Withered Flower - Episode 6

“We can’t be doing this anymore, I feel really bad every time I cheat on Emem”

“Since when?” Iyeke asked.

They had just finished making love. Nkem knew that he had not put in his best and this was not because he had problems but because he kept thinking about Emem the whole time. He had to admit that he hasn’t really cared about her in years past but recently, he had begun to see the little girl he fell in love with, when she was only four.

He had first seen two boys threatening this tiny girl by the large guava tree at the back of the school. This spot was known as the “fighting spot”. Grievances were settled here during break or after school. A small crowd gathered around the spot and were cheering on. It was evident that none of them was supporting the tiny girl. He moved closer and observed from a short distance. The girl was on fire, he thought. She wasn’t fazed by the two boys who were towering over her by at least two heads. She kept shouting at the top of her voice and jabbing her finger at one of the boys’ chest. He stood there and kept admiring her defiance.

“Enough” he said. And turned to the tiny girl. “Come with me” and he grabbed her by the wrist. He was glad that he was stronger than her because the strength she had was very impressive. He managed to drag her to a safe distance before berating her on what he termed “foolishness” on her path. The tiny girl seemed unrepentant and that endeared him to her and plus the fact that she was very pretty.

He soon became friends with her and also understood where her strength came from. She had five elder brothers and being the only girl, she became one of the boys. It wasn’t until his third year in University when she finally accepted to go out with him (She was in SS3) and they got married immediately after she graduated from University.

“I don’t know, I really want to focus on my marriage, I love Emem”.

Iyeke got out of bed, grabbed a dressing gown and went into the bathroom.

“Why did you come then? You should have stayed back and not come here to tell me rubbish”. Iyeke called out angrily from the toilet.

She was so angry at herself right now. Over the years, she had tried not to allow the guilt of sleeping with her best friend’s husband get to her but now, Nkem just made her relive all that in one swift moment.

“Iyeke, I really need you to understand why we can’t do this anymore”. Nkem said. She hadn’t heard him come into the bathroom. “I did love you once but then, I fell in love with another and I want to focus on that” He said.

“This is so unfair” she said with a low voice. Nkem could tell she was crying and he moved closer and held her waist.

“No!!” Iyeke screamed. “No!! don’t touch me. You and I were in a relationship and then you left me and started chasing her. Several times she said no to you but you still insisted. How could you do this to me? Am I so unlovable that people leave me to marry other people? What is wrong with me”?

Nkem felt bad, as Iyeke’s outburst took him down memory lane. He had started dating Iyeke when she was in secondary school. To be honest, he had dated her, not because he loved her but because every boy in Oredo Model College, Benin, wanted to date Iyeke. She was the most beautiful girl in the school (she still was) and everybody wanted to be associated with her. To him, she was a conquest and he conquered. It wasn’t until Emem finally accepted to date him that he broke up with her.

“You knew she was my best friend and you still went ahead and asked her out. That bitch stole my life!!!”

“Come on Iyeke that is unfair. You know Emem never knew that we dated and she felt really bad when she found out. I have apologised about everything and really hoped that you had moved on”.

“I know and to be honest, I really do not hold this against her. She had been like a sister to me but sometimes…” She turned to face him. “…I can’t help but wonder what would have been. Did you love me at all?”

“Lets not do this, Iyeke” Nkem replied avoiding the question. “What matters now is moving forward”.

“Why did you start this relationship again, when you knew you were only going to break my heart?”

“I am sorry about that, I shouldn’t have. I was so sure I didn’t want to be with Emem again but…I do love her and cant imagine my life without her”. He turned her around and lifted her chin “Kene adores you, why don’t you give him a chance and…” He didn’t get to finish his sentence.

“I can’t date him…I can’t. It won’t work” she replied.

“Why?” He said, staring at her face. He knew why but was really hoping that she would trust and speak to him about it.

“Nothing. Please can you go now, I really want to be by myself”. She flopped on the bed and buried her head in one of the pillows.

Nkem wanted to console her but decided against it. It will only start another round of crying and he didn’t think he could take it anymore, besides, it was getting late and Emem would start calling to find out where he was. Quietly, he slipped out and shut the door behind him.

As soon as she heard the door close, she assumed a foetal position and cried herself into a dreamless sleep.

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Chief Mezu was quite unsettled. He had seen a young man leave Iyeke’s apartment about 30 minutes ago. He had been anticipating this, as he knew she would get married someday, but he didn’t realise how painful it was going to be to let go. Was that a tinge of jealousy he felt? Oh well, the young man had left and now it was his turn. He picked up the phone to dial her. As he lifted the phone to his ear, he sees a Posh Cayenne jeep pull up to her apartment and a young man stepped out and headed to her door. He hadn’t knocked for long when Iyeke opened the door and let him in.

The phone fell out of his hands. He quickly retrieved it and ended the call before it went through.

He had just seen his son enter his lover’s house.

Withered Flower - Episode 5

Deep in the bush in Agu Clan, four figures sat around a fire that looked like it had a mirror in its middle. Two of them had horns protruding from their chin, the third (a woman), had lumps all over her face, while the last figure looked like an innocent child.

Nobody knew how long they have been around for and where they came from but legend referred to them as the “First of Agu Clan”. However, some people said they were myths and non-existent. Their job was basically to ensure that traditions were preserved and curses, blessings etc. were preserved unless there was an intervention.

The fire changed colour and they all jerked like someone who had been rudely awoken from a deep slumber. The woman screeched and they all made a hissing sound. Then the child spoke up in a snake-like voice;

“ssssecerrrss”

They all hissed again and started making scratching sound at the fire.

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In Agu Clan, a woman sitting by the fire and cooking, screams, falls to the ground and starts convulsing. Her husband stood up from where he was sitting and ran to her side, whilst calling out for help.

He got to his wife and held her up, asking what was wrong. People had started gathering, someone had already been sent to call the Native doctor, Dibia Aguocha. The men carry her to the bench and they start fanning her.

Dibia Aguocha takes his time going to the house. He knew that was going to happen, he had warned them but nobody headed to his command. There was nothing he could do. By the time he got there, he saw people gathering in small groups. The woman had died, they only got married yesterday.

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“Emem, I can’t date him”

“Why? He is single with no baggage, handsome…scratch that, very handsome and stinking rich. What more could a girl ask for?”

Why? Oh I’m sleeping with his father and I’m pretty sure that is incest…was it? Iyeke thought to herself.

“I don’t know, I just feel it wont work. We are from two different worlds, not to talk of the disparity in class. He is high class and I am bottom of the pot class, not even low class”

Emem laughed.

Iyeke recognised Kene they moment they shook hands. He was Kenechukwu “the Play boy” Mezu. He was every girl’s dream, every guy wanted to be him and here he was shaking hands with her. If she wasn’t mistaken, she had seen a glint in his eyes, indicating that he liked her.

No no, she thought. Another circumstance and she will be all over him but not when she was with his father.

“Iyeke, I thought you were looking to settle down. Why is class an issue now? If I can remember, you once dated Mohammed Dan-Musa and his father was the president at the time. You also dated the son of the Speaker of the House of Representative and you had no issues doing that” Emem replied.

“I wasn’t looking to settle down at the time, so class didn’t really matter”.

“Iyekoetin, I have known you from when we were little. You practically grew up as my younger sister, so I know everything about you. What is the issue? I promise not to judge you” Emem said.

Iyeke wondered whether she should tell Emem her “dirty little secret”.

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Kene stood, naked in front of his mirror. As he stared at his perfect form, he couldn’t help but wonder why Iyeke had said no to his request for a date. It came as a shock to him, seeing that women always fell over themselves to be seen with him and be called “Kene’s Woman”.

I gotta have this girl, he thought. Her refusal made her even more irresistible. There was something about this girl and he was not going to give up. The problem now was that he has never had to work hard for a girl and he didn’t know how to begin. He picked up his phone dialled Nkem.

“Guy, you have to tell Emem to work on that babe oh” he said as soon as Nkem’s voice came on the other end of the call. “The babe said no to me, Kenechukwu Michael Mezu. In fact I was so stunned, I started stammering. Please ask Emem to speak to her. I have a feeling I have met the one” He said.

“Where have I heard that song? Is that not the song Flavour sang with that girl that sings through her nose?” Nkem retorted.

They both laughed.

“Bro’ I’m serious about that babe so get to work”.

As soon he dropped the call with Nkem, he thought about calling Iyeke (He was lucky to get her number the day they met) but decided against it. He will wait for Emem to work her magic.

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Iyeke was watching TV but her mind was not on the programme showing. She liked Kene and she really wanted to explore that relationship. He was very cute and had that kind of body that showed that he spent hours at the gym…so different from his father’s, which had “lumps everywhere”. She shuddered at the thought.

She was in a dilemma and wished Emem had never introduced her to Kene. As she sat on her couch, all she thought about was Kene’s body and how he will be in bed. She had just started day dreaming about what it would feel like being with Kene when the phone rang and she jerked and stood up.

“I’m home” she replied to the person on the other end of the phone. “Oh, I didn’t hear the knock. I am coming”. She dropped the phone and headed to the door to let her caller in. She took one look at her reflection in the mirror as she walked across the hallway. The guilt will have to wait, she was horny and there was a man at her door.

“Why did you take you so long? I sent the secret code at about 3pm and the time now is….” She looked at her wrist watch “6pm”.

“Sorry my dear, I had to take Emem to the Market. You know her car is still at the Mechanic’s” Nkem replied as he pulled Iyeke close to plant a kiss on her lips.

Withered Flower - Episode 4

Iyeke laid on the bed. She had no desire to go to church, not after her trip from Abuja. Besides, she always felt a tinge of guilt every time she was with chief. He was old enough to be her father but she needed the money he provided, to take care of her family.

Growing up was very difficult. She never met her mother or father and was raised by her grandmother. She was told that her parents died in a car accident, but that didn’t stop the other children from making fun of her on the playground. Some called her an “ogbanje” child that caused her parents’ death. Needless to say, she had no friends.

Her grandmother was a petty trader, who sold confectioneries and other little things in front of their house. They hardly ate three square meals and if they did, it was hardly balanced, nutritionally. The first time she ate beef was at Emem’s house and she remembered she got the beating of her life from her Grandmother.

Her phone rang … it was Emem.

“Hello babe, how you dey? Yeah I will be ready so you can stop by and pick me. Okay later”

She dropped the phone and headed to the bathroom.

As the water ran down her body, Iyeke couldn’t help but think about her life. How did she get to this point of her life? She had thought that she was going to be married with kids before the age of 25, even amongst her group of friends, everybody thought she was going to be the first to get married but here she was, approaching 27 and still single with no hope of getting married.

She was a beautiful girl and everyone knew this but all the men who came her way, were not serious about getting married to her.  Emem had more luck in that department, she met her husband when she was only 4 years of age and they have been stuck together since then. After so many disappointment from men, she decided to start going out with older married men, who could afford to take care of her and especially her grandmother. There was no use being in a relationship that will go nowhere and not be rewarded for it.

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The lady in the picture ought to be the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. She was chocolate brown in complexion, pointed nose, sculpted cheekbones and a beautiful figure. If he had to estimate her statistics, it will be 36 -26 – 38… the girl was awesome.

Kene stared at the picture on his phone. Nkem had finally told him about the girl he was hooking him up with. His response was “no” but now that he had seen this picture, he was reconsidering. He had dated beautiful girls before but there was something about this girl that he couldn’t place a finger on and besides, she had a unique name that even made her more unique and innocent.

He picked up the remote control to turn on the TV. Nkem had said that Lunch will be at 3pm and he had enough time to kill before leaving the house.

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Iyeke looked down from the balcony. A very handsome man was stepping out of the latest Porshe Cayenne jeep. She kept looking the vaguely familiar man until he walked into the building. She walked back into the house.

“Nkem, this una building get correct bobos oh. I just see as one comot from one fine car”

Nkem smiled at her, as she made her way to the kitchen to join Emem.

“Madam, you too like to dey cook. This thing never leave your body?” she said, while trying to pick a piece of meat from a pot still on fire.

“You know say I be “calabar” babe nah and we sabi cook nah” Emem said laughing. “How was your trip and grandmum?”

“She is fine, my cousin was giving her grieve so she sent for me. I really want to bring her to Lagos as there is nothing keeping her there but the woman still won’t budge. I am tired” she lamented.

“Don’t worry, it will be fine. While we are here, how far?” Emem asked

“With what?” She replied, pretending not to know what Emem was talking about.

“You know what I’m talking about jor. How far with man?”

Emem always asked this question every time they met, which was one of the reasons she avoiding any kind of meeting with her. So many times, she had wanted to tell Emem about Chief but she didn’t know how her friend would take it that she was dating a married man. It tore her heart that she couldn’t confide in her friend, as they have always told each other everything.

“Abeg leave me jare with man, I no get that kain time. Make dem sidon their own abeg” she replied.

“Iyeke, you are a very beautiful girl and I know a lot of guys who will give an arm and a leg to be with you but you have become very reclusive, we don’t talk like we used to and you have stopped going out. Looks to me like you have given up on love”

Emem’s words always pierced her heart because she was telling the truth.

“My dear, let the one arm and one leg guy come now, because the full bodied ones are not stepping up oh” she joked.

“I’m serious Iyeke, stop joking. You know I really want the best from you my best friend”.

“I know, i'm just tired of all these men”

“Ha! Tired of men? Please promise me that if you want to swing that way, you start with me first oh” she smiled.

“Yeye girl. Abeg hurry up with this cooking jor, hunger dey waya me” she smiled

The doorbell rang and he heard Nkem open the door. She heard voices in the living room.

“Are you guys expecting visitors?” she asked.

“No, just a visitor” Emem smiled. “Let’s go to the parlour”.

Iyeke, walked into the living room and saw the Porshe Cayenne guy.

“Iyeke, meet Kene, Kene, Iyeke” Nkem said

“Hi” she said, as she put her hand forward for a handshake. It was then it dawned on her why she was here and who this person was.

Withered Flower - Episode 3

Chief Mezu picked up the copy of the “City People” he had just bought from Traffic. It was not a habit of his to buy such soft-sell magazines but then again, it was not every day that you saw your wife on the cover of a magazine. The Headline read

“Ten Politicians’ wives you didn’t know had real jobs”

Where they got these headlines from, was beyond him. He thought.

His wife had always been his pride and joy. When he met her, she was a student at the University, studying for a degree in Physics. She went on to become a Teacher and then a Lecturer at the University of Abuja.

When he started making money from Government contracts, he had asked her to resign and take care of the home but she was very happy with her job and insisted, so he left her to it.

He remembered when he had first asked her to marry him (He never dated her) and she had quickly said “no”. He had been stunned because he was catch in those days and could not understand why any woman would say no to his request.

It took interventions from her family and friends for her to finally accept his proposal. He had vowed that she would be his only wife, even though tradition allowed him marry another if he so chose to. For now, he will stick to his numerous girlfriends. Speaking of girlfriends, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.

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Iyeke dropped the call and looked over the balcony at the people going about their businesses below. It wasn’t as busy, since it was a public holiday but busy enough. Chief had just called and wanted her to follow him to Abuja. She had explained that she was at a friend’s and would not have time to go home and pack her things.

Kprung! Kprung!!

She looked at her phone. Chief doesn’t waste time. After explanation of why she couldn’t travel, chief said he will send her money to buy all she needed at any nearby store. He had just sent her N200k and she knew he would settle her heavily after the trip. Once, he had paid N2Million into her account after one of their trips to South Africa. She was broke and needed this trip. She had to find a way out of this.

“Emem I have to go, that was my Nana (the name she called her grandmother)”

“What is it? Is she okay? Emem asked startled.

“It is my cousin again. I am just tired. I will call you later to let you know what’s up”

“Why don’t you wait and travel tomorrow. Isn’t it too late? Emem pleaded.

“No if I leave now, I will get to Benin before nightfall. Please say me well to Nkem and I will see you two on Sunday” She said as she hugged her friend and headed out the door.

Chief was already on his way to the Airport and if she was to make it home, get her things and meet him there, she had to leave now. Emem was up to something she knew but she was not about to lose making money this weekend for the unknown. Whatever it is, has to wait till Sunday.

She hailed a taxi. “Ogba”.

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Chief Mezu ended the call and dropped the phone on the seat next to him. Good girl. He thought. If there was anyone he could count on to follow him on his trips on such short notice, it had to be Iyeke.

She was a beautiful girl and he could not understand why she was still single. So many times, he had toyed with the idea of taking her as a second wife but he respected his wife too much to do that to her.

Well, Iyeke wasn’t complaining and neither was he. He picked up the magazine and opened to the post about his wife.

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Emem waited patiently for her husband to come up the stairs. She had seen him having a conversation with one of the neighbours downstairs.

“Welcome babe”. She called out from the kitchen as soon as she heard him enter the house.

“Thanks bae. Where is Iyeke?” he asked looking around the kitchen.

“She left, said something about her grand mum”.

“And you let her go? Kene will be here anytime from now”. He said with a frown.

“Relax, she will be here on Sunday” she responded smiling.

“How do you know?”

“Because according to Chief Mezu’s itinerary, he is supposed to be attending a function in Lagos on Saturday”.

“What has that got to do with him?” he asked looking at her suspiciously

“Because she didn’t go to Benin to see her grand-mum but escorted chief to Abuja” She hugged and gave her husband a full kiss on the lips.