₦airaland Forum

Glad you like it. How do you see that Mary girl?

If you do good things, you are good. If you do bad things, you are bad. The so-called demon prevented Chima from killing people while at the same time it prevented people from killing him. That doesn't sound like something a wicked spirit would do. It sounds like something you and I would do if we had the powers!

The "evil" spirit could have protected him without asking him not to kill people, but it decided to ask him not to kill. Does this mean that demons are opposed to bloodshed? I think we need more of such demons in Nigeria!

After writing this story, I decided to change Ali-Joshua to a woman. The result was:
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-23944.0.html

This story is still evolving. Each time I post a new version I learn something new. Thanks for reading me!

// Alli-Joshua is reclining on a sofa, working on a laptop, wearing a simple shirt on shorts.

ALLI: (thought)
Damn, I lost the game again. If I’m so smart, why can’t win a mere computer at chess?

It boggles the mind. Hehe.

Living by myself, talking to myself, laughing to myself.

Pursuing my goals, in my way, for myself. Only taking orders from I, me, myself.

Can this way of life bring fulfillment?

I want to do something that makes a difference.

I want to live forever

-- in people’s minds. I want to be a --

-- super man.

// someone (Mercy) knocks the door of his house and Alli looks up

ALLI (thought):
Why can’t people call before showing up at your doorstep?

ALLI:
Hold on, I’ll be right there!

// Alli sets aside his laptop and goes to open the front door. He sees a young lady with several bags.

LADY:
Is this the home of one Mr. Joshua-Alli?

ALLI:
Yes.

// Lady stretches out her hand to greet Alli

LADY:
My name is Mercy. Maryam-Mercy. I’d like to see Mr. Joshua-Alli.

ALLI:
Ok, you can come in.

ALLI (thinking):
The professor’s daughter is practically a woman already. How time flies!

MERCY:
Can you help me with my bags please?

// Alli frowns at that but helps Mercy with her bags.

MERCY (thinking):
Oh dear, the doorman seems to be offended by my request, though I didn’t mean any harm.

// With her bags safely inside Alli’s living room, Mercy invites herself unto a sofa and looks around.

MERCY:
May I speak with Mr Joshua please?

// Alli sits down beside his laptop and flashes a wry smile

ALLI:
Yes, you may.

MERCY:
Wait a minute, are you the Mr. Joshua Alli I’m looking for?

// Alli nods.

MERCY (thought):
Damnit, he didn’t dress like a millionaire at all.

He’s probably going to throw me out for being rude. There goes my accommodation!

MERCY:
Sir, I’m sorry for what I asked you to do the other time. I didn’t know it was

ALLI:
A few months ago, your father called to tell me that you might be dropping by soon.

MERCY (relieved):
He did?

ALLI:
You couldn’t get hostel accommodation, so you want to stay with me for a while, right?

MERCY:
Yes sir.

ALLI:
I’ll allow it on one condition: you must stop calling me “sir”.

I’m not much older than I look, you know. I am yet to celebrate my 27th birthday.

So please feel free to address me as “Alli”. Ok?

MERCY:
Yes, sir.

// Alli chuckles while Mercy’s face turns red with embarrassment

MERCY:
Can I call you “uncle”?

ALLI:
You can call me whatever you want, ma.

// Alli gestures smilingly towards a passageway

ALLI:
Your room is over there. I hope you like it.

Let me help you with your bags.

MERCY:
Uncle, it would be an insult for me to ask for your help with something like this.

It’s my duty as a young person to run errands for those older than me, and not vice versa.

// Alli smiles and goes back to working on his PC.
ALLI:
You know what? I think you’re right. I’ll just go back to my work.

MERCY (thinking):
This man has no shame. I was expecting him to say, “don’t worry, I’ll help”.

ALLI:
Mercy, your father is the man that inspired me when I was most in need of it.

If you find anything in this house useful, it’s yours.

Don’t forget to check out the kitchen!

(We see Mary Best sitting on a rug in her living room, working on a notebook computer anchored on her knee, with her back to the single chair she has)

MARY (thought): I can’t believe I made so much money this month. Yes! My current savings will last at least 5 years. I think it’s time for me to start planning my super-woman project.

(Next, we see John standing in front of the door of a house. He hits the door)

MARY (thought): Oh no, not another august visitor. I hate it when people don’t call before showing up at your doorstep. And it’s not as if they don’t have mobile phones – they are just being inconsiderate.

(John continues knocking the door hard)

JOHN (thought): She has to be at home. I have nowhere else to go!

JOHN: Mary, it’s me!

MARY (thought): That’s a lovely baritone voice, but I don’t recognize it at all, and I don’t think I’m acquainted with anybody called “me”.

JOHN: Mary, are you in? Please open the door!

(John continues to knock the door of Mary’s house. Back inside, Mary continues to ignore the person at the door)

MARY (thought):
Besides, I’m not in the mood to accommodate visitors right now. I’m just too busy. Maybe he’ll leave if I pretend not to be at home. Maybe, if I just keep quiet,--

JOHN: Mary, it’s John Doe, Your baby brother!

MARY (thought): !

(Mary drops her laptop on the table next to her and rises to open the door)

MARY (thought): How did he find out where I live? I hope he hasn’t leaked the information to my parents. That would cause too much trouble; I don’t even want to think about it.

MARY (whispering to self): Mary, calm down. One step at a time. Open the door.

(Mary opens the door to see John. He’s darker and taller than she is. His goofy smile shows off perfect teeth.)

JOHN: I found you!

(She stretches her right hand towards his chin as she wipes a lone tear off her cheek and smiles)

MARY: How?

JOHN: I don’t think I can tell you --–

MARY: Why not let’s sit down first? I have only one sofa but we can manage.

JOHN (thought): Wonders shall never end. Has Mary completely changed?

JOHN: Ok. Help me with my bags.

(At this, Mary rebuked him with her eyes)

MARY: If you think you can ---

JOHN: Ok, I’ll say it nicely. Please, sister, will you help me with my bags?

MARY: Ok. Bring me the lightest one!

JOHN (thought): When we were growing up, Mary had no interest in guests and how to them feel at home. She was more concerned about whether their visits were “necessary”. If not, she was inclined to send them back. Obviously, she has not changed!

(Finally, they get to their respective seats and Mary picks up the laptop again)

JOHN: So this is why you wanted us to sit down first? You haven’t changed at all!

MARY: That’s because, you see, people never change. Adults, to be more specific. You know the last group of people who don’t change? Parents! (winks)

JOHN: Don’t tell me that you’re still bitter at daddy and mummy.

MARY: And what if I am?

JOHN: You’re rich, and you’re famous. You should be able to forgive them now.

MARY: I’m not famous ---

JOHN: On the Internet, you are!

MARY: Bingo. So that’s how you found me.

JOHN (thought): Dammit. She tricked me into revealing my secret.

MARY: I hope you haven’t told daddy and mummy. That would cause too much trouble.

JOHN: It won’t cause as much trouble as your disappearing act.

MARY (thought): That means he didn’t tell them. I can read him like a book.

MARY: It’s not my fault that they were shocked by my leaving. I made it clear to each one of you that I was going to disappear for a few years on the eve of my eighteenth birthday. I made it so clear.

JOHN: But they didn’t believe you. None of us took you seriously.

MARY: And whose fault is that?

JOHN: Good point, it seems, but do you know that what you did tore mom and dad apart? Do you know how much they suffered?

MARY: Thanks to you, they didn’t suffer quite as much as one would expect.

JOHN: They brought you into this world. They fed you, clothed you, educated you, and brought you up in the way they felt was best for you as a woman. And you disappeared just like that. Isn’t that ungrateful of you?

MARY: According to my way of thinking, it was not.

JOHN: Your way of thinking is too selfish in my opinion.

MARY: Who asked you?


JOHN: I’m sure you can justify all your actions with dry logic, but I don’t want to hear any of it.

MARY: If that were so, you wouldn’t be talking to me.

JOHN: Miss Know-It-All.

MARY: Mister Cute And Lovable.

(John can’t hold back the smile)

JOHN: You should at least have called to say “hi, I’m alive”.

MARY: I forgot your mobile phone number. Perhaps you should have posted it on that little blog you started 6 months ago?

JOHN (hotly): You have some nerve, woman. Blaming me for not contacting you when you’re the one who disappeared. You could easily have checked the fucking phone number through my fucking blog by using any whois database!

(Mary falls back into her seat and holds her head)

MARY: Unbelievable! I went through all that trouble to secure my anonymity and I yet was stupid enough to use my real address during domain registration.

JOHN (thought): Damnit, she tricked me again. My sister is a fox.

JOHN: Ok, you got me there, but if you were so paranoid about privacy how could you forget to close that security hole?

MARY: Somehow it just skipped my mind.

(Through her laptop, Mary starts fixing the security lapse that made it possible for John to find her.)

JOHN: So you have wireless Internet access on your laptop.

MARY: Yes.

JOHN: Can I use it tonight?

MARY: Tonight? Won’t you be staying at a hotel or something?

JOHN: I’m staying here!

MARY: Well I hope you can afford it.

JOHN: What? You’re going to charge your own brother for staying in your house?

MARY: Of course. Nothing is free in life. Not even food!

JOHN: You’re not serious.

MARY: John, what if I offer you a part-time job that you will use to pay for accommodation in this house? You have certain talents I lack.

JOHN: Isn’t that manipulation? I thought you said you hate manipulation.

MARY: (sigh) Ok, I’m not going to charge you for your current stay. But I know you very well. You want to spend your housing allowance on something else and stay here even after resumption.

JOHN: Resumption?

MARY: John Doe, fresh student of International Relations at the Central University of Afriland. I know everything!

JOHN: So you’ve been following my life like this yet you couldn’t be bothered to make one phone call?

MARY: I’m sorry. It was not as straightforward as you think.

JOHN: Is anything ever straightforward with you?

MARY: It’s not my fault, it’s the way life is.

JOHN: Are the rest of us not living the same life? Why must you always be different?

MARY: I can’t live your life. I can only live mine.

(They spend some time just staring into space. Then Mary slips her hand into John’s hand.)

MARY: I’m going to contact Daddy and Mummy tonight, but I won’t tell them where I live yet. I’m not yet ready for an emotional reunion. Please understand.

JOHN: I don’t understand it, but I guess I’ll have to accept it. (smiling) Afterall, I don’t want my landlord to throw me out of her house!

MARY: That’s the spirit. Hope you haven’t forgotten offer? –

JOHN: But first, I need to eat. First rule of hospitality, feed your guest!

MARY: In the fridge, there are two packs of friend rice and fish. Take one and warm it in my microwave. Fortunately, we have power at this time. You’ll also find some fruits and drinks.

JOHN (thinking): Well, at least she told me where to get the food. That’s an improvement. When we were young, she never cared for the role of hostess.

JOHN: What about you?

MARY: Don’t worry, I’ll find something to snack on. My housekeeper will be around tomorrow morning to prepare more food.

JOHN: You have a housekeeper?

MARY: How do you think I keep this place clean? You know how much I hate housework. *chuckles*

MARY (thinking): And tomorrow morning, Deborah is going to show him hell.

---

This is the unedited draft of the first chapter of the story of a great capitalist woman that I was working on. I hope this chapter is something that you can enjoy, because I'm going to start the story afresh.

The spirit he was "delivered from" protected his life, and was opposed to war.

If the "evil spirit" had not protected him earlier, he would have been dead. The same "evil spirit" prevented him from killing people in a war. That doesn't sound like an evil spirit or demon to me. It sounds like an angel.

Most women are not interested in solutions. They just want to talk about their problems. It's annoying!