A world without us

The Queer Missive

It was a bright Thursday morning, the year 2015 was just setting off. The sun was already situating its place in the aesthetically blue sky. "Otos, you have no idea how large the crowd of audience is going to be like in the forthcoming concert tour, do you?" Feolu, a young man, in his early thirties, dressed in an emerald green t-shirt and beige colored shorts, labeled Nike, cheerfully said, nodding and mirthfully looking towards the direction of Otos. Otos is the stage name for Oluwatosin Ishola, a popular afro musician who resided in one of the most exquisite areas in the heart of Nigeria, Lagos, to be specific, Ikoyi, where most successful entertainers, business moguls, and generally wealthy citizens settle in. 

Otos was a mesomorphic 28-year-old, dark-skinned young man, with brown eye color, 4'9" height, well-sculpted face, a cleft (dimple) on both sides of his cheek, and a slightly pointed nose. He was on low skin fade hair cut. 

He had accomplished a great deal in his music and business career. Otos was sitting on a cream-colored couch in his well-lit living room, with light-colored wall paint, decorated with natural brownstones, giving monotone looks, that created a nice textural effect to the space. The room was luxuriously furnished with cream-colored couches, a modular sofa set of 11 seater, puffies, Marley tables decorated with green and pitch centerpiece flowers, stereos, fully air-conditioned, filled with fresh air and well-scented fragrance that smelled that a perfect combination of jasmine and rose. 

The living room was a miniature part of the gigantic mansion Otos acquired during the previous Christmas period, three months ago, that suited the caliber of a pop star who had produced several successful albums and signed deals with several high-profile companies. His music career was an ideal epitome of success.

 He was born with silver spoons in his mouth and hands. Both of his parents and family members occupied a high class in Nigeria's socio-economic status. Otos was recognized as a selfless philanthropist, he was usually captured by the media to be expressing his kindness by sharing money with his fans, at every chance he got. He recently visited Primary Health Care Centre in selected rural areas in the northern part of Nigeria, to check up on the patients and support them with their medical bills. The news about this outreach was featured by many international news stations including Al-Jazeera and BBC. Many of his co-celebrities stated on their social media accounts that such a benevolent act was worth emulation by them and other celebrities across the globe.

Ironically, he was despised for his notorious insolence and poor attitude towards handling relationships. He was being considered insolent by several members of the public. Reportedly, in recent times, news flew around that his recent ex-girlfriend left him on account of his grossly poor interpersonal skills especially aggressive behaviors. He demonstrated difficulty controlling his temper upon a slight provocation.

Feolu, Otos's Assistant was a young man who perfectly was a physical expression of the word, cute, considering his physical qualities. He had brown skin, 4'2" height, squared body shape and he was on curly afro temp fade hair cut. He had been working with Otos for the past three years, at the time, Feolu displayed exceptional qualities, talents, and skills. He demonstrated an unbelievable skill of creating a 3D fine art portrait of Otos, which did a phenomenal job portraying Otos as a legendary afro musician. Feolu also displayed a short video of the painting process asserting him as the original creator of the piece.

Otos was highly impressed by the skill when he bumped into the image on social media. A few days after it was posted by Feolu to advertise his painting business. "Aesthetic! Our youths are not lazy after all, another proof! This has to go into my momentous archive of artworks. Oshey gaan. Guy, abeg, send in your account details, you have made me proud, I gotta reciprocate the kind gesture.!" he posted his comment to the social media page, Feolu's i********: account where he found the appealing piece of artwork. He patiently awaited Feolu's response, after a few days had passed, he was compelled to ask if any of the commenters on the same page could help him locate Feolu. Different people posted their comments on the page appreciating Otos' remarkable generosity.

About 20 days had passed when Feolu eventually replied with his account details. He was instantly credited with 2,000,000 naira by Otos as evidenced in details of the credit alert. "You sure are a superstar, this is a big motivation to focus more on my painting career. I appreciate this man!." Feolu was astonished and immediately gave a shout-out to Otos through his social media account. Otos replied, "you are most welcome, my guy, however, truth be told, the last zero was a slip of my finger, but na your luck. It's all Grace." 

Many of Otos' followers appreciated his generosity in the comment section. However, immediately Feolu realized that Otos planned sending lesser than he received, he took action. He requested Otos's account details so he could refund the redundant amount that was mistakenly sent. He private chatted Otos and stated on the comment section.

To further investigate the integrity of the young man, Otos sent his account details to Feolu, soon after, Otos received a credit alert of the exact excess of the money he had earlier sent. He immediately went to his social media account to post, "This millennial generation still got much good in them, I salute, Feolu Martins, welcome to the crew, now I have a Personal Assistant." The rest they say is history. Ever since both have been enjoying blossoming work and friendly relationship.

Otos was earnestly focused on his phone's screen, in front of him was a golden colored Chicago bar chart, under which he placed his two feet, his classic violet-colored pair of croc was sited adjacent to the Chicago bar chart, on the bar chart was a half-filled wine glass, and a bottle of exotic wine. Feolu stood four feet apart from him, scrolling down his phone screen. "Boss, this show will burst bubbles, balloons, and heads of haters, we are repositioning our throne as the King in the industry every, every go feel our vibe. Chief Toyin has gotten himself and his folks a VIP space! We have hit the jackpot once again!" Feolu exclaimed, pacing the room with his face glued to his phone screen. Otos still maintaining his sitting position without excusing his face from the phone, kept nodding in affirmation and smiling.

"I am proud of you... , of us," Feolu moved closer to Otos, extending his right hand to Otos for a handshake. Otos finally took a break from his phone and embraced his handshake, delightfully nodded once again, and gave him thumbs up. Ostensibly, Otos was busy updating his social media accounts with videos and photos from his recent performance of his novel song, Lightened. 

Silence captured the room for a few minutes until Feolu's phone began ringing, 'Life is worth leaving when we know what to give...,' the ringing tone was a song from Otos's 2013 song album. "Yes, please. How can I be of help?." He paused for a while paying attention to the euphonious female voice of the caller over the phone. "Permit me to call you back in a few minutes, " Feolu abruptly terminated the ongoing phone call.

“Hello, count us in please” Feolu enthusiastically affirmed to the caller over the phone. He adjusted his ear-pods while putting the call through to the stranger who had called earlier. “...I can reach on this same number yeah?... Good. Please keep us posted on its progress and please, how may I address you or have your number saved to my phone?.” Feolu continued to pace with his full attention glued to the voice communicating to him over the phone. "Alright, thank you. Looking forward to this" Feolu smiled as he slowly ended the call, after which Feolu played the call record of the conversation between the stranger and himself for Otos' consumption. "Lovely! Looks promising. I've got a strong feeling the details from this call are a potent artery to promulgate our new baby." Otos said, smile beaming across his face" The cleft (dimple) on his cheeks became glaring whenever he smiled. "Our thought processes are in harmony, that new song is a new hit worldwide," Feolu said, nodding in agreement and scrolling down his mobile phone.