UPSIDE

UPSIDE Written by: OSENI IFEOLUWA. A INTRODUCTION I marveled after I looked into the mirror the second time, The state of my heart, The pole of my soul, The chaos of my brain, The rebellion of my eye, The power of my tongue, The work of my hands, The force of my feet, The mightiness of my God, The creativity of my fellow man, The marketinism of my country, The puzzle game of this world, Mother Earth. This is my UPSIDE story, Listen………………………. DEDICATION This book is dedicated to my creator, Almighty God, and my family especially my lovely parent. & To all out there who would read this piece, I want to say a big thank u for taking your time to read through. Love you all. CHAPTER ONE (Mother was preparing dinner that night. While me, my siblings and father whirl out time doing something else. It seems it was going to rain because the breeze was whizzing the trees back and forth violently, my guess was correct because the light went out as soon as it began to rain. Then I stood up to get a lamp from father’s study so as to lighten up the room, as I re-entered), Mother: I pity those security guards who have to watch the estate in the rain Me: You don’t need to, whereas they are being paid Mother: (she shook her head and signaled that we should come over to the dining table) you really don’t get things at all, you believe things are just normal Me: (smiling) Ikr (abbreviation, I know right) Mother: So if I was being sent as a marketer to deliver goods in sambisa forest, what would you do? Me: (smiling) mum, we all know that not possible Mother: If you say so (After we finished eating, I cleared the table while mother took my siblings in order to put them to bed. As I approached the stairs to my room, father called me) Father: I heard the conversation between you and your mom Me: You know I was right to believe that the security was being paid to work under any circumstance Father: (laughing hard) Me: But dad, it’s not funny Father: But it is, take this, look into it and tell me what you see (handing me a mirror) Me: I see myself (not bothering to look at it) Father: Look into it and tell me(frowning) Me: A duplicate of me Father: (smiling) no dear, you saw upside Me: Upside!, I don’t get u dad Father: You will after I tell u a short story ****************************************************************************** In Blaze town, there lived an educated and wealthy family known as the Olowolayemo’s. They were very wealthy, educated parole and assisted both young and old people around them without snitching. But their challenge was the inability for their wives to bear a male child, that was much visible in the life of Tunde who was the last and only son of the olowolayemo’s. Tunde who was also wealthy, educated and has a beautiful wife, Kemisola, but having a child whether male or female was a great challenge for them. They had visited several specialists, spiritual counsellors but it never produced any positive result for them. After five years of waiting for a child to come forth, Tunde decided to share his challenges with his father, maybe he would help them find a solution as so was the case of his parent before he was born ****************************************************************************** Me: But dad, the few things you have said haven’t shed any light on this “upside” of a thing Father: The story just started my dear……... ******************************************************************* (In a very big and expensively furnished sitting room, a young man can be seen laughing hysterically with an aged man) Tunde: Father, you don’t want to get old at all, see the way you looking fresh and agile Mr Olowolayemo: (smiling) all thanks to wealth son, but sincerely all thanks to my beautiful wives and promising children Tunde: Baba mi owo, I see Mr Olowolayemo: It is said that a bird isn’t seen chapping it wings in the air noisily except there is a fire on the mountain, so my son what has brought you to my place at this time Tunde: Father, your assumptions are right. I won’t be here unless there is something wrong. I have fire burning me vigorously under my garment Mr Olowolayemo: What is the problem son, is it money? Tunde: Father, you know money is not an issue for me Mr Olowolayemo: So what is the matter Tunde: My wife has not been able to bear a child for the past five years since we wedded Mr Olowolayemo: (laughing) Tunde: Is it funny (frowning, and getting up to leave) Mr Olowolayemo: Am sorry son, but the truth is that we also had the same challenge bringing you into this world. It took us 20yrs before we had u Tunde: No wonder the gap between me and my elder sister’s is so wide Mr Olowolayemo: Thank God you know Tunde: But how were you able to overcome the challenge before I was born Mr Olowolayemo: Hmmmmm, my son, it is a very long story Tunde: Tell me father, am all ears Mr Olowolayemo: Before I became rich, I was very poor, poorer than a church rat. I did all menial works you can ever think of. I once fetched water into a well so I could be paid 50naira for me to eat, my first wife which was your mother loved me so much that she stayed with me during those turbulent times. But she died after your birth, she never waited to enjoy this fortunes with me Tunde: But father I thought your third wife was my mother, and why did you marry two more wives after my mum Mr Olowolayemo: I would shed more light on everything CHAPTER TWO Mr Olowolayemo: You know I said me and your mother lived in abject poverty, it would have been better if that was the only issue we had. But she wasn’t able to conceive too, I told her countless times that I wasn’t good enough for her but she never left instead she preferred to stay and walk through fire with me Tunde: Then what happened dad Mr Olowolayemo: Then something unexpectedly happened, that changed our chronicle. That faithful morning, I left my wife at home to go do my usual menial job so as to bring home little change for dinner that night, but I made a mistake which was not sorting out how my wife would feed that morning because she didn’t eat the night before and she would be very hungry. But I had to leave without dropping anything because I didn’t have money on me. When I came back home that evening, I met my wife’s friend taking care of my sick wife in whom I left home hale and healthy. I tried asking my wife to narrate to me what happened but she couldn’t because she was completely paralyzed Tunde: Didn’t you ask her friend Mr Olowolayemo: I would soon get there (FLASHBACK) (In a poorly furnished room, a man and a woman can be seen having a dialogue with a paralyzed woman lying down between them) Mr Olowolayemo: Haaaaaaaa (weeping profusely), what happened to my wife. This was not how I left her this morning, Bukky, what happened? Bukky: I don’t know o, I heard her scream out loud and I rushed to the room just to see her this way Mr Olowolayemo: (face his sick wife), modupe, please talk to me…… Modupe: (struggling to sit upright as tears dropped from her eye), it was my fault my husband. I lacked contentment Mr Olowolayemo: No modupe, you have done nothing wrong. Don’t blame yourself Modupe: I have done a lot oko mi, you know you left me asleep and hungry when you left for work this morning Mr Olowolayemo: (crying profusely), I regret my actions Modupe: After I woke up and saw that you’ve left for work, I decided to go meet some of our neighbors to help me with some little change. In my search for a helper, one of the neighbor’s children advised me to go meet brother Raphael, the youth corper living in the boy’s quarter that he always help those who are in need in the compound. So I went to his apartment and knocked on his door, soon as he opened the door and saw me, he began to tremble and weep telling me that I had come the wrong time. I didn’t understand what he meant by that but immediately he started screaming at me to leave his room, as soon as the neighbors came out to find up what happened, I went back into the room and I found myself this way. Mr Olowolayemo: Ahhhhhh, then Raphael must be behind this (getting up and picking a cutlass from his bag) I would be back Bukky: Bro Raphael is dead Mr Olowolayemo: Whaaaaaaaaaaaat, how come Bukky: Few minute I rushed in here to help your wife, we heard he started vomiting blood and gave up the ghost Mr Olowolayemo: Am confused, I know something is wrong with my life (biting his fingers and crying) I have been cursed. I am poor, my wife is barren and here she is paralyzed Bukky: All we be fine, tomorrow I would take you both to a father of mine who would be able to help Mr Olowolayemo: No problem, for the fact it’s for our own good THE NEXT DAY (In a little hut filled with scattered calabash and littered bottles of ablution and blooded feathers, an old man dressed shabbily can be seen sitting on the ground with a cowry in his hand. In the same room a man and two women are seen sitting on the ground) Old man: My children you are welcome, what brings you here Bukky: Baba my friend and her husband are in state of dilemma, having to feed is difficult, barrenness is another issue and just yesterday my friend was watched down by a strange sickness which has paralyzed her. So I decided to bring them to your place so you can find a solution to their own Mr Olowolayemo: Yes, baba, please help us, I don’t want my wife to die Old man: As soon as you came into my shine, I’d seen your problem and solution to it (chanting incantation into three cowries and then throwing it on the ground. he then began to shake his head and put the cowries back into a calabash) Mr Olowolayemo: Baba what is the matter Old man: Young man, your wife has seen what her eyes ought not to see, and she must face the consequence which is death Mr Olowolayemo: Ahhhhhh baba, please is there not something we can do to avert it Old man: Let me open your eyes to the unknown, the man your wife went to for help did a charm to make himself rich, but the warning given was that he mustn’t see a pregnant woman after he applies the charm but a male or his blood relation. If he goes against the instruction, he would die instantly in the pool of his own blood Bukky: No wonder he gave up the ghost after my friend left his house Old man: And the woman would be totally paralyzed and die after seven days, it would have been better if she wasn’t pregnant Mr Olowolayemo: (looking towards the angle where his wife was lying), Pregnant! No she is not baba, that is one of the reason why we are here, my wife’s inability to have a child Old man: Would I lie to you; I am telling you she is pregnant. And if you don’t carry a sacrifice between now and seven days she would die with the child, the sacrifice is for the sake of the child, to disconnect the child from her death and also because of the person she went to see wanted to do money ritual, the wealth have been transferred to the child Mr Olowolayemo: (crying profusely), why me……... THREE MONTH AFTER Old man: Sorry about the loss of your wife, the gods shall comfort you Mr Olowolayemo: Ase baba, thank you for everything you’ve done for me Old man: You don’t need to my child, how is the child, hope he is doing well Mr Olowolayemo: He is baba, the doctor said that they would give him to me in the next three months after he ripens well in the incubator Old man: Hope you didn’t forget the instructions I gave you concerning the child Mr Olowolayemo: I haven’t baba, that he should always be with me in the night and his hair should never be shaved Old man: The child shall be academically sound, and wealthy only if you do everything I advised. He would bring you joy; the enemy shall not be victorious over his life Mr Olowolayemo: Ase!!! Baba, thank you. CHAPTER THREE (a teenage boy can be seen running home from school, he is weeping profusely) Mr Olowolayemo: Tunde what happened, why are you crying and why are you home? I have paid your school fees and all other fees I need to pay Tunde: My principal sent me home because I failed to cut my hair, I explained to him that you are the one that asked me not to Mr Olowolayemo: But I explained to him the reason I don’t want you to, what is his problem? It is not like you are a bad child or you aren’t doing well in your studies. Whereas you are the overall best in your school, so what is his problem Tunde: But father why don’t you want me to cut my hair, all my friends in school are always insulting me because of my bushy hair, father please let me cut it Mr Olowolayemo: Will you shut up your dirty mouth, don’t worry I know what to do. I would change your school Tunde: For the ninth time, right? (walking out) Mr Olowolayemo: Tunde!!!, you are walking out on me