HIS SHADOW FOLLOWED

 It was evening. The faint rays of the sun had begun casting elongated shadows. Caine was on his way home from work. People bustled around, while. vehicles filed past in endless streams. That was a major street in the city. The traffic lights at a strategic spot intensely regulated vehicular movements, so that the wave of vehicles on each row of the link road had an even right of way.

Such was usually the case at the close of work, when everybody hastened home. Caine walked with strong, quick, calculated steps, his bag strapped at his back. He had barely gone a while, when a car pulled up roughly behind him.

Hey" you hopeless braggart, where is my money? The lanky, hairy man on `T` shirt that ran out of the car yelled at him.

"Where is my money? The man fumed on.

Meaning what? Uh

Caine returned seemingly ignoring the shame. Passersby merely gazed confusedly at them within the fleeting moment.

 "I say give me my money! ` The man shouted.

`Look Fred! That I owe you should not make you come publicly to insult me, you hear that? Caine cautioned.

Rubbish-! `, the man lashed out, `you aren`t going anywhere, unless you pay me my money…He adjusted his waist, as if he intended a physical combat.

"You're stupid! ` Caine cursed `"I'm gonna break your head if you try anything funny, you hear me?`

`Poor idiot` the lanky Fred snarled `You aren`t `gonna step an inch from here unless you give me my money`` As Caine tried to leave, he held him, he flung his hand away, but he held him tightly. It went on and on .And then, Caine being fed up, slapped him, but he still would not let him go.

`You aren't going anywhere, Caine! You must pay me my money..` he persisted

Just then, someone intervened, intending to know what actually was the matter.

  `I lent some money to this nigga, to help him pay his bills, as a friend, seeing his condition, but he wouldn't pay me back as agreed` Angry Fred stated.

Fuck you Fred! You hear me? Caine interjected.

`You must let him land, man..!`. .the fellow that mediated retorted at Caine.

`I regretted helping you, Caine ,I swear`…Fred lamented,` I should have let you drown in your predicament.`

`You gonna leave the brawl and tell me what actually happened, don't you?` the mediating fellow sharply corrected. Lanky Fred paused, and said,

`Yeah, I lent him the money three months ago, but since then I haven't set my eyes on him. He wouldn't pick my calls anymore` Fred went on and on. And then he added, "He has strangely moved into another location to live, where i wouldn't find him... He actually does not want to pay me back the money.`

` How much is it?` the mediator asked. Caine only watched at this point

''I lent him two thousand dollars' Came Fred`s voice. ` What!` The mediator screamed unbelievably.

`Big time liar!, Caine countered

`The bank details to that effect `re all there in the car, I can get them.` Fred disclosed.

"You owe him really, don't you? "The mediating fellow asked, gazing intently at Caine.

`But that shouldn't make him coults at me in public! ` he spat angrily.

`So, why haven't you paid me back as agreed?` Fred challenged.

`You fool! ` Caine retorted `You wanna sniff life out of me because I owe you? Uh!`

`You gat to pay him, man!` the mediator cut in..

"Shut up!` Caine shouted.

`What's your business here? Uh`

"What!!? ` The fellow snapped. And while he watched, short of words, Fred carefully observed,

`You can see how unruly he is ..? He`s such a poor fellow, who `s not gonna appreciate any good done for him and..` A slap from Caine cut him short.. Fight broke out. The mediating fellow and others who tried to calm the situation were seemingly overwhelmed. Hot blows , long kicks and slaps went off between them. At least, the lanky Fred was not as weak as he appeared,, he was daring, Butt then, Caine was too ruthless a fellow to deal with. ..

The police stormed in, in their siren blaring vehicle, having being alerted by someone

..

`What's the matter?` One of the officers resumed, after the fight was separated, Fred went on with the details of what happened. A stance that Caine attempted to counter but could not.

The mediating fellow's testimony overtly weakened his arguments. "You owe someone and then bully him for asking that you pay him back his money, man!`

Came the officer`s voice again. Caine stood speechless, only he moped with quick breaths.

``You cannot owe someone as huge as 2000 dollars for such a long time, and in the manner you did, and expect him to be happy.`

   `He`s just a poor fellow who flares up at every body and would n`t appreciate any kind gesture.` Fred quipped.`

The officer deliberately ignored him. And as he examined Caine closely, while he brushed off the effects of the fight, he queried,

`You have a job, don't you?` .

""Em —yeah_` Caine stammered with a nod of head.

The officer quickly returned his gaze at Fred, and asked, `So, why didn`t you go to report to his employers about it? `

` He was kicked out of his previous work place`, Fred defended, `And I do not know where he works now, he has avoided me ever since. A moment of silence. The officer consulted with his colleagues in the car. As he returned, holding a biro and a writing pad,.

everybody watched anxiously But he turned to Caine and demanded,

"You got to sign an undertaking, man!`

You have to declare to pay up the debts, perhaps in three or four installments`.

Having thus stated, he pondered awhile. One of the officers in the car joined him.,.

`If you can borrow from the bank, and pay all in one bit, you'd be a free man` ...The second officer. Immediately suggested.

"I earn only a peanut and cannot afford a bank borrowing` Caine objected, seemingly to attract some sympathy.….

""Then you pay in the suggested installment` the officer quipped, without any feeling for him. .

While the first officer handed him the biro and the writing pad to write, he further instructed,.

` You put down details of your workplace too, so that we alert them and get them to make deductions from your pay at each time, until you clear the debt!`

Caine was visibly disenchanted. And as he slipped back his ruffled hair, he wondered what would remain of his poor wage with such deductions, or would he have to approach Fred for consideration?

He was a big boy, and could ordinarily forgive him the debt. But it was not likely he would ,at this time, for the beatings he gave him in the fight, and might have knocked a tooth off him, from the way he carried his mouth, although, he himself could possibly have sustained unnoticeable minor injuries under the sleeves of the thick long sleeved shirt that he wore.

Whatever it was, he had got to apologize to him, and see what would come out of it. Fred might some listen, and let the debt be gone! There were possibilities to that effect, only if one could give it a trial.,. Caine hesitated at this juncture, as if to reassure himself of success. When eventually he left, ,his mind pondered on when exactly to meet Fred and how. With each step, his hair flung up and down like he jumped. Only occasionally he slipped them backwards with his hand. It was such a long walk home. The strip that led to his small apartment block was as often, littered with fallen red flowers from the tall flowers plants at the either sides. A thousand little birds flew happily around them, whistling.. As he gazed at them hesitantly, the thought about the situation in his work place slowly crept in.

Things had begun to go very bad there ever since, every hope of an eventual change had failed

He worked in a grocery store., where he earned almost nothing, being a customer attendant. More over, having had a good college degree in business management, and still could not find a decent job, was one thing he did not fathom. The economy as it were, was not entirely bad.

There were quite some good jobs around, except that he had not been lucky. The situation at the grocery store was good -or far better at first. Workers earned reasonable pay. But as darkness would gradually fall upon the day, so things turned bad eventually. . There were issues of. low patronage and increased costs. Wages had been slashed in more than two occasions, to grapple with the trend,, and yet the worst seemed obvious. The business could fold up anytime. And what else? Caine paused with a look of anxiety.

He had sent job applications to few other places, only he was yet to receive responses.

As it were, he was not sure if any job offer was advertised anyway; he merely acted by faith and prayed it worked. And if it did, he was sure to afford the cab fare to and fro the office, without having to trek home sometimes, like he just did....