[b][/b] THE SECRETE TERMITE IN MY HEART (Episode 1):
A Love Story
A fiction: written by Olatoye Adetunji
…..ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNDER THE LAW……
I could learn by heart when everything started about 30yrs ago now. I came back from secondary school in the evening only to see my only younger sister crying in the sitting room. ’Jumoke, what happened? Why are you crying?” I asked waiting apprehensively for her response. “Brother Bayo, Police took Dad to police station and mom followed” she said as sadness was happy on her face. Police Station? How could that be? I was asking my self the questions. I went closer to her and gave a hug because she was just a small girl.
As I was locking our door to head to the police station, then I heard a voice from my back “I’m so sorry Bayo” said the voice. When I turned, I saw Success Ngozi. I looked at her face but I could not get a hold to what she said. So, I had to bone her, I held my sister’s hand and we left her there.
When I got to the station, I saw that my dad had been seriously chastised. I was angry in my spirit because I was sure that my Dad was not at fault.” What happened mom!?” I asked her exasperatedly. “It’s Mr. Ngozi who arrested him because of a piece of land we bought. He said the land belongs to him. That your Father cannot meet the expense of buying a land not to talk of building” my Mom said poignantly. I was very angry from the depth of my heart because I remembered when Dad collected loan to buy the land and started building the house there. I was later told that Mr. Ngozi, was duped by fraudsters. As an influential business man, he could lobby the police to pull off his aim.
Dad spent days in the cell over what he was wrongly accused of. I wandered why Mr. Ngozi hated my Dad so much to the extent that he sued my Dad. He knew that we had no money on us to get a Lawyer because we were poor.
Should I hate Mr. Ngozi? How can I do this when I genuinely like his daughter? I now understood why Success told me that she was sorry. But I was not sure if she was truly sorry because she was always sorry for me. All I wanted to ear from her was to elucidate why she was sorry this time. But, how could i? Even when her father did not like my family.
Finally, my Dad was charged to court for his trial. I think I could remember the date; it was exactly July 23, 1987. It was unfortunate that we did not have lawyer so we had to beg one lawyer to just please help us stay in the court. Mr.Ngozi brought a brilliant lawyer, the best in the city only for land ownership case?
Our Lawyer strived very hard to help us, the other lawyer also did not want to loose the battle. After some hours of staring at Success, because she came also,(but I was sure she was not happy cause she could not look at me straight in the eyes) then, I heard the Judge saying, “THIS IS MY JUDGMENT…”
Instantaneously, I gathered my ears together; I took away my eyes from Success Ngozi. I could feel my Mom’s heart beat pounding very fast like a new drum,”GBIM GBIM…” Everybody focused their attention to ear what would come forth as the Judge continued “THIS IS MY JUDGMENT…..”
TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE TWO…… NEXT WEEK FRIDAY… THANKS A LOT………..