76 The Funeral 20“Welcome back, aunty,” the youngsters greeted happily, one after the other.“Thank you. How are you?” “We are fine. And you?”“Fine, thank you.”At that point, the children embraced one another and walked back to Callum's apartment, while Uju joined her sisters at Evans' apartment. While they were chatting freely, Fredrick supervised his Personal Assistant, Barry, and the drivers as they moved their luggage to his apartment. When he was certain that they had arranged the house to an acceptable extent, he walked to the bathroom and showered. Nevertheless, when Austin and David felt that they had spent longer time with Joe and the rest, they excused themselves.“We will be on our way. Mom and dad may be waiting for us,” Austin explained.The youngsters interpreted the explanation differently and walked them to their father's car.“Where are dad and mom?” David asked when they got to the car and met it locked.“They may be in the house,” Joe explained, and walked toward
Then, Oliver, who also heard the driver honk, got off the gatehouse and opened the gate. To his dismay, he saw the next set of security guards on duty, Boniface and Thomas, walking away briskly. Meanwhile, two police vans were behind Barry's car. The driver drove in and Oliver locked the gate, leaving the two police vehicles outside.“Welcome Sir,” he greeted. “Thank you, Oliver,” Barry responded. Then, Oliver watched the driver parked and Barry got off followed by a Police Officer, who was neatly dressed in his police uniform, and in his late thirties. Barry led him to Evans' apartment for an introduction. Nevertheless, the District Police Officer, DPO, was over the moon when he got an instruction from the IGP to deploy his men to Evans' house. He saw the task as a ticket to his promotion, and he must do it well.“It is nice to have you, DPO.” Evans and his co-in-laws greeted one after the other.“Thank you Sirs. I'm honored to be of assistance.”Afterward, they took him to Uncle Em
At the GateAfter Barry lectured Oliver on how to relate with the police men, he left for his room while Oliver admired his new bike. Suddenly, he heard a knock at the gate and ran out of the gatehouse.“May I know you, please?” He requested.“It's me. Kindly open the gate.”'Oh! Frank.' he exclaimed. He opened the gate and he walked in.“Good morning, Frank,” he greeted cheerfully.“Good morning, Oliver. Are you still here? Where are the people on duty?”“Yes. I'm still here.” He responded and gave him a detailed report on what took place at night.“Is that why the police men are here?”“Yes. Mr. Barry brought them a few minutes ago.”“That is good. Peter must be a bad influence. He must have given them a perverted view of how left.”“You are right. They asked for the pay as if it was their right.”“It's okay. They have ruined other people's chances,” Frank concluded and walked to the main house.At Uncle Emma's HutUncle Emma, Dickson, and Callum listened attentively to their compla
“Who owns it?” Austin inquired.“It belongs to Oliver,” Barry declared. Then, Oliver walked out of his room and saw the youngsters admiring his bike.“Your bike is fine, Oliver,” they commended.“Thank you for the compliment, David and Austin.” Thereafter, Austin and David left for their cousins' apartment.“I need to get some toiletries from the local market, Mr. Barry,” Oliver requested. Barry, who understood the meaning of the sudden outing, teased, “And to ostentatiously display your new bike.”The drivers around laughed heartily, and Oliver looked down shyly. He understood what Barry meant. Although, he needed the items, but flaunting his new bike was not out of it.“I will be back, before you know it,” he promised.“It is all right. Be cautious.”“I will.”At the Village Square.The four youths walked happily on the road while Peter nursed his lost. The joy of redeeming their reputation before Emma and his in-law could not be overemphasized. As for Peter, he was aware that he h
At the Television StationThey drove to the television station and Sarah met with Barbara Robin, the presenter of a popular family program tagged The Feminine World. Fortunately, they arrived forty minutes ahead of the time, and Barbara took time to take her through the questions, and she answered them correctly. Meanwhile, her husband made his input where necessary and advised on the information about her father that should be made public and ensured that she expunged derogatory remarks about her father from her narration. Likewise, Uju ensured that her makeup was okay. At 1 PM, the program took off. At HomeOliver returned from his shopping and walked into the house. Thereafter, Barry instructed, “Oliver, we are going out. Your aunt would be on a live broadcast at 1 PM.”“Okay sir,” Oliver, who was addled by his speech, responded. Then, Barry continued, “If you must watch the broadcast, ensure that the police have their lunch before then.”“It is noted, sir.”Afterward, they left
My teacher had told us the story of King David. Despite his heroic feats, he ran away when the need arose. I took the bold step and fled from home at the age of ten, and no one cared. I lived on the street and lived by its principles; if you can't beat them, you join them. I could not help but join them, beginning from petty stealing to pickpocket. Furthermore, I was tutored by my fellows on how to survive in the jungle. One thing I learned from them was the bonding, we protect one another. I was happy in their midst because I was protected from the likes of my fathers. Occasionally, we offer ourselves for menial jobs and were paid. As time went by, my close allies and I resolved to do menial jobs and quit stealing. The teachings from the church came to bear on us.“We can go back to school,” Fidel, one of us, suggested one day. We welcomed his idea and enrolled in the nearby public school. Then, I was twelve and had never been abused, and my self-esteem was building up gradually. F
Afterward, we visited my place and met my father's numerous wives. I also met my stepsisters with their children, and I could gaze the father of the children. Their mothers were among the wives, who were against my mother for speaking out and turned blind eyes when my father slept with them, and it paid off. At least, they were not killed like my mother and their sons were living. Now, Fidel and I were faced with a bridge too far to cross. I was informed that my father passed on some months back after a prolonged ill health.My mother's co wives, both those he married after I left home, were disgruntled when I introduced Fidel as my husband to be. It was obvious that out of the sixteen daughters in the family, I would be the first to marry properly. They scowled at him maliciously, before the first wife looked at me and snarled, “Where is it done that a father had not been buried, and a daughter is getting married?”Her statement left Fidel and I more confused. Meanwhile, their eyes h
Nne ended her story with a question, “Mrs. Owens, do you agree with me that your father deserves your forgiveness?”“I got it,” Sarah replied. “That's good. I will support your vision with the empowerment of two girls.”“Thank you, Nne for sharing your story with us, and I am thankful for your support,” Sarah appreciated.Now, there was no room for pretext anymore. Sarah was visibly emotional and there was nothing her husband, who was emotional too, could do. More calls kept coming in, but the program had ended. Barbara, who wished to be part of the funeral, took the responsibilities of serving as their contact person.“Thank you, Barbara,” Evans appreciated after the program. “It is my pleasure, Mr. Owens.” Barbara, who kept looking at him continually, and Evans understood her reason, accepted. She could not dissociate him with the man who was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission the previous year.“We expect eighty girls from you. We will get twenty from our loc