A Storytellers' point of view

A STORY TELLER’S POINT OF VIEW THREE STORIES IN ONE BOOK by Chienyem Ike Copyright © 2020 Chienyem Ike All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be stored, reproduced, or transmitted in a retrieval system, in any form, or by any means without obtaining permission in writing from Chienyem Ike ikechienyem@yahoo.ca Dedication This book is dedicated to all the schools and teachers that I passed through. Thanks for shaping and moulding me into the woman I would eventually become. Story One TOMORROWS’ CHILD Felicia got up from the couch in the sitting room and rubbed her eyes. This would be the second time in a row that she fell asleep on the couch after promising her flatmate that she wouldn’t. Ignoring the political discussions on TV, she reached for the remote control and switched it off. Felicia ran a finger through her afro-curls and scratched her head. She looked trim and fit even though she was big-boned and curvy, thanks to the fact that she exercised regularly both at home and at the nearby Paddan-Aram gym. She lived in a two-bedroom flat with her best friend, Moyin. Both of them graduated from the University of Lagos and did their youth service at the same time; Though they didn't lack necessities, they both suffered the pains of unemployment. Fortunately, Moyin received a call-up letter a week ago; after acing a job interview. The remuneration was not so lucrative, but it was manageable. She accepted the job with much jubilation and celebration and had already started moving out of the flat that their parents’ were paying for. .Felicia’s dad, a retired military general, was unwell and admitted at the hospital. Felicia visited him two days before and had returned home to clean up the flat and also welcome her boyfriend, Jimmy, who returned from a trip to the United States two days back They spent the previous afternoon together and he handed her the gifts he bought; some jewellery, two shirts and a designer headscarf. She was thrilled about the gifts, but most especially because she was seeing him for the first time in two months. He had been away on a business trip, overseeing the newly planted overseas branch of his uncle’s company. Jimmy and Felicia had been dating for three years. He was six foot tall and chocolate tan in complexion. He had a gap tooth and a cleft under his chin. For many girls, he was quite good to go; he dressed well, he had two cars and an apartment in Lagos Island, and he was in his early thirties. Felicia met him at a cousins’ get together party. He was introduced by a neighbour and they had hit it off almost immediately. They both loved the same type of music, the same colours, the same favourite dishes and the same countries for vacation. He started inviting her to dinner parties and other social gatherings. Soon afterwards, it wasn’t enough that they were dates at events. They became inseparable. Their relationship was like a match made in heaven. Felicia was a five foot six inches dark-skin beauty. She had cute dimples on both sides of her cheeks. She twisted her virgin hair and combed it out daily to give her the natural afro-curl look. She had graduated from UNILAG with a 2nd Class lower degree in Economics and was looking for a job. She wanted to complete her Master’s degree in Business Administration after getting work experience of 2 or 3 years. She had done some research on top Business Schools in the United Kingdom, where she would love to run her MBA program, but she was yet to find a job. She supplemented her pocket money from her father, with the money she made from making her friends and clients up, for their various events. Felicia tidied the sitting room and went to the kitchen. She prepared a bowl of fruit salad with apples, grapes, and mangoes, which she put in a little flask. She also made some sandwiches with bread, lettuce, tuna, and margarine. As for the drinks, they would buy them from a kiosk. She filled up a metallic flask with water and arranged all the items in a picnic basket. Satisfied with her preparations, she headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. Jimmy would be around any moment for their picnic at the beach. After showering, she brushed her teeth with her Colgate toothbrush and washed her hair with some Timotei shampoo and conditioner. She flashed pearly white teeth in the mirror. Her full lips parted and her dimples crinkled at the sides of her cheeks. She loved her smile. She dried her body with a terry towel and creamed up with her Avon natural. She did not want to bleach her skin like Moyin, who was on Mokoi; a bleaching cream. She always advised Moyin to stop bleaching her skin, but Moyin’s excuse was that she wanted the original tone of her skin to come out and blend with the uneven tones; a story Felicia never really quite understood, because Moyin naturally had a cocoa dark skin. Felicia loved Moyin to bits. She was very lively, easy-going and fun to be with. Unfortunately, Moyin was moving to a one-room apartment closer to her company, because according to her; she was always going to be broke. Moyin always invested heavily in her wardrobe and skin; buying expensive clothes and facials whenever her father sent money and going broke in the middle of the month. She would then borrow from Felicia and pay back at the beginning of the following month, before going shopping once again. And so the cycle continued. Felicia applied deodorant in her underarm, before starting to make her face up, She dabbed on brown powder before concentrating on her eyes and lips, dexterously using her mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, and a pink lip-gloss. She wore her underwear and brought out her beach outfit; denim pedal pushers, a white sleeveless Nike top, and a pink bandana. She wore her flat sandals afterwards and adjusted her loose bra straps. She rubbed some hair oil on her palms and massaged it onto her scalp, before combing out her afro curls. She liked the look in the mirror. She fished out her Victoria’s Secret body mist and Armani perfume and sprayed it around her body. She finished off with her Organics hair spray just as her phone rang. It was Jimmy. He was a few minutes away from her flat. Felicia hurried through the rest of her preparation. It wasn’t long afterwards that she heard him knock at the door. Jimmy looked dashing as usual in a Polo Ralph Lauren collar top and a baggy three-quarter shorts, paired up with handmade Italian slippers. His skin haircut glistened with the sportin wave lotion he had smothered on his head. His Polo perfume smelled especially good. He had taken off his sunglasses at the door. He took off his sunglasses. ‘All set?’ he asked and ventured further to give her a hug and a peck on the cheek. ‘You look good!’ ‘Thank you,’ she responded with a smile. Theirs was a platonic relationship and it had been that way from the onset. Felicia checked her watch. ‘Óh, it is 3:30 pm already. I hope it doesn’t rain.’ ‘I hope so too,’ Jimmy replied and proceeded to help with the picnic basket. After locking up her flat, she walked beside him to the car, holding three magazines Moyin kindly bought for her the day before. He put the picnic basket in the backseat and opened the front passenger door for her. ‘Thanks, dear,’ she said and climbed into the Prado jeep. Jimmy shut her door, got into the driver’s seat and put on the air conditioner. ‘There’s something I want to discuss with you, Felicia,’ Jimmy began. ‘What is it?’ ‘When we get to the beach, I’ll tell you. Okay?’ ‘Okay,’ she replied. Felicia was scared. Is Jimmy going to dump me? She wondered. What is bringing up this ‘discussion'? And why did he say it in a way that made it sound very serious? Throughout the short journey to the beach, she placed a hand over her palpitating heart, and when he complimented the sunglasses that she bought at the entrance, she was so absent-minded that she forgot to thank him. They spread a wrapper on the ground under a hut at the beach, and their picnic began. It was slightly windy and hot at the same time and they didn’t know if or when it would rain. They munched their fruit salad in silence while Felicia flipped through one of the fashion magazines. She admired all the Ankara outfits and made a mental note to buy some fabrics and sew some of the styles. ‘So tell me about your activities in the church,’ Jimmy said, breaking the silence. ‘Oh, I joined the choir two weeks ago, and I am going to be singing at the next concert,’ she replied.' That's great. I trust you will blow them away!' Felicia laughed. 'It's not about blowing them away. It is about getting them to feel the presence of God.' ‘I know. I'm just kidding. ‘Do you read Sinata Bibi?’ he asked. ‘No, never heard of him. Is he an author?’ ‘Yes, a fairly new one. And he writes very well.’ Jimmy fished out a grey coloured book from his satchel. The title, 'They Are All Gone' was boldly written on it. He handed it to her. 'Is it a gangster novel? Felicia asked as she studied the 700 pages book before checking out the blurb. ‘No, it’s more of a romantic thriller. Sinata Bibi studied at the same University as my uncle in the States. They took some classes together and my uncle said that he finished with a distinction in his Masters’ degree. He is half Indian and half Canadian.’ ‘Wow, an impressive distinction in his Master's degree? I would love to meet such a genius. My uncle also finished with a distinction.’ ‘Don’t worry, I’ll introduce you to him the next time he is in Nigeria,’ Jimmy said. ‘Awesome! Thanks, dear.' Jimmy’s paternal uncle, Engineer Sylvanus Okorie, was in his mid-forties. He was the last child in a family of four on Jimmy’s father’s side, and he had a very successful company. Jimmy was his partner, and they both communicated via Skype because his uncle had partially relocated to the United States. Jimmy had studied Engineering in the United Kingdom and had gotten another degree in Business Administration, in the United States. As usual, he aced his papers and finished both degrees with a prestigious second class upper. Jimmy was a Christian, but he was not as committed as he should be. Felicia, on the other hand, was a devoted Christian who always attended prayer meetings and Church services. She had a special gift of interpreting dreams. But she stopped telling people about it ever since she interpreted a good sounding dream in the opposite. The woman who had the dream screamed and slapped Felicia; like it was her fault that it had a negative meaning). It had resulted in a fight, and the pastor had to be called upon to settle everything. He and the woman apologized profusely to Felicia. Felicia also had a bit of a prophetic gift, but it was not as strong as most peoples'. She usually just had premonitions, instead of clear-cut revelations. For example, she had been having some bad premonitions about her relationship with Jimmy, but she didn’t know why. She loved Jimmy, and this love had been growing for as long as she had known him. He was so lovable. He had all the qualities she wanted in a man – and more – and she always thanked God that she had him. She gave him a ‘Sports Illustrated’ magazine from her collection ‘Thanks. My favourite,’ he said and started flipping through. 'The model in front looks a lot like you, Felicia. Her name is Frekamma Ntuka.’ He looked at Felicia and back at the model. They had the same oriental eyes, cute button nose, rosebud lips and physique. ‘She even has your kind of dimples and lovely ebony skin. Are you sure you are not the one covering this front page?’ He teased. ‘Ah. Please save the flattering.’ ‘But I’m not just flattering you. See for yourself.’ She took the magazine from his outstretched hand and studied the model. It was true; the model looked a lot like her. ‘We even have the same stature,’ she said, just as something got into her eyes. ‘Do you have a handkerchief, please? A grain of sand got into my eyes just now and I don’t want to inflame my eyes by rubbing it.’ ‘Here you are,’ Jimmy handed her a Gucci silk hankie. ‘Thanks.’ She said and dabbed at her left eye. It was some minutes later they delved into the sandwiches. ‘You’re very talented,’ Jimmy praised after the first bite, ‘Thank you.’ ‘And you’re everything I want in a woman and more.’ Felicia bowed shyly as she ate her sandwich and drank some cola. ‘Hold still,’ Jimmy said as he removed lettuce from her hair. ‘How did it even get there?’ she asked, looking surprised. ‘I don’t know,’ he chuckled loudly. ‘Your sandwiches are divine. You’re better than the caterers at the hotel opposite my house.’ ‘Thanks. I am flattered,’ she replied shyly and tucked in some more. ‘Please maintain your posture,’ Jimmy said as he fished out an Olympus camera from his satchel bag. He took some snapshots of her and smiled. He handed her the camera so she could see them too. ‘They are beautiful,’ Felicia said, ‘Please can I have them in my phone?’ ‘Sure. As soon as I transfer them to my laptop’ ‘Awesome.’ They ate the rest of their meal in silence and finished with large gulps of water from the metallic flask. ‘I want to watch this movie,’ Jimmy said while surfing through Shonda Rhimes’s movie profile. ‘It’s not so recent. I should be able to get it at the mall.’ ‘Can I borrow it when you’re done?’ she asked. ‘Sure. By the way, is there still space in your belly for some suya?’ ‘Yes. Why not? And what about our discussion?’ she asked. ‘Oh. When we are much relaxed. I’ll tell you. For now, let’s have some suya and then go horse riding,’ ‘Okay then. But what about the swings?’ ‘You want the swings?’ ‘Yes. Moyin and I usually use the swings whenever we come here. We love it. There was a time we came here weekly because of the swings.’ ‘Really? If you want, we could come here more often for the swings.’ 'That won’t be necessary dear,’ Felicia said. ‘That’s why I love you, Felicia. You always try your best to make things easy for me.’ She grinned, took some serviettes from the basket and dabbed at her lips. ‘Do I come with you to get the suya or do I stay back?’ She asked. ‘How can you stay back when I want to show you off?’ Jimmy giggled as he pulled her to her feet and went with her to the ‘suya’ stand. ‘Welcome, oga?’ the vendor, who was a mallam, greeted. ‘How much suya you want? Oya take,’ he said after cutting a little piece of the suya and handing it over to them to taste. 'I want one thousand naira own,’ Jimmy told the mallam. The suya man cut the skewered meat he had put on the fire, wrapped it up in an old newspaper, and put it in a black cellophane bag before handing it over and collecting his money. ‘Thank you, sir,’ the mallam said and put the money in his pouch. ‘Hope he put some onions?’ Felicia wondered aloud, savouring the sweet aroma. ‘Come to think of it, he did not put any. Oya, mallam, put enough onions, tomatoes and pepper for the suya.’ Jimmy said, handing him back the cellophane bag. ‘Okay sir,’ the mallam replied grudgingly, as he added sliced onions, tomatoes and sprinkled more pepper on the meat. ‘Add jara,’ Jimmy said. The mallam obliged, even more grudgingly. On their way back to the hut, Jimmy commented on the mallam and his poor service. ‘He is a crook,’ Felicia retorted, ‘I am sure he does it knowingly so that people don’t get their money’s worth of meat, or maybe he can sell the remaining seasoning, vegetables and spices.’ “That’s very possible.’ Jimmy said, nodding. ‘Dear, we need some cold water. Please go on while I get it,’ Felicia told Jimmy. ‘Do you need some money?’ he asked. ‘Yes.’ He fished for some change in his back pocket and handed her a two hundred naira note. ‘Thanks, Jimmy.’ She went off to get water from the drinks vendor at the other end of the beach. Jimmy waited in the hut, and while he was reading the Sports Illustrated magazine, his mobile phone rang. It was Juna, his ex-girlfriend. .She was practically threatening to harm Felicia if he continued to reject her. Jimmy was scared for Felicia because he knew Juna was a borderline psychotic. Jimmy had caught Juna in bed with the driver. He had been indifferent when he told her it was over. She informed him that she was a virgin, and it was he who had suggested a platonic relationship. He was sad that she ruined something so beautiful with her lustful desires. She could have controlled her s****l urges or even told him about them, and he would have understood. ‘But with the driver?’ He was so angry he wanted to scream. Juna was a beautiful five foot four inches, chocolate skin, busty woman, who knew how to make up perfectly and always look well-groomed whenever they went out. But what did the driver have that he did not have? He always wondered. The annoying part was that they had been making love in the sitting room of the posh apartment he bought for Juna. ‘You know I love you,’ Juna continued over the phone. ‘Juna, stop calling this number!’ Jimmy exclaimed angrily. ‘Whatever was between us ended many years ago and you cannot resurrect what is dead. I am no longer interested!’ ‘I am sorry, Jimmy. I don’t know why I did what I did. Please let’s work things out,’ she begged. ‘Forget about that girl. She will never love you as much as I do.’ Jimmy did not understand why Juna made these frantic phone calls to him. He hung up when he got tired of explaining to her that he had moved on. He picked up the next call. It was his secretary. She called to inform him that he had some new documents to sign, a meeting By Chienyem Ike. +2348170242993 ( w******p)