Through the eyes of Ng

Chapter 2

Here’s a breakdown

Far far away in a place where no one ever seems to come visiting unless during the holidays where those rich folks come to show off and leave the country bumpkins bewildered.

Popular harsh but sadly accepted words said by them includes “if you can't afford fashion, then you must settle for clothes”

"you people eat trash, and you are what you eat folks" the rich brats would often say to the poor kids to spit them

They don't always win tho as many middle class children would never sit back and let some soft skinned nanny nurtured weakling distraught their peace of mind or bring down their self-esteem because they lacked a few stuff that obviously pollutes the environment or puts man's existence immensely in danger in the long run.Yes they may be under the line of wealth but they certainly receive education good enough to know the essentials of life and because of that fact and also knowing fully well that the rich ones are also humans these particular raw cut gems presented as kids do not let these oddly mannered people trample on their Rights for any reason at all

Sadly tho, the same story can't be said about their parents. Deeply engrossed in the thinking of how life as a rich person would be they completely lose sight of what is more important. If only they could look and see that the kids only wants nothing more than happiness and freedom plus the acceptance of friends and family as the major thing to complete them in the long run.

Sadly they often end up hurting themselves while trying to find wealth gold ,silver,precious stones and so forth while the real precious stones happens to have been with them all the days of their life.

To crown the wasted efforts of many, after acquiring money they seem lonely, lost and used.when they find out, it is too late.A lot of people are warned beforehand by relatives but you wouldn't really blame them for not listening now would you? The thought that one's very own uncle, aunt, sister etc does not want you to succeed as much as they have or probably even more makes these people fight even harder to stoop to the level of worshipping money without realizing it . When they are told that money is the route of all evil ...many claim that they want that particular route their words remain "let me experience it for myself because I know that it can not be that bad .what will it hurt if I am able to get a lot of things for myself and at the end of the day still correct everything that I did wrong surely there is nothing bad in being able to control and use power because of what you own"

As diverse as one family is from another and the planning that goes through the mind of different individuals there surprisingly exists a reasonable amount of Peace.Yet lack of trust exists between many for the fear that one's hard made efforts and drafted plans might be initiated by another due to the lack of resources to carry out these plans which will later yield bountiful results and no credit will be given to the original designer of this plan

people would initially not mind giving out their million-dollar ideas out to others but it had happened time and again where a person brings out a unique plan and hands it over to a more capable hand to which he believed would be able to establish the plan in reality and then, when the glory of this plan is coming to full light the mastermind behind everything is marked out and forced into hiding or probably killed if he tries to reveal the truth about the source of the whole ingenious idea which I consider to be very stupid indeed because the same person could be the key out,if things go wrong in the future but due to greed and deceitful search for power many innocent individuals who just want the betterment of not just themselves but others too end up dying in what I call "the pattern of useless sacrifice"

In other to avoid mysterious circumstances of people getting missing without a trace or so much as the knowledge about their very existence (dead or captive but alive) everyone with brilliant ideas kept their mouths shut to protect not just their lives alone but the also the lives of their closest friends and families and that is how many brilliant minds where forced to wither away or shut down and their lips were halted. Many people who never had the opportunity to initiate these plans, designs and graphics took these to the grave which is an immense loss for humanity.

For me,it doesn't matter where person comes from,so long as the idea is superb he/she should have a place and be given the full recognition for what his brain was able to think of with exception being that he actually wants be be in the dark. we all possess the ability to imagine, create possibilities and so on but not everybody has the time to harness the full ability of their mental power, so why silence and hide others who do? We all have different directions and achievement after all,so bringing others down would not make us great but delay the time for which a new discovery is to be made as another fresh mind has to think of it from scratch and develop a plan and foolproof strategy to present it to the world.

Within all these, deep in this peaceful little community where nothing too exciting ever seems to happen lived mister Imozac Banigold usually called Imo, which was kind of a weird name or at least I thought so because far into the east on a much much more wider landscape where it is said that the sun rises from exists a place …some people hail from also called (imo). This similarity was immediately spotted by whom ever has either heard of it or visited the place.

So mummy is talking about grandpa today

Wow!

Although there are a lot of differences that pulls the people from the east away from the people of the south which Mister Banigold hails from, there still are ridiculously coincidentally similarities between them. For instance they greet the same way, some words are the same, they have the same chanting words said during celebration in the same pattern or rhythm (how ever you might want to put it)I couldn't contain my laughter when I realized that this name happens to be in my linage Mummy?

Shuu Precious quiet! My sister says

But why does the east and South have similarities such as these when dad says that the south actually broke up from the west?

Oh my word, history truly is one of the most fascinating things, don't you think? as we live mysteries occur and events out of the ordinary abound, if we can't even figure out what happens now then what are the chances that we could find out what happened before,when many truths must have been burned ,buried,drowned ,disposed, murdered and so on. Everything gets more and more intertwined when you add more lenses to view the picture bit for bit,time and again linage has proved to be a massive cobweb. To make matters worse

men who rape

women who have kids out of wedlock

secret families

unnecessary polygamy …you name it. This makes things even more Webby to pin down and fully understand. Anyway,let’s leave these matters of backwards revelation and mapping to the archaeologist shall we?

Some stories aren't told just like that to others unless huge curiosity burns, matters arise, events reoccur and the need for a true life example …makes heirs unveil the hidden stories of the past one after another.

Shockingly many important things are still not told until the listener is all grown up to ensure that he would be able to fully grasp what is being said,not tell others or If he/she found out on their own.

Mr Banigold or B IMO as he was frequently called all around town had two sons. The older son who bore this Father's name (chief Imo) and the younger son Benson.The story of Mr Benson and his brother drove shivers down my spine, goosebumps clouded my skin as I realized that the soft nature of this family is an undeniable trait passing from person to person which is good but most times needs to be locked up or suppressed in other to take drastic/ measures. I never really heard much about Main Imozac himself so he might just be cut out entirely for all i know,the wife of this popular and well respected man died when her son Benson was really young. He was probably 13 or so if I remember as it was told to me clearly.

To be honest i don't think the young innocent Benson lived that much of a happy life...for B IMO also died when you was still very young but hopefully Benson had his brother right? WRONG! Alas they got sperated with time but let's leave that for later

Let's talk about Mr Benson and his brother now shall we? The love between them was as tho it was a fairy-tale, one would say too good to be true but it really did exist between them once upon a time even till the extent that they could not eat separately, one would have to wait on the other. If they where opposite genders then I'm sure rumors would have gone dancing around the village that they are more than just siblings caring for one another since they've only got each other. Thank goodness that wasn't the case or else they wouldn't have lived in peace ?

Things went on and they grew up , the love was even considered weird by all those who heard but they didn't care about the world, they only care about themselves and their livelihood,that until chief got married ?.

Now the woman who he brought into their lives somehow changed things... Forever! Slowly but surely they began to drift apart, from eating separately to buying things individually to missing appointments and not even living together any longer it was first considered space given to the couple until it was clear that the space between them now happens to be just as much as the connection they once shared.

What ever could he do now but to move on with his life? .Yes, he did checkup on his brother and stuff but when his visits where taken as an act of self centered motives he himself saw that the space between them should be maintained well enough to avoid insults and conflict. Sure it definitely was not easy but the sooner he accepts and take those times as good memories the better.

Now some may say he was alone but i would say he was independent and

although it would take a lot of hard work,diligence and endurance he will be capable of looking after him self well enough ... Note that i said himself. Times get harder and harder with each passing generation and many depart from the will of the true God, some do not believe in him while others say he doesn't exist all together. Have it as it may be, Grand pa lived a happy and satisfied life when he followed the simple rules set down by his creator.

For any government to be successful it has to have a body of laws, rules and regulations then also the penalty for law breakers and all this is so that there might be order and to avoid chaos. These rules are set with the people's welfare in mind .Just think how life would be if everyone would obey the fundamental rules and regulations …

harmony right? No violence, no corruption, no problems with tangled roots here and there.

That is exactly what the standards of God helps to promote. if one really sits to calculate then they would certainly see that obeying these rules will do them no harm but would help them carry a clean conscience at all times as just one of the benefits... This and many more are what Mr Benson enjoyed from the life that he choose .

He was well-known all over to be a very honest man one who was hardworking and decent.A good name is ranked better than silver and gold he would always say and he continued in his legacy day after day without tiring or quivering in any way for it was more dignifying to be labelled as a good person rather than a renowned thief ?.

His life was complicated I will admit for I do not know if I should say it was fun or ancient nevertheless though he lived a happy life for people in those days his life lacked nothing when it comes to the most important things life offers,from family which he later had to friends, good friends at that plus even the satisfaction of good work and everything else emotional which lots of people are looking for today.I can definitely say that he was never depressed.(right?)?saddened once in a while,yes but never depressed.

Back then people appreciate the smallest things in life and he was no different he knew how to enjoy reading people's company,evening stroll and even fishing. Pardon me for I seem to have forgotten to mention that he was very good at not just at fishing but catching animals in general,that I could say was one of the means of livelihood which he possessed. He would often go to cast his net early in the morning and attend to other matters for a while until he arrived later in the day to find his catch.

Unlike in the west where people would celebrate every little thing in order to be able to throw an elaborate party just to eat lots and lots of meat, the South was very different. While western households loved meat and had more skilled hunters along side farmers than they did fisher men and as a result most of their food contained a lot of meat to bring the desired taste, if not then it is said that the household either lack the ability to know the good qualities of Life,lacked money to purchase this item or simply did not have anyone who was skillful enough to hunt for them.

In the south ,peoples lives where more water-based because the location of this area itself was surrounded by water to be fair.Marine creatures were the main source of life and the people had a unique culture of fishing a lot during fishing seasons in which the fish were abundant, then leaving them alone for a while when they are not.

fishing from one steam after another allows the rivers they left to rejuvenate and flourish on their next arrival then releasing small fishes caught in nets back into the water bodies because you will end up as a laughing stock if you where to return home to a big family of hungry people eagerly waiting on your arrival after a day of fishing with baby fishes.

Crayfish's, prawn, shrimps,eels and crabs you name it. sea food extravaganza as they ate almost everything including land insects. From locusts to crickets to those big flying moths things that come out after a rainy day and big juicy delicious and very nutrient dense woodworms which where the most popular and most tasty if well prepared tho because i remember continuously throwing up after I ate it for the first time, all I could taste was this raw lava liquid burst in my mouth after I took just one bite and I definitely swore never to eat any insect again what so ever...as you might have guessed, I didn't stay true to my promise and I decided to taste it one more time some years later after which i discovered that if you are to eat something for the first time ,make sure the person making it for you is well known for their good cooking skills so as not to get a terrible experience from what actually is a nice cuisine. I remember closing my eyes windows shut as I lifted the piece of oversized pepper grilled worm towards my mouth I could feel every moveable muscle in my body contrast in expectation of that same disgusting waxy taste and I was certain that I was going to regret my action but to my utmost (pleasant) surprise, I felt nothing like that at all. I began to wonder if perhaps it was all in my head and the first bad taste I had was a mental thing, probably from the idea that I was about to eat a bug...but even if the taste was a phenomenon of my imagination, that waxy feel on the upper part of mouth definitely was not and neither was the barfing cuz that too certainly wasn't a joke.

From 5ft long ,rather black looking fishes to little sweet shiny fishes to tilapia's the variety was quite a lot species by species. Every fish had the meal it matched without question which the people all knew and where thought either in the kitchen with the cook of the day or from the taste of the foods cooked on a day to day bases. Rubber tapping was also one of the common things done and this too was done even before sunrise i still don't know why .

Farming is a necessity if you grew up in the 60s of course no one wants to beg for food and life was a bit more self-reliant than it is now .People mostly only bought what they could not grow themselves either because their land's needed rest or one complication or the other did not allow them to grow their own. They respected nature and things did go very well for them. if only it could be like that in the 21st century, then who knows ...global warming might not even be one of our problems but alas all this has already been prophesied and now all we can do about the prophecy which is obviously coming to pass is to endure till the very end

As I mentioned Mr Benson did not live his life alone I would also love to tell you a bit about his beloved who brought all the more colour into his life as her name implies ☺️ but that would have to come a little later....there are still many unfinished business between the dear brothers I have not revealed yet but hey all in due time right ?

Yes time flies and all,Benson now is a man of his own. To be honest he has always been a man of his own but this time the only difference is that people would be able to see that for a fact he is more than capable of handling his own affairs. Many envied while others used him as an example, some taunted and others hated still he lived above the noise

How fortunate he was that no matter the amount of people that didn't like him no one actually thought of killing him he didn't have any stalkers or creepy stuff like that but in the meantime while things were going swell with him no more spread all around town that his brother might just be the opposite of what he is. People claimed that a person can not just acquire wealth as fast as he suddenly was.Debates popped up one after another and minds set ablaze as all where simply amazed by the drastic changes they saw. From building his own mansion to celebrating his late father's burial anniversary and finally gaining the title of Chief . Questions in the mind of the public faded as he appeased them all with his habit of sharing money when he was in a good mood or during celebrations. It is normal for one to speculate that with all these advancements in his live, his beloved brother would be the first one he spoils wright? WRONG!

Even when Ben hit rough times he received no significant assistance from his brother what so ever. so much so that others went searching as to why they became even more than strangers because Chief is known all around for helping people then why does he not help his blood as all. Could they be step brothers and found out so they angrily want nothing to do with one another? or perhaps the problem came from inheritance? is this all a conspiracy from the chief's wife? and if so, is he such a henpecked husband as to fall for her little scheme?

Who knows, this might just be the real him. His plan all along, he probably just needed an excuse to throw Ben out. Now that I think of it, could someone have forced him to do all that he did? It really sounds unlikely that two people as close as they where could simply just break off like a snapped candy bar cause even that can be put back together with melted chocolate ??? but Still wouldn't be strong I guess. The reason for their break-up remains unknown till this day I tell you but we move.

From regular jobs to repairing of electrical appliances and having to teach a lot of apprentices

He began with just one tyro but climbed all the way up high because if the diligent and honest nature. His moto was : "Watch yourself because you are being watched". On this note, you can definitely perceive just what sort of person he was can't you? Dishonesty tho has proven to be very hard to beat if it becomes a matter of your success or failure. It is in human nature to fear the idea of loosing not because to lose is actually bad but because people will make a mountain out if a mole hill and keep not just rubbing it in your face but also putting salt in your wounds time and again. This time when such came knocking on Ben's door, he simply acted like he didn't even hear the knocks. Sadly the business slowly dilapidated because in this small town of theirs not everyone was careless enough to just let the expensive gadget they bought after a while of hard work break down without a fight. Ben himself also did a very good job fixing things in such a way that it wouldn't have a problem in a long time to come. It also seems to be that people don't appreciate good stuff until they experience the bad first. many would simply walk into his space with their broken equipment and as him to fix it for them with such low prices to offer for his services. Ben was considerate but a bit too considerate when it came to business. if you ask me, he did the work of a philanthropist more than he did a business man . Time and again he has been caught up in fixing stuff for little pay, going out of his way to get things ready way before hand and fixing other problem without even letting the people know he helped them with something outside the blueprint of the bargain.

Some customers where low and stuff like that. one of the newbies walked up to him one sunny afternoon while he was working on a black and white and whispered; "why don't you fix the problem and cause another small one so that after using this item for a while the person would come back to fix the other thing that he noticed was wrong".

Now to any money hungry person this certainly is a wonderful idea, splendid, superb per say but to Benson this was just unacceptable. how can you even think of that ? he said, furiously looking at the young boy who was clearly too little to have such mindset just to make a couple of bucks and was obviously delusional if you thought his boss was going to concur with such an idea ??? . Oh how foolish he was not to have understood the kind of person he has been working for and to blindly bring fourth such a knavish reasoning presented unmasked on a silver platter to him.

Ben would rather close his stall than to resort to such an act to deceitfully keep people trooping in and out for you never know who would find out about this little conspiracy and expose him thereby ruining the name he has strived to make for himself over the decades. slowly but surely it seemed like the business came crumbling down but he took the initiative to shut it down himself before things get out of hand and stories get twisted

I wonder maybe in the eyes of that boy, things would have gone well if only Ben had listened to what he had to say,initiating his little plan could have saved them from closing down the business he probably would have thought;I told him , didn't I? but he just wouldn't listen acting all mighty like he knows it all. now look what's happened." little does the boy know that the choice his boss made was actually the best because honestly speaking that kind of business wasn't exactly what their little countryside needed at the moment to make as much profits as the child thinks it could

On to the next plan he went like a Voyager seeking to see it all but this time, he was looking to make greener pastures not to find it. He was looking to build a fueling station along the cross road of the three neighboring towns, at least this way travellers and nearby dwellers would always have a stop here to buy diesel, petrol and kerosene as the need maybe. He's plan was to expand the whole thing as time went by because feeding wasn't a problem for him, his only worry was that he needed a suitable house of his own to have no worries about jealous roomies or his family to come. With that in mind, wise Mister Benson took a leap of faith and risked quite a lot. He closed his eyes and bought two pieces of lands in different places one in his hometown, while the other at a suitable place for the station. After this big decision which would obviously take a lot of money he would have used for other things, he had not as much capital as before so he didn't waste any more time and started building his own house to his taste and to money at hand of course.

He built this house in such a way that if he ran out of money, he would be able to continue without any problems which was a thinking many people lacked back then. infact people never start building untill they had enough money to start and complete it as soon as possible but this particular person knows that life is a climb and the view is great so why not take it as such, one step after the other.

From the sand to the cement nails and woods he made sure to use only the best materials he could find because he applied the principal ; what ever is worth doing is worth doing well. Many use these words to address their children to get work done to the best possible standard they can but fail to realize that it applies to just more than house chores and kids but to them also and the decisions and jobs the decide to undertake. At different work place complaint are usually made against some workers who always seem frustrated all the time. Yes they themselves don't deny the fact that they are tired or hate their job but the question is : That is the reason you get paid in the first place right? It is what you're paid to do, your time, effort, services and all in exchange for money to sustain yourself and you agreed to it all before resuming didn't you? . so if you feel you work too much for your pay, ask for a raise. if you simply hate your job,find one you prefer or create one for yourself and stop spreading negative vibes and frustration.Others have their problems to contend with and you making the task they need to get done with your services another frustrating experience to endure just because you don't like they job you once happily embraced just isn't fair towards them. The world needs more smileys and people who love thief jobs and do it wholeheartedly come back home tired but satisfied. They spread positive energy at work and motivate others to do more. When others as; what is the secret to your happiness? when you really have no secret formula, you realize that they think you are always happy and that alone would put yet another smile on your face and you will certainly have one or two things to say to them like point out the things you personally see that takes people's smile away and how to overcome them.

The easiest way to get fellow workers to smile is to look in their eyes when they seem down or upset, smile at them then use your thumb and index finger to signal reminding them that something is missing on their face, After all smiling has proved to make the mind think that we are happy and soon enough forget what has been bugging if we have stuff to occupy our minds.