The Brink of Life

Happenings

He’d read the complete nine verses that night, and he could tell that every lyric of it appealed to all three of them. They were 8 and 6 years old then, and now, it’s a decade after, and he could not but smile and be proud of who they are becoming.

Chapter 4

Adetola, was sitting on the sofa battling with a cut piece of Oya, bush meat which had been served him together with pounded yam, as his first dinner of the year with his grandfather. It was not so much the type of food he was eating that delighted him, even though he pretty much enjoyed eating pounded yam, unlike his sisters who would rather have spaghetti, but the fact that he was finally eating it in the village and spending time with his grandfather – something he had looked forward to since the year started. Somehow, he just knew it since January that he wanted to spend his December in the village, and now it’s the last month of the same year, with just two more weeks for the year to run out.

To think that he had almost lost the chance to go on the trip, on account of some finishing touches his dad needed to put to his work in the office, but, which was surprisingly taking longer than expected. His two elder sisters had started to make fun of his almost bounced trip, and he didn’t blame them, for he knew all too well that pettiness is in the core of their being. Their Daddy’s elder brother who works as a senior technology consultant for Ernst and Young – a branch of the big 4, accounting firm in Nigeria, in Abuja; had just come into Ibadan after a trip to Lagos, where he had attended a conference at the Eko hotel and suites in Victoria Island. He was going back home, but had branched at their place yesterday, to take the girls with him as agreed when they discussed the matter over their Daddy’s phone in October. By tomorrow, this time, they would be on a flight to Abuja. Whatever!

“They’d gotten what they wanted, why will they not make jest of me, shameless lots”, he muttered under his breath.

In truth though, Adetola, admires his uncle, particularly his profession. They both shared the mindset that technology is at the center of the new world order, and Management consulting is a profession that sounds interesting to him, from the explanation his uncle had provided. For this purpose, he had chosen to study Accounting at the University of Ibadan. He had also registered for his ACCA foundational classes and had gotten to the intermediate level, currently studying for the Advanced Financial Accounting papers. He intended to have become a globally certified chartered account by the time he graduated from the university, when he would be just 21 years old, as he is currently in 200 level… he paused a moment and said, “Boy, am I ambitious! The devil may care.” He would have gone for ICAN, but, he liked the global ring that ACCA has, and now, he’s in the village with his laptop, where he had downloaded a couple of HTML, CSS and JavaScript tutorial videos from a website his uncle had recommended. At the moment, he wanted to focus on NodeJs for backend, while moving on to C# after mastering Nodejs. The older relative had confided in him that on a personal note, he would have been his preference for an all out Christmas holiday, out of everyone in his younger brother’s family, and the reason is not far-fetched. Adetola would have loved it too, but, somehow, he looked at his future, and couldn’t see how he could steal at this kind of opportunity with his granddad, for the foreseeable future. Suffice to say, now or almost never is the time.

“My sisters have got some great things going as well”, He offered as a soothing response, and opened his mouth to say something else but, decided against it. It was not his story to tell. Not as though his sisters were hiding their achievements, especially not to their uncle, however, Adetola decided he was grooming himself to be that kind of guy who strictly minds his business, and does not brag about it.

He remembered asking his dad after that phone call, why he didn’t do technology like his elder brother, and he had replied:

“Technology might indeed be the future of the world, but, certainly not everyone will make a living from technology. I love the legal profession, and I am damn great at it.”

Adetola couldn’t dispute his father’s points. His father was a damn good criminal attorney across Oyo state. He remembered some months back when one of his friends Barrister Ademola Jemilohun, came to visit, the man had described his dad as the savior of the hopeless worsts. And then said that the best criminal prosecutors regarded him as a pain in the ass. His father had simply replied with a smug look on his face, “I simply love the thrill of turning a hopeless situation around and, then I believe that no one is an outright criminal, given a better situation, they would likely choose a different path. So, why should they be crucified? Have you read about Al Capone?” His father had asked.

“Alphonse Gabriel Capone, The notorious American gangster and businessman who was born in January 17, 1899 in New York city, attained notoriety during the prohibition era as the co-founder and leader of the Chicago Outfit, and went to prison at the age of 33 years old, and died of cardiac arrest at the age of 48 years, in January 25, 1947, in Palm Island, Miami Beach, Florida, after suffering a stroke. His nicknames include; Big AI, Big Boy, Scarface and Snorky. That’s the person you’re talking about, yes?”

“I didn’t ask for his biography.” His father said with a wry look.

“You know that a philanthropist who was charged with 22 counts of tax evasion, convicted with five, and sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, would certainly catch my interest. You are not the only one interested in why people did what they did. Only that, unlike you, why they did it isn’t the only subject of interest, what they did matters as much as why they did it. Y’know, he was also alleged the master-minder of the Saint Valentine’s Day m******e, and therefore tagged, the number 1 public enemy.”

“One of his quotes read”, ‘I am a kind person, I’m kind to everyone, but, if you are unkind to me, then kindness is not what you’ll remember me for.’ “Just another typical human being, if you ask me”. He paused a while and then added, almost as if he’d just had a brighter memory. “Another one of his quotes read, ‘I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man.’

“What am I looking at?” his friend scoffed in mockery. Obviously unimpressed with those kind statements.

“What you are looking at, my friend is the fact that, out of the hardened criminal, which the general public sees of the Big Boy, is a heart that’s as soft as flesh, and wishes that the world was good. But, perhaps no one saw that side of him, for obvious reasons. If situations were favourable for him, do you think he would have turned out the way he did? You know obviously know his story very well, so you can judge that.” He paused and then made a genuflect with a smile “even though your mind is not as fair as a courtroom.”

“ I freaking heard you, egghead”, Jemilohun retorted.

“The politicians, who protected his empire, was it all of them that were apprehended?”

“You certainly cannot go righteous on me, right now” Jemilohun, countered again, and added, “Another of his quotes states”, ‘You accomplish more with a smile, a handshake and a gun, than you do with just a smile.’ “Tell me, what kind of person makes such a statement? I’ll tell you, a psychopath”

“Even you know that the world does not operate on colors being simply black and white. The legal parlance of innocent until proven guilty, has in its core, an underlining of bias, which people generally capitalize on. Hence, such statements like, you can do bad, but, don’t get caught. But, does that exonerate the bad deed from being bad? If not, why then do you think someone who was not caught in the act deserves to roam the streets freely, while the one that was caught deserves to be crucified and not given another chance?” He waited a while again and then said in a more hushed tone,

“I am not trying to justify wrongdoing, but, then, our society has gotten so complicated that you should not categorically crucify or justify anyone. And that is why people like find that already faded line between good and bad, to give the condemned a second chance at good life. You see, what I am doing is betting against the tendency to do bad in them, to loose to their good will, while rooting for their humanity to take strength and rejoin the world in betterment.”

“You are asking for chaos, my friend”

“You on the other hand, are living in delusion.”

“Why does anyone ever think you are a good person?” Jemilohun asked the rhetorical question with an amused smile, as though he just saw his friend in a new light for the first time in long years.

“Let me give you another scenario. Certainly, you know Francis Crowley”

“You mean, the notorious Francis ‘Two Gun’ Crowley? The short man about 5 foot 6 inches in height, who seem to have an especial hatred for policeman, perhaps because his brother was killed by them and runaway father was one. Has a devil of a temper, and particularly known for petty crimes. Died at 19 years of age on the 21st of January 1932, after being captured at the end of an all out gun shooting with his pal, Fats Duringer against about 300 NYPD officers. His 16 year old girlfriend Helen Walsh, was present in the apartment with them during the gun war, but, was later released without charge after singing against them. The shooting happened in West 91st street, witnessed by about 15,000 New Yorkers and lasted for about 2 hours, with around 700 bullets fired by the officers together with …” Jemilohun glanced up at his friend, and the look on his face sent back the remaining words he was about to voice, back to whichever pit they were jumping out from. But, he still managed to say, after swallowing hard on nothing, “I just wanted to be sure we are talking about the same person.”

“You are quite loquacious, I’ll give you that. No doubt, one of your thriving qualities as a legal prosecutor”

“I am also an avid reader, with akin sense for stories that don’t add up”. Jemilohun will not pass on an opportunity to emphasize his intellectual strength. His friend knew that well, and so was not surprised.

He simply continued his statement with a mindless shoulder shrug; “As terrible as you have made him out to be, he wrote a letter during that crossfire that reads, ‘To whom it may concern, under my coat is a weary heart, but a kind one – one that would do nobody any harm.’ As he wrote that statement, drops of blood from his wound left marks on the paper he wrote on. Tell me now, Mr righteous accuser, would an unapologetic and unrepentant cold hearted criminal write that?”

“Of course, he would”, Jemilohun replied with simple shrug, completely unmoved by the emotional statement. “The fact that he is repentant does not absolve him of the guilt of the crimes he had committed”

And boy, the joy with which his father does is job is one of the many qualities he envied about the middle aged man. His friend had gone further to mention his father’s nomination to be called to the body of benchers. In other words, if it pulls through, his Dad was going to become an High Court Judge in the state. But, he remembered the expression on his father’s face when his friend said it. It was that of nothingness, no emotion whatsoever. It was as if he could not care less about the appointment. “Besides, your uncle didn’t start off with technology, he branched into it after joining EY”, his father added. He asked his father why he doesn’t seem excited about the good news. His father looked at him with a concerned look and said, “Always be careful when you are headed for the top, for the danger therein might just be worse than your nightmare”.

His knight in shining armour – mom, had come to the rescue. As a nurse at a private hospital his mom had deliberately planned her official leave of absence to fall in December, so she could enjoy the festive period alone with her husband. Having started her leave of absence from work at the beginning of the month, she went out around 10am for God knows what, and got back around 5pm and, although Adetola was curious about his mom’s whereabouts, he was more bothered about his trip wahala at the moment. And so, he spared no time in narrating to her how his holiday plans was about to be ruined. His mother who had been busy implementing Christmas “baecation”, plans, all morning. Well, he didn’t actually know this, but he figured that was what she was her disappearance was all about. For one, she wouldn’t exactly keep whatever concerned them away from them, and then, not much else has come out of her mouth since the month started. She, would simply have suggested that he stayed at home for the holiday or join his sisters trip to Abuja, but dear me, this is about 20 years into her marriage, and the joyful memories of romance with her husband was almost fading, as she’d been swamped up in wifely, motherly and professional healthcare service duties across the years.

He remembered his mother had rationalized it one time the topic came up around October, while they were all discussing their individual plans for Christmas,

“Well, that was life”, she had said, paused a while, and then with a tinge of smile brightening her already good looks, she added: “As much as those functions drained me, I enjoyed their every moment as well”. And almost immediately, she added again, now with a serious look, “However, this heavenly Christmas had been meticulously and gradually planned by myself and my sugar daddy, since as early as June to steal at time and rekindle the dying flame of romance. Woe betide any last minute hiccup that stands to ruin it.”

Adetola, remembered thinking again for about the millionth time, that his mother would make for a great actress. He wanted to ask her why she didn’t go into acting, but decided against it, because he wanted their discussion at that time to reach a conclusive end. But, his father’s friend had chosen that particular moment to show up with bright smile lightening his face like a toddler who has just been gifted candies and was going to show a loved one. Everyone left their widely spaced living room to retire to their individual rooms as soon as they greeted the family friend who had chosen a bad timing. Somehow, it had seem sarcastic to him that a someone they loved would bump an earnest conversation like that. And then, the thought came to him, almost as a surprising realization that there was no doubt now, where his twin elder sisters had gotten their dramatic natures from. So, and in line with achieving that, she had offered to bring him to the village. Everyone was happy.

He is especially fond of this man, maybe that is because, he is the only living grandfather he has left on earth or maybe it’s due to something else, some intrinsic personality he possesses, he could not wrap his head around it at the moment. But, then, he remembered something else the man often say to him: “it will come to you”, and with that, his mind was sated. He quickly swallowed the last chew in his mouth, washed his hands, cleared the dishes to the kitchen and rushed out to assist the man of the year.

“Grandpa, you could have called me to assist you with fetching the water.” He told him.

“Oba ni ounje, you don’t disturb people while they’re eating.”

“Well, I’m done with eating.”

“Hold on and allow the food some time to settle down in your stomach. Do not bother about the buckets of water; I am quite stronger than my age. Your father must have told you how old I am, right?”

“Yes, that is one particular aspect in which he is proud of you. He often describes you as having done a great job to have lived this long, especially, considering that grandma is no more. But, you look rather younger than that, say by some twenty years”.

“Well, that my dear, is another of the numerous advantages of living in the village”, he paused a while, as though contemplating his next words … “in the midst of natural life forms”. He paused again a little while, and then continued; “I do miss my wife, yes. And not a day goes by since her death, when I don’t think about her. But, you see, if there is any other gift I’ve received in this life, apart from my wife, children, and grandchildren, it is the gift of friends, and because of them, the pain of the blow dealt me by her demise have been easier to bear”. He paused again and smiled, “Tell you what, why don’t you bring a bench outside for us to sit down, while I’ll just take this in and come back outside for fresh air; the moon seems to be quite in the mood to play tonight”.

“Okay sir”. He dashed inside to get the bench, smiling as he hurried to carry the wood, he loved his grandfather’s choice of words, he considers them … what was that term his English teacher had described them? Figurative. Yes, that’s the word.

He brought out the bench and placed it at the frontage on the veranda, just against the external block wall of the house, so they could rest their backs on the wall while they sit and talk.

He’d noticed with some impressed mindset when he came in earlier in the day that the house had been renovated since the last time he came, about three years ago. The walls of the building had been plastered and then painted with what looked like mud paint, giving the front of the house somewhat of a peach colour, he was not sure what name to call it, so the building looked like a modest modern house in a village. And he also noticed to his impression that there are a couple of other houses in the village with such modern external architecture. Turns out the village had undergone some level of structural development, he thought. The floor of the house had been tiled, while the veranda was simply covered with concrete and finished with mortar, but, with two additional archways supported with columns, and that as he remembered was not there before. The outskirt of the building was the same expanse topsoil as he’d known it, with a garden plantation of some ephemeral crops and vegetables by the left side of the house while the well sat at the right.

Sit, he did on the bench while he waited for the old man to be done with his chores. And while in the line of that thought, he could not help but notice how strange it seems, at least to himself, that someone who looks so agile would be referred to as an old man, and then he smiled again, at the thought, and at another which sounder even stranger, and this time he almost busted with laughter, what if his grandpa wants to marry again? He was persuaded within him that he wouldn’t have a hard time finding an interested young woman from the village.

“I know I’d asked earlier in the afternoon, but, how was your trip?”

“Well, this village has developed better than my previous visit. That one certainly excites me already. Although, there were dusts along the untarred road that leads to this house. The tarred road ended just at the bend that negotiates the route that connects this house to the main road, but that is perhaps understandable due to the weather.”

“On my way though, I saw the villagers going to the stream for water, and I was surprised. I thought people no longer have to fetch water from the stream. Isn’t that what the various pipe borne waters constructed across the village are for?” he paused a moment, as if catching his breath, and then continued; “I also saw old men and women with cutlass and hoes, and I thought they were returning from farm. But, mum knew some of them, because I heard and saw them exchange greetings while we were headed down here. She said, some of them were actually going to the farm, while others were just returning since morning. That scenario hit me differently this afternoon, grandpa, and it got me wondering, how exactly do people live in this life?”

Adetola saw the confused look on his old man’s face, and offered extra explanation to clarify his question. “What I mean is, is there a way one can actually secure his existence in this life, to ensure that one does not suffer?”

Adetola couldn’t interprete the expression on his grandfather’s face, after he finished his question. It seemed like a blank look to him. Which doesn’t make any sense because, he had always known that old men knew everything. It’s as if they have an invincible bag where they picked up knowledge and wisdom from. Just like he also knew that they never do wrong. Even though, he still had trouble figuring out at what point people stopped doing wrong and started doing right. Does right living just automatically jump on people at a specific age in life? He made a mental note to ask his grandfather as well, as soon as he answered this one.

As if the old man knew that his grandpa had paused on his litany of thoughts cursing through his mind. His expressionless face, changed and a smile crossed his lips. “Well, what do you know? It’s not exactly as if there has been anyone who had lived more than one life before. So, how can anyone tell for certain, the right way to live? But, you do know, there are very financial successful people in this. But, as much as that is, there doesn’t seem to be a certain formula for amassing wealth.” He waited a moment as if expecting a reaction from his grandchild due to the somewhat confusing statement he’d just made. None came, so he continued, “You might have heard of words of encouragement like hard work and dedication being a sure way to amassing wealth. Truth is, even for this old man talking to you, matters like this still seem confusing. I’ve seen people who didn’t lift a finger, and yet wealth located them, while there are some who toiled day and night, and the end result was only a mouthful of meals just to keep them out of extreme hunger. Yet, there are others who work hard, and make it proportionately. There is really no infinitely accurate answer to that question my child. What I can tell you though is, we all live at the brink of life, toiling endlessly in search of what we know not. You do read the bible, yes?.

Adetola replied, “Yes”

“There is a part of it that states that God has put infinity in the hearts of men, thus, men have continually search out the works of God un-end. This is a great evil, because there is no end to this toiling, neither will there be a perfect answer to this unknown question in the hearts of men. The experiences of people as we journey along in life differ, and it ranges from frustration to satisfaction, and yet, it is the same occurrence that befalls both sides of the river. Those who are satisfied are no closer to the answer than the frustrated ones. However, their satisfaction stems from just that singular fact that they have chosen to accept life and live in it without questions. That is why Jesus Christ said admonished his disciples not to think about tomorrow, because tomorrow will take of itself, and sufficient for the day is the evil inherent therein.” He paused a moment again, and then continued with a youthful smile crossing his face again. “I’ve been listening to some modern music lately, and one particular brand I’m fond of is Owl City. Your dad introduced them to me. A line in their song ‘Beautiful Times, goes, ‘And sincerely I love you dearly. Oh, but, I’m clearly destined to wonder.’ You see my dear, there are people in this life, who are exactly like that. Telling them not to ask questions about life is like telling them not to live. For some of these people, the burden of searching for answers to life’s questions is like a curse. But, I will not go into details of explaining that tonight. To answer you shortly now, Do your best at what you know you can do, you do not want to wish you were better, because it will cause you so much pain as if a hot knife were piercing your skin. However, do not try to cross your lane in order do what is not meant for you to do. You see, you need to be able to recognize what is meant for you and what is not part of your life’s assignment. This way, you will find satisfaction, if you simply stick to doing your assignment in life. The goal of life is not to amass wealth, the goal of life is to live to please your creator through your service to your fellow humans.” Adejolu paused, as if exhausted, and then added with a weak smile, “Is that not so much for one night already?”

“I still have energy for more, if you want to tell me”. Adetola replied with a broad smile that says, I’m wide awake for every knowledge you have for me. And then he added, “You know everything papa, I want to learn everything from you.”

Adejolu, burst into fits of laugher, “I certainly am not God, so how could I possibly know everything? You really are one innocent lot now, aren’t you?”

Adetola was confused. For one, he never thought of himself from the perspective of innocence. So, he was really at a loss as to the proper response for that. Number two, he actually did think his grandfather knew everything, about life at least. “All old people know everything about how to live, papa”, he said again, this time as if he was saying, ‘I am certain of this’, “Or do you mean, my knowledge all this while about old people is fake?”

“Well, that depends on what you think you know, my dear. You probably know this already, but if you don’t, do learn this important rule about life now, ‘Never assume your knowledge is absolute, always confirm. Another lesson, all old people certainly do not know everything about how to live. We would literally be God, if we did.”

Adetola couldn’t almost confirmed the latter part of his grandfather’s statement. “It would probably not be a lie, if someone called you God. You know a lot already.” He suddenly fell silent, as if dreading to know a truth.

“You have another question, yes?”

“Do old people do bad things?” Adetola, asked in tone that said, ‘please, tell me they don’t.’

Adejolu smiled, “Do know this dear son, everyone has the capacity to do bad regardless of their age. The only thing that prevents people from doing bad is their ability to restrain themselves from yielding to that temptation, and that, my dear grandson, is real power. One that saves humanity from pure chaos. I should tell you something else though.”