Chapter Two: The Sickness
Chapter Three: Love Portion
Chapter Four: Tales by the moonlight
Chapter Five: Journey to the Village
Chapter Six: The Ceremony
Chapter Seven: A Dying Passenger
Chapter Eight: Rape
Chapter Nine: The Unwanted Visitor
Chapter Ten: Mr Bus Conductor
Chapter Eleven: I need Blood
Chapter Twelve: My Gift My Joy
Chapter Thirteen: My Story
Chapter Fourteen: Broken Plate
Chapter fifteen: The Phone Repairer
Chapter Sixteen: A Fortiori
Chapter Seventeen: Mum’s Birthday Party
Chapter Eighteen: Dead End
Chapter Nineteen: Odenigbo
Chapter Twenty: Mercy
Chapter Twenty-one: No. 24 Johnson Street
Chapter Twenty-Two: Saturday Night
Chapter Twenty-Three: Visit to Papa
Chapter Twenty-four: Surprise Package
Chapter Twenty-five: The Spider
Chapter Twenty-Six: Mr. Jones
Chapter Twenty-Seven: A day before
Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Man on Black… and they lived happily ever after.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Chapter One: The Final Auditioning
Many
of the contestants had been canvassing for votes through social media. The finalists
were all good. Out of the ten finalists, five would be evicted by the weekend;
all the contestants worked hard to ensure they remained in the contest.
Each
of the ten finalists was asked to do a duet with a non-contestant. It was not
an easy task, considering the limited time given to them to make their choices.
They were to come for the presentation in three days’ time. Ihuoma chose her
colleague; she knew she could count on her. The two rehearsed so much to make
sure Ihuoma was not evicted. The duo was to sing a song by Mariah Carey and
Whitney Houston, titled ‘when you believe’. They practised every evening, after
work, until the day before the main auditioning.
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Finally,
five names to be evicted were mentioned. All those who did not hear their names
were to proceed automatically to the final stage. They hugged one another. The
evicted candidates were asked to excuse the five finalists. There was a mixture
of tears of joy and sorrow from the eviction.
The
last stage that would produce the winner came with a lot of tension. Ihuoma’s
mother tried to calm her down. At last, she gave up her fears.
She
chose a song by Cee-Cee Winans, “the alabaster box”. She rehearsed the song as
if her life was tied to it, and she also prayed to God, for favour.
On
the long-awaited day, every contestant was set for the final stage of the
auditioning. The hall decorations, sitting arrangement and the stage were
impeccable. The winner was entitled to a brand new IVM G6, five-million-naira, brand ambassadorship, and other
benefits.
Ihuoma’s
phone rang; it was Jane.
“Ihuoma,
for crying out loud, where on Earth are you?”
“Hello,
Jane”, she replied coldly.
“Save
the pleasantry,” Jane answered. “Everybody is waiting for you!” She hung up
without saying another word to Jane.
Ihuoma
ran to her mother’s room. She had searched everywhere for her silver box - she
had selected those jewelleries from the day she was told to proceed to the
final stage.
“Mum,
please, did you see my silver box? I kept my jewelleries in it. Without it, I
will feel incomplete to sing tonight.”
Her
mother looked at her carefully. She knew her daughter too well. She was neither
careless nor irresponsible. She helped her to search for it, but the box was
nowhere to be found.
“My
dear, the sun does not need any support to shine; light shines brighter in
darkness,” her mother spoke softly, giving her a slight pat on her back.
“Moreover, the light you carry inside of you is brighter than diamond. It
shines like Pleiades or should I say Orion? Sweetie, your voice can break a
gate of brass and cut the bars of iron asunder. It can melt the highest
mountain. You are much more than this.
Ihuoma
heaved a sigh. Her mother’s words gave her strength.
“Okay,
mum,” she replied.
Jane
called again. This time, Ihuoma decided to go to the competition without the
jewelleries. She had to make do with a simpler one.
Her
mother blessed her. “My dear, what is on the inside is greater than the ones
that can easily be seen on the outside. This is because what is seen is
transient, but what is not seen is eternal.”
With
the words of encouragement from her mother, she left for the competition with
her driver. When she got to the dressing room, Jane calmed her down. Just at
the right time, she was called in; she was the last contestant to perform.
Initially, she was nervous, but her mother’s words flashed through her mind,
and she sang the song so passionately. At first, everywhere was quiet, but when
she finished the song, the applause from the audience was so loud.
The
moment everyone waited for finally came. The contestants were eagerly waiting
for the judges’ announcement. Their heart beats could form an orchestral with
non-harmonious beats. The result was finally announced…
“And the winner is… Ihuoma Okezie!”
She walked majestically to make a valedictory speech before receiving the award. She was still searching for the right words to use when a masked person, dressed in black, from head to toe, shot into the air and abruptly stopped the show. There was a catastrophe in the air; some people were wounded. Ihuoma’s mother who was watching the show at home called her to be sure she was safe.
The
weather was warm and slightly clammy. The gentle Harmattan breeze swayed the
trees and the city had just woken up to the noise of car horns, a trait
inherent with the city of Iweluka. Visibility had also improved with the early
morning sunshine pushing back the harmattan haze some one hundred metres back.
It heralded a very pleasant and a good day, Ihuoma presumed.
Her
mind rolled back on her dream last night. She wished it was not a dream; she
was dressed like a queen and was given a red-carpet treatment. On the podium,
she was to give a speech before receiving the award as the winner of the highly
contested singing competition. As she walked up the podium, she felt some
coldness around her. She was too cold to make her speech; her palms were wet;
she was sweating all over her body and she could hear her heartbeat. Someone
stopped the programme abruptly. She woke up panting and kept wondering what the
dream could mean.
The
dream added delight to her dreary weekend, and she smiled at the thought of it.
As she prepared for work, she was so sure that the day would bring her
goodwill, but her seemingly serene and beautiful day turned sour with a phone
call. Actually, it was her brother’s call that woke her up.
Her
brother, Bright, called to tell her that their father was seriously ill and
that he needed money to start his treatment. She peeped through the window and
saw the early morning sun steering at her face. She looked at the time; she was
almost late for work.
Ihuoma wakes up between five o’ clock and half
past five every morning. She spends at least thirty minutes praying and
meditating. The next thirty minutes is spent in the toilet, emptying her bowels
and bathing. She takes thirty to forty-five minutes to dress up. Then she takes
a cup of tea or coffee, and off she goes to work.
She
woke up late that morning. She had no time for her routine before going to
work; so, she dressed up quickly and rushed to her office.
Da
Silva Street was one of the busiest streets in Iweluka city. This was because
most banks were located on the street. Also, it had one of the tallest trade
complexes in the city, with five floors, including the ground floor.
Ihuoma
worked with Obisco Enterprise Ltd., owned by Mr. Obinna Ndukuba. Obisco
Enterprise Ltd. was one of the business outfits that traded in real estates in
the tallest trade complex of the city; this made competition very high. Every
one of the real estate dealers tried to have a competitive edge over the other.
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Eziama
village is in East of Umuaka, where the present autonomous ruler of Ogumba
village resided; Eziama is three hours from Iweluka city. She could not travel
to the village and come back the same day, due to the protocols and other
logistics that prevailed at the motor parks.
She
quickly ran to her boss to obtain permission to enable her travel the following
day to see her ailing father at Eziama village.
“What!”
Mr. Ndukuba shouted at her. “Not again! Do you want to run down my business? I
think it is high time you started looking for another job.”
“Please sir” she sobbed, “my father is
seriously ill. I am his only hope; please don’t sack me.” Tears ran down her
cheeks.
Her
father’s illness was almost costing her the new job; she had gotten the job six
months earlier. She couldn’t afford to lose her present job, as she lost the
last one because she came in late from the hospital where her father was
receiving medical treatment. Her then boss could not stand her frequent
excuses. Therefore, she was relieved of her duty.
Her
new boss was expecting a client and he wasn’t going to let Ihuoma spoil the
deal with her personal problems.
Ihuoma
was a very beautiful girl, with fine features – the typical African beauty with
all the curves formed perfectly in their right proportions. Everybody in her
village believed God had made her on the first day of creation, when He was not
yet tired from His work.
She
was admired by both male and female folks in her village. Though she was from a
poor background, she was always neat and composed. She never allowed her poor
background to make her look rough, dirty, or beggarly.
On
her way to the farm, stream, market or the community school in the village,
passers-by will ask “Ihums (as she was fondly called), how are you today?”
Her
response was either, “just as God made me,” or “just as you can see.”
A
lot of her mates envied her. They always wanted to hear that something bad had
happened to her. Whenever some misfortunes befell her, which incidentally was
very often, some of her mates rejoiced secretly, but openly sympathized with her.
She didn’t like being pitied; this made her keep to herself as much as
possible. She believed in the philosophy that except the mouth vomits what is
inside the stomach, nobody will know what the mouth has eaten.
Ihuoma’s
parents put in a lot to train her and her four siblings. She assisted her
mother to harvest cocoyam on market days. These were sold to help in the upkeep
of the family. Her father had used the proceeds from the sale of his farm
produce, to take care of the family before his illness started. Mazi Okezie
believed so much in formal education. He loved education, but his parents were
so poor that they could not afford it. Those children whose parents could
afford formal education were treated as kings and queens. He swore that no
matter what it would take, his children must acquire formal education. Mazi
Okezie worked very hard to make ends meet, and to train his children. He
believed so much in hard work; he told his children, especially Ihuoma, that
there is dignity in labour. Many times, Ihuoma had heard him say, “never take
the shortcut in life; for it leads to a longer path that may eventually lead to
destruction”. On some other occasions, he’d admonish his children, saying,
“though we are poor, we are not beggars; the fall of a man is not the end of
his life”... He was a very strict, but loving father.
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“Urenma! Urenma!” Mazi Okezie called his wife from the
lounge, his Obi.
“Eh,
nna-anyi!” answered his wife, somewhere from back of the house.
“Where
are you?” He asked.
“I
am at the back yard, harvesting cocoyam for sale. Have you forgotten that today
is Afor market day?” His wife reminded him respectfully.
“Oh
no! Please, pardon me,” her husband responded. “What about Ihuoma?”
“She
is cracking palm kernel to put inside the packaged, roasted ukwa (breadfruit)
and azima (local beans). She roasted the ukwa and azima early this morning. She
needs to finish it before going to school,” Ihuoma’s mother replied.
Ihuoma often went to help her mother, after school, on every Afor market day, to sell some of their farm produce. She had to help if her school fees and that of her younger ones must be paid.
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BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
Wisdom-4-Excellence Books
Wisdom-4-Excellence Books are books that inspire, motivate, educate, recalibrate and resuscitate a Christian’s faith in God, and their relationship with Him. “The Prayers That Run” is the first in this series. Subsequent books will build on the foundation it sets.
DR Ifeanyichukwu Ojeka Ukonu- aka IfyBob Ukonu (nee IKORO) hails from Asaga Ohafia Local Government Area of Ohafia Abia State. She holds a B. Tech in Project Management, Masters and PhD in Human Resource Management from reputable higher institutions in Nigeria and A Verified Harvard University Verified Certificate of Achievement on Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies. She loves writing. She is one of the contributors and Editor in Chief of Victory Digest a monthly inspirational magazaine. A highly prolific writer and has many published articles in reputable international and local journals. She is a controller Administrator in Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria. She is married to Dr Bob Ukonu and they are blessed with children.
BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
Wisdom-4-Excellence Books
Wisdom-4-Excellence Books are books that inspire, motivate, educate, recalibrate and resuscitate a Christian’s faith in God, and their relationship with Him. “The Prayers That Run” is the first in this series. Subsequent books will build on the foundation it sets.
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