Sleep eluded Leila as she stirred on the bamboo bench which also served as a make shift bed for her;this was the same seat that accommodated loads of customers who religiously thronged her mother's shade at the wee hours of the evening to relinquish the delicious meal of "masa" served with "fura d' nunu" her mother sure was an unrivalled expert in the art of making delicacies of northern extinction; each evening she looked forward to savouring the rich aroma which filled the environ while striving to satisfy the demands of the heterogeneous customers comprising people who individually craved attention; she always felt overly matured whenever people old enough to be her parent beckoned upon her while she assisted her mother in the stall, "Leila sell for me" was a cliché she was accustomed to hearing as each person both young and old struggle over themselves for a turn to buy the special meal.



She sat up as she felt a drop of fluid splash over her petite shoulder she was crying again, she couldn't decipher why she cried this time;if it was because she reminisced over the fact that she had just a paltry sum of thirty-five naira as the last cash left on her or the fact that she was awake again to face the challenges of another day, she cried whenever her nights turned to morning due to the anticipated struggle she foresaw as inherent every single day; peeping at the clock which hung loosely on the wall she saw the time was seven o'clock; to staunch believers of the christian faith the number 7 was regarded as a number of perfection;to Leila however "Seven" was a figure that served as a constant reminder of the grief she was enmeshed in.



She silently pondered over the events of that faithful Thursday morning which coincidentally occurred on the seventh month of the year; that incident that turned her entire life around; she had woken up feeling all gay as she prepared for school; cleaning her rubber school sandals in their make shift bathroom located behind the house she hummed to the music of veteran musician "Alhaji Dr Mamman Shata Katsina" which blared out loud from her father's transistor radio; he never failed to listen to the early morning B.B.C broadcast in hausa language leaving the volume at a very high pitch; loud enough for anyone around the region to hear.

"yanzu karfe bakwai ne"
"the time is seven o'clock" the radio blared interrupting the music;

almost immediately she heard a deafening sound which enveloped the sound from the radio broadcast as it was simultaneously replaced with the sound of a roaring trailer she turned around instantaneously trying to figure out what just happened, for a few seconds she was lost for words; what was once her home barely few minutes back was now being replaced with shambles, a trailer with a probable brake failure rammed into their ramshackle home situated close to the main road and everything came crashing down just like the proverbial wall of jericho, in her disoriented state all she could mumble was

"mahaifi";

"mahaifiya"

In a tone that was barely audible while pointing in the direction of the house to the large mammoth crowd which had gathered, as hot tears spilled down her cheeks. In a jiffy the rescue rangers shoved through the rambles scavenging for her parents who were trapped inside; a dismembered body of her mother was the last thing she remembered seeing before she passed out..................


(To be continued)

Please reader,constructive criticism is needed.
Tnx

Nice piece. But you've got to work on your punctuations (spare your editor some stress).

Well noted boss;tnx

Basic: Nice piece. But you've got to work on your punctuations (spare your editor some stress).

"eyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

obele nwa; smallu girl,

sorry you hia, I willu hemmu see whatu I canu do for you to hemmu assistu you"




a certain light skinned pot bellied man bellowed out to Leila decorating every word he pronounced with a vowel sound; he sounded really funny, speaking battered English language in an accent peculiar to the uneducated masses from the eastern part of the country. Leila stared on she couldn't comprehend the guest she had at that point in time, she had seen various individuals come on condolence visit since the death of her parents but she couldn't decipher who this particular man was, she later discovered he was Chief Omelora, a wealthy business man with a fleet of trailers, the owner of the same ill fated truck that crushed her parents to death and put her entire life on hold.






Leila had a first hand experience of the disparity which exists between the rich and the poor in the society, barely twelve years old, she had loads of questions ravaging through her little mind with no one to proffer answers, she was expected to be overly grateful to the man who caused her parent's death simply because he made provisions for their burial,he promised to help alleviate her pain but a clause was placed which was, she had to provide an elderly relative to stand in as guarantor for her,according to him she was way too little to be handed anything because she was yet to have the required maturity to manage financial resources.


How would she explain that she had nobody,no uncle, no aunt,no sibling,no parent, there was no one to stand and fight for her in this world that suddenly seemed so large and empty;the mere fact that she didn't even know and couldn't trace her roots made matters a lot more complicated, her father once mentioned that it would take days to arrive at her hometown in Sokoto, that was the only information she had on her origin which was next to nothing. Leila's father an orphan had absconded and migrated to Lagos with his wife who hailed from a wealthy family, when his father in_law vehemently rejected his proposal for marriage because he was considered poor. They settled in Lagos as a young couple, years before Leila was born she was their only child, her father indulged in all sorts of menial jobs but basically served as a "maiguard"(caretaker) of a large expanse of empty land where his ramshackle house was situated, while his wife supported him with the proceed from sales every evening in her mini shade located across the road.


Even though Leila wasn't born into a life of affluence she was always happy knowing she had parents who strove to make her comfortable. In their life time,she never disappointed them as she exuded extraordinary intelligence and traits rarely found amongst her peers it wouldn't be out of place to classify her a wizkid she was an exceptionally brilliant child.




Her parents demise heightened her struggle for survival, abandoning her education, she engaged in various demeaning chores in a bid to keep body and soul together while retiring to her mother's stall each night to rest for the day the shade served as her only refuge away from the cruel world which she lived in, a world in which nobody cared about her existence, it provided succour as she imagined in superstition, her parent's spirit watching over her each night she laid her head to sleep,it was on one of such nights barely eight months after her parent's death that she met her waterloo, she laid on the bamboo bench as usual and was fast asleep, when she felt something on her palm nut sized breast she tried to shake it off having the belief that it was a creeping creature crawling over her body, her hand however touched a firmer hand.







She woke up instantly, in the pitch dark night she couldn't see the face, all she could see was a pair of eyes that stared longingly with hands brandishing a shiny metal pocket knife before her, she felt the strong hands trace the nape of her blouse and struggled to yank it off her fragile body while making an effort to scream for help, a deafening slap lashed across her shrunken cheek made the subsequent scream freeze in her lungs and in a jiffy her succulent breast laid bare, exposed and firm waiting to be devoured by the dare devil rapist.







The tempo of her heart beat was faster than the greatest track records of Usain Bolt;as she strongly refused to accept what was bound to happen, instantaneously a scream from outside made her heave a sigh of relief;

"wetin dey happen for there"

"who dey for inside there" she heard in a very loud voice ...........
(To be continued)

Pls continue

"Oh boy see bobby oh ;kai see packaging"

Leila heard the voice continue as she felt the bright ray of a torch light beam steadily on her, focusing on her exposed bosom,she tried to speak up thinking he was the messiah her late parents had sent to come to her aid, she mysteriously wasn't shy at her exposed cleavage a sudden determination overwhelmed her she was determined to be set free; her mother had taught her the value of virginity and chastity; she thus set out from a very tender age to preserve her's, now what she had determined to keep was about to be taken away from her against her will.



She finally found her voice trembling as she spoke

"Uncle please help me"

The entire shade was suddenly filled with the strong odour of alcohol as he spoke again

"I don die;see fresh bobby"

"Baby you carry better packaging; oh boy!!!"

Leila couldn't comprehend what he was talking about
her assailant who laid quietly before, observing the scenario sprang up like a blooming flower in season; with an obvious heave of a sigh of relief excited to see an accomplice.



"Na you sef chido my man"

He asked rhetorically as they shook hands in the darkness bursting into resounding fits of laughter


"But you na badt guy; correct badt guy;you come here come enjoy alone;you no call me,
this girl go make sense die" his partner replied excitedly,


While his pal continued in a drunken tone

"wetin man go do nah; you know the younger the better dats whats up!!!"


more resounding laughter enveloped the night, corrupting its serenity. Leila lay still, at that instance, she knew there was no turning back she was trapped in her late mother's open shade with two drunkards in the middle of the night while her tender cleavage was exposed, at the mercy of her assailants.





In a jiffy her bottom hit the hard ground as a firm hand grabbed her, pinning down her back as she tried really hard to struggle; her tiny satin panties was torn apart and flung away she felt a very sharp pain as her assailant hurriedly bore his maleness into her;taking away her innocence, he rode with the dexterity of an horse moaning in pleasure oblivious of the pain which enveloped her young body; both men took turns in violating her; introducing her to womanhood in the most bizarre scenario, not for a second understanding the pain she went through desecrating her most priced asset as a woman and savouring the sweetness of her organ while her virginity melted away.



Leila wailed until she had no strength left in her,on the bare ground she laid,desecrated,devalued and empty while they continued talking in hushed tone she lay unconscious, unable to decipher what was being said


"Baby you are sweet;thank you"
was the last thing she heard as she felt a pinch on her bosom then the voices faded into thin air

Leila was thus introduced into womanhood against her will in a cruel manner;oh fate! cruel fate dealing a hard blow on an already miserable life.

Ohmy....poor leila. I hope she rises above all these.

Great storyline @ bosslady, keep it up

Tnks boss

gree-die:
Ohmy....poor leila. I hope she rises above all these.

Great storyline @ bosslady, keep it up

Wicked world.....@writter,how old was laila b4 the rape and why did u use d word 'waterloo' i tot dat word is meant for criminals and obviously laila is just an innocent girl....all d same,u av got a great write story line

Thanks for the observation Nkem. Leila was about twelve years old when the molestation occurred,as regards the grammatical correction "water loo" can also be used in this context,

I copied and pasted a reference point 4U:

"Sense 2
waterloo;
Meaning:
A final crushing defeat
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events or tragedy
Context example:
She met her waterloo
Hypernyms ("waterloo" is a kind
of...):
defeat; licking (an unsuccessful ending to
a struggle or contest)"
audioenglish.net/dictionary
Cheers.

nkem43: Wicked world.....@writter,how old was laila b4 the rape and why did u use d word 'waterloo' i tot dat word is meant for criminals and obviously laila is just an innocent girl....all d same,u av got a great write story line

Taken

"There can be miracles,
when you believe
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe somehow you will
You will when you believe"






Leila sang out loud Whitney Housten's lyrics in her sonorous voice that competed steadily with the sound of running water from the shower that splashed over her ebony skin as she took a bath in preparation for school, an intruding voice in a teasing note,interrupted her singing jolting her back to consciousness.



"Musician ,you had better hurry up,you know your exams begin today you can't afford to be late on the first day; the driver is set already waiting downstairs for you"


" I know mummy I am almost through",she replied smiling as she hurriedly put finishing touches to her morning shower.


She subconsciously hummed the same song again as she dressed up in her immaculate white uniform,she knew she had a reputation to protect as the head girl of Lekki British Junior Secondary School and she never failed to meet up to expectation.


The song she hummed had become her favourite song which she sang everyday,ever since she experienced a miracle and knew it actually existed,she used to hear about miracles but she never believed they were available unto people like her.






Just like a ray of light shinning brightly at the end of a tunnel, like the soothing balm of Gilead that heals all wounds; succour came her way. It came at a point in her life when she woke up each day pleading with the spirit of death to take her away and create a place for her in the land of the dead an illusioned paradise,a place where she could reunite with her Late parents,away from a miserable world and life associated with nothing but tragedy.




Her entrance into Mayflower Hospital had marked a turning point in her entire life, after the rape incidence her bruised parts hurt greatly every single time she engaged in strenuous activities, the severe pain she felt served as a constant reminder of that black night, the night she would always live to remember, she never mentioned the incidence of that night to anyone, she had no one to talk to,no one to confide in and share in her pain,no one to cry with her and offer her a shoulder to lean on she knew she needed to see a doctor,yet she had no money.






Mustering enough courage she walked into the hospital located at the entrance to her street, requesting to see a doctor,


"You want to see the Doctor,for what? The mean Nurse spat out with venom, where is your card, have you registered with this clinic?"


"No ma",

Leila responded wobbling as she stood, it suddenly felt like her tiny legs couldn't cope with the weight of her petite body anymore,

"Please help me ma,I need to see a doctor"she managed to whisper still trembling,


"See this small girl oh",

the nurse lashed out clashing her palms against each other in an old fashioned mode of expressing surprise,


"Do you think we run a charity organisation here, you have to register, buy card, you see this card here she asked flashing a bunch of the hospital's registration card before leila's face, its for sale, you pay for it, I register you,then, only then can the Doctor see you, other wise you go to a General Hospital that one is for the poor, it is free the government would pay for you, you hia?"



"Please help me ma",Leila pleaded in her tear laden voice,


"See, smalie , go and call your parents tell them to come and register you if they want you to be treated here"

The mere mention of her parents at that instance spurred her to tears, transfixed to a spot the tears couldn't stop rolling,


The nurse shifted her gaze,focusing her attention on a movie aired on African Magic; flashing her chocolate coloured set of teeth,ignoring leila totally engrossed in her movie.


Disillusioned, Leila lost count of how many minutes she stood there still on the same spot, a sudden tap on her shoulder shook her, as she turned around to see a bespectacled elderly woman, who looked at her with pity,wearing the most pleasant smile.


"Why are you crying sweetheart" she asked crossing her arms over leila's shoulders, Leila hadn't seen anyone smile at her in months, that smile alone brought relief to her entire being she spoke with the softest of tones, in a voice so angelic making Leila for a second, forget her worries, it was that same voice that called out to her two years down the lane, as she took a shower in preparation for her Junior WAEC examination............

(To be continued)

@Op

Please, try as much as possible to keep ur writing in touch with the title...

You kalled it a diary, i tink it shld be written in leila's way (if u understand wat i mean)..

Lovely piece of work...continue

Gentiejag: @Op

Please, try as much as possible to keep ur writing in touch with the title...

You kalled it a diary, i tink it shld be written in leila's way (if u understand wat i mean)..

Lovely piece of work...continue

i beg to disagree. According to the title, the story is being written with reference to a diary thus the title "Tales from an orphan's diary....". Assuming it was titled "Diary of an orphan" then mode of writing would have been in narrative form.

@op
nice work. Try and carry us along esp with the time scale of events. For example how long did it take Leilah to recover from the molestation and take herself to the hospital hours? days? How long did she fare alone before she was molested?
I'm enjoying the story sha. More ink to your pen.

BossladyD wia r u naa? Dont leave us hanging like this o

"The Rich also Cry"
was a mexican soap opera which made waves in the early 80's turning its viewers into television addicts, stealing their breathes and time away at a point when the Nigerian television screen was saturated with foreign media content.

Even though leila wasn't born in that time and age as she sat listening to sorrow tales from the lips of Mrs Ashagbe she made a mental note concluding that money wasn't the answer to all things after all as "The rich also cry"


Mrs Ashagbe was her knight in shining armour, the tool used by God to wipe her tears and place a lingering smile on her lips; during her encounter with the rude nurse at Mayflower hospital she was the one who smiled at her and absorbed her with open arms. After listening to Leila's pathetic story she offered her free medical care admitting her in the hospital for free treatment, placing her under close scrutiny with maximum care and attention for two weeks after which she accommodated her in her house, she filled the vacuum in leila's life giving her a reason to live life happy again.



She divulged to Leila her own story,which made her really misty eyed she was married to Lekan her childhood sweetheart, they had started dating way back as kids in high school. Their love continued and blossomed all through their stay in the same university; they shared a love which inspired people to fall in love, so inseparable they seemed such that they usually joked over the fact that they would both die and be buried on the same day as they couldn't imagine life without each other; they were madly in love with each other marriage thus was just a formality to legalise things.

After studies at the medical school he qualified as a surgeon while she was a paediatrician, shortly after completion of their studies they pulled resources together and with massive support from friends and family members they erected a gigantic hospital which they both managed, money never posed a problem as they both hailed from wealthy homes. They were blessed with a set of twins; two boys almost immediately after marriage subsequently two years later they bore another child,a baby girl; life was beautiful to them or so it seemed until fate landed a heavy blow on them.



It was their 10th wedding anniversary,preparation was in top gear in a bid to mark a decade of unending marital bliss; they both anticipated the d_day and earmarked a massive celebration plan,which included the exchange of rings and retaking of their marital vows in the church, after which a talk of the town party to host their friends and families was held.

Placing their children under the custody of their paternal grand parents, they drove off to experience what they tagged a second honeymoon, after all the necessary plans have been put in place previously, plans for a week holiday outside the shores of the country, just for the two of them to have time for themselves and explore each other afresh. The fire of love still burned greatly within them and tirelessly they sought for new ways to rekindle that fire making it brighter for all to see; their love was a wonder to behold.




On the smooth drive to the airport, barely ten minutes to their destination; they were accosted by dare devil robbers who robbed them of all their belongings and properties at gun point which they obliged however when they requested for the ring which the couple just exchanged Lekan vehemently refused to surrender his, claiming he could give up every other thing in the world but not the customised ring which meant the world to him she pleaded with him to give them whatever they wanted but he stuck to his guns being strongly adamant; his stubbornness was his major weak point, in their desperation bid and accumulated anger they shot him at close range on the chest.




Watching her heartthrob breathe his last in her presence was a bad dream she hoped to wake up from but alas it became a reality that would always linger; he died in her arms on their 10th wedding anniversary day, she focused on her children as she knew she would and could never ever love another he was her 1st and last love the only man in her entire life he made her a woman, their union gave love its definition, making Romeo and Juliet seem like big jokers in the journey of love.



Her children were aged 9 and 7 respectively when she lost her sweetheart she loved and cherished them feeling they were the only link she had with him; she spent good money on them as all they ever needed was provided in abundance; they attended one of the best schools in the country Sunola Pursuit College", located in the heart of the city. Fate however dealt a harder blow on her when the air plane which conveyed her children home on summer break 7 years after her husband died, crashed leaving all passengers on board dead, she lost all her children to the ill fated plane crash; the twins who were preparing for their senior WAEC examination were aged 17 while their sister was 15 years of age when they all died.

To compound her woes, she was ostracised by her in-laws who labelled her a witch accusing her of being the brain behind the killing of her husband and children; how could she make them understand that she couldn't possibly kill the only people who just like salt, gave her life its essence; how could she be the instigator of her own woes it was impossible to her but possible in their shallow minds; her entire life was in shambles, she prayed for death but it never came thus she buried herself into her Job.


Nature brought motherhood her way again 6 years after the loss of her biological children; by bringing leila into her life. Leila came at a time when she had accepted fate living life without an atom of worry. She grew to love her like a daughter, she had initially brought Leila into her home to serve as a maid after she was discharged from the hospital but she suddenly developed a soft spot for her and unofficially adopted as a daughter introducing her to a life of affluence.


Their relationship thus was symbiotic; To Leila, she was her dead parents re incarnate while to Mrs Ashagbe, Leila was the daughter she never imagined she could ever have again, nature sure had a way of balancing life's equation.............

(To be continued)

Really sorry Dominique for keeping you under unnecessary suspense;my busy schedule as a corper barely affords me time to sit down and scribble stuffs on paper;I am being a good citizen, serving my father land lols;
would try to intensify my efforts aite
Cheers

dominique: BossladyD wia r u naa? Dont leave us hanging like this o

BossladyD u are a gud writter, i most confess,av u written anybook b4?

Tnx 4d complement buddy;it feels cool doin wat U love 2do nd being appreciated 4it; writing is just a hobby 4me;I am nt a professional writer @least 4now

nkem43: BossladyD u are a gud writter, i most confess,av u written anybook b4?

Story coming up shortly....