The frantic call spiraled
A help to be saved.
Help’s on the way
Just patiently wait.
The fire fastly consume
Truth seeks to commune
No time for repentance
Rather, she’d prefer acceptance.
The fire truck wails nearby
Soon she would be saved;
So I thought.
A second she would wait no longer
Her hair just got singed.
Truth belowed:
Let your heart embrace peace; forgive!
She jumped.
Only to be knocked down cold
By the same saving fire truck.
With every pace of display,
The Lizard allures itself with pride.
Carried away in a selfish vigour,
It sliped and fell into a deep well.
A suicide well executed.
It shook its head not for failure, but the pain.
Lingering pain with no gain.
Sheepishly, it crawled to a comfy corner.
A chunk of pride hard to swallow.
The weight of pride, a heavy price.
No night sleep, no day rest.
For that very soul was cheaply sold.
So grey with mould, that soul.
Whenever it carve evil plans,
A trace of sorrow must be left;
Borrowed life forcefully spent.
Horrid putresence fed to earth.
Nemesis, the best alibi;
It walks behind not beside.
The long fingers coiled around its neck;
Fit to clamp soon.
But how soon is so soon?
An uneasy calm finally visited the raging storm. They nearly pegged their eyelids in place in a bid to defy sleep. Earlier, Papa stood there perplexed, if only stares could kill. He did not utter any word but, just shook his head as if trying to jerk up a part of his stiff body that is asleep when he left the room.
When the boys finally slept, they clustered like a pile of peeled bananas each one carrying the guilt of how whichever punishment would be meted out to whom.
It was breakfast time, but the table was graced by a lonely soul; Papa. Mum went to the boys’ room to knock on their door.
“Won’t you guys eat before you take off?”
She asked while scanning the room but gloom was the bold sign written all over the boys’ faces. She frowned her brows; a smirky expression on her face, a resigned fate of ‘I don’t think I can help you guys out of this mess, but I’ll try.’
It had always been the norm well understood; should one of the parents disciplined any or all of the children, it must be done in unison. There was no taking sides.
Papa was halfway through his breakfast when mum placed her hands on his sleeves.
“Dear, do you remember one of your stories you told me about the day you thought it was the end of the world when you served an unusual punishment because you got your father’s farm burnt?” Papa smiled, nostalgic feelings welled up in him.
“I know where you are going with that.”
He gently wiped his mouth and adjusted his tie as he slowly got up from the table.
“Worry yourself less, because I don’t intend to punish them, maybe not for now. ” He said.
Mum adjusted Papa’s collar and he made for the door when the boys chorused “Good Morning Papa.”
“I guess you guys had a wonderful night…” He asked.
It is a simple question they would not in any way dignify with an answer. Maybe they actually did enjoy their night before the whole drama.
Misan, Charles and Nadia hurriedly downed their breakfast and sauntered out of the house.
Misan later asked Charles how he thought he would get away with the sneakers which had gotten them all in trouble. Charlie who took it wrongly blurted out “Was I the one who asked you to come back late or did you not enjoy the movie without me?”
After school hours, they still needed to look for one another; that was the first responsibility they took upon themselves as brothers.
The tension between the brothers had not been doused as Nadia walked in between them. Timi a young cousin of theirs whom Charlie was fond of caught up with them.
“Hey Timi girl” Charlie teased; extending a hand which softly gripped her shoulder.
“Charlie the naughty one” Timi jokingly chided as she regarded Misan and Nadia.
They all passed through a spot where a mentally deranged young man in his late twenties called Labaster normally hang out. He was said to be a talented footballer who was doing well until he had uncontrollable habit of abusing drugs. It actually messed him up.
They taught he was talking to himself and some unseen spirits, but he was not.
“Hey, my girlfriend, come stay with me.” Labaster was on top of his voice.
While they eased their steps to decode what Labaster uttered from his foul mouth, he had already closed in on them. Labaster caught Timi by her arm, then rested the other left arm on her shoulder. An agitated Timi was trying to free herself from Labaster’s grip when infuriated Charlie who couldn’t bear the sickening scene stepped in.
“Leave my sister alone.” Charlie’s voice quivered in anger.
Labaster stood facing Charlie like a wrestler, eyes unflinching. Beaded sweats trickled from his head down his spine. With his trusted sneakers, he took a fast aim in between Labaster’s legs. The unimaginable thud from the impact drew the sound “ooh!” from Misan and Nadia. It was as if they took a pain reliving drugs for Labaster’s headache because he took a quick glance at their ‘ooh’ faces before he crumbled like a pack of cards.
“He’s down guys, run!” Nadia exclaimed.
They were way ahead running up the bent hill when Labaster came round. It was as if he was suddenly overtaken by one thousand and three spirits. Charlie’s face was well registered on his mind. His run became a long stride and then like a spooked horse whose life depend on escaping a fire, he caught up with Charles. The others had scattered in different routes before Labaster gained in on them. Labaster puffed “You, today, I will kill you”. His panting breath rattled.
Charlie’s sneakers gave him a edge whenever he made sharp turns at every corner of the area he knew less about. The sneakers making a noisy screech at sharp brakings. He ran along a junk yard jumping and dodging jaggered metals. He came to a short fence just ahead of the junkyard; nowhere else to run unless he can manage to run past Labaster who was on his heels in a flight of fury. Charlie did not think twice before he took a long leap across the short fence. As if it wasn’t worse enough landing in a canal of junk yard, he was sinking.
“Help! Help!” Charlie yelped tearfully.
“Yes, that is perfect, that is good! No one will help you, this will be your funeral. Ah ah!” Labaster barked.
He stood there for a while till Charlie stopped defying gravity. He was neck deep inside the canal unable to dig his way out or move. He almost resigned to fate when he discovered Labaster had left. His brothers and Timi were already calling out for him.
“Charles! Where are you? Charles!”
That alone sounded like a redemption song in his ears. Charlie’s voice came up with fiery gusto.
“Over here, Misan, Nadia, over here…come with a long stick please.”
Misan looked at his helpless brother in the eyes and breezed off to fetch a long stick. They passed him one end of a long stick as they pulled him out to safety. Dirty with mud allover, he came out with one leg of the sneakers. It wasn’t until the next day when he was unable to go to school but to the hospital. Charlie’s left foot that denied one of the sneakers had a cut and was infected. He had injections and
stayed at home for three weeks.
Papa told them his story how he mistakenly set fire on his father’s farm when he wanted to roast a yam.
“The fire got out of control, and I took off not knowing my father’s friend saw me. He reported me to my father. The following day on the farm, he asked me to bring a cutlass he latched to a tree, little did I know he had my punishment well set up. I didn’t see any cutlass and as I stepped back to tell him, one of my legs was caught in a noose carefully set as a trap by my father. He rushed up to me, reminded me of my wrongs and used carefully selected canes from the bush in whipping me. The more I ran in cycles, the long rope wound me up closer to the tree.”
“What? Grandfather was wicked.” Replied Nadia.
Papa smiled, deep in thought, if these boys tasted half of the punishment he ever received while growing. …But, they learnt a bigger lesson without him lifting a finger on them. His conclusion.
All errors are mine
-Drastevo
“Wow, this is crazy. I still can’t imagine how you can ever manage to afford this sneakers.” Misan quized.
Charles the witty one carefully withdrew the sneakers from his brothers’ prying eyes and poking fingers.
Charlie fondly called by friends actually stole from their father’s safe when he stood in for him at the store. The old man would not find out until later when he reconciles his account at the end of the week. He was unassuming but a firm and fierce salesman; the dependable supplier.
Misan the first of the sons was in his teens, sixteen to be precise. He was always deep in thought, he got that major gene from his grandfather who could read someone’s mind before he or she could signify any meaningful or meaningless intention. His thoughts actually converged on trying to crack how Charles came about the money for the expensive sneakers. Afterall, it was way beyond his savings from the stipends he normally receive from helping family and friends. Misan beckoned on Nadia who was just within reach.
Nadia, taller than Misan by few inches is the youngest of the brothers.
“Nadia, don’t you think Charlie stole from Papa at the store?” Misan asked.
“I thought as much…ha…it must be so.”Replied Nadia.
“But…for the fact that the sneakers has this bold mark on it does not really mean its authentic. ..could it be?”
Misan’s countenance gave him away with that annoying expression; just like watching the water wane crazily from a sink.
He does that every time anybody offers a mindless opinion.
“Let me tell you what’s going to happen, we will make Charles pay by covering up for us. Tonight, we sneak out to see the movies but he’s so staying back. If he doesn’t comply, we burst the bubble. How about that?” Misan asked.
“Right on brother.”
Nadia gave his brother a gentle pat on the back.
It looked like every other night but the difference was that the galaxies decided to hug under the cloudless sky in clusters and colonies.
Charlie was in a dream land with his sneakers laced tight. He kept pushing the monsters away by firing hard at them; their eyes so wide and magnified.
For Misan and Nadia, the movie well extended late into the night, way past their official bedtime. On his way out of the movie theatre, Misan pulled Nadia’s ears who was already hooking up with naughty friends of his. Obvious pointers, their parents would not have approved late night crawls.
Their plan was to climb the tree behind their bedroom. The branches of the tree extending to the balcony where a door and two windows are. The key to that door from the room that exits into the balcony had always been locked, but that night, Charles was with the key.
Both Misan and Nadia were at the glassy window calling on Charles who in his deep dreams about finishing the last bunch of those crazy wide eyed monsters.
“Charlie, Charles, open the door”. They chorused.
He truly got up from his deep sleep but was met with four wide frightened eyes from the glassy window. He gave out a loud undulating scream. Misan was shocked; Nadia’s look carried a frantic effort to calm his scared brother; it wasn’t helping.
Papa was startled, he hurried to the boys room wih a hockey stick on the right and a golf club on the left. He was ready to cudgel any unwanted intruder.
He was shocked to see those terrified eyes poking right through the window. The scream shift diffused through the glassy window to Misan and Nadia.
(To be continued)
I made beats out of the splattering rain.
I thought I’d see the air,
If I’ll never see you again.
Worse still;
This panting breath
Made my heart beat like a ceaseless drum.
I was sitting right here;
and a moment wrong there.
Saved by your touch,
I finally found in you a miracle.
– Olufemi Oladotun.
His vows he slayed,
Her vows relived.
Visions visibly dismembered;
Memories forcefully lumbered.
Like a bed unmade to be laid.
Disavowed gently, broken seal disengaged.
Sacrificed dreams both would wake;
As they veered their separate ways.
Whatever was left, would be raked.
Better and safer alone,
Part of his/her story foreclosed.
What I have is what I give,
But you wouldn’t give in.
I cleft with courage not to give it up.
It whispers, give it out.
I scattered the sunshine;
What I got back was more than mine.
The colourful rainbow washed out
The tunnel snaked on
Diminishing any sign of light.
We were betrayed by our brothers
Not our enemies, but our blood brothers.
Bad fate brought on our kinsmen,
Now we have less fate.
On and on we wander.
Our homes gone, our dignity torn.
Even animals have territories.
Did we not give it all up to insanity?
Unsure of a future,
Our furures’ future stare at us blindly with questions.
But not every question deserve an answer;
An immediate deniable solace.
We once dined like kings
We enjoyed like Queens.
Now we are refugees; moving drones.
Rejected by beings,
Walls of prejudice erected to fence us off.
We must pass through the eyes of the storm,
To get to ‘Freedom Uncertain’.
Forced by the devil to walk on the tempest sea;
Our faith bent to fail
In the eyes of the engulfing monster.
-Olufemi Oladotun.
To all the refugees in the world, there would be a day for a new song.
Worse than your sweet nightmare,
Better than your best nemesis.
Your ego boosts your confidence
Shameful alter ego your evidence.
My thoughts may wander just like that of a child.
I may shriek out in fright
Despite strong plight;
For you, just for you.
Your ego swam the best of oceans
Beautiful strokes are not always master strokes.
I look on, looking on.
One day this ego will refuse to be fed.
It will sink you in the smallest of all rivers.
You will drown and never to rise again.
Then I will stop looking out
For you, just for you.
-Olufemi Oladotun
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