₦airaland Forum

Well done. You've got a beautiful way with words.

So sad.

Nice update. Looking forward to more �

Thanks for the mention. At least this time I'll start the story with others. Yay.

You're doing well for a new writer.
If I may suggest one thing, it would be to use the "double quotation" marks when your character is actively talking. I believe it makes your work easier to read.
Keep writing.

Maybelconor:
Hmmmm, when one has been pencilled down for destruction it cannot be evaded no matter how hard you try. Nice update Seunla

Thanks.

Favouritetega:
Thanks for the mention, following closely.

Thanks

...and once again the day is saved thanks to VS lingerie.

Wow.
I wish there were a clapping emoticon.
It was full of suspense.

FreshestManny:
OMG! He never expected it. Beautiful update.

He didn't. Poor guy, after all the hard work.
Thank you for reading

koraydayazeez:
I'm new here too....still trying to figure it out. That your first story ehn...so disgusting and so on point! Couldn't stop reading...I'll be posting a few stories here too..Please check my profile. I'm still not sure how this thing works lol

I will. Welcome to Literature section

Augustap:
Thanks for the mention dearie. You're da BOMB

You're welcome.

rchilee:
Good

Thanks.

Augustap FreshestManny Frankenstein Favouritetega Maybelconor patjane eROCK247 MatrixA

Everybody (that is not a plagiarist) is welcome abeg.

One of the many blogs on writing I follow, advices writers to write short stories in a sitting before you start to prune and what not. So, I finally did it. In one sitting instead of the usual three days it takes me to convert brain files to PDF, I wrote the story you're about to read. So forgive any typos because me I don tire.
Enjoy, feedback....feedback.
**************************
This is a WORK OF FICTION and as such any resemblance to actual persons, dead or alive, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.
© Ufuoma .K. Oluwaseun



August, 2014.
Nigeria (An alternative universe of some sort)

President Keke scrutinized the food his chef had neatly placed on the table. His face was cloaked with a mixture of suspicion and fear. His eyes bounced from the bowls of rice, chicken, coleslaw, assorted meats and fried plantains to the head of the presidential stewards.

He cleared his throat as he picked up the gold plated cutlery "Have these been tested?", he made a sweeping motion with his scrawny hands.

The head steward nodded. " Yes sir."

President Keke eyed him warily, the man returned the look with one of boredom "...and they all passed the toxicology tests? No poisons?"

The head steward nodded again. "I made sure of it sir. No poisons."

The president dropped his cutlery "Can I see the tox reports then? Please? You know you're the only one I trust." He paused, then with a sigh picked up the cutlery again and fiddled with it "Bring the tox report to me." He demanded.

The head steward exhaled and dug into his pocket "Here you go....", He handed the sheets of paper over to the president.

"You had it all along and you let me ask? Mr. Akpan you're incorrigible...." The president chastised as he studied the report.

"Sir, with all due respect, you have got to stop being a slave to some..." He paused, searching for the right word. Akpan knew he had to tread carefully. "...some past curse of some sort".

The president's head jerked up, his paranoid look morphed into a scowl. " Some past curse?" He queried with disbelief. "Some past curse of some sort? Tell that to my dead wife and children."

His face softened "There is no of some sort in the curse. That old hag cursed me and two months later my lovely family is wiped out by some...some cyanide poisoning in eba" his voice broke "It is unbelievable, who dies after eating eba?".

" I am really sorry for your loss sir, the old hag in question was delusional at the time of her death" said Akpan "It has been five years sir, you have to find a way to move on, you are so lean because you hardly eat, this paranoia has to stop...people think you are sick..."

"She wasn't delusional" Keke interrupted, he leaned into his chair and continued "I went to see her in her hospital room..you know, pay a sort of homage to those affected by that unfortunate event, you know...."

"The one where foreign companies were dumping toxic wastes into the water of a small rural village and you did nothing?" Akpan completed, shuffling his feet.

Keke shot him a dirty look and cracked open a bottle of water "You are so lucky we are friends, you say the most disrespectful things.

Akpan's lip curved upwards " Well, if I wasn't overworked....I'm doing the work of your advisor and heading the presidential kitchen".

Keke smirked at him. "It isn't as simple as you think, I didn't know about the disposal of toxic waste into the water until it was late..." He sighed. "What do I have NESREA for huh?" He held up the water in Akpan's direction.

Akpan nodded, "The water is not poisoned Mr. President".

Keke took a sip of water, recapped the bottle and said "..So I went to see the people affected by the incident, I reached the bedside of this old lady" He paused and rubbed at his eyes before continuing "...and she is muttering something I can't hear, I lean in and she whispers that my whole family and I would be wiped out by poison because I allowed her people to be ravaged by poison and before I can collect myself , she dies right there.." He chuckles sourly "It is like something from the movies but...here we are".

" Sir" said Akpan "I still believe it is a coincidence, can you please eat...so I can go back to my duty post...my leg hurts.."

"You can go...you don't need to babysit me..."

"Oh but I do...you aren't eating much...your paranoia is getting worse with time".

" I don't think I have much of an appetite. Can you ring my doctor? I think I might have malaria."

Akpan grinned "Malaria...the great equalizer. Who would believe it if I told them that the president had malaria like the rest of us huh?"

Keke's countenance brightened, rubbing at his temples, he said. "Go and call the doctor, Akpan".

"I'm going sir".
****************************
2 hours later.

"Can you describe your symptoms to me?" The doctor asked as she listened to his heartbeat with a stethoscope.

"Fever, weakness,pain" Keke answered in an almost inaudible tone from underneath a grey blanket. His teeth chattered as he talked.

"I talked to Akpan, he said you were fine a few hours ago. I have to give you an injection okay? It would act faster than the tablet and that's what you need right now."

”Okay" Keke muttered watching as the doctor prepared the injection. Few moments later, she injected him.

"You know?" She said when she had finished injecting him, "There are many ways a poison can be introduced into the human body "...by inhalation, by oral route, by injection, even through transdermal route" She paused, watching as he struggled to keep his eyes open and then continued "What happens if someone refuses to die by one means?" She answered her own question "You try another...."

Keke fought against the wave of weakness enveloping him "Wh-what have you done?" He slurred.

"What I promised" she replied as the face of the doctor melted away into a face from his past.
***********
Few seconds later, President Keke's doctor was let into the presidential Villa.

FreshestManny:
Thanks a lot for the mention seunnla. I like d update. I'm imagining the look on Edet's face and OMG the facial expression I can see in my mind's eye is so so hilarious. Keep up the good work.

Thanks a lot for reading and the feedback, I couldn't ask for a better feedback. One of my major goals when I write is to create scenarios that the readers can vividly picture. So believe me when I say I appreciate this feedback.

patjane:
Please send me a pm...

I have, please check your mail.

DeadRat:
check Your Mail

I did. I have a problem replying any nairaland email
I've sent you an email.

DeadRat:
i Only Read Your Intro And I Knew You Were the Person I Have Been Lookin For

Thanks.

kennysam91:
. Can I have it pls awogbadekehinde@gmail.com

I'm sorry, it's a hard copy.

Zero day by David Baldacci.

Killing me softly by Bianca Sloane (for the second time, this woman is a beast of a writer).

ajepako:
Sands of Time (Sidney Sheldon)

For the fifth time..

That was the first book by Sheldon I read. Totally fell in love with him thereafter.

matrixA:
wow! I love this! Thanks for the mention tho. And the story is cool too... A LOT!

Thanks.

queenitee:
Eh eh

Um

Name: Ufuoma

Genre: Horror/Thriller/Sci-fi

Books you're writing: Short horror stories to be published on okada books

You can check out some of my works on nairaland.

eROCK247:
So many twists and turns...never a dull moment with u.

Thanks.

Augustap patjane eROCK247 matrixA FreshestManny

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.
© Ufuoma .K. Oluwaseun
She half walked, half limped down the narrow bush path leading to her house. Her shoes were a size too small but she had paid through her nose for the pair of shoes and would rather suffer gangrene than give them up. She sang under her breath, trying to remember the tune to the song that had just been rehearsed at the choir practice. The tune sounded off but she didn't mind, singing always made her feel less afraid every time she had to walk down the lonely road to her house. A cool wind washed over her, she could feel goose bumps sprouting. She quickened her pace. She felt the surrounding bushes go silent. All the sounds emanating from them had stopped. There were no chirping of crickets, no hooting of owls, no meowing of stray cats, no soft rustling of leaves as the wind pushed them about. Nothing. It was as if the bushes and its inhabitants had been ordered to be quiet. She had an unsettling feeling of being watched ,her hands tightened around her hand bag, she craned her neck to look behind her. There was nothing. She stooped down, easing her legs out of the shoes. She reasoned that if there was a need to run, the shoes could slow her down. Raising her head, she noticed some movements in the grasses to her left. Her heart beat quickened as she turned to investigate the source of disturbance.
"...must be some bush animal" she reasoned to herself.
There it was. It was a man dressed in white billowy gown, his face was painted white. He was holding a machete and was grinning widely. She shrieked in fear as her feet kicked into action. The moment she started to run, the bushes came alive. The owls hooted as if urging her to run faster. She was grateful she had spent a good portion of her life winning cross country awards for her little town. She turned to peer behind her and realized, she had put a lot of distance between her and whatever that was. She couldn't see it but she could hear it laughing. She continued to run till she reached the hamlet in which her home was situated.
*******************************
Once he felt she was out of earshot, he began to cackle. He had never felt more alive. He was so glad he could give her a taste of her own medicine. She was Miss Itoro, his nemesis. She was the SS3 class teacher, although an indigene of the town, she had spent a huge part of her life out of the town, only coming back to "give back to the town and immerse herself in her roots". He hated when she said that and she said it a lot. Giving back meant taunting the dull students.
" Stand up, Edet" she would command in her faux English accent " read the next passage".
"Aunty..me kana read" he would mumble.
"Call me Miss Itoro" she would say as she stared at him "you have to make an attempt".
He would make an attempt and earn a few giggles from the so called smart students. Miss Itoro would smirk at him before telling him to seat down.
The last straw had occurred when she had caught him sneaking a letter to his friend to pass on to the girl he admired. Despite the fact that the class had seventy something students, Miss Itoro had seen him and had confiscated the letter. She trotted to the front of the class and proceeded to read out the letter, laughing at all his grammatical errors.
" Dear boy" she said mockingly "wait until you can spell before you attempt writing love letters..." After a dramatic pause she had asked "Aren't you the oldest in this class?".
He sheepishly nodded.
"Something tells me you're too old to be attempting to befriend Ima, she's sixteen and you're what twenty five?".
"Twenty three".
She coughed. He could tell she was holding back laughter.
He could feel the bile rising when he said " It is not be my fault I can't speak English, I start school late'.
"You're about to sit for Waec and you can't even construct proper sentences? Sit down and be quiet".
She had demoralized him and so seeing her run away from him was very pleasing. He had known she would use this route on her way home from church, so he had dressed up in a billowy white gown, painted his face white and grabbed a machete to scare her.
He was still laughing, and was about to wipe the tears rolling down his eyes when he realized he wasn't the only one laughing. He looked behind him, half expecting to see his best friend when he came face to face with a faceless creature.
***************************
It watched with much amusement as the young man hid in the bushes, in hopes of scaring his teacher. He admired the young man's sense of humour. To aid his plan, it had caused the chill wind to wash over the woman, caused the bushes to be silent, all in the hopes of spooking the woman and it had worked. The man had obviously appreciated its gesture as he was rolling about the ground laughing. It couldn't help but laugh too, even though it didn't have a mouth. The man was staring at it now, marveling at its featureless face, wanting to run but unable to. It caused a mouth sprout on its face causing the young man's eyes to widen in fear.
"You had fun didn't you?" It asked, smiling.
The man shook his head.
"I know you did, but now it's my turn...I'll release your legs now because I like fairness but if I catch you, I get to keep your features.... Don't worry I only need eyes, nose and ears".
The young man was crying now.
" Run Edet, Run.....let's see if you can run as fast as your teacher".
****************
Edet felt his legs loose and began to run. He looked back to see the creature develop another pair of legs before it started running after him.

Maybelconor:
No no, please don't change it. The mental torture is sweet if you know what i mean. Ride on ma

Thanks. I will.

CNARIOjoseph:
Wrong move - the beauty of these stories isn't just in the idea or story body, but also the way you end them. Please don't water it down like every "Nigerian" story by trying to give it a conclusive end. Yes, there are times when that is needed, but judging by the stories you've posted thus far, you ended them perfectly.

Don't turn them to African Magic stories abeg.

Right? I really like cliff hangers

Maybelconor:
I have a complaint tho (lol)
I understand they are short stories and all, but for me it is mental torture, you get me to the point whereby I'm wondering what's gonna happen next, them BAM, you end it there leaving the rest for me to imagine :-(
That's my only kpomo sha, the series are awesome

And here I thought I was doing something nice for everyone
Just kidding
Anyways I would try to make some end in such a way that you won't have to imagine the rest of the story.

Maybelconor:
I hope they free you soon

Me too. There has been a lot of bargaining and a compromise is being reached.