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| Felix Brambaifa |
By Felix Brambaifa
He cried, the tears fell and his voice was
enough measurement of the grief within.
It no longer mattered what his supposed future in-laws would think so he
cried out her name, as his tears laid emphasis on the reason why his life had
become so sad. The compounds in the area gathered, their attention was the
righteous sort and he narrated his woes with every single drop. Eventually
their sympathy became audible.
“Sorry, such is life, it will get better”
Filled the air as the women tried to console him. Agnes who had been their
beloved now became the Judas they all wanted to stone. But this was not the
case with the males who could not conceal their annoyance at the foolishness of an old man, investing
on a girl old enough only to be his granddaughter with the intention of
marriage in mind. Some held back their irritation while others too angry at
Okoro for misrepresenting men were bold to shout. “Old fool”
The time came and even the night tired of an
old man without shame went to sleep, he was left alone to nurse his wounds.
Mama Agnes tried her best but he would not come inside for the night, for he
had vowed to wait for Agnes to come back before business of that kind would
find a place in his heart. But when the time became too lonely and his resolve
almost lost to drowsiness he stood up and went to the outside road where the
activities of nightlife were gradually taking shape.
The bar played loud music, the prostitutes
paraded themselves, and the crowd frolicking in their carnal pleasures paid little
attention to morality as each of every one of them struggled to get the best
out of the vanity the
moment had on parade.
He was among them, trying in his best efforts to kill his pains through too much
alcohol, and it was then he saw the car come to a stop in front of the bar. Out
came the heavily built guy and to the shocking surprise of Okoro there stood Agnes,
beside him.
They took a table for themselves and drinks
were brought. They laughed, they discussed and Agnes was evidently happy with
herself, not even worried about the so recent episode she had left still
unfinished.
He looked at her and wondered if she had no
conscience, he had sent her to school, helped her family and for this alone he
was entitled to her respect but which was never the case as Agnes was so always
quick to show, He looked at her and could see the aura of an ingrate, he stood
up and walked towards their table.
She felt her head swell; she saw Okoro’s
face and knew this time the trouble had come to stay. He dragged out the empty
chair and sat down. He peered into the eyes of Tony who was so surprise at the
uninvited guest that for a moment he remained speechless not knowing what road
to take. Then he managed to speak.
“What can I do for you?” Tony asked, expecting
to hear the ranting of a drunk gone over the edge.
“Young man you have insulted me” Said Okoro.
Tony had expected it and so he laughed like a
mad man before saying. “Ok I will buy you another drink”
Okoro was angry as he replied. “I say I want
my wife, she is my wife”
Tony was silent as he looked towards Agnes.
“That is the way he has been harassing me, an
area drunk who would not leave me alone” Her denial was piercing to the soul
and Okoro was again the victim.
“Indeed I am an old fool” With this he began crying,
heavily.
Every man was created to partake in the ills
of life but to be insulted in this manner, be denied by the one who have seen
your best and charity was in many words the worse of bad times. He stood up and
demanded that Agnes come with him. She declined and the madness which for hours
had remained constrained finally caught fresh air and inhaled strength. He
grabbed her hand and dragged her to her feet but Tony was there to pull back.
He heard the bottle break but his anger would
not listen.
“She is not going anywhere” Tony countered,
his voice angry as expected.
He was tall; the type of fellow with strength
to start a mini riot and come out victorious and in his clenched fist was the
broken bottle waiting to prove itself. Okoro on the other hand had his age to
be worried about, he was not at all fit for the moment but his anger would not
relent.
He went for Tony and in the suddenness of the
moment the two of them fell. The bar gathered round, no hands went forward to
do what was right, instead they stood, watching as Tony gave Okoro the beating
of his life.
She stood there silent as an untroubled
night, but when the beating became more violent, she begged and Tony stood up,
pleased with himself for beating his father’s age mate. If shame had never
before been ashamed of itself, then Okoro certainly with this moment had
allowed the impossible. Tony had refrained from using the bottle but yet blood
covered the face of Okoro. He stood up crying, the loud music had since reached
a forced end and so Okoro’s voice was as the crickets and frogs of the night.
He walked out from the bar, his tail between his legs.
The bar was back to its usual self when Okoro
suddenly re-emerged. From where at that time of the night he had found himself
a machete remained a mystery but nevertheless he came back with one in hand.
He had not bothered informing her but left
immediately for safety. She was surprised but when she looked behind, she
understood why and followed her lover.
She was the one who shouted the loudest, as
Okoro pursued them into another street in the middle of the night, Tony joined
her and in no time the atmosphere was reeling with. Thief! Thief!
He could hear the footsteps gearing up to
join strength. He saw the doors open, heard the sound of iron rods been dragged
from their sleeping places by hands too hungry for violence but before his
voice could put up his defense, that he was not a thief, a piece of block from
behind, with full force to his head made contact and to the ground he fell. Even
as he fell he had desperately wanted to explain but that piece of block was the
Devil which in its cruelty had dislodged this ability, replacing them with pure
pains.
When events like this take the full stage,
God in his mercies might interfere and the victim by miracle would survived,
but for God to have involved himself would have been so unfair for never before
had any one receive so much demonstrated fury and live to tell the tale.
She shouted for them to stop but when the
Devil sits on the saddle nothing was bound to go the normal mile. She cursed
them, she went violent on most of them and since she was no stranger in her own
neighborhood they did not return her violence as she took time to now explain
“He is my husband”.
But the crowd was just too much to cover with
her little shouts, her sudden sense of remorse compared to the growling that
was then the atmosphere was like the search of grain of sand on sea shore.
She was now bitterly crying, they had by
this time relaxed their angry violence and knelt by his body calling out amidst
falling tears. “Okoro! Okoro! Come back, I am ready, come back!”
But it was already passed the hour of grace
and needing not a doctor they all knew that he was no longer with them. She
cried, she begged for his return but Okoro was finally on that journey into the
great beyond where God or Satan must have to punish him for been so stupid.
The End
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