I thought it was a cardiac arrest!!
I was actually going through some acute pains around my chest recently. Ever since I was born, I don't think I ever knew what chest pains felt like. As a matter of fact,I had always thought that chest pains can only happen in men especially those whose job requires alot of physical exertion.
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I remember when @Kiingsley complained about pains in the neck when he woke up one the morning. I explained to him that maybe his head was in an awkward position while sleeping and that temporarily disturbed the blood flow in the neck, hence the pain .This kind of neck Pain is quite common and happens among children and young adults from time to time. It naturally disappears before the end of the day or the following morning, with or without using drugs.
I was drafting an article when I felt a very sharp pain at the bottom of my left chest. I winced in agony as I placed my left hand on the exact spot, and waited for the pains to disappear. I actually thought it was those little and insignificant discomfort that one usually feels at some part of the body from time to time.
But the pain didn't go away, it lasted for more than two hours where i was sitted and I became alarmed. It was an aching and localized pain , very similar to that of a migraine in the head. It continued to tug at the bottom of the walls of my left ventricle and Panic took over me completely. For Godsake, how did I develop ***angina (heart pain)!!***
I remembered our CVS lecturer had explained that angina marked the onset of ischemia, stroke or a cardiovascular disease. This made Fear gripped my already painful heart immediately.
Why on earth should I develop an heart disease? !! I cried out and look towards the sky. Pronto, I checked for other vital signs. But there was no pain at the back of my neck, no pain at my elbow region. There was absolutely no pains around my jaws and I wasn't feeling any pains around my shoulders neither was I experiencing any shortness of breath or sweating. These were all the symptoms of a stroke/cardiac malfunctioning. Hell! Why would I even think that it was a stroke, for crying out loud I am only 23!
I thought about ulcer but it couldn't possibly be ulcer since i wasn't feeling any heartburn. It was a deep, dull and piercing pain. So, I considered GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). Could it be that my esophagus had ruptured and some of its contents had poured into my heart and thoracic cavity? it would mean that I had to undergo surgery to get my esophagus stitched up!! But I hadn't any other signs of GERD as I wasn't feeling any sour taste on my tongue neither was I feeling like vomiting. As a matter of fact, I was still able to finish my lunch without having any difficulties in swallowing.
The pain continued to tug at my left chest through out the day. It felt as of a 9 inches block had been placed firmly on top my left ventricle. Walking was hell for me, I also found it difficult to sit. I just had to lie down but the pains persisted and I began to turn from side to side.
Apart from the localised pain in my chest I wasn't experiencing any other symptoms. There was absolutely no weakness at any point in my body as all my strength was still intact . i was even able to write and complete an article " **when** **God** **keeps** **dragging** **you** **away** **from** **troubles**" amidst the acute pains in my chest . I even thought that I could get up and wash the clothes I intended to wash earlier in the day. I stopped crying and tried to calm down. At least I am quite certain that it wasn't a heart disease, neither was it a problem of the lungs since I wasn't coughing nor was I experiencing breathing problems. I believed it was just an ordinary muscle cramp in the pericadium of my heart. But Muscle pulls usually last from a few seconds to minutes and I have been in pains for more than twelve hours! What exactly is wrong with me, I screamed.
Maybe I should stop over thinking and just try to fall asleep. I might feel better by tomorrow. Dad came into my room with some pain relievers and a glass of water. After swallowing them, I shut my eyes and slept off.
On Tuesday morning when I woke up, the pains were still there!! It didn't even reduced by the tiniest fraction and I began to panic once more. At this point, dad insisted we go to the hospital. We visited the nearest primary healthcare facility and Fortunately for us, the doctors were already in their consulting room and there was no much queue.
I told the doctor about the sudden chest pain that I developed the previous day and he asked me weather I had engage in any strenuous activity lately and I told him No. He then ask me whether I was experiencing any other symptoms and I again replied Negative. The Doctor proceeded in gauging my blood pressure with the sphygmomanometer and declared that my blood pressure was normal. Ofcousre I knew I didn't have a high BP, My heart have been filled with joy and happiness ever since i joined readcash and met good people. I absolutely had no f**** business with high BP!!
The doctor wrote down some drugs for the pains. Most of the drugs were cheap and common pain relievers. Dad had initially thought that they would cost alot. According to him, anything that have to do with the heart had to very serious and shouldn't be taken lightly or delayed.
On our way home, I started to having some relief as the pain gradually begin to ease. At the time I was writing my next article " **Not** **all** **beggars** **are** **actually** **what** **you** **think** **they** **are**". More than half of the pains had gone even though I took the drugs just once. I thought about this for along long time and I came to the conclusion that the pains I had been experiencing was due to the cold.
Although the doctor didn't mention it but I knew it. Recently I hadn't been wearing a jacket to protect me from the cold weather. It very likely that the walls of my heart had unusually contracted as a result of this. I considered this for a long time , then I decided to prepare a hot tea of ginger and garlic. Few minutes after I had drank the tea, all the pains vanish.
This was my first experience with chest pains and I pray I don't have another encounter because it was really terrible.
What about you, have you ever felt pains at your chest region before?
To all my sponsors, subscribers, readers, upvoters and commenters, a very big thank you to all of you. I really appreciate the love.
Yours lovely,
Bilqees
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Have you ever been Blessed by a benevolent spirit before?
I was in my second year at the university at that time. There was this particular course that I found very difficult. Infact a lot of students found it backbreaking too. Not only was the course extremely stressful and difficult to grasp, the lecturers of that particular department were very mean . You could say that they derive gratification when students failed enmasse for they all adhere to a strict marking scheme.
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The course lecturer had given us two tests already but the results were not good at all as about 93% of the class members couldn't even make the average score. At this point, majority of my course mates had already resigned to fate and arrived at the inevitable conclusion that they would fail and carryover the course. This was because the exams was expected to be more difficult than the tests.
I also didn't do very well in the test . So I doubled my efforts and started reading all the materials I could lay my hands on. The day I was admitted into the university, I was so happy that I promised my self and my God that I would never fail and carryover a course till I graduated. This determination continued to push me and made me go the extra mile just to accomplish this beautiful desire.
A night before the exam, I couldn't sleep through out the night. I kept on reading and praying every now and then.At around 5am, due to weariness and exhaustion,i briefly rested my head on the reading table so as to gather a second wind. In less than three minutes, I regrettably fell into a sleep.
I woke up around 9: 20am for a daunting exam that was scheduled to hold at 9am. I jumped up immediately when I saw the time and began to panic. Without taking a bath or brushing my teeth, I careless threw my clothes over my body. With tears already streaming down my face, I ran out of my apartment as if it were on fire. By the time I got to the bustop which was not far from my residence, I was lucky to catch a bus that was going towards my school.
As soon as i entered the bus,I started to cry profusely and the other passengers ask me what the problem was. I told them that I overslept and woke up late for an exam that was already in progress. Some of the passengers tried to comfort me while others merely shook their head in pity.
I was stuck in traffic for more than ten minutes and I began to curse myself for renting an accommodation outside campus instead of living within the school premises. Suddenly a woman with an infant that wouldn't be more than a week old approached the side of our vehicle. I was the first person to see her since I was sitted close to the window. I saw the look of despair and misery in her eyes. She was obviously beggar who was very hungry. She pleaded with me that she have got to eat so that she could breastfeed her baby who was already crying.
The driver turned around and in a harsh tone, he screamed at the woman to leave me alone and get out. He told the woman that I was already in a serious trouble and she shouldn't disturb me with her own. He told her to take her baby to its father as it was his responsibility to feed and take care of child.
For a moment, I forgot about my predicament and was looking at the innocent child who continued to cry. I took out 500 naira ( 1.5 dollars) from my purse and placed it on the baby . The mother was so full of excitement and joy that she almost knelt down on the busy road to thank me. The baby in her hands looked at me and ceased crying, my heart was so glad and I smiled back at him. I couldn't stop myself from giving the mother another 200 naira.
At this moment, the traffic got better and our bus continued to move again.Because I was already late for the exam, The driver volunteered to take a shorter route that would lead to my school.
I leaned forward, and with my head turned backward, i looked out of the window and saw the woman with a beaming smile on her face as she kept waving at me from a distance. I waved back at her briefly and retreated back into my seat.
By the time I arrived at school, I was already over an hour late for an exam that was scheduled to last for two hours. When my examination paper and answer sheet was presented to me . I found out that I couldn't even bring my self to write anything. The image of the poor woman and her infant continued to occupy my mind. All over the question paper, I kept seeing her smiling face and that of her child as she waved at me. I thoughtlessly kept smiling at them too.
I managed to pull myself together was only able answer just twenty percent of questions before the time was up. As soon as I had submitted my work, I immediately left the exam hall without waiting for my friends to join me. I already knew that I would definitely fail the exams but to my surprise,I wasn't bothered by this fact. I kept thinking about the mysterious woman and the cute baby.
I boarded a bus back to my residence. As soon as we arrived at the spot where I met the woman, I ordered the driver to stop. I highlited from the bus and looked around but I couldn't find the woman. I proceeded by taking some steps forward and then backward, still I didnt see any sign of the woman and her child. I went further and asked the traders around wether they had seen or know the whereabouts of a woman with an infant who begs for alms by the roadside, but none of them seem to know what I was talking about.
I was quite disappointed as I wanted to see them one more time. I also would have loved to carry and play with the baby. After standing there for a few minutes, I later got another bus that took me home. I never saw the woman again even though I kept using that road regularly
Two months later, the results of the exam came out and I was shocked that I got a B. I was the only student in the class that achieved that feat. Others got lower grade while most failed the course as usual. I couldn't believe what I saw. How was this even possible when I had left most of the questions unanswered?
I told dad about this and I also told him about the mystery woman and her baby on the day I arrived late for this particular exam. Dad thought for a moment . "It might be that the woman was not an ordinary woman, She and her baby might have been a spirit of good fortune that God had sent my way ". Dad said. If you had ignored her, you might have failed the course just like others. He said.
I have heard stories and even watched movies of spirits appearing in the human form and rendering assistance to someone in distress but I have never thought it real, nor even think I would ever had an encounter with them.
Anyway, I still believe that the woman was just like any ordinary beggar but God decided to render a divine assistance to me in the exam because of the kindness I had shown to her and her baby. Or was she actually a spirit?
Let me hear your opinion in the comment section.
A very big thanks to all my sponsors, subscribers,readers,upvoters and com enters. I wouldn't be able to make it this far without you.
Yours lovely,
💗💗💗
Bilqees
Not all beggars are actually what you think they are
Hello and good morning y'all.
We are still in the season of love , caring and sharing with others . The true essence of Christmas is not in the gifts but the amount of love we put in the gifts we share with others. No doubt a lot of less-previlegded folks find the Christmas season as the most rewarding period more than anytime of the year. You would also see them with radiant smiles on their faces as a lot of people remember that during this period as people continue to donating gifts, food and money to them . Beggars need love too, but sadly people don't think much about them anymore when christmas is over.
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In my part of the world,Street begging is seen as a means of livelihood by alot of people who are physically challenged since they are unable to work and scrape out a living for themselves. This category of people includes the blind, The crippled, deaf and mute. The aged too unfortunately are not left out.
There are rare cases where some of the people in this category instead of soliciting money from strangers as a means of survival defied all odds by going into the world to fight for their survival just like every other normal person. I have seen a blind professor before, I have come across a deaf tailor and a crippled mechanic. Needless to say that they were all excellent in their respective crafts. This had further shown beyond doubt that there is an "**ability** **in** **disability**". Such optimism and confidence in one's self in the face of a crushing life's misfortune is one of the most admirable quality I have ever seen in any human. Talk about making lemonades out of the lemons life throws at you.
On the flip side, a greater majority of physically challenged folks resign to fate and they acknowledge their disability as a big hindrance to their survival. Therefore, they inadvertently depend on others for contentment.
When I was a kid, there was this old woman that I always see on the roadside begging for alms every morning on my way to school. Mom was always generous to her and she never failed to drop some money in her bowl anytime we crossed her path. She told mum that she never had any children and was all alone in the world and this made mom to develop more empathy to her.
One morning, on our way to school, we couldn't find her at the side of the road where she usually sit. Mom immediately asked around and she was told that old woman had died the previous day. she was hit by a moving vehicle as she was about to cross to the other side.
For a moment, mom was devastated. We were later told that when she was killed, a sum of 70,000 naira was found in her clothes to the amazement of the crowd that gathered round her.At that time, 70,ooo naira was even more than the salary of some bank managers.
It was further revealed that this old woman was not actually a poor person. As a matter of fact , she had four grown up children who are quite successful in their respective careers. It was said that her children had tried several times to take their mother off the street and give her the treatment that every mother deserved from their well-to - do children. But she would always return to the streets as a beggar. The old woman actually saw begging for alms as an occupation and hated the idea f sitting around in a big house doing nothing. Mom was not surprised any more when she heard that old woman had built two houses from her savings by being a beggar for almost thirty years.
Believe me, there are a lot of old folks like this woman in my part of the country, who see alms- begging as a lucrative trade. I know of an old man who use his proceeds from this "trade" to sponsor his grandson's primary education.
Its quite alarming and unfortunate that today,alot of young and able -bodied folks have also taken to grovelling as a means of livelihood. Inder the pretext of being deaf, blind or crippled, some persons are able to sell sympathy to unsuspecting people , thereby extorting money from them.
Some wouldn't even feign any form of disability, they simply devise an interesting story from their imagination, then walk up to you, and start a narration about how they had met with an unfortunate occurrence that made them lost every thing. You would be surprised to see that these so called "beggars" are even well dressed.
Three years ago when I was about travelling to see an aunt, I was already sitted in a bus waiting in a motorpark when a young man about the same age as me came to where I was sitted. He greeted me immediately I turned to look at me and started telling me some sorry tale. According to him, he arrived at the city the previous night for a job opportunity when some hoodlums attacked him and robbed him of all his money and bags. He told me that he was already depressed and just want to return to his hometown but he needed money for his transport fare.
Out of naievity,I felt very sorry. I was about to bring out some money from my bag so I could help him in the little way I can when lthe person besides me warned me not to. I looked up immediately and the man sitting beside me repeated the instruction. He pleaded with me to allow him handle the "beggar"
The young "beggar " was now evidently nervous as he looked at my travel companion with fears written all over his face as if he had been caught red-handed in a mischevious act. I was quite astonished by this sudden change of expression to say the least.
My fellow traveler asked the young man where was his hometown and he reluctantly replied. Coincidentally, we were also heading in thesame direction.
My travel companion then asked the young man to join us in the bus and promised to personally pay his transport fare to the driver since we were heading the same path. As a matter of fact, he would even reach his destination first. I readily agreed to this and returned my money to my bag.
At this moment,there was a brief silence and I was actually anticipating the young man would ascend the vehicle. But the surprise in the young man's face was suddenly replaced by a fiery look . He glared murderously at my travel companion and he began to scream at him that he should have minded his business as he was not the one he asked for money. He accused him of spoiling him game and threatened to kill him. He was already moving away from our vehicle by this time. Then suddenly, he turned around and broke into a furious run. My travel companion and other passengers kept laughing at him. Some of the passengers even disclose their various encounters with such unscrupulous elements disguised as beggars and these encounters were quite mindboggling to me.
**DISCLAIMER**
I am not advocating against helping beggars or people who appear to be in need. As a matter of fact, i make it a routine every Friday and weekends to give out a few sum of money to any beggar I come across without thinking twice about them. Giving is from the heart and we should do it because we want to. Just like how God grants us our favors and wishes despite our many imperfections and misdeeds!!!
Thank you so much for taking your time to read. To all my sponsors, subscribers ,commenters and upvoters, I will always appreciate you all .💗💗💗
When God keeps dragging you away from troubles.
Hello everyone, I'm glad you all had a splendid Christmas celebration with your loved ones in good health and happiness.
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I woke up few hours ago. After brushing my teeth and offering my prayers. With dull steps, i slowly walked to the kitchen to get the water warm ready for my father's tea and bath. Few minutes later, dad's breakfast was ready, I carried the tray on one hand and the tea flask on the other hand, then proceeded to dad's room. He likes having his breakfast in his room.
After greeting him good morning, I set the tray containing his breakfast on a table before him. As soon as he asked me how was my night, I recounted to him that i had a very had time cooking and serving all the guests that kept trooping to our house since Christmas. i told him that i developed body pains from the overwhelming stress and I slept badly. What is more painful is that i had to miss a very much anticipated christmas party so that i could be able to settle all our visitors.
Father looked at me for some moments,he pointed to a chair close to his bed and asked me to sit down. As soon as I was told to sit down, I Knew I was up for some very long father-daughter early morning boring conversation. I envisaged that I would spend nothing less than a two hours in that chair listening to father's endless Speech on why a girl ought to be always courteous and loyal to her father's guests. I actually wasn't ready for this early morning moral lessons as I was still quite tired . I would have loved to go back to sleep and probably wake up around 11am. Now, I wished I hadn't complained to him about the guests for father was indeed a great talker.
To my surprise, our conversation took on different angle entirely. Dad first apologized for making me to miss the Christmas party that promised a lot of fun. He then told me of an unforgettable occurence that happened to him when he was in his youth. Dad always had a lot of stories to tell.
There was a time that he wanted to go out with his two other friends to a ceremony, but unfortunately, his mom ( my grandmother) asked him to help her run an Important errand. So, dad had no choice but to forgo the event he planned to attend with friends since he couldn't afford to refuse grandma. Of course dad wasn't happy with this new arrangement.
When his friends arrive at their house, he told them that he wouldn't be able to go as his mom instructed him to run errands for her . His friends left for the event without him
An hour later, my dad heard a very sad news that his two friends whom they they were suppose to go the event together had been involved in a fatal accident. They both sustained serious injuries. This ofcourse came a s a very rude shock to him and he became heartbroken.
Grand mom heard about the news too and came to sit close to dad trying to console him for a while. Then she made him realized that he had just been saved from a great evil. Had it been he had insisted on going along with his friends to the event, they would definitely have gone on the same vehicle and only God knows what would had happened to him by now.
I considered this story for a while as dad shared the lessons with me.My mind flashed back to a time when I insisted on attending a birthday celebration of an old friend even though I didnt have to go. To cut the long story short, my phone was stolen at the party and I wished I had stayed at home( You remember that feeling you usually get when you lost your phone? You would wish you could turn back the hands of time and rearranged the happenings leading to the time you lost it, but that kind of thinking would be useless).
Maybe if I had left for the party without assisting my father with the guests, It might turn out to do me more harm than good.
A dangerous fight that might put me in danger, ignited by youthful exuberance might break out. This is quite common such gatherings nowadays.
Also,out of naievity, I could also meet and fall into the hands of wolves in sheep skins which would definitely lead me to have a bitter betrayal experience in the future and ofcourse make me regret the day and place I met such a person
For a long time, I have experienced and heard stories of a lot of scenarios where God kept distracting us from falling into an impending danger. But we always fail to see the handwriting on the wall because we are only humans who can't predict what would happen in the next hour. God can use any tool to save us from an unseen danger or dissapointment. it could be a heavy traffic or a delayed flight or anything that naturally would make humans pissed or cause us some inconveniences.
You might become upset that the rain had just begin to fall when you were about going out. You never can tell, the rain might be a delay to thwart whatever calamity that would befall you on the way.It might be an accident, having an encounter with robbers/kidnappers/ rapists. It might even be an encounter with a stranger who would become a new friend that will ultimately lead you into the biggest regret of your life tomorrow. And by the time it had stopped raining or whatever distraction it is that God had sent your way to delay the evil hour, the evil or potential evil would have passed.whatever trap or plan that must have been set on your way would have been obsolete too.
I heard the story of a young woman who was unware that the meal before her was poisoned. As soon she was about to start eating, her phone rang. It was already past closing hours but her boss ordered her to report to the office immediately for an emergency meeting. She had to abandon the food and rush out again. In anger, she kept swearing at her boss on her way back to the office. The woman later returned home and was shocked to see the her dog eating the uncovered meal. she couldn't eat the food anymore and she went out to get some snacks.The following morning, the dog died. The vet doctor revealed to the woman that the dog had ingested some poisonous substance in his last meal. The woman was shocked and later realized that her house help who prepared the food had planned to kill her but God used her arrogant and tyrannical boss to save her .
In conclusion, every inconvenience or unpleasant situation you might be facing at a particular point in time happens for a reason. The thing to do is not to be annoyed or upset about them but to wait patiently for them to pass as they would surely do. And in retrospection, you might come to realize they were insignicant when compared to more harrowing experiences you were sure to pass through if those distractions hadnt come to you at that hour .
We should also always thank God for our lives each and every day and pray that he continues to guide and protect us when we are out alone in this treacherous world
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Thank you so much for reading. I am forever grateful to you all, my sponsors, subscribers , commenters and readers.
Yours lovely,
💗💗💗
Bilqess
Annoying and frustrating Christmas guests!
Hello my dears... How y'all doing. Christmas is still very much in the air. Yesterday was a very stressful day for me and I didn't enjoy my the Christmas celebration as I had planned. Guests continued to arrive at our home to see my dad and I had to be on standby to serve them. My father had lived in that street for a long time, so he was well known to all.
Some of the guests were very choosy. They would decline a particular meal that i served to them, so I would be instructed by dad to go back to the kitchen and start preparing the preferred meal of the said guest. There was this guest that refused to take any drink amongst all the drinks we had. He complained that they all had high sugar content. So, dad gave me some money to go get the specific drink he considered good for his system. I had to walk through three streets before I could find the brand of drink that the guest wanted. By this time, i was alredy tired and my feet were dusty,so I had to board a bike for my return journey.
When I had served this guest his drink. He yelled at me that the drink was so cold, and he was not supposed to take such cold drinks at his age and in such a weather. He asked me to get him water instead. My dad apologized to him and also scolded me. Dad said I should have asked him initially wether he wanted a cold drink or a drink at room temperature. The Two men immediately ignored me and continued to discuss in our local dialect as I stormed into the to get the glass of water, with a frown on my face.
I was so busy in the kitchen preparing various meals since all the meals we had prepared a day before Christmas was almost finished. My duty also included shuttling between the kitchen and sitting room, laying the meals down for the guests and also returning to take the used dishes back to the kitchen every ten minutes. I soon considered this to-and- fro movement as a Christmas day exercise for me specially created for me.
Every now and then, when another guest arrives, dad would yell from the sitting room: "**Bilkisu**, **bring** **more** **meat**." "**Bilkisu**, **bring** **more** **drinks**", **bilkisu** **bring** **water** **for** **washing** **hand** ". I would immediately leave whatever it is I was were doing in the kitchen and ran out to attend to them.
One guest asked me to go out and get him toothpick which he would use to pick his teeth after he finished with the chicken. Another guest who just finished a meal of egusi soup asked me to bring my powder for him which he would apply over his hands so that they wouldn't smell. I was so furious I felt like giving each a smack on them ugly faces, but dad ordered me to go get what they needed without delay.
By 2pm, two of my friends arrived at my house. They couldn't come in as the whole sitting room were already filled with my father's guest who were eating, drinking and arguing about politics. I had to quickly go out to meet them. I presented some meat,drinks and snacks to them as I apologized for the inconveniences. They reminded me of the Christmas party we planned to attend. But I told them I couldn't go, I was unfortunately tied down to my father's guests. I was very sad about this but there was nothing I could do about it. I took my phone and called some other friends that might be expecting me and I canceled all my appointments for the day.
Different guests with bigger problems continued to arrive at our abode. Whenever a particular set of guests had depart, dad would asked me to clean their dining area while waiting for the arrival of more guests. No need to mention that some of the guests ate recklessly and I found it disgusting clearing the area.
One of the women who came to pay homage to my dad dumped her kid on me as soon as she had arrived. She claimed that she had received a distress call and that her attention was urgently needed. Dad again told me told me to take proper care of the kid in his mother's absence. But as soon as his mom left, the little boy began to wail. I found it difficult trying to console him as I was already busy with the meals and the guest. The child continued to wail frantically, I was so frustrated and exasperated that I scream at him. I threatened him that if he doesn't stop crying at this moment, I would break his head with the ladle in my hand!
My scream interrupted the discussions of the men in the sitting room. My father asked me what was the problem and I told him that the boy wouldn't stop crying. He ordered me to sing for him and I angrily replied that I won't, as I had alot works in my hands already. " I can't kill myself because we had guests", I screamed within me. My dad thought for a moment and then told me to hand over the child to him. As soon as the child was in my father's arms, he miraculously stopped crying . The other guests were amazed by this and they started clapping and hailing my dad. One of the guests mentioned to the others that my dad had always known how to handle women and children . I took a brief glance at dad and I saw that he was grinning from ear to ear. He was actually feeling like "**Alexander** **the** **great**, **Conqueror** **of** **the** **World**" as his guests continue to praise him, referring to him as a "**man** **of** **the** **people**". I silently hissed at all of them before returning to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Later in the evening, when most of our guests had left and dad was sure that no one else would be coming. I hurriedly dressed up so I could go out and see wether I would still be able to catch some fun. That was the time dad decided to go out on a visit too, but he quickly realised that his Christmas wear waswnt ironed. So I had to spend another twenty minutes pressing his big ***agbada***.(a traditional attire for men in my country). After I finished, he put it on and left the house. I couldn't go out again because I was so angry and tired. I went to bed early instead.
I n conclusion, I planned to enjoy and have a memorable Christmas celebration. Unfortunately, I was turned into an errand girl, a waiter, a baby-sitter and a drycleaner on Christmas!
This morning, Dad told me we would be expecting more guests, so I had to go to the market again to buy more yams, meat and drinks.
@Kushyzee @Kiingsley @Theblackdoll @Princessbusayo @Olasquare @Talecharm @Ling01 @Jijisaur @FarmGirl @Bloghound @bmjc98 @jasglaybam @Maryjacy @Garrethgrey and all my subscribers and sponsors too numerous to mention but always upvoting my articles and my comments . You all should come forward with your plates so that I would serve you some pounded yam. None of my father's guests who I had been serving since yesterday gave me any money 😞😞😞
THANK YOU!!!
I still went to the market on Christmas day
MERRY CHRISTMAS BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE I wish you all the joys and happiness that the spirits of Christmas brings. God be with you all now and for always.
So, today, I once again went to the market in the morning to get some more grocery that we would be needing for the Christmas and new year celebration. We had already stock up some days before. But you know how it is always. There would be some other item that you couldn't buy, probably because you forgot to include them in your budget initially. It might also be that you thought they weren't very urgent at the moment, only for you to get home and discover that you would be needing them sooner than you had thought. It could also be that you didnt have enough money to buy at the time to buy everything at once.
Honestly, I dislike going back to the market again a day before, talk more of on Christmas day. The crowd at the market would be so thick that if you throw a hand full of sand towards the sky, it wouldn't be able to find its way back to the earth due to the mammoth crowd. When viewed from above, the scene of the market could be very similar to that of migratory ants. The only difference is the direction as people in the market are always moving in different direction while ants thronged on on way. It would be almost impossible for you to turn back when you suddenly remmembered an item you had forgotten to buy as the crowd at the back would be urging those at the front forward. The person immediately behind would hiss and groan so hard that you might think he/she would swallow you. The sweats of others might also rub off on your body,this i find very nauseating.
You also have to take calculated steps when walking amongst such crowd. But no matter how careful you are, you would sometimes step on others feet and others would always step on yours too. What was worse is that I wore a flowing garment and by the time I arrived home the edges of the garment was covered in mud and dusts.
Twice, I had an unpleasant experience in such a crowd where my phone and purse was lifted off me. So, I couldn't take any chance with the kind of crowd I was in now. After I had bought all I had came for. I hid my phone under my headwarmer and I hid the rest of my money in the space between my socks and my leg.
It took quite a long time before I could get a bus, since it was a busy day, most of the buses coming were already filled with passengers. I joined the group of people waiting to get a transport on the kerb by the mainroad . Whenever a bus was sighted from a distance, everyone would be at alert and some would start running towards it before it could stop. Some never stopped as they were filled up already. So, I had a hard time waiting.. After waiting for another forty minutes, I was able to secure a bus going my way.
My companions beside me were two elderly women. I greeted them warmly but they replied absentmindedly. I couldn't blame them as they were obviously in the middle of an interesting discussion before I interrupted them. After I had balanced my market bags containing the items I bought in a more comfortable position. I heaved a huge sigh of relieve due to the exhaustion of the morning and the bus swing into motion again.
At this point, i brought my smartphone from under my hat. I was about checking my notifications when I realized that the conversation of the two elderly women sitting beside me was quite interesting.
The darker woman was complaining bitterly to her companion that her only daughter who was schooling in the state's university didnt come home for Christmas. Her daughter had informed her mother that rather than returning home, she would take advantage of the holiday to cover up as much as she could on her own in her studies as her course was a very ddifficult one and her lecturers were stressful.
The old woman was furious that her daughter had sacrificed the Christmas celebration for her studies instead of coming home. Her daughter had already been in school for more than five months and had not visited home even once during the five months. The woman further complained that she was very worried about the way her daughter only focuses on her education and neglects her social life.
According to her, the last time she saw her daughter, she was looking older as a result of the too much stress from studies. At this point, I was tempted to ask her what course her daughter was studying in the university, but decided to mind my business. I said to myself, maybe her daughter was the type who was obsessed with graduating with first class honors. The elderly woman continued to talk, she doubted weather her daughter was in a serious relationship and she expressed her disappointment to her companion. She thought that it would be very beautiful if her daughter got married the following year after completing her education. She wanted to see as many grandchildren as she can before leaving this world. At this statement, I couldn't help laughing out loud.
The woman saw my laughter and looked at me with interest. She temporarily ignored her companion and started talking to me directly. She rightly guessed that I was a student who like others came back home for the Christmas holidays. I finally asked her about the course her daughter was studying that warranted her to miss Christmas at home. She told me her daughter was a student of accountancy and I liked that.
We continued to discuss for the remaining part of the journey, the woman was obviously dominating the conversation and I allowed her since she was much more older. She was actually of the opinion that a woman should not take her studies so serious like the way her daughter does. A man should do that instead. After all, its not as if she would be guaranteed a job immediately after she completed her education, judging with the present economic situation of the country. It was more important to her that her daughter gets married immediately after school. According to her, no matter the level of education a female attains, she wouldn't be complete without a husband. She should still be under a man. I almost laughed again, but I controlled it. Maybe if I had laughed at this , old woman might get angry at me. . ..The poor old woman was very bothered that after school, her daughter might not be able to secure a job and a husband immediately.
I finally arrived at my destination. After bidding farewell to the old lady, I rushed inside to prepare a meal before the Christmas guests start trooping in
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Thanks a lot for reading.
Still wishing you a merry Christmas 💗💗💗💗
"And their father was a good man"
Finally its Christmas eve!!! Less than twenty fours hours to the most exciting period of the year. Ofcourse I can't wait. I wish you all a merry Christmas eve and an even merrier Christmas celebration. I am mighty excited for you and for me.
Today I just remembered a very interesting story I read in the old testament. When i was a kid, i always found it very pleasurable to read about the life and times of bible heroes and characters such as:father Abraham, Moses,David, Solomon, Joseph, Elijah Noah and others
I could remember as a little girl, I read king Solomon's history learnt that he had seven hundred wives . I was so surprised and I thought how could he possibly cope with such huge number of wives around him. The following day was a Sunday and also a busy day. Me and my younger brother decided to do some research on this before coming to a conclusion.
After we had eaten lunch, we stood outside the gate of our house and decided to start counting all the women that were returning from the church, market or meetings. This counting exercise took us all day and it was very exhausting. Despite the road was a busy road with a lot of pedestrians, all the women we counted were not even up to 700!! I think we got just five hundred-and-something. And one man called Solomon settled down and married a whole 700 women. Wow! Just Wow!! He is a King indeed!!!
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There was this particular event in the life of moses that I found very fascinating. Not the event of ''parting the red sea" that every one knows nor is it the event of the "seven plagues" or baby moses being rescued by the pharoah's daughter. This event I'm about to talk about is not very popular and a larger percentage of Christians don't know about it. But it is quite known by the Muslims and the Jews.
During the time of moses, there was a servant of God whose name was kidhr. This man was a wise man who had the knowledge of the unseen. people usually consult him for advice when they are in distress. God asked kidhr to accompany moses on a voyage to a far away land so that moses could learn more from him,especially patience since moses was hot tempered.
They arrived at a city whose people where very hostile amd embarrassed them. Moses was very furious with the way they were treated. On their way back, moses companion, kidhr saw a wall of a house in the town that was about to collapse and he quickly fixed the wall. Now this act made moses more angry and he yelled at kidhr, how could you show such kindness to the people who had humiliated us .
Kidhr smiled and told moses that there were helpless orphans living in that house and the late father of these orphans was a very righteous man. Before he died, he had buried some treasures underneath the wall for his children. If the wall had been allowed collapse now. The treasures would be revealed and the bad people in the city would plunder them without caring about the orphans. Now that the wall had been mended, before it could go down again, the orphans would have already come of age and would have the ability to take what is rightly theirs. Moses believed kidhr because he was blessed with the gift of visions. And of course, he was very happy with what kidhr told him.
I was told about a true life story of a young man called Ben . He achieved massive success in business at a age when some of his mates would still ask their parents for money to get cit their hair. Infact whatever he touches turns to gold. It was not as if he prays more than others and does fasts when others eat. Its not as if he is exceptionally intelligent. Heck! There was nothing special about ben at all when you look at him from the outside.
There was a time a gang of sophisticated robbers laid siege to the neighborhood where he resides. They raided every house and even killed some people. Before the robbers could get to his house, the police was already on their way with their blaring sirens, thereby terminating the robbery operation. No need to mention that he was among the richest in the neighborhood and his house was one of the biggest.
The following Sunday, Ben went to church for thanksgiving. In tears, he thanked God profusely for saving his life and for being faithful to him all this years. At the end of the service, his pastor called him and told him that he got a revelation during the thanksgiving. Ben was told by the pastor that his grand father was a great missionary who had been winning souls for God during his time on earth. His grandfather was eventually killed in his mission of guiding people towards the light. The pastor explained to Ben that all his triumphs, fulfillment and protections in life was as a result of his grandfather's unrivaled devotion to God. The next week, Ben traveled all the way to his village and confirmed what his pastor told him about his grandfather.
Ben's grandfather built a very solid foundation of good works for his children and grandchildren which they would continue to enjoy and lean on and savor for a long time to come. The accounts of their destinies is so full!
In as much as a lot of people especially in Nigeria believe in **generational** **curses**. That the sins of the parents would definitely rub off on the children's life. However, alot of people seem to forget that there are **generational** **blessings** too.If they knew this, they would definitely do things right at all times
The good deeds of the parents would certainly become manifest in the lives of the children. Even the atheists that don't believe in religion knows that there would be reward and punishment for every good or evil we do during our time in earth. This is the natural order of things and as popular refrain says; **You** **can** **never** **cheat** **nature**. Your punishment can only be delayed same way your rewards can also be delayed. You would definitely see the consequences of your every action,good or bad. If you don't, then your children and grand children will.
And of course we all want the best for our children,we don't pray or wish for them to pass through whatever difficulties or trials that we are passing through or we had passed through in life. We all wish our children all the successes in the world. There's no parent that wouldn't want their child to be greater than them tomorrow.
You might be called weak, soft, an idiot, a moron, a beta-male, a simp or weakling for being kind. People might even laugh at you and try to hurt your feelings. You shouldn't allow that to bother you at all. Just continue to do what you know is right. You are who you are and continue to do what makes you happy and fulfilled. Continue to follow your heart and never listen to the noises of outsiders who secretly wish they had a heart like yours.
Even though once in a while, you suffer betrayal from the people you had helped, that doesn't mean that you should turn your back on the rest of humanity. Don't stop being a tool that God uses to touch others life. Continue to be who you are and God shall continue to bless you from where you expect to where you never expected.
God shall continue to protect your beautiful heart 💗💗💗
A big thanks to another darling @Garrethgrey07. May the good lord continue to shower you and yours with his blessings and mercies evryday of your lives.
Childhood Hark-back
Hello everyone. Hope you all are having a very nice time preparing for the big day. I also can't wait. As a matter of fact, I have been suffering from sleeplessness for a while now. I always pass through this whenever I am anticipating the outcome of a very important event. May we all experience a beautiful and blessed Christmas . 💗💗💗
So, I was going through my facebook to see all what I have missed. I have not really been very active on other social platforms ever since I discovered read and noise, Lol. I hurriedly started to approve the all my friendship requests then my eyes caught a very familiar face on my request list.
You know that perception you always get when you see a particular face and you are very confident that you have met in the past but still unable to remember when or how you met that person?
After some moments of closely examining the photo, my brains suddenly turned on the lights and I finally recognized the person in the photo. I let out a sharp scream of excitement and couldn't wait to call mum and tell her who I found today.
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You know those days when we were much more younger and free. In the evenings around 7pm to 10pm when there would be power failure, women and children comes outside of their rooms to get some freshened air while waiting for the arrival of their breadwinners.
A neighbor would return home every now and then and warmly exchange greetings with the women outside. Some of the playing kids would momentarily pause in their bustle and rush to embrace him. Bear in mind that as kids, we only go to welcome neighbors who sometimes buy goodies for us on their way back from work. Any neighbor that always return home empty-handed is not worthy of our hugs. We simply tell him a simple "welcome sir" as courtesy demands, albeit absentmindedly then quickly returned to our source of entertainment.
Usually, a young man living alone would return. After exchanging greetings with the women outside, he would go into his room and bolt the door behind him. I watched this happen almost every night and it became a constant source of astonishment to me. I would wonder and say to myself, how could someone be able to stay alone in such darkness. Isn't he afraid that all the scary figures we saw in those movies would come at night to get him when he's alone. Or was it that those monsters never visited his room? Anyways, i asked mom about this and she simply replied that when i have come of age, i wouldn't care about those movie monsters anymore.
Under the moonlight,Moms usually sit on little stools and benches where they woud gist and gist while Children would play and run here and there .Eventually, the children gets exhausted and we go to take our place beside our mothers as they continue to chat without getting tired. Few moments afterwards, I would slowly lay my head on my mother's thigh. But as as soon as I put my heads on her, she would immediately jerk them away and yell at me in pidgin english: " **Bilqees** **you** **better** **go** **inside** **and** **sleep**, **if** **you** **dare** **fall** **asleep** **here**, i **shall** **leave** **you** **outside** **and** **the** **mosquitos** **will** **finish** **you** !!
If you are a Nigerian, your mom must have definitely made such empty threats to you as a child, Lol. Even at that very young age, we already knew that our moms were bluffing whenever they made that statement.
With heavy eyes, i would slowly fall on mummy's thigh once more. she might permits me this time. Minutes later, after i have enjoyed her thighs and she had endured my head, she would once more push my head away and threatened me once again with stupid mosquitoes. I usually yawned at her warnings while i temporarily drowse in a sitting position. Instead of this woman to be talking too much,she should rather be adjusting her thigh into a more comfortable angle ,because that's actually the perfect cradle for my head. Her thighs are even more comfortable than my yeye pillow. Lol.
Ofcourse, mummy knows that her daughter is so scared of the dark and will never agree to go to bed on her own. And she dare not force me to go inside, else I would cry and keep crying until I succeeded in bringing her conversation with the other woman to an abrupt end. Its either we go inside together or I would continue sleep on her thighs as we keep waiting for daddy's arrival and there's nothing she could do about it.
I won as usual and mom hadn't any other choice than to help ward off the mosquitoes away from my head and legs with her scarf as I slept on her while she continued to chat with the other woman. When dad finally returns, he would carry me on his strong shoulders and together we would go inside. Mom would also bid farewell to her companion and also follow us into the house.
If the power was eventually restored before dad's arrival, mum would gently tap me the head. Sometimes, she doesnt have to do that because the screams of other children from the excitement of seeing the light is enough to wake me up. As soon as I saw the light in our house too, I would jump up and rush to the sitting room and immediately switch on the TV .
At that brief moment, just like the quick and menancing footfalls of soldiers very close to an ememy's camp, the atmosphere in the compound would be temporarily rented by the sounds of trampling feet of little children, happily running towards the sitting rooms and aiming for the TV sets. This was such a beautiful and euphoric moment for kids those days. Mom and the other woman would at this point,quickly conclude the topic of discussion and say their goodbyes before entering their house and joining their children in positions in front of the Television.
We had a lot of interesting T-V dramas in those old days and my favorite is titled "**super** **story**". In fact, super story was the leading TV drama and also the favorite for all household in Nigeria. Sometimes we would be so deeply engrossed in the drama that no one will be aware when daddy opens the door and enters the sitting room.
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Thank you all so much for taking your time time to read.
I dedicate todays article to @Garrethgrey 07 , my newest sponsor.
I am forever grateful to all my sponsors, up voters, commenters and subscribers 💗💗💗.
Thank you so much sir @Bjorn for the sponsorship. I really appreciate and God bless you 💗💗
Me-too Shops
A couple of hours ago, as I was trying to gather my thoughts, I remembered I had to go get flour. It totally skipped my mind yesterday when I went to the market to buy foodstuffs.
Honesty I just had to go get it right away in the cold night before there would be an increase in the price again if I decided to wait till the following morning ( my naija pals know what I'm talking about. ) . Due to my pneumonia, I came out in three clothes including a jacket,a head warmer, a pair of hand gloves and a pair of socks and headed to a nearby store close to my house to get the flour that I needed to make "*chin*-*chin*"( a local and tasty snacks which is mostly prepared and served to guests during Christmas).
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I have decided to prepare something similar to the picture below which i would distribute to kids in my neighborhood when they come to my house and ask for " **happy** **Christmas**". ( I dont have money to share. Lol)
To my utmost regret, i found out that the price of flour had been jacked up yet again. A plate of wheat flour that cost 8oo naira three days ago was now actually sold for 1000 naira now. I had no choice than to purchase it at that amount, since the cost of goods and services would continue to go up in my region of the world.
After buying the flour, i and my seller engaged in a light conversation, I asked how business was going and she replied by saying "**Kasuwa** **da** **godiya**" (meaning: we thank God) . Now whenever a trader replies you with that phrase, he or she means that the business or shop is not doing very well at the moment.
Honestly, I wasn't surprised to hear this as there were four other stores in the streets that were involved in thesame provisions business ( grocery stores). This line of business was already saturated, making the profit margin quite low for the participatory traders.
**Me-** **too** **businesses** is very common in Nigeria where you would see a lot of retailers operating the same businesses in thesame area. The most successful retailer on our street is a very large woman of about forty or forty five . She was also the first to set up this kind of business, and this gave her a competitive advantage over the others. Her shop is the largest and stocked to the brim .All these factors offered a special appeal to customers who keep trooping to her store in their numbers as they neglect the other stores. she had been constantly expanding while other smaller stores are finding it difficult to scale up.
You don't just get into a particular business judging by what you see on the surface. Just because others are into it and seemingly making profits doesn't mean that you would also succeed in thesame business if you decide to engage in it . If that type of business is already saturated in the area, the growth of your business would be very slow.
I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow another woman decides to add another kiosk to our street, selling similar products just because they want to "**do** **business**" **rather** **than** **remaining** **idle**. Some business owners usually imagine that provided that there's demand, then supply is inevitable. But when the supply is over and above demand, Your business would disappoint you . This is what thousands of small and medium scale enterprises are passing through today where you see traders complaining that there is"**no** **market**". Needless to say that most of them becomes bankrupt and shut down their shops indefinitely.
The importance of innovation cannot be overemphasized in business . I know of a yam seller in a market close by. Despite being in the midst of other yam sellers, he records the highest sales at the end of the day because his yams are far more cheaper. As a result, he is always surrounded by buyers who are mostly women and are always in a rush to buy from him. Before 2pm, he would have sold everything and be on his way home.
One day, after he was done with sales and about to leave,I decided to ask him how he manages to make profits by selling his yams at rates far lower than that of other yam traders. It doesn't make sense to me using lower prices to attract more customers when you will be at a loss. I said to him.
He merely laughed at my naivety . His younger brother who assists him in the business also smiled at me before he revealed the secret. I was told that they usually get their yams from a very far away town, at the outskirts of nigeria, close to cameroun. He revealed to me that yams was **dirty** **cheap** in this town. Every three months, they make a trip to this town where they buy yams in very large quantities at far more cheaper rates than any other yam markets or farmers in Nigeria. The yams would then be conveyed to Nigeria and sold at cut- prices in our local market. And since the cost price of the yams will still be far lower than its selling price,they are still able to make killer-profits,!
Since then, my respect for him doubled and i nicknamed him **the** **messi** **of** **yam** **business** as he makes other players looks like merry paintings on the wall. Lol
The ability to diversify is also an important quality of a smart business man or woman . I have another favorite trader in the market who also applies his ingenuity to maximise profits . He doesn't always focus on the sales of a particular food item like the way other traders do. He alternates the sales of mangoes, cucumber, carrots and cherry each year whenever the market conditions are favourable for any of the fruits .For instance, there is usually a high demand for mangoes and cherry during the rainy season. He would abandon the others and invest all his capital on mangoes thereby making huge sales. During the dry season,he focuses more on cucumber and salads.
No doubt, creativity and the ability to think outside the box will always draw a clear line between the men and the boys. Lol.
Shout- out to my beautiful and promising doctor @DocLayla for being my newest sponsor. May God continue to give you more strength to save the lives. 💗💗
I want to express my sincere gratitude to @candyboy for considering me worthy of his sponsorship. Thank you so much sir for your patience and for believing in me
A big thank you to my big aunty @Talecharm for the sponsorship. I really appreciate the recognition. God bless you and yours always.💗
So sorry i am seeing this now .A very big thanks to my beautiful Adrielle1214 for being my new sponsor. Really appreciate you my little angel. I also want you to know Mum loves and adores you so much 💗💗
My sincere gratitude and appreciation to my new sponsors @ErdoV and @officialrosh1. Thank you for for considering me worthy 💗💗
Unfaithful Tailors
Hello everyone. Hope you all had a beautiful and productive Monday. Its a pleasure to write to you once again. Most of my faithful subscribers and readers must have already know by now that **i** **am** **more** **of** **a** **storyteller** **than** **a** **writer**. Lol. I have a knack of writing stories about my own experiences and that of people around me with a peculiar strategem . Honestly, I never knew that I had this faculty in me until I joined readcash. I also want to thank you all my loyal readers, sponsors and subscribers for your unwavering support by bringing out one my best parts. You all gave me the inspiration and the "ginger" to keep pushing and getting better each day. 💗💗💗
So, today I want to talk about my unpleasant experiences with naija tailors. Lol. It is a known fact that majority of our tailors can be unpredictable just like our NEPA. Your tailor might be loyal and devoted to you for more than five years. But he must surely "f**k up"one day and it is usually on a most important occasion or hour that they default.
The first bitter experience I had was when I was in my first year at the university. There is this special celebration that comes around in our village every five years. This particular year, and elder brother of mine was among the celebrants, so I couldn't afford to miss it. I have already planned to travel a week before the event. The festival lasts for five days and and there are special attires to be wore on each of the five days.
Since I was away from home, I wasn't able to take my cloths to my mother's tailor who had been very consistent and never disappoints. I asked around for a tailor. I was directed to a guy whose shop was not very far from the school. I was also told that he was superb at his craft and always delivered on time, so i rushed to his shop immediately.
He told me that my clothes will be ready in three days, possibly before then. I was so impressed that I paid him in full ( the usual practice to give half of the payment. Then when the clothes have been sewn, you complete the payment). My measurements were taken and I left his place with a confident smile on my face.
Three days passed quickly, and it was exactly a week to the big event. To my amazement, I met the tailor's shop locked. A woman from the next shop volunteered in providing his number. After dialling three times, he eventually answered. He said a cousin of his died and he had to travel to a nearby town for the burial. He apologized profusely for the inconvenience and promised to return the same day and complete my clothes. He claimed he had already started working on it and was about to finish. I also sent my condolences to him for the loss of his cousin.
Two days later, I returned to his shop. As soon as he saw me alighting from the bike, he immediately brought out my clothes and pretended to be working on it. He again apologized to me , giving another excuse that his wife had been sick and he was just returning from the hospital.
By this time, I had become quite apprehensive and fearful. The ceremony was in less than a week from now and this man hadn't even finished sewing even one of the two dresses I had given him!
He promised that he would sew all the materials today and they would all be ready at ten pm. I could choose to come get it at that time or wait till the next day, he said. I never knew that as soon as I had left, this man had abandoned my materials and left the shop.
I couldn't go back that night since it was already late and would be quite unsafe for a lady. But I was so anxious to get my dresses. So, I sent a friend of mine ( a guy) to help me get the delivery. He returned around half past ten and told me that he met the shop locked. I tried the tailor's number several times but it remained switched off. I had problems with sleep that night.
As soon as we were done with the first morning lecture the following day, I rushed to the tailor's shop. I was so angry you would think i was about to go kill someone. When I finally arrived at his place, I met the shop opened but nobody was there. I sat down on a bench by the door and decided to wait for him. Maybe he had gone to ease himself I thought.
After waiting for more than an hour, I resolved to go into the shop and searched for my dresses, damning the consequences. I hadn't searched for up to a minute when I saw the materials for the dresses. It was dumped carelessly in an old sack. It wasn't even cut yet, it was just as exactly as I had brought it.
All the anger in me suddenly dissipated and was replaced by a sick feeling of regret and hopelessness that moved me to tears. My own brother's occasion was in three days time and I was supposed to travel to our village that night. I wished I had took the initiative and sent the clothes to my mother's tailor.
As I step out of the shop with my clothes in hand, the woman from the next shop saw the depression written all over my face and she came outside to console me. I later learned that moses( tailor's name) was a gambler and a drunk who had been in the habit of disappointing his customers and hardly any customers visit his shop nowadays. He was also fond of exchanging a customer clothes with another customer's when "high" on marijuana.
There was a time he spent a week in the cell when he was arrested by a bride' family whose dress he failed to sew until the day of the wedding. The woman said she was sure that he was in local bar at the moment and already drunk.
Consequently,I missed three days out of the five days of the festival. By the time I arrived at the village,I told mum about what I passed through in the hands of moses the tailor. I saw all the beautiful photos my siblings, cousins, parents took in my absence with their glowing and identical attires and I became so sad
This experience and two other painful encounters with unfaithful tailors made me almost vow to settle for english wears only. But that would be almost impossible since we had to be in our traditional wears for most weddings and ceremonies .
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Thank you so much for reading
Yours lovely,
Bilqees.
Landlord wahala !!!
Hello beautiful people. Hope you all enjoying your Sundays. Wanna wish everyone a beautiful and productive Christmas week. Right now in my area, every one is in high spirits. Christmas songs are just blarring ceaselessly from stereos.
I was suddenly waken this morning by a ripple of unpleasant buzz and commotion coming from the building that shares same bar with mine . This didn't come as a surprise to me as i rolled back my eyes and yawned before reluctantly getting up. I had already guessed correctly that it was the usual "**landlord** **wahala**". ( ***wahala*** in my native language means trouble). Lol.
The clannish voice of my young neighbor and the ghastly voice of her problematic landlord rented the air for the next 30 minutes.
He was actually ordering the young lady to pack out of the house before he returns back from the shop,else he would mobilise thugs to throw her out. But the young lady merely laughed at his threats while pointing a finger and vowed that she wouldn't vacate the property until her rent expired.
This young lady had been friendly to me for sometime and we usually visit each other's apartment once in a while and engage in pleasant conversations. She wouldn't be three or four years older than I am.
She willfully told me that what had transpired. Her and other tenants woke up to find out that their electricity supply had been disconnected by the distribution company. This made the occupants of the house angry as they had already paid their electricity dues to their landlord who was responsible for gathering the money and later pay on their behalf. It turned out that the landlord hadn't yet paid and the electrical workers cut off their supply. This wasn't the first time this had happened but this time around they were all fed up. The young lady was getting ready for church and was about to press her new outfit for a church wedding when she discovered that there was no electricity. No doubt she became frustrated.
What is worse is that there had been a steady increment in the electricity bill over the past months. And of course, they knew that it was the landlord that was responsible for the addition and not the power company,but despite this, they still continue to pay.
Whenever he sees any of his tenants buy a new appliance like an air conditioner, standing fan, satellite dish, he would take this as an opportunity to increase the light bill on the excuse that these gadgets consumes alot of energy. The recent increment in electricity cost,was because one of the tenants had just bought an iPhone. According to the landlord, this brand of phone consume electricity more than any other type, so he hiked the bill again
What is worse is that the landlord had prohibited the use of generator set beyond 10pm even when there would be a general power failure during the hot season. He would bark at anybody who was not comfortable with this arrangement and ask them to either sleep outside or quit the property.
Two months ago, one of the tenants bought a television satellite. three days after its installation, the landlord came to visit and complained that equipment was too close to the toilet even though none of the other tenants complained. Later in the evening, the landlord returned with two of his grown up sons who moved the satellite dish to another position which was rather parlous. Two weeks later, a terrible wind came around and ravaged the equipment to bits since it was not firmly grounded in its new position. The young man was so irritated that he stopped greeting the landlord anytime they met.
I don't know weather this is peculiar to my part of the world, seventy percent of people in my country when asked would always complain how mean and dictatorial the owners of the property are.
It is could be more horrifying if the landlord is a retiree living in thesame property with the tenant. He might easily get bored due to idleness and age and decide to vent out and harass his tenants just to feel good or be noticed.
Its quite preposterous for landlords/landladies to think themselves gods over their tenants. I mean its not as if I am living at the property for free neither am i being fed by the landlord or his wife. I see a landlord and his tenants business partners. Just like any business partnership between any buyer and seller that both mutually gain from and respect each other. The landlord is simply rendering a service and I am definitely paying for it since its not a favor. So a landlord or a landlady have absolutely no right to oppress his/her tenants. It doesn't just make sense to me because its not a one-way thing,we are benefitting from each other.
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Thank you so much for taking your time to read. To my generous sponsors , I really appreciate you. To my commenters, upvoters and subscribers, I love you too
Yours lovely 💗💗💗
Bilqees
I would like to appreciate my kind and beautiful aunties: khing14, Gertu13, bloghound. Thank you all so much for the kind gestures. I'm honored. 💗💗
Wedding weekends!!!
Hello my lovely pals. Trust you we all are having a splendid weekend. Saturdays are always bubbling with life that I somtimes wonder weather its actually a day to rest. Saturdays are always the focus for social gatherings like graduation party, family meetings, get together party,thanksgivings and ofcourse wedding ceremonies.
Saturdays are normally the days set aside for wedding ceremony in my country. The traffic at the city centre is always terrible on saturday more than any other day as almost everyone (both motorists and pedestrians) seems anxious to get to a wedding venue on time.
There's hardly any Saturday that comes by without me attending a wedding. Sometimes there might be two to three weddings I have to catch on the same day. Whenever that happens, I would be in a dilemma especially when the two brides are close friends of mine. I would have no choice than to share my time between the two programs and consequently, this would make me awfully enervated by the time I returned home.
A relative of mine had her wedding today and as expected I had to go. I wouldn't say I was invited per say. In africa, whenever your friend, sister, brother, cousin, nephew, niece or even a classmate is getting married, you need no formal invitation before you attend. No reason whatsover for your absence would be tolerated since it is a Saturday and you are supposed to have alot spare time. Except you were critically ill in the hospital or you were out of country, only in these situations would your absenteeism be justified, else, you might be called "**envious**"or worse "**enemy** **of progress**".
Even if you were residing in a different city ,you are expected to travel all the way to the city where the ceremony is taking place when someone in the family is about to wed. This is always a rare opportunity for you to meet and greet longtime family relatives whom you have never saw since mom brought you to the world. Then after the celebrations, everybody disappears and gets acquainted again on the next future wedding ceremony of another relative. Lol.
Once in a while, a tragedy occurs when vehicles conveying wedding-bound passengers get involved in a fatal accident and every body dies. This might be due to bad road networks, overspeeding or carelessness both on the the side of the driver or the passengers. Thereby turning the bliss into a bitter experience. Its quite unfortunate that air transport is not as affordable here as it is in other parts of the world.
Ah! I have almost forgotten, as a relative of the bride, we all would have to appear in identical clothes specially chosen by the bride in reverence of her wedding day. This special attire is popularly known as ***anko or aso-ebi.***
Nobody ever gives a second thought whether you are broke or not. You just have to buy the selected dress if you are part of the bride's or groom's inner circle, no matter how much it costs. You are also expected to attend both the church service and also be at the reception party. It is also important that you dance vigorously on stage with the bride and groom in order to prove that you are "**happy** **for** **them**". Why the hell would you be focusing on your smartphone or reading articles on read cash while others are dancing on stage? Are you the chairman of the occasion? Are you the president? You would definitely be tagged "**envious**" if you don't get up and dance like a mad human.
While dancing or during the ceremony, you shouldn't forget to take alot of photos of yourself , the celebrants, then post them on your social media pages with a very stirring caption in an effort to show the couples that you "**shared** **in** **their** **joy**"
Unlike in europe or asia where sometimes, the invited guests might just be comfortable with wines. Food must be prepared and served in our African weddings. As a matter of fact, any wedding where the popular "**jollof** **rice**" is not served,then the couples should be sued for "**decieving**" members of the public. The food and eating part is popularly referred to as "**item** **seven**" on the list of activities for the wedding. Needless to say more than seventy percent of the guest( mostly uninvited ) have been patiently waiting for this part. Sometimes, an annoying anchor popularly called MC ( master of ceremony), instead of quickly moving to "item seven" would be wasting valuable time dishing out boring jokes when everyone was already tired and hungry
The couples and their families would have to makes sure that more than enough food is prepared for everyome to eat to stupor and even take home, else their wedding would not be considered as "big". It is already a known fact that majority of the attendees would be uninvited guests and of course you wouldn't blame such individuals. The economy is quite harsh and " **anywhere** **you** **see** **free** **food**, **eat**". A large chunk of the audience might even be **passerbys** who saw a ceremony in progress, then decided to settle down at the spot and fill their bellies. These particular set of people are normally the last to leave the venue after making sure that they have scavenged for every bits of food that must have been left over by the invited guests.
Thank you so much for taking your time to read through. I couldn't write this early enough because I was so tired after returning from a wedding ceremony of a relative. I promise to return to read and drop a comment in all your articles when I wake up again in the morning... To all my sponsors, commenters and upvoters, I shall continue to love you all. 💗💗💗
Yours lovely,
Bilqees.
Ladies and gentlemen, The crème de LA crème. The lioness herself has become my my newest sponsor @Bloghound. Thank you so much ma'am ☺ and I really appreciate this recognition. I promise I wouldn't falter, in fact I just got more motivated!!!
Easy on the food.
Hello everyone. I trust you all are doing OK. Am not your regular TGIF girl,lol. I prefer to stay indoors and bask in my fantasy world on Fridays and on weekend. I have been immersed in a book all morning, titled the **atomic** **habits**, **authored** by James clear. One of my big sis @Talecharm promised it would be a good read, so I tried it out. I was so engrossed that I totally forgot about lunch and its almost 5pm in my part of the world. I was about to about to tuck in a decent meal when I recall that I haven't written an article for the day.
My appetite vanished immediately and I grabbed my phone. I have always been this way. Whenever I remember an important task, then no matter how hungry I was, I won't be able to eat until I have completed my stint. Even when preparing for an examination or test, I study on an empty stomach. This is because if I stuff myself up before studies, my body would feel dense and i wouldn't be able to read for as long as I had initially planned before getting tired. I also understand difficult concept faster and generate new ideas when am hungry than when filled. Needless to say, I have a firm grip on my appetite.
When I was much more younger, I had been a foodie just like every other kids. I would always ask dad or mom to buy me every candy, biscuits or chocolates I see on the way. As a result I became a chubby-tubby little girl.
When I completed my elementary school, my parents thought it wise that I continue my high school education in a boarding school. I think that was were I learned discipline and how to cut down on my food intake. If you attended a boarding school, you would agree with me that the food ration is much lower than that of our parents house. And ofcourse, the meals are not as delicious like mom's. Most times it is usually tasteless and sometimes unwholesome as your teeth would continually clash with little pebbles while chewing. This can be very exasperating. No need to mention that you would have to wait for almost half an hour on a queue before it gets to your turn to be served. Somedays, I skip lunch or dinner ehrn I feel too tired to stand in a queue after a lengthy lesson or after a cumbersome test.
Passing through these experiences regularly for almost six years made me indifferent towards food. Each time mom comes visiting, she would lament that I kept losing weight. But she never failed to notice the focus, courage, perseverance,tenacity and strength of character written all over my face. She realized that all these qualities were head and shoulders above gluttony and this made her proud of me. Thank God I never developed ulcer which today, is very common among young people that attended boarding schools in my country
By the time i was in my year one in the university, I cared less about food as i only ate twice a day. I never skipped breakfast though. It was the most important meal of the day and everyone knows that.
I had this room mate who was a glutton. Infact, that was an understatement, she could eat for Africa. Whenever, I return to our room, I always find her eating, eighty percent of the time .
If it were cooked meals , i wouldnt be more bothered, but she is fond of consuming junks and carbonated drinks. Even when outside, she would always chow down these processed foods on the way. She could gulp down an average of two bottles of coke per day. As a result, her stomach looked baggy and enormous for a young girl of her age. As expected, she looked older than her age.
One night, she rushed into the room crying. I allowed her to finish and afterwards asked her what had happened. She told me that her boyfriend had broken up with her. He complained that she eats too much and finds that disgusting. I felt sorry for her.
One would have thought she would have been wiser after the break up by curtailing her eating habits. But that wasn't the case, as a matter of fact, She binged on food with full force more than ever before that I began to fear for her health. That was when I realized that gluttony was actually a psychological disorder or an illness. Depression pushed her to seek solace in consuming more food which was actually what she had always been addicted to. Jus like how a smoker would consume more packets of cigarettes than usual when he's heartbroken or depressed.
One day, we heard that a friend of ours was Ill and had undergone surgery. So, me and my room mate went to pay her a visit at the hospital. After the visit, we decided to tour the hospital. An idea occurred to me,I deliberately lead her to the diabetes ward. The patients who had chronic diabetes were looking gaunt and wasted. My room mate was obviously more shocked than I was, and she was moved to tears.
On our way back, I kindly explained to her that if she doesn't cut down on her excessive consumption of soft drinks and other junks, ten to fifteen years from now, she might find herself in the same condition as those patients in the diabetes ward. "If you spend an average of 300 naira a day on coke, that means in a month you would have spent 3000 naira. Then after a year, it would be 109,500 naira". and ofcourse she had been addicted to coke and processed foods too for more than a year. I further explained that the monies spent on these viands would be enough for you to start a business after school, invest in crytocurrency, or even invest in your family's future. This means that you are gradually but surely eating your health and wealth away.
She was dumbfounded by this analysis and for the rest of the day, she was in a melancholic mood. I told her that whenever she feels the urge for compulsive eating, and thinks that she cant control it, she should opt from fruits and vegetables instead of succumbing to packaged foods. Fruits and vegetables are more helpful to the body because our body actually needs them more than these junks which would even cause serious metabollic damages when consumed over a long period of time. I even advised her to seek for spiritual help if she she can because gluttony is among the seven deadly sins and its capable of ruining a person.
Thank you all for taking your time to read . Sending my love to my sponsors @Theblackdoll @Kushyzee @Mictorrani and big brother and sister @Olasquare @Princessbusayo
**CONCLUSION**
Carbohydrates can be addictive.This is because it stimulates the brain to release serotonin which is a "feel good" chemical. Am this gives an ephemeral pleasure to our body system. It makes us crave for more serotonin which in turn leads us to more consumption of junks,then we become hooked. This can be very dangerous as a person would now be more interested in eating more than the accomplishment of any other goal in life.
Defeating Glossophobia
It is said that over 70 percent of the population suffer from glossophobia (feae of pubic speaking). Although the degree or extent vary from one person to the next. You would be surprised to know that a lot of iconic figures like mark twain, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley have all experienced stage fright at one point or the other in their lives.
It is common knowledge that introverts pass through stage fright more than extroverts . An extrovert would find it way easier to interact and flow with the crowd than a loner. When I was growing up, there was this kid in my neighbor who despite being a stammerer was also an extrovert. He never cared if other kids ridiculed him whenever he was having difficulties in his speech. He continued to express his opinions strongly at any given opportunity when he's in a crowd. Soon, everyone got tired of laughing at him. We all admired his courage and self esteem.
I would also suffer from stage fright if I were asked to speak in front of a crowd. This usually happens to me in the first few seconds which is quite normal, then i regain my composure afterwards and start to be at ease with my audience. So, long as I have a good knowledge of the subject and also rehearsed my speech, then I am good to go.
Sometimes,i might become frightened when the population of my audience turn out to be higher than anticipated, especially when it is an unknown audience filled with older faces. In this situation, my way out would be to scan through the audience for easy and friendly faces . Faces that seem interested and attentive in what I have to say. As I focus on these faces while I speak, I would feel proud that I am making sense and there wouldn't be any reason to be nervous anymore, instead I become inflamed. This was one of the techniques I used t overcome stage fright. I have never read any book on public speaking.
When I was in federal government girls college (FGGC), a friend in my class who was very brilliant sufferrd from acute stage fright whenever she was called upon for a presentation, debate or quiz. Her legs would quake, her hands would tremble, her voice would shake and she would begin to stutter in front of her fellow students. And as you would expect, everyone would laugh at her and some bullies would even taunt and scoff at her for days.
She felt very humiliated and with a deflated spirit, she would run to the toilet to cry. As a result o this phobia and in order to prevent another round of embarrassment, she would risk punishment by deliberately arriving late to the assembly ground,or skip assembly completely whenever her name was among the presenters or news casters list for that week.
I noticed her continual absenteeism in our morning assembly. I asked her tge reason and she opened up to me. I made her realize that it makes no sense running away from your fears and she would come to realize this too in the future.
"You can only run, but you cannot hide. This is something that other girls are doing, so why would you be afraid to do it, its not as if others have two heads. Come to think of it, you are one of the most brilliant girls in the school. Its not as if anybody would shoot or bite you when you start to speak in front of others. So, why the fear?" I would say to her.
This is a girl that wants to be a lawyer tomorrow .I found this very funny. Have you ever seen a lawyer who trembles when speaking in court because he is afraid of the jury? How would you defend your client? How would you become a successful lawyer? I asked her these questions . She ruminated on what I just said for a while. Then suddenly I saw determination in her eyes and she vowed to fight and defeat this fear now, before it ruined her. And of course I promised to help her.
whenever she's about to go on stage, we both would agree to a plan. As soon as she starts speaking, she was to focus on my face only and forget everyone else . The idea was that if she was afraid of the fixed gaze of others, she wouldn't be afraid of mine. This helped in calming her nerves and she began to improve steadily and her blemishes were not as pronounced as before.
This strategy proved very effective, but ofcourse she didnt stop here since we Can't be together all the time or forever. What if she finds herself standing in front of an unknown crowd tomorrow.
She was later advised by her pastor to join the choir at the church. She was to be in the first row and in the middle of other Choirsters where everyone would see her whenever they are performing for the church audience. Within a short time, she progressed tremendously to the extent that she became one of the lead singers in her choir.
In bible classes, she never failed to give valuable contribution and would even stand up most times to give a commentary about her understanding of a particular verse. In no time, she started exploring other avenues for opportunity to speak up in front of others. She even registered in acting classes. Today she has totally conquered the fear of public speaking and I am very confident that she would be a highly successful lawyer tomorrow.
**Conclusion**
Fear of public speaking is a psychological thing. It is fear that only exists in your mind. Frank Herbert once said " I must not fear, fear is a mind killer. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I would turn the inner eye to see its path where the fear has gone, and there will be nothing, only I will remain".
Thank you so much for reading. To all my readers, upvoters and commenters I thank you. A big shoutout to my sponsors @Theblackdoll, @Kushyzee @Mictorrani
My sincere gratitude and appreciation to @Mictorrani for the sponsorship. Sorry I am just getting to see this now. Thank you so much for considering me worthy of thy previlledge 💗
Grandma the stronger
Exactly one week ago, we received a disturbing news that my 79 years old grandma was very ill. As a matter of fact , she had been falling ill intermittently from time to time. This was not strange as a result of her age. But her ailment last week was quite scary because we were told that that she couldn't get up from her bed for days. I was particularly very scared because I love my nana so much.
But that mom told me there was no need to be apprehensive. She assured me that nana would be wholesome again, as she had always been. Me and my mother have always admired the strength and sturdiness of nana even in her senescence. Yesterday, we called again,and Just as mom had guaranteed, my nana was already recuperating. Lol
At that age, she is still able to come to life as early as 6am every morning. Then she clears out to her farm. Mom have repeatedly pleaded with her to quit going to work on the farm since she have reached the winter of her life. But nana would never accord to her advice, she would reply that if she give up farming today, she would die the next day. Farming had now become part and parcel of her. Nana is so strong that she can still fast for the whole 30 days of Ramadan. Hell, she doesn't even struggle to lift a six years old big baby.
Mom use to tell me that when she was a young girl, nana would wake up as early as 4am. Together with grandpa, they would begin an hour journey to the river. Then on a paddled canoe, they would probe the river for fishes via fishing nets and calabashes till it was 8am. Nana would stash them up in a big bowl and head directly to the market for sales. As soon as the fishes were all sold, she branches off to the farm to give grandpa a hand.
I remember when I was a 6 year old, I suffered from a life-threatening illness that usually strike children who were born at that time. All hope of my recovery was lost but my nana stood an sat firmly by my side. She would always encourage and support mom who was already heartbroken, all through. She told her that I would definitely survive.
I finally recovered from the sickness. All thanks to God and my nana who explored every available solution so that I could be well again. I still remember vividly how my nana would sing and dance in front of me so just I could laugh when I was in pains. She would always wake me in the middle of the night and carry me on her back to the bathroom where I could ease myself . Even after I recovered, it became our routine.No need to mention that I became her favorite grand daughter amongst all my cousins.
Those days, in our culture,there's a belief that giving eggs to young children to eat is tantamount to "spoiling them" as they might develop an insatiable appetite for eggs and some would continue to cry until they are given an egg. So, little children would have to wait till they get to atleast 13years before they start to eat eggs. But as soon as my nana observed that I loved eggs, and whenever I eat them, I looked happier, she would quietly take me to her room where nobody would see us.and bolt the door. There,she supply me as many eggs I want, Lol.
We would always sleep on thesame bed at night eat together too. On Sundays , i usually follow her to her weekly women's meeting at the village square and she buys virtually everything I ask her to buy for me on the way.
All these happened before I left the village. I was told that after I had gone, she became a shadow of herself for almost a month. She had refused to go to farm for almost a month, always sitting down at the front of her room looking gloomy . she ate less and talked less.It looked as if part of her had gone with me.
But ever since I left the village, that was ofcourse a long time ago, i have always been in correspondence with her. we communicated regularly on phone and she would tell me all that have been happening in the village and God! She definitely knows how to talk and gossip, Lol.
when I was in secondary school, she had always thought i would be a nurse one day.. According to her own understanding of Education, every educated woman becomes a nurse and every educated man becomes a doctor. Lol.
Mom and I never fail to visit her atleast once or twice in a year. As soon as she set her eyes on me, she would try to carry me up as if i were still her little girl she even makes me sit on her thigh while she stroke my hair and inspects me closely. Then she would declare that i looked thinner than the last time we met and would rebuke my university for not giving me enough food. Without delay, she dashes into her kitchen to prepare my favorite dish. And Gosh! How I enjoy my Nana's meals.
There was a time that she wore my heels and was walking in them in a chic and sleek manner . I screamed out of shock. I feared that she would fall anytime soon and hurt her already frail body. But she smiled and confidently told me that she would get up whenever she falls. Of course, I wasn't convinced, I immediately pulled them off her legs and hid them in a space where her hands could not reach. For the next minutes, she was just grumbling and muttering that I should allow her to appreciate life the way we young women do, claiming that she wasn't that old afterall. Lol.
My Granny is just so amazing..
Thanks alot for taking your time to read... I am very sorry I couldn't post an article yesterday, I was quite under the weather.
I dedicate this article to my second and newest sponsor @Kushyzee .
Thank you all 💗💗💗
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my second sponsor @Kushyzee. Thanks alot for the privilege. I'm really honored and grateful 🙌💗
The Scorpion Queen.. 2
hello everyone, nice meeting you again . I trust you all are doing great.
Well i would like to continue the other parts of the story I started yesterday. I am still yours lovely "scorpion queen". For those of you that didn't see my previous article on my first and terrible encounter with a scorpion, pls click on this link. https://read.cash/@Bilqees/the-scorpion-queen-4b1c9b74. I promise you would find it very intriguing. Trust me.
So, in this article, I would be sharing my second , third and fourth encounters with my cute scorpions.
The second time I was stung was when I was in my second year in college. It happened at night, during exams period. So, we had this back-breaking course called biochemistry 2202. In addition to these courses being cumbersome and bulky, the course tutors from the particular department were very mean. It is even said that most of them are delighted when there is a mass failure in the particular course. This particular course was the bane of all the students in the faculty of basic medical science which comprises of anatomy, physiology and biochemistry and seventy percent of students in these department fail this course every year.
When I got to level two, I was determined not to fail and carryover this particular course. So, when exams came, I read extensively and virtually everything about the course. I didnt limit myself to the lecture notes alone. I took the initiative and studied online materials too because I heard that some of the course tutors source for examination questions online that would certainly contain some parts that weren't taught in the class . As a result of this, the probability of students failing would be quite high since most of the questions woul be alien to them.
On that fateful night, I was on my way to the hostel after coming back from one of the lecture theaters where students read at nights. Then I was stung by scorpion number 2. I felt very sharp but familiar pain on my big toe and instinctively, I knew it had happened again. i let out a blaring sound and fell to the ground. This quickly alerted other students that were also walking along the path. They all abruptly stopped and turned around and In a few seconds, I was surrounded by a group of five students . Before they could ask any question, I immediately told them that I have been stung by a scorpion and continued to sway my head frantically from side to side because of the excruciating pains in my big toe. I felt my toe vibrating sporadically and i thought it burst open in any moment.
One of the students ripped apart a section of his shirt, and tied it firmly around my lower leg so that the venom wouldn't spread. They were about taking me to the school clinic but later decided not to, because the clinic have not been functional for sometime now and it would be a waste of time.
I was then taken back to my hostel, By the time we got to hostel, The pains were now very dull and i felt as if my leg had paralyzed and I began to panic .I was surrounded by more students and some where trying their best to console me. One of them brought an Idea. She told the others that onions was a very effective remedy for a scorpion sting.Two big bulbs of onion was brought before me and were cut into several halves. I was urged to chew the onions.
Ever since I was a kid , I have been allergic to onions. I find the smell repulsive. So mum never included it in my meal. But since this was a situation of great consequence, I had to choice but to chew the onions like a favorite chocolate. The others halves were applied on the spot of the sting which helped to invalidate the venom.
My third encounter with a scorpion happened when I traveled to the village for a big festival. I was again stung at night when coming back from a friend's. I was taken to grandma and she made me drink some herbal mixture which she said was very effective. It tasted awful but I was forced to drink all of it since I had no choice.
I revealed to grandma that this would be the third time that I had been stung by scorpions. I asked her wether she knew any reason why they were always after me, and she said no. But she promised me that i would never have any encounter with them again, by God's grace.
My encounters with scorpions alongside the insufferable and horrifying pains begin to have a toll on my mental health. There was a time that I would have nightmares about scorpions like twice in every month. I would always wake up petrified and would be in Panick mode for the rest of the day. I would stay indoors throughout the day whenever I experience such nightmares. I wouldn't even want to leave my room.
Later on , I took the initiative by visiting a renowned hospital. I told them my story and asked for an anti venom . I carried it in my handbag for almost a year anywhere I went, just in case my little vicious friends decided to pay me a visit soon.
My fourth experience with Mr. Scorpion was quite strange and extraordinary . I wasn't even aware that I had been stung and I felt absolutely no pain at all. It was even a friend that was sitting very close that saw the scorpion and indicated the spot I have been stung. I didnt even panicked, I remained calm and was even reluctant to get help. I just sat down there and kept wondering why I hadn't felt any pains. This came as a big surprise to me really. I began to think maybe my body was now fed up from the constant harassment of these fiendish creatures that it had now decided not to succumb anymore by reinforcing its defence mechanism and immunity towards the stings. Lol, I don't know weather that was the reason though. Just my assumptions.
As a matter of fact, I have stopped going around with my scorpion anti venom. Recently, I have been thinking of starting up a scorpion farm since these athropods Always find me appealing . Do you think it would be a profitable venture? Let me hear your thoughts on this
Thanks a lot for taking your time to read.
A very big thank you to my one and only sponsor @Theblackdoll and to.all my commenters and upvoters so far. Thanks a lot for the continued kind gestures.
he
Happy birthday to @GarrethGrey07. One of the most kindest persons I know here. May the god lord continue to bless you heavily and heavenly. Cheers 😀
The Scorpion Queen.
Well, today I would want to confess to you all that I am the "**SCORPION QUEEN"**
Is her zodiac sign Scorpio? Does she eats scorpions? or maybe she loves scorpions or she considers them cute.
If you are thinking in any of these lines, then you are absolutely wrong.
Believe me when I tell you that I have been stung by scorpions four times in my 25 years of existence.
Yes, you heard right, I have been attacked by these little beasts FOUR times in my short life and I kid you not. These vicious arachnids are attracted to me more than the way the males of my species are attracted to me.
Sometimes I would wonder weather I were a female scorpion in my past life, maybe that explains the strong affinity they have for me. I'm beginning to think that if i got stung for the fifth time, I would transform into a scorpion for real.
The first time was when I was a 14 years old kid. Dad bought two beautiful wrist watches for me and my brother because he had been very impressed by our Performances in a just concluded examination.
Whenever I wore my exquisite wristwatch on my wrist, everyone in class would always admire it and profess how beautiful it looked. I became the center of attraction at that period. Girls from other classes would also want to be friends with me as a result of my very attractive wrist watch.
My best friend in class with whom i share virtually everything was so in love with my watch that she pleaded with me to allow her have it during the weekend. She told me that her elder sister was getting married on Saturday and on the wedding day, she would like to put on the watch on her new dress. I thought how beautiful she would look and I granted her request, after all what are friends for?
When we met in school on Monday, she narrated to me breathlessly how the other kids at the wedding ceremony admired the watch and kept saying several times how beautiful she looked with the watch. I was pleased to hear this.
Anyway, the wedding was over and she had to return my property. My friend looked sad through the school hours after I had collected my watch from her. I knew the reason why she was in this mood and I felt sorry for her. On our way home, i suddenly had an idea. I immediately turned to my friend and promise I would get her another watch which was just like mine the following week. She was so excited and became happy again.
Now,when we were much younger,i and my brother were not friends at all. Most times, Our relationship in the house was like that of a cat and mouse because we were always at each others throat. On the day, we got our watches, he gave me a stern warning never to lay my hands on his watch. He knew I was quite careless and very soon, he feared that i might lost my watch and would want to have his own.
" bilqees, the day you lay your hands on my watch would be the day you would be stung by a scorpion, just like how it happened in that movie when margaret tried to trick her brother and she got stung by a big scorpion".I **laughed** **at** **him** **because** **I** **thought** **he** **sounded** **ridiculous**, **I** **called** **him** **silly** as he stormed out of the house with his wristwatch.
So, my plan now was to take my brother's watch and give it to my Bestie, after all, sh was jus like a sister to me.
After i had made that promise to my friend, I kept observing and watching my brother closely in the days that followed. I wanted to know where keeps his watch as he doesn't always goes out with it the way I do with mine.
On Sunday, i , mom and younger sister were watching a movie in the Sitting room when my brother returned from a football viewing center and headed straight to his room. Minutes later I stood up and told mom I had to go to the bathroom. As soon as I had left the sitting room, I silently went towards my brothers room.
His door was closed,I leaned my face on the side of the door so that my eyes could see through the narrow space that separated the door from its hinges. Lo and behold I saw brother putting his wrist watch under the carpet where his mattress was before laying down to sleep. I smiled mischievously and quickly went to join the rest in the sitting room.
That night, i took time to plan my mission before going to bed as I imagined how excited my friend would be when i gave her the watch.
After breakfast,I waited for several minutes at the dining area. I made sure that brother was already on his way to school, and by the way, we do not always walk together to school. So, he didnt see it as a surprise when I wouldnt leave for school with him.
When I was sure he had left the house, I immediately rushed to his room,and I met the door open . I quickly entered and knelt down beside his mattress, As i raised the carpet below, i put my left hand underneath, moving it from left to right as I desperately search for his watch. The search didnt last for ten seconds when I felt a very sharp pain at one of my fingers. At first, I thought it was an ant as they were very common around. I hurriedly brought out my hand to have a look and behold, a SCORPION was hanging around the tip of my little finger.
At first, I screamed from shock and disbelief rather than from pain. The scorpion wriggled from my finger and hurried entered under the carpet again. seconds later, an agonizing pain racked over the particular spot and began to spread gradually but insidiously through the length of the whole finger. I screamed again more than how I have never screamed before.
Mom rushed into the room breathlessly and came to an abrupt halt as soon as she saw me, she asked what was the matter. I was in severe pains but I manage to form the word SCOR-PI-ON . With my other hand, I pointed to the side of the carpet close to the wall, mom raised the side up but there was no scorpion. In that brief moment, I took a quick glance at the spot and I was shocked that there was no watch too. My eyes widened as I fell flat on my back and continued to scream.
At this point, I would like to say that if you could endure the pains of a scorpion sting, then I don't think there's any other pain or pains in this world that you can't bear. Mom was obviously shaken and agitated. She had no idea what to do about a scorpion sting. Dad had already left for work and brother had gone to school. It was just me, mother and younger sister that were still at home.
Mom rushed outside with tears pouring down her face. She was banging deliriously on our neighbor's door screaming for help, but Mr. Hassan and his wife had also taken their six years old daughter to school. Like a maniac,mom ran out of the house and started screaming for help on the street.
She came into the room with three neighbors from the other house. By this time I was already tearing out my hair. My face, neck and the top of my blouse were soaked in tears. Little sister was crying uncontrollably too, she was pleading with me not to die.
One of the neighbor came in with a thin rope which he tied round my wrist in order to prevent the venom from spreading, the other asked my mother for a razor. An incision was made on the finger where I was stung, a little blood was drained. Then the most elderly of the three men brought out a shiny black stone, the type I have never seen before. He placed it on the wound and it stuck to it immediately. I felt the pains gradually draining away from my finger. After five minutes, the stone fell off, and it felt as if all the pains had been absorbed by the Blackstone.
It seemed like a miracle. The elderly man told us that the stone was a special healing stone which had the power of neutralizing snakebites and scorpion stings. He said that the stone was only found in the country Isreal. It was given to him by his brother who went to jalerusalem for pilgrimage. Mom was very surprised albeit relieved. Mom thanked the three men profusely
I slept for a very long time and by the time I opened my eyes, It was already evening. The first person I saw was my brother who gave me a disapproving look. Then I saw dad and he smiled at me, he told me I would be fine. My little sister was smiling at me too and mom held my other hand.
I abruptly brought my self to a sitting position and as if m propelled by an invisible force, i fiercely pointed at my brother, and told everyone that he was the one that told the scorpion to sting me.
For a minute there was complete silence in the room as my parents continued to look at me wide eyed and mouths agape. they kept staring at me as if i were out of my mind. I repeated what i just said in a harsher tone and they both immediately snapped out of their trance.
**Then i heardMy** **brother** **laughed** **at** **me** **and** **said** I **sounded** **ridiculous**. He **called** me **silly**.
******†*****************************************************thank you so much for reading. This is my first encounter with my beautiful scorpions. I promise to share the second, third and fourth experiences with you all tomorrow.
I dedicate this article to the first sponsor I got earlier today @Theblackdoll .
Thanks a lot for believing in me 💗
Ladies and gentlemen, permit me to present to you my FIRST sponsor. The elegant, classy, royal and glorious @Theblackdoll. Thanks alot my Queen, I remain loyal ma'am.
@Bilqees
