Franko,u too much my guy,from d cyber love,na im i don dey follow u.carry go.

Compliments of the season dude. Even amidst tight schedules, u still giv us updates.

Damex333: Franko,u too much my guy,from d cyber love,na im i don dey follow u.carry go.

thank you ma guy

avicky: Compliments of the season dude. Even amidst tight schedules, u still giv us updates.

ya, i will, just as long as u are there with me.

CHAPTER TEN

The atmosphere was blissful. The whole word seemed to be in a very joyful mood that Andrew was eventually getting married. His mother Mrs. Gladys Akpan, a short and dark woman in her late forties could not control her excitement. She had always wondered if her son was ever going to get married; always looking forward to when she would carry her grand child in her hands and play with him. With today’s event, she was now sure that one day and soonest, she will surely see her grandchild.

Andrew had always put away any discussion concerning marriage. Although he got engaged to Chioma a long time ago, he still never showed any interest in going to the altar with her in the nearest future. It seemed he had used that as a medium to avoid the constant pressure she exerted on him on the issue. Right now her wish had come to pass and she felt she was the happiest woman in the world; she therefore must let everybody know how she felt by dancing ceremoniously.

Gladys was not the only one in a happy mood. All Andrew’s relatives who were present were also in high spirit. They joined Gladys in dancing and rejoicing. There was so much merriment in the air. Everybody wanted to be heard, each trying to show their pleasure that Andrew had at last hit the altar!

The occasion was in its final stage, they had all witnessed the joining together of the couples by the priest of St. Mary Catholic Church where the wedding took place. Right now the occasion was at the refreshment stage at the reception hall that was also in the church premises. Everybody was eating and drinking and talking to each other while the newly wedded couple went around expressing their gratitude to their guests.

Mark was looking distinguished in his best man suit. It had not been easy for him to play the role of a best man for his friend, but he had no choice, he couldn’t possibly reject the request. Standing in front of the congregation at the church had not been easy at all. He kept on wondering if the whole occasion was a joke. As he starred at the congregation, he couldn’t help but imagine what they might be thinking about him.

Definitely, his promiscuous life style must have been known by some of the guests present in this occasion. He was sure of this because of the way they were starring at him. During the wedding ritual at the church, he had wished the priest could hurry up with the ritual so that he could step out of the stage, away from their starring eyes. Instead, the priest took it slowly.

But unknown to Mark, most people who sat in the congregation were admiring him rather than thinking about his promiscuity. His good look was so captivating that so many wondered if he was chosen by God himself to be the best man for the occasion.

Clara his fiancée watched him with so much keenness. He looked devilishly handsome that she couldn’t help fantasizing and wishing that it was the both of them standing on the altar rather than Andrew and Chioma. She couldn’t wait for the day when the priest will join them together forever.

Finally the priest was through; they had to go for to the reception where much attention would not be given to him.

As Mark watched his friend move from one guest to another, he felt a slight sense of loss. He was really going to miss the nice times they had shared together. Although Mark had assured him that he will still make out time to come around once in a while so that they could hang out, he still felt it could never be like old times, considering what happened the last time they hung out. Besides, as he watched the couples right now, he began to reason that it wouldn’t be a nice idea for Andrew to hang out any longer. He was even sure that Andrew will not keep to his words, not from the look on his face.

Well, why was he allowing himself to be worried? In a short while he will also be hitting the altar with his fiancée, his sweet heart and his rich idol, Clara. The thought suddenly gave him a slight feeling of pleasure and a feel of belonging. He felt a little bit better; he wasn’t left out after all.

The reaction that had come from her, when he had popped the question, “Will you marry me?” had been encouraging. She had jumped on him with pleasure, screaming yes! Yes! Yes! Making up his mind had not been easy. He had taking his time to think it all over and to ask himself different questions; am I ready for this? Am I sure that I will be ready to stick to one woman all my life? What will happen to all my numerous girlfriends?

But he finally made up his mind, leaving everything in the hands of faith. He must be ready to take whatever comes out of his decision.

He also applied all mental effort to push aside the thought of Stella and the possible reaction from her because of his decision to marry Clara and not her. Whatever happens must be accepted that way.

“Are they not looking gorgeous and compatible?

Mark suddenly looked up, towards the direction of the voice. Clara was about to sit on the empty chair that was very close to him. She was starring excitedly at the newly wedded couples as she sat down. She had excused herself from Mark some minutes ago to greet some friends.

“Andrew looks so happy and excited. I never knew he would welcome the idea of marriage with such enthusiasm.” Mark was also starring at them as he spoke.

“I guess that is what happens to every man. You will be surprised at how happy you will be on your own day. Oh darling I can’t wait for that day that you will take me to the altar. She was already fantasizing. “My dad will be very proud of me. I can see myself in the most expensive and beautiful wedding gown money can buy.”

Clara’s father, Hilary, was one of the richest business men in Owerri. She was his treasure, especially since he lost his wife seven years ago. She became the mother of the house after the sad incidence, being the only girl with just two siblings, one elder and one younger.

She had been very close to her father who had made sure that his only daughter lacked nothing.

He had met Mark some weeks ago and had liked him, not because he was handsome but because of the wit he displayed. Mark had shown business acumen to the old man even though he was a teacher. Hilary had immediately felt that he was the best person for his daughter.

“I promise you that it is going to be whatever you have dreamed about.” Mark sounded very serious and his tone gladdened her.

By the time he looked up, Andrew and Chioma were already at their table. “How can I thank you for all the effort you have put to make this occasion a success.” Andrew said to both of them.

“Hey, what are friends for. I know you would even do much more for me. In fact we appreciate you for making us part of your happiness. I just wish you guys a happy married life.” Mark said regretfully. He was really going to miss his friend.

“Oh I am jealous of you two.” Clara quickly put in “I can’t wait till the day we will be joined together as husband and wife just like the two of you.” She looked at Mark as she spoke, he could only smile back at her.

“Am expecting to hear the date of your wedding from you guys soonest” Andrew said playfully.

“Don’t worry, that will come up in a short while, I promise I won’t delay,” Mark said as he raised his right like he was making a pledge. The foursome laughed humorously.

“Alright, you two should enjoy yourselves while we see other guests.” Andrew said as he motioned Clara to move forward. Before they moved away he said, “And Mark, you don’t need to hang around after the occasion. You have done enough already. I have seen to it that everything will be taken care of.”

“Alright” Mark said loudly so that his voice could be heard in the noisy environment. He was really grateful for he was already fagged out and needed to go home immediately after the occasion for a good long rest.

Amaka said she felt like dancing and asked Mark to stand up and dance with her. He obliged even though he was very tired.

Through Emeka, The Saviours had access to constant update on Mark Agu despite his abstinence from the village. Emeka made the task much easy for them and they were glad that they had him on their side.

It’s been more that seven months since he got recruited and to them and it had been a period of information. They felt at ease knowing that if Emeka continued to play his part, then they will have no reason to fail in their mission.

Emeka on the other hand didn’t think there was any cause for worry. He felt that the Saviours were taking the matter too serious. Wasn’t it all about destroying a certain bead? He didn’t see the need for swearing oat and forming a special group.

After he had been recruited, they had revealed to him what their plan was, especially as it concerned him. He was to get friendlier with Mark and get from him all information that he thought would be helpful. He was to focus on Mark’s relationship life.

Emeka didn’t see this as much a task. All he had to do was to meet up with Mark at least once a month and discourse about life in general. The last time he traveled to the village was when he bought his new car and took it home for his parents and elder kinsmen to bless.

He had always known Mark to be an intelligent guy who was a versatile company. And so it was fun hanging out with him.

They were supposed to hang out this Saturday but Mark had asked that they shift their meeting to Sunday since he would be attending a very special wedding.

“I have to hurry up; I don’t want to keep Mark waiting.” Emeka said to his wife as he handed their son, Ikenna, to his wife. It was Sunday afternoon and he wanted to quickly meet up with Mark and come back to his wife and son.

“Are you going to miss you daddy?” Adaku, his wife spoke to their infant son who was just starring from one person to another. Adaku was a scrupulous woman who had; over the few years they’ve been together, given her husband reason to have confidence in her. She was a very patient person and had shown her husband through her behavior that she preferred dialogue to any other from of dispute settling. She wasn’t a secretive woman and had a way of making people around her want to tell her what they feel. She was also a good listener. “Alright, say bye to daddy.” She raised the infant’s right hand and waved it to Emeka. “Say hi to Mark for me.”

“Alright, Emeka said and leaned over to peck the both of them before leaving. “I won’t stay for more than two hours.” With that he left the house and drove off in his new 505 evolution.

The meeting venue was at Mbiari Arts recreational center at Ikenegbu Layout Owerri. Mark was already there and had almost finished the bottle of star in front of him.

“I didn’t know you will be coming out this early, I have always been the one waiting for you.” Emeka said as he sat down on the plastic chair opposite Mark. He stretched his hand across the table and shook hand with Mark.

It was almost 4pm and the recreation center was already alive with youngsters of different ages and genders. Pop music was in the air. Mark was wearing a white long sleeve shirt. It wasn’t buttoned to the neck and from where Emeka stood he could see the black bead on his neck. It sure looked mystifying.

“I got tired of staying at home, besides I will be meeting with someone here anytime from now. How’s your little baby and wife?”
“Oh, they are fine, Adaku extends her greeting. I would have come out with her but Ikenna can be very troublesome, and you don’t want to have him around when you want to relax.”

“Yes, I understand, how was your weekend? I can’t believe that I have to go to work again tomorrow morning.” Mark said. Mark liked Emeka even though they have not really been close friend in the past. But it was nice having a brother from Duruji around in Owerri. A few months ago, he had noticed that Emeka wanted to hang around him more often than usual. He like it, it was nice having Emeka around once in a while.

“Ya, the weekend’s come to an end already. Well, it was fun while it lasted. Who are you expecting? A girlfriend?” Emeka noticed as Mark signaled the bar man.

“My fiancée, it’s my plan that you meet her today, she is beautiful.” Then to the bar man who was now standing beside him, “get two bottles of beer to this table.”

“Wow, congratulations man. As a matter of fact, I have been wondering when you were going to settle down. Why the change of heart? The last time we spoke on this issue you said you weren’t even thinking about marriage in the next two years.” Emeka asked.

“It just occurred to me, besides I have found the right girl… oh here she comes” he was looking up behind Emeka.

Emeka looked behind him to see who it was. He watched her as she walked over and gave Mark a hug. Mark quickly introduced them and drew out a plastic chair beside him for her.

“Did you say Clara Hilary? Don’t tell me she is the daughter to the famous business tycoon.”

“Of course she is,” Mark said proudly. “She is my darling.” The waiter served the two bottles of beer he had requested. Please can you get me a bottle of malt?

“Wow, its nice meeting you. I hope Mark brings you to my house soonest, we are brothers from Duruji.”

“I will bring her to your place…” then to Clara, “He has a very beautiful wife, very nice woman. You will love her.” Back to Emeka, “I promise to bring our wedding card personally to your house; I will come along with Clara.

“That will be nice. I have always had so much respect for your dad. He is such a great man… it’s a pleasure knowing you.”

“Thank you,” Clara replied, “It’s a pleasure knowing you too, you are a great lawyer.”

The evening went on and on until Emeka decided to leave. “Its time I leave you two love birds, my sweet heart is alone at home.” He was already standing up.

“That’s sudden, I am enjoying your company already” Clara complained.

“It’s okay; we will see more of each other soon.”

Mark quickly gulped the glass of beer in his hand and said, “We will definitely come around when the card is ready. My greetings to Adaku
“Ok, we will be expecting you, bye.” It was a fruitful meeting after all. Mark will soon be getting married and the prophesy will soon come to pass and the bead will soon be destroyed. He was glad he had met with Mark today; he must look for a way to inform the Saviours of this latest development.

Mark returned to his house on Monday evening after work and went straight to the kitchen to prepare himself something to eat. As he waited for his soup to get warm he allowed his mind to go through the events that had taken at work. The most significant of them all was the confrontation he had with Stella during break period in school.

He had been so much involved with Andrew’s wedding and had not really had time for Stella, he knew that she was really disturbed, but had thought that it was the best for her since he will soon be calling the relationship a quit.

She had waited patiently until this Monday morning to confront him. One thing that worried Mark about Stella was her ability to keep calm and cool no matter what problem she was going through. She was the most patient lady he had ever dated.

She was visibly unhappy when she walked into his office, but Mark pretended he hadn’t noticed that and tried to cheer her up, “Hey, Stella my baby, how was your weekend? You look magnificent, what happened during the weekend that I should know?” he tried to apply his charms as he put on a jovial and lively expression. This, he always used in getting his way with women, no matter how he had hurt them.

But Stella evidently wasn’t going to be deceived this time around. There was a problem and she was here to address it before it became too late. Her face remained gloomy despite Mark’s effort to cheer her up. She was bent on letting him see that something was disturbing her.

“Maybe I should be the one asking you how your weekend was. Mark, I will really like you to make out some time for us, I think we have to talk but not here, preferably at your home this evening.” She sounded firm and definite. Mark was shocked by the urgency in her voice but he kept his cool. He didn’t allow her to intimidate him with that.

“There is no problem, I was already thinking that we should go home together and spend the evening alone, considering the fact that I have not really had time for you as a result of my engagement in Andrew’s wedding. And throughout last week we had not really had the chance to be together. I really missed you.”

That was nice to hear, Stella thought, but she wouldn’t allow that to distract her, she still kept the serious expression on her face and pretended like his words had no effect on her.

She stood up. “I think I better leave you now, I won’t be able to go home with you; I must get home first before coming over to your house. I will be there by 4pm.”

“I will wait for you my baby, don’t be late.” He called out as she was surprisingly walking out of the office. This did not bother him either, he always have a way of making her cheerful no matter her mood. He began to get excited at the thought of having her alone in his house once again; it will be interesting to have her after a stressful weekend, he had almost forgotten that he had spent the whole of Sunday evening with Clara.

He quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. This wasn‘t the time for excitement and fantasies, this was the time to start planning on how he was going to break his relationship with Stella and move on with his life. If Andrew was able to make a decision he also should be able to do so.

He shrugged the thought out of his mind and continued to mark the student’s test script that was piled one his table. There will be enough time to think about that when he gets home, before she comes.

But even as he sat in his sitting room waiting for his food to get ready he didn’t know how he was going to get rid of the poor girl. First of all he must guess why she was furious and what she really wanted to talk to him about. It defiantly can’t be because of the fact that they had not been together for more than a week now, if that was the problem, it wouldn’t have called for a special talk at home. But no matter what it was, this could be the opportunity he had been waiting for.

It was almost 5.30 pm when Mark heard the knock on his door. He was sure it is Stella. He was already getting impatient wondering if she had changed her mind. He couldn’t wait to get over with the whole thing, because he was afraid he would not have the courage to call the relationship if she does not make it today.

“He opened the door and allowed her to walk in. “I thought you weren’t going to make it any longer, what kept you waiting?”

“Nothing” Stella casually replied. Something was sure disturbing her; Mark thought as she walked straight and sat down on his sofa. She was dressed in a plain red gown that stuck to her body and revealed her basic curves. He began to get sexually aroused.

He went and sat down very close to her.

“How was your day?” he asked, trying very hard to be in control of himself.

“Not bad,” she answered and asked, “How was Andrew’s wedding?”

Mark knew that Stella didn’t really care about how successful Andrew’s wedding was. He also wasn’t ready to talk about it either.

“It was alright, everybody had a nice time.” He would have immediately changed the subject but he had a feeling that this was what she really wanted to talk about.

“Yes, it was in fact the talk of the town, I never knew you guys planned for a very big occasion. And I heard that you were the centre of attraction, you really made a nice impression on everybody” she said as she continued to fix her gaze on him, making him uncomfortable.

“Who was telling you all these, I never knew you were in interested in Andrew’s wedding,” he wasn’t at ease with the discussion, “Honey, I don’t think we should be talking about this. What will you like to drink?” He wanted to stand up and get her something to drink, but the look in her eyes stopped him.

“You were there with a lady,” Mark couldn’t tell if she was asking him a question or just making a statement.

He kept silence and returned her gaze.

“I know I have never been in good terms with Andrew, but I would have come along with you if you had asked me to come with you,” she continued.

“Stella, if this is the issue you want to discuss with me, I don’t think I am ready to talk about that. The wedding was alright and that is all you need to know. You didn’t have to go around asking questions on how I looked at the wedding or whom I came with, that wasn’t necessary. It is not my fault that you are having problems with Andrew, I had to go there! Forget it, that is not an issue.” His voice was hard and angry. He immediately stood up and left the room. He wanted to escape and compose himself in his bedroom before she could say another word.

But before he could leave the sitting room, she said, “Who was that lady Mark, I have the right to know your relationship with that lady. How important is she to you that you have to take her to such an important occasion?” she was half shouting as she spoke.

He did not answer her question. Instead he opened the door to his bedroom and quickly left the living room. He suddenly began to feel hot, so he quickly took off his shirt and walked straight to his mirror and continued to look at himself. You must do this now he spoke to his image in the mirror.

The black bead hung on his neck.

He continued to speak to his image, you should go and tell her who Clara is and what she means to you. This is the break you have been looking for.

Behind him, his door forcefully opened and Stella walked in, she was surprised that had already taken of his shirt. “Why don’t you want to answer my question, why are you running away from it? I demand answers.”

“I told you, I don’t want to talk about this.”

“I just want to know how serious the relationship you have with her is. I want to know why you think I wasn’t the right person to be by your side on such a serious occasion.” Her voice was soft and sad.

This is not right, Mark thought, I must let her know the truth now.

“Stella, her name is Clara and she is the girl I am going to marry.”

“What!” her world suddenly stopped.

“I am really sorry, but I have been looking for the right opportunity to tell you, it’s just that I have been busy and didn’t have the ...”
“Mark!” the way she called his name really got him stunned.

He kept quiet and watched her, wondering what they were both going to do.

Stella suddenly felt cold, she wasn’t sure if her systems were working any more, “Mark, I can’t believe you never loved me enough to marry me. And you have already gotten yourself a girl to marry, after all these years that I have been very faithful to you. What have I really done wrong that makes me worthy to be treated this way, I have always been…” The lump that formed in her throat couldn’t allow her to continue speaking. She began to weep.

Now this was the part of break up Mark disliked so much. He was already used to break ups and the silly cries that followed. But with Stella’s case, his conscience was really prickling him. He began to undergo mental uneasiness; he didn’t think he would be able to stand the drama.

“Stella, there is no point crying and feeling bad. I don‘t you want you to go through this for nothing. This decision is the best for the both of us. There is no point continuing in a relationship that isn’t going to lead us any where. Please don’t be hard on yourself, I don’t think anything can be done about it, I have already made up my mind.”

The room began to spin, she was almost fainting, and she couldn’t believe she was hearing those horrible words from Mark, her one and only Mark. “Mark, please don’t do this to me, I will do anything you want me to do, but don’t do what you are about to do, pleeease.”

Mark knew that he couldn’t help her, so the best thing was to make her leave his house, or he would leave the house for her. “I want to go out right now, I have an important appointment with my father in-law, if you like you can wait for me, or we will talk some other time.”

It suddenly downed on her that he had made up his mind. She stopped begging but couldn’t stop the tears and was helplessly flowed from her eyes. She continued to stare at him. She didn’t know what else to do; her legs couldn’t carry her out of the room. But somehow she began to get angry. How could he be so mean? And how could she allow him to get away with such a wicked act? She felt like hurting him back, but how? She continued to stare at him helplessly.

Mark felt very, very uncomfortable. He began to sweat despite the fact that he was half naked. “I want to go to the bathroom,” he said, “I will be out in a minute,” he really wanted to get away from her, and the idea of the need for a shower was perfect, because sincerely, he needed the shower.

He unconsciously took off the black bead from his neck and dropped on his dressing table. He took his wrist watch off as well and rushed into the bathroom.

She watched him drop the black bead in amazement. What was he doing? This was the first time she had ever seen him take off the bead. She had always wondered what it was about the black object that had made him so attached to it like it meant his life to him. All effort by her to make him take it off had resulted to nothing.

But right now the precious object laid on the table at her mercy. She stood alone, helplessly in the room with her eyes fixed on the bead. She could take it away before he comes out and make him beg to have it back. She was very sure that the object has a very important symbol to him; therefore she believed that he wouldn’t like to let it go just like that. Perhaps she might use it as a bait to get him back.

She almost smiled as she visualized him begging to have his precious object back. This was her only opportunity and she must not let it go.

She quickly walked over to the table, picked up the bead and left the room as she dropped it in her hand bag. She walked straight to the exit door and left the house, feeling a little bit hopeful.

Mark came out of the bathroom and was relieved to see that Stella had left his home with her problems. But the weight of guilt was still heavy on him that he decided that the best thing for him to do was to leave the scene go and somewhere he would be able to forget her sorrowful face for a while. The best place to go was Clara’s home. Yes, she was the only person capable of lifting his bad mood.

He hurriedly put on his cloths, feeling very bad with himself, clearly, it was going to take him a very long time to get over Stella. It was not going to be easy.

He was about to lock his door when he suddenly noticed that something was missing on him. He looked himself over, feeling his pockets with his palms but couldn’t tell what it really was that was missing. The vision of Stella’s sad face suddenly appeared in his mind and it immediately became preoccupied with what he had just done to her. He shrugged his shoulders and quickly walked into the street.

Grrrrrrrrrrgh... Dis story is really tight and captivating.
Weldone Frank.

Frank you are really doing a good job. Thanks for the updates.

lets get you guys some updates for the nigths

Clara stayed alone in a two bedroom flat which was situated at the Government Reserved Area. A place only meant for the affluent.

Unlike Mark’s neighborhood that was a little bit noisy, Clara’s neighborhood was very quiet. Most of the neighboring compounds were fenced with big gates making the homes inaccessible for uninvited guests. Here you could stay for a week without seeing your neighbor; everybody enjoyed their private life.

In recent times, Make had been a constant visitor in Clara’s home especially since he started seeing her as his fiancée; he even calls in without any appointment. Despite that, Clara was surprised to see him suddenly came around. She took her time to study him and it was easy for her to detect that he was disturbed. His shoulders were slumped and he had regressed, acting like a little boy who needed motherly care.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” she said, as she watched him walk into her luxuriously furnished sitting room. “You told me that I shouldn’t be expecting to see you throughout this week.”

“Well, I am here. I guess I was already missing you.” He tried to put on his magic masculine charms and brightened up.

“That’s surprising; I hope everything is all right.”

“I said I was already missing you. Should anything be wrong with that?”

“You look gloomy.” She was very sure that something was wrong. With him, his effort to cover that up was not working.

He walked straight to her fridge and offered himself a can of cold beer.

The interior of Clara’s home was well furnished with very expensive furniture that rhymed with her expensive life style. Clara’s taste was modern; this was why she stuffed her sitting room with modern expensive set of electronics that were neatly arranged, giving her home a luxurious look of wealth.

Mark walked towards her with his bottle of beer in his hand; he unbuttoned his shirt as he approached her, the room was cool and he wanted to feel more of its coolness.

Clara continued to study him, he wasn’t speaking, and he was withholding something. She wondered what was wrong with him as he approached her. She was quick to detect that his most treasured black bead wasn’t on him. “What happened to your bead?” She asked, “You are not wearing it? That’s surprising.”

He instantly used his right hand to feel his neck, it was empty, and he suddenly realized why he had felt something was missing on him earlier. In his rush to leave his sorrow stained house, he must have forgotten to put it on.

Strange.

What must have made him take it off? Normally he wouldn’t have even taken it off before having his bath, not to mention leaving home without it. He didn’t realize that his break up with Stella had affected him this much. But he was even more surprised that the feeling of attachment he felt for the bead was gone. It wasn’t important to him any longer. “I think I left it at home,” he said carelessly.

“Why”

“I don’t know. I just forgot to put it on.”

“Why did you take it off? I don’t remember ever seeing you take if off your neck.”

“I don’t know, I guess I just got tired of it, or... I don’t know” she was over pestering him with questions. This was not what he came here for, definitely not to answer questions. An inappropriate answer might make her suspicious and she might start developing ideas.

She continued to observe him. Something was wrong. “Is there any thing that you are not telling me?” seeing him flush with anger, she added, “You just suddenly appear at my door, looking all guilty and gloomy, and surprisingly without your precious bead, if there is any…”

“Common baby, what are you developing ideas for? You are making me feel guilty for something that I don’t know off. And you make me feel like am not free to come into your home anytime I want to. Everything is alright; I just feel like staying with you, that’s all. And the bead, I just wanted to give my neck a break, and then forgot to put it back on because you were all that mattered to me before I left home.”

He got her with that. She suddenly felt guilty for nagging him with questions. “I am sorry, honey.” She allowed him to hold her. And they both sat on the nearest sofa. She laid her head on his shoulders. “How was your day sweetheart?”

“It was alright, and it is even better with you right here by me.”

“So what do I prepare for my darling?”

“Just stay right here with me and I will be more satisfied that ever.”

Two hours later, they were through with making love and were cuddling each other in Clara’s bedroom, and then Clara was telling him stories of how she had spent her day.

Mark finally was feeling better and felt it was time for him to go home. He declared his intension to leave her.

Mark didn’t like the idea of sleeping outside his home except in very avoidable situations. Somehow he cherished coming back home to his house to sleep.

Clara had already known him for this so she made no attempt to stop him from going back to his house despite the fact that really needed to have his arm around her throughout the night.

Once Mark left Clara’s house, he went straight home, having in mind that tomorrow will be a busy day. All he wanted to do today had to be carried over to the next day since he had spent the day with ‘his woman’.

He got home and thought about having a light dinner and going straight to bed.

He was about to put on his pynjamas when he suddenly became aware that his bead was not on the table where he had left it before going into the bathroom earlier in the day. Without any delay, he began to search for it.

After searching all the possible places that he was likely to have kept it apart from the table in his bedroom, and did not see it, he immediately came to a conclusion that Stella must have taken it away with her.

What did she want to do with it? He thought to himself. Maybe she thought that it was so important to him and it would make him come crawling and begging her to give it back to him. That must be very stupid of her. How could she have imagined that she could get him back by withholding a common bead? Something he had suddenly seen as a burden.

The only bad news about the missing bead was that he was not going to be able to hand it over to his son just like the way his father had handed it over to him. Well, that is a pity, but there was no need for him to worry since it will have no effect on his son’s future.
She can have it if it makes her happy. Let’s say it is my parting gift for her.

Unknown to Mark, the covenant that his ancestors had with the great god of destruction had already been fulfilled through him, and any attachment he had with the bead was over.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Five days was already gone and Mark had not yet shown up. Stella was already beginning to see that she had finally lost him. In fact whenever she remembered the look that was on his face before he had entered his bathroom on that unforgettable day, it would down on her that there was no hope that he would ever come back to her.

Since the day that she had left Mark’s house, she had remained indoors crying and sympathizing with herself. To her, there was nothing else left to live for. There was no need going to school, that was why she sent them information that she was having fever and wouldn’t be able to come to school through out the week. She was hoping that by the time the week was over she would have decided what she would do with her wrecked life. Besides, she wouldn’t be able to stand the sight of Mark; the man she had loved with her whole life.

How could Mark be so mean? She thought as she still lay on her bed. It was almost noon day and she didn’t still feel like eating. He had left her with so much confusion, that she didn’t know what else to do. What will her mother and friends who had warned her about him say? How could she afford to fall in love with another man after the only man she had given her heart to had thrown her away like dirt?

These were the questions that she had been trying to answer for the past five days and no answers seemed to come fourth.

How would she be able to face him at school come next week? How would other teachers take the news? They would probably laugh at her.
She had purposely avoided all her friends because they had warned her about him, but her love for him had blinded her and made her deaf to all their warnings.
Lying on her bed and facing the ceiling, she was almost sure that the next thing would be suicide if no answer comes up.

She had thought that the bead was going to be of help to her but she had realized how stupid she had been for believing that he would come to her and ask for it. It was just an ordinary bead, why should it bother him that she had taken it along with her. Probably, he did not even notice that it was missing. Or it had probably gotten him, angrier and worsened everything.

But a small voice within her still asked her to be strong. If Mark does not want her anymore, that does not mean that it was the end of the world. She knew she must be strong but all the same, she knew that she was very, very weak to be strong. She couldn’t possibly forget Mark just like that, it was almost impossible. She continued to think, hoping that the inner voice could come with a miraculous strength to lift her up.

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on her entrance door. She was angry. Why couldn’t the world leave her alone, must people seek your attention even when it was obvious that you want to be left alone?

She stood up, used a piece of wrapper to tie across her chest, because her night gown was revealing, and reluctantly walked to get the door.

“Who is that?” She asked in an obviously angry tune.

“It’s me, Jude!” the young lad’s voice could be heard clearly from inside the building.

She quickly opened the door for him. There was something sad about his voice, even though she could not actually tell. An instant look at his face told her that something was really wrong, something far worse than what she had been going through for the past five days.

“Jude, what is the problem” she asked worriedly.

“Mummy said that I should call you” he was almost crying.

“Why, what happened?”

“Its sister Kelechi, there had been an accident.”

“Where… when … how,” she was so anxious and uneasy.

“Everybody is at the hospital… Federal Medical Center.”

Stella became hysterical, “give me a minute,” she rushed into her bedroom, came out few seconds later and found out that she had left her hand bag that contained her money. She hastily rushed back to get it before they finally left for the hospital.

At the hospital, Stella met her mother, Daniel’s younger sister and the housemaids for both homes wailing bitterly. She was still ignorant of what had actually happened, all attempts to get information from Jude while they were heading for the hospital was fruitless. He remained mute with his eyes overflowing with tears. After much effort, she finally got Kelechi’s housemaid to tell her what she needed to hear. With tears the maid relayed the story.

Kelechi had left the house early that morning for the airport where she was supposed to pick her husband who had just returned from a business trip, after instructing the maid to watch over the baby,. He had been away much longer than before and Kelechi couldn’t wait to be curled up in his strong loving hands and laugh at his lovely jokes and stories.

On their way coming home, Daniel who had insisted on driving, was filled with so much delight at the sight of his lovely wife, he almost couldn’t take his eyes off her as he inquired about the baby and his little sister. Incidentally they ran into an oncoming big truck that was over taking another a smaller car in full speed and had lost its break. The crash was fatal.

Kelechi and her husband lost their lives instantly, both did not even feel the impact of the crash; neither did they have the time to scream in fear. Their car was squeezed beyond recognition which made it very difficult for their lifeless body to be removed from their car and taken to the mortuary at the hospital. The truck driver’s life was not spared either, although he gave up the ghost a few hours later.

Daniel’s little sister, Mary, was just walking into her brother’s home when the news about the accident was delivered by a policeman. They were supposed to come and identify the bodies. Mary had immediately gone to her mother in-law to tell them the news.

Still not very sure of what the situation was, they both went to the general hospital, where they were notified of the heartbreaking news. Stella’s dad couldn’t go with them because of his poor heart condition. He remained at home praying for god’s intervention.

Stella joined the chorus, almost crying louder than the rest. She couldn’t understand the meaning of all the cruelty that life had suddenly decided to offer her. They were such a happy couple who had more than half of their life ahead of them. They had almost everything they could ask for in life to be grateful to God for, but the cruel and ugly hands of death had without consideration taken their life, denying them of all that they had strived to acquire.

Now there was their beloved little Jennifer who had suddenly been made on orphan by death.

It had been Daniel’s idea that their daughter should be named Jennifer. A name he had always loved and cherished. Kelechi had accepted the name without giving it a second thought. It sounded pretty and her husband had described to her that the name meant white wave, whatever that meant she never bothered to inquire more. But she felt it was a suitable and beautiful name for their beautiful daughter who deserved everything beautiful.

There was so much confusion, nobody knew what to do. Stella wished that her eldest brother, Bob, was around. He was always in control and would have been the one to console them and take charge. She cried like she had never cried for a long time. The heartbreak that she had been going through suddenly became a trivial matter.

Her beloved sister was gone, gone with her husband and leaving an infant behind. Nothing could be worse than that, not even if she loses a thousand of Marks.

All that was left of Kelechi was just the memory of her. Stella could visualize her happy face in her mind. She had been the luckier of the two of them and had all the reason in this world to be happier. Her image kept flashing in her mind and Stella wondered how she was going to handle all these.

Although she was, at present, the only person who was expected to be stronger and to be in control, she still found her knees trembling. This was beyond her, it was too much for her to handle. She thought of her dad, the old man might give up instantly if he hears such horrible news. What a waste.

The thought of little Jennifer gave her little strength. The infant needed them more than they needed to allow themselves to continue crying, wailing, regretting and wishing it was all a dream.

Mary was still in school and still very young to be allowed to take responsibility of little Jenny. Right now` her mother seemed the most suitable person that should be left with the infant. She allowed her mind to concentrate on how the best should be given to her little niece.

She got hold of herself and began to console the rest.

Two weeks after Daniel and Kelechi’s burial, Stella was with her family discussing and trying to reason out what next should be done.
She had not been able to go to work since her break up with Mark, and had been putting up with her parents since the sad incident. The school authorities and her colleagues had already been made aware of the situation. Much to her annoyance, Mark had not even made any attempt to extend any form of condolence to her. She was filled with hate for him. She couldn’t even imagine that she had once loved him.
Right now she had even decided not to go back to that school any more. With her little savings, she was going to further her education and aspire for a better job. Rather than being a secondary school teacher, she could become a lecturer in the higher institution.

Present for the family discussion were; Mary, Stella’s mum and Dad, Daniel’s lawyer, and Stella’s brothers.

Luckily, the sad news had not caused any severe harm on their daddy’s health. Everyone had been very scared that he was going to breakdown as soon as hears the sad news, surprisingly he had even shown more strength than the others and had not even shown any sign of heart attack.

Bob, the eldest son of the Johnson’s, was speaking, “Since, according to our late brother in-law’s lawyer, the deceased left behind a very fat account and three houses, I think there is enough to take care of his little sister and daughter.” Bob was a business minded young man with a husky voice that would make you want to show reverence to his opinion.

“But what are we going to do about his business, Daniel was a hard working man and I think a special attention must be given to his business.” Stella said.

“Yes, I have really given it a thought, I don’t know if Justin will be willing to carry on with Daniel’s importation business.” He was looking at his younger brother suggestively, “You have been complaining about the poor out come of your business, can you handle the importations of electronic?

“I would love to, but the problem is that I don’t know much about importation business.” Justine was already into the sales of fairly used electronic gadgets. He was the smallest in size of all the members of the family, an easy going person who had so much respect for his elder brother. He had been hoping to source for more fund to put into his business, and had been wondering when Bob would fulfill his promise. The death of his in-law had created an opportunity to get him involved with something bigger.

“Don’t worry about that, I have some friends who know so much about that line of business, I will talk to them so that you may be given at least a month orientation.”

“I really will also like to stop teaching for the mean time; I want to give myself a break. I have been thinking about furthering my education. I have saved enough for that and I think now is the best time for me to follow up my dream.” Stella broke in.

They all starred at her with surprise.

“What is wrong with your teaching job?” Inquired her dad, who sensed that his daughter might have been going through some sort of stress that was unknown to them all.

“Dad, I am tired of it. I want to quit and further my education, I also need some time for myself, lately I have neglected myself and I don’t think I want to do that anymore.”

“Well, that is okay, I think that is a very nice decision.” Mr. Johnson said approvingly.

“Right now, we must think of what to do about the young ones and Daniel’s properties?” Stella inquired.

The lawyer felt this was the right for him to involve himself into the discursion now that they were talking about Daniel’s properties. “According to Daniel’s will, seventy percent of his will go to his wife and daughter and the rest goes to his sister. I want a confident and reliable suggestion on how all these will be handled, especially with the situation at hand.” He was a smallish intelligent man, whose looks could be deceptive.

“I don’t think there is any problem with that. Mary’s school fees and well being will be handled by you, from part of her brother’s money and house rents obtained from his houses. You can speak with her on that. While Mummy takes care of little Jenny, that will also be financed through his business and savings. Kelechi’s share in Daniels will will be shared among Mary, Jennifer and Mummy. I will like Jennifer to be in Stella’s custody until she gets older. Right now she is too young and will be more secured in the arms of Mummy.” Bob was looking from his mother to his sister and was glad to see them both nodding their heads in agreement.

But Stella was wondering if the suggestion about Jennifer’s custody was as a result of her celibacy. All the same she thought it was going to be lovely bringing up Kelechi’s daughter like her own.

Everybody seemed to be satisfied with Bob’s suggestion. Other peripheral issues were discussed before the meeting came to an end.

CHAPTER TWELVE

All Saint orphanage was situated at the extreme north of Owerri, its surrounding was very remote with very few neighboring houses that were largely separated from each other. It had a very large compound that was completely fenced with a very large wall. The interior of this great wall was a set of well planned buildings that housed and provided home for sixty five children.

The compound contained six big halls that served as hostels for the children, a big refectory, four structures that served as classrooms, two office blocks where the administrative activities took place, the staff quarters and other little structures that served as stores and toilets, and still had enough space for the children’s recreational activities. Here the children were encouraged to play different available games of their choices. It was a well organized government institution that was meant to provide comfort for orphans in the state.

At evenings, the children would be seen walking in peer groups with the female children separating themselves from the males. And children with similar age groups walking and playing together. The atmosphere was always filled with immature noises of the kids who were oblivious of what was happening beyond the great wall.

Here, the lives of the kids were ordered and restricted. They were made to understand that they were bounded by certain rules and anyone who failed to adhere to these rules must face the wrought of the authorities.

This was their world and their life. The life style in the great wall was the only thing they knew. The authorities were the only parents the kids knew. They know no father neither do they recognize the importance of mother. They were often opportune to participate in activities outside the wall whenever they were invited to organized school or government activities. This they always looked forward to.
Some of the children were sometimes filled with curiosity of what being free was like. They lived by the promises that one day they would find themselves in the world as rulers and authorities of their own. And they would find themselves dreaming and waiting for the appointed day.

One by one, they see their inmates leave and say good bye forever, they sometimes they receive letters describing the wonders that they see, but sometimes these letters describe the cruelty that was in the world. They get confused but curious. They ask questions and yet filled with the desire to be free one day.

Also among the structures that lay within the great wall was a small clinic that provided health facilities for the infants who lost their mother at birth and need close medical attention. It also provided health treatment for the children who incidentally fall ill in the orphanage.

This was where Juliet’s baby had been for the past three months. On till now he was still the last child that has been brought to the orphanage and also the youngest. Therefore he got more attention than the other kids, materially or medically. Everybody in the orphanage knew that there was something strange about him, apart from that; he was a cute little child like any other infant.

Mrs. Anna Okon, the chief matron of All Saints Orphanage, was one of the major back bones of the orphanage. Her efforts had ensured that the kids are well catered for. She had assumed the role of the Chief Matron of the institution six years ago and this was the first time in her life of ever seeing anything as strange as the little infant that had been nicknamed ‘the strange child’.

At the age of forty four, Mrs. Okon was more energetic than her counterparts and she was a very significant figure In Owerri. She was always engaged in one activity or the other just to ensure that the home she ran was never in want of anything. Yet her body structure denied any sign of stress. She was a moderately tall woman, with thick and healthy looking body type that was colored the same as a chocolate. Her facial look would tell an observer at first sight that she would have once won a beauty pageant if she had involved herself in any competition of that sort as a youth. A very punctilious woman she was and that was probably why her tenure as the Chief Matron witnessed so much success and advantages.

Mrs. Okon lost her husband seven years ago, but that had not in any way prevented her from being the hardworking woman that she was, nor did it stop her from ensuring that her three children received the best training she could afford. Her love for children had been the major factor that allowed her to assume her present role, which she had relentlessly put in all her energy to ensure that success was achieved.

Three months ago, she had been in her office sorting and going through the donations that the orphanage had received during the week as charity from other institutions in Owerri and some rich good spirited individuals when her secretary came in and announced the presence of Dr. Peter Chukwu, the Chief social worker of St. Magdalene Clinic.

“Let him in,” She answered, and shifted her attention back to what she was doing. She was very familiar with most staff at St. Magdalene Clinic, especially Dr. Victor and Dr. Chukwu. They were very special friends to the orphanage. They never hesitate to come whenever their expertise was needed in the orphanage. Dr. Chuks (as Dr. Chukwu is often called) occasionally checked on the kids, especially the ones he had personally brought to the orphanage from the Clinic.

He was ushered into the office by the secretary and he entered with the normal air of confidence that surrounded him.

“Good afternoon Mrs. Okon”

“Dr. nice to see you, how do you do? Please have a seat.”

She replied as she pointed at one of the empty chairs opposite her office table.

“Alright, thank you.” He was already making himself comfortable. Whenever he found himself in this office, he would always compare it to the shabby offices they have at St. Magdalene, of which Mrs. Okon’s office was completely the opposite. Her office was always looking better than the last time he visited. It was a very large office with four cabinets on the side walls. They were large enough to block the view of the walls behind it. The cabinets were the doorless ones to allow for easy access to the files that fully occupied them. In these files were documents that contained information about all the inmates of the orphanage, both past and present.

“How is work, especially with the unending complaints coming form the patients?” She asked him as she pushed the documents that she was busy with aside.

“It has not been easy, I sometimes wonder how I would have coped if I were a medical doctor, like Victor. The patients seem to enjoy the act of complaining.”

“How is my good friend, Victor doing?” she said, smiling at the mention of Dr. Victor’s name. She remembered his gregarious nature. “It’s been a long time.”

“He is doing very fine. And you?”

“Its alright, the kids are increasingly becoming unbearable. But you know me very well; I am equal to the task.” She answered in an assuring tone.

“I will be bringing you a new kid from the hospital. An infant who lost his mother the moment he was given birth to.”

“Oh my God, what a misfortune, I hope he is alright?” There was a note of concern in her voice which was followed by an equally concerned look.

“Yes, he is surprisingly perfectly alright, he had been in our custody for the past four weeks, under close observation, we think there is no need keeping him with us any longer, so I thought I should come around and inform you of our intension.”

“Just four weeks? Doctor, don’t you think he is too young?” she asked with a look of dismay.

“Trust me; he does not seem to need any kind of attention whatsoever. There is no need for you to worry about his age; he is perfectly strong enough to be brought here.” Dr. Chuks assured her

“How could a baby be that strong at just four weeks old? Most children of that age need close medical attention, especially in such a situation where the mother is lost.”

Dr. Chuks hesitated before explaining. “You see, this is a really strange child, I don’t know how to explain this to you. I have never seen anything like this before; he is very different from all other kids of his age. He had never been noticed crying since his birth. He only eats for the sake that food is brought to him, if not he never shows any sign of hunger. Yet he grows much stronger and healthy, no sign of ailment.”

“That sounds strange, what about his father or external relations? Has no one shown up to take responsibility of the child?”

“It is a very complicated issue. The mother was a young unmarried girl who was impregnated by her boyfriend or somebody who didn’t want the baby and therefore denied any knowledge of her. Her parents on the other hand made matters worst by sending her out of their home. Her father is a drunk who is suffering from a psychological condition induced by the monster ‘poverty’. Her mother couldn’t help the situation; she had no money so she allowed herself to be led by her husband’s decision.

In fact I wonder what would have happened to her if her good friend had not accepted her into her home. She probably would have killed herself and her baby. Her father had declined all pleas to bring in the child into his home, therefore the child became homeless. The orphanage is the only option we have for now, while we still look for other alternatives.”

“That is a pathetic story” Mrs. Okon said, feeling so much compassion for the child. “Maybe his father could be convinced to take back the child” she suggested.

“From the look of things, it is obvious that he can never be convinced. He rejected her and made it clear that he was very sure that the child wasn’t his.”

“So when will you be bringing him over?

“That should be next week, let us observe him for one more week, but I assure you, he is going to be of no problem to you.”

“Okay, I will be expecting you.”

Dr. Chuks was already getting up. “I have to run back to the hospital, I will see you next week.”

She stood up and walked him to the door. “Thanks for checking on us doctor, I will be looking forward to next week.”

At the door, he inquired about the last two kids he had brought to the orphanage some time ago and she told them they were alright before bidding him goodbye.

Twelve days latter, Dr. Victor drove into the orphanage in his 504 Peugeot, with a young nurse at the back seat. By her side was Juliet’s son in a basket couch. Mrs. Okon who was already aware of their arrival came out to see them; along with her was one of the nurses from the orphanage’s clinic.

She signaled to the nurse to carry him inside while she went into her office with Dr. Victor and his nurse. There she collected a file which had all information concerning the young lad. A new file was opened where she quickly registered him before walking together with the doctor to the clinic to see the little child.

She picked him up from his basket couch and held him in her arms, and immediately became aware of a strange sensation that was unusual considering her feelings and love for motherless infants. The strange bold look on the child’s face was incomprehensible. He stared directly into her eyes just like the way you could stare at somebody you are interrogating. How could such an infant who was barely six weeks be this bold?

Not really knowing what to think or make out of the child’s behavior, she shrugged the strange feeling out of her mind. He was probably like one of those abnormal kids they have in orphanage. It didn’t stop her from feeling the normal feeling of emotional attachment that had already become part of her whenever she came in contact with helpless infants.

“Oh, what an unfortunate baby? Not even an opportunity to see his mother. Now this cruel world had denied her of motherly affection.”

“He is a very strange child,” Dr. Victor said it loudly so that other officials and nurses who were present could hear. He is sure going to be a very strong young man. Even a soft grip from him will make you understand that he is going to be an extraordinarily strong child.”
“What is his name? The file I opened for him does not have his name on it.”

“We have not yet determined that.” The doctor said. He was hoping that Mrs. Okon would be able to suggest something that would suit the child. “Have you a name in mind?”

“No” No name in her mind seemed to suit the child.

They both starred at the child as they wondered what name to give him. He stared back as if he was really interested in what they were talking about, like the name about to give to him was important to him.

“Let’s call him Rogers,” She finally said.

“Rogers?”

“Yes”

Dr. Chuks looked once more at the infant. Rogers he thought. Then sighed and said, “Okay, his name is Rogers.” He starred at the child for a while, something was just different about him, yet he couldn’t explain what it was.

After the doctor left with the nurse, Mrs. Okon went back to her office and filled the blank space that was meant for the child’s name.
Up till this moment, Mrs. Okon had not gotten over the strange feeling she had felt about little Rogers right from the first day she had seen him.

His sinister face continued to give a rush of fear whenever she set her eyes on him. She had made sure that he was given very close attention, and the reports that were brought to her had continued to raise her curiosity.

He had refused to cry, for any reason, for the past three months. And he never also smiled, always starring, very healthy and hardly slept.
What a strange child, she thought in confusion. Was he evil? Does he have strange powers? Or was this just a different medical defect. Perhaps he was suffering from a medical condition that didn’t allow him to respond to some internal stimulus like hunger and sleep. Or maybe he does felt these stimuli but didn’t have the ability to respond. But Dr. Victor had said that he had been well examined and had been found to be medically sound, no trace of any form of defect.

Her curiosity was so intense that she couldn’t wait to see little Rogers as a grown man, or start to talk. She definitely will continue to pay very close attention and must take into account every progressive change she observed.

All Saints Orphanage’s clinic was situated at the central part of the huge compound so that anyone coming into the compound through the main gate will not miss it. The interior of the clinic was always kept very clean by the cleaners, curtsey to Mrs. Okon’s strict instructions.

The nursery was at the extreme left of the clinic, it was a small room that could contain not more than ten couches. At the moment little Rogers was the only occupant of the nursery, with the nurses coming in subsequently to check on him. These nurses ensured that any baby in the nursery received the best attention and was very comfortable, although they normally find themselves less busy since infants are seldom brought to the orphanage.

Usually, babies are picked by the road side, but they are taken to the hospital rather than brought to the orphanage. The nurses had shown much surprise when they saw an infant like Rogers being brought to the orphanage, but after just a day with him, they found out that he was another thing altogether. It was very obvious that he didn’t need any of their attention. They were glad because they didn’t like coming around him either.

The nurses were usually very compassionate with any unfortunate child that found its way to the orphanage, but with the case of Rogers, he was repulsive. None of them ever felt like giving him a nice stroll in his couch or play with him. He was watched and observed rather that played with. He was always alone and sometimes the nurses find themselves wondering what he was thinking about. Because his countenance tells them he was definitely thinking.

They unconsciously hated him.

They felt guilty about this state of mind, knowing that he was just a baby and probably was not aware of all that was happening around him, although they found that hard to believe. Further, it wasn’t his fault that he looked and behaved this way, yet they found it difficult to understand this fact and see him like a normal baby; there was already a stronger feeling deep down that made them feel that he wasn’t a normal baby no matter how hard they tried.

Therefore, baby Rogers was always in his couch at the extreme right of the nursery all alone. To an observer he was just a strange looking baby, but to him, he was not a baby and had never been a baby. He was a god, a sacred being that had lived as long as evil had existed on earth.

He was the great god of destruction.

It felt very good to be born as a human, he thought. The experience was even better than he had thought it would be when he had first accepted the offer from that greedy Chika about hundred years ago. At last he had been born; he was now a human, with flesh and blood! That was great. He was now capable of interacting personally with humans, any person he wanted; he could now take life at will, anytime, and wherever he wanted, that was brilliant.

For more than a hundred years, he had waited for this time to come and now it had. The time he had had to wait had really meant nothing to him. Chika had thought that waiting for his tenth generation was going to be a long time, too long that probably something would happen to prevent the covenant from coming to pass, but it had actually been very stupid of him to think like that. The bead had taken care of that for him; his precious bead had taken control of all Chika’s descendants and ensured that they had adhered to the instructions given to them by their fathers. All he has to do was to wait; rest and wait for time meant nothing to him.

‘Baby Rogers’, what a funny to give to a great god like him. Another funny thing was the way these nurses starred at him like he had the face of an animal. They were really getting on his nerves, that was one disadvantage with this human body, he couldn’t just reach out and snap their neck all because he was still a baby, he would have to wait patiently until he grows up and become a man, especially with this situation that he hasn’t the bead with him, before he could consider his act of destruction.

If not for that stupid Mark who could not zip up his pants, he would have started his hobby by killing these nurses the way they would never had imagined they would die.

Mark, his so called ‘father’, had already complicated things with his promiscuous life. And now the bead that would have been given to him after his birth was not even within his reach. He thought about him with so much hatred. Mark was the cause of his predicament, and the bad news was that it seemed that nobody knows were the hell he was.

Rogers had gotten the knowledge of his father’s name, the moment he was conceived. That was when he had immediately woken up from his slumber. His mother had been stupid enough to allow his father get away with the act of impregnating her and denying it, that was why he had decided to kill her during his birth. But that had been stupid of him and it was his first lesson also. He must learn how to control his anger if he must get his bead. If Juliet was alive he would have been sure that she will definitely lead him to Mark one day. Now he had lost that chance. The only thing he could do now was to wait patiently until he grows up, so that he can learn more about this sudden strange society, and know the right move to make in locating his father and the black bead.

Blood! He screamed within him. Mark must pay for all the stress he was going to go through in search for his bead. He had never bargained for this and now fun time must wait. He needed the bead, his life depended on it and that was why he must be careful, he must lay low and not arouse much curiosity, otherwise they might start investigating him. Some wise humans might discover the truth behind his existence and that will eventually lead to the destruction of the bead! No! He has to be very careful, he must still continue to try his best to act like a baby and allow them to think that they are nurturing him until he comes off age. Yes he would wait until he was physically matured enough, then he would go in search of his bead, his precious bead.

While waiting he would remain observant and learn all he could about their strange new life style. Perhaps he would even change his personality and do away with every lifestyle that would cause people to want to isolate themselves from him.

And then he would wait, for time meant nothing to him, but he must continue to have faith that nothing happens to his bead within the short period he waits. He hoped that nobody accidentally destroys his bead, Blood! That must not happen. He quickly pushed away the thought from his consciousness; he must have faith and be strong.

Rogers, he thought again with a wicked and mischievous grin on his face, what the hell does that mean. That stupid Matron thinks she can just coin up any word and call it his name. To him that was an insult and it was beyond forgiveness. She must surely die; she must surely regret giving him such a stupid name.

His name was not Rogers or whatever she had coined. His name was Alaogbaga; the great god of destruction, and nothing, nobody, can change that!

Soonest, they will see him in action, he will make them bow down and worship him, he will reign and rule and kill.

But he must control himself and wait; he must not jeopardize his future by yielding to the strong desire to destroy. He must wait for time meant nothing to him.

D gr8 alaogbaga,has lost d bead,mark has lost d bead, D saviours has lost d bead,wat becomes of ds mysterious bead.will it find its 2 alaogbaga. Or 2 DESTRUCTION

Emeka opened the door and ushered Mark and Clara into his home. It was a Sunday afternoon, about five weeks after their last meeting at Mbiari Art Social Center. Mark had dropped a massage earlier in the week at his office, informing him that he would be coming to visit his home with Clara on Sunday.

Emeka was sure that the visit will be about introducing to them his soon to be wife, announcing their wedding date to them and probably give them their wedding invitation card. So he had asked his wife to prepare a special launch; he would love to impress the daughter of the Hilary who he had been looking for opportunity to have interaction with. Making a good impression on his daughter would be a good start.

All these while, Emeka had decided to wait for a formal announcement about the wedding from Mark before updating The Saviours about Mark’s decision. He had thought that there was no need rushing to tell them anything without having any concrete evidence like a wedding card, so he waited. He was therefore glad when he got Mark’s massage that he was coming around by weekend.

Adaku came out to welcome them as well, “Nice of you to come Mark,” she said as she gave Mark and Clara a soft hug.

“Thank you Adaku; where is little Ikenna?”

“He is sleeping, you know how babies behave; they stay awake at night and sleep during the day.” She observed the couple as they sat comfortably in the sitting room. She continued to stand while trying to look amazed. “When my husband told me that Mark had decided that he would soon be getting married, I really couldn’t believe it,” to Clara, “Honey, what did you give to him?”

With a huge smile on her face, Clara replied, “I gave him the juicy part of love.” This was followed by a chorused laughter by all of them.
“Oh, you guys are so perfect for each other,” Adaku said, then to Mark, “she is so beautiful, I am very happy for you.”

“In fact, we equally have a beautifully designed wedding invitation card right here with us and so we are officially inviting you guys to our wedding.” Mark stretched out his hand to collect the wedding card from Clara as she brought it out from her handbag.

“Oh, this is beautiful” Adaku was emotionally moved as she stretched forth her hand to collect the card. She observed it and gave it to Emeka.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of little Ikenna’s cry from the bedroom, the excitement in the air must have woken him up.

“Excuse me,” Adaku quickly rush off into the bedroom.

“Congratulation man, I trust that you have made the right decision. I am happy for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Your home is beautiful.” Clara said as she looked around.

“Thank you.” Emeka said as he observed Mark’s neck. Surprisingly, he had not seen the bead on his neck since his arrival. Emeka had gotten used to observing Mark’s neck since the Saviours exposed to him the true story behind the black bead.

Adaku came in with Ikenna on her shoulder. She called on Clara to help her in the kitchen. Clara quickly obliged, leaving the men alone.
Emeka decided to use the opportunity to find out what happened to the bead. “Did Clara insist that you mustn’t wear your strange black bead any longer?”

Mark touched his neck; he had been getting a lot of comment about the absence of the bead since he lost it to Stella. He sure wasn’t going to go into details of what happened to it. “Strange? I didn’t know you thought the bead I had always won was strange.”

“Honestly I have always wondered why your father gave it to you. Have you discarded it?”

“No, I misplaced it.”

That was strange. The Saviours had informed him that the bead had the power of self protection until the child was born. How could Mark misplace the bead when the child had not yet been born? “Misplaced it? I thought that bead had been handed down by your forefather? Are you not worried that you wouldn’t give it to your future son?”

“Worried? Why should I be worried about a bead? It never gave us some sought of superpower or advantage. It was just a symbol of our heritage, without it we can still survive. There is nothing more to it.” He quickly changed the subject, ‘What is happening here? Get me some beer, do I have to ask you for it.”

“You don’t look like you need beer; I thought you were already drunk with Clara.” He quickly stood up and headed for the fridge.

“Oh come on.”

The rest of the evening was taken over by discussions on the up coming marriage.

Adaku was aware of her husband’s business with The Saviours and the black bead. She had encouraged Emeka to corporate with them since she didn’t think that a group of such responsible men would come together for nothing. But since after Mark and Clara’s visit last Sunday, Emeka had been deeply worried. It just didn’t make any sense. What really did the Saviours want? Was their foundation built on lies? Were they just wasting their time? But their story had sounded so real and they didn’t look like people who where joking.

They had insisted that the bead would never depart from Mark until the child was born. But that seems not to be the case. So what have they been doing keeping tag on the ignorant Mark all these while? Somehow Emeka felt foolish. How could he have believed such a fairy tale? He had actually believed them and had been excited at the thought that he was involved in the quest of saving the world.

Adaku tried to calm him, “the best thing is that you go home and speak with them. Tell them the latest so far and hear what they have to say. From there, you will know if they are wasting time or if they have other hidden agendas that they are telling you.

This was the reason why Emeka was heading to the village this morning. It’s been a week after Mark’s visitation. He had waited patiently for this day to reach; he couldn’t wait to hear what the Saviours had to say.

He bade Adaku goodbye and drove off.

Duruji was just twenty five kilometers from Owerri. In no time Emeka had arrived and asked his father to quickly summon The Saviours.
Within thirty minutes all members were gathered to hear what Emeka had to say.

“Mark visited my home last Sunday with the woman he wishes to marry. He brought with him this invitation card.” He brought out the card and handed it over to Mazi Amadi.

Mazi Amadi collected it and quickly scanned through it as he nodded his head in approval. Emeka was doing a good job, recruiting him had been the best thing that had happened to The Saviours.

“But what I don’t understand is the fact that Mark does not have the bead anymore.” Emeka said.

“Are you sure about this? I mean how certain are you?” Mazi Amadi said, he was very certain the Emeka wasn’t sure of what he was saying.

“I am very sure of what I am saying. I confronted him and he said he misplaced it. So I really don’t know what we are doing.”

They were all silent, nobody expected this.

“Could he be lying or something?” Dike asked.

“No, he had no reason to lie. He was so nonchalant about it when he was telling me. From the story I heard from you, I was expecting that he would be very worried… in fact, I wasn’t expecting this at all.” Emeka said.

Mazi Amadi wasn’t happy, “this is unexpected. Something must have gone wrong somewhere. If Mark had diligently worn the bead all these while, what must have made him remove now? This could be worst than we had imagined.”

“Isn’t it obviously clear that there was really no much danger like you all have imagined?” Emeka said. “Well, I think my work’s been done here. With the bead gone, I don’t know what this group stands for anymore, except there are other agendas that I don’t know about. As for me, I am out. It’s been great hanging out with you all.”

“You can’t just leave like that. We have all dedicated our energy to this cause, and you think we should just dismiss like that? Just because you think the bead is lost?” one of the members said.

“What else do you want me to do?” Emeka asked. He had already stood up.

“It is okay, there is no need getting agitated. This is strange news coming to us this morning. Emeka, you must understand that this group wouldn’t have existed if the covenant hadn’t taken place. Right now, I must tell you that only Mark knows what he had actually done to do away with the bead. But if the bead is actually missing, which I doubt, then we should be a little relieved. As you leave, do me one favour. Promise me that you will continue to keep your eyes on Mark; continue to watch out for the bead. We must make sure he does not give the bead to his child and the child is destroyed.” Mazi Amadi said.

“I will keep my eyes on him and watch out for any sudden appearance of the bead. But, we must all be careful not to make the wrong decision. I mean… how do we know that his son will really be evil? I must confess that with the disappearance of the bead, I doubt the authenticity of what we have been fighting for. All I am saying is that, perhaps something happened all these time that we have been waiting that we all don’t know. The Saviours have been waiting for over hundred years. Anything could have happened.”

“What are we going to do now?” Dike asked. The uncertainty in the air was getting at him. “Mark wouldn’t have been wearing that bead all these while for nothing. And it wouldn’t have been passed from generation to generation for nothing. Could the black bead have beaten us in this game? I think I fear more danger now than before.”

“I have been thinking along that line too, why would the bead get lost now that the covenant is about to be fulfilled. It makes no sense. Why did Mark have to lose the bead? Why didn’t he just get tired of it and drop it? How did he actually lose it?” One of the members spoke up.

“Well, he didn’t say how he lost… like I said he was nonchalant about it.”

“We must find out how he lost it. This will give us an insight of where it is. If we are sure that the bead is not within his reach, then we can be confident that he is not going to hand it to his son. All we will have to do then is to watch the boy and if there is anything suspicious about him, we retrieve the bead and destroy it.”

“But how can we know if this child is really Alaogbaga? Will there be a sign?” Dike asked.

“The god was a very mischievous and wicked god, trust me, the signs will be there even as an infant. There must definitely be a difference between him and other children.” Mazi Amadi said with much conviction. His mode of initiation wasn’t as shallow as that of the other members. He was well groomed into understanding the ways of the Alaogbaga.


Despite the fact that the sudden disappearance of the black bead sowed a seed of doubt in Emeka’s mind, he still was curious to see how things would eventually turn out. He couldn’t help but imagine what he would do if this child was really born and it turns out to be the mysterious god. Would it have horns? Would it be ugly, huge and have some magical powers? The uncertainness behind the incredible story couldn’t allow him to delete it from his mind.

He learnt from Mark that the bead was taken from him by one of his numerous ex-girl friends. That was the much he could get from Mark on the bead. He couldn’t probe further because of the fear of evoking Mark’s suspicion. The Saviours decided that the information was enough. All they had to do was to wait and wait until the child was born. If there was need for the bead then they must search for it and retrieve it from whoever took it.

ok, the second ppart of Tenth Generation - The Birth, ends here.

Now i cant believe i am tempted to post the last part givene that i only meanth to post just the first part.

But do my readers this it is necessary? shuld i stop boring them?

thanks for reading anywayz

frank3.16:
ok, the second ppart of Tenth Generation - The Birth, ends here.

Now i cant believe i am tempted to post the last part givene that i only meanth to post just the first part.

But do my readers this it is necessary? shuld i stop boring them?

thanks for reading anywayz

Frank please try and post the last part. I'm really enjoying the story. Thank you.

Franko,pls try and continue d story o,am already glued 2 ds thread

Franko,pls try and continue d story o,am already glued 2 ds thread. And who say u re boring us,u re actually entertaining us wit ur stories. Guy continue afasta afasta.

Damex333: Franko,pls try and continue d story o,am already glued 2 ds thread. And who say u re boring us,u re actually entertaining us wit ur stories. Guy continue afasta afasta.

ok, people liken u motivate me, i am really sleepy now (in some alcoholic mood) perhaps i should just post a glimps of the third part, lets how tomorrow will b.

PART THREE: THE BLACK BEAD (1999)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN


It was at that time of the year, when the color of the sun as it sets beautified the earth as it hung so low in the cloud like a golden ball. Lovers and friends are seen walking hand in hand on quiet streets as the cool air of the evening urges them to come closer to themselves and ensure body contact with their partners. The evening by itself created a romantic atmosphere and the urge to come out and feel the loveliness of nature was what determined the activities of youngsters, youths and lovers. For a young girl or boy to be seen indoors and resist the temptation that was outside, then there must be something important that was more desirable than the sweet natural atmosphere.

Jennifer was not one of those seen outside her home even at such an evening. She was in her room, with her doors locked up, and reading her introduction to psychology text book while sitting on her family sized bed. She had been reading on her table, but suddenly decided to change her position by sitting on her bed with the text book on her laps supported by her two arms. Her back was beginning to ache her and the constant change in her sitting position was all in the bid to find a position that would be more comfortable for her to read. She wasn’t yet ready to drop her books for any other thing.

Jennifer was determined to make very good grades this semester. Her last semester result had been very discouraging and Aunty Stella had been very furious with her. She was therefore not going to compromise her studies for anything this time around. For the past two week she had constantly denied herself of fun and sleep just to make sure that she made the best grade this season.

Her boyfriend, Sean Okeke, had been very furious with her, complaining that she didn’t pay him attention any longer. Jenny expected that he would understand how important the coming exams meant to her. She had tried all she could to explain to him why it was so, but he had refused to understand, leaving her no choice but to do what she had to do without giving him the due consideration he deserved.

She had also decided that she was not going to compromise her studies for how Sean felt about her new reading habit. Nothing was going to stop her from achieving her aim, not even her love life; all distractions must be put aside.

Jenny loved Sean; this was something she couldn’t deny. This was why she had continued to forgive him whenever he hurt her and come around begging to be given a second chance. She had always shown so much understanding in the relationship and was always there for him whenever he was going through difficulties. It therefore really angered her so much when he could not show simple understanding after she told him that she needed more time for her studies. For that reason, she didn’t allow herself to be bothered about how he felt.

She dropped the large text book on her bed; she felt she could hear somebody knocking. The sound was very faint because it was coming from the exit door which wasn’t very close to her room. She knew it definitely wasn’t Aunty Stella because she had called her cell phone to let her know that she would be coming in late.

Jennifer hoped that it wasn’t Sean Knocking; she wasn’t in the mood for his tantrums. The only person she wished to see was her friend Susie.

She stood up and quickly went to get the door. Her long beautiful legs stretched and moved gracefully as she walked towards the door. Jennifer was a very pretty girl with great physical looks. At nineteen, she had already attracted more attention than some ladies would attract, given a life time. She was the best combination of both of her late parents; as pretty as her mother and as good looking as her father.

Her best physical features were her dreamy eyes, full lips, straight and perfect curves. Her best charm was her smile that was always fixed on her light complexioned face, forcing her to always look like the goddess of peace.

She opened the entrance door and was faced by Susie Oswald, her best friend in the whole wide word.

“I never knew that too much reading makes one deaf.” Susie said.

“Am sorry, my door was locked and I was concentrating.”

“Your indoor life is beginning to get on my nerves” Susie bantered.

“Are you going to come in or should go I back into my room” Jennifer teased, choosing to pretend she didn’t hear her friend’s joke about her studies.

Susie entered and waited while Jennifer locked the door and led her to her room. She continued to complain about Jennifer’s new life style, she was more serious this time around. “I am really worried about this new life you have turned to lately. I can’t get a chance to hang out with my girl any longer. The whole world is out there enjoying the cool evening and you choose to stay alone in your room. You lock your doors and switch off your cell phone. Honestly I am beginning feel like Sean. Are you avoiding me also?”

They were now in Jennifer’s room. “I am not avoiding anybody, you know what’s up. I can’t afford to have another bad result this semester. Further, I can’t allow the pleasures around me to take control over my studies; I don’t think I will forgive myself if I let my aunty down again.”

This wasn’t the first time the two friends were discussing this matter, and Susie knew that her friend was making a very good point. But she was beginning to miss her friend so much; there is no fun without Jennifer, she couldn’t wait for the exams to come so that they can get over with it and live life they way they used to.

Susie was the brighter of the two, her grades were very good and this was always coming as a surprise to Jennifer and Susie’s class mates. All Susie needed to make good grades was just to make sure she was in the classroom during lecture. She never brought out time for studying her books; since everything the lecturer taught seemed to have a way of sticking in her brain for a very long time.

She was a party freak and loved hanging around lively places. Susie was just a few inches shorter than Jennifer and was darker in complexion with round big eye very large bosom. She was equally attractive, with a likeable gregarious personality.

“When last did you see Sean?” Susie asked.

“I don’t know, maybe last week.”

“He called me yesterday, and this morning, he asked me to talk to you. He was full of complaints about your recent attitude towards him and he was really threatening to do something crazy if you don’t repent and change. Honestly I didn’t like the way he sounded.”

Jennifer wasn’t threatened. Sean had not been very faithful in the relationship, she was sure that he was looking for a justification to play around like he used to. He was just putting up the act; she didn’t believe that he needed her attention the way he was sounding. To her, he didn’t sound like a serious guy any longer and wasn’t worth her leaving her book for.

“Don’t worry, I will see him. How was your day? She didn’t feel like talking about Sean.

“My day was very bad, especially without you, I am beginning to get bored with life.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet; I never knew I meant so much to you.”

“Yes you do. Well, as you can see, I am using my lecture free day to visit all my friends. And I am already worn out. I need to rest.” She stood up, “My mission is completed, and I have to go. I’ll drop by in the morning when going to school so that we can walk together.”

Jennifer was surprised, “Are you already leaving? Just like that?”

“Yes, I have to go and take a nap. And please switch on your cell phone; you would have saved me the stress of having to come over by calling you.”

“I am sorry; I will wait for you tomorrow morning, please come before 9 pm.”

Jennifer missed her friend also, she was glad that she was not taking her new life style too hard. They had met a year ago, when they were still fresh in school. The relationship had since then continued to grow despite the fact that they were both in different departments. The fact was that they were very compatible. Over the years, Susie had proven a very reliable and understanding friend.

“I will be here and make sure you talk to Sean, if possible call him this evening.”

“Don’t worry; I will take care of that.” She didn’t intend to call Sean, not this evening. She hurried to her room and continued with her reading.

Stella came back two hour later, looking tired and weak. Jennifer was already through with her studies and was already busy in the kitchen. Stella was so tired and was grateful to God that Jennifer was there to take care of most of the evening chores.

Stella was a senior lecturer at Imo State University where Jennifer and Susie studied. Recently, she had begun to nurse the idea that she was getting old for the job.

After breaking up with Mark and then the sudden death of her sister and her In-law, she had stuck with her decision to further her studies to a higher level, and tried her best to put the past behind her. She started a new life and made sure her path never crossed with Mark. She concentrated on her studies and after four years she obtained her Bachelor in education certificate. She became a lecture in Imo State University, and while working she still went for her Masters program. As time rolled by she became a senior lecture and was able to take good care of herself and those around her.

Stella lost her mum, three years after the tragic loss of her sister, she immediately took little Jennifer into her home. She loved Jennifer the way any woman could love her daughter and made sure that the little orphan got the best a mother could give. Because of the excess love and care she gave Jennifer, the little girl didn’t get to know what it was like not having a mother or a father. Stella played both rolls to her niece perfectly, providing her all her needed and gave her all the necessary training she needed as a growing child.

Six years later, Stella fell in love with a man who was four years younger than her. His name was Uchenna Diala. He was her dream man and he showered her with so much love that within eights months she started nursing the idea of marring him despite his age. He seemed to have been reading her mind, because within a short period he asked her to marry him. She didn’t hesitate and in the next four months they became husband and wife.

Stella was making more money as a lecturer than her husband; she didn’t allow that to get between them. She never hesitated to give him anything he asked for even after she began to notice changes in his behavior that she didn’t appreciate.

At first, Uchenna treated Jenny like his daughter, since Stella was unable to have a child of her own as a result of constant miscarriage. He watched Jennifer grow up into a beautiful woman and somehow he began to admire her. He couldn’t control the burning desire in him to have a feel of her.

Jennifer was beautiful and always reminded Stella of her late sister. Stella brought her up to be both hard working and respectful. She brought the little girl up in a permissive way, giving her the opportunity to learn about life on her own and guiding her when she needed help.

Something happened three years ago, when Jennifer was sixteen years old that led to the break up of her marriage with Uchenna.

She had left home earlier that Tuesday morning, which was always her most hectic day at school. She was in her office preparing to go for her second lecture for the day which was to hold by eleven am. She had less than ten minutes to get herself ready when her secretary came into her office and announced the presence of a visitor which was a policeman. Alarmed, she asked her to let him in, wondering what a policeman would want to see her for at such an early hour.

“Are you Mrs. Stella?” he inquired, after a brief exchange of greeting.

“Yes, I am. How can I be of help to you?” She was already scared that something bad might have happened to any of her loved ones. She began to wonder who might be in trouble among them all.

“I will like you to come to the station with me, there had been a serious problem at your home.” The policeman formally said.

“Please officer, what happened? I …why should I come to the police station? Was there an accident? ple…”

“Calm down madam. Your husband, Uchenna, attempted to rape your little niece this morning. Her scream alerted the neighbors and their intervention saved her from further abuse from him. We were immediately contacted and we have detained him at the station, the little girl is also there with us. She is so confused and shaken; she wouldn’t say anything except her persistent demand to see you.”

“Oh my God,” she gasped hysterically. “Jennifer… please officer, how is she? I can’t believe this, Uchenna… Oh my God.” She had already stood up and was leading the policeman out of her office.

Stella was more concerned about Jennifer than Uchenna her husband whose behavior had not been encouraging lately. He had openly flirted with girls in town not concerned about how she felt and comes home drunk threatening to beat her if she complained. How would she have known that he was targeting little innocent Jennifer who saw him as a father?

At the station, Stella rushed to meet Jennifer, touching and observing her whole body to see if any harm had been done to her. Later Jennifer told her all that had happened and how the neighbors rescued her from her mischievous step father.

That marked the end of her relationship with Uchenna even after he was through with serving the law action that was taken on him. Stella moved on with her life not allowing the pain she had gone through men to pull her down in any way. All her energies were directed to Jennifer.

Luckily enough, Jennifer was emotionally and physically stronger than Stella had thought. The young girl carried on with her life without going through any post-traumatic stress.
Now, as she relaxed her head on the sofa she sat on, Jennifer came out to welcome her. “Welcome Aunty Stella.”

“I never thought that I will see you at home. There seem to be so much fun in the atmosphere, everybody seem to be in a lively mood.”

“I had more important things to do and didn’t even have time to see how the outside looked like. How was your day?”

“Fine, some students can be very stupid and dumb. They can’t follow simple instruction. I think I will have to develop new method of teaching so that I won’t have to undergo so much stress teaching them. I can’t imagine that they are grown ups.” Jennifer was already used to her aunt’s constant complains about how dull her students were. “Please get me a glass of water.”

Jennifer giggled and ran off to meet her aunt’s demand. She thanked God the she was in a good mood that means she was looking forward to a cheerful evening with the older woman.

Ikenna Dike purposely came home late that evening. He didn’t want his father to see him for he had let the old man down once again. He had fought on his way from school and his cloths were torn and shabby. His daddy would know immediately he set his eyes on him that there had been a fight. That was why he had decided to come home late; he had hoped that the old man wouldn’t be outside the house in the compound by the time he got home.

But as he opened the gate, he saw his dad sitting in front of the house reading a newspaper. Ikenna felt like returning back to where he was coming from or disappear, anything that he could do to escape his father’s interrogation. He felt more ashamed of himself; he has disappointed his dad again.

Emeka looked up and saw his son as he silently entered the compound; he continued to stare at him, concentrating on his roughened cloths. He instantly knew what had happened; the tensed look on the boy’s face betrayed that.

“Good evening daddy.” Ikenna murmured

“Young man, why are you looking so roughened like this? Are you a baby?”

Ikenna choose not to answer; he remained quiet but did not return his father’s uncomfortable stare. His father already knew the answer to his question, therefore he mustn’t answer. If only the older man knew what happened, if only he was there, he would have understood that he and no choice but to fight. Ikenna never blamed himself for fighting, he believed that it was something he has to do to solve his problems, and he therefore blamed the act on the situation.

Emeka saw that the boy wasn’t ready to answer his question. He shook his head and continued to read his paper, not knowing what else he would do to stop Ikenna from his violent life style. Ikenna saw that as a discharge gesture and swiftly entered the house straight to his room.

Emeka looked up once again at the masculine figure walking with an air of confidence. His stubbornness was getting out of control; he prayed that Ikenna wouldn’t learn his lesson in a hard way, or when it was already too late.

Ikenna was a very handsome twenty one years old young man with a masculine physique. He had very strong jaws, thick lips and sweet blending dark complexion. He was almost the same height with his tall father and so devilishly good looking that the instinct of every girl shrieked a warning whenever they beheld him.

Surprisingly, Ikenna never showed much interest in females, instead he directed all his internal energy to street fighting, a life style Dike had noticed since he was an infant. Right from childhood, Emeka had always received reports from neighbors and teachers on how he had been involved with one fight or the other. Sadly his strength had never failed him perhaps that was the reinforcing factor that had increased the likelihood of fighting at any tough situation he found himself.

Emeka had used every possible parental means within his reach to hamper the boy from such manners but all his effort had proven ineffective.

“It wasn’t my fault, I didn’t want trouble, but he was the one making me angry.” The boy would protest in defense for his action.
“I have warned you, that you mustn’t react at every bad word somebody calls you or every bad deed someone does to you.” Emeka would yell pleadingly at the young boy who had refused to show any form of understanding to his words.

“But if I don’t do anything, they will think I am weak and they won‘t regard me as a man any longer. They will repeat it another day.”

“It doesn’t mean you are weak when you don’t fight. Fighting itself is a sign of weakness. You must have to learn how to control yourself and apply reasoning in all that you do. You must think rather than fight, using your physical strength is nothing but just a display of the animalistic tendency in you. The more you reason out yourself from situations the more human you are.” These words would come out of Emeka each day his son fights. It had already become a song to Ikenna.

He would promise his father that he wouldn’t fight again but sure never keeps to his words.

Emeka had punished him, beaten him, talked to him and even deprived him of some things he desired most, yet even at the age of twenty one the young boy still remained a street fighter.

Emeka knew that he also had the instincts to fight at every perceived threat to his happiness when he was younger, but he had always listened to his own father, and had sublimated the physical fighting instinct in him for fighting for human right. That was why he had become a lawyer.

It was obvious that Ikenna never went around bullying those who were weak; neither did he involve himself in other delinquencies like stealing and extortion. He only fought at any perceived injustice towards him or others. But that didn’t make it a right behavior and Emeka was getting more uncomfortable with the issue as it seemed to have become a part of his son.

As Ikenna got into his room, he quickly removed his cloths and sat on his bed feeling very sad and remorseful. He really wished he could stop hurting daddy, he didn’t also know what to do about this irresistible urge in him to fight out his way. He couldn’t just sit down and watch people hurt him or hurt others without intervening; besides he had already gotten enough enemies, and they were always after him.

At his age, Ikenna had no girlfriend and wasn’t interested in any. He had slept with a couple of girls in the past but wasn’t ready to go into any relationship with them. Most of the girls he had gone out with had flirted with him and encouraged him to ask them out. Well, he was a man, and might definitely be lured into sleeping with them but couldn’t allow himself to be involved in any relationship now, he wasn’t ready.

Right now he was thinking of the right word he could use to apologies to his father. He loved his dad very much and was definitely unhappy whenever the old man was unhappy.

He stood up and walked out of his room, heading straight out side where he had left his father earlier. He was going to apologies to him for his bad conduct. This was going to be another night of long sermon, he thought to himself as he approached his father.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jennifer didn’t have to wait for a long time before her friend showed up the next day. Susie came at the right time just as she had promised she would. Aunty Stella had already left for school by the time Susie showed up, she had an early morning lecture and couldn’t wait for the young ladies. Usually she would drop them at school if there timing was the same. Sometimes the girls would prefer to stroll to school, they loved the exercise.

As they approached their school, just some meters away from the school’s main gate. Jennifer’s cell phone suddenly rang. “Hello” she answered her call.

“Are you not coming to school this morning? Do you want to stay at home and have your lectures so that I won’t see you again today?” Sean’s voice was so impatient and domineering. Jennifer felt her eardrum disapprove of the irritating sound that came from the phone.

“Good morning Sean,” Jennifer decided to play it cool, “I am already on my way to school, you shouldn’t be furious, this is still morning and getting ourselves furious is the last thing we need.” She coolly answered.

“Just come to school. I will be waiting for you at Love Garden; I want to see you now.”

“I am sorry I won’t be able to come to Love Garden now. I have morning lectures to attend; I will be there in the next two hours, which is after my lectures.”

“Lectures, lectures, reading and reading, that is all I hear from you these days, don’t you know how to make your man happy any more?” Sean wasn’t in the mood to hide his irritation.

“I will see you in two hours time, bye,” She quickly disconnected the line so as to avoid saying something she would regret. She looked at her friend and said, “What is getting into Sean? I should be the one mad at him and not the other way round. He has been the one cheating on me, the only sin I committed was that I asked that he should give me a little space so that I can concentrate on my studies.”

“I think you guy need a real long talk, so that you can get a lot of things straight.”

They were just about to enter the school gate. The bigger gate that was meant for car was usually closed, but was usually opened to cars entering the school premises. All persons entering into the school on foot must go through the small gate. It was big enough for two people to enter at a time.

Jennifer and Susie were at the edge of the gate when they heard “Out of my way girls” the voice was thick and rough.” They both looked back and were quick to see two big and violent looking male students coming aggressively towards them. They instantly jumped aside for the two bully looking figures to pass. They guys walked past them without giving them a second look. It was obvious that they would have been aggressively shoved aside if they had not quickly jumped out of the way.

The voice was Ikenna’s he was quit a popular student. Most students see him as a very ruthless and dangerous young man. Nobody dared step on his toes. He always hung around five or four boys and could easily be noticed as the leader of the group. He commanded so much respect in the whole school and his name was most times associated with trouble.

Some people believe that Ikenna was a leader of one of the numerous secret cults groups in the school, but there was no fact to confirm this rumor since he was not usually seen associating himself with known cultists in school. He was also scarcely seen with ladies, people often wondered if he had a girlfriend.

“What does this guy think he is?” how can he just shove us out of the way just like that without even apologizing? What a bully,” Jennifer said angrily.

“Let him be, that guy is trouble and I don‘t want to be crushed with those strong bones of his.” Susie wasn’t looking as angry as Jennifer; she was one of those ladies, who admired Ikenna despite his aggressive life style, “What a handsome bully,” she added.

“Maybe his good looks have gotten into his head and he now thinks that every other person is a piece of shit. I think someone needs to talk to him some day and get into his thick skull that not everybody is a piece of shit like he thinks. He also needs some lessons on how to be polite to people especially ladies.” Jennifer said as she watched the masculine figure disappear into the crowd. She couldn’t help imagining what a beautiful creature he was. Jennifer was definitely one of those girls out of many who cannot deny recognizing the fact that Ikenna was a beauty, and that they longed to be curled up in his strong arms. But this lovely idol was getting on her nerves with his bad manners.

“I definitely won’t be the one to tell him that or give him the lessons as you suggest.” Susie replied humorously.

They entered the school compound and Jennifer rushed towards their department as she noticed that the lecture hall was already becoming crowded. They promised to hook up after their lectures.

After her lectures, Jennifer decided that she would go to love Garden where she knew Sean would be anxiously waiting for her. The Love Garden was the most popular and lively place in the school compound. It had a very beautiful sight with flowers of different colors planted to beautify its surrounding. There were so many concrete seats at every corner of the garden and students are always found sitting there after their lectures. There were small supermarkets surrounding it for students to buy soft drinks and relax during their leisure. Love Garden was believed by students to be especially for lovers even though it was built for leisure.

Jennifer reasoned that it wouldn’t be necessary for her to take her bag along with her to the garden so she decided to drop it in her locker. She quickly opened the locker, dropped her bad and was about to lock it when she caught sight of the strange black bead that has been in her possession for the past two months.

She had found it two months ago in her aunt’s little store room while trying to clean it up. It was obvious that it has been there for a long time, since her aunt seldom goes there and it was full of junks, yet the beads glittered in its black shinny colors. She had shown it to Aunt Stella who asked her to throw it away after describing to her how she got it.

“But why haven’t you thrown it away since then, it sure didn’t walk with you from your old house down here.” Jennifer asked her as she studied the black bead with youthful curiosity.

“I have forgotten all about it my dear; it must have been in one of my old boxes and those who helped my in packing my belongings must have packed everything together down here.” Stella explained. She looked at the bead with disgust written all over her face. “Please throw that thing away, it had never seized to look ugly, I wonder how I got the courage to take it in the first place.”

Jennifer didn’t throw it away, instead she took it to school and dropped it in her locker, she had forgotten all about it until now. For some reasons she couldn’t understand, Jennifer had thought that the bead was special; it wasn’t like other beads that are common all around her. There was something strange about it that she didn’t understand.

She picked it up from her locker and continued to stare at it.

“What is that ugly thing you are holding in your palms, what are you doing here with it?” Sean’s voice startled her.

She immediately looked up and sharply replied, “Nothing, but that does not mean you should sneak up on me like that.” He was becoming unbearable, she thought.

“We were supposed to meet at the garden; instead you preferred staying here and starring at that ugly thing.”

“I was just about to leave for the garden before you showed up.”

“Alright let’s go or have you changed your mind?”

“What is really your problem Sean? You are really beginning to get on my nerves. The fact that we have not really been seeing each other much often recently does not mean that you should be acting like a nagging wife. I really expect you to understand the situation and support me, but what I get is harassment from you. I am beginning to think that you are acting like this so that you can cover up your inadequacies.”

“What inadequacies? Miss perfect, tell me more!” he looked around and realized that they were beginning to attract attention. He lowered his voice. “I can’t get to see my girl any more, all you do now is to give me stupid excuses, I guess you are studying for a PhD exam. And now you are trying to blame me.”

“I want to concentrate on my studies and I don’t see anything bad about that. What is wrong with you Sean” she was really getting mad.
“Nothing is wrong with me. You are the one driving me crazy. This excuse you are bringing up is stupid as long as this relationship is concerned.

“Sean….” She felt a lump in her throat. She had had enough from him, this must stop. “I think we should give ourselves a break.” He stared at her and from the look on his face she was sure he didn’t understand what she was talking about. “I will like to have some time for myself, I can’t put up with you acting like this, let’s put a stop to this relationship for now, and I need time to think this over.”

“Think what over? I know this is what you have always wanted” this was so sudden to him. Going out with Jennifer had increased his prestige in school although he had constantly denied this fact. He hadn’t thought that she could sum up the courage to tell him off. He thought she loved him so much and would do anything to have him come around her. But he wouldn’t allow himself to beg her; he wouldn’t even let her know that he was hurting inside. “But I promise you that you will come begging me.” He quickly stormed out off the classroom.

Jennifer reclined on her chair; she hadn’t meant to act this way. But deep down her she knew that she had made the right decision for now. She really didn’t need Sean in her life now; she needed someone who would understand her especially when it comes to her studies. Sean had shown total neglect for her studies, she mustn’t allow her love for him jeopardize her future.

She quickly forgot about Sean and returned her attention to the bead, which was still in her palms. She brought it closer to her face and scrutinized it. It was so black and ugly, and conspicuous that she began to wonder why the man who called himself Mark choose to wear it on his neck and never wanting to take it off. She couldn’t tell what material it was made of. It was so shiny; this could be an artifact she thought.

“Jennifer” Susie was standing in front of her; she didn’t seem to take notice of the strange bead in Jennifer’s hand. “What happened between you and Sean?”

Jennifer looked up at her busty friend. Sean was the last person she wanted to talk about right now, but she had to tell her friend what she needed to hear. “I told him to give me a break” she said without going into details of why she did what she did. “Where did you see him?”

“I saw on my way here, he was really mad.”

“Let him be, I don’t have time for him yet.”

“But you never informed me that you were getting tired of the relationship?”

“I never thought I would either, but you should have seen the way he acted, the decision was instinctual. I am beginning to see so much immaturity in him.” Jennifer said listlessly

“Wow, are you just noticing that?

“Maybe.”

“Susie saw that her friend wasn’t in the mood for matters concerning Sean, so she dropped it, “Maybe we will talk about it some other time, but right now I have got something to tell you” she had a big exciting smile on her face.
“What?”
“I got this guy who thinks I am cute.”

Jennifer dropped the black bead back into her locker and paid attention to her friend. “Tell me all about it.”

Thanks franko,4 d update 2nite,sleeping can't stop me 4rm readin it. U re d best.

I'm really enjoying this story. Just like am reading Things Fall Apart. No worry, Frank anywhere u go i go dey follow follow u ni.

Ok, i guess the silence from my readers is a clear message that this story is actually boring. traveled to see my parents only to come back to see that this thread had been pushed into the second page with only the last reply who was obviously just trying to encourage me.

wow, thats sad, thought i had a good read, well. i will write something better and challenge this story.

pleas can the moderator close this thread or delete it? its sight makes me feel bad. i am outa here.

Please do not close the thread frank am really loving the story come nairalanders give him some encouragement

No....don't close the thread oh..
I want to see the end of this story...