
"So what the Job" nnoso asked eager to know what he was going to have to do
"Its just a very important package that we need you to look after just for a few days that's all"
"Oh!!" That's easy nnonso thought. "What's the package"
"We'll deliver it within next week"
And for how long will I keep it"
"Not upto a week"
"Hmmm. Sounds easy" alex smiled at him
"So what's the package? Nnonso asked getting excited. He could already picture the money in his mind. He noticed the two across from him exchange a glance, suddenly he wasn't so excited. This whole thing seems so easy
" What's the package?" He asked again
" You'll find out when the time comes" Eboh told him
No!! Nnoso said "I don't want any surprises, tell me now"
"Fine, but before I do, I want to warn you. If you jeopardise this operation in anyway, I will kill you"
Nnonso looked at him and suddenly he didn't look so handsome anymore. Nnonso didn't doubt for one second that he will keep his promise
"No problem" nnonso assured him, suddenly finding it difficult to swallow the saliva in his mouth
"Ok, the package is a girl"
The first thing that came to Nnonso's mind was Bola; then he shook the thought off his head, what's has Bola got to do with it
"A real girl" he asked
They get fake one?" Alex asked him rolling his eyes
"Err, am I keeping her against her will?"
Eboh shook his head" what do you think, you think we are paying you a million bucks to have a nice vacation with a nice girl?, who's this guy" he asked Alex shaking his head
" Am sorry I just want to understand, you're going to keep a girl in this house against her will? Kidnapping?"
Alex and Eboh just stared at him. Nnonso felt like crying, he knew it this was too good to be true, his worst nightmare.
"Remember you are already in, no going back"
"Yea" he said nodding
"Don't worry,you won't need to do much, just take care of her while we run our show, then when its all over we'll take her, pay you your money and the deal is done" Eboh said smiling at him
Alex and Eboh stood up and went Into Alex's room. Nonso was left Alone in his thought. He shook his head, what has he gotten himself into now!!!!

AMYpurple:

Sowiee. Its was Nnonso's choice not mine. Lol

The next morning Nnonso woke up very early; after the small meeting with Eboh and Alex, he had gone straight to bed and fell asleep almost immediately. When he woke up he lay on the bed for a while, he tried to blank his thought but his mind kept going back to Eboh's words "the package is a girl". Nonso knew he was desperate to survive in this world, against all the odds that life has thrown at him, but can he really do this? Its easy to think that when faced with a certain situation you can do what it takes to enrich your pocket but in reality how far can he go? It might not be so bad, he consoled himself. He'll make sure he feeds her well, he's a reasonably good cook. He won't feed her just bread and water like all those kidnapped victims he hears on the news. He has heard so many terrible things kidnappers do to their victims; and then it dawned on him; this time HE was the kidnapper. He shuddered at the thought. His mother in the village will weep in sorrow if she knew what her son has become. But in the end it will be worth it, he told himself. With the money he's paid he can start a new life; he can make sure he never has to resort to this type of thing again. Ever. But a thought kept gnawing at the back of his mind, once you turn to crime there's no going back...
He glanced at the time. 5Am. Sunday morning. Nonso could not remember the last time he went to church, but right now he felt like he was going crazy. He needed to talk someone and since he talk can't to an actual person, he might as well talk to God. He got up and quickly got dressed; ha can still meet the 6AM mass at St. Andrews. He got to church and sat in the front pew; he was feeling positive, maybe God will touch his life today and turn it around. He hummed a song softly ' do not allow me, do not allow me, do not allow me Jesus to Go empty handed'. The lord was going to do something beautiful in his life today, he was very sure of that. A young man of about his age came and sat beside him; he was carrying a briefcase. At the back of his mind Nonso thought " who goes to church with a briefcase?" He pushed the thought away, he won't let anything distract him today and make him miss his blessing.
The service started: the choir tuned their entrance hymn "here we are, all together as we sing our song joyfully". The procession started, the priest walked in slowly, Nonso stood up and sang the hymn with his whole heart.
"Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in christ" the priest said. Immediately he opened his mouth Nonso suddenly remembered why he hated coming to church; the parish priest of St. Andrews parish was an exceedingly boring man. His sermons were always long and out of point, he never said anything meaningful. Nonso used to wonder how he even qualified to be a priest and never learnt how to preach. He voice had an annoyingly dry tone and it always drew nonso to sleep; he sighed, anyway he came to pray to God not the Priest. He will try as much as possible to make this mass a direct communication between him and God. They sat down for the reading, the young man beside him opened his briefcase and brought out an ipad Nonso rolled his eyes, didn't he see 20 naira bulletin outside? Half way through the first reading Nonso peeped into the ipad and gasped; the man was playing scrabble. The rest of the mass went downhill from there, during the sermon the man started playing a football game on his tablet. Nonso was more interested in the game than in what the priest was saying. During communion Nonso was shocked, not just that the man stood up to go and receive communion after spending the entire mass playing games, he went along with his ipad!!!! Nonso burst out laughing, how foolish can some people be? Is he expecting the priest to bless the ipad after receiving communion; like they did for people who carried babies along. Nonso shook his head, who's he kidding. What made him think a day in church was going to change his life, he sighed, he just wasted his time. The world seemeð to be slipping from his grasp, he wasn't sure what was right or wrong anymore. He couldn't even feel spiritual fulfilment at church, the priest that had been boring all along suddenly came alive with excitement when it came to time for launching. Nonso hissed loudly and stood up and left; he couldn't help but feel there was no salvation for him. He will do the job and hope his conscience survives it....

Nonso met Alex in the sitting room
"Where you go?" Alex asked him
"Church" he answered
"I cooked rice if you are hungry"
"Ok thanks, I'll eat later"
"Listen man I know this is hard for you but believe me we are not going to hurt the girl"
Nonso nodded
"So when are you guys picking her up"
"By wednesday evening"
"Okay" Nonso wanted to ask how they will do it, but he wasn't sure he really wanted to know so he just sat down beside Alex. They was no TV to watch so they just sat awkwardly, saying nothing
"Should I bring food for you?"Alex asked
Okay" he replied. A bit surprised,what's with the pampering this morning? Alex Went into the kitchen, when he came out with the food Nonso asked him
"So who's the girl?"
"Her father is an honourable member" Alex replied handing him the food
Oh politicians! Nonso thought. So all he's really doing is sharing in the national cake. And a politician won't hesitate to pay the money and it won't even be from his own pocket, he'll just steal Govt money. Nonso relaxed suddenly wondering why he was fretting in the first place. Then Alex said;
"She's dating Eboh"
Nonso almost choked his food. "How!!!"
"He approached her, you know chyked her, she thinks he's an oil company worker based in ph; it will be very easy for her to come home with him, we want to keep the kidnapping clean, no violence you know"
Nonso stared at Alex as if he had gone mad.
"You're are joking right?" He asked him
"Nope"
"So she knows him"
"Yes"
Very well"
Yes" alex said looking confused
"So he plans to kill her"
" Noooooo" alex said
"So wait, you want me to believe that he will lure her here, keep her against her will, collect ransom from her father and then release her to go home and report him, even bring the police to this place"
" No its won't be like that"
"How will it be? Please enlighten me, because if he knows her I don't see how this is going to end without her dying" Nonso was shouting now
"Calm down, am sure Eboh has a plan"
"How did you even meet this guy" nonso asked
"We have a mutual friend"
"So you didn't know him before now?"
"He's cool"
"CooL? Oh My God how can you be so
stupid"
"Am not..."
Nonso cut him off"This guy is going to seduce a girl, collect money from her father and then kill her and you think he's cool?"
"He won't kill her"
Nonso couldn't believe how stupid Alex was being, the food in his mouth suddenly turned to dust. He stood up abruptly and went into his room slamming the door. He paced the room, restless. This was not what he signed up for; he was not going to be involved in murder. He felt he was going crazy, he has to talk to someone, anyone. His eyes went to the diary peeping out from under his pillow; if only he could talk to bola. He opened the diary and turned to the back page, no contact. He started meticulously searching the pages of the diary. He was almost through with reading it, he hasn't come across any contact address or phone number. He kept opening the pages until he came to the second to last page. There it was scribbled boldly, a phone number. He quickly dialled the number, if it wasn't bola maybe the person could direct him to her. She picked up after a few rings
"Hello"
"Hi, is this Bola"
"Yea, who's this?"
The voice was the same smoky voice he remembered from the cab"Am sorry but we entered a cab together one day and you forgot your diary"
There was a pause and then she gushed "yea yea, do you have it?"
"Yes I do, it just occurred to me to search for a contact and luckily I found your number written in it"
"Yea, yea, am always so careless and so I just decided to write down my number in case I lost it and thank God I did" she finished laughing
Nonso smiled at the sound of her laughter, it was like a breath of fresh air
"So where are you? Can I meet you somewhere?"
Ok if you are free"
"Oh yes am free now, I just got back from church am not doing anything"
"Okay, do you know chicken republic at sapele road"
"Of course"
"How about we meet there in like an hour"
Okay cool".
Nonso chose sapele road because he realised he has to go to an ATM to replace her money he took, even though she diðnt mention it he knew she will be expecting it; who wouldn't ?. The 250k he got from the sales of the household equipment was still intact. He was supposed to renew the rent this week but seeing as they are about to commit a big crime there there's no point, he's leaving once the job is done.
As he was leaving alex appeared from nowhere
"Where are you going!"
"Out"
out where"
"To see a friend"
"Which friend? Which area"
"Oh my God he told you to keep an eye on me?"
No, its just that we don't want you talking to people you shouldn't. You know this is a delicate matter"
" What are you going to do lock me inside the room"
"Come on nonso, you are not a baby, don't risk your life"
"Go to hell" nonso told him and left banging the door behind him

More ink to ur pen.love the story please more update.thanks

Pls come and update more, very interesting storyline u have here, keep it up.

Nonso sat at the restaurant waiting; he's been there for at about 30mins sipping on a bottle of coke while he waited, he kept glancing at the time. She wasn't going to stand him up was she?; anyway hanging out here looking round was better than hanging out in that his depressing room. suddenly he saw her; she was even more beautiful than he remembered, she walked into the restaurant and paused looking round for him. He waved at her and she walked over him and sat down
"Hi, sorry am late. It took me a little time to get a bike"
"Its fine" he said smiling at her
"So formal introductions, am Bola. And you are?"
"Oh sorry, Nonso"
"Oh, Ibo"
"Yea"
"Cool. Kedu"
"Odinma" Nonso said and they laughed.
He was lost in her, her fragrance, her beauty, the way her face widened when she laughed, the musical sound of her laughter. He just wanted to stay here with her and never go back to that dreary apartment. She noticed him staring at her and suddenly grew really uncomfortable.
"So..." She said
"Oh yes, the diary" nonso said laughing. He brought it out and gave it to her
"Ohhhh, thannnnks" she gushed."That's so nice of you really" she opened it and gasped" my money is still here, wow I didn't know am this rich" Nonso laughed with her. " Thanks really" she said again
"You're welcome"
"I fell like I should give you something" she told him
"Don't even think about it, I should have brought it sooner but ave just been really busy"
"Really? What do you do" she asked him
"Err.." Nonso stammered
"Oh am sorry am not trying to be rude, am just trying to get to know you better you know"
"No its okay"
" Well, me I work in a bank, Access bank"
"Really?, that's cool, which branch?"
"Adesuwa road? Do you have an account with us?"
"Nahh, sorry"
"Its okay" they fell silent again
Nonso watçheð her. He could see she was trying her best not to act like it was a big deal he avoided her question, he hid a smile as she looked around the restaurant, suddenly nervous. He was a complete stranger to her; she might have been familiar to him because he read her diary, but she had no clue who he was.
"So did you read it" she suddenly asked as if she read his thoughts
"What?"
She smiled " you"re very good at evasiveness aren't you"
"Why do you say that?"
"asking me what; like you don't know what am asking about" she said rolling her eyes
" You"re talking of the diary"
"No am talking of the bible" she said getting a little annoyed
"Of course not, why will you ask me that?" Nonso lied
"Seriously, you want me to believe that?"
"Believe what you want, but I didn't read it, the writings are too small anyway"
"They are right? I did it purposely" she said proud of herself. Nonso smiled at her
"I should at least buy you lunch, please I insist" she said to him
"Okay" they got the food and sat down back. Nonso watched her as she focussed on her food, suddenly they had nothing more to say to each other. He's given her the diary, he had no business with her anymore, after today he probably won't ever see her again. The thought suddenly took him back to his problems and his appetite disappeared for the second Time that day.
" Are you okay? She asked. He didn't. realise she had been watching him.
Nonso shrugged
"I can be a listening ear" she told him
"Its okay, its just a job am considering taking"
"Oh?"
"Yea, see ave been out of a job for a while and this opportunity came up but its not really what I do so..."
"Well if you have been out of a job, what other choice do you have?"
"I don't know"
"The way I see it, it doesn't matter what you do so long as it puts food on your table, like me I studied chemical engineering and am working in a bank. Its not like its what I want to do; but since I can't get any better job what choice do I have? She finished
Nonso watched her as she spoke, how very different their situation was
"You're right,I should just take the job " he told her
"Yes, until at least you get something better or you save enough money to start your own business"
"Yea, thanks"
"See? I knew you'll feel better once you talk about it" she said smiling at him. He nodded.
"You know people say there's no job in this country, I think they should say there's no 'good' job in this country. It just all depends on how hard you are willing to work for peanuts. Anything to keep you from going on the streets right" she finished her sermon smiling
"What do you mean 'going on the streets" Nonso asked
"You know like robbery, kidnapping. and such". Nonso tasted bile in his mouth. He was suddenly pissed. What did this princess know about real like anyway. Her idea for 'settling for less' was working in a bank?
"You have no idea what you are talking about" he said to her
"Yes I do"
"No you don't" he yelled "there are no jobs out there, NONE. Good or bad, NONE" he sighed suddenly aware he was yelling "am sorry"
"No its okay, you need to vent. Am strong I can take it"
"Well aren't you an angel" he said sarcastically
"Am just trying to help"
"I don't need your help" he snapped at her
"I think maybe I should go"
"Yea maybe you should". He watched her as she left feeling so sad, he knew he was being harsh on her but she's too innocent to understand the mess he's in, and he can't even involve her anyway; Nonso couldn't shake the feeling that his whole world was crumbling around him.

Thanks for the update, so when re we expecting the next one?

uh-uh...frustration in display.

;(

Nonso got home even more depressed than when he left. He was met at the door by a worried Alex;
"How far" Alex greeted him
"What??" Nonso snapped at him
"What's your problem guy, am tired of this your attitude, its not like I forced you to get involved. You made that choice yourself so don't attack me just to appease your conscience"
"This wasn't what I signed up for"
"Really? What's the limit? To what extent can't you go for a million naira in this your condition?"
Nonso stared at him for a while, shook his head and went into his room
"See? You want to do it so don't go feeling sanctimonious" Alex yelled after him.
Once inside his room Nonso thought about it. Really, what was his limit? As scary as the thought was to him if someone should put a gun in his hand right now and say pull the trigger, he would do it. If it means he's getting a million naira, he will pull the trigger and think about the consequences later. What does that say of him? He tried to sniff away the tears in his eyes but they wouldn't go. He wept quietly into his pillow
"God please forgive me" he pleaded
But there's nothing to forgive a voice at the back of his head told him. You haven't done it yet, you can still walk away.
"How can I?"He wailed "how can I walk away from a million naira in this my condition". There's no way he could; this could change his life and the life of his family. He could start a profitable business, he won't be like those people that start living extravagant lives and throw the money away all because its 'blood money'. He will use his own to do something useful with his life. He sniffed again and wiped his eyes; its not like he has a choice after all na condition make crayfish bend.....
With this new resolution Nonso started preparing himself for the task ahead. The next day they brought in a carpenter to fix new locks on the door; they decided to use Emma's room since he wasn't around, the keys were handed over to Nonso since he's going to be the main 'jailer'.

It was a day before Eboh was supposed to deliver the girl to them. Nonso lay on his bed trying to suppress the nausea that threatened to swallow him up because of what they were planning to do; suddenly a thought came to him, he quickly sat up and picked up his phone before he changed his mind. Bola picked up the phone on the first ring
"Hello"
"Hi, its me Nonso"
"Yea I know" the voice didn't sound hostile, it didn't sound friendly either
"Listen I just want to apologise for my attitude the other day"
"Thanks". There was nothing more to say. Nonso suddenly started feeling that this was a bad idea.
"How are you" she asked when it was obvious he had nothing to say
"Fine, am fine" he replied. " Anyway I just wanted to say Hi, am starting work tomorrow so I might not have the Time to call you anymore"
"You don't have to call me to say Hi, its not like we know each other"
"Yea. You're right" Nonso said sighing
"You read it didn't you" she suddenly asked. He knew she was asking about the diary
"Yes" he admitted
"Hmmm, so now you think you know me?"
"I don't know, maybe; a little"
"Is the Job a bad thing?"She asked
"Am not supposed to say" he replied, dying to talk about it but knowing he couldn't
"Which means yes" she said
"If I tell you, I'll have to kill you" they both laughed
"You don't have to do it you know"
"I think I do" Nonso said
"We like to think we have no choice, but we Always do"
"Its too late to get out now, I could risk my life getting out of it"
"Well I can't tell you to risk your life" Bola said, Nonso closed his eyes and felt her soft voice wash over him. He lay on his bed the phone tightly pressed to his ear, he didn't want to miss a word she was saying.
"But I can tell you this, there's nothing worth doing something against your conscience, no amount of money can wash away that bad feeling, it eats you up from within, believe me I know exactly how that feels."
"You're are talking about the abortion?"
She was silent for a while, then she said
"Yes; before I did it, I thought it was not a big deal, people do it every time right? But after I did it I changed, at first I didn't even notice it but my values changed, things I never thought I was capable of doing I found myself doing without thinking twice because your self worth is gone, you look at yourself and you see NOTHING; because the truth is once you cross that line there's no going back."
Nonso was listening intently now,
"What kills your more is the thought that you could have made the choice NOT to do it but you did it anyway, see people are different. Lots of people do bad things and they feel nothing. While others do it and it kills them, I guess what you really have to think about Nonso is which category you fall into.
"Am surprised" Nonso told her, "I don't get why you are saying all these to me; its not like you know what am about to do"
"Well am not saying you are about to do something really criminal or anything, I just had this burden in my heart to say all these to you, I was gonna call you but I was scared, our last meeting didn't exactly end well"
"No it didn't" Nonso replied
"Well now I have got it off my chest I feel really relieved"
"Thanks" Nonso told her
"You know you can call me anytime, if you like wanna hang out or something"
Nonso smiled " thanks" he said again
"Goodbye" she said
"Bye"
After the call Nonso lay on the bed for a long time thinking deeply, he didn't know when he dosed off. When he woke up it was about 4pm; he looked round his room, there was nothing here he'll miss. He picked up his charger and put it in his pocket, he casually strolled out.
"Bros you dey go out?" Alex asked him
"I wan buy recharge card for outside, you need anything"
"Oh yes abeg help me buy MTN 400" he searched his pocket till he came up with 500 naira note and handed to Nonso. Nonso took the money and walked away.
30minutes later, Nonso was sitting at the back seat of faith motors heading to Onitsha. From there he'll go to his village. He sat resting his head on the window looking out the vehicle as it sped off. He still had the money he got from selling Alex and Emma's properties. He will go home, spend sometime with his family and take time to regroup. Who knows where his own breakthrough will come from, could even come from one of those his rich uncles in the village. He chuckled when he thought about Alex and Eboh, how they'll feel if they realised he had absconded. At the park he threw his sim away and bought a new one. To his surprised he no longer felt scared about his future, he didn't even feel so much like the failure he felt a day ago. He smiled to himself when he realised the feeling that was warming the pit of his stomach; he felt saved...
THE END

U passed d message across so well,nice job

Thanks Candis and all my readers; I hope you enjoyed the story of Nonso. I hope to upload other short stories as time goes on, keep watching....