It was popularly called green house because of the magnificent green colour of the house, in the whole of Pipeline street, it happens to be the most beautiful house. It is protected first by a gate, though it depicts the house of an high classed man but there wasn’t any form of security cameras.
It has a garden with beautifully decorated flowers and small trees where birds will come to rest in the evening and listen to the sweet lyrics of the flute being played by what the bird seem to call the bird boy because of his sweet, sonorous voice, but nevertheless they will still fly off when ever he stands up, you know, they can’t trust humans. But this evening, the bird boy dont seem to be coming to the garden, the birds have gathered on the trees again but for the first time they didn’t hear the sweet lyrics of the flute or the sweet voice of the bird boy. One by one, they soon began to fly away.
• Sitting on white, big comfortable bed is Gabriel but popularly known as the bird boy by the birds, his room could be seen surrounded with clothes of different kinds, they were all scattered. His wardrobe seem not be hold his cloth again as the content in it could be seen on the floor, to him, the room was neatly arranged. He wasn’t the only one in the room, his mom, Mrs Helen was with him, so also his flute, Tende the flute as he calls it was also with him. ” How won’t you fall sick? ” his Mom asked standing akimbo, ” Look how dirty your room is” She continued as she flung one of his cloth into the wardrobe. ” You better learn to take care of your things, you father has finally worked the admission for you in Uniben, no one will look after you there” She concluded and turned to go. ” I ain’t going to Uniben, I am am going to university of Ibadan” He shouted stretching his hand to pick his flute, Tende the flute. ” Gabriel, I know you want to go there because of that girl you call your girlfriend, for Christ sake, your books should be your number one priority now, not a girl” His mom shouted back..
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”Mom, am 18 years of age, I have the right to fall in love” he countered staring intensely at his mom. ” Imagine yourself, look at the so called girl, hasn’t she left you? Isn’t she the reason you are sick?” His mom laughed clapping her hands like a local gossiper. ” She left me because I couldn’t show love, I don’t know how to love, I am too withdrawn, this is the life style you and dad embedded in me ” Gabriel shouted as he made to put his flute in his mouth, ” Gabriel, no girl will leave you because you can’t love, rather, she will teach you how to love. Get ready, your dad has done connections for you in Uniben” She made to walk out. ” connections, connections, connections. Dont I have to pass through the struggles other students pass through? Can’t I struggle for myself, you guys are just …” His mom interrupted him. ” Gabriel, you are going to Uniben” She said calmly and walked out before he would say anything else. He took a long stare at the door after she was gone and started to fill the day with the beautiful sound produced from Tende the flute.
• Gabriel had met his first love right in secondary school, precisely in the sss 3 class. Unlike other guys, Gabriel isn’t a fair description of a lover boy. He was just plumb and withdrawn. Yes , how did he manage to get his first girlfriend? Tende the flute saved him, the girl, Nkechi had actually been attracted by the sonorous sound produced by the flute which Gabriel played in the music room during break hours. The whole school actually happens to be attracted towards the sweet, sonorous sound produced by Tende the flute but only Nkechi had been bold enough to come to him. Though , Gabriel might not be so romantic, loving as girls would want, but he wasn’t bad looking, he happens to be actually very handsome. For a boy like Gabriel, one can’t tell if he is in love because he had never showed of he was. But in Nkechi’s case, it was visible Gabriel had something for her but for one reason
or the other, he can’t just bring himself to stand face or face with her. So that day when Nkechi walked into the music room where Gabriel was alone playing the flute, he stopped immediately and dropped Tende on the table. ” Why did you stop?” She had asked him, ” I was done with the song” he simply replied without looking up at her. ” You can just play another one” She sat down beside him. ” No, I had planned to go back to class after the song I just concluded” he explained and made to stand up, ” How long are you going to continue hurting your feelings?” She suddenly asked and Gabriel stared in shock, yes he has feelings for Nkechi but he never thought she would look at his direction. He adjusted himself and patted Tende the flute. ” Feelings? Which feelings?” He found himself asking, to him, this wasn’t what he wanted to say but he just found the words coming out, he doesn’t know what is controlling him. ” I will surely kill myself if she leaves me because of this” he thought to himself as he stared awkwardly at Nkechi who was also staring at him but with a smile on her face. ” I know you love me” She blurted out while Tende the flute slipped off his hand, he was lucky to have caught it before it reached the ground. ” Do you love me ? Yes or No” She inquired staring intensely at Gabriel. No one might have noticed it because he was putting on the school Cardigan, but deep down his shirt, he was sweating profusely. ” I have brought myself low, I have waited for the day you will come to me and say you love me, but I know such day won’t come. I do love you, if you can’t tell me you love me, then I will have to forget about you” Nkechi stood up to go out, ” I l..ovve y..ouu” came the cracked voice of Gabriel, beads of sweat could now be visibly seen on his fore head. ” You say what?” Nkechi asked as she suddenly turned to face Gabriel who now has Tende the flute in his mouth and about to fill the music room with the sweet sound of Tende the flute..
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Tende the flute as Gabriel would always call it happens to be just an ordinary flute but unlike other ordinary flutes, Tende isn’t made with plastic but rather a unique wooden flute. His late grandpa had actually made it for him, apart from the fact that his grandpa happens to be a high classed man, he was also a good craftsman. He had made the flute when he had decided to go to the farm with Gabriel during a vacation to the village. ” Most craftsmen use bamboo sticks for their work” his grandpa had told him when they had stumbled on a land filled with bamboo sticks. ” So grandpa, you mean you can make anything from these sticks?” He asked his grandpa with a face full of doubt. ” Wait, I will make you a flute from these sticks” his grandpa assured him as he walked with his cutlass to cut the dried sticks. ” But grandpa, I can’t play the flute” Little Gabriel had shouted as his grand dad started to cut the stick. ” But I can play the flute” His grand dad shouted back. ” So you will teach me?” He asked with smiles on his face, ” Do I have to say it?” His grandpa smiled. ” You are a sweet old man” Gabriel shouted in laughter and Grandpa Silas soon started laughing at the joy of his grandson.
Anyways, that was about twelve years ago. Grandpa Silas is no more, he had joined the lord peacefully as an old man five years back. It had been terrible when he first started the flute teaching class with Gabriel, some times the neighbours will have to come and complain on the disturbance made by the rubbish being played by Gabriel, even the birds of the sky always took cover when they saw Gabriel with the flute then. But now, that same Gabriel is now a king of the flute, there isn’t anyone one who dont wish to hear the sweet sound produced from Tende the flute, the birds of the sky had now come to realize that that flute noise maker of that time, now produces sweet sound. To couple it all, apart from the sound made from the flute, Gabriel also had a good, sonorous voice just like Helen his mother. So any time he plays with his long time friend, Tende, he do back up with his voice. Some
times , even the harsh neighbours do envy his talent but will still come to bang at his father’s gate just to say he is disturbing the neighborhood. To show the love Gabriel has for Tende, he had once paid a painter to paint the wooden flute into a blue colour, he had also made a nylon case for it, and for once, the flute has never fallen from his hands, he always protected it like a mother hen protects her chicks..
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• The love life between Nkechi and Gabriel had started that day in the music room, but that doesn’t stops Gabriel from being who he truly his . A girl like Nkechi is such girl who would want the world to know that she is proud of her guy, she is proud to announce her guy anywhere she is. The fact that she is dating the class most handsome boy gave her more pride and soon the whole class got to know who her boyfriend was, Gabriel. But reverse is the case for Gabriel, he kinds of love his privacy and for anything concerning love, it thinks it should be between himself and his partner. Most in times, when his friends would come to him to confirm Nkechi words that she was his girlfriend, he would just steal a glance around the class to make sure Nkechi wasn’t within and he will simply deny, to him, he always thinks they would see him as weak and a lover of woman, for one reason or the other, he doesn’t know why , he just doesn’t know how to love. His friends, Israel and Charles of course aren’t fools, they know how a shy person Gabriel was, they had always knew he had something for Nkechi but he was either shy or proud to express it, ” What kind of a weakling is our friend?” Charles had been forced to ask Israel once on their way hone from school..
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• The boring love life had continued between Gabriel and Nkechi, Nkechi wasn’t finding it funny, it was the most boring relationship she had ever seen. At times when she calls to spend some time with him on phone, their conversations was always like ” Hello, how are you, have you done your assignment, OK bye” That was what she always got from Gabriel and as a girl, she wasn’t finding it funny. Once upon a time she had been pushed to the extreme end and decided to confront Gabriel about it when ever he called again. So on that weekend when he had called and was about to say “bye” after his useless conversation, she had asked him to hold on. ” Gabriel, can’t you be romantic, we have been dating for how many months now and you haven’t for once told me you love me or any other sweet word, you dont tell me you miss me or just something romantic. Gabi, I am a girl and I want to hear such things, even if you can’t say such face to face, you can do that over the phone” She had shouted over the phone while Gabriel took a deep breath, ” I am sorry about that, I will change” Gabi had simply apologized, Nkechi had also been happy that he apologized and believe he would change. ” So tell me something sweet, like you love me, you miss me, just say something sweet” She requested over the phone. ” Okay, I………” He was saying and suddenly put an head to the call when he realized he couldn’t just say the word, its like there was something stopping him from saying it, anytime he tried , beads of sweat would start forming on his forehead, he doesn’t just know what it is. But nevertheless, to him, he was having the perfect relationship not just with Nkechi, but also with his best friend, Tende.
Nkechi on her side wasn’t finding it funny, she is actually a girl and girls of course loves to hear something sweet. She had to fight her emotions to continue with Gabriel, but at a point, she could bear it no more and she finally put the call to him. ” Gabriel, I want a breakup” she had told him immediately he picked up the phone, ” Breakup?” He asked like he didn’t hear it at first, ” Yes breakup, bye, am not interested again” she said confidently and made to put an end to the call, ” Nkechi wait” Gabriel had shouted over the phone, Nkechi on the other side was happy as she had thought he wanted to apologize and promise he will change for good, ” Okay, you can go ahead with the breakup ” he tod her calmly and she angrily put an end to the call, for once, Gabriel pushed Tende away from his side...
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TO BE CONTINUED
Lovely