Chapter Five

By 6 am on Wednesday, Fred and Jay Jay were already at Udiel's place helping him and his mom, Bridget, to pack up their things.

The loading van was already waiting outside and the loaders began helping them to move their things into the van.

Everyone was so emotional, especially Udiel and his friends, but none of them showed it.

Everyone struggled to keep their emotions in check.

They have been friends who grew up together since they were babies.

Almost fourteen years of their lives they have spent together and suddenly, Udiel has been taken across the country where it will be difficult for them to reach him.

The separation was too abrupt for the friends but they kept their emotions in check.

When they were done parking, Udiel and his mom got into the front of the large trailer that was carrying the household things.

The neighbors around watched in amazement as it was an unexpected moment.

"Where are you guys going?" One of the neighbors said.

'We are moving to our place", Bridget lied.

Udiel waved goodbye to his friends as the truck began to move.

As he looked at the road, tears began to drip from his eyes.

He thought of how much he would miss his friends.

He had no idea where he was headed to. It was as though his life had hit a sharp break.

All the plans he had imagined, all his dreams were thrown in the bin, and he had to start all over again in a new place.

What he was going to meet, he had no idea.

It was about 9 pm in the night when the truck arrived in Lokoja, Kogi state, a small state in Nigeria.

Lokoja was the first-ever capital in Nigeria but it was a shadow of words as it was supposed to be.

The roads were full of red sand, untiled.

Domestic animals were loitering everywhere even at night.

Udiel had never been to such a place his whole life.

He looked in the heavens and thought in his heart, "how am I going to survive this?"

Their household items were unloaded from the truck and kept behind the building they were going to stay with Aunty Lizzy and her husband.

They decided to stay there for a while till they found their feet.

So their items were loaded at the back of the house and covered to shield them from dust.

"Welcome my boy", Aunty Lizzy said to Udiel.

"How was your trip?" she asked.

"It was fine Ma", Udiel said with a gloomy look on his face.

"There's no need to look so sad", she said to Udiel.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine".

Aunty Lizzy was Udiel's favorite Aunty.

She was wealthy and lived in Lagos but due to her marriage, she had to return to Lokoja to be with her husband.

She occupied a prominent position as she was the head of the Nigerian postal service branch in Kogi state.

Given her position, she was well respected and paid.

She had just given birth to her first child, a beautiful baby girl after thirteen years of waiting.

So it was a joyous moment for everyone.

Udiel loved his baby cousin but deep down all he felt was sadness.

He was cut off from his friends, music, and everything he had grown up to know.

After all, no one expected him to leave, but he had to as though everything was alright.

He tried his best to avoid contact with anyone and became very reckless.

But even with all he did, problems began to rear their ugly heads in the household of his Aunty Lizzy.

Being the top boss of a government organization in the state, Aunty Lizzy always travels.

And most of her travels, she took her sister, Bridget with her, leaving only Udiel and her husband, Mr. Steven.

Mr. Steven would maltreat Udiel, sending him on errands he didn't need to go, and sometimes Udiel would go on for days without food.

But Udiel held his space and tried his best to be as respectful as he could to Mr. Steven.

Even when his mum and his aunt would return, he would not say a word about his experiences with Mr. Steven to them. He would just take it.

After a few months, Aunty Lizzy was able to rent a two-bedroom apartment for Udiel and his mom, and then they moved in.

Meanwhile back at Benin, Samuel hadn't heard from his family for more than three months.

He became agitated knowing that the house rent would have expired by that time.

He wondered how they would survive knowing that the landlord was not a very patient man.

He then decided to show up unexpectedly one day.

While driving in that weekend, he noticed that the usual flowers outside the house were no longer there but there seemed to be someone inside the house.

The curtains and every other thing about the house were different.

He knocked on the door and a strange woman answered the door.

"Who are you?" He asked in surprise.

"Who are you?" The woman retorted at him.

"How dare you come into my house and ask who I am?" She said in anger.

"Oh I'm sorry", Samuel said, realizing his mistake.

"I live here or rather I think I used to live here", he said to the woman.

The woman let out a laugh and asked, "you think or you do?"

"Well, I moved in here about two months ago", the woman said to him.

"And I have no idea who you are", Sir.

"So please if that's all you have to say I would like to go back in and continue with what I was doing", she said.

"Thank you", Samuel said and the woman walked in and slammed the door shut.

Samuel turned around holding his head in his hands, he said, "I have lost it all".

"I have lost my family".

He immediately ran to Barrister Chris, his best friend.

"Hey Sam, how are you doing?" Chris said as he entered the office.

"She's gone! She's gone!" Sam said with tears in his eyes.

"Who's gone?" Barrister Chris asked fanning ignorance of what Sam was talking about.

"My wife! My son!"

"They are gone and I have no idea where they are", Sam said.

"Well, that's sad", Chris said with an indifferent look on his face.

"Why are you looking at me that way?", Samuel asked Chris as his face broke into a frown.

"Because you brought this upon yourself!" Chris replied to Sam.

"I remember us talking about this issue a few months back, and you categorically said and I quote, "when they need me, they will call me".

"That was a very wrong thing to say, Sam, and I was disappointed in you".

"But I knew that you were not ready to listen to anything I had to say, so I left it to yourself".

"You know you have lost your family".

"I will deal with that woman when I see her!" Sam said in anger and banged his hand on the table.

"There it is", Chris said.

"That's the problem!"

"You never seem to learn from your lessons".

"You think you can solve everything with your macho attitudes".

"You think you can sweep your misdeeds under the carpet and cover it up because you are a man!"

"Well, there's nothing you can do about this but go and beg".

"But if you refuse to, you will lose your family forever".

"I thought you had realized your mistake when you ran in complaining that she is gone, but now I see that you are not even ready".

"Please leave my office if that is all you have to talk about", Barrister Chris said.