==THE STORY THAT HAS NEVER BEEN TOLD== Episode 67: A COOLVAL22¤COM PRODUCTION. DO NOT COPY!! One week after school resumed our first year results were published on the departmental notice board. Everyone rushed to have a glance at their score. I too went to look at the official assessment of my first years performance. God on my side, my result was impressive even though I knew there will always be room for improvement. The top five students in the 2007/2008 academic session of the department in the 2007 admission set were, in no particular order, Zubi (De Smart Opportunist), Kenny U (Nwa Aba), Jude (Brain Box), Lovina (De Unserious Genius) and Spain (‘place tag here’). Over twelve students out of a total of twenty- three attained the 3.5 and above in their Grade Point in that first year result. The news of our exploit soon swept the entire department. Both the academic and the non-academic staff of the department were pleased with our performance as it was one of the highest they had recorded in recent times. I knew this was not a time to grow complacent. The result meant there is going to be stronger competition in the next academic session but the problem was that I kept attracting females without repelling same. These girls do not want to leave and it’s not in my character to quit relationships without a significant reason. I know some guys do it but I just can’t wake up one morning and then tell someone who had banked her emotion on me that I’m calling it quit. My conscience won’t let me rest. So I simply left everything in the hands of time to settle as I also took a decision not to allow my unholy affairs interfere with my academics. . On the other hand, Zubi was there giving me a tough time over Chinasa. He wanted me to hands off her so he can comfortably go in. He believed Chinasa was supposed to be a ‘chop, clean mouth and pass to a bro’ operation. . ”Guy, wetin dey worry you sef? Why you dey act like dis na? Commot your hand na make I fit chop my own,” Zubi had complained as we sat in the school canteen eating ‘okpa’ with Mountain Dew drink. ”See me see trouble o! I hold you? If you want the girl then walk up to her and tell her. If she agree na your luck,” I replied him. ”See the yeye tin wey you dey talk as if the girl go gree when you still dey form good person for am. I don’t like this kain tin you dey do and no be say you no get serious girlfriend,” He quarreled. ”Mr. man if you want Nasa then walk to her and tell her. No dey disturb me. What if she be your sister? You sef think am,” I tried to make him see reasons. ”, you dey reason like this and you still dey Bleep am since. Thunder fire you and that your useless self-righteousness. If Joe no pass am to you how you for take chop am. You better pass that girl if you no wan make Ifeoma hear about this,” Zubi threatened jokingly. We finished our meals, paid and then left the canteen in order to meet up with a lecture on Physical Meteorology and Atmospheric Composition (GEM 243). . I had a nightmare on Friday night, December 11, 2009. It was a short dream. I dreamt where my grandmother died and her corpse was carried away from the house by a white Mercedes Benz ambulance. I woke up sweating profusely immediately the ambulance left our house to the morgue. I said a quick prayer and also decided I would call my parents in the morning and tell them of the nightmare. Uche and I had planned to go to the market that Saturday morning to buy foodstuffs which we would stock our house with. Just as we were walking back home I remembered that I was yet to call my parents and inform them about the dream that I had the previous night. ”Guy, the kain dream I dream last night eh,” I had said to Uche who immediately turned to hear more about the dream. We were right in front of FIN Bank which is in Enugu road, Agbani. My phone rang as I made to continue telling Uche the dream. I looked at the screen and saw ‘Daddy’. ”Thank God sey my dad don call sef. Make I kuku use the opportunity to inform am of the dream,” I said before picking up the call. ”Hello, daddy good morning,” I had greeted. ”Good morning my son. Biko, jide obi gi aka (please be strong) over the news am about to tell you,” my dad said from the other end of the phone. ”No problem, what is it?” I asked impatiently. ”Hmmm, your grandmother is dead.She died about an hour ago,” were the exact words he said as he broke the sad news of my grandmother’s untimely demise. ”Hmmm, nawao,” was all I could mutter as the news left me stunned. My dad was encouraging me to stay strong from the other end of the phone. ”Daddy I’m okay. I’m just wondering because I dreamt of her death last night. She was even carried away to the morgue by a white Mercedes ambulance in that dream and I was planning to call you when I get home because we went to buy some things from the market,” I said as I narrated the dream to my dad. My dad confirmed that it happened exactly as I had dreamt. He said my grandmother had during her final hours in the night consistently called my name requesting to know where I was and how I was doing. He said she kept on imploring them to tell me that it shall be well with me. She called only my name even when she could no longer recognize the family members present. I was really touched. My heart was broken but the problem was that I could not shed tears. The death of a close relative hardly caused me to shed tears even though my heart would be in pieces. The only death I remembered shedding tears for was that of my younger brother who died just three days after his birth. He died when I was five years old but I cried for his death fifteen years later on a certain lonely day when I was thinking over the great responsibility his death had caused me to carry. I am now more of a living investment; hope personified. My greatest fear in life is turning out a failure because I would not just have failed myself but also the hopes of other persons. The multiplier effect will be too grievous for me to bear. I plan to write a book on the ‘Burden of Being the Only Son’ someday. . The death of my grandmother brought about certain readjustment in my maternal extended family as it automatically meant my mum will now assume the role of ‘Mother of the Family’ since she was her first daughter. My dad on the other hand was expected to contribute a large percentage of the projected expenses for a befitting burial because he married an ‘Ada’ (first daughter). Majority of my parents’ hustle at that time was channeled towards giving my grandmother a befitting burial as demanded by both tradition (‘Eze nwanyi’ i.e. Mouthpiece of the Women) and religion (‘Ezinne’ i.e. Christian Mother in the Methodist church). This was the situation we found ourselves. My school went for the Christmas break early that year. I travelled back to Aba on the 16th of December 2009. It was this return journey that led to the entrance of a certain girl named Comfort into my life.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 16:19:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015