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Nuru marli thought it was going to go well with him proposing love to Mr X's daughters.
On the other hand, they told him that they can't allow him to marry anyone of them because they both are still studying in the university.
This poured cold water in Nuru Marli 's heart. He now knew the extent to which people can go.
Silently, without agitating, cursing or abusing, he left the place.
Though he was their regular customer, that will be the last commodity that he will buy from their shop. And he is to return no more.
Well this life is a war, you win some and you lose some. This was not his first denial and it won't be his last. During his Youth Corps, the first girl that he approached also said no.
Now he is getting used to being heart broken.


to be continued........

Sometimes if the tenants remit their bills to Richmond , he will spend it. This usually annoys the landlord angry. He does no business nor work. His only. business is to collect house rent. Where as his son works with a shoe factory along Musgroove Industrial Area.
There was a day that they had a cloth tearing fight. It was the neighbours that settled the quarrel. Richmond had collected hundreds of thousands of naira but he didn't give a kobo to his father, Mr Vista, the landlord.
Vista cursed him saying that he will not become successful in life , that he shall continue to wallow in poverty.
That day Richmond was already drunk, all he kept repeating was that he will beat Vista, his dad.
So you just imagine a kind of man that doesn't inculcate good morals and ethics in his children, what can you expect from such a person.
Nuru Marli thought as he collected his phone, greeted and stood to leave.
"Thank you sir" he greeted hypocritically and zoomed off.


************\\
FIRST LOVE

Mrs X was a shop owner. She resides about two to three streets from Nuru Marli's house. Her shop also was close to his house. She had knew her for a very along time . This was because he usually retail clothes sold by his sister Yemi Alade to her. This was when he was in secondary school.
He had thus built a good relationship with Mrs X. Mrs X had three children, two girls and a boy..
The boy Charles was the firstborn while Natasha and Chinoye were the younger sisters.
Nuru Marli is in love with Natasha, Mrs X's second child. He usually visit her shop to buy groceries, salt maggi, rice, spaghetti, macaroni, indomie, butter, egg etc.

This made him to let them viewbhim as their regular customer.
Sometimes if he doesn't have money to pay, he will beg them to be lenient with him till the end of the month.
When he collects his salary, he will pay. This has been on going for some months hitch free without hiccups.

Mr X was a tailor. His shop was situated beside Mrs X 's shop. Both husband and wife's shop were beside each other.
Nuru Marli knew the three children earlier before in his previous school where he taught. They were his students there.
Also when he was a kid, his dad MrA usually sow clothes for them at Mr X's shop.


to be continued....

THE BARGAIN

Immediately everybody in the building came out and were asking each other what was happening.
"Here he is!" Richmond said pointing at Nuru Marli
"Aaaaah!!!" Everybody screamed.
"He usually come inside the building at night to steal, he stole our generator's wire."
"Aaaaaah!!" the people screamed.
"Our motorcycle too!" he continued
"Aaah"
".....our extra tyre" he lied moreover.
"Aaaah Jesus Christ" Mrs Joy added.
"So you are a thief? What do you want to say? You want to deny? You want to deny abiii? If I punch you!!"

Without hesitating, he landed series of hot blows on Nuru Marli's head, mouth, nose and ear.
Dumbfoundedly and stupidly, Nuru Marli agreed with him. If he didn't, he might get mobbed or lynched.
"Yes! Yes!!. I am the one. I stole them." he lied with a swollen mouth and rubber thick lips.
"Call Matthew, let's carry him to the police station" Richmond told his friends and bystanders.
He had one of them holding his phone videoing Nuru Marli. He said that he will upload it to WhatsApp and all social media for everyone to see and know that him, Nuru Marli is a die hard thief. This will spoil his image and further blackmail him.
He went out arrogantly, high with adrenaline and swelling with pride.
He opened the gate and drove out his Rover 620i.
"Oya get inside" he barked.
"Silently, Nuru Marli got inside alongside Matthew, the police officer.
Matthew was sitting beside the driver and it was Richmond himself that drove.
He passed the first junction in front of the house and everything was dead silent inside the car.
" You better start talking now" Matthew yelled looking back to face Nuru Marli at the back seat.
"Please sir, don't take me to police station, I don't have anyone here in Instanbul, my mum and dad reside at Berlin. Please, Please let me drop my phone, it can carry the expenses of the bills that I owe. When it is month ending, I will bring the money please I beg you in the name of God, please let me go"
"Shut up"
"Shut the fvck up!"
"You this nincompoop"
"You know that you will pay all this while and you never made arrangements about how you will pay? Instead you thought that you were smart and can quickly leave like that without paying?" Richmond retorted.
" I didn't want to leave like that, I planned to inform the landlord tomorrow morning that I will pay my bills. We haven't been paid for last months salary and today is tenth of May. That was why I was still owing"
"You lying piece of shit" Matthew cuts in.
"Didn't you tell me that you are from Instanbul here and that you work at a pharmaceutical company? Now you are saying you are a teacher. Which one should we believe now huh? he continued with displeasure written boldly on his face.
" Please sir, please, help me to beg him , Please! I don't have anyone to bail me please."
Matthew muttered something into Richmond's ear and they both came out of the car.
It was only Nuru Marli that remained inside. Minutes later, Samuel, one of the neighbours entered and sat inside beside Nuru Marli.
Matthew peeped from the drivers side and spoke to Nuru Marli.
"Give him that your phone that you have, let him check it"
Nuru Marli brought out his Itel Android and placed it in Samuel's big parlour. He perused and studied every dot and wrinkle on it for some minutes.
"Is it worth nine thousand five hundred naira? " Mathew asked.
" Yes, it is worth it sir!"
"OK" he nodded in approval.
"Oya get out. You are going to sign an undertaking or agreement that immediately byou collect this month's salary, you will pay the money that you owe."
"Yes sir, Yes sir. Okay sir" Nuru Marli said , he has sobbed and cried like hell.
"This is the paper, take!" Mathew commanded him.
"I Nuru Marli will pay back the sum of nine thousand five hundred naira........."
"Write what it is meant for there.......,"
"...............being the bill for NEPA and security this week ending"
"Aaaah, you fool, where will you get money from ? Today is twelfth of May. You better change it to end of the month."
"OK sir!" Nuru Marli answered as he crossed out the date and wrote a new one.
" Idiot!! Next time come rent house for here!!" Matthew tonguelashed him.

One of the neighbours who viewed all what happened grabbed Nuru Marlo's hand and downloaded gigabytes of advice into his thick skull.
"Yeees Sir. Thank you Sir" he thanked him.
That was how God bailed Nuru Marli out of a near-death-near- mockery state.
It was the most humiliating day in his life.
Well life is a motion, it keeps moving. And some will say after crying, the next thing is to smile.
Inna ma al usri yusroh!








†*†******************************
LIFE GOES ON



News of how Nuru Marli was humiliated have travelled like wild fire from Antelope Road to Mushroom Road like WiFi.
Fear people, they are capable of anything, here we are talking of six streets distance. Well like most will say, good news doesn't sell like bad news.

Some of his fellow staff at EXCEL &SUCCESS ACADEMY, 32, Mushroom Avenue, Jakarta Park, Instanbul were aware of what Nuru Marli went through in the hands of crazy and ill- wishing landlords.
They just kept mum as if nothing had happened.
Nuru Marli decided not to tell anyone about it. He just moved on.
After collecting his month salary , he would just buy the items he has listed on his opportunity cost and enjoy himself at home.
Light was a bit better these days. After teaching the students Pythagoras theorem and Quadratic Equations, he would just get home, eat and sleep. No one to talk to , and no friend to keep company.

At five o clock in the evening, he usually visit the nearest assembly. It is usually held at Instanbul High Academy.
There, grown men like the age of his father and some guys a little bit older than him converge to discuss vital issues like politics, sports, marital life etc.

He got to know the spot one evening when he went to watch ball at the secondary school's field.
His elder sister, Yemi Alade now accuses him of not visiting her frequently.
Earlier he used to fetch water for her, play with her kids and stay with them for hours. But right now, its twig cuts, bird flies.

Weeks later, Nuru Marli collected his salary and he went to pay his debt.
He had learnt the hard way.
Next time, he will not fvck with landlords or their sons about bills.


****************
THE DEBT

He went to Antelope Road. Two to three streets were connected to each other by footpaths that vehicles cannot pass through except legs.
The three storeyed edifice was still there.
He was looking helter skelter for the landlord. His phone was with him. They switched it off the day he was humiliated, that was why he was keen to collect it back.
"Let me just give them their money and leave" he thought in his mind.


The landlord was relaxing on an old retractable chair outside the second building. He was in his seventies. Though there were grey hair on his head, you could hardly tell that he is an old man.
"Ah welcome son!" he greeted Nuru Marli.
"Have a sit here!" he said pointing to a white plastic chair.
Angrily, Nuru Marli sat beside him like a hungry lion waiting for it's prey.
He listener to the gibberish and balderdash that the old man had to say before he presented the nine thousand five hundred naira in his hands to him.
"I hope they have explained what the money was meant for" he asked.
"Yes they said it is for NEPA bill and security"
"Oh K!!" he said with his gums showing blank tooth.

Nuru Marli had heard earlier that he usually fights with his son Richmond over house rent, electricity bill and security bills. Sometimes if the tenants remit their



to be continued.....