₦airaland Forum

The Spirit of the Unborn
‘Sweet mother, I no go forget you for the suffer wey you suffer for me,’ as the song dey play from pesin room; the woman use style dey dance as she dey sweep the compound. She stop as one of the tenant comot from her domot.
“Good morning mama shinyere, na your turn to sweep?” The tenant ask as she dey try lock her door.
“Good morning Iya Bose; na so we see am oh.” Mama Chinyere answer.
“But where shinyere now, no be her voice I hear now now? Na she suppose dey sweep for you. E no kukuma good make pesin dey spoil all this pickin dem. Small time now, she go go her husband house and if she no good, dem go send am back come give you.”
“Which kain talk be that? My pickin wey neva go school finish na im wan go husband house? Abi you tink say my pickin dey waka anyhow?”
“No be fight now, pesin no fit follow you play for early mon-mon? Make I comot, I no kukuma get your time again, I don get work no be to dey sit down for house like some people.”
“Na God go punish you and your family, abeg if you wan pass, pass make I see road.”
“Epe laro kutukutu…joor oh, make I pass!”

As the tenant waka comot, the woman troway one big hiss, come spit join, “na pesin pickin wey una go spoil na im una dey look for. Baba God go cover my pickin, wey she dey self? Chi-Chi! Nkechinyere!”
“Ma!”
As the pickin comot from room, the woman open one place wey she tie money put for her wrapper, come comot the money give the girl.
“Take dat money, go mama Oluchi shop, she go give you okporoko, oha and achi. No go stand for road play oh, no answer any man wey call you oh, no go dey sit down look for bus come forget bustop oh. Before, I sweep finish, you suppose don come back; you don hear wetin I talk?”
“Mama I don hear.”
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My mama self too like wahala. As I no go school today na im she wan send me all the message for this world, message wey pesin go dey jump bus, na wa oh. If we chop Indomie nko na bad ting because soup self don tire pesin? My name na Chinyere, una fit call me Chi-Chi.
My papa no dey ever stay town and my mama too like fight. I no go school today because as dem don pay Chinedu school fees, money no come reach for my own. I dey JSS 2.
Yesterday ehn, the kain flogging wey dem flog me for school no get part-two na im my mama talk say make I stay house but if anybody ask me make I tell dem say I no well.


Mama Oluchi shop dey Baale near Bariga. Omo, dis sun hot no be small. The ting fit turn pesin mad. I go happy if I just see Bariga bus before I reach bustop.
“Bariga…New Garage! Hold ya change oh.”
“Wait now make I enter.” Na wa for this danfo people self.
“Duro…wait, na small pickin oh,” one passenger shout for on top the driver head.
As I enter na only four people dey inside the bus. I sit down beside one woman wey dey carry small pickin, one yuppy man dey my front, one sisi aunty and another man wey fat dey my back. Make I yarn una wetin this people make me do so tey I miss where I dey go.

The woman with small pickin: This pickin don bin dey look me since I enter the bus. I no like to dey sit for where pickin dey because dem fit dey use style beat you and you no fit do anything. This one own even worse self, the pickin dey try use im hand touch my bobby. I try to use my shoulder block im hand and the mama notice come beat am.
“Kai Olumide ashewo! You wan touch small aunty b.reast.” As the boy come dey cry she come pet am and the boy come kukuma shook hand inside her blouse, come dey press the mama bobby dey suck mouth.
Why some women dey allow that kain ting? I feel say that kain ting dey spoil pickin and na im dey cause make all this small boys dey look for our bobby to press for school. Anybody wey one press my own, I go knack am kondo!

The fat man wey dey my back: Im phone ring. You go know say na chinko phone because as the ‘Chineke idi mma oh’ take sound, everybody for bus jus turn look am but the man no even send us.
“Hello? How far na?”
Why some people like to dey shout inside bus? No be say competishun dey oh. Dem go just open dia mouth like generator wey need servicing, e be like say na wen pipu wan show say dem too dey important na im dem go dey shout...make una follow check am na, una don ever see tief shout say “I just go tief finish, omo de robbery na die!” or runs girl dey shout “dat bobo wey carry me last night, you believe say na only 1k I fit collect?” Dem no fit!
“No, dem nefa...dem, wait now, make I talk...dem nefa release those goods! You know how customs dey behave na, de oga want settlement and you know say I get too many projects on ground, I dey try complete my house for village and the landlord don increase rent for my yard...so, I no know how we go take do am. Ehn, you fit call Chikodi...hmmm, no problem, ngwa later now.”
Una see? I no even tink am finish oh.

Yuppy Man: I know say dis kain pesin go dey form say im too get money, meanwhile im fit dey owe plenty pipu as im dey so. Im cloth sef fit be borrow borrow but im go form pass pesin wey get car.
“Eheys...eheys, pure water! Na wa oh, you no get bottled water?”
“Oga, you no see say na pure water I dey sell?”
“Sorry, I bin tink say una dey carry bottled water too. How much?”
“Na five naira.”
“You get change for one thousand naira?”
“Mtcheww for how much water? I no get change.”
“Why you come dey vex na?”
Na so, na from wia you fly enter wey you no know say pure water pipu no dey sell bottled water? You wan do style style make sisi aunty like you, shioor!

Sisi Aunty: Dis kain pesin go dey do as if na im sabi book pass especially wen im sit close to young guys make e be like say she too go school. Shey na just Bariga here wia we dey go na im she dey open novel read? Na one page she don dey since sef. I sure say na romance novel she dey read, mtchewww, shioor!
The yuppy man sef come dey use style look the babe. Small time im come shift to the girl side.
“Hello, wetin you dey read?”
The girl turn look de man with bad eyes, “I doesn’t speak pidgin.”
Chineke!

“Ehsss smallie, wey ya money?” The conductor ask me.
I comot money na as I wan give am na im I see say I don pass my bustop, “Conductor, we don pass baale bustop na.”
“Ehen, wey ya mind dey before? Driver e duro make smallie come down.”
Yeye conductor, if no be say I don pass where I dey go; e for be for you.
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As de knock dey go on, na im de woman wake come clean mouth. She carry belle and sleep bin don catch am for where she dey sit.
“Kai! E be like say na girl na im I go born and her name go be Chinyere.”
The knock still dey go on.
“Who be dat?”
“Na Iya Bose, na ya turn to sweep today oh.”
“God go punish you, na dis belle I wan carry sweep?”
“Epe laro kutukutu…make I kukuma go work, I no be some pipu wey dey sit down morin tu night for house…shioor!”

teamplayey:
@ Enoquin,
Thanks a lot. You may never know how much that meant to me. Once has He spoken and, twice have I heard!
You are blessed

I am glad it meant something to you. You are blessed too. Thanks and Amen

Nmeri17:
oga Ralph, go buy that book titled "10 easy steps on how to build your own coffin in 30 minutes"

Bia, don't get Ralph scared na

And so here I was, alone. I was lucky this happened during the holidays, I got in touch with an uncle and escaped there. My uncle had a separate guest house so I didn’t have to put up with appearances. I had been here for two days and rarely ate the food that was brought. I just wanted to be alone to grieve for what I had lost. My phones were off and except for the maid, no one came to my door.
I wished someone would but was glad no one did. Had I been selfish? How was Ralph doing? Did he grieve for me as I did for him?
The knock was light at first. I pretended not to hear. Then it increased slightly till I couldn’t ignore it, standing, I approached the door cautiously.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me Nami,”
I pasted a fake smile and opened the door. My uncle’s wife swept in, her yellow gown lightening the room, her fragrance theraupatic; she didn’t return the smile or pretended not to see it.
Scanning the room and raising an eyebrow at how disheveled the room was, she turned to me. I sure looked dreadful. We weren’t close but I heard she was a pleasant but blunt woman.
“You don’t dress the room neither do you allow the maid in to dress the room Nami, is there a reason why your sadness should interfere with cleanliness?”
I opened my mouth but no words came out. That was mean, whoever said this woman was nice needed their head screwed on correctly.
“Please try and tidy up, look at that food tray…”
“Aunty, please what do you want?” I didn’t need this especially not from someone I barely knew.
“I need you to stop hiding in here like something is wrong with you. Do you know how many times your mother and brother has called because they couldn’t get to you?”
In my grief, I had forgotten how worried, my mother and brother would be.
“What did they say?”
“You would have to switch on your phone to find out.”
Moving to the bed, she pushed the rumpled bed sheets to one side and sat down and then with a smile, patted the space beside her. The change was so sudden that I found myself beside her.
“Nami, you have been terribly wrong,”
Confused, I looked at her. What did she mean? What was I wrong about?
“You have been scared to live that you are merely existing. Now it is terribly wrong to run from a challenge. Tell me, what do you want from this life?”
“I…I…want…would like to be free…free to live”
“So, what’s holding you back? Why do you choose to live in fear?”
“Aunty, you do not understand, these visions I have…”
“Nami,” she interrupted; “your vision is just that, a vision; what you do afterwards is more of a determinant than your vision.”
“Aunty, how would I have stopped my father’s death or my sister or how can I hold back time for Ralph?”
“You could not and you cannot but you should also not cower in fear waiting till whatever is bound to happen does. Regardless of your visions, some of us have a limited time on earth but we strive to make the most of it by…”
“Aunty, what do you mean by some of us? Are you or uncle ill?”
“Well dear, since you came in; you havent been to see the children; you would have seen that Tina is near death’s door.”
“Tina? When? What is wrong with her?”
“Tina has leukemia, she has less than three months left and want to spend it at home. I never thought this would happen to me ever or never knew how we were going to carry on but we do. We laugh with her, try new things and don’t think about that day.”
“I am so sorry but your situation was thrust upon you, mine is affected by the decision I make.”
“So, you are saying; Ralph would live if you do not marry him? And what if he is destined to die young regardless of whether he marries you or not? Would you carry on knowing you could have shared more time with him? If you had Tina as a child, would you have been in tears everyday or would you have tried to make her remaining time as pleasant as could be?”
I didn’t need to ask how she knew the story, Ralph must have told everyone who cared to listen. Everyone kept saying the same thing, that I needed to live and not be in fear always.
“Well, you really have to tidy this room. We have guests coming over.”
This woman was really a confusionist.
She looked at her watch and stood. “Tina and I are going shopping for something I forgot to pick yesterday. You should come in and say hello to her and the rest of the children when we are back.”
“Thank you aunty, I am so sorry.”
“It’s alright, see you later” And with that she swept out of the room. Yes, she was right but before I switched on my phone, I needed to tackle the mess in the room.
My spirits had somewhat lifted.
45 minutes later, I was done. I even used the perfume after my bath and nearly put on yellow till I refrained and picked another colour.
The knock came and I glanced at the time. It was nearly five, time for dinner. I needed to tell the maid, I would be joining everyone this evening.
Smiling, I opened the door and there he was, his hand lifted to knock again. I know I should have asked what he was doing here and how he knew I was here and all that but I couldn’t. I was already in his arms sobbing.
“Ralph, I am so sorry.”
“And here I thought you didn’t miss me as I did you,” he said patting my hair just the way I liked it and making that hushing sound that made me a baby all over again.
I loved this man terribly. I loved him and damn whatever was going to take him away from me, I will love him, be his wife and the mother of our children till then. I lifted my head to kiss him and just then saw my brother who had just come round the bend grinning. I turned away shyly and laughed.

THE END

Dedicated to Teamplayey