Another sigh burst from his lips as soon as he thought this, before he could dwell anymore on that Joke stirred, her eyes fluttering open slowly. Anger surged on his insides. There he had gone and done it. Now she was awake. Silly dolt that he was, he had woken her.
Chapter Four
“What’s wrong?” She asked, immediately becoming alert when she saw the serious look on his face.
“Nothing__ just thinking.”
“Of?” She asked sitting up with some difficulty. At five and a half months, it was not as easy to move about as before.
“Just things___.” He replied his voice low and distant.
“Worrying about money again are you?” She asked with a, you cannot fool me look on her face.
He froze. How in the world did she always know?
“Babe__” She began leaning forward and running her cool hands over his heated skin. “I have told you time and time again that you should stop worrying. We will be fine. We always pull through.”
Her confident words did not reassure him. He nodded simply to pacify her and managed a wobbly smile.
“You know what you are my darling?” She asked leaning closer still and planting her cool lips on his cheek.
“What?” He asked with his eyes closed as her lips touched his cheek.
“You are a WORRIER!!! JEEZ!!!”
A wan smile crept on his face. Warmth filled his insides and he could feel a bubble of laughter building. She was a gem. She always knew how to make him feel better. Joke was the true personification of the word soul mate.
“We’ll be fine darling. We always are. Remember what Pastor Silvester said? God will never leave us or abandon us. He will be with us even to the end of the earth.”
He sighed and lay back down on the bed. Those words for some reason brought less comfort than they usually did. Seeing this Joke sighed and patted him on the stomach. Her soft pat brought a smile to his face and for that, she was grateful.
“It is well dear. You best get up. You don’t want to be late for work do you?”
He nodded and got up immediately. He did it so quickly that Joke could not help wondering whether he had just remembered that he had to get to work. Before she had even finished thinking this he was already in the bathroom. A couple of seconds later the sound of water running greeted her ears.
She got up___slowly. It was time to start preparing breakfast. She did not much relish the thought of walking down the long staircase to reach the kitchen, but there was nothing else for it.
Like Alaba, she wished more than anything that their finances would improve so they could get a bigger place. Unlike him however, she did not fixate and get depressed because of it. She believed very much in the saying that life was in phases and men were in sizes. This was just one of their low points. She firmly believed that it could only get better from here on out.
A smug smile lifted the corners of her near perfect lips. Alaba called her an unrepentant optimist; whatever that meant. The fact remained that she had been like that for ages and she did not see that changing anytime soon. With a weary shrug, she strode to the door of the bedroom, which led into the tiny sitting room, opening the door of the sitting room she stepped out into the corridor closing the door firmly behind her.
Wole strode down a narrow path, which had tall bushes rising up on either side. Because of the height of the bushes, it kept most of the path shrouded in gloom. It was not completely dark though. He could see where he was going, and since he had walked this path over a hundred times, he knew he could find his way even in the dark.
The path went on for another couple of kilometers ending at the main road. This road was the major conduit for traffic and it ran through all of Oraromi. His commute to school would include a four-kilometer trek along the road before turning off and going down another path.
Another five or ten minutes walking through some thick bushes would lead him to the front gates of the school. Some people were of the opinion that the trek was long but to him it was not. In fact, he enjoyed the walk. It afforded him the opportunity to think, especially in this first stage of the journey.
Today like most days when he walked, his thoughts fixed on his strange dream. When the dreams first started, he felt it was a one off thing. Now it had been coming more frequently. So much so now, that sometimes there was barely two days interval between each dream. What did the damn dream mean? The flying and then suddenly plummeting; was it to his death? He had no idea.
The falling scared the hell out of him. He kept getting closer and closer to the ground in each dream. It would not be long before he struck the earth.
His troubled thoughts came to a swift halt when he realized that he had almost reached the road. Two shapes stood at the point where the path joined the road, almost hidden from view by a thick cluster of plantain leaves. A small smile curved his lips.
Tunrayo and Chike stepped out from under the shroud of plantain trees. They both had broad grins on their faces.
“You are late!!”Tunrayo said still smiling. Her face seemed to glow in the early morning light. Her orange pinafore and white cotton blouse fitted her perfectly. The socks and sandals she had on sparkled polished to a bright hue. Her long hair tied into a bun at the back of her head.
The school allowed the girls in the senior classes to plait their hair. Tunrayo however never did. When asked about it, she said her mother did not want plaiting her hair. Wole did not really believe that story.
“How long have you guys been here?” He asked smiling at the two of them.
“I got here first__obviously__.” Tunrayo began grinning like a Cheshire cat. “__ Chike got here about ten minutes later.”
Chike walked up to him at that moment and smacked him on the shoulder. Wole jumped startled.
“You better lets get going__ you latecomer.”
“So just because you HAPPENED to get here before me today you are posing and making Ako* bah?” *Bragging, strutting, pride.
“I will be here before you tomorrow__ you wait and see.”
“Is that a challenge?” You are so on__”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Wole asked in a sardonic voice. “I will win and you know it. I am sure the only reason you got here this early was cos your mother took a cane to your behind.”
“Na you sabi!!” Chike growled striding away. Wole and Tunrayo burst into laughter and followed suit walking towards the school.
Chapter Five
Chike chattered as they walked leaving Tunrayo and Wole to simply sigh and nod. They said little or nothing at all on these long treks. Most often Chike did most of the talking while they pitched in occasionally. Sometimes Wole could not help wondering whether Chike talked like this everywhere or simply when he was with them. He had not gotten round to asking Chike anyway and it didn’t look he would ask him today either; not with the he was carrying on.
He tuned out Chike’s voice as his thoughts were dragged inexplicably back to his dream. As usual, he had no answers to the questions his dreams evoked. His face grew pensive as he became more entrenched in his thoughts. It took him a couple of minutes; three in total before he noticed Tunrayo’s hard gaze fixed on him.
“What??” He asked with one eyebrow raised.
“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Tunrayo said the hard look on her face not softening.
“Why do you always answer a question with a question?” Wole shot back hoping to distract her from the querying he knew would soon follow.
“Nice try___ but you and I both know that is not what is important here. What were you thinking about?”
They had fallen behind Chike and were talking in low voices, so he did not realize that they were not listening to him. There was a pause before Wole spoke again.
“It’s the dreams.” He said in a weary voice.
“You are still having those dreams?”She gasped shocked. “Thought you said they stopped months ago?”
“I thought they did, but they
came back two weeks later.”
“Why haven’t you said anything?”
Since he did not have an answer to that, he simply shrugged. Finally noticing that they were not listening to him, Chike turned and stopped talking.
“You guys are not even listening to me__.” He growled spitting out the words through clenched teeth.
Grinning from ear to ear Tunrayo walked forward patting him on the shoulder twice before walking off.
“Don’t take it too hard Chike. If you must know we hardly listen to you anyway.”
Wole burst into laughter at Tunrayo’s jib and the look on Chike’s face hardened.
“Oh come on__.”Wole cried walking forward and putting his arm around Chike’s shoulder steering him towards the second path, which they had finally reached. They walked into the cool gloom of the bush path shrouded by the large branches of the trees on either side of it.
They fell silent as they always did when they passed through it. Something about the path demanded silence when you walked on it, mercifully, it did not go too far. Already they could see the end of it, which opened onto another road.
A sigh burst from Wole’s lips as they walked. He was glad Chike’s interruption had put an end to Tunrayo’s questions. She had the unhappy knack of going on and on about things. He would not call it nagging but___ his thoughts drifted off.
They stepped out of the gloom onto a wide dirt road which led to the gates of the school about two hundred meters away. Half a dozen kiosks lay to their right under a thick cluster of teak trees. The kiosks were deserted. The owners had not opened for business yet. It was still too early.
To their left was a tree. It was larger than most of the trees around it with long, wide overlapping boughs which created a large perimeter of shade. It would have been a nice place to hang out, save for one thing. That thing was Eze, the town’s mad man.
As expected, he was crouched under the tree, his muscles tensed as if he was preparing to spring at something. He looked like a predator stalking its prey. The only problem here was there was no prey.
The brown cotton trousers he wore were torn and ragged, as was his grey shirt. His dreadlocked head was dirty. As if, he had buried his head in white sand. His skin was so black that Wole could not help wondering whether that was its true color or it was simply because of his not bathing for months.
Something about Eze made a cold shiver run down Wole’s spine each time he saw him. The way Tunrayo always edged as far as she could every time they passed his tree, he suspected she felt the same way he did. Chike on the other hand was the complete opposite. He always made it a point of duty to walk as close to Eze as possible. As if that was not bad enough he also had a habit of taunting him. Today was no exception.
“Hey!! Smelly idiot! What are you doing bent down like that?” He yelled walking forward until only six feet separated them.
“Phew!” He gasped waving a hand in front of his nose and turning his head away.
“God you smell. Didn’t your mother ever tell you to bath before you leave the house?”
“Stop it Chike!” Tunrayo yelled grabbing his arm. “You always do this each time we pass this tree. It is not funny anymore. One of these days, you are going to get into a lot of trouble.”
“Oh go away Tunrayo!” Chike scoffed. “How am I going to get into trouble? The stupid man cannot move. Look at him!”
To prove his point he stepped forward and waved his left palm mere inches from Eze’s face. Wole and Tunrayo held their breath half-expecting Eze to attack. Eze however did not move. His eyes and demeanor gave no indication that he even knew anyone was standing in front of him.
“You see? Like I said the silly man cannot move.” Sniffing in disgust, he stalked towards the school gate leaving Tunrayo and Wole staring at him with wide-open mouths.
Shivering slightly Tunrayo immediately hurried after him. Wole waited three seconds and followed. He could not help glancing back at Eze as he walked away. The hollow feeling in his stomach grew greater when he saw Eze’s dead eyes following him.
Chapter Six
10.15am
Joke stepped out of the Kekenapep (Motorized Rickshaw style vehicle) her left arm cradling the bulge of her stomach. She looked smart and pretty in a long flowing green dress with short sleeves whose length reached several inches beneath her knees.
Her hair slicked back, tied in a bun at the back of her head. Her make up was light and so skillfully applied that unless you looked closely you would not know she was wearing any. Comfortable leather flats covered her slightly swollen feet.
The expression on her face was wan and pensive. As if, she was worried about something. She stood facing a four storey blue and white building surrounded by a five-foot tall concrete fence. The wrought iron gates that marked its entrance were opened. There was a large signboard beside the gate with the words Oraromi Crown Hospital painted on it. The words written with red paint, made it contrast with the all white background of the board.
Taking several deep breaths, she walked through the gate heading to the sliding doors in front. The nurse’s station was the first room she came to. It was a wide room about six feet wide and ten feet long. There were several six seater chairs to her left. On her right at the extreme end was a long desk. The four nurses seated around it rifled through hospital treatment cards. The white uniforms they wore seemed to reflect in the early morning sunlight streaming through the windows on the right wall.
One of the nurses looked up as she walked in. Her flat shoes hardly making any sound on the sparkling white terrazzo floor. As with most hospitals, there was a strong scent of disinfectant hanging in the air.
“Ah Mrs. Olorunsogo! Nice to see you. You’ve come for your antenatal check I see.”
Joke smiled at the nurse. She felt a little embarrassed that the nice woman knew her full name and only knew her first name. She was not even sure that the name she knew her by was not just a nickname. Everyone called her nurse Susan, so she did too.
“Yes I have. Hope you slept well?”
“Yes I did__ thanks for asking__” Susan said beaming at her. “If you will step over here.” She pulled a chair close to the table. Joke walked over and sank down on its hard surface with a deep sigh bursting from her lips.
The nurse brought out the sphgnanometer and quickly began to take Joke’s blood pressure readings. When she was done, she put it away. The look on her face became serious. Joke immediately became alarmed.
“Why are you looking so serious? Is something wrong? My blood pressure isn’t high is it?”
“Oh noo! Its quite normal. I was just thinking about how I was going to get you in to see the doctor.”
“Isn’t she in yet?”
“Yes she is, but she is doing her rounds.”
“Can’t I just wait?” Joke asked glancing round the near empty waiting room.
“You could__ but I want you to see her as soon as possible and get back home to rest.”
A smile widened Joke’s lips.
“It’s alright Susan, I will be fine. I am not an invalid.”
Susan smiled and gave her a wink but said nothing. There was a moment of silence before the thump of footsteps walking down the staircase behind them reached their ears.
They turned as a pretty woman in her late thirties stepped into the waiting room. She was dressed in a body hugging black dress, which reached her knees. She wore a sparkling white lab coat over the dress with black suede loafers on her feet. Behind her came a bevy of trainee nurses who all wore tight blue uniforms.
Her eyes flitted around the wide waiting area eventually coming to rest on Joke. A weary smile lifted the corners of her lips a she strode forward. Joke rose to her feet as the woman stopped two feet in front of her. Smiling self-consciously Joke extended her right hand. The woman’s smile grew broader as she took Joke’s hand and shook it warmly.
“Good morning Mrs. Olorunsogo, very nice to see you. You look very well.”
“Thank
you doctor.”
“Have you been waiting long?”
“No not long. I have only been here long enough to have my blood pressure taken.”
“ok__ and what was her blood pressure?” The doctor asked turning to face nurse Susan.
“120/80 ma.”
The doctor nodded looking pleased. “Seems you are doing good ma. Now if you would follow me, we can get the physical exam done.”
Joke nodded and followed her as she headed to her office.
Alaba sighed as he watched the students walking towards his desk to drop their notebooks. He had given them an assignment yesterday and today was the day they were due to turn it in.
From the troubled looks on some of their faces, it was obvious that some had not done theirs. That realization brought great displeasure and frustration. He could not help thinking that the same group of people who were fond of not turning their work in on time that would be guilty.
His hard gaze settled on a plump chubby cheeked youth who stood in front of him. The fearful look on his face and the way he seemed almost reluctant to drop his notebook told Alaba that he had not done his assignment.
Caleb was indeed a great puzzle. He seemed like a bright student, but was always so absent minded and disorganized. In addition, the sadness lurking deep within his eyes was impossible to ignore. Something told Alaba that his home life was circumspect.
“You didn’t do your assignment again did you Caleb?”
The boy froze looking as if he wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole. His face fell and he shook his head slowly. The hard look on Alaba’s face grew even harder. That was it! He had had it.
“Anyone who hasn’t done their assignment will be punished. I think I have been patient enough. So before I check your notes, if you know you haven’t done your assignment come to this side.” He growled pointing to his left.
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