Edogbanya kept pacing back and
forth under the mango tree in
front of Baba’s house where he
stood, or rather where they stood,
Omachoko and Baba inclusive. He
was already beginning to get
impatient and that was
understandable. There was a lot
to do at Aloma today and if he
must meet up with his customers
before they all embark on their
trips, he got to be there earlier
than 6:30am. Yes. He sells
beautifully designed local caps,
the type Alhajis and typical
Northerners always use.
Edogbanya has been known with
this job for almost the entirety of
his adulthood and apart from the
fact that he was doing well at his
business, he possessed this
gross arrogance that tag along
side partial education. Reason
being that, as the only one among
his mates who successfully
finished a primary education back
in those days, even at fifty two he
always has the tendency of
feeling ‘belonged’ to this
generation.
To prove that point: the point of
belonging to the jet age, he
bought a Nokia 3310 from Aloma
about some months ago, making
him almost the first person in the
whole village to own a phone.
“If she doesn’t pick this time, I’ll
be off” Edogbanya said this to
Baba in Igala, as the number
Omachoko dialled was ringing out
for the fourth time now.
Omachoko gave Edogbanya a
wicked stare. The former was
beginning to get angry at the
latter’s haste bearing in mind the
fact that even Baba’s eyes has
not tasted the luxury of sleep
since yesterday morning.
Omachoko had remained fixed to
the rugged floor of the sitting
room after Baba asked him the
heaviest ‘what are we going to do
now?’ question. For the first time
in a long while, he was unable to
fix his brain around anything.
They needed some proofs that
would either confirm or reproof
their suspicions and relieve them
of the inaudible panic they were
both into. It was Umali, one of
Laibe’s friend who whispered into
his ears about Edogbanya, her
uncle. Omachoko knew
Edogbanya very well; he could be
very stingy and mean to a fault;
especially when he realises that
something would be at stake
without his help. No one knew
why he behaved that way but
rumour had it that he heartlessly
watched his first wife die, as a
result of a very deep injury, by not
releasing money for her to go get
it dressed at the only clinic in the
village. The poor woman lamented
in anguish and agony to no avail
before she finally gave up the
ghost.
Being an impatient young man,
Omachoko does not know exactly
how he would react to Edogbanya
if he tried to pull any of his stingy
stunts now that his dearest one’s
life was on the line. After going
back to Edogbanya’s house three
times yesterday, one of his wives
advised that he should check
back very late in the night or early
this morning if he will ever meet
her husband at home.
‘Tell him the madaki would see
him as early as possible
tomorrow morning before anything
else’, was the words Baba asked
Omachoko to say to his wife when
everyone saw that the possibility
of seeing the trader that night was
near zero. The Madaki serves as
the chief judge of the entire
village, so much so that most, if
not all, cases regarding family,
divorce, marriage, dispute of any
form are settled before him. Baba
being the oldest now after the
death of Pa. Ekele assumed that
position and he felt yesterday was
one good time to use the
influence of his position to get
what he wants. That’s majorly
because, everyone in the village
know how arrogant Edogbanya
can be and how highly placed he
puts his job much more than
anything else.
Omachoko tiredly dozed off on the
rugged floor while still talking
with Baba over Laibe’s issue late
into the night. Baba sat on his
armed chair as usual, everything
else – except that the radio was
switched off that night – was
usual. Omachoko had noticed at
every point he jerked up from
sleep that Baba’s eyes were still
wide awake.
Aged people and their problems!
No matter how Baba worries, he
can’t get Edogbanya down here
earlier than morning, Omachoko
thought within him at some points
before he decided to ignore Baba
and catch some sleep.
The rug used to be brown,
beautifully designed brown rug
that was la!d by Baba’s daughter,
but the colour has changed from
obvious reasons. It now had obvious reasons. It now had dirty
clay patches added to the already
black tainted designs.
Omachoko had no choice; he
couldn’t go home and couldn’t
also leave the old man all to
himself right in that condition.
Why he did something that he
considered too demeaning for his
person – sleeping on the floor.
But anything, just anything, he had
found himself able to do for
Laibe.
Morning finally came and it was
Edogbanya that woke them up,
maybe just him. He doubt if Baba
blinked. The noisy caterpillar
sound that often come from
Edogbanya’s old Jincheng
motorcycle would wake even a
dead man from a far distance.
Baba got up before anyone else
and headed towards the mango
tree just in front of the house.
Omachoko came out to join them
with drowsy eyes when Baba was
still explaining the situation to
Edogbanya. Baba explained it in
such a way that even the
heartless of men would be forced
to render any help to savage the
situation. Omachoko kept moving
his eyes from Baba to Edogbanya
and back to Baba, he needed to
see the true expression in their
eyes. Those in Edogbanya’s was
not welcoming at all. You know
that type of face one makes when
he is asked a favour from
someone he can’t possibly refuse
for whatever reasons? That was
how his eyes looked like while he
handed over the phone to
Omachoko to dial the number they
wanted to reach. The phone was
on speaker. No.
The lowest volume on his brand
of phone is synonymous to
placing a smart phone on the
highest speaker volume.
They all listened with rapt
attention as the phone was
ringing for the fourth time now.
Omachoko could literally feel
Baba’s heartbeat from the
distance he stood so much so
that he started praying in his
heart the call be picked this time.
In addition to the fact that
Edogbanya’s patience level has
gone beneath zero limit.
Matthew tapped his wife lightly
and she didn’t wake up. He was
forced to hit her hard enough to
consciousness when the loud
ringing from her phone came up
strongly again for the third time.
He wondered why she didn’t put
the phone off or on silent mode
tonight, bearing in mind that they
both slept on unpleasant terms.
“Why is she just deliberately
provoking me right now?” He
asked himself, trying to let go of
the anger that was beginning to
boil on his inside. Yes, he is used
to his wife being called up at any
time of the day, and it was more
when she was still a junior nurse.
He only started resting at least
after she became a matron. If
there was anything he hated so
passionately was anything noisy
jerking him up from sleep as her
phone just did a while ago.
Udale cleaned her eyes with the
back of her arm. She woke up
because she felt her husband hit
her shoulders, yet everywhere
looked blurry. I thought I overhead
the ending part of my ringing tone
a while ago? Or was that
hallucination? she questioned
herself.
She wasn’t supposed to be called
at the hospital for no reason. In
fact, she should be on leave at
the moment but considering the
fact that home was empty and
boring, she decided to still be
going to work so as to help out
with one or two things. No patient
needed critical care as at last
time she checked yesterday
before leaving, so who the heck is
calling at this time?
She hissed while stretching her
hand lazily to pick up the phone
on the side drawers. The master
bed is so large it could
adequately fill up a twelve by ten
room without leaving any empty
space.
“H-E-L-L-O”
She said angrily into the speaker
immediately she wiped at the
screen of the Infinix hot note to
pick up the call. She grudgingly
placed it against her ear.
“Baba!” She exclaimed, sitting up
almost at the same time. She
watched her husband eyeball her
before getting up and heading to
the bathroom
“Olodùdú Baba!” she greeted her
father ‘good morning’ with the
kind of voice that couldn’t hide
apprehension. She listened quietly
to the call and her heart started
calming down – first, when she
heard other people’s voices in the
background. It was relieving that
her father was not alone making a
call at this ungodly hour and
secondly it was about his concern
regarding Laibe’s safety.
Udale smiled broadly when her
father asked her if it was true that
his granddaughter was missing.
There is this special love that
streams from the heart of the old
man, this special affection
towards his innocent
granddaughter. Udale once
testified that she didn’t enjoy this
much attention while growing up
and it sometimes made her feel
jealous.
“Laibe chõlàfíà Baba” Udale
replied, telling him that ‘Laibe was
fine and in perfect condition’. She
went ahead to clear the air about
the kidnapping news that has
been on air since yesterday,
explaining that it was true some
little girls were kidnapped on their
way to school yesterday morning
and the police are on serious
investigation to have them
brought back to their parents. She
tried to convince Baba that those
kidnappers in town are usually on
specific missions and mostly to
the end of demanding for ransom.
She could hear and feel her
father’s voice relax when she
confirmed to him that Laibe was
doing very well and sleeping very
sound.
“Baba, I have heard you ooo!”
Udale stressed when her father
kept giving her manual on how to
take care of her own little niece.
She was tired of hearing
continuously the fact that Baba
always referred to Laibe as the
‘only one’ he had left. That
statement sounds very insulting to
her. Yes. Does the old man mean
that she is not part of what he
has? After all, she is spending all
her earnings to keep him hale and
hearty. There is this solace she
finds though that old and aged
senses are not any different from
those of toddlers’. She waited
patiently till her father said his
last statement before dropping the
call. The last statement a bit
irritated her but she couldn’t talk
back at him. Imagine him telling
her that he wasn’t really in
support of Laibe staying over at
her place and that she shouldn’t
hesitate to send his
granddaughter back to him soon
enough. That sounded like the
last sentence she wanted to hear
right now, not when her husband
had been giving her some horrible
looks since he came out of the
bathroom to stand tall before her
in his purple stripe pyjamas. She
dropped the phone from her ear
and held it firmly to her chest,
quite firmly, like someone was
threatening to snatch it away from
her. She didn’t understand why
Matthew was standing and
watching her that way.
His stature is usually intimidating
– extremely tall and huge – even
when she is standing beside him.
One can imagine the angle of
depression now that she is
resting her back on the bed’s
head rest.
“Sunshine, what is the problem
again?” she asked after
rehearsing how best to voice out
her mind for a little over five
minutes. Matthew didn’t respond
to her instead he headed to the
intercom, picked it up and
dialled…
“Come right here!” he
commanded whoever received the
call on the other side.
“Matthew, what are you doing?”
Udale questioned her husband as
she tried to gather her robust
body and get off the bed. She was
beginning to marvel at her
husband’s recent change in
attitude. He was never like this –
insisting on a particular matter for
this long – he most times let her
have her way.
The door flipped and presented
Ocholi standing bare-chested,
wearing only a short. He must
have come here on jumping out of
the bed with the kind of order he
received over the phone.
“Get ready! You are taking Laibe
back to Ofabo this morning”
Matthew ordered harshly
“Sir!” Ocholi retorted as if to be
sure his ears didn’t just give him
the wrong command.
“Get out! And get dressed
immediately!”
The huge man sounded
thunderously and the outcome
was as though his voice lifted
Ocholi to the door and off to his
room iinstantly.
“Matthew, you can’t do this!”
Udale screamed as well, coming
to confront her husband directly.
She knew she is petite compared
to him, just round and closer to
the soil than her husband who is
tall and huge, yet she decided to
stand with her hands akimbo,
perhaps by that she could block
his way.
“Get out of my way, woman!
Before I get you out!” Matthew
roared, used his right finger to
push the fat woman unto the bed
and headed towards the door.
Udale positioned her head while
landing on the bed from the firm
push, to avoid it from hitting the
bed frame. Tears began steaming
up in her eyes when she
screamed,
“I leave if that girl leaves,
Matthew”
Matthew only barely got to the
door when she made this
statement, he turned without delay
and started walking back gently in
her direction with a rueful smile
tugged around his mouth that was
supposed to make her relax. He
walked as gentle as he would
normally walk, rested his right
hand on the bed and stretched his
neck such that his face stayed
directly in front of hers as he ran
his eyes over her body before
letting out a sarcastic laughter.
“You have no seed in this house,
Udale. I have nothing to lose if
you leave with her. And of
course, you both are leaving right
away! Watch me…” he said all
these with gentle sarcasm. The
more he spoke them out softly,
the more the bitter fact he just
reminded her of penetrated her
bones, hurting her inner being.
She was weak in her words. She
wanted to say something,
anything, anything that could
justify that it wasn’t all her fault.
She wanted to hold him back and
say all the words yearning to gain
expression on her inside but he
yanked her off in a flash and
stormed out of the bed..