chapter 1

None of these makes any sense to me', Kaitochi thought

to herself. This was the second time in three weeks that

her boss would ridicule in front of her colleagues. Mr.

Robinson hasn't been satisfied lately with her level of

efficiency. He was rumoured to have been married

twice with none of his marriages exceeding six months

since neither of both women could keep up with his

irritable nature. He was a short, dark, plump man who

kept an afro hair style and loved to keep his dressing

formal, even on Fridays which have been reserved for

native wears. He hardly wore a smile and was often

seen moving around the banking hall, to the dismay of

his staff who would have preferred to gist alongside

their work. Today he is wearing a white-striped blue

shirt with a matching tie on a three-piece grey suit and

pair of black shoes as both hands are tucked into his

pockets while he walked away from her desk. The

customers seem to revere him as well because their

queue straightened up as he approached their corner of

the banking hall.

This was her tenth year at Cashflow Bank and nobody,

not even Mr. Robinson in all his superfluity, will make

her lose her mind. He has threatened to transfer her to

one of their branches in the rural areas on several

occasions owing to the displeasure expressed by their

customers. Deep down, she knew that things were

beginning to take a different turn as sometimes she

caught herself gazing half-consciously at people who

were obviously trying to make a transaction or two over

the counter.

Kaitochi, whom everyone loved to call Kay, had been an

excellent student back in her days at the University. Her

father, Nnanna, was doing all he could to give his only

child the best of everything, education inclusive. She, on

the other hand, was determined to make him proud.

Her mother, she was told, had died some days after her

birth, from postpartum haemorrhage and he had

singlehandedly raised her. He was always around except

for his fortnightly visit to Lagos for what he called 'The

Skylarker Reunion' which she had never questioned. He was all she had. Things were going quite well until her

third year in school.

It was about 7:45am and she was getting set for school

when her phone began to ring. She checked to see who

it was.

'Oh Papa, not now', she muttered under her breath and

quickly replied with a text message that read: 'Call you

later. Good morning Papa. I love you'.

She flung her school bag onto her shoulder, picked up

her keys from the table, opened her closet to put on her

only pair of shoes to find them missing. She checked to

see if they were under her bed but they were not.

'Ada!' she screamed at her roommate who was still

lying lazily in bed.

'What is it again?'

'My shoes'

'Outside'

She sighed and stormed out of the room.

She met Bisi, her best friend, on the corridor still in her

pajamas. 'What the hell is wrong with everyone this

morning?' she wondered. Bisi couldn't believe that her

whacky girlfriend was heading to class on a public

holiday wearing mismatching shoes, a brown and a

black with her fuzzy hair looking like she had just fought

with a dragon.

'Where do you think you are going to looking like this?'

Bisi asked pointing to her friend's mismatching pair of

shoes. 'I bet you didn't look at yourself in the mirror

putting on these. See as you resemble mad woman. It's

a lecture free day. Why do you think the rest of us

aren't dressed up for school like your geeky self?'

'Now I know why Ada was not preparing for school.

Thank you so much, Sweetheart. She would have saved

me this embarrassment. I'm going to kill that girl when I

get back to the room.'

'You are seriously not considering that, are you?' Bisi

queriedThat girl has never been a model student. I can't help

but wonder what her parents were thinking when they

bought her a JAMB form. She may be one of those

students who were forced by their parents to be in

school. I overhead her speaking to someone the other

day that her CGPA is not enough to earn her a pass and

all the lecturers have turned down her request of

sleeping with them in exchange for marks.'

'The new VC is like a demigod. Two lecturers from the

faculty are under probation for alleged exam

malpractices. It's being speculated that the Senate will

be sitting tomorrow to decide their fate. All these

underage, over-pampered kids in school make me feel

like a grandmother. '

"What will you say about Iya Kemi?' Kay asked pulling

Bisi towards herself to make way for a girl carrying a 25-

litre jerry can on her head.

'She suppose don born pikin wey fit marry your mama'

'That woman is phenomenal. Have you noticed that she

has been making straight A's since first year?'

She might end up being the Best Graduating Student in

a class of single men and women who have no cares in

the world'

'Las las we go still grad. No be say my brain no too

sharp. Laziness jus dey tidy me anyhow.'

'Ikenna bought me Okpa and Zobo for breakfast, do you

mind coming with me to have some?' Bisi smiled.

'That little boy is still running around you? Bisi, what

have I told you about cute guys?'

'He is handsome, super smart and graced with flashy

eyes. What more can I be searching for?'

'Did I hear you say flashy eyes? Your mumu don do

abeg. If I were half as beautiful as you, my eyes will be

searching for solid gold. I am waiting for some

billionaire to come and sweep me off my feet but we

both know those guys would rather we flock around

them than settle for a girl.' Kay retorted.

'Are you coming in for breakfast or not?' Bisi asked as

she rubbed her tummy. She was lucky to be one of

those girls who hardly put on weight despite feeding like a pregnant woman who is expecting a set of triplets

and has just been licensed to feed like a pig on

rampage.

Bisi's father, Mr. Nasira, who taught Arabic in the

Languages department, lived at the staff quarters with

his family which is located about 25km from the

Administrative complex and has since become a second

home to Kaito. His wife, Aunt Fatima, was the school

Librarian but doubles as an Event Planner mostly during

the weekends and the holidays. She often joked about

how she wanted to study Home Economics but her

father was going to lose his mind if she didn't follow the

trend of preserving the book culture in the family. So, in

order to please him, she went to a catering school

alongside running her degree programme in the

prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Nasira was

one of her guests on her first Food Fest which was put

together by her father to celebrate her graduation from

school and subsequently, she has organized 30 others in memory of her father who passed away shortly after

their marriage.

They always looked forward to weekends to satisfy their

cravings for Aunt Fatima's specially prepared delicacies

which often included Tuwo Shinkafa, a rice-pudding

peculiar to the Hausa tribe of northern Nigeria, Suya,

thinly sliced peppered beef that served as dessert and

Fura de nunu, to wash down the meal (as often said in

local parlance). His older son, Amir, had followed his

footsteps of being a teacher and was now working in

collaboration with a Zaria-based NGO, A Chance at Life,

whose sole aim was to reduce illiteracy by taking kids

off the streets and giving them a shot at Western

education. His daughter, Bisi, was tall like her mother; a

light-skinned, gangly beautiful girl swanked with a long

dark silky hair which contrasted with her complexion

giving her off as nothing short of pretty. She was the joy

of the home as her laughter could be heard resonating

through the walls of her room and enveloping the

emptiness that seemed to visit them more often. He loves to have her around but couldn't refuse her

request of moving into the school hostel upon gaining

admission into the University. They were one big happy

family.

'Here. This is yours. Ikenna knew you would love this. I

don't know why you still don't like him. You would be

my Chief Bride's maid o', she teased.

'Papa called. I have to return his calls. I'm not in the

mood for any of these', she sighed, took off her shoes

and poured out the contents of her school bag on the

bed in search of her phone.

Bisi took her half-full bucket of water and went in to the

bathroom to have her bath leaving Kay alone in the

room with Adekule Gold's Ire playing in her jukebox. She

was a crackerjack: a typical Hausa girl, who has Igbo

best friends, loves Yoruba songs and attire, makes the

best grades while slaying as a model for the

Resplendent Magazine. She was indifferent to

ethnicism, racism and the likes as she often believed that we are all semi-gods who shared the same soul but

differed only in skin colour, language and culture.

The phone rang a couple of times before an unfamiliar

female voice spoke from the other end: Kay?

'Uhm…Yes?'

'Is anybody there with you?'

'Who are you and why are you with my Daddy's phone?

Is he alright? He never calls in the morning'

'Relax darling. I'm handing over the phone to him now'

'Kay, how are you?'

'I'm fine, Papa. How are you? You don't sound so well'.

'It's nothing serious, Kay. I fell down while climbing the

staircase last night'. She could sense the uneasiness in

his voice and it made her swallow hard.

'Is the woman who spoke to me the nurse attending to

you at the hospital?'

'Yes. She left earlier to attend to other patients in the

ward'

'When are you going to be discharged?'

Sweetheart, take it easy with him. He will be with you

shortly', the female voice was back on the phone.

'Put him back on the phone! Can you hear me? Hello?

Are you there? Beep... and the line went dead.

She must have been yelling at the top of her voice

because by the time she dropped the phone, Bisi rushed

out of the bathroom with most of her unclad body

covered in soap lather which she tried to wipe off with

the tip of her towel, asking what the problem was.

'You scared me, Miss'

'I'm sorry. Some silly woman is taking my Dad's call'

'What did she say the matter was?'

'Papa apparently fell on the staircase last night due to

weakness from protracted malaria and she wouldn't

even let me talk to him. He has never been one to joke

with his wellbeing.'

'Okay. It's just malaria. He would be fine. You should eat

your food.' Bisi replied with some concern in her voice.

'He had better be. Thank you, girl'

They ate in silence and slept off almost immediately. By

the time she woke up, it was almost noon and the

pillow was drenched in sweat. It must have been a long

time since NEPA took the light. Bisi was already awake

and on her table studying. The babe dey read too much.

Nawa o.

'You slept for close to three hours. Where were you last

night, Kay?'

'I didn't go anywhere, madam'

'Don't you think it's time to introduce me to this guy?

Bisi teased further.

'I was crafting my presentation for the financial

accounting seminar class. I worked well into the night'

'Are you sure?'

'You should just shut up, Bisi.'

'Baby girl is not in the mood. Papa called severally. I

think you should call him back'

She checked her phone to see 7 missed calls. This

malaria no be here o 'I'm running low on airtime. Can I please use your phone

to make a call?'

'Sure.'

For what seemed like half an hour, she kept going back

and forth with the receiver, who turned out to be the

same person she whined about few hours ago until she

was allowed to speak to her father. He spoke like

someone who had no strength left; the vigor with which

he usually chatted with her was no longer there and

now, she couldn't hold back the tears running down the

sides of her nose.

'Papa, where are you?'

'Kay, don't worry about me. I am alright'

'I want to see you please.'

'If you can make it to Good Heart Hospital tomorrow

that would be fine.'

'Can you please give me an idea of what to expect since

I would be delayed for a day or two because of the bad

weather. All airplanes have been grounded by the

Ministry of Aviation owing to the incessant thunderstorms. I would be taking the first bus to Abuja

tomorrow. Bisi might be coming alongside. I miss you

very much, Papa.'

'I miss you too, my Angel. I was walking down the

staircase this morning when I fell and your auntie,

Nnenna, heard my scream and rushed me to the

hospital. I don't know what exactly is wrong with me

but for more than three months, I find it hard passing

urine without having to wet myself. I didn't want you to

be worried about me, so I decided to keep it away from

you. Nnenna comes around every two weeks to see to

my wellbeing.'

'Okay. What are the doctors saying about all these? Is

there a cure? Is there a better hospital in town where

you can be taken to for better management? Some of

these doctors don't know what they are doing.'

'My friend, Jide, works here and he assures me that

they are going to do all they can to ensure that I leave

here as soon as possible. Take very good care of yourself then. I would be there

with you very soon. Greet Auntie Nnenna for me. My

apologies to the nurse for the way I spoke to her earlier.

She appears to be a nice woman '

'Nurse Abigail is doing a great job here', he said with

some excitement which made me smile a little.

It wasn't so bad after all or so she thought.

Two nights later she booked her ticket online, packed a

few essentials into her coffee brown suitcase and finally

lay down to sleep. Bisi's parents insisted on

accompanying them to the park and so, provision was

made for them to board the first bus which was set to

leave by 6:15am the next day. She fell asleep after

more than a thousand times of reciting the thirty-six

states and capital as she was taught by her father when

she was younger. By the time she woke in the morning,

Bisi was already in her room checking off everything to

make sure she was all right. Kay hurriedly brushed, took her bath and applied a little mascara to mask her sad

eyes.

The last thing she wanted to do was make her Papa cry

on sighting her. Before they got into the car, she had

called Auntie Nnenna to inform her of their departure.

Thankfully, there was nothing abnormal about her

response. She asked to speak with Papa but was told

that he was napping. It was roughly a three-hour trip

but owing to the bad roads, one wouldn't be surprised if

it took twice that time to get to their destination.

Mr. Nasira drove his Peugeot 504 in silence while Aunt

Fatima chatted with the girls all the way to the park. She

hugged both of them and bade them goodbyes while he

waited in the car.

They arrived at Good Heart Hospital at exactly 1:06pm

with the sweltering sun roasting the exposed parts of

their skin, their lips parched and more than a third of

their faces covered with dirt particles. They sunk into

one of the three-seater leather sofas arranged into a

rectangle in the reception while Bisi brought out her phone to dial her aunt's number but alas, there was no

network connection.

She walked up to one of the nurses to make inquiries as

to how she could connect with her father. She tried

describing her father and even mentioned a certain

Nurse Abigail but she received a fazed look in return

which undoubtedly meant that they've been played.

They dragged their boxes alongside each other and

walked over to a taxi parked directly opposite the

hospital building. The taxi driver wound down and they

had a little chat about where they were headed, her

family house on the outskirts of the town. He agreed to

stop at a restaurant for them to have a quick lunch

before proceeding with their journey. The journey was

uneventful except that thoughts of her father flooded

her mind precipitating a tear or two from her eyes once

in a while. By the time they arrived, a small crowd

separated in groups under carefully marked canopies,

had gathered. This could only mean a thing: he was dead. The moment she saw her aunt, she rushed

towards her, fell on her shoulders and wept. Her father

was gone and no one was brave enough to break the

news to her.

Some family members came and took the three of them

inside one of the bedrooms. In this particular room, a

picture of her younger self standing next to her beloved

father, both beaming with smiles, hung on the wall.

Who then was 'Nurse Abigail'? What were his last

words? Was he in pain as at the time he gave up the

ghost? Was there a way to locate his friend Jide? Auntie

Nnenna was surprised to hear about this Nurse Abigail

as she also claimed to have received a distress call

around noon the previous day to come and attend to

her brother. By the time she got there, his lifeless body

was sprawled on the floor and by custom; anyone

whose cause of death is unknown was to be buried

before daybreak. An unscheduled meeting of the

Umunna was called while some young men were

mobilized to dig his grave behind the kitchen. Bisi wiped the tears following down her own cheeks,

changed into a white polo and blue shorts, wore her

slippers and went into the kitchen to get some food.

She returned with a large tray containing a bowl of jollof

rice with two chicken wings, two cans of Coca Cola and

a glass of water. She pulled a side stool close to where

her friend sat and urged her to eat. Kay barely touched

the food but managed to take a few sips of her drink

before curling up on the bed. The reality of orphanhood

had set in and crying wasn't going to bring back the

dead.

They returned to school two days later and for the

remainder of her duration of stay in school, Kay lived

with Bisi's family. Her father's favourite quote was one

by Countee Cullen which she framed and kept by her

bedside which read: For we must be one thing or the

other, an asset or a liability, the sinew in your wing to

help you soar, or the chain to bind you to earth. Shecould literally feel those words turn into monstrous

beings that enjoy banging away at her.

To be honest, she was being more of a liability to her

employer as she has become unproductive and her son

even reported to his teacher that she has become very

irritable to the extent that she doesn't help him with his

assignments. Embarrassment has nothing on what she

felt the day she was summoned into the headmaster's

office to discuss her son's declining academic

performance.
She had to salvage the situation before

things got worse.