The Lashing Tongue Of Fate: Episode one.

When papa sold the only piece

of land he inherited from his father,

So as to get me schooled

It was unknown to him that he had Framed dreams on a wall forged with broken bottles.

Wasn't it just yesterday?

When he smiled like a God

While he played Ayo at the market square, drunk with dreams of an educated child

Papa's voice was a cold whisper,

a strayed soft-breeze that put his friends in their places.

“Shut up! Okoro, when men who have educated kids are talking, you listen.”

He would pound his chest like a wrestler, so as to be heard.

Papa was a proud town crier

Even the king knew his place

While he addressed him.

Unfortunately, his utopian dreams never came to light.

When I graduated with a pass,

The world was silent.

And it was felt at every corner and town like the plane that crashed into the world market.

Papa handed me a cup of fire

Hot; smoked the colour of his anger

With a wrath-filled eyes

And his soft gentle voice, replaced with that of a volcano while my heart was dressed in mourning

Papa's dreams became dead flowers

Littered in the Harmattan, with petals brown from grief. I knew them because they were coloured birds nested around his head,

a secret hideout in a claustrophobic space of nothing

Where all his pains were locked up in a sprawling closet of dark clouds.

—    Words on the marble.

This episodic story is loosely based on real event.

" The day you will break up with Rose; will probably be the day we stopped being friends." Odion said while he struggled  to chew  the meat in his mouth.

"It's not your fault, she has charmed you. You know, at times I wonder who's dating that girl. Na me they chop, na you e dey affect." I said with a scornful look.

 Odion has been a long time friend. We have been friends since elementary school days. And now, we are bottled up in the University of Ibadan. Life in school wasn't as we had presumed it to be.

I lost my parents in a ghastly road accident, shortly after I was given the admission. What can I say, life is bastard.

The incident took a toll on me. I was shattered, battered and broken beyond imaginable doubt. The claws of life were at my neck and I knew my education had hit a rocky ground.

It was then that Odion's parents offered to help me further my education. It's not like they had the extra money, but they deemed it wise to help or at the very least, try. The family was slightly above what seemed like an average class.

I hated the fact that I had to place a burden on the family but I was out of options. When the fags of fate stroke, it was either I crawled or stayed down. So, I chose the former. Surprisingly, another bombshell was on the way.

A shocking news that stroke Odion and I. We got a call from home that Odion's father had taken another wife. It felt like I was married to disappointment. And she was a faithful wife; trailing me wherever I went. We knew at that point; that if we had to survive, we had to stick together.

The semester was a long one, and as time went by, we struggled to survive. We had serious financial challenges. Odion and I got to a point where we understood that life was not just a battlefield, but more of an arena of gladiators.

We needed no one to tell us at that point that we had nobody but us. We took to manual labour: we dug gutters on weekends, sold sachet water at some events and roadsides.

The thing was, despite our busy schedules, we never let it get in the way of our studies. Well, Odion could be attributed to being a gifted child. He didn't read much, he flipped pages and went to bed while I had to spend hours trying to understand it, but it was alright. We understood we have our strengths and weaknesses.

"Guy, am getting fade up, this gutter business is beginning to irritate me. How many of our course mates are doing this kind of jobs? The other day, Esther saw me in the act and the way she shook her head, I felt like the earth should have made a breakfast out of me.

“A girl I have been crushing on. My G, lets find something else. Gutter digging, no be am at all." Odion concluded.

"You think I love the job? I met Nneka while doing it and you know Nneka, that girl doesn't keep shut. She’s a tap, bro. There is no better broadcaster. Oh!! Oh!! You think say na odinari eye I use tell you say I no go class last Monday? See, we just have to do it, my guy. Let me know if you have a better offer though.”

Silence arrested the atmosphere for about a minute or two.

"I was thinking, since you are very good at poetry, maybe you could compose a love poem and hit one of those big girls in our department.

Abi Garri never taya you? Guy, hunger no be philosophy oh! At this juncture, my guy, we gat upgrade our scope. Let’s use money to buy clothes, fancy dress. Baba, make we approach them pepper them geng. We go catch one wey go spray us money.” Odion explained with all seriousness.

"OK, someone needs to dig, so that you can eat. Anyways, I will let you rest today but if you try it tomorrow, my guy, you no go chop o." I said and dashed out.

After a hectic day, I came back to meet Odion arranging knew clothes. Then, it occurred to me that he had acted upon his suggestion earlier. I knew trying to talk him out of it would bring about a fight. So, I had to let the sleeping dog lie. I met a beauty that day, while digging my gutter with dignity and prestige. Frankly, it was better, compared to stealing or doing anything illegal.

I had to come to terms with the fact that it was just a temporary setback for a major comeback. So, I did it judiciously. Rose who saw me in the act came to greet me. It was rather awkward to me; as to why a girl who looked so ravishing would even consider a chat with me in such a place and condition. She spoke out of stigmatization. A tone of pure affection and concern.

We exchanged contacts and surprisingly she called. It started from there. With time, we bonded, she eventually got to know everything about us. Odion didn't like her at first but when she stopped me from digging gutters and we paid her a visit. It changed him completely.

Rose lived in a mansion. She had maids at her beck and call. She showered me with a lot of gifts but I was afraid. I was becoming too comfortable. And I feared that life would be carving a stone for me, or perhaps I was so much into hardship, that I had come to love it.

My worst fear was confirmed when a very rich handsome student of Engineering came to warn me, to keep off his girl. I didn't take it seriously. Although, I told Rose and she told me to be calm. She said everything was under control.

One fateful Monday, I was attacked by some unknown students and I was mercilessly dealt with. Odion ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

The news spread like a wildfire and when Rose heard of it, she went mad. We knew who was behind it but I asked Rose not to worry, that I could take care of it…

I knew I had to man up to keep what's mine but the question  was how to go about it. I started by trying to know my enemy. I learnt that the engineering student was not a regular guy but a top cult leader.

On a scorching Monday, after series of lectures. I came back to see a dry bone in front of my doorstep. Perspiration of sweat dropped from my head to toe. I knew then that I was in for trouble. I acted as though I cared less but deep down there, I was crying.

Rose knew something was wrong but I won't tell. I started drifting away from her when I got a written note that read, "Less is more." I almost peed my pants after reading it. At this point, I was running away from Rose. I can't die for love.

Another incident happened on Jean carnival day. I was circled by some unknown students who asked me to be on my knees while they drank and poured the beer on my head. The worse happened when they walked into my class to fish me out, they asked me to drink their urine after series of beating which I did.

"I can't continue like this Rose, I know you are a good girl but please go back to your guy. I love my life. Look at me. I get humiliated every other day." I complained.

"You told me you will handle it." she said.

"But that was before I knew he was a cultist. Who I be? Ah!! Abeg oh!! The beating don dey too much o! Please, lets part ways. I agree you have been helpful ever since you walked into my life, but as a gutter digger, the humiliation wasn’t as terrible as this." I said sternly.

Rose held my cheeks to kiss me but what was at stake was more than romance; so I pulled back. She sighed and left. Odion walked in with a swollen body.

I looked in great astonishment, as he lied down first.

“ My guy, you must leave Rose oh! Wetyn Na!! I dey follow you do? See as those guys peel my back. Guy, you gat let that girl go or I promise you, we won't graduate from this school." He concluded in tears.

"Oh! Now I should leave her. Interesting, you told me never to leave her before oh!!” I shouted.

“That was before they did this to me. Now I know what you have been going through. Ah!! Those guys no get conscience o. Father!." He lamented.

"Ok, I think we are done. She just left." Deep within me, I knew that was a beautiful lie. I loved her in ways I could hardly comprehend

"Well, that's good. For our sakes.

There are a lot of girls out there who won't mind dating an ex gutter digger like you." He said and threw a thunderstorm of laughter.

"Oh! So you've got jokes now. Last I checked, this gutter business was your idea and it had helped us." I replied him.

Watch for Episode two.

I hope you had a wonderful read.

Will Kelvin go back to Rose

OR

Will he go back to digging gutters to survive?

What are your thoughts, do well to share them in the comment section.

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