ANGEL OF HOPE PART 4.

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If change wants to occur in someone’s life, it won’t take forever; it’ll happen within a very short time (Oromidayo 2015).

One day, I was cleaning his bedroom when my boss strode in. I haven’t seen him that day because he has gone out before I arrived for work but I knew where he kept his keys. I think I was the only staff he told that. He was a rich man but he lived alone. Since I’ve been working, I didn’t know any of his families and I knew few of his friends only. There was a particular one among them who was very close to him so he was also aware of where he kept his keys and he was inside the room that day before I got there but he had left before I got there so we didn’t meet.

I greeted him and he responded well. I continued cleaning while he began looking for something. After sometimes, he straightened up and called me.

“Did you help me to see my diamond ring?”

NO, I didn’t.

“No sir” I said.

“Are you serious? I left it in this room before I left this morning. Listen up, take my twenty thousand naira, even fifty thousand naira and I won’t talk but that ring worth a lot more than the two amount combined together” He said sternly. I wanted to cry to show my innocence but that’s childish so I just kept a straight face.

“I didn’t even see it sir” I said honestly. He was silent for several moments. Then he finally said.

“Okay but you know what, if I don’t see it by the time you close for today, don’t come to work again. I should have handled you properly but no matter how much the ring worth, I can’t do it so I’ll just let you go and let God judge you”

Since I didn’t take it, I was unable to give it back to him so I was quietly, non-violently and informally sacked. Being sacked at that time frustrated me and filled with evil thoughts. It made me feel hopeless. How will I ever take care of my sibs? How are we going to survive? Mum must have felt the same way when she was retrenched.

When my sibs had gone to school, I dressed up and began job hunting through the streets of Lagos. I saw many jobs but the pays were annoying, they were too small because all of them were below ten thousand and the lowest our family can go in a month was fifteen thousand naira to survive. So later that evening as I walked home, I was dead tired and without any job offer.

On my way back home, I met Clement. He was my childhood friend in our previous residence but we’ve lost contact with each other since we sold the house and moved away. We greeted each other with the same enthusiasm that long lost friends always use when they find one another again. He looked at me from head to toe and pronounced that I have changed a lot within one year that we left our house and I told him the same thing.

“Where are you coming from and where are you going to buddy?” he finally asked. I quickly began telling him my problem and he listened sympathetically. When I was done, he thought for several moments. “Well,” he began “I don’t have much on me now but tomorrow I may be able to help but now let me find you something for your siblings…” hew began searching in his pockets and he brought out squeezed naira notes and without straightening or counting, he thrust all of them in my palms. “There, take everything…”

“But Clem, you are giving me all you have. How will you cope?” I protested weakly.

He laughed.

“Me, I’m a survivor. Besides I’ll get another one at the bus stop tomorrow when I work as a conductor for one of the buses going to Yaba…”

“Whoa! So you are a bus conductor?” I asked, baffled and disappointed.

“Yeah” He said proudly. “It pays better than all these jobs you are doing. If you would join me, I’ll talk to my boss on your behalf and he would find you a bus to be following….”

God forbid! Only real bad boys can venture into that but I naturally hate all the conductors and public bus drivers I have seen in my life and the thought of joining them never occurs to me.

“Don’t worry Clem, I’ll be alright.

“Okay if you say so. Greet your sibs. Bye broo” he said and we parted ways.

I helped my sibs through their homework and sat with them to watch the evening news then we prayed for the after sharing our experiences for the day (though I didn’t tell them that I’d been sacked and jobless because it will only make them sad) and we all said goodnight after soaking and eating garri with nothing but water. I kept the money till the following day so that I can use it to buy foods. While they were sleeping, I sat on the sofa and read a novel deep into the night. When it was 4 am, I finally succumbed to the irresistible charms of sleep.

The story was the same for the next day and even days in that week. I couldn’t find any job suitable to cater for our basic finances. When the situation seemed to be really hopeless, I became very scared and desperate. I could go on without food for hours and probably days but what about my sibs? I decided to visit all the people that I knew to help me to find a job. I went to the law firm and spoke with Sam.

“The one that I saw the last time was a cleaning job…”

“I don’t mind what it is. Is as much as they won’t be paying less than ten thousand naira” I said impatiently.

“It won’t be less than that” he assured me. “But the problem is they might have employed another person because it was over a week ago that I saw it. Check it out all the same and if it doesn’t work, I’ll help you to ask around.” He said and thanked him and got the address from him. When I got there, I was employed as a cleaner without further ado. My job was to clean my boss’ big mansion and wash his cars and did any other thing that ought to be done. I knew all that already. To cap it all, I was to be paid fifteen thousand naira! Maybe we can include fish in our ration after all.

My boss was just thirty years old, (seven years older than I was then) and a bachelor when I started working as a cleaner in his house. He was into real estate business. He buys lands, cars, house and properties and renovates them then sells them at higher prices. That was his occupation. He lives in the house but rarely stay in it. Most times he was out of it so I had enough time in the world to myself and this time I chose to while away my time by reading in his well stocked library that was adjacent to the big lounge.

Within four weeks, I’d read so many books that doubled the total number of all the books I’ve ever read in my life. I started with novels then moved on to newspapers, journals and any book I could lay my hands on. I was not the only staff in the house; we were three. There was Jerry who was older than the boss himself. He was the security and gateman. Then there was Ann (an Igbo girl who understands no other language apart from her native language). She was the part time cook because she cooks nothing because our boss didn’t eat at home. The only thing he does at home was to sleep and drink beverages and that was even maybe thrice in a week.

Having described all these, you will agree with me that new job was no job at all but an opportunity to be earning money and reading because after about an hour of cleaning, I usually have the rest of the day to myself. Life became easier again for my little family. My sibs were doing well at school and didn’t fall sick (that’s one of my greatest fears because it will involve spending money that we have not) and I was not stressed at all in my working place.

Having an unrestricted access to books- lots of it and on endless topics and subjects has many advantages and yet it also has its disadvantages. One of those is that your emotions would be stared up and soar high (especially when you read romance novels). I’ve read too many romance novels in the library which I think was not healthy for my emotional and moral well-being.

Rose, (do you remember her? My GF in high school) had left mew few months earlier before mum’s death. She didn’t do it in a cruel way though. She simply called me up on mum’s phone that night and informed me that it was over. I begged and cried but when your girl/boyfriend has seen someone richer, more handsome/beautiful, more talented and above all more romantic than you, it’ll be very hard for him/her to stay with you and that was exactly what happened to us. She didn’t tell me herself but I learnt that she was dating a medical student and that he was everything a girl wants and should look for in a guy.

Now that I’ve started reading novels, I felt that I could win her back. I composed very emotional text messages I’ve read from books and sent them to her and wasted no small amount of money to buy airtime and called her almost every minutes but I was always met with the same polite responses like: “O Mike, your last message touched my heart. I will send it to Jerry cuz he will love it” or “O Mike, I’m sorry, I’m already into a very serious relationship” or “….hmmm, it’s too late and you know it. Nice message though” those were her responses but I didn’t give up, I kept sending them and calling all the same.

One day, I was in his library , reading myself to stupor when my boss walked in. I quickly stood up and pretended as if I was dusting the place but he wasn’t looking.

“What are you dong now?” he said.

“Now- sir, I’m just cleaning up this place, why sir?”

“This place can wait. We are going somewhere now. Will you change your cloths or you’ll go like this?”

“I’m good like this. I don’t think you mind sir?” I asked but he shook his head

Ten minutes later, we drove out of his gates and headed in the direction of Ikeja. Not long we parked his vehicle at a bus stop and told me to cross the road that very soon, someone will come and pick me up. I did as he instructed though he had sped away immediately he gave the instruction. What if he had sold me to some ritualists or cannibals ? none of my sibs knows where I’m working neither did they know him. None of the other two staff saw us leave his mansion together. Should anything bad happen to me then I would be on my own.

“Hey, you Mike?” I turned around and somewhere by my right, a very exotic car parked and an equally beautiful and classic young lady was behind the wheel. She was the one who called me.

Had it been a man, especially a rugged looking one that called me that moment when I was thinking of ritualists, I would have bolted from the place and never look back but the lady visage looked so calm, peaceful and angelic in a way that assured me that she won’t even be able to kill a rat. I walked up to the car and peered into it through the half-opened and tinted glass.

“Yes I am” I replied “Are you the one I’m expecting ma?”

“Yes. Your boss said I should pick you up to my apartment” she said and automatically, the front door opened and I hopped in. she engaged the right gears and the vehicle eased forward like a snake that eased into a cool clear afternoon water after lying so long on the beach to join the traffic.

“The apartment is new” she gave me the rundown of the place and the things I was going there to do without taking her eyes off the road. “Everything had been moved in already. All it needs is proper scrubbing and I hope you’ll do it” she asked, looking briefly at me for a split second. My heart vibrated madly in my chest as if it would burst. Jokes apart, from then till now, she is the most beautiful lady I’ve ever seen.

“Yes ma” I finally replied.

The place was not just an apartment, but a whole new semi mansion in structure and intricate designs. It was tastefully built and all around the house were sweet-scenting flowers and shrubs with tall handsome trees that waved and smiled as the sun and the gentle breeze caressed them. We drove through the electronic gates and parked behind another exquisite car. She gave me a quick tour of the whole house and showed me where the cleaning gadgets were stacked neatly in a room. I quickly got over my admiration of the house and began mopping, brushing, scrubbing and dusting from room to room. The cleaning looked easy but hard to do practically. I scrubbed and brushed till my fingers turn brown and ached madly. I took a break by 3pm and resumed cleaning 40 minutes later. All the while, I was alone in the big compound because she had left thirty minutes after I began working and told me she would be back about two hours later but she didn’t.

By 7pm, I still had a lot left to be done. There were two rooms left that I’d not cleaned but by then I’d swore that I’d rather be disemployed than to continue scrubbing because my fingers, arms and whole body aches and throbs with pains. At 7:30, she arrived. She got down quickly and walked briskly to the front porch where I was sitting, waiting – expecting her or my boss to come and drive me back to the bus stop where I could get bus back home.

“I’m so sorry Mike!” She exclaimed “For once I’ve forgotten that you are still here and when I did, the holdup was very serious. I’m very sorry” She said apologetically. Hearing the good words and seeing her somber expression warmed my heart and all my anger and rebellions at having to scrub and clean for hours evaporated. “No problem ma” I said sheepishly.

“Have you eaten? Whoa! There is a take away I brought with me, get it from the car and let me drive you to the bus stop. Or you can be eating it on the way” She said and we both got in. the food was packaged inside one of those beautiful big restaurants take away that can feed five people. When I opened it, I discovered that it was more and better than I alone should eat. My sibs must have a taste of it.

She dropped me off at Magodo bus stop and asked me if I could find my way back and I said yeah. She gave me N1000 for my transport fare. I almost cried because it was far too much than I was expecting and more than I thought that I deserved. I thanked her profusely and eagerly waved down a bus going to Oshodi and from there I would take another bus to Mushin where we lived.

About thirty minutes later, I met my sibs unusually quiet and moody. Even Eliza that used to run to meet me at the door to hug and peck me on the cheek sat alone and looked sad. I knew that something was bothering them. “Xup guys what’s cooking?” I said cheerfully, placing the packaged food on the table.

“The Landlord was here today. He was really mad at us.” Seyi began.

I knew what the landlord said but I asked anyway. “And what did he say?”

“That he has been patient enough that we must pay latest by the end of this week or he’ll be forced to send us packing.

“And is that the reason why all of you are looking as if the heaven is about to fall and smash us to pieces?” Reuben and Eliza nodded. I laughed. I did it to show them that it doesn’t mean anything and that they shouldn’t worry about it. “We will pay him” I told them “The month is about to end. Now I have a surprise package for you all!” I exclaimed suddenly like a magician that was up to some dirty tricks. It worked anyway because their faces brightened up quickly and they forgot the rent that was due to be paid as they gathered around me like ants over a crumb of cake. I revealed the contents of the package to them and they WOWED it. We spent the next thirty minutes tearing viciously at chicken laps and breaking bones like a pack of wild animals who had been deprived food for a very long time. We later had our family time then prayed and said goodnight.

The following day, I resumed 30 minutes later than the normal time because I woke up aching all over. My fingers throbbed with pulsing pains. I was expecting my boss to walk in and tell me like he did the previous day to go and wait for her at the bus stop but he didn’t even come home. Throughout that week, I didn’t even see him. He must have traveled out of Lagos because he traveled a lot.

Just when I’ve forgotten about it, he told me that day that the lady whom he called April had requested for my service again. Instead of driving me, he told me to wait for her that she would come and pick me up. Then he left. I felt very happy at another opportunity to work and earn extra money again and I was beginning to like her. I like her company a lot more than I like Uncle Nat’s. While I was waiting for her, went to my comfort zone (the library) and soon was lost among books.

She came thirty minutes later and drove me to her house. On the way, she quickly gave me the rundown of what I was to do. “I hired someone else to finish the job you left the last time. All I want you to do now is that the kitchen cabinet and wardrobe had just been installed. The house needs real washing because there are lots of woods, glasses and marble pieces all around. It’s a big mess. It may take you more than three hours to do. So I think you will have enough time.”

The work took me just 2 ½ hours. At the end of those 2 hours, I was exhausted to the bones. She drove me back to my boss house and later went home from there.

When I got home, all our properties were outside. The landlord had packed out our things. For the past two years, I had not been able to pay a dime for our rent due to the fact that the money I was earning was not even enough to feed us let alone to pay the rent. The landlord had been very good to us but there was nothing he could do to help us. He had inherited the house with his brothers and they were many whereas all the rooms were just 8. The fact is, the two rooms we occupied were his own share which means he was sacrificing a lot for us during those two years.

I left the things and began to look for my sibs. Where are they and why died they leave our things outside there in the open where everybody was seeing them but I told myself that there was nothing they could do about it. I became worried when the clouds began gathering for a sort of an important meeting in the middle of the sky. Soon, the sky was full of those deep black dark pregnant clouds. Should the rain start, where are they going to hide. I asked the neighbors if they’d seen them but nobody has. I called their names till I became hoarse. The rain began in a merciless downpour but I couldn’t seek shelter from it because I didn’t know where they were and if they are okay. I walked down the streets and reached the places where they could be but they were not there.

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ANGEL OF HOPE PART 4.

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