Chapter Two

Rolape uncontrollably slept in the car. Just one little doze off...

"Sariana! Sariana!" He looked dirty, he looked troubled, trotting in the bush ruffles.

"Sariana! Sariana!" He yelled out again, almost in tears- turning rims of the thick bush, rumpling leaves and twigs snapping. 

Until...

He saw a building, one he would have to come out of the bush to see clearly, it was painted a pretty purple, a roof rough as time yet all quite still pretty; he got to the finish of the bush to access the house and found himself out of the stumpy path still quite unexpectedly without paying attention to the fly buzzing right next to his ear.

The ground had been weeded, the clay around the house was clear, more like people resides in the house.

"Maybe I could ask them for water... A glass- or three!" he fantasized.

"With just a foot ahead, he saw: sitting at the edge in front, on a fell tree beside the house, his wife, Sariana.

" Sariana!" This cry cut out her quiet sobs.

They raced into each other's arms.

"Oh Jojo!" She cried and they kept on re-embracing even though they smelt like pits not scrubbed since cave age.

"Oh! I never was able to imagine loosing you after losing our son- our dear one and only son" she told 

"Our son!" He cried too. "Let's go find him!" He said then with so much enthusiasm.

"We can't find him, unless we get cleaned up first- I can't go anywhere this unkempt," she told him. 

"We are as good as garbage - we can't get cleaned up"

"Well, yes we can" she insisted 

"I say we can't!"

"Yes! I said! We can!" Saraina said thumping like a child.

And then grip! Jojo grips her neck so tight she could die. "You pain in the neck whore of a woman!" He said through clenched teeth. Her hand also found its way through his shirt-torn bare chest to grip on his neck; digging into the skin of his neck taking advantage of her long unkempt finger-nails . 

There were coughs.

Rolape Gasped.

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Rolape wheezed! With her brain finding it's way to open up it's eyes away from the darkness that unraveled. Her eyelids glowed opened while she gasped and coughed. "Iiiiii! Can't brr!!" The air choked, and her ears felt obstructed, she felt as if air couldn't enter her body even through her ears. And all the consistent jolting behind her head and neck - there were more coughs and pain. 

"It's okay, it's okay dear," Temi said having been called out into the compound, it was his attention that would be best at this present moment, with her two best friends sitting with her in the car, the door has been opened for air, although Temi was standing in the doorway.

"Another nightmare again?" Temi asked gently as he patted her head.

Without allowing response, Ree retorted "Nightmare?! I mean will bed wetting follow all these? I'm a little tired of all these repeated episodes because we are not even in the night yet!''

"Just! Shut up!" Esther told 

"I will not! The last time, the doctor said her bedwetting was gone, I mean the doctor declared it gone! So what's all this about? Does someone care to explain?!" Ree Lamented.

"I said shut up! " Esther repeated.

"It's okay darling" Temi held Rolape's head close which perfumed coconut oil on it, but he kissed the top of it anyway- and Rolape knew it wasn't okay with the first clear statement she was hearing about her bed wetting to have been declared gone and the repeated jolting behind her neck and head, she suppressed an urge to cry creating a sharp pain in her throat as well as fear racing through her blood. She wished it was truly gone. Or that any doctor could even help them without consequences.

She was given some water and she was becoming steady, the storm had doused and the breeze became cool air you could enjoy.

"The doctors gave her medicine to cure the whole stuff and said 'this should declare it gone', do you get it better now?" Temi lied. The story of the doctor was a lie he told them himself. One time, Ree had asked him personally and the blood that ran through him and his sister, he felt embarrassed. Not ashamed of his sister but embarrassed like he was the one bed wetting. He was irritated by what Ree said but he was determined to gentle it down because he likes this girl named Ree, so much.

"Did it pour?" Rolape asked her brother.

"No dear, it did not. It just rained a little." he answered. 

"So- " she swallowed.

"I'm not wet?" She asked again, since they couldn't use lies to cover up the insult Ree had just poured.

"No, you are not. Let's get you inside the house and you can have some hot tea." Temi made to carry his sister inside while the girls alighted the car to allow the driver make sure of the lock and key of the car.

 "The man and the woman..." Rolape started. "They were like green!" There was a tiny surprise howl in her tone, Temi knew 'the man and the woman in quote', like he's met them."Human- yet green!"

" hmn hmm" Temi affirmed. 

"And- yeah! Patched with black" 

"Like dirt?" Temi was almost sure but he made it sound like a question. He entered the tall entrance of the house. "Yes, like dirt" she confirmed.

Temi used his right foot to gently move the tall, well carved squeaky white door...Closed.

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As the rain drizzled pour- Esther dragged on- on the garden to sit on the park-seat. 

"What?!" Ree threw at Esther 

"Oh! You want to know what?! Tell me why you spewed out like that?" Esther made a sharp look into Ree's eyes.

"Come on! Those episodes?!

 The thing is-" Ree paused, breathed.

 "I don't mean it like that. Okay?" she paused again.

"I have a date with Danny, remember?"

"Yeah- worth enough for you to remind her of her bed wetting?! All your words are always filled with selfish reasoning, you are on a 4.4 GPA and yet you make the loudest outcry about getting a first-class. You love Rolape don't you?" Esther paused, folded her arms, "Or Temi?" Another pause "I asked; or her brother?"

Ree sat with a stern look on her face.

"You know what I see?. The only reason you are willingly in a date with Danny is that if at all you don't get to graduate with a first-class then you have to be known to be the girlfriend of the guy who makes it tops"

"That's not true!" Ree exclaimed "I have limitations, okay. I am from a polygamous home, and Alhaji sometimes neglect my mother and I according to his mood. It's not dependable. You know these things."  

"Indeed. But you also know Rolape's things too. If yours were true you wouldn't blab heartlessly the way you just did. Besides coming from a polygamous home is different from what she's going through." Esther retorted. 

Ree stood up with her black back bag obvious, "You know what, I am leaving! I'm not going to sit here and listen to you yam about me"

Ree backed her but paused as if she really didn't want to go.

 Esther made a fist in the attempt to hold back all in her heart filled with mixed emotions. She then watched as Ree began to make her way to the gate.

She breathed into the cold air.

*** L***      ***O***       ***V***     ***E****

One would think that the clouds had agreed to change their minds and not mess up Earth's soil. It was beautiful to have seen the cloud all dark and gloom with so much refreshing and cool air. It was 6:55 pm. Temi poured three fingers of Graf Von Schonborn wine into a glass. And suddenly the waters gave the ground hard beatings. He walked up the stairs to check on his sister as he drank. Opening the door he saw her glowing under the light sound asleep, now that the rain was pouring, Ree was right, the bed wetting would heed. She was most probably having the nightmare again. It was like a daze, whenever there is a downpour, she sleeps off, have nightmare, and bed wets. It was weird and it worries him a lot. He was so sure if their parents had assisted in unraveling the enigma relating to the bed wetting, it would have been long gone. The only suggestion they have is to take her to the psychiatric. He finds the absurdity of their idea unreasonable not because it's not suitable but because they don't even want to make efforts. He held his tumbler that he patiently drank from and walked out of her room.

Maybe the whole episodes occurs to the first daughter of the Adekan's or maybe it's all from his mum's side. They could have just come home and say something. Anything.

It was darker on time and the thunder rumbled. It was tempting to sleep on the couch as well but he had work to do. 

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Ree strode home a few blocks away from school, the rain had drenched her and she had a personal cloud of guilt raining over her head. Her black back bag also suffering her nemesis and only a black nylon to shield her hairs. Black tiled road with probably some craters splashed up vapors by bike riders and car owners. The rain was just a fizzle now, but Ree felt the splashes of vapor all over her body. She brought out her cell from her back bag wrapped in a notebook now wet. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus One was a little moist but safe to use, unlike some of her notebook. She scrolled, and dialed Esther's number. After a few rings, Esther picked up. "Hello..."

"Hello Esther, I miss you already!"

"You miss me already? Wait! why do you sound cold? Did you get beaten by the rain?"

"Beaten? I was saturated!" Ree cried. "I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry...  I really wanted to clinch with someone who makes it tops and I relegated myself."

"Oh, my sweet darling Require! Don't beat your self up, I talked too harshly. Where are you now?"

"I'm almost home. Danny stood me up, I called him and he waited at the '2001' cafeteria, by the time I got there he yelled that I stood him up and so he left me there as some kind of payback, I felt like an idiot, he was upset about something..."

"He stood you up!!! Who cares about what he was upset about! Ooohhh, God!!! Why did you allow that to happen?" Esther sounded very furious

"I'm home now, I just hope Alhaji doesn't leave an embargo. Talking to you makes me feel fair enough."

"Do press the doorbell, if the gate man doesn't open, please just come over to my place, it's nine o'clock already, hurry up!"

"Uhm ok, my other line is ringing..." Ree picked up, it was Temi.

"Hello..."

"Hello Love, 

-you sound cold, are you alright?" Temi sounded curious

"I'm fine, I'm fine, how is Ro?" 

"She's asleep. I don't know if she's awake now. Thank you. I just called to say good night" Temi said.

Ree felt the sting of guilt. He was gentle and mature. The kind of guy that makes girls want older guys. Cold choked up her throat. "Thank you... I mean... Goodnight"

"I love you"

Ree only swallowed while Temi hung up after a few seconds. She was young sorting through many things including feelings and personality formation, so he'd be happy to just love her even if she likely doesn't understand many of the other things going on around her unless it's just a habit on his part to take care of girls his sister's age. Temi, after a few sighs, ran upstairs to check on his sister. 

He opened the door, again. 

***                     ***                       ***

"You don't want to come inside my room at this moment" Rolape felt moist all over the space she sat. "I'm not presentable." Rolape declared. And Temi chortled. "You are not serious. I don’t know what you are presenting and to whom. You know- bed wetting has not been said anywhere to be a bad thing, it’s just temporarily trying to tell you something. And yours is clear enough." 

Temi ignored what she had said earlier, entered and closed the door behind him. 

"connected to the planet. I know, I know -and so is the dream. I thought I wasn't going to fall asleep, I really tried staying awake!" She exclaimed disappointed.

"I'm a horrible person, aren't I?" She continued ranting on. 

"No, you are not!" Temi came closer to her bed, drew out her pink dressing chair to sit face her 

"I stink." Rolape declared to him. 

Temi sighed. Rolape stood up, scrolling up her pink bed sheet.

Rolape sighed out frustration. "I have to go clean up."

She walked briskly with folds of pink and yellowish hue on her bedspread, she closed up the bathroom door and Temi heard the shower running.  

Twenty-five minutes later she was out of the privy. Dressed in another pyjamas of pink from the one of orange. She smelled fresh.

"You know, I have to tell you, you don't have to be a daddy even before you have your own child." Rolape said.

"I'm gathering experiences." Temi answered her and they both chortled.

 "Which experiences are you gathering? Instead of you to be a pop star and keep popping whenever you are around me. I mean, I want those around me to feel my vibe! Yo!" She reclined on her bed after spreading another pink bed spread with decorations of big yellow leaf on it. 

Temi mumbled, "you have a problem" amid laughing. Ro laughed as well, "tell me about it, " she said. "I can't even control my own life... just wait for the rain to give way again" she landed sad. 

"We can decipher the problem, let's analyze the dream, maybe it's trying to tell you something." Temi said.

"That's a long haul!" Rolape sounded giving up.

"Hey!"

"I want alcohol!" Still with the same sound.

Temi chortled again.

" I'm serious. We can still try. Does any of your plastic project have something to do with the dream?"

"Yes, it does. At least, a little." Rolape paused.

"First I considered the dirt arguments the couple always have and thought of cleaning up places, then I realized everywhere needs cleaning. One major thick thing is that plastic decaying is aimed at destroying our environment, so plastics needs to be taken care of. But like I said, it's a long haul"

"We can pick it from there, ... That doesn't sound like a little."

Rolape stared at him as he sat beside her bed. 

"What other thing does the dream proffer as information?"

"There is this son they argue about, whether to focus on getting cleaned up first or going to find their son. I don't know which to do neither" Rolape laughed upset.

"A missing son?"

"Yeah, a missing son."

"Have you ever dated anybody, a guy, who probably told you something?" Temi asked as he stood up and walked to her reading table to pick up a book and pen gesturing to write what she was going to say.