So Albert finally died Sad, the president has to pay!!

Anugod:
Sis can you make the topic an English name? Then probably put the original name in your first post? Cos, alotta peeps would just bypass the title since it sounds uninteresting to most

Even me, I only came in cos I was directed from someone's dairy... Ordinarily, it's difficult to open a thread bearing this title...(that's if you want more views oo).

But...if you attract more people here, then you gats dey feed us plenty meals o, if not dem go finish ya life oo, all 'em Oliver Twists

But if you're ok with the cool environment, then fine. You've really got a great story here

Thanks babe, now that u ve pointed it out it makes sense.

* Continues*


" We have to bury him" Mensah said in the wee hours of the next morning.

" I will take him home" i said.

" We don't know if the streets are safe yet " Lyon said.

I stood up and hefted My brother ' s heavy body over my shoulder, i staggered under his weight and Mensah reached out a hand to steady me. " I am taking him home"

" let me carry him, i will come with you " Mensah said seeing my mind was made up.

" No you stay here, you are wanted" i said.

They followed me to the church exit, opened the gate for me and i slipped out. The air smelled foul of dead bodies and i forced myself not puke. There were burnt tires on the road, some houses had been touched down. I walked slowly, my back ached from the weight of my dead brother's body. I wondered if i still had a home, if my mother and Pam were alright.


" Who are you! Where are you from"? the group of boys i saw the previous day were suddenly upon me.

" My name is Kojo, am from Yoto ( A state in Togo). "

" Who is that on your shoulder!"? The leader of the group barked at me.

" My .......my brother. He was shot yesterday"


" The soldiers are still roaming the streets.Where are you taking him?

" Home " I said in a tired voice.


" You!" He pointed at one of his boys " help our fellow brother take his late brother home. Make sure he is safe!"


The giant like man hefted Albert' s body from my shoulder like a sack of rice and flung it on his shoulder " Show me the way to your house"


" Thank you sir!" i called as i hurried after the rebel. We ducked several times when we thought the soldiers were coming. I was happy to see my father' s mud houses were still standing, Mensah ' s compound had been burnt to the ground, not only is Ama one eyed now, she is also homeless and her brother is on the run. What a life! We knocked on Nma ' s door severally but there was no response, my escort gave the door a firece kick with his foot and it opened. My whole family, Nma( Mother), Npa ( Father), Pam, Kofa and Afine were huddled together in a corner of the small hut. They gave a chorus of screams as the door opened. My escort dropped Albert in the middle of the hut and left quietly.



" Ah my son....... My son...." Nma sobbed touching him.


Afine came closer and clutched his head to her chest wailing at the top of her lungs. That moment i realized that Afine must have been coerced by her family to marry my father. Afine never stopped loving my brother, little comfort that gave me anyway because it was too late. Npa ( Father) tried to touch him but Nma ( Mother) beat his hands away. Little Pam held his ( Albert)' s stiff fingers crying. Kofa put his arms around his sister comforting her.


" My son......my son..... i prayed all night for the lord to keep you safe.....i prayed and cried all night hoping the good lord will keep you safe......my son..." Nma cried.


I sat in a corner of the hut feeling numb. It was like i was no longer capable of emotions.
***************************************************



Yoto boys started killing the Northerners, the king called them and spoke to them. Some Northerners also lost their children on that fateful, he beseeched them to bury their deads and not take laws into their hands. The president gave a pathetic press release asking his armies to stop ' killing innocent' people, in his words. Although the armies were no longer on the streets, people were still afraid to go out of their homes. Josey, my mother' s distant cousin, who was also known as the Town' s gossip lost her triplet girls on that day. The little girls were in Pam ' s class, Nma couldn't go to the march on that fateful day because little Pam got sick the previous night.


Josey became dumb ever since her girls died, she doesn't respond when spoken to, doesn't talk to anyone. All she does is to stare at nothing. The girls and Albert were buried on the same day, some of my ex classmates also lost their lives including my friend, with whom i watch horror movies. During the funeral which was held in my father' s compound, i was asked to go into the room where the girls were dressed. If Albert were to be alive, as their uncle, he would have performed the final rites of touching their heads with seven cowries seven times for their smooth transition into the other world.I entered the room, all three of them were on Nma' s bamboo bed sleeping peacefully. They were attired in black and white poka dot gown. Their hair was in two braids. They looked beautiful except for the purplish colorings on their arms and forehead where the bullets had pierced them.


" Bertha, Filbert, Preta" tears streamed down my face. I repeated their names seven times touching their foreheads seven times respectively.


This rite has to be done because they didn't die a peaceful death. This is the only way their souls could be accepted in the underworld. My uncle was still in jail, Mensah was also on the run so the triplets' s father even though he was not truly our uncle performed the rites on Albert.After the rites performance, Father Flavi came to pray and he brought his congregation with him. He has been visiting homes to pray for their dead ones and he looked weary. When it was time to take the bodies to the cemetary, Albert and Bertha refused to go. The people carrying their caskets suddenly became immobile, the women wailed and Nma ( Mother) flung herself on the ground. Afine helped her up also crying her heart out. Filbert and Preta when they were alive was always together so it was no wonder that they hurried those carrying their caskets along simultaneously towards the cemetary. Berta was her mother' s pet, she refused to go without her mother. The women lifted up Josey from where she sat, they led her towards the cemetary and Berta followed once again.As for Albert he refused to move, gins were poured on the ground, fowls slaughtered and their bloods poured on the ground but still he refused to go until father went to talk to him and begged for his forgiveness. Afine too cried begging and openly declaring her love for him while Nma and the other mourners looked on not knowing what was going on. Albert started moving slowly towards the cemetary. As for me it seems as if a part of me had died and something dark and evil had awaken in me.Revenge they say is better served cold.





TBC

Please keep the comments coming!

Wow!

Kojo is now hardened. He will do much worse and won't rest till he avenges blood.

O boy!! Kojo will be more deadly than messi. I only feel sorry for nma and afine, kip it coming bibi.

* Continues*



Now more than ever i want to be rich, this time around nothing and no one will stop me. I want to beat the sick man ( President Komla Amuzu) at his sick game. I want to bring him down on his knees in pain and shame, most of all i want to see him die a horrible and shameful death. I want him to pay for what he did to Albert, Bella, Lyon' s family, My triplet cousins and for the thousands of lives he has destroyed. But am ready to wait, am ready to run today if his armies attack for he who runs today lives to fight another day. President Amuzu' s name is forever stamped in the vile, dark part of my mind.


After the funeral, i found time to visit Ama. Mensah has been sneaking to see her, even though the soldiers has been called off, they were still on the lookout for the wanted men. She handed a letter to me as she followed it with a tight hug.

" What is this Ama"?

" My brother asked me to give it to you. By the way where have you been?"

Apparently she had no idea of what had happened. I opened the letter and scanned through it.

" leaving town tonight with Lyon and some Yoto boys.
Am entrusting my sister into your care. Please keep her safe."

Mensah.


I folded the letter and put it in my pocket " Am famished, what should i get for us"?

" What does the letter say? he was acting real weird when he came to see me. Is everything alright?" She asked.

No,nothing was right, i doubt if they will ever be right again but i said " Yes Ama, everything is alright. Now what do i get for us to eat?"

" You can get us anything but make sure you buy turkey ass too"

" OK madam, copy that! " i gave a mock salute and walked out of the room.


She was discharged the next morning, as we were packing her belongings in the hospital room she suddenly faced me, staring into my eyes. " Kojo, you know you can tell me anything. If anything has happened i will prefer hearing it from you".


I sat on the bed and she did same. She sat in stony silence while i told her all that has taken place in the last few days. She hugged me tightly when i was done and i wiped the tears from her eyes. We went to the motor pack and boarded a bus to our town. I was surprised to see life go back to the way it was before that tragic day. The world didnt come to an end because my brother died, the sun still rose and set everyday. Little Pam resumed school, Kofa continued with his escapades, Npa ( Father) once again turned to the bottles, what a life! i have learnt a new lesson in life : 'No matter what happens, life goes on'


Josey was taken to a psychiatric hospital, Nma has gone so quiet i often find myself wondering what was going on in her head. Ama, now living with us refused to go back to school, i started going to the market place once again, now that the ' God sent' are no more, i have to hustle for our daily bread. I would carry bag after bags of rice until my back and knees begged for mercy.
On Wednesdays i take Ama to the hospital for treatment, the eye is still covered with plaster, i
sit in the waiting room until the doctors are done with her and we would go home in silence. What is there to talk about? Life has gone sour for the both of us. Kofa started his weird behaviors again, i paid him no heed until Ama pointed it out to me one evening.


" Don't you think it is weird of Kofa saying he wants to use the convenience whenever Nma is in the bathroom?"


The convenience not that it gives any convinces any way is close to the bathroom. Both the bathroom and convenience was built at the back of our rooms with bamboo woods. The convenience was a pit latrine, but Nma kept it so clean you will think its one of those fancy toilets i see in movies while the bathroom was also built with bamboo woods and it had a rusty old zinc for a door.

" What is weird in him using the convenience? " i asked.

" There's nothing wrong with him using the convenience!" She snapped at me and that was the end of the convenience discussion but deep down i felt uncomfortable.


TBC

End of episode 3

Episode 4

An end and a new beginning.



" Kojo! Kojo!" Ama screamed my name from outside.

I just got back from the market, now that i want to rest a bit Ama won't let me be, women and their many problems. I sighed and got up from my mat " Am coming "

" Hurry! Please hurry!"

The note of urgency in her voice had me rushing outside. Nma ( Mother) was bent in an awkward position while Ama held her. The sight of the blood in front of them made my heart skip a beat or two.


" What happened?" I said lifting Nma ' s frail body into my arms.

" I don't know! i found her like this!"

I carried Nma into the hut while blood kept coming out of her mouth. Ama got a bowl of water and a piece of rag to wipe her mouth. " Go and call Npa ( father)" i said.

Ama went out and came in minutes later with my father who had a long chewing stick in his mouth.

" Excuse us children" Npa said.

" No we are not going anywhere, we have to take her to the hospital" i was furious at my father.

" This is not a matter of hospital, it is no secret that when a woman commits adultery this is what happens to her" Npa said like he was explaining a brilliant discovery.

We have many customs and traditions in my country, in some households their girls can't sell their body for money ( Prostitute/ Prostitution) if she tries it she will die. While in some families if you commit adultery, on your way back you will fall three times, if you don't confess immediately you will die. In my own household, you will become sick and vomit blood for three days, failure to confess before the third day will result in death. But in a case where, your husband is aware you committed adultery and he still ate the food prepared by you or had sexual intercourse with you, he will be the one to die. When a woman confess to adultery, she is taken to the village square where every eye will see her, she will be asked by a priest to list the number of men she had slept with, if the number of men were too much, she will scoop some sand from the ground: meaning the number of men were much and she can't remember.


In some families this rule extends to girlfriends and baby mamas too. My mother is a hardworking and a loyal woman, no way she could have cheated on my father even though he doesn't deserve her loyalty. How could he think she could do such a thing? My father measures people with the yardstick of his own dirty mind.

" What has that got to do with Nma bring sick?" i asked him in anger " Ama please go get a taxi"
Ama went out of the hut.

" You think i don't know what am saying? Why will she suddenly start vomiting blood?"

" I ......" Blood spurted out of Nma' s mouth as she tried to speak.

" You what?! You laid with another man!" Father shouted angrily.

" Innocent......innocent.....am" Nma ( mother) cried.

" Leave her alone Npa ( father)! She is innocent!"

Ama came back with the taxi, the cabbie helped me carry her into the cab. That very noon father called on his kinsmen and they went to investigate from the gods, they came back with this message : She is guilty! She has to confess! The doctors couldn't make the blood stop, all the tests done on her came back as negative. An elderly matron called me aside that night, she asked me to take my mother back home, that the elders will know how to find a solution. Could my mother have cheated? and with whom i asked myself over and over. How could i even think of such a thing about my own mother? if it is true, she has to confess before the third day. How could i even ask my mother who lost her son weeks ago if she had gone to lay with another man? I had nobody to talk to that night, Ama had stayed back home to care for Pam. Lord why is all this happening to me? i went back into the hospital room, the bed where Nma was kept was drenched in blood.

" Nma " i called softly. " I know you are innocent but please say you are not, so the kinsmen can help you"

" No! .....no....innocent......Kojo innocent" She said between clenched teeth.

Another sign of a woman who commited adultery, they won't be able to talk properly as their jaws will become locked. This is day one, two more days to go.



TBC

Like, share and comment.

OMG! Babe please come and continue! I'm eager to know what happened. Did quiet and loyal Nma commit adultery? What could be the cause of this sudden predicament? Was she raped? Or lured? And she's pleading innocent oo.. Hmmm, just three days to go!

Gosh!! Who's now lying amongst them. Creative work Bibi, thumbs up.

* Continues*

DAY 2

The next morning i called a taxi and took my mother home, she couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. Every second she would sigh heavily and shake her head. I would go closer to her thinking she wanted to tell me something but she would just sigh again. I saw my kinsmen in the compound when the taxi entered into the compound. The cabbie helped me take her inside her hut. The kinsmen called me aside, asking if perhaps she had opened up to me. Surprisingly Afine became my back bone, she made food for us, She cleaned Nma ' s body with warm water and she took Ama to her doctor' s appointment.



Time was ticking slowly, death hung heavily in the air. All the signs pointed out that Nma had indeed committed adultery but she kept shaking her head, saying no because now she could no longer speak. A priest came to the house, chanting incantations and dancing in circles, still Nma maintained that she was innocent. I tried to remember if i had missed something or over looked something. I kept talking to myself like a man who had taken leave of his senses, have i ever seen her smiling at another man? did she ever over greet any man?




Words had spread that my mother had committed adultery, i could no longer held my head up as i walked on the street, every word took a new meaning for me. A simple ' Ca va' ( how are you?) said to me would get me thinking, are they trying to find out if my mother had confessed? Were they mocking me? little Pam refused to eat, she would wake up in the middle of the night crying. Kofa suddenly disappeared but i didn't give a damn about him, what with every thing i was going through. At night i couldn't sleep, i was afraid to close my eyes for fear that death would come and snatch my mother away. Ama sat beside me in my vigil, she held my hand while we both sat watching Nma.


***************************************************

DAY 3


" Kojo Kojo"

Someone tapped me, i forced my eye lid open.I must have fallen asleep in my sitting position .

" She's gone " Ama said quietly.

" Who? what?" My mind suddenly snapped awake " Who is gone! ?"

True to Ama ' s words she was truly gone. My beautiful Nma, who will i call mother again? Who will starve herself to make sure i had my tummy filled. Who will take me into their arms and assure me it would be alright when my nightmares struck? The blood had stopped coming out of her mouth and she looked at peace. Who did this great evil to me? Who did i offend?

I went out to tell my father, Afine came to carry a sleeping Pam to her own hut. The kinsmen came with a priest to cut Nma' s hair because she died a ' shameful' death. My father said he had no money to buy casket for an adulterous woman. I bought the casket for her and insisted she was buried immediately. So many people came for the funeral and they all sang Nma' s praise, so what had gone wrong? during the funeral Kofa came back from God knows where, that he had been, he locked himself in his hut for days.
Afine had to break the door. He was very sick and pale and he was vomitting blood as well. Npa called the priest and he said Kofa has words to say, only those words could save him. Kofa refused to talk but seeing how delicate his ( kofa) condition was he finally opened up.



" I watched her on several occasions while she took her bath" he spat out blood into the bowl by his bed side.

" Who? What are you talking about?" Afine asked her brother.

" Shut up woman, let him speak" Npa shunned Afine.

I paled at his words, somewhere at the back of my mind, a question rang out. " Isnt it weird that Kofa is always saying he wants to use the convenience whenever Nma is in the bathroom"?
Ama had asked me one evening, long ago.

" I would bring out my manhood while i watched her till i cum ( ejaculate)" Kofa said.

In some household including mine, this is as good as having sex with the woman and it could lead to her death even if she is not aware of it. This is also considered as adultery by the gods because the man doing the looking had cum/ejaculated.

" Kofa! Kofa! You have killed me! You know our culture! You know our culture!" Afine screamed and hit herself on the ground crying.

If Kofa wasn't already in the grips of death i would have strangled him with my bare hands. Npa pulled my hands and dragged me out of the room. I went into my hut, shut the door and screamed and cried till my voice got sore. Ama knocked on the door severally but i didn't open it. Later that night, Afine' s scream rang out. Her brother had also gone to where he sent my mother.





This post is dedicated to my aunt Afi, who lost her life this way, she left behind two little girls, Pam and Falon. RIP



TBC

Missmossy:
Gosh!! Who's now lying amongst them. Creative work Bibi, thumbs up.

Hello bae. Thanks a lot

bibijay123:


Hello bae. Thanks a lot

Don't mention dear,continue the good work.

Anugod:
OMG! Babe please come and continue! I'm eager to know what happened. Did quiet and loyal Nma commit adultery? What could be the cause of this sudden predicament? Was she raped? Or lured? And she's pleading innocent oo.. Hmmm, just three days to go!

Updated sis!

Omo e be lyk say dis story real o. RIP to your aunt bibi, i must say dis is my first time of hearing about sumtin lyk dis. Vaseline crew for nl go don die tire if na Togo dem dey

johnwizey:
Omo e be lyk say dis story real o. RIP to your aunt bibi, i must say dis is my first time of hearing about sumtin lyk dis. Vaseline crew for nl go don die tire if na Togo dem dey

Loool @ Vaseline crew. Thanks, d story is fiction but spiced with some real stuffs, u get? BT that rules applies only to some state, my state.

bibijay123:

* Continues*

DAY 2

The next morning i called a taxi and took my mother home, she couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. Every second she would sigh heavily and shake her head. I would go closer to her thinking she wanted to tell me something but she would just sigh again. I saw my kinsmen in the compound when the taxi entered into the compound. The cabbie helped me take her inside her hut. The kinsmen called me aside, asking if perhaps she had opened up to me. Surprisingly Afine became my back bone, she made food for us, She cleaned Nma ' s body with warm water and she took Ama to her doctor' s appointment.



Time was ticking slowly, death hung heavily in the air. All the signs pointed out that Nma had indeed committed adultery but she kept shaking her head, saying no because now she could no longer speak. A priest came to the house, chanting incantations and dancing in circles, still Nma maintained that she was innocent. I tried to remember if i had missed something or over looked something. I kept talking to myself like a man who had taken leave of his senses, have i ever seen her smiling at another man? did she ever over greet any man?




Words had spread that my mother had committed adultery, i could no longer held my head up as i walked on the street, every word took a new meaning for me. A simple ' Ca va' ( how are you?) said to me would get me thinking, are they trying to find out if my mother had confessed? Were they mocking me? little Pam refused to eat, she would wake up in the middle of the night crying. Kofa suddenly disappeared but i didn't give a damn about him, what with every thing i was going through. At night i couldn't sleep, i was afraid to close my eyes for fear that death would come and snatch my mother away. Ama sat beside me in my vigil, she held my hand while we both sat watching Nma.


***************************************************

DAY 3


" Kojo Kojo"

Someone tapped me, i forced my eye lid open.I must have fallen asleep in my sitting position .

" She's gone " Ama said quietly.

" Who? what?" My mind suddenly snapped awake " Who is gone! ?"

True to Ama ' s words she was truly gone. My beautiful Nma, who will i call mother again? Who will starve herself to make sure i had my tummy filled. Who will take me into their arms and assure me it would be alright when my nightmares struck? The blood had stopped coming out of her mouth and she looked at peace. Who did this great evil to me? Who did i offend?

I went out to tell my father, Afine came to carry a sleeping Pam to her own hut. The kinsmen came with a priest to cut Nma' s hair because she died a ' shameful' death. My father said he had no money to buy casket for an adulterous woman. I bought the casket for her and insisted she was buried immediately. So many people came for the funeral and they all sang Nma' s praise, so what had gone wrong? during the funeral Kofa came back from God knows where, that he had been, he locked himself in his hut for days.
Afine had to break the door. He was very sick and pale and he was vomitting blood as well. Npa called the priest and he said Kofa has words to say, only those words could save him. Kofa refused to talk but seeing how delicate his ( kofa) condition was he finally opened up.



" I watched her on several occasions while she took her bath" he spat out blood into the bowl by his bed side.

" Who? What are you talking about?" Afine asked her brother.

" Shut up woman, let him speak" Npa shunned Afine.

I paled at his words, somewhere at the back of my mind, a question rang out. " Isnt it weird that Kofa is always saying he wants to use the convenience whenever Nma is in the bathroom"?
Ama had asked me one evening, long ago.

" I would bring out my manhood while i watched her till i cum ( ejaculate)" Kofa said.

In some household including mine, this is as good as having sex with the woman and it could lead to her death even if she is not aware of it. This is also considered as adultery by the gods because the man doing the looking had cum/ejaculated.

" Kofa! Kofa! You have killed me! You know our culture! You know our culture!" Afine screamed and hit herself on the ground crying.

If Kofa wasn't already in the grips of death i would have strangled him with my bare hands. Npa pulled my hands and dragged me out of the room. I went into my hut, shut the door and screamed and cried till my voice got sore. Ama knocked on the door severally but i didn't open it. Later that night, Afine' s scream rang out. Her brother had also gone to where he sent my mother.





This post is dedicated to my aunt Afi, who lost her life this way, she left behind two little girls, Pam and Falon. RIP



TBC

My condolences Dear very Powerful!

God! I had goose pimples while reading this episode
So someone can die innocently for what you know nothing about?
What an unjust custom

The fact that it happened for real makes it all the more scary
RIP to your aunt dear

Now, this got me scared.

Yippee! We made it to front page

Kudos Bibi!

Anugod:
God! I had goose pimples while reading this episode
So someone can die innocently for what you know nothing about?
What an unjust custom

The fact that it happened for real makes it all the more scary
RIP to your aunt dear

Yes the custom is so barbaric and unjust. In the past the law included shaking another man who isnt ur husband' s hands, sleeping ( not sex o),on the same bed with a grown man( including ur own son) bt wit time those two were cancelled. Thanks babe

Anugod:
Yippee! We made it to front page

Kudos Bibi!

Really?! Let me go check ooo

Bitterleafsoup:

My condolences Dear very Powerful!

Thanks dear

Anugod:
Yippee! We made it to front page

Kudos Bibi!

Yippie! We made it!

the story is interesting and touching, Rip to the innocent

Glued to my phone

please keep the post coming. You the best

Bibi we made it!!!

bibijay123:
Copyright @2016 by Gaglo Blessing.
All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, or distributed, without prior written permission of me.
Email: blessinggaglo@yahoo.com


TITLE : THE DEVIL HAS THE MONEY




This is the grass to grace story of Kojo a young Togolese boy who craved to escape the clutches of poverty but he finds out the hard way that money is in the mouth of the devil and only the brave dares to take it.
I welcome your comments and criticism as this is my first attempt at writing.Thanks.

Prologue



Do you know the smell of hunger?


My name is Kojo.This year I turn fifteen. This is not a good year for my family, the rain was late last year so we didn't have a fruitful harvest, this was the year my father decided to take a second wife. He gave a larger portion of the farm produce to his new wife, while my mother, my siblings and I had to live on the meager portion given to us. My father had been in Adofo ( wrapper) ever since he brought in the new wife, she is from Aneho, a riverine area in Togo. Aneho women are known for their beauty and my father' s new wife is not an exception.

Every evening, my father would seat in his apasame ( hammock) listening to radio while gulping down some sweet palmwine. Afine, the new bride is usually in the kitchen this time making his evening meal of akple with Ademe. My Nma had warned my brother Albert, my little sister and I not to take anything from the new bride.

Every morning my mother would wake us early so my brother and i will do some house chores before heading to school, my brother is already in lecee but he won't be there for long, my little sister pamela who is almost eight years now hasn't started school yet. We would eat the left over akple usually cut into small lumps in the soup pot by Nma because the soup won't be enough for the three of us otherwise. After we have eaten, my brother and I will trek to school while little Pam goes to the farm with Nma.

Nma sells Anake which she gets from our farm, even though she sold each bundle cinq franc it wasn't enough to chase the wolves from our door. We are almost out of the meager portion of farm produce given to us by my father, Nma couldn't sell Anake whenever it rains because nobody wants to buy woods that won't catch. She went to my father one evening to ask him for some money so Albert ( my brother) can buy some books but he refused. My father' s way of saying no to any request is with his fist.


When Albert and I came back home from the field where we had gone to play football, we saw Nma lying on a mat in her small hut, the left side of her head was battered. her left eye was purple with blood and she was missing a tooth. Albert got angry, now when Albert gets angry things happen_ bad things! he ran into the hut we share and came out with a shiny cutlass. He ran into our father' s hut but he wasnt in, little Pam said he went to the market with Afine. Albert ran out of the compound wielding the cutlass like a mad man, little Pam started crying. Nma tried to get up but she couldn't.

" Kojo. She said in pain. Go after your brother, stop him! Please... " Nma laid back on the mat groaning in pain.

" Ehen"

I ran out of the compound. My heart was pounding heavily. I didn't know which route Albert had taken, I ran to the end of our street, nosey relatives called out to me saying my brother had gone mad. I stopped long enough to find out the direction my brother had taken. He had gone to Azigame ( the main market).

'' Kojo! Kojo!"

I was almost at the Azigame now, when Afine ran towards me crying. Her hair was scattered, her blouse was torn and she was in her under skirt. Good for you! good for you I thought!

" Efo Albert has gone mad! he came to the market wielding a sharp cutlass! See what he did to me! She choked on tears. He' s back there now beating Tonton( sweetheart)."

I looked at her in disgust..... For some seconds I almost pitied her! this was the girl my brother had fallen for! Only for her to string him along and eventually Marry his father. Nobody knew this, even Efo Albert thought I didn't know but he has the bad habit of talking in his sleep. I ignored her and ran faster, Efo Albert was beating Npa ( Father) almost to a pulp. The crowd was afraid of getting closer to him because of the cutlass.

" Awoooo, Awooo, Albert la wum! O la wum lo ooo" NPA screamed begging for mercy. He was almost naked now. I was scared too. I was scared of this Efo Albert, he's nothing like the gentle and easy going Efo Albert that I know. I saw the chandamaries coming, somebody had gone to call them. I pushed through the crowd and edged closer.


" Efo Albert! Efo Albert" I shouted. " The police men are coming! Let us leave here now!"

Efo Albert instantly let go of our father' s almost lifeless body, he grabbed my hands, holding his cutlass with his left hand and we ran, the crowd parted for us like the red sea. We weaved our way through the narrow corners in the market. We r an towards the catholique mission church. Why are we not heading home? then it occurred to me that the policemen won't think to look for a cutlass wielding young man in the church.

TBC

by obeeta3. nice story keep it up

Haba! The gods indeed must be crazy. Killing an innocent person 4 a crime he/she knws ntin abt?...


vaseline crew, that state in Togo is a no go area.


I love ur story. It is entirely different from what I am used to on NL.

bibijay123:





Updated sis!

Well done bibi, nice write up.

bibijay123:
* Continued *

I was scared to tell Nma ( Mother) that I had failed primary five, she would be angry and disappointed with me. I made her believe i was promoted, she was very happy and used the little money on her to buy me new sandals, khaki uniforms and books. I felt so guilty when she called me and gave me the items. I was tired of school already, the only thing on my mind is money, see how Koku was viciously kicking little Pam because he had money. If only i could find a way to make money things will be better for us, Nma ( Mother) won't have to go hungry, Little Pam would have fine dresses and Albert could go to the university.







I saw Albert sometimes in the field, we would sit down in silent, there's everything to talk about and at the same time there's nothing to say. He knew i had failed, Ama was in my school and she must have told him. I wondered if Albert was still going to school, one noon i hid in the bushes to see if Albert would come out of his school gate, i was happy when i saw him and his colleagues coming out of the gate. They were gisting animatedly, something had them excited and i wondered what it was. But I was happy at least one of us is making Nma proud. Some Sundays I scrub up real nice and go to the Catholique Mission church, not because i want to hear about Jesus or his disciples but because i wanted to discover the secret of wealth. Am sure there's a secret about it if not why would some people be so rich while some would be poor? Why was i born into a poor home when some were born with glittering diamond spoons in their! Sometimes i wonder if i offended God while i was still with him in heaven.


I won't mind being poor too much if only i had a little more to eat, i hate the sharp gnawing pangs of hunger, the way it sucks the life out of you making you so weak, most of all i hate the dark and filfty smell of hunger. After one evening mass i walked up to Father Flavi, determined to get an answer to the many unanswered questions in my head.



" Bonsoir Father Flavi" I stopped beside him. He looked at me and smiled, he was a white man but he had been in Togo for so long we stopped seeing him as a white man and accepted him as one of us.


" Bonsoir Kojo, how are you today?"


" Am fine Father, i am curious about some things sir" I began. Father why does God make some people poor and some rich? did the poor ones offend him?


He smiled and beckoned me to follow him to his office. He led the way into his office at the back of the church, he sat down and motioned me to sit on the chair opposite him.


" Kojo you have asked a beautiful question, you see in the sight of God we are all one. We are equal in his sight and he loves us all equally that is why he sent his only begotten son to die for us all' he looked at me smiling.


" If we are all equal
why is my own family poor? that's not equality to me."



" Kojo if only you could see how rich our Father in heaven is, his wealth belongs to us too if only we do things according to his will"



" So if we do things according to his will we would be rich? How about the heathens that are rich sir, where do they get their own wealth from?"



" Kojo the bible tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and every other thing shall follow, whoever is not for God is automatically against him. Not all wealth are from the Lord, some are gotten from the devil"



" The devil!" My eyes almost popped out of my head, the devil also has money?


" But those Ill gotten wealth don't last and the repercussions are grave, it eventually leads to the loss of everything and death! It is better to wait on the lord"




" Thank you sir" i stood up. I was glad to discover one of the secrets of money, the devil also has the money. If only i could make him give me some without paying for it with my life. I got home to find Nma and Little Pam eating like royalties, i wondered if they had gone to someone' s burial. The only thing celebrated these days are burials, there's no money for birthday parties or wedding ceremonies but if you die then be rest assured a party will be thrown for you.I can't remember when last i ate rice was it three years ago? Or two years?


" Efo (bro) Kojo your bowl of jollof rice is in the room" little Pam said with her mouth full.


I ignored her. " Nma where did the food come from?"


" Doji the taxi driver brought us half bag of rice with cans of tin tomatoes and groundnut oil this evening."


" Why did he bring them Nma( Mother)?



" My son i asked him the same question too, we are not related in any way but he said the lord laid it on his heart to do so"




The next evening, Yaovi the hunter brought us two big grass cutters saying he had more than enough meat at home. Nma was reluctant to accept it at first but he insisted and she thanked him after collecting them. I was sent to the market to sell one of them while we used the other one to make soup.
Five neighborhood guys in total brought us different food items that week, maybe the good lord is tired of me asking him endless questions and decided to feed us through the guys so i could keep my mouth shut.
The guys were Doji the taxi driver, Yaovi the hunter, Francis a lecee ( poly) lecturer, Seyram a government worker and Lyon a Lecee student and also a palmwine tapper.









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This part got me laughing, as sad as it is. I'm trying to imagine a young boy discovering the one secret everyone is looking for.

Kudos OP, I feel like voting. Are there no literature awards coming?