The Voice: A game of wins

THE SEARCH

CHAPTER 3

At five o'clock early in the morning, she jumped up from her bed over the knock on her door like 'breaking and entry' operation. At the same time, the sound of an electric switch emerged with a bright light from energy bulb of her room. Everywhere illuminated, bright and clear. She directed her eyes to the door to see and hear her mother saying, "Come out, Nessa, come out!!"

"Ah, mama!!" Vanessa provoked. "Why waking me up by this time and in this manner?! What have I done to you?!"

"Come out for special morning prayers now!!" the woman left to the living room.

Bemused, the young girl soliloquized confusingly, "Special morning prayers kwa." She rubbed her eyes and stretched herself in the black short night gown that pushed out her breast. She flung a wrapper that had her legs covered then stood up only to hear her mother casting and binding in the palour. She hesitated at the door, still wondering what came over the only parent she had. Not only did Vanessa see her mother with a Bible and crucifix, she also saw two red burning candles set on a white fabric on the centre table of the living room like the alter of the most high. Has the woman gone insane? the daughter wondered as she slowly walked to the palour with her eyes wide opened, monitoring her mother's eccentric charisma.

"Every evil spirit in my daughter's body, I cast and bind! I kick and punch! I break and smash! I bite and chew!" the woman rushed her daughter, placed the crucifix on her head then violently continued in the spirit. "Out! Out! Sherimamama... Sheri Sheri!" she pushed and pulled her daughter's head while the girl never fell, not even a blink of an eye.

"Mama!" she called angrily.

"Sherimamama..."

"Mama!! Mama leave me alone!!" she pulled away her hand from her head. Only then did the woman open her eyes breathing heavily. "Mama, what is all this na? What's the meaning of this?" Vanessa glared.

"Vanessa, you have an evil spirit in you and it's a spiritual husband!"

"God forbid, mama!" she flipped her fingers over her head and stepped backward.

"Nessa, you were actually blushing on no one in your room last night!" She stepped closer while the daughter took another step backward. "Yes, I overheard you having a discussion with nobody! You even had the impetus to ask him if you are beautiful!"

That reminded Vanessa about the The Voice. She couldn't believe she was overheard by her mother. That was the last thing she expected on Saturday early morning. So she swallowed hard, thinking the best lie that could save her. Still wallowing in a profound thought, she heard the voice saying, "You have to keep me a secret by all means, Vanessa."

She unabashedly spoke up to her mother. "Mama, I can't believe this is what all this is all about. For crying out loud I was meditating loud!"

"Oh, loud meditation."

"Yes, I was literally talking to my dairy. Wait, let me show you." she zoomed to her room and came out with her jotter. She flipped it open to her mother's face saying, "See?" she closed it.

Everywhere remained calmed. Both glared at each other, listening to the ringing bell of a Catholic church for morning mass. Vanessa bypassed her mother in the silence to the table where she put off the red candles. Her voice calmly circulated the room as she said, "I want to discuss something with you, mama."

"Do you want to tell her about me?!" Vanessa heard the voice but ignored him.

"Mama, what i want..."

"Do you even know what discussion is all about?" The Voice interrupted her while Vanessa shook her head tiringly. "A discussion increases the dimensions of everyone who takes part. And I'm a partaker of whatever you want to discuss. Is better both of you argue than to discuss! Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; an argument an exchange of ignorance. Let me watch you both exhibit your stupidity than to discuss."

"We're not stupid!" Vanessa provoked only to realize that the mother had been staring at her. "I mean, I'm not stupid, mama. I want to...."

"A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand." The Voice interrupted her again.

The young girl controlled her anger. She exhaled then continued. "Mama, I want to register for win to win competition. That's what I was practicing last night."

The mother suddenly bursted into laughter. She dropped the Bible and the crucifix, clapping her hands dramatically. "Come, Amaka..." she began with Vanessa's tribal name. "You barely pass your university entrance exam and you want to become a philosopher who twist words to have a wise meaning. What do you even know?" she laughed again.

Vanessa's mood changed. Once again, she felt useless and empty. The mother had never believed she could do anything good. She had always seen her as a failure and that breaks Vanessa's heart and always feel inferior. Oh, so sad. The Voice could notice the girl's tears which were yet to drop, so he said, "Listen, Nessa, repeat after me.."

The girl began to repeat after the mysterious voice saying, "Mama, I'm not a failure! failures are divided into two classes — those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought. Not all dreamers are winners, but all winners are dreamers. My dream is the key to my future. I'm a winner and I'll always win. Winning doesn't always mean being first. Winning means you're doing better than you've ever done before..."

Mrs. Ericka stopped mocking her daughter and stared at her unbelievably because of the words that continuously gave her unstable function of the brain.

Vanessa continued repeating after the voice. "It's not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters. Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. I must have failed my entrance exam but failure is another stepping-stone to greatness." as she continued the tears finally began to drop without knowing why. "Mama, stop making my life to be like some problem to be solved. Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. Stop using my past entrance exam failure to underrate my future. I might be something bigger than your son in the university one day. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." she stopped, breathing heavily and feeling the droplet of the tears on her chest. She sniffed in and angrily walked out to the dark cold weather of the early morning.

However, the mother remained still, stunned by the words of her daughter. She couldn't believe it!! She could neither move nor talk. She just stood like a hypnotized entity.

Meanwhile, Vanessa sat down at the backyard beside a drum of water, sniffing in tears as she dried them with the back of her palms. "Thank you very much, Destiny." she said appreciatively.

"I have your back, Amaka" The Voice replied. The name he called the young girl suddenly put a smile on her face. "I know, but I actually prefer Amaka to Vanessa. It is synonymous to your physiology." he added.

Vanessa kept smiling. Just then, the mother came out and flashed a torchlight at her. "Come, my daughter, come. I'm so sorry." she said.

Vanessa stood up, dusted her buttocks then walked to her mother who embraced her saying, "Actually, you'll register for the win to win and you shall win."

"Really, mama?" she looked up at her mother even though she could barely see her face. "That means you might see me talking to myself more these days because I want to prepare to win." she added.

"You have no problem, dear." They walked back into the house to have a normal prayer like normal human beings.

:

:

The day had brightened. The morning sun was yet to rise and many in Achara village had begun to surge to their farms. One could see old men and women with crude implement on their shoulders, but Vanessa was seen on the road with her jotter and pen, writing, speaking and blushing at times. She wore a black jean trouser and a flat footwear. Above the jean rested a white polo.

"I'm happy now that I have a different plan for my life." Vanessa spoke up.

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you?" The Voice continued tutoring her as she jotted down.

"Destiny." She stopped jotting and looked up. "What's happening between us is like what I see in the movies and read on stories."

"Stories and movies are literature. Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become." The Voice giggled to see Vanessa blushing over it. "What, Amaka?" he asked.

"Nothing." she continued walking and jotting. "I can't seem to have enough of these things I'm learning." she added.

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."

"Chike my friend isn't interested in education. I need to talk sense into him."

"Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish."

Hearing that, Vanessa laughed. She turned to see an old man struggling to take off his cut sandal that couldn't let him walk. The man had enough gray hair both on his head and his jaw. He couldn't bent down neither was there a seat for him to sit before taking off the sandal. Briskly, Vanessa walked up to him and said, "Papa, let me help you remove it. Good morning." she bent down while the man stared at her, supporting his weight with a walking stick.

"Young girl, are you..." the old man paused when Vanessa interrupted him and stood up with the sandal in her hands.

"Papa, I'm sorry I can't amend it. You will have to go back." she had said.

"Yes, I see that, my daughter. Are you..."

"I'm Amaka, late Frank's daughter." she interrupted again.

"Oh, your father was a good man." the old man flashed back immediately. Just then, a black Avalon with tinted glass stopped before them. Crucifix came out from it in corporate.

"Papa Geb!" he called surprisingly. "Where are you going and what happened to your sandals?" he approached.

"Crucifix, I wasn't expecting you." Geb smiled happily to see him though. "Forget my sandals. Life is more than what we wear. It is remembering our dreams and fight for them that matters. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure."

Hearing that, Vanessa looked up at the old man. Damn! He sounded much like The Voice! She couldn't believe it! Nevertheless, Crucifix turned to her, "Who is this girl, papa?"

"A good Samaritan. I think both of us are going the same direction. Take us."

"Alright, young girl, get inside the car." Crucifix instructed.

From the back seat of the car, Vanessa listened to the two men in the front seats.

"So why this surprise visit, son?" Geb asked.

"It's The Voice, papa. It's missing." Crucifix replied.

Hearing that, Vanessa's paid more attention, breathing heavily.

Crucifix continued. "I have to find the voice and send it back before it causes problem. So I came to inquire how."

"It's simple son. You need Linda's blood and the ribbon to get the voice back from wherever it is then finally send it back." Geb narrated.

"Linda?" Crucifix glanced at his grandfather. "How can I know where that b***h is? Wait, I think Emmanuel knows." he realized and picked his phone to call him.

However, Vanessa's heart had skipped out from her chest. She couldn't believe these two men were talking about the same voice she had grown fund of and would help her achieve her dreams. No, she must not allowed them take Destiny away from her.

"Amaka, you must not let them send me back." The Voice reminded her.

"How can I do that?" she whispered.

"Be in possession of the ribbon. Don't let them see it again." The Voice replied.

Now, Vanessa wasn't in the mission to win to win, she just got another mission in her life; to find the ribbon of Crucifix's ancestors. This begins the Genesis of her life distractions.