Oh! My rich friend,
I never knew you are this heartless
You are so rich, you live in big mansion, but about me, you care less

Remember we both toiled, and bared unimaginable hardship
But you were lucky; you made with fortune a good friendship

What says you about my plight?
For poverty stares at me without fright

Oh dear friend,
I forgot you not, nor about your plight; mindless
Indeed we toiled and faced hardship, we were almost helpless

But wealth is not all about monies we pileup
Wealth is in the mind, people, friendship, the beautiful family we startup

The secret of my wealth is having a purposeful life, putting a smile on people’s face
You can achieve all you want, if you help enough people from different place

Amusing! Oh my rich friend;
You speak such words of old
I won’t be a party to such, they are just theories, assumptions foretold

I have got no feeble mind, and with people I am amiable
I want to be rich, with big houses and cars, lots of women to make me satiable

Away with you and your wealth for I care less
I will henceforth group you with our leaders, selfish and heartless

Ade sat quietly in the dark, looking at his wife Yemisi sleeping peacefully on the mattress without a bed in their one-room apartment. He couldn’t help but think of his past, how he had dreamt of a big life, living in a nice house, very spacious, having a swimming pool and a courtyard, a garage filled with exotic cars…tears began to form in his eyes…he was so engrossed in his thought, he hadn’t noticed that his wife has already waken up.
“Are you crying?”
“What is the matter?”
“Hope there is no problem?”
“Is your friend all right?”
“Onitemi, please answer me ehn”
His wife inquired, feeling confused and concerned.

She had never seen him cry for once during their 5years of being together, except for when they lost their baby barely a week he was brought into this world. They had been praying and fasting for almost 3years before she conceived. He kept on repeating the same phrase, “selfish and heartless” as if those were the only English words he knew.

He was meant to pay # 10,000, money for incubation, for the baby had come prematurely, but he couldn’t afford it and no one was ready to help or so it seemed.
“I am not crying” he said as he quickly wiped the tears from his face with the back of his palms,
“I am just tired”, his voice was obviously shaky.
“How is your friend?”
“Did you meet with him?” His wife further asked.
“Ha! I can’t believe it” he almost shouted, “that he of all people can be this selfish and heartless”.

The wife thinking to herself, “here he goes again, with his selfish and heartless story”.
“What did he say?”
“Did he refuse to help?”
“I thought you guys were close and since he is in town, he will definitely give you a listening ear and…”
He didn’t allow her finish before he cuts in…
“Rubbish!” he retorted.
“I called him severally and dropped several messages on his answering machine, he never responded, he only called once after he learnt of our son’s death, giving ridiculous excuses.”
“Is he the only rich business owner in the world? Tell me? Tell me?”
He asked repeatedly, hoping for an answer from her. She quickly interjected, not wanting to open up wounds from the past, she said:
“Now you’ve met with him face-to-face, is he willing to help?”
“Help?!" He said His voice raised and full of disdain.
“I don’t think he is ready to help, I should have known better; humans are always selfish and heartless. Imagine him trying to lecture me on wealth and richness? How ridiculous, do you know that i taught him while in the university?” He asked his wife, nodding his head incessantly as if that will make her believe his story.
“If not for me, he wouldn’t have graduated with a 2-1…”

He stood up and walked briskly to the corner of the room were the cooking pot quietly sits on a blackened stove with palm oil stains and patches of garri all over, then said;
“Can you imagine him telling me all those rubbish that those motivational speakers keep saying?”He asked cynically then laughs haughtily and said:
“I should have told him to save his breath, ‘cos I do have their books of lies and tapes from seminars of deceit”.
He bent over to check the contents of the pot, finding it to be empty; he turned and yelled at his wife (who was wondering what he intends doing at the corner) and said:
“Where is the remaining food that I left in the pot this morning?!”
His wife fumbling with her wrapper, trying to avoid his face,
“Answer me woman!” He yelled again.
“I thought you would have eaten at your friend’s place” she replied.
“What?!” He exclaimed,
“Oh God! Why have you surrounded me with people who are so selfish and heartless?”

Lol. The story went from being sad being hilarious. Nice one, dude. I hope this is not the end even though it ended pretty well

^lol thanks, this is my first attempt at writing a story...
Nope, this is not the end, i am still writing...i hope lethergy doesnt sets in...i can be very lazy lol

Lol. Guranteed you will be lazy. Just don't lose interest. That's the main thing.

thanks bro, i won't lose interest by God's grace.

Beautiful piece there

Nice one. Dnt tell me dat's d end

sino: thanks bro, i won't lose interest by God's grace.

God cant believe i just read a story with last update in sept last yr.wasted mb

nice one bro.....looking forward to the concluding part of the story.

lol, i have forgotten about this story, thank you cuddles for bringing it back here.

@edithamazoya, khemhyte, beycitee, thank you, you guys have sparked within me my writing chakra lol

@ice4jez, no vex na, bcuz of you, i go update sharp sharp.

I must say,to all writers and readers in this realm, i'll really appreciate a critique of this work. Abeg, no look uche face, yab me sef i go like am lol

Enjoy reading...

Ade had a difficult time sleeping, he turned and rolled over a thousand times and gave a sigh often. The whole encounter with his friend played back in his memory and he tried as much as possible to create different scenarios whereby he would be comfortable with the outcome. Then he thought about his wife, 'she didn’t deserve this kind of suffer', he thought, she had come from a comfortable home, he felt bad because he had promised her a better life, a life very far from their present situation. He thought some more about the past, and then he prayed for sleep to come take him to a place without worries.

Ade met Yemisi when he was an undergraduate. They actually met while he had come to check his name on the notice board at the faculty of management science, the crowd was enormous, the faculty became a Mecca of sort, it was as if the whole of Lagos state students converged at the faculty.

Ade had high hopes of getting admitted this time around, he had applied for three years consecutively, he was denied admission the first 2 times due to low jamb score. The third time, he scored 295 , "they had no choice this time around", he had said to himself.
His steps were towering as if he was walking on a pedestal, perhaps due to the big black cat designer boots he was putting on, he had gotten it from his uncle when he graduated from secondary school, he made all his papers in one sitting, he never wore them, except during special occasions, and yes, going to check his admission status was special. Spotting a shirt with multicolored flower pattern on a boot-cut jeans, he felt fly; he didn’t want to look like a village boy(which he is in actual fact); he had heard so many stories about this institution that he didn’t want to be looked down upon.

He struggled through the crowd until he got to the notice board enclosed in glass frames. His eyes scanned the whole board within a fraction of a second and quickly located the list for accounting; he gasped and took a deep breath; he traced the names, which were arranged alphabetically, to the letter 'O', he found it difficult to swallow and noticed his heart was racing... He told himself, "cool down, they have no choice but to admit you na, you scored 295 !" trying to reassure himself.

Olaonipekun Oriade, he checked again, was he dreaming? He couldn’t believe his eyes, he checked severally to confirm what he saw, its true, it was his name alright. He shouted and screamed, he was overjoyed; he finally got admitted to his school of choice.

Unknown to him, in his state of elation, jumping up and down hysterically, he was stepping continuously on the feet of the person standing next to him.
"Han han, are you blind?"
"What is your problem sef?"
"You are hurting me please."
The voice sounded so lovely to his ears, nothing like what he was used to, he turned and was captivated by the sight he saw, he was speechless, the noise around him turned into orchestrated symphony, it was as if time was frozen, he just kept on staring...
And for what seemed like eternity, Ade was brought back to his senses by the pushing of the crowd, he was pushed, and he bumped his head against hers..."i am very sorry", "i didn’t mean to, i was so excited, i didn’t know i was stepping on someone" Ade pleaded. Like the ocean would bring out things it didn’t want, both of them were pushed out from the middle of the crowd. "i hope you've checked your name? Ade asked, "No!" she shouted and obviously angry, Ade was perplexed, this is all his fault, "please, tell me your name and i'll check for you" she hesitated a little and when she saw the amount of pushing and struggling, she thought it ok for him to check for her, after all, it was all his fault. "Olowolayemo Yemisi", she said, "accounting, that’s my course" she added.

Ade dashed into the crowd like an arrow that left its bow, he was relaxed, since he already knew his own status, but still, his mind wasn’t settled, he wanted her to be admitted as well. He got to the board after some pushing and pulling, his eyes darted straight to accounting list, and the letter 'O'.

He saw the name and felt happy, he couldn’t explain why, he was just happy.
"Congratulations! You have been given admission" he said with a massive grin on his face. "What?!" she exclaimed, "are you serious?!" "i can’t believe it" she said.
Both of them left the faculty, walking side by side and laughing so loud, they looked like an item and everyone who walked passed them stared. They talked as if they've known themselves for eternity.

Ade was amazed and thrilled with this new feeling, there and then, though it felt strange, because he never thought towards such direction before, he had told himself, "this is my wife."

Ice4jez:
God cant believe i just read a story with last update in sept last yr.wasted mb

now that was funny
but Sino has apologised and even updated so, its no waste at the end.

*am stuck on this story so don't keep me waiting forever*

princesa:

now that was funny
but Sino has apologised and even updated so, its no waste at the end.

*am stuck on this story so don't keep me waiting forever*

I shan't keep you waiting forever ma'am, all things being equal sha lol. Watch out for new update tomorrow(make i dress my work well ).
Your moniker looks familiar, were you on the rant thread?

good one.......nice write up.

Oga...this story is making sense....where art thou ?

sino:

I shan't keep you waiting forever ma'am, all things being equal sha lol.
Watch out for new update tomorrow(make i dress my work well ).
Your moniker looks familiar, were you on the rant thread?

yes i was, by Ariblaze
long time that was

beycitee: good one.......nice write up.

Thank you.

oyestephen: Oga...this story is making sense....where art thou ?

You say? Ok, lets go there lol. Good its making sense, update dey come, just a little technical glitch, don't worry, we are ontop of the situation

princesa:

yes i was, by Ariblaze
long time that was

Thought as much, indeed, long time o lol. Nice to have you on my thread, hope you doing good?

Gbam! Gbam! Gbam! The bang on the door was heavy and laud, Ade sat up and was annoyed, who could this be at this time, Monday morning, he checked the time on his mobile phone and it was 6:00 am…he heard his stomach murmured and he remembered he slept on an empty stomach. He fumed and cursed under his breath.

The bang on the door continued, he cursed a little bit more before he got up, and reached for his shirt on the hanger to put on. “Who is that?!” he shouted, the bang continued with a voice accompanying it: “open the door; it is me, Baba landlord”.
“Ha! Baba landlord” he screamed, immediately he was terrified, he knew what had brought the landlord to his apartment this early, he became jittery, there was no light, just a lantern at a corner burning low, he stumbled on a stool as he tried to navigate his way to the door in the poorly lit room, then he remembered, he wanted to tell his wife something very important last night, but he was too angry, and now it was too late. His hands were shaky as he fumbled with the keys trying to open the door quickly.
On opening the door, he prostrated like a felled tree.” e ka ro sir”, “good morning sir”, he said “I didn’t know it was you, and I was actually thinking of”…the landlord cuts in, he didn't allow him finish his statement before he said, “Look here Mr Ade, what is good about this morning ehn ?” “Tell me! Tell me!” He shouted in his yoruba laden english.

“Baba landlord, please don’t be offended, I came in late last night and I was so tired” Ade said. The landlord looked at him and his wife still lying on the bed scornfully and said; “I am here to collect my six months’ rent you owe me, I won’t leave this place until you pay me!” His eyes flaring red with anger, like a man who had just finished 2 packs of cigarettes. “You are a big fat liar Ade”,” he continued, every time you promise to pay, you fail”, “do you know that this house is what I use to feed myself and my children?” “Do you want to kill me and my family?!” "Do you?! Answer me!" he demanded.
Ade was perplexed and provoked, his head was blank, he couldn’t think of where or how to get money for the rent or even know what to tell the landlord. “Baba landlord, take it easy sir, e se suru”, “I’ll pay you, it’s just that I am going through a difficult situation right now, and…” the landlord cuts in again, “yes everybody is going through difficult situation now”, “this house is my own solution to my difficult situation”, mi o le ni oko n le kin wa ma fi owo ko imi “I can’t have something to eat, yet remain hungry”. He concluded.

Ade’s fellow tenants had all come out and started pleading with the landlord, he felt embarrassed and didn’t know what to do. He didn’t like it at all that the landlord is causing a scene, he had always mind his business in this compound, he felt he was more educated and more civilized than most of the tenants, if not for his present predicament, what would he be doing in a “face- me- I-slap-you apartment” like this. Like someone who had an epiphany of some sort, he said; “I’ll pay you at the end of the week sir” the tone of his voice obvious with pride and anger. The landlord laughed, “This is not your first time of promising, I pity your wife”, “omo birin gidi, good woman”, “she was the one who brought the first six months”, “I wonder how she ended up with you in the first place”. Ade couldn’t take the insult anymore; he felt like punching the landlord in the face, but he thought otherwise, the landlord, a lanky fellow, his breath was reeking of local gin, he might end up in jail for manslaughter.
“I said I will bring your money at the end of the week haba!” “What else do you want me to say?!” “Please, leave my wife out of this!” Ade said storming back into his room and banged the door almost hitting the landlord in the face.

“Suit yourself, I’ll be going to the court today, and I’ll get an injuction to evict you”, “so you better start looking for another house or you would be forcefully evicted”, wan ma fan fe eru e. the landlord left and while leaving muttered “alai nikan se, oni ranu useless man”.

Ade turned towards his wife in the room, who had woken up and started to clean the house, he was relieved that the landlord had left. “Can you imagine this selfish and heartless man”, he said to his wife, she didn’t respond and continued with her chores. Ade could sense his wife was angry, he thought to himself, she has the right to be, she had given him the money to pay for the house rent, but he diverted it for another purpose.

“Onitemi, are you angry with me?” he tried to cajole his wife; he desperately wanted her to say something. “You should at least here me out, the money is intact, just that I had to invest it” “don’t worry, everything would be fine by the end of the week” he said.

“Why! Why! Why” his wife cried and couldn’t hold back the tears in her eyes, “we’ll become the laughing stock of the whole compound” “and you know the kind of neighbors we have, the whole street would know we can’t pay our house rent by the end of the day” she said sobbing uncontrollably. “Why did you have to do this to me Ade?” why? She said looking straight into his eyes.

Ade felt remorseful, all his ego and sense of pride melted away like a candle stick being burnt, he tried to speak, but words wouldn’t come, he felt ashamed of himself and could not look at his wife in the eyes. “Ade, tell me, why didn’t you inform me?” “Why didn’t you tell me that you’ll be diverting the rent money for a business, and what even is the investment you talking about?” Yemisi inquired.

He felt embarrassed the more, this is what he had been trying to avoid for the past few weeks, and he didn’t know how to tell her without sounding stupid. “Erm, he stuttered, “just don’t worry, by Friday, everything would be all right” “I’ll pay the rent and we’ll even have enough to buy food stuff for a month” he said proudly, trying to reassure her.

“Ade! What investment did you do with the money meant for rent?!” His wife demanded with a tone that would send quivers down the spine of an eight year old.

Fantastic work you have here

This is great........love the writeup.....when next ll u be updating?

ok..... he continues
nice.....following

Thank you guys, i really apreciate the kind words.

I'll be updating soon, just having issues with electricity here.

Please bear with me.

Ade knew better not to patronize his wife, she has been married to him for the past five years, she knows awful lot about him, and no amount of platitude would convince her.
“I invested the money in a business” he said again.
“what business?!” she asked.

Ade thought for a while again, but why is he getting this apprehensive trying to tell her what he did with the money, could it be that he had thought the whole business was a scam? “Oh, shut up” he told himself, “what scam? Didn’t you see the beneficiaries who came to redeem their profit?”

“Ade! I am asking you a question, what business?!”
Ade snapped back, and then sat down at the edge of the bed; he looked a little bit confused.
“I was on my way to uncle Banjo’s place, when I saw an advert pasted under Ojuelegba Bridge” he stopped to look at his wife’s face for a minute then continued
“The adverts read invest in oil and gas, make 100% profit in a month!”
“I was actually waiting for a mile 2 bus, when a man standing next to me said if I had any idea about the ad I was reading, I told him no, that I was just reading it for the first time.”
“A third man came and said it was true, that a lot of people were already benefiting from this, including himself”

“what?!” his wife shouted
“please don’t tell me you invested the money in that oil and gas?!”
“you of all people should know better!”
Ade felt more stupid, how come he went ahead to invest in that company baffled him too, could it be desperation or he was losing it already? For God’s sake, he is an accountant; he should have known better, at least, he should have known that 100% profit is nearly impossible if not totally impossible in any business.

“I saw them with my own eyes!” he almost screamed
“Their office was close by, along Funsho Williams avenue, so I thought I should just go and have a look, if they were for real”
“I saw some people who came to collect their money, some who invested 10,000, collected 20,000, in front of me, they even reinvested again!”
“it was more than convincing onitemi, don’t worry, by Friday, everything would be ok.” he said with a smile on his face.

Yemisi was flabbergasted, “is this Ade that she knew or is something wrong somewhere?” she thought within herself, something is definitely wrong, his prince in shining armor has lost it, how did this happen? What would she do? She was at a loss.

419 dudes have struck!

princesa: 419 dudes have struck!

naa it could be real

oyestephen:
naa it could be real

1million naira bet it is not
are you in?

^1million naira ke?! Make i drop my account info o, i go helep una hold the money pending wetin i go write so if non of you get it right, the money stays with me! LOL

1 million I'm (not) in