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Centino:
A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people - Thomas Mann.

Wow! This is so true.

Chapter 13

She couldn’t ask anyone how he died, but from eavesdropping, she got to know that he had been sick for a while, and had died of cardiac arrest during his surgery in India yesterday. Now she understood why he would always zone out on her during the trip. The belief of impending doom always overwhelmed him.

After crying on an off for about half an hour, she decided it was time to leave as more people were trooping in every minute. She got off her seat, walked across the room, knelt beside his mom, and held her in a tight embrace. “What’s your name?” Tolu’s mom whispered in her ear.
“Tiwatope.” She answered as she slowly pulled away from the woman.
“Okay Tiwa. Thanks for sticking around.”
“Take care ma.” She said and flashed a quick smile before turning around and walking out of the house.

She was almost by her car when she heard a female voice from behind her say, “Hello.” She turned around and saw a lanky girl dressed casually in jeans and rumpled looking grey tank top staring at her. “You’re Tiwatope, right?” The girl said. Her voice sounded croaky like she had been crying.
“Yes.” Tiwatope answered as she put her right hand above her head to shield her eyes from the sun.
“I’m Tolani, Tolu’s sister.” The girl said, but Tiwatope had already figured that out.
“It’s nice to meet you, Tolani.” Tiwatope said as her eyes went to the small, brown rectangular envelope in the girl’s hand.
“He wanted you to have this.” She said and handed the envelope over to Tiwatope. “He gave me before he left the house.” She added. Tiwatope turned it around and saw her name written at the back in bold letters.
“Thank you.”
“You are welcome.”
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds as the girls stared at each other. Tiwatope broke the silence with, “Can I have your number? I’d like to talk to you some time.”
“Okay. Let me have your phone.”
They exchanged numbers, said their goodbyes, and Tiwatope walked off to her car. She tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter immediately she got into the car.
The letter read…
‘Hey Tiwababy, if you are reading this, then it means I am gone. I’ve gone to the land beyond. As I write this letter, I am scheduled to travel to India on Monday for a Liver transplant, but my chances of surviving it are slim as I am in a critical stage of liver damage called liver cirrhosis. I also have a weak heart, and a bad kidney. We had to search for months before we found a doctor that agreed to operate on me, and even he told us he couldn’t fully guarantee I would survive the operation as my other vital organs have been badly damaged too. I could die from cardiac arrest during the surgery, infections afterwards, or my body could refuse the liver.

I know you are thinking, ‘why go ahead with a surgery when you've been told you might die in process?’ Well, if I don’t do it, my situation would get worse and I would die in a couple of years anyway. Yes, what a sad story. But don’t feel pity for me; I brought it all on myself. After ending my first year in civil engineering with a 1.9 CGPA, and disappointing my dad, I got depressed and addicted to codeine. I took it further by crushing Tramadol and Refnol, and adding to my codeine. The guys that introduced me to the drug warned me that I was going too far, but I didn’t listen till I damaged more than half the vital organs in my body. I lost massive weight, was fatigued all the time, and had to transfer to geography department when I could no longer cope with studies in engineering.

After my mom dragged me to the hospital for a checkup and a series of tests were run, they found out how far gone I was. My mom didn’t want to go the surgery route at first, so we tried alternative means, and I started taking warm garlic, lemon, and ginger water every morning as prescribed by the herbal practitioner we consulted with. The concoction helped me feel much better, but it didn't really heal my already damaged organs. My dad had to sell all his real estate and shares to come up with the thirty million naira for my surgery.

The night we had our first encounter in front of your friend’s house, I was actually going to kill myself as I had become suicidal. My plan was to walk across the bush path to the Lagos lagoon, and drown myself. I had a rat in a trap, and once I released it, Suzy went chasing it. That was the only way I could distract her and get my plan done. But then, you showed up from nowhere, and literally fell into my arms. Right at that moment, I felt the urge to live again, even if just a few days or weeks.

I had been watching you from afar all along, and I knew you were living a reckless life, but deep down, I knew you were a good person. Aren’t we all?

Of course I couldn’t just walk up to you and tell you to change your ways; you wouldn’t listen to me. So, I came up with a plan; I believed that if I showed you enough attention and genuine love, you might just reconsider your ways. That’s why I started following you about and showering you with positive energy. Even though I pissed you off at the beginning, I knew it would only take a matter of time before I got to you, because essentially, all human beings just want to be loved.

That was my plan; it was full proof in my head, but what I didn’t know was that I was going to start developing strong feelings for you. It hurt me so much to think that I might not be around long enough to keep enjoying your company. The reason I walked off so fast and didn’t turn around the last time we saw was because I didn’t want you to see me cry. I wish things could have worked better for us. I wish I had gotten to know you before I ruined my life, but then, maybe our paths wouldn’t have crossed if things went that way.

Tiwatope, I know how you must feel right now, considering the fact that you lost your dad just recently, but I don’t want you to let my death get you depressed. I want you to keep on living. Let the brief time we spent together mean something to you and fuel you to be a great person; someone that would touch the lives of millions of people in a positive way. I know you have greatness in you. I know that for a fact.

My dad is calling my name right now as he wants to drive me down to my uncle’s house from where I would be traveling, so I have to stop writing now and give the letter to my sister, Tolani, who will give it to you. I love you and will always be with you in the spirit.

Tolu.’

The letter was soaked in tears by the time she finished reading it.

Chapter 12

Monday came and Tolu was a no show in class. She called his phone that night, but he didn’t pick up. When she called the next morning, his phone was switched off. She went off to see her guardians, the Ogundeji’s later that day, and slept over at their place. When she left their house early Wednesday morning, she planned to drive straight to Tolu’s house.

Ever since she got back from the field trip, everything that used to give her pleasure didn’t excite her anymore. The drinking, the partying, boys; they were all meaningless to her now. In fact, she wondered if they ever really gave her joy, or they just helped as medication for some issues she kept buried deep within her.

A couple of cars were parked just outside Tolu’s house and she had to drive a little further down the road to park. She turned off the car engine and practiced what she was going to say in her head for a few seconds before stepping out of the car. She had a blue t shirt, and a long, red, floral patterned Ankara skirt on. She didn’t know if she was going to run into his mom and wanted to appear as decent as possible.

Suzy came running along as Tiwatope walked into the compound and she wondered why the dog was never kept on a leash; she was such a healthy looking dog. She guessed it was true what they say about dogs never forgetting people’s smell as Suzy was wagging her tail all excited as she ran up to her. Tiwatope robbed the Alsatian’s head lightly and proceeded to the house entrance. The front door was open, and she could see a lot of people inside. She felt like turning back as she didn’t like crowds, but it was too late as a slim middle aged woman in black caftan was already approaching the door. Tiwatope took the two steps up to the front door’s platform before saying, “Good afternoon ma. I came to see Tolu.” She heard an echo of ‘aww’ inside the house. The woman sighed and started shaking her head slowly with her eyes closed, as if fighting back tears. When she opened her eyes, she said, “Tolu is gone.”
Tiwatope held on to the burglary gate in front of the door for support as she felt she was going to slump. She heard what the woman said loud and clear, but she didn’t want to believe it. “Gone? You mean he has gone to class?” Tiwatope said. Another chorused ‘aww’ could be heard in the house.
“Tolu died in India yesterday.” The woman said.
“Ma, I’m talking of Tolu Adegoke.” Tiwatope said with a shaky voice. “I dropped him off here last week Friday. He is slim, tall, and likes to smile.”
“I’m his mother. Tolu is dead.” The woman said and burst into tears. A chubby lady appeared from inside, held Tolu’s mom and slowly led her back inside the house.

Tiwatope was in a state of shock now as she walked into the house. There were about a dozen people in the living room, mostly women, wailing and crying. She recognized Tolu’s father and walked up to him. He was sitting by the dining table, looking drained. “Sir, please is Tolu in his room? Please tell me he is in his room.” She said with a quivering voice. The man looked frail in the grey suit he had on. He looked up at her and shook his head. Tiwatope finally broke down in tears. Tolu's mom walked up to her and held her in a tight embrace as the two of them cried uncontrollable. “Please tell me Tolu is okay.” Tiwatope kept repeating between tears.

paulohgirlie:
Thanks for d updates.
Kindly paste chapter 11 today

I just did.

Chapter 11

The ride back to their school campus the next day was a quiet one. Tolu and Tiwatope didn’t speak much to each other throughout the trip, except for when they passed by Satguru Maharaj Ji’s Ashram on the Lagos-Ibadan express. Tolu had caught Tiwatope staring at the big sign board with the picture of the old, black Indian looking man at the entrance of the camp, and he asked her if it was her first time seeing the place; she nodded. She said she had just read about the man dispelling his death rumors and saying he couldn’t die. They went on to engage in a short discussion of what they both thought about the man. Tiwatope said she found him creepy, and spoke on the fact that Tolu had on a red t shirt, which was the man’s favorite color. They laughed about that, and Tolu went on to say he was curious to know if the man actually gets his powers from the same God Christians pray to.

Both of them got lost in their individual thoughts and they went quiet again till they got to their school premises. Tolu noticed she had dozed off and quietly called out her name, “Tiwa! Tiwa!”
“What?” she said in a tired voice as she stretched in her seat. “Oh! We are here.” She added and looked out the window. The car park was scanty, with just a few cars here and there. She saw a tall, light skinned pregnant lady walk out their faculty building, holding onto a little boy. Tiwatope thought her blue floral print dress was really pretty. She was about to look away when the little kid got out of his mom’s hold and started running towards their bus with excitement on his face. He fell half way to the bus and started to cry. A man hurried over, picked up the boy, and held him to his chest. Still crying, the little boy held on tight to the man. And then the mother got to where they were, kissed the man on the lips, and hugged him. Tiwatope smiled, but when she got a better view of the man and saw it was her professor’s assistant she shook her head. “Men!”
“What’s wrong with them?” Tolu asked.
She turned around and looked at him with a frown on her face before saying, “Some of them are assholes.”
“Hmm!”
“Not you though. You are…” she was saying and stopped mid-sentence, as if looking for the word to use, all the while, holding their eye contact.
“It’s time to get off the bus Tiwa.” He said and got up to pull out their bags from the luggage rack above.

……….

Tiwatope had parked her Nissan Micra at the faculty car park the day before, so she drove him home. As they pulled up to the driveway of a cream colored bungalow in the staff quarters, an Alsatian came running along; wagging its tail and barking at the same time. “So, you really do have a dog?” She said and squinted.

“Oh! You thought I was lying?” He said as he got out of the car with his bag in hand. He carried the bag behind him before assuming a crouching position to play with his dog. Tiwatope got out of the car and walked over to his side. She leaned on the car’s front door, smiling at the bond between Tolu and the Alsatian. She looked like a lawyer in the white button up shirt, and black skirt she had on. “Sit!” Tolu said, and the dog promptly obeyed the command, as its long tail kept wagging.
“So, I guess he is your best friend.” She said, with arms folded and eyes on the dog.
“You can say so.” Tolu said and leaned on the car. They were side by side now.
“I guess I have to take some lessons from him.”
He smiled before saying, “Her.”
“What?”
“The dog is a she. Her name is Suzy.” As he said that, the dog’s ears stood up.
“Oh! Nice. That would make it more interesting.” She said and he smiled at her. They went silent for a couple of seconds before she broke it with, “I’ve never connected with anyone this fast before.” He turned to look at her but said nothing. “Thanks for walking into my life.” She added and slowly reached for his hand. Their fingers were intertwined now as they went silent again. After a while, Tolu gave her a quick hug and said, “I’d see you on Monday,” disentangled from the embrace and headed towards his house, with the dog trailing behind him.

She stood there, watching his black back pack bounce here and there, waiting for him to look back at her, but he didn’t. He walked to the front door, knocked twice, stood still for a few seconds, and then followed his dog as she ran around the house to the backyard area. “That was weird.” Tiwatope said, shrugged and walked around to the driver’s side of her small blue car.

Chapter 10

No one had noticed their absence when they later reunited with their course mates after descending the mountain. Both of them were loners anyway, so no one was checking for them. After Mr. Okereke did another roll call and was sure everyone was on board, the bus took off, heading to Obafemi Awolowo University in Ife. They had made arrangements to sleep over at the school before their journey back to Lagos the next day.

Most of the students were asleep by the time they got to the prestigious university, exhausted from the mountain climb. They grumbled when the professor’s assistance, Mr. Okereke announced that he had to do another roll call before they could disembark the bus.

………..

Tolu and Tiwatope were separated for a couple of hours as guys and girls had gone off to separate hostels. The agreement was to meet at the school’s social gathering spot after freshening up.

The females had gotten to the hangout spot before the boys, and when she saw him approaching in the company of about six other guys, she couldn’t hide her joy. He had changed into fresh white t shirt, and jeans. She also had a white t shirt on; a little too big for her, with the sleeves rolled up real high. It had KISS inscribed on it in big red letters. She playfully punched him in the belly when he walked up to her by the main bar. “Ouch! What was that for?” He asked, holding to his belly. She just smiled and asked him what he wanted to drink. Music was playing at a loud volume, so they had to lean in to talk to each other whenever they needed to communicate. He said Fayrouz; she looked at him strangely before telling the barman she wanted to buy a bottle of Fayrouz with her change. He gave it to her, and she handed it to Tolu. She had a small bottle of Smirnoff Ice in her left hand, and with her right hand, she pulled him along to a corner of the open bar with fewer people.

They took seats side by side, and Tolu said hi to their female course mates that were seated opposite them. The place was a really big open bar; like a football field, with chairs and tables in strategic points. She leaned in and asked why he hadn’t ordered an alcoholic drink, and he said he was going thirty days without beer, and that he had three days to go. She smiled and said she would love to celebrate with him when it was time to break his fast. He said that would be cool, and they went back to sipping their drinks.

At about 9pm, the music playing at the bar switched to old school slow songs and people started leaving one by one. She leaned him and told him to dance with her. He shook his head, but she got up anyway and started slow dancing in front of him. He got off his seat when she started looking embarrassed. He put his hands on her waste, she put her hands around his neck, and they moved to the slow rhythm of Prince’s Purple Rain. After a while, she placed her head on his chest, closed her eyes, and continued to move slowly to the music. He looked down at her and tears rolled down his eyes.

Eastatlantaniqqa:
Nice.





could have been a little bit lengthy

Okay. Thanks.

9jagobetta:
great story, educative and informative

Thanks.

LeProdigy:
Weldone bro . you really try

Thank you.

Chapter 9

They could hear female voices giggling up ahead as they approached the fourth level of the waterfall. Tolu was in front, while Tiwatope trailed behind. The mountain had been a bit steep at some point, but it was a lot more leveled now. Even at that, they still had to climb on all fours to avoid the effect of gravity from pulling them back.

“Your concoction has stopped working. I’m starting to get tired." She said and stretched her hand for him to pull her up. He smiled as he did so. “We are surely going back down when we get to the last waterfall.” She said out of breath as she came face to face with him. As she tried to take her next step ahead of him, she slipped and scrambled for anything as she slid down. Instinctively, he reached out, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up towards himself. His hand went around her waist as he held her in place.
“No rushing. Take it one step at a time.” He said. She nodded, and then held him in a tight embrace. They were in that position for a few seconds, and he could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She pulled away after a while, took a deep breath and continued the crawl up the mountain.

……….

They were seated perched by the edge of a natural pool, watching three girls and a guy play directly under the waterfall a few meters to their left. Tiwatope wondered if there was an elevator hidden somewhere in the mountains because she couldn’t believe the girls she was looking at went through the same stress she had just gone through. They had matching pink bikinis on, and really great bodies. She caught Tolu staring at them and smiled. “You want to go and play with them?” She said with a plain look on her face and Tolu chuckled. She kept her eyes on him, looked away, and then looked his way again before saying, “Thanks for saving my life back there.” He smiled but said nothing. Their legs were in the water, with jeans rolled up, and she started moving her legs in continuous circular motions, making ripples that traveled a few feet away from them before disappearing.

After a couple of minutes, the three sexy girls and their macho looking male friend started cleaning up and packing their stuff. They said bye to Tolu and Tiwatope before walking off to the path that led downhill. When they were out of sight, she looked at Tolu with a mischievous smile on her face and said, “I want to skinny-dip in this pool.”
“What!!?”
“I want to swim in the nude.” She said as she got off the rock they were sitting on and went to check the footpath if someone was approaching.
“Of course I know what skinny dipping means, but…are you crazy?”
“Apparently, yes.” She said as she walked back to him. “Come on! Join me.”
“First of all, I can’t swim. Secondly…”
“Come on! The depth of the pool probably won’t reach your waist.” She said as she unbuttoned her shirt. He looked away and she laughed lightly. “Okay, please turn around.” She said with a chuckle. He shook his head as he turned his back to her. He closed his eyes as he heard her unzip her jeans. Even though he couldn't see her from where he stood, he still felt uncomfortable having his eyes opened as she undressed.
“Ooh! Tolu, this water is so cold.” She said as she stepped in the pool.
“Oh! Okay.”
“Don’t turn around yet!” she said as she slowly immersed herself in the flowing pool. “I can’t let you see my tangerine boobs after you just saw those girls with big watermelons.”
He laughed before saying, “You're something else.”
“Ooh! It feels like I’m in a Jacuzzi. You can turn around now.” She said. He turned around slowly and saw her bobbing up and down in the rushing water with just her head out of water. Then she swam backwards slowly, her eyes seductively on Tolu. She made a sign with her finger for him to join her, and he shook his head with a smile on his face. Then she frowned and went under water. He sat there, eyes on the surface of the water, waiting for her to pop back up. After about ten seconds he got really worried and stood up. And like a scene from a horror movie, her head slowly came up from under water till just her eyes were visible, and then she went under water again. He was about to get in the pool when she came up for air, coughing and laughing at the same time.
“Not funny.” He said and looked away.
“Your face towel please.” She said between laughs.
“What?”
“I want to come out now, turn around and put your face towel beside my clothes.”
“Okay.” He said and pulled out his white face towel from his jeans back pocket. It was about the size of a regular napkin when he unfolded it. He placed it on her well laid out clothes, and started walking eastward. “Shout out my name when you are dressed.”
“Wait! I said turn around, not walk away. You want to leave me alone here?”
He stopped in his tracks and sighed. “Okay. Hurry up then.”
“I love to swim, but the water is so cold. I was freezing in there.” She said as she stepped out of the pool. “It was fun though.”
“That’s cool.” He said in a tired voice.
“Hmm! Mr. Adegoke, why so unexcited?” She said as she dried herself. “You really need to tell me what’s bothering you. Tell mummy what’s wrong papi.” She said in a Spanish accent and it made him laugh. She started humming the tune to Michael Jackson’s classic, The Way You Make Me Feel as she dressed up.
“You really like that song. You were humming it in the bus earlier.”
“That was my Dad’s favorite song.” She paused for a second before adding, “He said it was the song he sang to win my mom over.”
“That’s romantic.”
“I sing it a lot, unconsciously when I’m…when I’m really excited.”
“Interesting.”
“You can turn around now.” She said as she did the last couple of buttons on her shirt.
Her curly black hair was still damp from being in water, and wasn’t as puffy as usual. It laid smoothly on her head and sides of her face. He found that really attractive. She caught him staring when she looked up and smiled. He scratched his head and checked his wrist watch before saying, “I have a feeling our crew members have turned around. Maybe we should start heading back.”
“Okay papi. Anything you say.”

tonexyx:
interesting Peice... keep it up bro

Thanks bro.

Ann2012:
Wonderful piece, since I've been reading your stories, I have never been disappointed. Keep up with the good work sir

Thanks.

tonexyx:
[quote author=kayo80 f. following bumper to bumper bro.. lovely piece,next update please

What's up bro... Checkout my latest short story before the next update of this story.

https://www.nairaland.com/4470765/midnight-encounter-short-crime-story#67011788

...Enjoy.

Before the next update, you guys can checkout my new short story... The Midnight Encounter.

https://www.nairaland.com/4470765/midnight-encounter-short-crime-story#67011788

paulohgirlie:
Thanks for the update.

Oliver Twist=Asking For More

Next update will be up tomorrow morning.

YINKS89:
Kayo80 m sorry to say Bt I'll nod to ask for more... Dis story is dope... I don't knw how u do it . All I know is u always make ur readers ask for more

The whole idea is to keep people wanting more. Lol! Thanks for reading. Next update will be up tomorrow morning.

MhizDherbee:
Kay dear, this is great!!! More updates pls!!!!

Thanks. Next update will be up tomorrow morning.

dammyd46:
wow, mind blowing i could not stop laughing myself at the end you are always on point. Nice work sir

Thanks a lot for being a loyal fan... I really appreciate you. It is because of people like you I get the motivation to keep writing, through the ups and downs of life.

Also, thanks YINKS89, I really appreciate you and all the other fans of my stories.

He was parked on the side of the road now, with C Caution in place, trying to make calls, but no one was picking up. He felt chilly, and he didn’t know if it was the cool breeze from the Lekki lagoon that was responsible for that or the fear of being robbed. He always prided himself for being a physically fit guy, but the packs on his chest won’t mean anything if he was approached by guys with guns. A few cars still passed every now and then, but there was no one walking about. Even the police men that were usually at the junction ahead were not there today.
“Hello.” A female voice said
“Whoa! You scared me.” He said in a low voice as he turned around to examine her. She was short and curvy, and had on a black dress, which was why he hadn’t seen her coming.
“This spot is really dangerous. You shouldn’t stay here too long.”
“Thanks. I have a flat tire, my friends will soon come pick me up.” He said.
“You don’t know how to change a tire?”
“I do, but the extra is also bad.”
“Oh! Okay.”
“Yep.”
“I know a place you can stay till tomorrow morning. It’s very cheap.”
“Thanks. But my friends are on their way.” He lied to feel confident.
“Okay. Just don’t stay here too long.” She said and started walking away. He dialed Molano’s number again, and listened as it kept ringing. His eyes were on the strange girl, and as she was about to disappear into the night, he shouted out, “Wait!”

……….

After booking a room, they decided to get some drinks at the bar before retiring for the night. The place was a small motel with 6 rooms lined up on a straight line, with a gated car garage just outside each room. Opposite the rooms was a line of palm trees, and beyond that was the bar, which had five straw roofed small tents scattered around, where people could have some privacy. David was in one of them with his new friend, Mary. He had learned that she was a prostitute from the way she related with the people at the bar, but they hadn’t reached any agreement of sex for pay. All she wanted was a place to sleep.

Bob Marley’s classic song, I Wanna Love You was playing in the main bar and it was funny watching her sing along with her thick Efik accent. She was a very pretty light skinned girl with curves in all the right places. The red lipstick on her supple lips made her appear so enticing to David. He had never been the type to do hookers, but the girl was getting to him.
“Please can I use your phone?” she said in a sexy voice. He hesitated as he usually didn’t like giving out his phone, but reached into his pocket and handed it to her anyway. He took down the last content of his cup and poured himself a full glass of Heineken. His hand went from the cup to his chest to reassure himself his other phone was still in place. For some reason, it felt like he was carrying seven million Naira on him.
“Thanks.” She said and handed him back his phone. “I’m ready to go in whenever you are.”
“Oh! Okay.” David responded and took down half the content of his cup before getting off his seat. “Okay. Let’s go in.”
……….
A small bed, a bedside stool, and a TV were what the room had to offer; standard for a cheap motel. The air-conditioning was really working to the max though, he would give them that. It was so cold he zipped up his jacket instead of getting out of his clothes. Laying face up on one side of the bed, he felt awkward as she started to UnCloth. Sitting on the other side of the bed with her eyes on the TV, she bent down a little to take off her shoes, and then she started to unzip her dress from the side. He couldn’t help but notice her well curved shape, and glowing yellow skin. Her hand stopped all of a sudden halfway, and then she started zipping up again. “I forgot something with the barman.” She said and started wearing her shoes again. “I’ll be right back.”
He watched her walk out of the room and pulled out his phone after she shut the door. He tried to reach Molano again. The phone was still to his ear when the room door opened slowly, and Mary walked in, fear in her eyes. Behind her was a short muscular guy with a shiny bald head, holding a pistol to the back of her head. He pushed her forward, and then pointed the gun at David with the index finger of his left hand up to his lips; signaling to David to keep quiet or else he would get his brains splattered on the room wall. Behind him came a taller, more muscular guy in a black unbuttoned short sleeve shirt, with a white t shirt underneath. The guy moved over to the TV and turned it up to the maximum.

David could remember seeing them at the bar when he first walked into the motel compound with Mary. He could have sworn she set him up, but the fear in her eyes was genuine. His hands were up as he sat in bed, with his back against the wall. The tall guy walked over to him, and started going through his pockets. He found his wallet and pulled out all the cash in there, plus the ATMs, put it in his pocket, and then grabbed David’s phone from him. As the guy went through his phone, the one with the gun kept it pointed at him, but his eyes were on the prostitute. For a second, David felt he could take them both, but he feared that Mary might become a causality of war.
“What’s your First Bank five digit pin?” the guy with his phone shouted out. David guessed he had gotten through his email messages and seen the seven million Naira alert. The one with the gun walked forward and had the gun barrel on David’s head, a move to get him scared. The line in his Smartphone wasn’t connected to his account, so they couldn’t access the account even if he gave them his five digit pin, but then they would get the message that that wasn’t the line connected to the account, and search him for another phone. He didn’t want that to happen, so he just went mute. The guy with the phone moved closer and gave a back hand slap. “I said, what is your five digit code?” He said, slowly this time.

Gun to his face, his whole life flashed through his mind. Are you willing to die for seven million Naira, he thought to himself. If he gave up the phone and his code, Molano and his goons will still kill him anyway, so he just stood still with his hands up; and then came the punch to his face. He had seen people take punches in movies and shake it off like it was nothing, but right now, he felt like he was losing consciousness. He couldn’t even hear what they were saying anymore; all he could hear was a buzzing sound, and his vision had gone blurry. He felt blood trickle down his nose. The two guys were arguing now, and Mary was crying looking at his bloodied up face.

After a few minutes, he regained full consciousness, and the aggressive guy asked him for his code again. When David remained mute, he told his accomplice that they had to take him back to their place. He disappeared into the bathroom, and came back with small bowl with water in it. He reached into his pocket for a handkerchief, handed it over to Mary and ordered her to clean David up. With tears in her eyes, and a shaky hand, she succeeded in wiping all the blood off his face after several minutes. The guy with the gun had tucked it away now, and was pacing the length of the room, restlessly. The other guy was going through David’s phone.
“We have to go now.” The short guy said in a low voice. The mean guy pulled Mary away from David, examined him for a second, and then motioned for him to get up. Although woozy in the head, he managed to stand up on his own. The guy with the gun pulled it out from his back, and waved it at him. “Try any funny moves and I will blow your brains out.” David nodded and the guy put the gun back behind him, held in place by his belt. The taller guy walked out the door first, then the short guy, and then Mary and David.

Outside was quiet as a song had just ended and another slow jam was coming on gradually. The barman was dozing at his stool, and the security man David had seen earlier was nowhere in sight. The short guy got into the driver’s seat of a black 190 Benz, and the other guy held the back door open for David to enter. He stopped Mary from going in after David, and signaled for her to get into the front seat. He looked around before getting into the back seat with David. The heavy engine of the Mercedes Benz came to life, and they drove towards the gate. The security man appeared from nowhere, and with no questions asked, pushed open the gate for them to drive out.

……….

They hadn’t driven far from the motel when the guy started pressing David for his bank pin again. Like earlier, David said nothing. He got vexed and hit David on the mouth with the back of his gun. “Patrick, you want to kill him? Wait till we get to the house.” The guy driving shouted out.
“His silence is pissing me off.”
“Don’t worry, he will talk when we get home.”
“Can I drop off now? I don’t want any money again.” Mary said with a shaky voice.
“Shut up bitch.” The guy said and slapped her head from behind. “Why did you bring us this hard head?”
“I did what you guys said, okay. Just let me drop. And please don’t kill him.”
“Maybe we might just kill you both, bitch.”
When David heard that, his survival instincts kicked in and he head butted the guy with the side of his head. He tried to wrestle the gun out of the guy’s hand, but his grip was still tight on it even as he was in a dazed state. Mary started clawing at the guy driving. Screams, grunts, tires screeching; it was chaos as the car zigzagged along the road.

Three shots rang out in close successions, and the back windshield got shattered. The tall guy was obviously more powerful than David, and in the struggle, he managed to point the gun at David’s groin. Click! Click! He pulled the trigger, but he had run out of bullets. With fear for his life, David had a rush of adrenaline, and he head butted the guy again; this time getting him smack in the face with the back of his head. The gun fell to the floor of the car, and the guy slumped back on the car seat.

The car was moving at a slow speed now as Mary was still kicking and clawing the other guy. David opened the back door and jumped out of the car. Just then, the driver stopped the car, gave Mary a resounding slap that sent her to sleep, and then he put the car in reverse. He moved in reverse for a bit, and then he swerved the car around, hitting David in the process, and sending him flying in the air. He landed hard on the sidewalk with a big thud. The guy came out of the car, and hurried over to where David lay on the sidewalk. He released the safety of the pistol, pointed it at David and pulled the trigger. Click! Click! Click! “Shiit! Patrick had the gun with the bullets.” He said as he kicked David angrily in the face, and rushed back into the car. He looked at David's unconscious body on the sidewalk through the rare-view mirror. “Lucky freaking bastard.” He said with a frown on his face before zooming off.

The End

I have divided it into two parts for easy reading. The other part/concluding part will be up in an hour. Remember, this is a short-short story, so when you see 'the end' that's the end of the story.

The Midnight Encounter
By
Olumide Odusanya

© 2018 Olumide Odusanya

It was 5:35am on a Friday morning and traffic on Ozumba Mbadiwe road in Lagos was building up. Fancy air-conditioned company buses, public buses, and private cars kept switching lanes every now and then, trying to get to their destinations faster. Just by the bridge that linked Victoria Island and Ikoyi was a lifeless body, facedown. Even though it was an eyesore for this part of town, nobody took a second look at the sight.

A homeless woman walked past the body pulling her toddler son along. After walking a few meters away from the body, she stopped, assumed a squatting position and whispered something in the boy’s ear. He nodded and ran back to the body, knelt down beside it, and started going through the man’s pockets. He didn’t come up with anything, till he struggled to squeeze his hand underneath the jacket of the unconscious man. A smile appeared on his face as his hand came up with a small phone. Just then, the man grabbed him by the wrist, and he screamed, dropping the phone in the process. He ran off to his mom, and they hurried away from the scene.

The man rolled over and squinted as the street lights got in his eyes. Coughing continuously, he struggled to assume a sitting position. He dusted off sand from his face, as he moaned in pain. His face was a swollen mess, with patches of dried up blood here and there. His blue jeans was ripped on the right side just below the knee, and one leg of his white sneakers was nowhere in sight. Memories came flashing in rapid successions and then feared gripped him. He gritted his teeth as he tried to stand using his right hand for support; his shoulder hurt badly and he fell back on his butt. He took a deep breath, did nothing for a few seconds, and then laid his left hand on the ground for support as he sprang himself up.

His barefoot kicked something as he staggered off. When he turned around, he saw it was his portable Nokia phone. He went down gently, picked up the phone, and continued his walk to the bus stop just underneath the bridge. Pedestrians got out of his way, and people in their cars stared at him strangely. He dusted off the phone, and with shaky hands, typed in a code. A response text came in almost immediately. He closed his eyes for a second as if summoning courage, and then opened the text. A smile crept up his bruised up face when he read the content, and then he started laughing as tears flowed down his eyes.


6 Hours Earlier

David was speeding through the freeway in his Camry, bopping his head to some hip hop music; a smile on his face from the money he had just made. He was the manager of one of the hottest music stars in the country, and they had just scored their biggest gig to date; a two hour appearance at a senator’s birthday bash, and the pay was twenty thousand dollars, which was equivalent of seven million Naira. Standard agent fee was ten percent, so his share out of the money was seven hundred thousand Naira.

With his two hands on the wheel while singing along to Kiss Daniel’s No Do song, he pulled out his Nokia phone from the breast pocket of the shirt he had underneath his jacket. One eye on the road, he dialed the *894# code for his bank’s mobile banking, and followed instructions to check his balance. He got a message shortly that showed he had N7,035,000 in his account. Usually, with his other clients, the money was transferred to the artists’ record label account, before he got his share. But, Molano, his latest artist was a maniac drug addict with about a dozen goons following him to every show, and he didn’t usually trust himself with large sums of money when he was in a drug induced state, so he normally liked to have all the money transferred to David, and then have David take his cut and then transfer his lion share to him the morning after.

‘David, are you sure you don’t need one of my boys to drive behind you? This is a whole lot of money.’ Molano had told him as he was leaving the party venue a few minutes ago, but he reminded Molano that they hadn’t been paid in cash, and they both laughed.

As he made the bend from the Lekki-Expressway to join Ozumba Mbadiwe road, he put the phone back in his pocket, and revved up his car engine. He hadn’t gone far when the car wheel started wobbling in his hands, and he realized he had a flat tire. “Shiit!” he cursed under his breath.

Yea, he is I, and I am him. Kayode Odusanya is Olumide Odusanya when he is writing crime stories.

Hope you enjoy this short-short story.

madukovich:
Hmmmmmmn! Longest time. How you dey Sir?

I'm cool.

Madukovich my friend before before. How you dey? This is Kayode Odusanya.

Chapter 8

The waterfall had seven levels and it felt like a video game to her. While her other course-mates stopped to take pictures at each level, she dragged Tolu on to keep climbing. They were at the third stage now, and as they ascended to the fourth, they got to an abandoned settlement. Empty mud huts that were once inhabited by people littered the plateau.

After going through the empty huts, and taking a few pictures, they walked over to sit by the cliff of the mountain because Tolu complained about being fatigued. Forty feet down below was a cluster of close to seventy people, ascending at a very slow pace. “I think it would take them at least half an hour to catch up with us.” Tiwatope said and turned to look at Tolu, who looked lost. He had the same expression on his face like when he first got on the bus that morning. She just wished he would tell her what was bothering him. When he caught her staring at him, he forced a smile on his face.

“So...tell me about yourself.”
"What would you like to know?" She asked.
"Yea, tell me about your family." He said excitedly.
“Well…I don’t have much of a family.”
“How is that?” He said and moved closer to her.
“Umm! I’m sorry, but I don’t feel like talking about that right now.”
“Okay.”
They sat quietly for a couple of minutes before Tiwatope broke the silence with, “Back in the 90s, a middle aged Norwegian couple lived next to an Orphanage somewhere in Apapa, Lagos. My dad was one of the orphans at the orphanage.”
“Okay.”
“The Norwegian expatriates had one child; my mom. They didn’t want her mixing with the locals, so they never let her out to play.” She leaned forward to check the progress of their other course-mates before continuing with, “My mom started sneaking out at night while her parents slept, and with time, she and my dad became friends. They were both in their late teens at the time.” She stopped to clear her throat before adding, “One thing led to another, and my mom got pregnant for my dad.”
“Hmm!”
“My mom’s parents were furious and wanted her to get an abortion, but she ran away with my dad before that could happen.”
“How did they survive?”
“The police caught them the same day, and locked my dad up.”
“Why?”
“My dad was 19, and my mom was 17. My mom’s parents claimed statutory rape.”
“Oh!”
“Yea, but my mom wouldn’t have it, so she started breaking things in the house and threatening to kill herself, till my dad was released.”
“Wow!”
“The orphanage didn’t like the controversy, plus my dad was getting too old, so after he got released from the police station, they sent him off to be a cook for a young couple; the Ogundeji’s.”
“That's interesting.” He said with a puzzled look on his face.
“Yea, that’s where I got my surname from. My dad was from Cross River, but the Ogundeji’s took him in as theirs, even though they were just about eight or nine years older than him.”
“So, technically speaking, you are a Calabar-Norwegian girl?” He said with a smile.
“Yea, technically speaking.” She said and laughed lightly.
“So, what happened? I mean with your mom and dad.”
The smile on her face was quickly replaced by a faraway look. “My mom died during child birth.”
“Oh! I’m sorry to hear that.”
“My maternal grandparents didn’t want me because I looked too African, so they had a deal with the Ogundeji’s and dropped me off with my Dad.” She leaned forward to look at how far her course-mates had come before continuing with, “The Ogundeji’s took care of me till I was around three, and my dad and I left their house.”
“Okay.”
“It was just me and my Dad in our two room apartment, running a small restaurant my Dad had opened not too far from where we lived. We didn’t have anyone except the Ogundeji’s as family.”
“Okay.”
“My dad took real good care of me till he died two years ago…hit and run situation.” She said as tears flowed down her eyes. Tolu moved in closer to her, and put his arm around her shoulder. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and continued with, “I technically killed my mom, my grandparents rejected me, but my Dad’s love kept me sane. When he passed, I went off the tangent. I didn't care about anything anymore.” She didn’t sob, but the tears continued to flow, and Tolu couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say, so he just kept quiet.

After a few minutes of silence, Tiwatope got up from her sitting position, wiped tears from her face, dusted her bum, and rolled up her shirt sleeves. “And that’s the Tiwatope Ogundeji story.” She said as she walked over to the edge of the cliff, looked down, and then hurried back to where he was seated with her hand outstretched. He shook it, and she pulled him up. “Come on. Let’s at least get to the forth waterfall before they catch up with us.”

Chapter 7

Being students of Geography, their professor had thought it logical to take them on a field trip that allowed them the opportunity to see some of the natural phenomena they read about in their textbooks. Their first stop after leaving Lagos was the Meteorological station in Osun state; now they were at the Erin Ijesha waterfalls in the same state. The students had been bored at the first stop, but their spirits came to life seeing the high mountain walls and how water naturally fell from the top.

Tiwatope had fallen asleep on Tolu’s shoulder and he gave her a nudge as their other course-mates started getting off the bus. Her eyes slowly opened as her mind adjusted to the reality around her. She lifted her head off his shoulder shot him a lazy smile before looking out the bus window. The driver had turned the bus around and her side of the bus was facing the waterfall. The continuous sound of water hitting rocks was music to her ears. The air around the place felt so fresh and clean.

Mr. Okereke, the professor’s assistant had a paper in his hand as he asked students to gather round for a roll call. A couple of students had walked off from the bus’s location with their phones out, trying to get the best shot of the waterfall for their Instagram pages. Tiwa looked up the mountain walls, which was dotted with teenagers in white on blue school uniforms climbing up the mountain. They looked so enthusiastic, but all she could think about was the possibility of one of them falling off. She shook her head and turned around to Tolu.
“Are you fully awake now?” He asked and she smiled as she rubbed her eyes. He got off his seat and reached for his bag in the overhead luggage rack. “Let me give you something.” She peered over to look as he rummaged through his bag. And then he brought out a small silver flask, about the size of a regular coke bottle. “Aha! I found it; my natural energy booster.”
She had a curious look on her face as she said, “what’s that?”
He ignored her and opened the flask; steam escaped the top like Aladdin had just rubbed his lamp and the genie was materializing from it. “It’s still hot. Let me give you a cap full.” He said and slowly poured some of the content in the flask cover.
“Did I agree to drink whatever that is?” she said and leaned in. “It smells like ginger.”
“Yea; it’s a blend of ginger and turmeric water. Great natural energy booster.” He put it near her mouth and she moved back with a scowl on her face. He looked at her for a second and then drank the content of the flask cover. He shook off the bad taste and then proceeded to pour another cap full.

“Tiwatope Ogundeji!” Mr. Okereke called out her name and she shouted out, “Yes!” He looked at her for a couple of seconds before bowing his head to mark her name on the register, and then going on to call out another names.

“It’s getting cold.” Tolu said and she turned to face him. They were the only two left on the bus now, and from the corner of her eye, she could see the driver spying on them with the rare view mirror. She sighed, collected the flask cover from him and took down the content in one go. Her face screwed up as she handed the flask cover back to him.