₦airaland Forum

honourable356:
....And Centino continue to soar high with reckless abandon...

I read with great amusement as you entertain the crowd on a weekly basis..

A dude who strategically input the recent happenings in his country both positive or negative quiet effortless deserve an applause... a standing ovation if I may add.

This could earn you a living no doubt regardless how slow it comes.

Am I suprised, No,not at all....
Impressed, sure!
Do you believe me?? I don't think so!
Send me your WhatsApp number.
You deserve one month subscription.

My honourable356. I see you my guy. You too much . Inbox me.

Rollins777:
Centino, I beg I never sleep ohh,am waiting for the bullet ohh

Check page before this one.

YINKS89:
dis one dat u re active... Wld u do us d honor of dropping. Smfin.

juz small abeg.

xavier047:
Nice write up Centino......
A ghost reader coming out of the shades..

Welcome bro. I'm honoured.

MichaelBlake40:
Centino G'day it's been long o. I dey suspect say you don forget me o.Anyway sha i no blame you i neva show face for a long time now.
Preetiex hw fa u e don tey
Centino u dey try o these tori don dey get sweeter with each passing week.Thumbs up bro.

MichaelBlake40. Show your face again, now!

Preetiex follow you waka. Not heard from her in weeks. I hope she's alright.

wunmi590, heard from Preetiex?

rawswag:
just carry on with the story at your own pace.....everybody has a life outside nairaland thats what many people dont understand...so if u busy and we no c u for two weeks when coming back we understand but u gast pay homage sha.
I declare myself official tax collector for dis domain

Correct man!

alabig:
Mama akunna should not rumble the future of the still unborn. Centino, you allowed mama akunna to got away with the inertial infant, and you want to allow same reoccurrence?

Make we dey watch

tsharp:


Welcome back sir

Fabulous update as usual. Undertaker even speaking pidgin

My man. Inbox me abeg

phoenixchap:
Cention imagine na, u self said 2weeks... Plenty water has gone under the bridge by then oo



Mama Akunna still never learn the rule of engagement, she'll be too disappointed this time

No vex my guy. Still mystery even to me. But I dey kiaful now. #sealedlips

mrmannothot:
welcome back Oga centino

Thanks

Massive shout out to everyone, especially the ghost readers that showed face. You're now too many to mention. I'm only still here because of you. Enjoy what should have come yesterday but disappeared.

YINKS89:
Maya is bck ....... I love dat..

Must confess I did that for you YINKS89. The story was going where I didn't know.

revontuli:
I just discovered this yesterday surfing the literature section, got super hooked. Having a bit of difficulty with mama Akunna's pidgin but a damn fine story with awesome character work nonetheless. Keep up the good work! Are you going to publish it on Amazon?

Sorry about the pidgin revontuli . Never thought I could write the thing. You'd see it wasn't there in the earlier chapters but someone close suggested I did it and I buckled down and introduced Mama Akunna and since then I just dey flow with the thing My lovely sis jagugu88li offered a brilliant suggestion, bless her. But the pidgin has come to stay.

No I'm not publishing on Amazon. I have something else for them. 225 Katakata Street belonged to Nairaland until recent events .

Gobek:
centino, eyen eka mi, na becos of you I join nairaland oo. mbok, hala me wen food don done. I really appreciate your good works here

bro ame di

rawswag:
Lemme jejely register my presence

Welcome my guy. I no dey talk anyhow now o...all of una wey comment since 2 weeks now, I see una but I no fit talk.

BACK AGAIN

“It's difficult sirs. It’s hard to take.” Ndifreke said.

“What is hard to take?” Mr Cosmas said.

“The thought. The thought of what may be going on in there.”

“What if nothing is going on in there?”

“Come on Mr Cosmas.”

“Just what if?”

“She shouldn’t be in there at all. There is enough space outside for them to meet. If he sent her to buy something, he should have just collected it from her at the door and let her go back to her mother’s room.”

“So because he invited her in, something is going on? What if he was just being courteous?”

“Achike, courteous. Tell me something else, sir.”

“Never assume young friend. You will live longer and have greater peace of mind if you heed this one advice.”

“Mr Cosmas…”

“Never assume the obvious is true – William Safire” Mr Kingsley said.

Ndifreke turned to him. His beer had just arrived. “But you offered me this,” he said. You know I’m right don’t you?”

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy – Benjamin Franklin.”

“For heaven's sake Mr Kingsley!”

“All right gentlemen. This is what I think,” Mr Cosmas began. “Meet with your girlfriend and talk to her. Chances are that what you saw was an illusion. I have been around long enough to know that in this kind of matter you can never be sure. That a man and a woman behind closed doors are always being intimate is never a foregone conclusion. There isn’t a man alive who hasn’t had experiences behind closed doors with a woman he would not share with his friends.”

“Maya is different. I do not always understand her.”

“Women are meant to be loved, not understood – Oscar Wilde” Mr Kingsley said.

“I love Maya, no doubt about that. But she can be spontaneous. I know how we started. It is not beyond the realms of reason that she could do this to hurt me. She is not happy with me at the moment and I know the kind of mother she has.”

“If she’s amazing she won’t be easy, if she is easy she won’t be amazing, if she is worth it, you won’t give up. If you give up, you’re not worthy…Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for – Bob Marley.” Mr Kingsley said.

Ndifreke thought about it. He drained his beer and stood up, staggered a bit and then smiled. “That wasn’t so bad,” he said. Thank you, sirs. You have been very helpful.” With a smile on his face and a new sense of assuredness he exited the bar.”

“It was a wise man who invented beer – Plato” Mr Kingsley said.

Mr Cosmas laughed and leaned back in his seat as both men watched each other.

“Now that it is just the two of us Kingsley, can you tell me what eats you.”

Kingsley took another sip of his beer and continued to study Cosmas: the closest thing to a friend he had. The one man he could not fool with his subterfuge.

“My brother na woman too o!” Kingsley said.

Cosmas smiled and said “Esther?”

“Na Esther. I no know who send me my guy.”

“What happened?”

“She want make I marry am. I dey crase?”

Now Cosmas had a good laugh. “It is at times like this that I wish I knew all the quotes you knew. Because I’m sure that somewhere in history, someone has said something you could borrow in your not so peculiar circumstance.”

“I don’t want to get married. I don’t have what it takes.”

“What does it take?”

“The most happy marriage I can imagine to myself would be the union of a deaf man to a blind woman – Samuel Taylor Coleridge.”

Cosmas laughed again and said, “I get it. You will do things she will see and not like. And she will nag and you don’t want to hear any of it.”

“Gbam! Na why I stop to talk to them o. I can’t stand it.”

“Is it just that you don’t want to marry Esther or you don’t want any woman at all for a wife?”

“I cannot be with one woman. I naturally get tired and want another, and it doesn’t matter if the woman is beautiful or ugly. I do not want to put myself in a situation where I would be called a cheat. I should have stayed away from her. But you know, I am a man.”

“What you have described actually is an animal, not a man; at best, simply a homo sapien.”

“Cosmas!”

“When you live by the urgings of the body, you are no different from an animal. You are made of the same matter as a dog or a goat or a donkey. And so when they say it is in a man’s nature to philander, they are right. You are wired like an animal so you will behave like them. But a human being is supposed to be different because we possess something the animal doesn’t which is the Spirit, which is linked with the Almighty. Only a person conscious of this is able to curb the excesses of the flesh.”

“So I must be born again? Like Esther?” Mr Kingsley said and scoffed.

“You will never hear me say that. But I will say seek, and ye shall find.”


Akunna strained to see the content of the newspaper. Mr Zubi readjusted it so he alone could read. The others had to contend with hearing the headlines from him.

“Dapchi girls returned. We did not pay ransom - FG” Mr Zubi said.

“Story for the gods!” shey na Alhaji Lie Lie talk am?”

“Before nko?”

“And they drove in and drove out unchallenged. Naija sha…”

“And they have been defeated and decimated and everything! Na their spirit wake up come dey kidnap the pipo?”

“Ask me.”

“Well, they won the war, but forgot that it is more important to win the peace.”

“They are not even fighting for it. It is arms they buy and arms money they are killing themselves over.”

“But peace costs a lot less!”

“If they had even used that Dasuki’s $2b to build schools and hospitals and factories in that region, most of those boko haram boys would have been employed and the sect would find no one to recruit. Are these things that difficult to comprehend?”

“Help me ask them.”

“Make una no deceive una sef. The Dapchi thing na drama for 2019. Someone wants people to see how much more efficient they are than the last administration. Last time out they went to Chibok and took girls and till today we are still looking for them. But in this government, girls are taken and five minutes later they are returned. Oya, go get your PVCs.”

“Hmmm na wa o.”

“Land use charge increased by four hundred percent in Lagos,” Mr Zubi said.

“They want to give Alhaji Sirika excuse to come and increase rent. Which kind wahala be this?”

“He already texted me that he is coming tomorrow.”

“Ah!”

“Why do they hate the poor so much ehn? Why can’t we be poor in peace? Who told them that all these tax regimes affect the rich? They simply find a way to put it on our heads!”

“That is why the Pentecostal pastors say it is a crime to be poor.”

“God punish them.”

“Please stop that I beg you.”

“Sports abeg.”

“Super Eagles defeat Poland in international friendly.”

“I tell you say we dey reach Quarter final of the next world cup. Who wan bet?”

“Go betnaija. Nobody get money to waste here.”

“Please, there’s something I received on whatsapp. That the British have sent the President’s death certificate. Dem say this man wey dey parade himself upandan na clone from Sudan?”

“Guy, you never hear say dem don sign anti hate speech and anti social media law and all those things. I swear when dem come, I go just carry dem come your room make dem carry you go. Dem go lock you trowey the key. If you like, no talk only wetin you know.”

“I have freedom of speech. This is not China! Abi you no see how this new man get stamina? Na so him be before? Didn’t British lawmaker Eric Joyce declare him dead?”

“Alakoba o! I beg you Talabi.”

“Cowards,” he said and walked away.


Ndifreke found her at the frontage when he returned. She saw him, turned quickly, and entered the corridor. He ran after her and caught up with her before she climbed the stairs.

“Maya my love.”

Her heart began to throb. He had never addressed her like that before. But she still needed to do shakara.

He held her hand and she snatched it back and said, “Don’t touch me!”

“Please my darling.”

“Who is your darling?”

“Maya let’s go to my room. People are watching.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Yes you do Maya. What were you doing in Achike’s room?”

“Is that what you want to talk to me about? Mtcheeeeew” She said and began up the stairs. He held her hand again and she stopped.

“No it is not that. It doesn’t matter. But please we need to talk.”

“What about?”

“You know what about,” he said and glanced at her tummy.

Ndifreke gave her hand a little squeeze, pleaded some more with his eyes, turned, went to his room. It was their routine. She would wait until there was no one on the corridor and then go in after him. He was not sure he had convinced her this time but he hoped he had. He was relieved when three minutes later he saw the doorknob turn.

She sat apart from him on a stool opposite the bed, with a centre table between them.

She was still as beautiful as always, but there were worry lines on her face.

“Your dress is fine. My favourite.”

“Thank you.”

The silence that followed was awkward. He did not know where to start from then finally he said, “Are you sure about it now?”

“Sure about what?”

“The em, pregnancy. I mean are you pregnant like seriously?

“I am pregnant, is that not serious enough?”

“Em why, I mean of course.”

Maya looked away.

“Alright. That’s fine.”

At that, she looked at him sharply. Then he smiled and said, “it’s okay”. Maya stood and rushed at him and he met her in an embrace. They stayed like that for a while and then pulled apart and sat back in the bed.

“Can I ask you something?” Ndifreke said.

“Yes my love”

“Promise you won’t be offended.”

“I won’t be, promise”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“What about?”

“The future”

“We don’t know the future.”

“The immediate future we can easily predict.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Your mother will be difficult.”

“I know.”

“I squat here with my bro.”

“I know.”

“And you are not bothered?”

“I am not.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

“Maya”

“Yes?”

“Sometimes love is not enough. We need money, a place of our own.”

“Do you want me to marry Achike then?”

Ndifreke started as she said that. “Is that what you were doing in his room?”

Maya looked away.

It began to come together for Ndifreke. Her mother was thinking what he was thinking. And the solution for her was Achike or any other man who would bear the burden.

“My love,” Maya said.

“Yes?” Ndifreke responded without looking at her.

“Do you or do you not want me?”

He did not need to think about it. He automatically said, “Yes I want you.”

“Then I am yours.”

She still did not get it. But he loved Maya. This was a challenge he was going to take head-on. He would go out there and fight to keep his woman. He would find a place of their own and find money to take care of her needs and that of their baby. He looked at her now and she was smiling at him. She could see the determination enter his eyes. She never doubted what he could achieve if he pushed himself some more.

“Can I ask you something?” she said.

“Ask dear.”

“Is it normal that I feel like making love now?”

That jolted Ndifreke but he let his face spread out in a grin.

“Em I guess there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I thought when you are pregnant you stop feeling that way.”

“Evidently it is not so.”

“Will you help me with my zip then?”

“Why not.”

Outside, Mama Akunna smiled and stood up from the stool she sat on and entered the kitchen. It was time she made her first move on Maya.


TO BE CONTINUED.

yehmy:
Frontpage with no more update

you no know wetin happen?

thanks mods. i don forgive una

will squeeze in one update asap. but i dey work.

OmniSparrow:
Finally we hit frontpage... Centino...

bros, 4th time my attention been brought to it. make i go write :

Dem don lift my ban?

Someone's been enjoying deleting my posts and keeping me away.

Until I'm sure they'll let me have my say.

Wetin I do sef?

WISDOM

Achike stood by the door and watched Maya seated in the chair. He pinched himself to be sure he was not dreaming. There she was in his room, every inch the way he had dreamt it. Mama Tobi did not disappoint in the least bit. She even made her wear the beautiful gown she wore on the day of that sham marriage. He remembered her looking so beautiful that day that he was praying silently for the world to just end. Yes, that was his thoughts. How could that donkey of a man leave the compound with such a beautiful woman? And how fair was it that right under his nose such a being was being formed and he knew nothing about it? Well, what happened then as they say is history. Then that Calabar boy started polishing her every day right under his nose! Hei! Well, now his chance had come, and he was not going to let it slip.

She had her face in her palms now. He could understand that she was shy. Then a thought hit him, he should be a gentleman and not rush her. So he first went over and inspected her shopping. She bought everything on the list. The shopping thing was her mother’s idea.

“That is what you will do my son. Just write a list of the things you want and give me the money. She will bring them to your room.”

“Are you sure Ma?”

“Yes nau! What else do you have to offer, Achike? Is it those your short legs and pot belly? If it is handsomeness, you know the Calabar boy wins hands down. So bring plenty money, more than she will need and let her return plenty change to you.”

Achike looked at Maya again. She was still not looking up. Her face was still in her palms, but her figure…Chim ooooo! Even while seated! Achike licked his lips as a brilliant idea hit him. He would start by kissing her feet. Yes. This was the kind of soup you eat by first licking the sides of the plate. Choi! Achike bobo! He hailed himself within. Then he moved in gently.

Maya sat on the armchair and held her face in her palm. What was she doing here, She thought. Ndifreke’s soft pleading voice continued to assault her. Her man! Her love. Then she felt a wet tongue on her feet. She kicked out before even thinking.

“Jehovah eh!” Achike shrieked as the blow flung him and he hit his waist on the side of the centre table. “What was that sweetie?” he said and scampered to his feet and held his waist.

“I am not your sweetie!”

“But you are. That is why you are here.”

“I am here because of my mother”

“Your mother told me you said you will marry me, ehn my sweetie. Why are you now doing like this?”

“I have changed my mind!”

“Is it because of that church rat?”

Maya opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She wanted to defend him but how could she? Even though his words haunted her, it was only because she could see he still wanted her, and she knew she would always want him. But then the things he was saying were not the things she wanted to hear. He was talking about reasoning with him. For goodness sake, she knew already that he had no money! If she wanted money, she would be with this toad. But if he was still talking about reasoning with him when she was already pregnant, then what he had in mind was not what she wanted for herself.

“Tell me. Are you changing your mind for a man that denied you when you told him a simple joke? What do you think he would do to you if you were serious?”

Maya’s heart sank. Her mother had followed through with her plan.

“I will tell him you are not pregnant that you were only testing the Calabar boy to see if he really loved you and he failed the test. The pregnancy is not even ten minutes old. Sleep with Achike. After two months, tell him you are pregnant.”

“But mama!”

“But mama what?” That is the way you will come out of this. Put it on his head. He will gladly accept it.”

“I can’t do it, mama.”

“Then you are a big fool. Achike would accept anything you tell him! A woman like you only happens in his dreams and on television.”

“Mama!”

“Now listen to this piece of wisdom. Marry a man that loves you more than you love him. If you want to have peace of mind in your mature years, I say marry a man that worships you. You see that Calabar boy, let him have money and start driving a car, then you will know the meaning of heartache. He is gushing over you now that his pocket is empty. And it doesn’t help that when he looks at you he sees the rainbow forming in your eyes. You show him too much that you love him! A man needs to be kept in a state of permanent doubt and uncertainty. That way he will chase you every day till you enter your grave. That is what every woman needs. And you need that to come about naturally! It will if you marry the right man. The right man is not the one that will be beating you and you will be getting wet.”

Maya looked at Achike as he nursed his sore lips. He was even uglier as he grimaced and held his waist as well. She was here to make love to this creature so that she could put a pregnancy on him and have a future without heartache!

“Sweetie” he said again and tried to straighten his back. Doing so his shirt split in the front and his tummy shone through like Mr Ibu’s. What was she doing there? She was young, healthy, and perfectly capable of keeping herself from starving if it came to that.

She thought about her Ndifreke. She did not know what tomorrow or her mature years would hold and frankly, she did not care. For today, she wanted a man she would look at and get wet, and it would not matter even if he carried a whip.

Ndifreke ambled along the street feeling like he had just been dispossessed of his inheritance. His Maya was in Achike’s room! “No!” he said aloud.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and checked and saw Mr Cosmas.

“What troubles you, young friend?”

“Good evening Mr Cosmas”

“Good evening Ndifreke”

“You look like you lost your way”

“It will not be wrong to say that I did Mr Cosmas.”

Mr Cosmas nodded. He was going to his regular joint to relax so he invited Ndifreke. They both looked at each other when they saw that the only other person there when they arrived was The Undertaker. They were equally surprised when he beckoned them over to his table. He clearly had been there for a while, as they counted three empty green bottles and a fourth one was halfway gone.

“Please sit my friends” He enthused. Seeing their surprise at his indulgement, he said “Ho! Ho! Ho! To the bottle I go to heal my heart and drawn my woe. Rain may fall and wind may blow and many miles still to go but under the tree will I lie and let the clouds go sailing by – J.R.R Tolkien”

“Oh Mr Kingsley! and I didn’t think you drank anything other than water.”

“In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria – Benjamin Franklin.”

The two newcomers laughed and settled in on the opposite side of the table to Mr Kingsley

“You can talk, friends,” Mr Kingsley said. “I know an Italian proverb. Let every fox take care of its own tail.”

“We know you know a lot of proverbs,” Mr Cosmas said.

“Don’t worry about Kingsley” Mr Cosmas said. “Take it that he is not here.”

Ndifreke nodded. Seeing and listening to Mr Kingsley already helped his mood somewhat. But he still said “I saw my girlfriend enter another man’s room. She knocked and he opened the door and she entered. Right in front of me. Like I wasn’t even there! Madam please, give me Star.” Ndifreke said.

Mr Cosmas knew Ndifreke did not drink. But it was not in his character to tell anyone what to or what not to do. But Mr Kingsley said “If you ever know a man who tries to drown his sorrows, kindly inform him his sorrows know how to swim― Pittacus Lore”

“But you are drinking too.”

“Drink because you are happy, but never because you are miserable― G.K. Chesterton.

The bar woman was already standing there with the beer. Mr Cosmas reached for it and Ndifreke asked for a coke.

“And she is pregnant by me. How much worse can it get?” Ndifreke said.

Mr Cosmas and Mr Kingsley looked at each other. Then Mr Kingsley said “Em Madam, please bring him the beer.”


TO BE CONTINUED.

Funnas:
hmmm Mr centino,am speechless,in fact u deserve a Nobel prize award,l laughed until my belle dey pain me.carry go bros,u too much.

Thanks Funnas. Glad you like my work

tsharp:
nice one centino. i feel like asking for more update but u have spoken many times about going to hustle. it's a shame that with talent like yours you should be doing something else for daily bread. kudos all the same.

Thanks for the kind words man. One day, by His grace.

YINKS89:
M NT likin dis centino, why Maya of all people... Please return her back to her love

Welcome to my thread smashiez. Enjoy...


THE HOLY GHOST

Castro decided it was time to make his move. His little scandal was now near forgotten so he could forge ahead with his desire. He had been watching Sister Esther for some time now and it was clear to him that she was not happy. The useless Undertaker had had his fill and now moved on. Poor Sister Esther. He knew he would be a useful addition to her life. So that Saturday evening, Castro took his bath and brushed his teeth and wore a clean shirt and pair of faded jeans and went over and rapped gently on Sister Esther’s door and let himself in on her invitation.

“Good evening Sister” Castro greeted. Sister Esther was studying her bible on her reading table.

“Good evening Castro. What do you want?”

“Sister I want to receive the Holy Ghost”

Sister Esther closed the page she was on and turned and faced Castro.

“Hmmm.”

“Yes, Sister. I want to begin to spit fire! I want Satan and his hosts to see me and pick race.”

“So what is stopping you?”

“Nothing. I want you to impart it to me Sister”

“I see.”

“Yes sister. I want us to be praying together then in the course of our prayers, the spirit will enter me and I will begin to pour it out.”

“I see”

“Yes sister. By the grace of God.”

“Do you have your bible Castro?”

Chai. He had forgotten that he needed to always carry one now, especially as he had come to discuss the Spirit. He scratched his head and Sister Esther said: “Not a problem.” She opened a drawer and handed him a brand new bible. “You can have that one. It is my gift to you. Carry it at all times. In this journey, you cannot be ashamed of the gospel. Never be without your bible.”

“Okay sister.”

“Now turn to Galatians 5: 22-23”

Castro flipped back and forth the bible looking for Galatians while Sister Esther waited for him patiently. Then he went to the table of content, found the page number, and went there.

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.”

“Exactly. Before you begin to spit fire little brother, first imbibe those. Ask yourself, do I have love? Do I have real joy in spite of what life throws at me? Do I have peace? Am I patient? Can I call myself a good boy? How faithful am I? am I gentle? And very importantly do I have self control? In these days of the fast lane, fast food, fast internet, fast everything, do I have a rein on myself? Do I desire things that I should not desire at my age? Am I focused on my goals in life? Do these and you already have the Holy Spirit.”

Castro did not like what he was hearing. What was this one now?

“But Sister, what I want is to be able to speak in tongues and cast out devils. I know that one receives that one.”

“You must learn to walk before you can fly. Casting out devils is not what the Holy Spirit is about.”

“Okay I want us to be prayer partners,” Castro said.

“Open your Bible to Matthew 6:6.”

Castro looked at Sister Esther wide eyed. What next now, he thought. He knew Matthew was the first book of the New Testament so he found that quickly. “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father who is unseen. Then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

“There you are brother. You don’t need a prayer partner.”

“But sister where two or three are gathered in his name he is there na!”

Sister Esther opened another drawer and brought out a bunch of tracts. She selected one and handed over to him. There is a youth program coming up in my church next week. Attend. You will meet people of your age there. It will be impactful and you can pray together. You can talk to them there about the kind of Holy Spirit you want.”

Sister Esther turned away from him and continued her reading. Castro sat there bemused. Then anger welled up inside him. What is this woman feeling like sef? He thought. Then as a parting shot, he said “Sorry about the Undertaker. I heard things are not working out.”

Without waiting for a response, Castro found himself in the corridor.

He saw Ndifreke coming out of his room so he waited for him at the frontage.

“Good evening bros.”

“Castro. What brought you here?”

“I came to see my sister in the Lord.”

“I hope you know I don’t have time for that your nonsense,” Castro said.

“Irikefe spoke to you right?”

“Irikefe does not need to tell me anything. I know you."

“Speaking of Irikefe. I heard his father sent him to the village.”

“He sent me a text and said[i] Tell Castro to keep an eye on my father. He knows what I mean.[/i] Now tell me Castro, what is going on?”

“Bros. Truly I don’t understand.”

“Tell me what you know.”

“He said Mama Akunna jazzed his father. They have a potion to counter the effect of jazz. I watched him use it on his father. That is all I know.”

“And after that, he started bullying Mama Akunna, of all people!”

“Na so I see am bros.”

“Is that why his father sent him away?”

“I don’t know bros. Call him na.”

“His phone is switched off.”

Castro shrugged and said, “I will ask his father.”

“Please do.”

“So how jab bros?”

“Still hustling. How man go do na?”

"I wanted to ask you something bros."

“Yes?”

“Abeg how can I enter big brother?”

“What do you want to go and do at big bother?”

“Bros na the quickest route to fame be dat na. All I have to do is drink, eat and fvck for three months and I will become a celebrity.”

“It’s not that straightforward Castro.”

“But it is! Remember the one that won the first big brother naija? What was he famous for? He fingered somebody’s anus and won the show. He was received by his State. British council made him an ambassador. Plus the plenty money he won. Yet a first class graduate the other day was rewarded with ten thousand naira only before a bank felt shame and gave him one hundred K. So tell me, in Nigeria today, what pays more? Fvcking on live television or making a first class?”

“It is the way of the world Castro. End time as Mr Cosmas will say. Nothing I can do about that.”

“But bros, you should consider the big brother thing na. Unlike me, you are good looking and you have finished school.”

“I don’t think I can compete. I’ll be fine with a normal job thanks.”

“If you say so.”

“So how is your sister in the Lord Castro?”

“Bros I no understand that woman.”

“You don’t know what you are doing Castro.”

“But bros…”

“Go get an ND form from LASU or something. You don’t want to be like Irikefe. I know that Mr Zubi will support you if you are serious about going to school.”

“Bros I hear.”


Wasiu showed up and sat close to Mama Akunna and said “Mama de Mama. You don forget your boy.”

“How I go forget you my pikin?”

“E don tey na. Since you begin hammer I no dey hear your voice again.”

“Na so my pikin. I don old. So make I shut up my mouth.”

“Mama, you ke? Old?”

“Na so my pikin.”

“Eh hen Mama, wetin be dat kind play wey you dey play with Irikefe? E tell you to go sweep you begin sweep.”

“I no wan talk that talk. Make you take am as you see am.”

Wasiu shrugged and said, “If you say so Mama. I trust you die. I know say you know wetin you dey do.”

“Snail wey dey waka small small no dey waka like dat because hin no know road.”

“Mama you don come again,” Wasiu said and chuckled.

“Na so my pikin.”

Wasiu was quiet for a while. He wanted to say something but was finding it difficult to articulate.

“I know wetin you wan ask me. I don dey wait for you to talk since.” Mama Akunna said.

“Really mama?”

“No be today dem born me my pikin.

“Mama you sure?”

“I go helep you. But you go dey settle me.”

“Mama you no know wetin I wan ask you.”

“No be make I helep you sell your market?”

Wasiu’s eyes widened.

“Bring am. If police come, I know wetin I go do.”

“Mama de mama!”

“Na fifty naira be my own inside everyone wey I sell.”

“No problem mama.”


Ndifreke followed behind and kept talking to Maya who paid no attention to him. He was taken aback when she entered the big supermarket that just opened in the area. But he needed to talk to her so he kept talking as she went from one row to the other with a big basket.

“It is not that I don’t want the baby. But look at me. I’m still jobless. And you have your whole life ahead of you. Please think about it, my dear. I love you. I do so with all of my heart. But sometimes love is not enough. There are responsibilities to consider as well.”

Maya said nothing. He watched as she filled the basket with groceries and went to the check out. Right before him she produced a wad of notes and made payment of more than N10,000.

“Maya. Where did you get all that money from?”

Maya still kept silent, exited the supermarket with two shopping bags and started going back home. Ndifreke tagged along and continued talking. “See Maya, you don’t have to be silent. Your mother may be in support of you keeping the pregnancy and is giving you money to buy things, but remember, there is a completely massive range of expenses ahead. I need you to see this thing from my point of view.”

As they neared the compound Ndifreke thought of letting her be, but something about her manner left him perplexed so he kept up with her.
She ignored him still as they got to the compound and entered the corridor. Instead of going to the top floor where their room was she continued and stopped at a different door. Ndifreke continued after her and stopped, incredulous. Maya rapped on the door and Achike opened. He stood aside and Maya entered the room. He then gave Ndifreke the once over and closed the door in his face.


TO BE CONTINUED.

Guys make una no fight abeg. If it is any help, I plan to stick around here a little longer. Although hunger fit tempt pesin to consider okadabooks and the like, but we all do this for different reasons and I had stated mine long ago.

IAmAmbrose:
Ghost reader mode deactivated...... Abeg come post ejoo

Welcome man. The rate at which ghost readers dey show face now ehn Gladdening. But as e be say pesin get to chop, E no dey possible to post every day. So join us on Sunday.