The Brink of Life

Cravings

The queen had taken in again after two years of the incident and had successfully given birth to a beautiful female child – the love of the town. The beauty of joy that radiates the whole town at this time made it look like what had happened back then was only a bad hallucination, (time does truly heal, after all).

Meanwhile, back in the forbidden forest, it looks like the prosperity in the village did not exclude places without sun.

The philosophical proverb seems quite true after all that, when doom comes knocking, it does not do so with sounds. It was the smell and almost suffocation with smoke that awoke everyone in the palace, when the dawn came, and they all wondered, how on earth did the fire start? Where were the guards when it started? But those weren’t the major concern at the moment, as the pandemic motions to put out the fire was seeming to be nothing. The fire gutted the arm of the palace wing where the king might have slept, had he not dozed off beside his queen in her wing. The king was the first to awake in the first hour of the morning, as a result of the smoke, and at the time, the fire had started, but, with much effort, it was successfully put out at around the third watch of the day, by the Balogun and Otun, who also spent the night in the palace, at the male side of the visitor’s wing.

"Life and times are sometimes pals."

That is quite a technical statement, ma.

"Yeah, and that which requires classical wisdom to interpret and analyze."

"So, what does it mean?"

"You see, life is a situation in the passage of time. Time is infinite, but, life has a timeline...well, that is for human being in our individual selves, and this expands and is then segmented to dispensation by dispensation. One dispensation goes, and another one comes, and all these happen within the infinity of time. The occurrences that beset human being during our lifetimes are what determine the friendship between living and that within a specific node in time. So, you see my dear, when things go rosy at a particular time for an individual in life, we can say that person's life in that specific timeline are pals and the vice versa is the case."

Téní, mulled over her grandmother's exegesis for a while and said within herself, "this truly is a classical wisdom". Meanwhile, to her grandmother she simply replied with a peck, "thank you".

Chapter 6

6th January, 2013, 9:00PM hours

The entire Adejolu family had resumed from their festive season this very day. Adetoun and Omolola were in frenzy mode, chanting a litany of speeches about how much they enjoyed the holiday, right from the take-off flight to Abuja, up till the return flight to Ibadan. “It was as if the holiday should not end”, Adetoun said. “We even visited …“Omolola added, in order to make Adetola jealous. But, he paid no attention to their pettiness. As far as he was concerned, they had a bet on who was going to make the best out of the holiday, and he’d won. So, their asses owes him five freaking thousand naira each. His twin sister, Adetoun had started the bet, because he won her for the third time in a roll in chess game. In truth, Adetola respected his twin sister’s mental capacity, in fact, she was the only one who had ever intimidated him in a reasoning challenge. It was like psychology was a raw talent for her. So, he was not surprised at her frustration when he’d won her consecutively in a game she considered herself to be the best at, in the entire family. She had challenged him in retaliation that she would achieve more than him during their holiday travels. Omolola was just mouthing a small bowl of corn flakes and milk, at the dining table, which is just an extension to the left side of the living room where her older siblings are. When she heard their conversation and wanted in. Anything to support her role model, even if it meant adding some extra bucks to challenge her favourite guy in the world. “So, both of you owe me a combined 10k, which I will collect by January.” Adetola had said with a smug smile. “That is only if you get more productive during this break than both of us combined. And that will only happen in your dreams.” Omolola had said with a scoff. They all got back home today, and Adetola was surprised to find that all they did in the space of two weeks was sightseeing. Ordinarily, there was nothing wrong with it, especially considering that it was an holiday. However, considering that they hate to lose, and, almost as if there was something in their genes that made them achievers. So, he wondered whether, they forgot about the bet. But, they didn’t. In Adetoun’s words “For the first time, we realized we needed to catch our breaths and enjoy the beauty of our environment. Nothing lasts forever. So, we decided to enjoy the moment, for just that once, at least. So, dear twin brother, enjoy this moment of victory while it lasts, because you won’t get another chance with us.”

“Actually, we were both getting ready to give you a shocker of your life. So, we went to a mall in the city to get some of the items we needed, but, just there, we saw some old couples, gently sorting their way through the long queue. They arrived late, you see. But, they didn’t try to manipulate anyone with their age to get them to the front. I was really fascinated, to say the least about the scene. So, I asked them, why they didn’t try to get to the front to be attended to in time, but they replied;” ‘the process is as important as the result. We’ve lived almost seven decades on earth, and have learnt to always revel in the process. There’s always something to learn and to enjoy in it. You can’t outpace your process, so, it’s better to live through it.’ Omolola added.

“Whatever!, just get the door, there’s a visitor there.” Adetola ordered, unimpressed with the sad, ‘take life gently story, they’d just pulled off. “That’s odd though, but, let’s see who the person is” He muttered at the knock on the door around 8:00PM. He was still mulling over the story his sisters told him. Somehow, he believed them. But, he wouldn’t allow that make him go soft. He was still in his train of thought, when suddenly, he was shocked to see Omolola do a double over, upon opening the door. “Get down on your knees, everyone.” The armed men order. It took a moment for the situation to register in his mind. They were being robbed. He never imagined it could happen to them. There was no reason for them to be a target for armed robbers. They are not an especially rich family, and as far as he knew, they don’t offend anyone. If anything, his Dad makes a living by trying to keep people like these out of prison. So, why should they do this to them. They should be thanking them, not hurting them. This doesn’t make any sense to him. But, this wasn’t even a time to be rational. They needed to get out of this situation first. They needed to contact the police fast. His Dad and Mom had gone to bed early. They needed to get up early tomorrow for work. He was thankful they weren’t there. It would minimize the casualties. Little did he know how wrong he was.

Tope and his wife were about to settle in bed for the night. They had just finished their private night devotion – a nightly routine after the general devotion with the children. They’d just returned from their second honeymoon, and were discussing their resumption to work.

“I wish this holiday would last forever”, his wife had said.

“You know quite well that, nothing lasts forever, me love” Tope replied with a wishful smile.

His ability to use young people’s English as if he was one of them was one of the most attractive things, I love about him. His wife thought. Although, he’d been like that, ever since they met some thirty years ago, back in their undergraduate days. At that time, it seemed fitting to him, because he was young, but, somehow, she found that to be even more attractive now that they are much older. ‘Some things age with you for your happiness, tight!’ They didn’t seem to have noticed each other, initially, even though they’ve actually met. It was at a party they were both invited to by a mutual friend of theirs. She tried a brief recollection of their first meeting in the yesteryears, and then she wondered, if he actually remembered. He’d seemed tired and out of sorts at the party, and she had wondered back then, what a tired person would be doing at a party. Is party not meant for people with energy to burn! And that was how he’d caught her attention. So, she’d noticed him even before they got talking, and just as she was looking at him. He’d spun around in her direction, as if he knew someone was looking at him and wanted to see who it was. Their eyes locked for a split second, and he looked away as if he didn’t actually see her. She on the other hand had thought, well, a completely normal guy. Nothing outstanding to see about him, by mere looking at him. Her friend who invited her to the party appeared behind her at exactly that time, and whispered with a mischievous grin, “He’s single, but, I can’t say much for his readiness to mingle.” She turned back, looked up with a smile and replied, “What a shame. Heartbreak or nerd?”

“Neither, to be honest. He just hasn’t really met someone who catches his fancy.”

“Who’s his fancy?”

David smiled before replying, Miracle is quite the slim type, of average height, with a slightly round face. In the two years of university friendship with her, she has been naturally friendly with almost everyone who comes her way. There were times she had even tended towards flirting with some of the boys, making them feel like they are some special lot to her, only to drop the bomb on them, when they make a move of going beyond just friends.

Her replies had ranged from a blatant ‘No’, to a subtle one, depending on her mood, and the approach of the guy. “One would ordinarily think, he interests you, otherwise you wouldn’t have asked so much about him.” He finally said.

“I’m naturally curious about unusual people, and our dear pal, seem to fit that description quite properly. Besides, you never know, he just might interest me”, she replied with a grin.

“I just like your straightforwardness”

“Well, you know how it goes, life’s too short to dilly-dally. In the meantime, I do have to get back home. I’ve got a test in the morning.”

David grinned even wider now, “No wonder you came for the party”

Miracle gave a genuine smile, and responded, “Who’s to say. I’m actually trying to be more outgoing. You know, some fun to relay to my kids, as part of my undergraduate experiences. I don’t want to be the boring one, in case I end up with a rather outward lover boy.”

‘This girl is some weird lot’ David couldn’t help but think. This moment, she’s all out on with valid reasons, but, you are never certain when she might just bail. In David’s recollection, he is the closet guy to her in the entire lodge. She had even gone ahead to sleep over at his place, a couple of times. And yet, he can’t seem to provide a clear explanation as to why she chose him. One thing is certain though, she’s not into him.

“Boring is certainly not the adjective for you though. Calm? Maybe. But, certainly not boring. Especially considering your abruptness.” He waited a while, and then said, “He’s Yoruba though, but not a one of the demons.” He gave a wicked grin, after his last statement. “Looking at it now, you two might actually have a lot in common. For instance, just like you, he also came here to let off some steam. He’s been jerking all day. Although, he doesn’t have any test tomorrow.”

“Certainly a nerd then.”

“Unlike you, some of us have to prepare ahead in order to pass our tests and exams. Not everyone has a photographic memory like, you know.”

“Ya’ll are nerds, then” She said with a smile. She opened her mouth to say something else, but, just then , Tope materialized, to her utmost surprise. The word phrase that came to her mind for it was, ‘out of nowhere’. She certainly didn’t see him coming.

David noticed her shock, and smiled. “That’s one of Tope’s many talents. He has the ability to walk up on people stealthily. Some people think it is creepy, but, I thinks it is glorious. The more reason I’m particularly fond of him. His stealth mode does not only apply to his physical movements, but also in his arguments. You won’t see it coming, till he hits you with the final blow. I’ve experienced a couple of it myself during moot court”

“Is that a natural thing with him, or he deliberately does that?

“Well, can’t vouch much for the motion part, but, he certainly sharpened that talent he has in his legal arguments. He wasn’t that good during our first year.”

“I am pretty sure being invincible is not one of my many talents as well”, Tope said, obviously saying, I am here, but, you guys are discussing about me, as if I’m not. “Think of it more as a lack of body presence. So, it’s like you are at a place, but, people around aren’t conscious of you being there, until you make yourself known, mostly by talking.”

Miracle simply stood in between the guys, with a smile plastered on her face unconsciously. She thought, ‘the fact that you can even put it into words that much, is endearing.

“Calm down. The lady is quite fascinated with you.” David told Tope.

“I am fascinated with the lady as well. The more reason I should not be left out of this conversation. In fact, I should be the one telling her everything about it.” Tope replied his friend with bit of quick smile stealing at his face.

David noticed it and burst into laughter. “You like am tru tru, sha. You go pay me oo, cos na me link two of una. In fact, una go gather pay me for middleman job ni.”

Tope moved closer to his friend, gave him a warm hug, and whispered in his ear, “Now, we are even”

Miracle heard him, and added, “What can I say, he won my heart already”

“Kini kan n worry eyin mejeeji. Amugbo niyin!”, David laughed.

Miracle and Tope headed out of the club, on their way to their respective lodges. There was some early awkward silence at the first couple of steps. But, Miracle broke it with, “How long have you and David known each other?”

“Well, thank you for making the first attempt.”

“What!?”

“Well, usually, in situations of awkward silence between a guy and a girl, it’s usually as if there’s a default responsibility on the guy to break to intelligently break the silence, importantly with small talks that are not too intelligent for the lady”

“Who have you been with?” She paused a moment and then added, “There are some holes in that logic, although I really can’t argue that there’s some truth to it. Really though, matters of mental capacity depend on personalities. Ladies can be shallow minded truly, but, that includes the male folks as well.”

“I wish I can dispute that statement. But, even myself get embarrassed at the level of reasoning of some guys. Besides, just what exactly is the description for small talk?”

“As long as the conversation interests both parties, I think it qualifies for intelligent conversion.” She said out laughing.

“Exactly” he smiled as well.

At that point, they had gotten to the junction where they both need to take separate paths to their individual lodges. So, they paused,

“We need to meet like this again” Tope said

Miracle smiled in approval, and said, “Tomorrow will take care of itself.”

“Thank you for your time, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the night like this.”

“Me neither”

They had a goodnight hug, and headed home separately.

On his way home, a thought occurred to Tope, and smiled. So, he picked up his phone and started to type,

‘Yester night was beautiful because of you. Do you think we can have another night like that soon?’ He saved the message and scheduled it to send by 7:00AM the following morning. His initial plan was to head for classroom to read after the party. But, somehow, after the walk out with Miracle, he feels fulfilled. He headed home, picked up his back pack, and headed straight for night class, at around 11:00 PM. “I am not going to be distracted by momentary pleasure, which may not even lead to anything fruitful”, he muttered under his breath.

At 11:00 AM, the following morning, Miracle, clicked open her blackberry Q10 for the first time after the party last night, and saw a stream of message notification pop-ups. Most of them were from her network service provider, so she deleted on sight. However, one caught her attention and she smiled after reading it, and replied. ‘Just finished my test. Are you available?’

Tope had just finished his moot court session, and was in a random gist with other members when his iPhone 4S signaled an incoming message notification to him. He opened it, and smiled upon seeing the sender. He dialed the number, she picked up upon the second ring.

“Hope you showed the tester, just how beautiful your mind is?”

Miracle smiled upon hearing the same voice he heard the night before. She liked the voice, and replied, “Let’s just say, the lecturer will learn not to test me again.”

Tope liked the replied, and laughed, “where are you?”

The loud scream of their last daughter jolted her out of her reverie.

Both of them rushed out to the living room upon hearing the wails by their children. Upon getting to the scene, the sight that greeted them was completely out of their imagination, and the shock of it made Miracle slump immediately, and passed out. The robbers paid no attention, and in fact, forced Tope to leave his dying wife to bring out the money he had with him in the house. He tried to explain that there was no money in the entire building, but, one of them dealt the base of the gun he was carrying on his face, and the next thing Tope knew was utter blackness. Adetola rushed to his parents side to do the nothing he could. But, another one of robbers yelled at him to look and threatened to shot his sister, if he didn’t go in to bring out the money his father kept in the house. And as a way to show that he was serious, he pulled the trigger, facing the roof, but, the bullet strayed and hit his twin sister, who was lying down beside him in the pool of tears, which instantly became a pool of her own blood. The pain became unbearable for Adetola, he screamed in agony.

*********************************************************************************************

The robbers rushed out of the apartment in a frenzied motion, and got into their Toyota SUV parked outside of the compound. “s**t! That wasn’t supposed to happen.” One of them said in a panicked tone.

“Calm your balls, freak. s**t goes down once in a while. Besides, what was you expecting? We just supposed to head in there with guns and shake their hands?”

“But, that was only a kid. She don’t know nothing.”

“Yeah? Well, she became the sacrificial lamb.”

The third guy was simply quiet as he turned on the car ignition and headed to their base. There next move is going to be critical and he needed to carefully contemplate the odds.