Category: Weekend Treat

It was about seven in the morning and I was on my way to work. I was running quite late so I was in a bit of a hurry. Maybe that was the reason I did not see the lone figure, a woman that suddenly dashed across the road right in front of my car. I applied the breaks as fast as possible to avoid hitting her. But it was too late. I heard a crunching sound and a cry of pain and I quickly parked and ran out of the car. Seeing the blood from a gash on her head, I initially thought she was dead. Then I heard her moan and she opened her eyes.

“Are you alright?” I asked worriedly, my hand on the uninjured side of her head.

She gazed at me without speaking, moaned again then closed her eyes. I was already late for work but I could not leave her lying there by the roadside. Besides, a few passersby had gathered and were asking questions. With their help, I placed her in the back seat of my car and drove to my family hospital.

She was admitted and I stayed for a while to ensure she would be ok. I later left for work after instructing one of the nurses I knew to call me if they needed anything.

On my way from work that night, I stopped by the hospital. I was glad to see that she was awake, sitting up and taking some drugs. Standing by the bedside was a nurse as well as another woman I had not seen before.

“How are you feeling now?” I asked her after the nurse had told her I was the one who had brought her to the hospital.

Before she could answer, the other woman said angrily:

“So you are the idiot that almost killed my sister this morning! Why can’t you these drivers look where you are going?”

“Take it easy, sister. It’s not like that…” the lady I hit, stated. Then turning to me, she said:

“Please, don’t take any notice of her. She can be temperamental at times…”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” demanded the sister.

I spoke up then.

“Madam, I’m sorry for what happened. It was an accident and not intentional.”

That seemed to calm her down a bit.

Later, I introduced myself to her sister and spoke for sometime with her.

“I’m Flora,” she said, extending her hand for a handshake. I studied her closely. The injury on her head had been bandaged and it didn’t look as if she was injured on any other part of her body. I felt relieved at that as I had feared that she could have broken a leg or hand.

“I’m glad to see you sitting up and looking alright,” I said.

She smiled a little then laid back on the bed.

Before leaving, I spoke to the nurse briefly about Flora’s condition along the corridor outside her room.

“The doctor said the injury was not deep so she will be fine. But she has to remain in the hospital for a couple of days as we need to do an x-ray to ensure there are no internal injuries,” she explained.

It was three days when she eventually left the hospital. I felt responsible for what happened so since it was a weekend and I did not go to the office, I took her home. She lived with her elder sister, Aunty Janet the one I met at the hospital.

In the house were two young girls and an older girl who looked a lot like Flora.

I initially thought the children were her elder sister’s kids.

But when we entered the house, they ran to her shouting ‘Mummy’ and embraced her.

I looked at her in surprise. To me, she looked too young to be a mother, much less, a mother of two. I didn’t even know she was married as I had not seen any man with her at the hospital.

“Mummy, where have you been? Did you buy anything for me?” the younger girl who looked about four stated.

Flora smiled and patting them fondly, turned to me.

“This is Uncle Bari. Say hello to him.”

“Welcome Uncle,” they both chorused looking up curiously at me.

I smiled at them then sat down on a chair.

Aunty Janet and the older girl who was Flora’s younger sister, Patricia had gone to where I presumed was the kitchen as I could hear the noise of pots being opened and closed.

“Thanks for bringing me home. You didn’t even have to. I could have found my way home easily,” she said, sitting on a chair to my right.

“It was nothing. As I said, I feel responsible. What if something worse had happened? We won’t be sitting here chatting like this,” I noted.

She nodded then said:

“You are right. Maybe, it’s not time for me to go yet.”

The elder sister brought some drinks later and Flora and I sat drinking for a while and chatting.

I was curious about her and there were some questions I wanted to ask her. But I didn’t, as I felt it would be rude of me to be prying in her private affairs.

I left a short while later, turning down her offer of staying for dinner with them.

“There’s somewhere I have to be in the next 30 minutes,” I explained as she saw me to my car.

As I drove off, I could see her from my side mirror, standing by the gate of the building and waving.

I did not see Flora again for a while. I was busy with work and other things that needed my attention. But I called occasionally to check on her health and she always told me she was fine.

It was about three weeks later, on a rainy evening when I ran into her again. I was returning home from a visit to a friend when I saw her standing at a bus top, taking shelter from the pouring rain.

I wound down the window on the passenger’s side and called to her.

Seeing me, she ran towards the car and got in.

“Where are you going?” I queried after we exchanged greetings.

She stated she had gone to the market and was returning home.

“The rain started without warning and I didn’t bring an umbrella from home,” she said.

I enquired after the children. Then, turning to her, stated:

“And your husband? I’m yet to meet him. Did he travel or something?” I asked.

She remained silent and simply stared straight ahead through the windscreen.

Then, to my shock, I saw tears streaming down her cheeks and onto the blue top she had on.

“Is there anything the matter? Did I say something to upset you?” I asked in a concerned tone.

She sniffed and shook her head, the tears still falling…

I opened the glove compartment and bringing out a hankie, gave it to her.

She took it silently then broke down and began sobbing.

I looked for a space close to a busy bus top and parked.

I sat, silent and waited for the weeping to subside.

It was a full ten minutes later that she was able to get control of herself.

She wiped her face with the hankie and said:

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” she stated.

“It’s ok,” I assured her. “If you are having any problem, you can talk to me. As a friend. I’l be happy to help in any way,” I added, turning to take her hand in mine.

She sighed then stated:

“Thanks for the offer. But there’s nothing you can do. You see, it’s my husband or rather my estranged husband as we are separated…

To be continued

Next Saturday, join us for Flora’s intriguing tale and Bari’s response…

Send comments to 08023201831 or psaduwa@yahoo.com

There was an omission in our recently run series titled Bride of winter. The concluding part of Part 2 was supposed to have the following passages which were omitted due to production error. Due to some readers’ complaints, we are running it here to correct the mix-up as a bonus read for our esteemed readers. Enjoy.

Patience, (Page coordinator).

****

That was how Henry and I became formally engaged. But before we could start planning our future together, a letter arrived from a childhood friend of his that was based abroad that put our plans on hold.

Syl was the friend’s name and in the letter, he had stated how he was doing quite well in the UK, had bought his second house and was even thinking of starting his own business.

“Why don’t you come over and join me? We can do something together…”

To my shock, Henry was keen on taking up his friend’s offer. I was seriously against it as it would lead to us being separated but he waved away my fears stating: “We would only be apart for a short while. Once I settle down, I will send for you. You know how tough things are in this country. So, just see it as being for our future. I’m going there to make a better life for us.” I didn’t see the need for him to go abroad for a better life as he put it. He was doing quite well in his job and with time, he could rise to a high position in his company. But Henry could be quite stubborn and once he has made up his mind about something, it’s difficult to change it.

So, despite my objections and that of his family as well to the trip, he went ahead with the preparations. And soon, it was time for him to leave and I was left all alone. By this time, we had been together for about two years and his departure left a big vacuum in my life. We kept in touch through phone calls, emails and letters but it was not the same thing. I missed him terribly.

And despite his promise to send for me as soon as possible, it was five years before that could happen. It was a tough time for me as you can see at the beginning of my story. He had returned to Nigeria and we had done the traditional marriage rites and he gone back to his base. Soon, I would be jetting out of the country to be with him and I was so excited at the thought, I was finding it difficult to sleep…

End of Part 2

Continued from last week In recent times, though, the

characteristic optimism and unbreakable spirit we are known for, seem to be waning. Hope that e go better, keep fading everyday. And the reasons for the demise of optimism, are glaring for everyone to see. Back in 1999, hope was reborn in the country after the military made a hasty retreat from politics and governance, something they had no business being involved with in the first place. The belief back then, was that after the trials and trauma the country went through under military rule, that at last, a new dawn, an era of good governance that will usher in peace, prosperity and security for the nation’s teeming millions, has come.

After thirteen straight years of democratic rule, there’s no hint that we are on the right track. In fact, the suspicion among a large section of the populace is that we are not on any track at all – that we are like a derailed train that has gone off track and is careering blindly towards disaster. Just as such a train has no control, so has the country become. And if you are a citizen living in such a country, will you be going about smiling and looking happy? No way! Now you understand the reason for the misery and unhappiness in the land.

So much has gone horribly wrong with our country that it will take more than a miracle to sort things out. How do you straighten out a country that has been nearly ruined by so much corruption and the reckless plundering of its God-given resources, the likes of which the world has not seen in a long time? And how such plundering has led to the pauperisation of a large section of the populace (over 70 percent by World Bank estimates).

With such a huge number of people living in penury and feeling like outcasts in their own fatherland, we don’t need a soothsayer to tell us that there’s trouble ahead. Because a country that stands by and watches its people suffer is in serious trouble. No amount of rhetorics by those in charge of the nation’s affairs will avert this looming disaster. The only remedy is concrete action and this can only come about when politicians and others in positions that take decisions that affect the nation, put the PEOPLE first, before politics and private interest. Sounds like a tall order. But it’s been done in other countries so why can’t we do the same here?

It’s only when that is done that developing the country becomes easy. And such challenges that look insurmountable today such as regular power supply, good, motorable roads, quality health care, good schools and other social amenities the citizens can enjoy, will become readily available. Nigerians are very easy people to please. They are not asking for the moon. Just give them the basics that will enable them live decent lives and they will sing your praises for ever. Nearly six decades after the late Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo introduced free education in the Western Region, he is still been praised today for his vision. That the West is the most sophisticated and educationally advanced region in the country is largely due to that singular act of a man who could see tomorrow.

My fervent wish is that we will have more leaders like him with an eye on tomorrow, the future and not those who only think of what they can gain today. They might have acquired all the wealth in the world but what legacies will they leave behind? None.

Perhaps when more men and women of vision in Awo’s ilk, emerge, then Nigerians might smile again. And who knows, regain their lost position as the happiest country in the world.

Concluded