Novels by Chukwudi Moneke

CHAPTER SEVENTEENI had not spoken a word to Aisha since we left my compound. I drove on, looking for a nearby hotel to drive into. Aisha kept starring at me because she hadn't seen me in such a mood before. My phone rang."Hello brother, where are you.?" It was Adaobi."Adaobi does it really matter" I replied curtly." Don't be selfish, bro!" My sister quipped. "I want to see my sister-in-law." Her voice softened and I heaved an audible sigh.I thought about a hotel and a name flashed to my mind."We are heading towards the Blue sky Hotel.""Okay, my regards to Aisha. Please send my apologies to her on behalf of Mum, and take care.""Alright sis."The called ended. I could see the Blue Sky hotel a stone's throw away. I drove into their parking lot. We unloaded and headed to the reception. The sleek, fair receptionist greeted us cheerfully and we

CHAPTER SIXTEEN...A year laterAt the end of our service year, Aisha and I needed to travel to our respective regions to continue what we had started; we had grown our organisation to a certain stage. So we elected successors to continue from where we stopped. Though we plan on setting up a branch in our state of origin.We had other plans; each of us was to convince our parents about our relationship. "Well, my father may not really mind, but my mother could prove a bit difficult for I am her only daughter," Aisha told me during one of our discussions. True, she was an only girl among six boys, as her parents had seven children. Aisha's father, though now a Christian, was a prominent leader among his people, and he was well-respected. Aisha had exchanged letters with her siblings as well as their father over a period of time, telli

CHAPTER FIFTEEN Swiftly our service year began to run out. It dawned on me that there was a lot to be done. There was a thick cloud of unawareness over unhealthy and unfriendly practices in our villages and cities, both in the North and in the South that needed to be dispelled. The campaign Aisha and I had carried out was quite insignificant compared to the large number of people yet to be reached. We always sat together to conceive ideas and implement them. I realised that my life needed Aisha. My vision and aspiration needed her help, expertise and personality. She had become the miracle and the magic touch that my life needed. She was virtually the help and inspiration behind our accomplishment so far. I realized that it was not the northerners that were the culprits, it was their ignorance that was responsible

CHAPTER FOURTEENOne fateful Sunday morning while I was still in Church in the the ancient city of Kano, when it started boiling again. There was a big pandemonium; people ran helter skelter as they scampered for safety because it was reported that there was a blasphemy against the Muslim holy prophet by a media personality who wrote on a Miss World beauty pageant already going on in the country. It was said that while he was writing about the beauty of the pretty models contesting for the Miss World crown, he wrote that if the holy prophet were to be alive, he would have added one of these girls to his wives or concubines. That was more than enough to set the entire city on fire. Protests erupted all over city and beyond. Some media houses feasted on the news as if it was a delicious meal while some

CHAPTER THIRTEEN Our service rendering had started in earnest. Everyone was busy with his or her assignment. We were bent on doing our best for the country. Though some of us that were posted to the village never accepted it. They refused to settle down in the village rather they kept finding their way back to Kano city at the slightest opportunity, to stay with their friends and acquaintances.Every morning I woke up by 5clock said my morning prayers and went jogging. When I returned, I freshened up, ate and dressed up for work. By 8 oclock, the medical laboratory where I worked, was opened for patients: diagnosis, preparation, and collection of clinical samples, were our major jobs. The hospital was always busy with patients. Ninety percent of the patients in the hospital were women and their babies.

CHAPTER TWELVE On the day we were to leave the orientation camp. Everyone woke up as early as 4 oclock in the morning. We joyfully packed our luggage and arranged our property. The air was thick with tension that one could virtually feel it because our postings would be disclosed on that day. Everyone had prayed for a place very comfortable and suitable. A place where he or she would enjoy his or her service year and probably be retained by the organisation he or she served in after the service year. No one wanted the rural areas which had numerous service opportunities but most of them had no communication network, no electricity, no potable water, no banking system and no good roads. Things that would make life easy were non-existent there. It was a very scary option. All the regular activities of the camp had come to an end. The dramas, the drills, the parade, the lectu