By Felix Brambaifa
He had waited for too long, she had been
gone for almost an hour and it dampened his mood. She had grown big and
beautiful and it was not strange admirers would come in their drove. He was happy
to see the changes but hated the discomforts that came with it. He was angry.
Back then he was way younger than the picture
of the present. He had gone to visit a friend and the friend in turn was the
one who carried him to the SHOP. The SHOP at this time was in its happiest as
men in their numbers paid constant homage to its door front, it made many men
loose their heads more than anything in the world and alcohol was the snare they all fell into. It
was here his eyes fell on little Agnes, then a small girl without the slightest
inkling of what she had on her little frame. She was part of the reasons these
men came in their large numbers, they all wanted to feel Agnes.
But Okoro was a man who knew how to get the
things he needed in life. How he
went about it was unknown but at the end of the meeting an
agreement was reached and Agnes the little girl blessed with the body of an
adult became the responsibility of Okoro. Her every expenditure became his
concern; he paid from his purse and smiled afterwards, not even ready to caution
her excesses. He became the Santa of the liquor
house and all were made happy. Okoro loved his new responsibility and he poured
money into his new project with a righteous heart as if the money
were been channeled into a cathedral for God. From her secondary education to
her University, he took charge and was the donkey too burdened to complain.
In due time she migrated into the fields of higher learning. He was
there to foot the bills and roof her material taste. Years brought them closer
and the words of feelings conveyed through letters became constant.
He
had sent words in advance; his coming was to be treated with complete regard and his presence met with the love his heart had envisioned and labored for but instead, his coming was met with grief, for though he had searched, enlisted the help of others in that search, it was in futility that their efforts was destined. in shame he begged for the path back home, for now he knew she had deliberately avoided his presence in a university ground that seemed too out of place for his age.
Life had brought many women to his bed; his
money had negotiated for the best and he was always there to enjoy himself when
women were the appetizers, their warmth was his pride and he did all to
enjoy his consumers right. But since that day when his agreement became law,
when he took over the responsibility of another man and called it love, with
free will before his very consciousness he went after foolishness and opted to
wear on the sweat of celibacy for a girl too young to be mature. From that day
of the agreement he had come to see and feel pains only imagined but still he
continued, hoping. Pains too bad for his aging heart and shame too insulting
for his gray hair became the constant pranks from Agnes. He was now the beast
and his age was the fault and Agnes the beauty was not at all the sort to
become too romantic to the extent of falling, even when the beast had been her
greatest help.
The house was now as uncomfortable as it
should be for any eyes that must have seen its mother's own nakedness in the
open. The laughter had long faded away and they sat in silence.
“I want her now, I can no longer wait” He
cried out.
“Agnes will be back soon and we will put the
matter down” Mama Agnes answered.
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