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The Clumsy Diamond Episode 1

****
Indigo Hassan peered out of the window of the massive kitchen, the morning time was her favorite. Indigo stared at the racoons jumping from one coconut tree to the other, they also fought for nuts. She stared at the colorful birds that swamped the beach palms that fenced the Shola residence.
‘Hmm, so beautiful.’ She purred dreamily while admiring the blueness of the skies and the fairness of the weather.
The light sun rays penetrated the window and fell on her caramel brown skin, her eyes took in their golden rays and substituted them for her deep brown color Her face was a map of smiles as she caught one of the racoons staring at her, it was so beautiful and she couldn’t keep herself from waving.
‘Hello there! You’re so pretty.’ She smiled and wished she had a good phone so she could take a picture of the animal and share it with her Facebook friends.
‘You should be working on breakfast, you know how mean Moremi can get especially when she is hungry.’
The sharp voice and the terseness with which the words were spoken interrupted Indigo’s precious morning fellowship with the works of nature.
‘Huh?’ She snapped out of her communication with the racoon and turned to face Anabel.
‘Well, the potatoes are still on fire, she likes them really soft. I’m still boiling.’ She quickly explained.
‘And the tea? You know she likes it before breakfast?’ Anabel asked.
‘Water on fire too.’ Indigo clasped her hands together and bowed her head, a mocking gesture that always cracked Anabel up, but when Anabel ignored her, she knew something was wrong.

Indigo took a deep breath and marched towards the pot where she had boiled the sweet Potatoes, she fetched a fork from the cutlery basket and cut into the potatoes, to see if they were well done.
‘Almost ready, ten minutes tops.’ She announced confidently, but Anabel seemed uninterested.
She was working on the spinach leaves that were meant for the sauce, while humming a song quietly.
Indigo decided she was in a bad mood and needed some space.
Indigo and Anna had been friends for six months since Indigo started working for the family of Chief Martins Shola, who was the Chief Judge of the High Court for the State of Jos.
She had bonded with Anabel easily as she had no friend and sibling, she never knew her parents and had grown up with her grandfather, whom she fondly called, “Papa.”

Anabel was taller than she was, she had a milky white skin, reddish lips and light brown eyes, hence the sobriquet, “Mamiwata,” which Indigo fondly used whenever she was teasing her.
Indigo ignored her friend too and pondered on her own problems, she was not the type to carry her problems on her sleeves or allow her moods to affect her relationship with the people around her.
No, Indigo was far from that. Papa had thought her to treat people the way she would love to be treated; and she hated it when others made her feel uncomfortable just because they were having a bad day, just like Anabel was doing.

They were both College Students at the College of Building and Architecture, Jos, but they were schooled part-timely, due to financial constraints.
Indigo was a student of Contemporary Architectural designs, a course she had always wanted to read. She had fallen in love with buildings since when she was a kid and her grandfather noticed this. He didn’t have much money to cater for her needs, but he sold his personal belongings to help her pursue her dreams.

‘Papa…’ tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of her grandfather’s love for her. He loved her more than anything in the world and he could give up his own life so that she would live.
He had been a Security man for the Forest Reserve, but due to his health condition, he had retired early and without pension, so she had started fending for herself from the age of fifteen.
Indigo had worked five places before the Shola Residence and they had always sacked her for one reason.
‘Indigo!’ She shuddered as Moremi’s loud scream pierced her heart.
When she realized, what was going on, she noticed something was burning. The kitchen was stuffy and an acrid smell of burnt potato filled the air.
‘Oh no, no no…’ her heart was beating fast, she quickly turned to Anabel to ask for some help, but she noticed she was all alone in the kitchen. Anabel must have left while she was still thinking about her grandfather.

She turned off the cylinder and scooped a generous amount of water from the water drum into the pot. When she looked in, she grimaced. Everything was completely burnt! The potatoes had been burnt brown and this was her fault.
Moremi Shola was her boss’ daughter and she was a no nonsense type of lady. She was authoritative, had a cruel tongue and had no respect for the domestic staff.
How would she explain to her that her breakfast was burnt?
‘What am I going to do?’ Indigo could hear light footsteps approaching the kitchen. She poured in more water to repel the odor of burnt potatoes.

‘Indigo!’ Moremi reached the kitchen, she stood at the entrance hands akimbo.
‘Madam, Good morning.’ Indigo smiled sheepishly.
‘I don’t care about the morning, I am hungry and what’s that smell in here?’ Moremi sniffed the air.
Indigo’s mouth was parched, she was terribly nervous just from the icy stare she got from Moremi’s large brown eyes.
‘Are you deaf?’ Moremi raised a brow.
‘Yes, um, no.’ Indigo shook her head.

Following

Episode 2


‘I need my breakfast in five minutes, otherwise consider yourself fired!’ Moremi hissed angrily and stormed out of the kitchen. She never liked Indigo from day one. There was something about her dancing brown eyes and the way she blabbed whenever she was talking.

‘No!’ A tear trickled down Indigo’s cheek as she stared at the pot, she couldn’t get fired another time because of her clumsiness. It had taken her six months to get this job and it was a good one!

‘What is it? And why is the kitchen so stuffy?’ Anabel returned with more leaves, she had a smile on her face now.
Indigo couldn’t reply, her tears had taken the place of words, she slumped to the tiled floor and began to weep.
It didn’t take Anabel long to understand what trouble her friend was in, that explained why the kitchen reeked of burning substance.
‘Does Moremi know?’ Anabel asked gently.
‘She wants it in five minutes else I am getting fired. I don’t know what to do.’ Indigo wept as she remembered how worried her grandfather was, anytime she lost a job. He had sold everything personal to him and there was no more to sell.

‘You know what? Just make her a cup of coffee and tell her I went to get more leaves from the garden for the sauce.’ Anabel thought up an idea.
But Indigo was not convinced it would work out, ‘That doesn’t solve the problem, she wants her potatoes!’

‘Just make her the coffee, I’ll take it from there and be really sweet and submissive when talking to her, you know how much she likes that.’ Anabel walked towards her best friend and gave her a hug, ‘I am sorry I was so cold earlier, Seun broke up with me, but now I’ve thought about it, he was doing me a favor. Just give Moremi her coffee, everything would be fine. We have a lot to talk about.’

Indigo felt better after talking to her best friend, she had faith that she was not going to lose her job that day. She mustered up courage and strength and moved to make the coffee.
She added no cream but a little honey, Moremi loved her coffee black and she was not about to get the lady of the house upset.
She served it in a tray and trotted out of the kitchen in shivering legs, not knowing what awaited her in the dining room.
She overheard Moremi making a phone call, from what Indigo observed, Moremi was a very busy person as she was mostly on the phone giving out orders. Though she didn’t know a thing about Moremi’s line of work, she admired her hard-working nature and her serious mindedness.

She was a step away from reaching Moremi whose back was to her when her phone rang. She had wanted to ignore it at first, but she remembered she was having a lecture earlier today, maybe the Professor in charge had given a test or something. She decided it was necessary to check things out for herself.
She gently transferred the tray into her left palm and placed the phone hurriedly against her ears.

‘Hello…’
‘Indi is that you?’
‘Yes?’ the voice sounded familiar and serious.
‘It’s me, Sonia, you need to come to Bethsaida immediately.’
Indigo’s brows came together as she pondered on the woman’s weird request, Bethsaida was one of the biggest hospitals in Jos and it was close to the Low-Cost Estate where she lived with her grandfather.

‘I don’t understand, what’s happening there?’ Indigo asked.
‘It’s your grandfather, he vomited blood and slumped. He needs you urgently. Hurry before it’s too late.’

‘No’ Her heart stopped as she imagined the old man in pain, the unexpected news jolted her heart and unsettled her at once, her hands gave way and the tray and its contents crashed into pieces before her.
Just in time, Moremi finished her call and moved her head to see where the sound was coming from.
Her eyes flashed angrily as she stared at one of the oldest coffee pots in the house being smashed into unrecognizable pieces.
‘You are fired!’
****

The Hajjo Residence…
He stopped and watched his younger sister, Chalya and their father playing the violin together. Chalya had ears for good music but she never learned how to play any instrument unlike himself. He had learned how to play the violin expertly, he had mastered the strings and the chords and he also knew how to blow the flute.

‘Handel would weep if he heard that…’ Phillip descended from the stairs gently, taking all of the time that he needed, he was majestic in his double black ensemble.
He had dark and wavy black hair, his eyes were penetrating and stern, they were deep brown complimenting his mahogany complexion. He had a firm jawline that was only flexed whenever he was talking to his family or laughing, most of the times Phillip Hajjo wore a frown.

‘That’s mean, you know how difficult playing “Halleluiah” is.’ Chalya replied , then tossed the violin once her brother reached the dining table. They had been waiting for him, as they always had their meals together. This tradition of eating together had started right from the time their mother was alive, they did it to keep her memory alive.

‘Not as difficult as drawing a business plan, running an Estate Management empire and taking decisions which others were afraid to take…’ when he said this, he paused and gave his father a knowing look, then quickly added, ‘Good morning father…’

Alex Hajjo knew his son was trying to send him a message, ‘I trust you slept well…’
‘Yes father and you?’ Phillip poured himself a glass of water first.
‘I slept very well, thank you.’ The man pulled a chair and joined his kids.
He was an older version of Phillip, and they shared a lot of things in common, but Phillip lacked sympathy, the kind that Nigerians yearned for. When it came to business, he was very ruthless and never allowed sentiments to blind his decision making.

‘What have you concluded about Hajjo Estates?’ Alex asked his son.
‘Can you just stop you two? Let’s not talk business here, we should just enjoy this tomato puree and baked bread that Mrs. Hawa prepared for us, don’t you think?’ Chalya glared at her brother.

She knew what would follow this discussion, would be a heated argument, between her brother and her father as they held divergent views when it came to business management.

‘Then you are not ready to run a company. When you climb the ropes, you’ll know that business must be discussed always.’ Phillip winked at his sister.
He was not afraid of facing his father like in the past, he had successfully built and managed his own engineering company, which he named, “P.I.E” for ten years now. He was a billionaire and his company was the best road construction company in Africa and the fifty seventh largest in the world.
However, his father’s estate management empire had fallen apart since the death of their mother and he had returned to town for one purpose: to restore it.

‘To your question dad, I have taken a decision. I spoke with my lawyer this morning.’ He fetched a knife and sliced a portion of the freshly baked bread neatly into his plate.

‘So fast…’ the man frowned.
‘Yes, we do not have time to waste.’ Phillip replied.

‘Hmm, I want you to tread carefully Phillip. I know you want to do good, but you may just end up cutting yourself with your own knife.’ The man’s words were gentle and calculated.
Phillip had always thought his father a weakling in everything, including business.
‘I always take the best decisions. And what I have concluded is for your interest, as it stands I have a legacy but what is remaining of yours are just tattered houses that need a truckload of renovation.’ He scooped a spoon of the puree and watered it on his bread.

Chalya didn’t like the arrogant tone with which her brother addressed their father, ‘That’s enough now Phillip, I am sure father knows what’s best for him.’ She was wary of their constant fights and arguments.
‘I like your brother’s idea…let him finish.’ The older man poured himself a glass of water.

‘The lawyer I hired is an old friend, Moremi Martins, She is an estate lawyer and she knows a great deal of what I am about to do. I will also need the services of Uncle Usman…’ Phillip was about to say more when his father interrupted him from completing his sentence.

‘You cannot work with Usman, I do not like him.’ Alex hated that his son would have anything to do with his younger brother.
‘But father, he is your brother…he is family and if anyone is to be given this great responsibility, it should be someone close, someone that understands the vision.’ Phillip carefully explained.
But the old man wouldn’t have none of it, ‘I don’t care about Usman, find someone else. I offered him contact worth several millions and he carted away with the money, what makes you think that he is a changed person now?’
Phillip was well aware of this family history, but he didn’t care. Uncle Usman had sufficient knowledge about buildings and their architectural designs, and that knowledge was what he was after, it would prove useful in his expedition.
‘Father, I understand that you do not like what I am about to do, but I have already told Uncle Usman about this, I cannot pull him out now, it is too late.’ With that, Phillip gulped a generous quantity of juice and rose to his feet, he took his business appointments easily and breakfast had already eaten into that time.

‘So soon?’ Chalya, who was on Industrial Training at his company and at the same time working temporarily as his Personal assistant rose to her feet and joined him, knowing how much her brother hated to run late.

‘Yes, goodbye father, I shall give you feedback on all my meetings today.’ Phillip flashed his father a fake smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes and stormed out without collecting the old man’s response.

Chalya felt really bad that Phillip would portray this level of arrogance to their father, ‘Dad, I’m sorry we have to leave you …just be good. I’ll learn how to play Handel Messiah properly when I am back.’ She leaned forward and pecked her dad on his cheek.

‘Thanks honey, just make sure you always watch your brother’s back.’ The man smiled, he loved the way Chalya was built. She was not as hardened as her brother, who had totally changed after their mother’s death. She was just like him, sympathetic and kind.

‘I always will.’ She rinsed her mouth with a glass of water, then rushed out to meet her brother who had already started the car.

Please keep it up

***
By the time she had arrived Bethsaida Hospital, her grandfather’s condition had normalized, so she was allowed to see him.
Indigo’s heart was ripped apart as she saw the frail figure on the hospital bed fighting hard to breathe, to live, now her grandfather. She was terrified of a life without him. She had not met her parents, he had raised her alone and had thought her to depend on him.

‘Papa!’ she rushed into the room. She didn’t care about the drip on his arm, she cared that he was still alive and could recognize her.
‘Papa, I am so sorry.’ She wept on his chest.
The old man knew she was afraid of losing him, he knew how much his granddaughter loved him. He knew how she was dependent on him. He cursed this strange sickness, he cursed this infirmity.

‘Don’t cry Indi, have faith child, I will not die.’ He caressed her corn rowed hair gently.
Hearing this, Indigo lifted her head up, ‘How can you tell me not to cry Papa? Don’t you know that you mean the whole world to me? You are my sun, my moon and my star. If anything happens to you Papa, I will be plunged into utter darkness.’
The man beamed with a smile, she looked so beautiful just like her mother was before her untimely death.
‘I promise you my angel, I will carry your children before leaving the earth.’ He stretched his hand, while she drew nearer so he could have a touch.
While they were still conversing about his health, the doctor walked into the room with a file that contained the results from her grandfather’s test.
‘Good day Dr. Arongwa,’ Indigo quickly jumped off bed, she was expectant of positive news.
‘Welcome Miss Hassan, I would love to have a word privately with you in my office.’ The man said.
She didn’t like the sound of his voice, she stole one glance at her grandfather, who by the nod of his head encouraged her to go with the doctor.
‘I will be back, be good.’ She rushed swiftly and kissed his face.

Five minutes later, she was already seated in the doctor’s office waiting for him to tell her just what exactly was wrong with her grandfather.
‘We ran different tests on your grandfather, and from what we discovered, he is suffering from Emphysema…’ he opened the filed he had carried and pulled out a sheet containing the results and placed it in front of her.

Her hands felt giddy, sweat rippled on her bare skin as she read the contents of the sheet.
‘Doctor, please I don’t understand any of this.’ She dropped the paper on the table and pushed it towards him.
‘I know this is hard for you Miss Hassan, but you need to be strong for your grandfather. We have already started treatment already, but you must pay some money for it to be continued.’

‘I don’t still understand.’ She held her breath, knowing what could come out from his lips could be the worst.
‘Emphysema is a long term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath due to over inflation of the air sacs of the lungs which in turn leads to shortness of breath, incessant coughing and wheezing. If not treated, could lead to death…’

No, this wasn’t happening. Her day had started out fine, but from what she saw, it would be the worst day of her twenty six years on earth.
First she had lost a job at the Shola residence, now she was about losing her grandfather, but she was not going to let that happen!

‘What is the way forward?’ she licked her mouth nervously.

‘We have inhalers for the first stage of the infection, which relates to your grandfather’s condition. He would need an albuterol inhaler to help him breathe fine. Concerning, the blood he gushed out earlier, we have already given him some antibiotics and cleaned his system, he would be fine in two days.’

She liked what she heard, this was better than she expected.
‘How much will this cost?’
‘One albuterol inhaler is about a hundred thousand Naira…’
‘What?’ Her eyes grew wide, maybe she had not heard the doctor well or maybe she was starting to have hearing problems as her ex-boss Moremi had insinuated.

‘It is not expensive Miss Hassan, it’s even cheaper here.’ The man replied.
Her heart sank a she thought about the money she had in her account, it was no way near a hundred thousand.

Her flawless skin glazed like fine clay, her small brown eyes held an alluring power that swept him off his feet. He couldn’t think of anything else apart from the swell of her hips, and her perky small breasts that were very silky to touch.

She wore a very clingy dress that outlined her apple figure, she looked so perfect, so trim.

‘Are you going to say something or?’ Moremi winked, closing the door behind her, she walked straight to the table and pinned her hips on it. She had taken her time to dress properly for this meeting and it paid off.
He was speechless, her full reddish lips pulled him into a stream of desire, he tried to get his mind off the times they had spent with each other in the past. He tried to shut the memories of them having torrid and rough sex, or kissing passionately in a public place.

‘Come on Phil, don’t just stand there and stare, say something, has been five years or six?’ She ran a tongue over lips, sensually, she knew the power she wielded over him and she was going to use it to her full advantage.
Phillip cursed himself for not being strong enough to resist her charms, he knew his sister Chalya wouldn’t end her teasing, should she find out Moremin had visited him.

‘I…we don’t have a meeting today.’ He blurted out, then peeled his eyes from her chest.
‘I know.’ Her reply was subtle.
She quickly jumped off the table and began pacing his office, in wonder of the decoration and the paintings that were engraved on the wall.
‘You always had a good taste when it came to interior design.’ She noted.
‘Thanks, my sister did it.’ He replied, Chalya had many talents, and one of them was designing and playing with colors.

‘Chalya is it?’ Moremi had met his sister twice, she never liked the little brat. She always had this annoying smirk on her face whenever she was with Phillip and she seemed like a spoilt child.

‘Yes, Chalya.’ He replied.
‘Would you like something to drink?’ Phillip raised his phone, he was about to call his sister to arrange some drinks for them both.
Moremi shook her head, ‘Oh no, I just wanted us to talk about your plans for your father’s property, Hajjo Estates, You know, you don’t have much experience in this sort of thing and you may encounter some problems, but I can deal with them, I have done this for three years now. I can wrap my finger around it.’ She returned to the table, pulled a chair and settled in.

He had not seen this coming, ‘Problems? From whom?’ He scoffed. As far as he was concerned, the only person that would have been a blockade to his plans was his father, but the old man had agreed, so who else could stop him?

His confident reply made her laugh, she was right about Phillip. He was a billionaire and a successful manager of PIE, but he had no knowledge when it came to renovating houses.

‘What are your plans Phil? Just be plain with me, let me know how to advise you.’ She asked.

‘Well, my father had two major properties, the High Cost Estates and the Low Cost houses, we all know both crashed after my mother’s death and because of poor management. Most of the houses in the High Cost Estate were abandoned, but people continued to leave in the low cost houses because the prices were low and they had no need for maintenance. These people were poor and mostly wretched, so they were comfortable with leaking roofs, plumbing problems and lack of electricity. I want to change that.
I want to renovate the whole building, and offer it to them at a higher price, whoever cannot afford to pay rent, can go elsewhere.’ He explained.

She liked the idea, it was reasonable, ‘How much would be the rent?’
He shrugged, ‘I am trying my best to make my father something out of what he created with his sweat and blood, I know this is a difficult thing to do but it has to be done. I have a lot of plans for the low cost buildings, it would require a great deal of money and time. So, The tenants that are still interested in living in those rooms should keep about half a million Naira.’

Moremi pondered on this for a while before giving him her response.
‘Why don’t you give me some time to think about this? I want to be a part of your dreams, I want this to happen. As your lawyer, I am in the best position to tell you all that you need to know and do.’
Phillip had not expected this from her, he was a very strong willed person and he never went back on his decision. He had already made up his plans, hence, he needed no interference.
‘Moremi, I have already made up my mind. There’s no going back here. I know you are my lawyer and I know you are very good at what you do, but, this is my call.’ He tapped his chest with a finger.
She wasn’t arguing with him or fighting for supremacy on this project, she just wanted to do a little research on the neighborhood first before they started work.

‘Two days, give me two days.’ She licked her lips seductively, knowing how effective this act had worked in the past.
Her lip gloss accentuated the perfect curve of her mouth. It highlighted the fullness of her lips, which were very sexy to look at. Phillip lost focus the moment he remembered one of the passionate moments they had spent together in Brussels, when he had taken her along on a business trip.
‘Moremi…’ he was struggling with his willpower and his desires.
‘Come on Phil, two days wouldn’t hurt you, would it?’ She asked.
‘No’ Phillip agreed.
‘Good, we have a deal then.’ She straightened her skirt and jumped to her feet, she had to start her research immediately, so there was no time to waste.
She grabbed her handbag and flashed him one last smile before making for the door.
‘Are you just leaving like that?’ Phillip was thoroughly aroused the moment he caught sight of her firm and robust hips which revealed themselves in the tight skirt that she wore.
An impish chuckle from Moremi’s lips filled the room, her trick had just worked on her old friend.
‘Tell me why we never dated Phillip? Why were we so comfortable sleeping with each other?’ She asked.
Her question was surprising, he had never asked himself this question.
‘I don’t know Moremi, I guess we will never love ourselves the way we love our ambition, so why waste time at all on love?’ He asked.
She felt it a rhetorical question, so there was no need for an answer. She pulled open the door and walked away without as much as another glance.
She almost bumped into his younger sister who was breezing through the corridor that led to Phillip’s office.
‘Moremi!’ Chalya was surprised to see her, she didn’t remember fixing any appointment today for her brother’s lawyer.
‘I would prefer it if you address me formally, Barrister Shola.’ Moremi eyed her disgustedly and strolled away before Chalya could say a word.
Chalya had expected this, ‘Typical.’ Chalya listened to the tapping sounds of Moremi’s heels and wondered why her brother had brought the devil back into their lives.
She stormed angrily into his office, ‘Why are you even working with her? I don’t like her around you, she is so rude and full of herself.’
Without further explanation from his sister, he could tell that Moremi was the subject of her complain. The two just never got along and he knew why.
The truth was this; he liked Moremi as a person, she had a beautiful heart but her soul was easily embittered and her mind was filled with jealousy. He couldn’t have that, he couldn’t be around that.
Moremi had failed to understand how important his baby sister was to him, she had no mother and he tried the best he could, so Chalya wouldn’t feel that void. But Moremi hated that, she wanted to have him all by herself and that was not possible.

‘I know you two had a brawl, but I am not interested. You’re grown now, you should learn to ignore certain things. She is a very good lawyer Chalya, I know you may not believe that. I will never choose pleasure before business. Moremi is great at her work and you have to be patient, till all these is over.’ He advised, but Chalya wasn’t surprised anyway.

‘Why was she even here before her appointment?’ She snorted.
Phillip shrugged, he had been surprised to see her too.
‘I told her about the rent for when the renovation is over, she wants to do a research on the building and the tenants first, so she could advise me better.’ He replied.
Phillip had expected his sister to say something in return or to ask more questions as she was very inquisitive.
He could see the corners of her mouth tightening, she did this anytime she was worried.
‘What is it Chalya?’
Chalya had never been comfortable around Moremi, she always felt Moremi was a pretender and had this perfect demeanor whenever Phillip was around.
‘I don’t like her for this job, I don’t trust her. But if you insist on using her, fine! I will be supportive.’ Chalya answered, she had a plan of her own. This project was not Phillip’s, it was their father’s and she needed to be a huge part of it.
‘How much is the rent?’ Chalya asked her brother.
He offered her a laconic reply, ‘Half a million.’
Blood pumped in her ears, maybe she had not heard her brother right. Wasn’t this supposed to be a low-cost building? She felt uncomfortable arguing with him and she couldn’t tell their father about it, that would make Phillip mad.
‘It’s fair, don’t you think?’ He had a feeling his sister didn’t like the sound of that.
‘Yes, it is fair.’ She grinned, but deep down she cringed that her brother would offer the houses at such a high price for low income earners. Where was his empathy?
*****
Indigo had returned home with her grandfather who was better than she had met him at the hospital. The doctor had given him some drugs that would offer him relief for a few days, before the shortness of breath returned. She was restless. Indigo was distraught by the thoughts that plagued her mind and numbed her bones.
If each inhaled costed a hundred thousand Naira? In a year, her grandfather needed about a million and two thousand Naira to survive. Where would she get that sort of money from?
She had lost her job and she was just in her third year in school. Everything was taking a wrong turn and she felt afraid of what the future would look like.

‘You have been quiet my child since we returned from the Hospital, you have not told me what the doctor said to you.’ The old man dropped the spoon with which he swallowed the hot pepper soup that his granddaughter had prepared for him.

She couldn’t tell him the truth, the doctor had advised her to let him know about his medical condition, but she was not ready to tell him yet, not now, till he was fully recovered.
She leaned against the table and touched his wrinkled arm, ‘Papa, the doctor says you will be fine in no time. He just asked me about your wife, and I explained to him that grandmother died some years ago.’ She lied.
The old man grabbed his spoon and stared into her eyes, she had never lied to him before, ‘Why was he concerned about my wife?’
‘Erm, Papa, he knows that I am a student. He was worried that you will have no one to take care of you.’ She smiled.
He wanted to believe her. By God, he really tried, but he knew Indigo more than he knew herself, so he let her wallow in her deceit. He knew he wasn’t alright, but he just couldn’t say what it was that troubled his system.

‘Your soup tastes nice, you cook like your mother.’ He rubbed her palms and returned her smile.
Indigo loved it whenever she complimented him, ‘We have never really talked about her, even about my own father.’ She pulled her hands away and crossed them against her chest.
Though she had seen them in pictures, she had always wondered what they were like in character.
‘Not tonight Indi,’ the old man suddenly lost his appetite and got up from the table.
‘Did I upset you Papa?’ he had never acted this way.
He shook his head firmly and marched steadily till he reached his bedroom.
Indigo felt unhappy seeing that he had not eaten half of the soup or chewed the meat in it, she had a strong feeling that she had said something to upset her grandfather. What if he had sensed that she had told him lies?

‘God please take this cup away from me.’ She prayed and gathered the dishes on the table.
So many things went through her mind as she packed the plates. If she couldn’t find herself a job soon enough, her grandfather would get to know she had lost the job at the Shola residence and that alone could plunge him into bad health.
Then there was expensive inhaler, there was no way to afford it. But she was ready not to let her grandfather die.

Indi tossed the plates aside and sank into the chair. Tears soaked her face, worry ate at her heart. She was in dire need of help, but everything seemed to work against her.
She quickly wiped her face when she heard a knock on the door. She was not expecting anyone, so she guessed her neighbor had called to see how her Papa was doing.
She cleared her throat and asked in a sweet voice, ‘Who is there?’
‘Open up, it’s Annabel, I’ve got good news.’
****
Indigo froze as she stared at the clean Naira notes on her bed, Annabel had fetched an envelope from her purse and dropped it on the bed.
‘Why are you acting weird? This money Indi, take it…’ Annabel laughed.
Indigo couldn’t shake off the astonishment that had settled over her, she had told Annabel about her grandfather’s condition but she had not expected this.

‘This is a hundred thousand naira and we both know that is a lot of money, where did you get it from? I can’t take it.’ Indigo insisted. She was desperate for help, but she would never let go of her values to accept help from an unknown source.
Annabel knew how disciplined her friend was, she knew that Indigo was never the type to compromise, so she understood her behavior.
‘Well, one of my rich Uncles who lives in America sent it to me for school, this is just part of the money and I would love for you to have it.’ Anabelle begged her to take the money.

Indigo was not satisfied with her best friend’s explanation as Anabelle had never mentioned anything about her American uncle before now, but she had no choice, she had to take the money and purchase the inhaler as soon as she could but on one condition.
‘I don’t know what I could do without you Anabelle, Thank you so much, but I will pay you back. This is a loan and I promise to pay once I have a good job.’ She promised and she meant what she had said.

Anabelle laughed it off, ‘Don’t be proud Indi, you still need another hundred thousand to buy the next one. Why don’t you accept this gift and forget about paying me back? What are friends for? I promise you that this money is from my uncle, you’ll get to meet him soon, I promise.’ She touched Indigo’s chin firmly and gave her a peck.
Indigo felt relaxed, she couldn’t contain the excitement that bubbled within her. She packed the notes and began to spray them, one after the other on Anabelle’s forehead.
‘I am a rich girl. I am a rich girl!’ She hopped on her feet.
‘Indi?’ Anabelle called out softly.
‘Yes?’ Indigo arched a brow, ‘What is it?’
‘I have something else for you,’ Anabelle quickly drew out a paper from her purse and handed it to her friend, ‘I found it in the classroom, I think it’s legit. I have been to that place once.’
Indigo ran her eyes over the paper Ad. It was an advert for a waiter at a famous Coffee Shop in town, “Davina’s Coffee Shop.” But she didn’t like the idea of walking as a waiter here.
‘The pay is small, what if I went back to the Shola Residence and begged Moremi to help me with a job? Don’t you think that’s better?’
Anabelle understood that her friend needed a lot of money for her school and to cater for her grandfather’s needs.
‘Hey, it’s just for a start. Why don’t you try it out? It’s better than working as a maid. You get to have some free time and there are shifts, which will afford you enough time to attend lectures.’ Anabelle tried to get her friend to see the good side of this job.
Indigo slumped on the bed, she had to stop complaining. Her friend had done more than enough for her and she had to be grateful for what she had.
‘I am sorry if I sounded ungrateful, but you really helped me. Thank you. You deserve a whole pot of goat peppersoup.’ Indigo teased.
Anabelle wrinkled her nose and began to sniff the air, ‘It’s something on fire for me already?’
Indigo moved closer to her and began to tickle her, Anabelle laughed till tears fell down her face.
‘That’s for ignoring me in the morning.’ Indigo released her and ran towards the door.
‘You are so crazy!’ Anabelle wiped her face with the back of her palm and continued to stare at her best friend who was filled with mischief. She was glad Indigo was happy again. She loved Indigo with everything in her, it was rare to be friends with someone with such a beautiful and pure heart.
She was about to ask after her grandfather when she noticed a black patch on Indigo’s neck, it was a tattoo. She had never seen it before.
‘Why are you looking at me?’ Indigo knew her friend’s eyes were on her neck, but she couldn’t tell what Anabelle was looking at.
Anabelle abandoned her purse and walked towards the door, Indigo thought she was coming to play a prank on her, and was ready to run, but stopped when Anabelle asked her to.
‘I never knew you had a tattoo…’ Anabelle allowed her fingers to search the skin of Indigo’s neck.
The tattoo didn’t look modern, it was rare. The black patch seemed like a micro sized mammal and she didn’t know what to make out of it.
‘I thought you did, yes I do.’ Indigo nodded, feeling surprised, that her friend had not seen the tattoo before.
She noticed the black patch on her skin since she was six years old. She had been terrified at first, out of curiosity, she had grabbed a little eraser to wipe the black patch off, but her Papa had caught her in time.

‘My grandfather explained that my father took me away from my mother when I was a child. When he later returned me here, they noticed the black patch. So I guess, my father did this to me.’ She felt the place where the tattoo was.
‘So what does it mean?’ Anabelle stroked the skin covered by the black patch.
‘Papa said it was a cow and ended the conversation. I never asked him anything else.’ Indigo explained.
Anabelle was satisfied with the explanation, she decided to let go of the matter as she knew how sensitive Indigo was whenever her parents were mentioned.
‘You know what baby? Let’s get to the kitchen, so you could get me that delicious pot of Pepper Soup.’ Anabelle grinned, and began to encircle her tummy with her fingers.
*****