Withered Flower - Episode 10

"That is the deal, take it or leave it" Koba said

Kene was livid but he had to be calm for Iyeke's sake, he had to remain calm. He looked around the dingy bar. He could see a lot of people smoking and drinking. He recognised a few people whom he suspected were with Koba. He had to give it to the guy, he was wise and had chosen this place for protection. Kene knew not to try anything stupid.

“Koba, be reasonable. Where you expect me to get N20Million naira from? Do you think money grow on trees”?

“By the look of things, it does for you or would I say it rains for you”? Koba said, directing Kene’s attention to his Porsche.

Kene followed his eyes and rested them on his car. Koba had always been a cheap thief. No wonder he was kicked out of “The Brother”. The guy had no self-discipline and would do anything, except kill for money. He never had the stomach for shedding blood, unlike him, who had two under his belt and had Koba being alone, he would have been celebrating his third kill…well another day.

“Is the car your problem? You can have it. Here is the key, enjoy and just release the girl”. With that, he threw the keys at Koba, who seemingly dodged the “welcomed” assault.

“Nah, it is not as easy as that. Do you think I don’t know how much the car is worth? Do you think I am stupid? Look, when you are ready to talk money, call me”. With that, Koba took the keys to the car and threw it back at Kene whilst smiling.

Kene sat at the table and watched Koba and three other guys rise and leave the room. One of them looked at him, smiled and gave him a “Hand-gun” signal.

He picked up his phone, dialled a number. “We have to move to plan B”.

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Iyeke crawled towards the bed. It had been 4 days since she was brought here and had no idea when she would leave this room or if she will leave the room alive. All the prayers she had prayed in her 27 years of living in this world cannot be compared to the amount of prayers she had offered in this four days. She had promised God a lot, should she be freed but one part of her knew she didn’t really mean it.

She got on the bed and laid on it with a loud thud that surprised her, seeing as she had lost a lot of weight for having not eaten. Not that her captors’ were not feeding her, on the contrary, they were feeding her well but she was afraid of being poisoned. A story was told of a Lady who was abducted and she lavishly ate the food of the kidnappers and even started demanding for the impossible. Needless to say, they found her body by a river bank.

A noise at the door made her jump and she retreated to the end of the bed. The door opened and a masked man came in.

“Time for your bathroom break and do not try anything stupid or you will be seeing the devil very soon”. The masked man said.

“Please don’t hurt me, I will not try anything”. With that, she got down from the bed and walked towards the man. She really needed this “one a day” bathroom break, as it meant she won’t have to pee anywhere in the room. Besides, it was an opportunity to look around, just in case she found and escape route.

After her bathroom break, she walked quietly to the bed.

“You still don’t want to eat? You will just die for nothing. Better get yourself together and eat because you will be here for a while. So whether you die or not, we go still get our money” The masked man told her, turned and left the room.

When she heard the click, signifying that the door had been locked, she turned her face to the wall and started crying. Why was this happening to her? She thought. What will happen to my grandmother if I die? She knew for sure that her grand-mother will die as she was the only grandchild who didn’t give her problems. With that, she prayed to God to keep her grand-mother.

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“Which child are we talking about Ogoshukwu? The one you abandoned before she could even suckle your breast or the child you abandoned for 27 years and have not even said anything to her?” Mama Edosa said.

When Ogochukwu told her that she came so Iyeke could know her, Mama Edosa had taken one look at her and walked away. It had been days before she finally decided to speak to her about Iyeke.

“Mama, you know I couldn’t look at the child. Looking at her reminded me of the wrong her father did to me and I couldn’t take it”. Ogochukwu replied.

“So why are you here? You understand that her face has not changed and you will still experience the same thing you did years ago”.

“I know. I thought her father did me wrong years ago but it is actually something worse than death itself and I have to warn her before she too falls into the same circumstances I found myself”. Ogochukwu said.

“I guess you won’t tell me this and I am not going to ask. Iyeke has not called for a week now but I am not worried because she does call”.

“You don’t have her phone number”?

“No, she calls with so many numbers that I have lost count. You have to be patient, she does call”.

Ogochukwu used her hand to support her chin. She really need to speak to her daughter. She knew she hadn’t been a mother to this girl but this old woman would not deny that she didn’t get all the gift items she sent to use in take care of the child. Her only wish was that she want too late.

“Mama, did you for once tell her about me? I mean her mother?” Ogochukwu asked with an unsure voice.

“Which mother? As far as that girl is concerned, her parents died in a car accident and I, her grand-mother has been taking care of her”.

Tears poured down Ogochukwu’s face and dropped on the sandy floor. She hoped she wasn’t too late.

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The sound of gunshots startled her out of her sleep. Earlier, she had stomach cramps from not eating for days and was already considering eating the food that the masked man had dropped on the table. As she lay there deliberating, sleep came upon her and drifted into a dreamless sleep that was surprising even for her.

She jumped off the bed and ran to the slab and hid behind it. She knew it was stupid but at least she could buy 5mins before they found and killed her.

Trembling, she started praying frantically to God. She made all sorts of promises and waited patiently for death.

She could still hear the gunshots and noise. A man screamed, more gunshots and then there was total silence. This was it, apart from getting married, she had a fulfilled life. She asked God to forgive her of all her sins and she closed her eyes and waited.

She could hear doors open and finally, the door to the room she was staying in opened. Suddenly the room was flooded with lights then she heard a female voice calling out her name. The voice was familiar but it couldn’t be. Slowly she came out of her hiding place and was facing Emem.

Withered Flower - Episode 9

Iyeke surveyed her surrounding, she struggled to see in the dark. Her head was pounding and everything seemed fuzzy. She tried to stand on her feet, an explosion of pain hit her and she fell back to the ground and blacked out for a few seconds. She realised that she was lying under a concrete slab and had hit her head when she tried to get up.

Slowly, she crawled out of the space till she felt she was away from beneath the slab before making attempt to get up. Her ankle hurt. I must have twisted it somehow, she thought but she didn’t know how or where.

She groped in the dark, trying to locate the door. The room was hot and she was sweaty and sticky. A warm sticky liquid flowed down her forehead and she reached out to touch it. Instantly, she knew she was bleeding and she traced the blood to her head and touched a wet patch. Oh my God, I am going to bleed to death, she thought. Immediately, she started screaming for help, whilst still feeling her way in the dark.

“Screaming won’t help you at this time my dear, so save your breathe”. The voice at the other end startled her. She didn’t recognise it, as it was muffled. The whole of her being knew she was in trouble and so she started begging.

“Please, don’t hurt me”. She said. “I haven’t done anything wrong. Please I beg you in the name of God”. She kept pleading and only stopped when she couldn’t hear another word from the person on the other side of the door.

She leaned against the wall and slid down into a sitting position. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was laughing with this cute guy, taking her home. The details were fuzzy but she remembered trying to run away, she remembered being slapped…her head hurt from trying to remember so she laid down on the ground and started crying.

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“So why are you here?” Madam Edosa asked the beautiful woman sitting next to her. It had been 15 years since she saw her but the woman was still as beautiful as the day she found her.

27 years ago, she had taken a few things to market and was on her way back, after a disappointing day of dismal sales. She decided to take the bush path as she was told that a terrible accident on the road had caused a gridlock. She was not the type that could stand the sight of Mangled bodies, so she chose to take the bush path to her home.

She had been walking for about 15minutes, when she heard what sounded like a woman in pain. Common-sense told her to move along. I mean, you never know these days. There were many bad people in the world. She had started moving along, when a scream stopped her in her tracks. Looking at her life as a Christian, she walked towards where the sound came from with prayers on her lips.

Nothing prepared her for the sight she saw. There, lying on the bare grass was a young girl covered in blood, her legs widespread and the head of a baby crowning her vagina. Having worked as a Midwife before, Madam Edosa ran to the young girl and braced her back with the load she was carrying. She couldn’t understand why the young girl had blood all over her face. Maybe she was a victim of an armed robbery attack, she thought. Nevertheless, she had to be delivered of the baby she was carrying.

Ten minutes after, a beautiful baby girl was born. Madam Edosa quickly used the knife she always carried around for her sales to cut the umbilical cord, cleaned and wrapped the baby with the second wrapper she was tying.

The young woman was crying profusely and refused to old the baby. Madam Edosa kept pleading with her to at least try breastfeeding the baby who was crying as if she was trying out her new lungs. After so many refusals, she brought out her aged breast and thrust it into the baby’s mouth. Immediately, the wailing stopped as the child tugged and bit her breast with her gums. It wasn’t long before the child slept off.

Asides the cuts on her face, the young woman was very beautiful. Madam Edosa watched the young Lady sleep. She had a lot of questions to ask her but it will have to wait till the next day.

When morning came, the young woman had disappeared without a trace until 12 years later.

“I have come because of my daughter, it is time for Iyeke to know who her mother is".

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“Who is this girl to you and why did Koba take her?” Nduka asked.

Kene had been waiting for this question. It would have been a surprise if it didn’t come up. Nkem had helped him gather the “brothers”. They had to strike. This was definitely “crossing the line”. Both groups had had a truce and decided that they would live peaceably without any fracas but someone went and broke the treaty.

“She is my friend”. He replied. “And that is all I’m going to say”

“I am not going to go out there to fight blindly. If I am going to put my life at stake, I may as well know what I’m dying for”. Nduka replied.

Kene had always hated Nduka. They have been rivals for a long time. Kene even believed that they had been rivals from the womb, seeing that their mothers were rivals as well.

“Look Nduka, I didn’t call you, you did that of your own volition. You don’t have to be here just because you are a “brother”, you have a choice and you can leave”

Nduka made to respond but sat down. One could tell that he was fuming but he wasn’t in the mood for a fight.

“As I was saying…” Kene continued. “…my friend, Iyeke was taken by Koba. I have a fair idea as to why he did that but we will have to wait to hear from him”.

Nkem cleared his throat. “As we have heard, one of us is in need and we have to help. While Kene will have us deal with Koba, I do not share the same idea but instead will ask that we approach this with dialogue. The days of causing rift in this town are behind us, we are more matured and should behave that way. Kene will call Koba and we will start discussions and possible negotiations”

All who were present cheered Nkem, some even clapped.

“Let’s get to work” Nkem said.

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“I have the girl Sir” Koba said.

“Great, keep her there until I give you further instructions. Make sure nothing happens to her”.

“Okay Sir”.

Koba dropped the phone. He was happy with himself. Always nice being a double agent. Chief Mezu had already paid him to take the girl but he was hoping that he will make some money from the son as well.

He picked up the remote control and tuned to MTV and nodded his head to Jaywon’s ‘This year’.

Diary of a Broken Heart on its Way to Mending - 1

I sat in my car, tears streaming down my face. I wasn’t sure which of the emotions to credit the tears to. 

I had just picked up my offer letter from a major Oil and Gas company (It was a position I had been eyeing for a while and it even came with a status car) and yesterday, Deolu, my boyfriend of 6 Months said he was moving on as I was too boring for his liking...like seriously?

My phone vibrates. It is a text message from Deolu. I had sent him a text to inform him of the new job and I made sure to give him the salary figure.

"Congratulations babe! I knew you were going to make it. See why I love you. So where are we going to celebrate? Pick any restaurant and I will pay. XOXO"

Oniranu...hiss. These boys ain't loyal" 

So here am I again, back to square one in the quest to settling down with my 'bone of bones' (that's what they call it abi). How did I get here? I had thought that by the time I clocked 25, I would have been married to a Medical Doctor with three beautiful kids named; Leona, Lolita and Lebron...just kidding but I do have the names of my kids picked out but y'all will know this at the right time.

In order to understand my story, I have to go way back but before I do that, I need to introduce myself. 

I was born into a family of two girls, my elder sister and I. My parents brought us up in the Lord but I know I strayed big time but I’m making my way back to God. My sister is married (She got married at the age of 21) to a 'Mulatto' and they have four beautiful kids (I hope she doesn’t get pregnant again, the girl is so fertile). She lives in Riyadh with her husband and they are both Engineers.

My dad is a retired Soldier, while my mum is a doctor with one of the most popular hospitals in Lagos. The live in a big Mansion in one of the choicest part of town (I cried when I had to move out).

Now, over to me. When I was in school, I was an 'A' student. There was no prize-giving ceremony that I didn’t cart away all but one or two prizes home. I even graduated top of my class and was immediately offered a job at the University (of course, I turned it down, couldn’t envision myself as a Lecturer).

Immediately after my NYSC, I was offered a job at a small Engineering Firm and I poured myself into it. I was so serious about my job that I got promoted every year and before you could say 'Jack Robinson', I was managing my colleagues whom I started the job with as Trainees.

I recently got a job with and Oil & Gas company in Qatar and I will be moving there in a month. I should be happy about this, after all, I am not even thirty yet. However, with these accomplishments, comes the gnawing feeling that I will always be alone and not have anyone to share my joys with.

My name is Ekenechukwu Madukwe and this is my diary.

Withered Flower - Episode 8

When her bus reached its last bus stop, the woman got down. It has been 15 years since she came back to this town. The first time she found herself here, she had been involved in a ghastly accident that claimed the lives of all her travelling companions.

She walked straight to the queue of bike men calling out to passengers and soon got on one, after a prolonged haggling on the price of the ride. She didn’t know the name of the street but she knew where she was going to and was able to describe it to the bike man.

A bike ride later, she arrived at a worn out compound, with over grown weed. The compound looked uninhabited from the outlook but she knew there was someone living there. She clapped and called out to the inhabitants of the house.

A young woman came out. She was really beautiful with very generous child-bearing hips. She couldn’t be more than 18 years of age.

“Good afternoon Ma”

“Ehen my child. Please I am looking for Madam Odosa. Is she still living here"?

"Efomo, nah who be dat"? A woman called from behind the house.

"What is your name? Mama wants to know". The young girl who was called Efomo said.

"I'd rather see her"

"Come with me" the young girl motioned for her to follow.

She recognised the old woman sitting by the fire instantly. Fifteen years hadn't done a lot of damage to her appearance. Apart from a few wrinkles here and there, she didn't age at all. 

The elderly woman turned and looked at her, there was a glimmer on her face and then she turned back to the fire to stir the pot and without looking up she said.

"You stayed away longer this time, Ogoshukwu"

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Iyeke sat across Chief Mezu at the hotel bar. It had been like two weeks since she last spoke with him. Not that she hadn't tried. His Personal Assistant was always on hand to say he was busy, in a meeting etc. Calling Chief's mobile was a no no, as his wife could pick up the phone.

"I haven't heard from you in a very long time. Is everything okay with us"?

"I have been very busy"? Chief replied, looking at his phone.

Iyeke knew he was lying and something was wrong. She would like to think that she knew Chief better than he knew himself. Well, she wasn't going to probe further, as chief had a bad temper that she didn't like witnessing, let alone be at the receiving end. So she remained quiet.

The silence between them, could cut through a tuber of yam. They sat there for a couple of minute before chief started making and receiving calls. This was the part she didn’t like, chief being on his phone. 

After about 20 Minutes of this, she had had enough and decided it was time to go. She wasn’t going to sit here and act like something was not wrong.

"And where are you going" Chief asked, putting his call on hold. Then he told the person on the other end that he would call back.

"Chief, you are not speaking to me and I know that something is wrong but you are not saying anything and the honourable thing to do is to leave". She replied.

"Since we are talking honourable, how honourable would you say you are"?

"I don’t understand chief"

"I know you won’t but I will let you understand. When were you going to tell me about your boyfriend"?

“What boyfriend she responded?” This was bad, she thought. How did he know? She had wanted to tell him about it and also use the opportunity to break it off but he beat her to it.

“My friend, stop asking me stupid questions. And what are you also doing with my son?”

Iyeke was confused, she had thought that chief was talking about his son but chief’s statement implied that he knows she was seeing someone else. In that moment, she tried to scan her brain to decipher who chief was talking about.

“You better not be going out with my son because you know that will be an abomination of the highest order”. Chief was now raising his voice and people were starting to look their way.

“Chief, can we go somewhere else to talk? People are starting to look at us”

Without looking at her, Chief Mezu got up from his seat and started heading outside. Iyeke sat there for a moment, then got up and started walking towards the door. She could feel thousands of eyes drilling holes into her. She could feel them judging her but she managed to reach the door and exhaled. It felt like she had been holding her breathe. She looked around for Chief’s car and saw it pulling out of his allocated parking space.

At first she was confused. Maybe that wasn’t his car but she ran towards the car anyway. She never made it to the car before it zoomed off. Everything seemed hazy and she had to sit down for a while. She couldn’t believe that chief had driven off without her. She opened her purse and took out her phone. She hadn’t been able to take out cash from the ATM and so had used the last cash on her to get a taxi to meet with Chief, so she knew there was no money.

She scrolled through her phone, wondering who she should call. Ordinary, she would have called Emem but their friendship had not being the same since their last meeting. Emem was now a different person and she knew their friendship will probably not stand the test of time.

How is it that she doesn’t have any other friends apart Emem and Nkem? As she was looking at her a phone, a deep voice called out to her.

“Need a ride Lady?”

She looked up and saw an unfamiliar but handsome face looking down at her from a Prado jeep.

“It’s okay, I’m fine. Thank you very much”. She replied.

“I don’t think you are fine because I have been watching you for a while. I can drop you off anywhere”.

Iyeke knew she was stranded and didn’t know who to call. She looked at the man again, he looked harmless and besides, he was cute. She got up from where she was sitting and moved towards the car. She would drop off a few blocks from her house, as she didn’t want anyone coming back to look for her.

“Can you please drop me at Ogba”? She pulled the seatbelt and buckled it.

“Not a problem, I stay at Magodo. Lanre is the name, what is yours?” He asked.

“Iyeke”. She replied.

“Nice to meet you”.

“The pleasure is all mine”. She said.

The rest of the drive was silent.

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“Bros, I really like Iyeke. I only wish I knew how she felt about me”.

Kene and Nkem were seated at a bar in Lekki, having a few drinks. 

“She makes me so unsure of myself and no girl has ever made me feel that way. Who is this girl and why does she make me feel this way?” Kene rambled on.

Nkem laughed. “Maybe it is because you have never had a girl say no to your advances”.

“No, I don’t think so. Remember Pamela refused my advances” Kene replied.

“Pamela didn’t know you were rich. Don’t you remember she started pestering you with calls when she found out”?

“Yeah”. They both laughed really hard. “Maybe, Iyeke doesn’t know I’m rich. I should tell her”. He laughed about it. His phone rang. He knew it was a text message and wanted to ignore but he decided against that and picked it up.

Kene jumped up the moment he read the text. This was not good at all. He turned to Nkem with a worried look and handed him the phone.

Nkem took the phone. Before he read the text, he knew who sent the text. He scrolled down to read the text.

“I have your girl, you know where to meet me”.

Nkem quickly brought out his phone and tried to call Iyeke’s number. It was switched off. He turned to Kene.

“What do you want to do bro?”

Kene just put his hand on his head and replied;

“Kill him” he said and stood up from where he was sitting. “The moment someone moves to family, it is war. Call the brothers” Kene said.

Withered Flower - Episode 7

Chief Mezu sat in the car waiting for his wife to come out. It had been a week since he saw his son go into Iyeke's house, the whole episode stunned him. Wasn’t this incest, he thought to himself. Abomination of the highest order.

Why is this woman wasting time? We ought to have been at that wedding about an hour ago, he thought. "Stephen, press that horn, then go and call that woman".

"Yes Sir". The driver replied and got out of the car to go get Chief's wife.

Didn’t Iyeke know who Kene was? Everyone, even the Monks in Tibet knew the son of Chief Mezu. How was he going to handle this situation?

“Nnanyi, sorry. I was giving the girls instructions for dinner” Chief barely heard his wife.

“Why does it take you women days to prepare for a programme that will last only an hour? Your daughters are even worse. I wonder how their husbands are coping”

“Nnanyi biko I’m sorry. You know how these things are” She stroked his beards just the way he liked it.

One thing that made him love his wife was the fact that she could turn an ugly situation into a good one with flattery. Had it been another time, he would have laughed with her and even give her a little tongue action. However, his mind was elsewhere and there was a situation that needed attending to. As the driver pulled out of the luxurious estate he lived, he stared straight ahead and a thought came to him.

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“Soooo”? Emem asked in an exciting voice. “Tell me, tell me and don’t leave anything out. How does it feel being Kenechukwu’s girl?”

Iyeke had no words for Emem. After Nkem broke off their relationship, she needed some comforting. She taught about calling Emem but what would she have told her was making her depressed? So she called the only other available person, Kene. He was like a hungry dog, waiting patiently for the owner to put the food in its plate. Within 30 minutes, Kene knocked on her door and they spent the whole night talking about everything and anything. By the morning, she had a boyfriend.

“I’m still not sure” She replied.

“What?!” Emem said with a raised voice. “Are you kidding me? Babe sit down and tell me what really the problem is. You say I am your best and I think it is high time you started treating me as such”

Could she really trust Emem? Iyeke thought. It was bad enough that they had both seen Nkem naked. Besides, Emem was very “anti-dating married men” and she didn’t know how she would react to her confession.

“Iyeke, please trust me”. Emem looked into her best friend’s eyes, hoping that maybe, just maybe, today will be the day.

“I can’t, you will be disappointed in me and probably hate me and I do cherish our friendship. Please don’t make me do this”. Iyeke started crying.

Emem walked towards the table and picked up the box of tissues and brought it to Iyeke. Maybe, she should let her know what she knew and put her out of this misery.

“Iyekoetin”. She usually called her by her full name, whenever she wanted to be serious. “If this is about Kene’s Father, I know”

Iyeke looked up at Emem. How did she know? She had been really careful with chief. She made sure that no one saw her with him and that was why she never travelled in the same cabin and she usually gets an adjoining room in hotels, so she could slip into his room.

“How?” Iyeke searched Emem’s face.

“That is not is not important my dear” She moved closer to hug a crying Iyeke. “All I want is for you to be rid of this burden. It is important to note that I love you and only want the best for you.

“I really wanted to let you know but I didn’t know how you will react?” Iyeke asked still sobbing.

“As you can see now, I understand and would not hold it against you” Emem replied.

“I really needed to take care of my Nana. She was very ill and I had nowhere to get money from…”

“Shhhh… you don’t have to explain anything to me. Like I said, I understand perfectly”.

The two friends hugged for a while and even Emem started sobbing as well. Iyeke felt this huge weight lift of her shoulders. She was relieved that she could finally confide in her best friend.

“I don’t know what to do, I really like Kene but I can’t because of this mess I have found myself in”.

“Oh nonsense, you are going to date Kene, marry him and have wonderful children”

“No Emem. I have a date with Kene tonight and I will use the opportunity to break things off”. Iyeke said, rising from the couch where she was sitting.

Iyeke didn’t expect the response she got from Emem. It was like a movie playing in slow-motion. Emem stood up and slapped her hard across the face.

“Oh yes you are, Slut”!

Iyeke was stunned. She held her face and looked at Emem.

“Oh yes, I called you slut. I know you are sleeping with my husband but that is not the point!”

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A woman in her late 40s was seen boarding a bus from Agu Land. She had left this too long and she needed to put things right and avert any impending doom. She found a seat at the back of the bus, close to the window and dozed off.