A night to remember (finale)

After a few minutes the female police officer walked into the station. She whispered something to the officer in charge and they both turned to look at me. Just then I saw Kwesi walk in. I stood up immediately! Whatever miracle this was I was happy it was happening. "Kwesi!" I called out. He turned to me and waved. "I'm getting you out wai. Give me a minute." He said. I nodded with excitement as he spoke to the police officers.

In no time at all I was released. "Abi I told you Frank is powerful." KK said as I left the cell. I was so excited to leave I didn't bother to reply him. I collected all my belongings from the police, including my laptop and left with Kwesi. When I took out my phone I saw I had over 50 missed calls and tons of messages."What the hell? So many missed calls..." I said and Kwesi smiled. He obviously knew something I didn't. Apparently he put up the video of me being robbed on social media. The female police officer saw it and recognized me so she contacted him. That was how he found me. "Wow that's cool. I would have died in there chale. Even though I don't really approve of this your social media life it really came through for me this time, thanks," I said. "Maybe you should stop being so boring and hop onto it too. Who knows, next time it may be you saving me," He replied with a grin. We both laughed and got into his car.

As Kwesi drove me home I went through my messages. There were so many concerned friends reaching out. Some even offered to lend me their laptops for a while and stuff but one in particular stood out to me. It was from a girl who lived a few blocks away from my house, my crush for years! "Hey, saw you were robbed. It's terrible! I hope you are not trying to go after them oh. Sounds like something you would do. Anyways I tried calling. Just want to make sure you are safe. Hit me up when you get home so I pass by ok?" Her message said. A big smile formed on my face. Maybe this wasn't such a horrible day after all. I smiled as I looked at my laptop.

The End. 

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A night to remember 3

The house had no gate. I walked slowly into the compound looking out for dogs or something but it was all clear. I noticed a motorbike parked by the porch. This was definitely them!  I took out my phone and called the Police. I gave them directions to where I was. According to them they would be there very soon. I sent my GPS location to Keli too. Just in case I got caught and killed at least he could find my body.

Just then I heard voices coming from behind the house. I moved closer to hear what they were saying. " KK what are you doing? My girls are waiting for me at the mall." The lady said. I recognised her voice immediately. "Then go eh? I just dey copying some of ein movies." A male voice replied. "Ah, you are lucky I don't know how to ride a bike. Frank will come for the laptop tomorrow. Let's go, ah!" She snapped at him and he giggled. When I heard doors opening I knew I had to hide! I crawled into a bush in a dark corner.

When they came out of the house I watched them get onto the motorbike. The guy was much bigger than he sounded. The lady had changed her clothes and had put on makeup. It annoyed me how pretty she was. It was definitely her because I recognized her tattoo. I knelt down quietly in the bushes till they were gone.

When I was sure the coast was clear I rushed out and headed for the room I heard them talking from. I honestly didn't know what I was doing and before I could come up with a plan someone opened the door to the house. I just stood there staring. It was a teenage boy. "Who are you?" He asked. He had just opened the door to the room I wanted to enter. I took my chance and cooked a story. "I'm Kojo, Frank's friend. He's busy so he said I should come for a laptop." I lied. The boy stared at me with a blank expression. "I called KK and he said he's stepped out but I should pick it up." I added. At this moment he believed me because he let me in. "Ok you can pick it up." He said.

I walked into the room and was surprised to see tons of phones, laptops and tablets. I tried to remain composed. I looked around and immediately I spotted my laptop I heard the sound of a motorbike. "Looks like KK is back." The boy said. My heart skipped a beat. There was a fair chance KK would fall for this trick too but what if he called the Frank guy. I had to leave but it was just too late. KK got to the door before me.

"KK this is Kojo, Frank's friend." The little boy introduced. I nodded and looked away. That was probably a bad idea. KK stared at me. When he reached for his phone I knew it was all over. I looked at my laptop one more time and wondered if it was worth my life I was going to lose. Maybe I could offer him money to spare me but my account was dry as hell. As my life flashed before my eyes I heard a loud bang and next I knew there were police officers inside the room.


To be continued... 

Broken 6

When I got home I noticed I had missed some calls. They were all from Kevin. I was just about to call him back when I heard a knock at my door. I looked at the time. It was 9:25pm. I wondered who it was. I opened the door and to my total surprise it was Kevin! "Kevin, hi." I said. He smiled and I let him in. He told me he felt bad about rescheduling so he decided to come by after his meeting. I told him it was fine and I appreciated his visit. He made himself at home on my couch and asked if he could get a drink. I was very surprised. Kevin never gave me a surprise visit. I got him a drink and sat by him on the couch. "How was your day?" He asked. I told him about work and how I picked up Pablo from the hospital and took him home.

It was the expression on Kevin's face that made me understand everything. He was jealous. Then I realized Pablo knew and that's why he texted him. He knew Kevin would fall for it. I giggled when I made this realization. I couldn't believe it took me this long to get it. I sat closer to Kevin. "I know you had a rough time with your ex and her baby. I'm ready to put it behind us." I said. I had confidence now that he wanted me back. He stared at me and just when he was leaning closer his phone rung. He checked who it was and muted the call.

Before we could recover from the interruption my phone took its turn. I noticed it was my office. I frowned, it was after 10 so I knew they were calling me to come to work for something urgent like a breach in our firewall or something. I answered the call and was right. It was a hacking issue. Our firewall had been breached and I had to get to the office immediately to fix it. This was one of the times I hated my job. Surely we got very nice bonuses for events like this but I was having a perfect conversation with Kevin!

I told Kevin and he nodded. He knew how my job went so he didn't even comment on it. When I picked up my things he stood up, ready to go. Then he took my hands and smiled at me. "Maybe we should do something tomorrow night. There's this nice place I know." He said. I smiled back and nodded. "Sounds good." I replied. Then he kissed me. I knew he wanted more but we had to go. I slowly ended the kiss and we left.

When I got to the office. I saw a few more people from my department. They all look like they had just woken up from sleep. "Wow, someone is looking good." Fred, one of my coworkers said. They made fun of me for a while before they told me the problem. I looked over my shoulder to look at our boss and noticed Pablo talking to her.

I shook my head. Pablo was so stubborn. He was supposed to take a day off to rest but here he was at 11pm working. I turned back to my computer when I saw the two of them walk towards us. My boss gave us a brief description of the problem and exactly what she wanted done. It wasn't a major issue at all. Just one person could have fixed it. It seemed she wanted all of us there to make sure it's fixed very quickly.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Pablo when our boss left. "Same thing you are doing here." He said sarcastically. I shook my head. We got to work and were done in a little under 2 hours. I told Pablo about how his texting game made Kevin come over to my house. "Gosh he's more jealous than I thought. You should hold my hand in front of him, I'm sure he'd propose." He teased. I laughed a little too hard. It was nice knowing for sure Kevin wanted me back. Maybe he was really the one and this may have been just a test. When we left the office Pablo and spoke for so long we didn't notice we had spent an hour in the car park. Luckily for us our boss said we could come to work late the next day. Well actually it was the same day because we finally drove off around 3am.


To be continued... 

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Time no dey

Time wasting is like kente in Ghana, it's part of our culture. Ghanaians find all sorts of creative ways to waste each other's time. Sometimes it almost feels like a sport. One that has no ending time. Then again it could be a game to the death. We waste each other's time ahhh till we die. You go to the bank they waste your time, you go to the restaurant they waste your time, you die and are ready to be buried sef they will waste your time. No one is safe at any stage!
I'm sure you are reading this and going like "I know right? Ghana dier so so time wasting" but you naa you are part of the problem. That doesn't mean you should stop reading oh. I beg. But let's be honest we are either equally a time waster or you are helping this very bad habit. I'm not excuded oh. In fact far from it. I'm also one of the Dj Time Wasters but let's look at this on a whole shall we?

To be honest I'm tired of waiting. I'm not saying making someone wait is a crime but at least people need to know it's not good. One day I was asked to come for a meeting at 2pm. The person told me not to be late so I got there just before 2 and had to wait for an hour because the person was out on his lunch break. What the hell?! I was not amused at all so when he finally came back I asked him why he asked me to meet him at his lunch time and guess what he said "Oh I didn't want you to come late so I'll have to wait." If it wasn't for the fear of God and good training my parents have given me I would have done something jail warranting to him. How is it ok for ME to wait?! People need to stop this thing.

Most people don't see anything wrong with asking people to wait. In their heads it's like "oh but will sitting down for 2 hours kill you?". Well it probably won't but will attending to me on time kill you too? We all know the answer to that. These days, you are actually tricked into waiting by your own loved ones. Who has ever been to a wedding where the starting time was a lie? That thing can pain eh? Some ladies have a limited time span their make up can last and you trick them into coming early, how wicked! I don't know about you but I don't want to start my marriage on lies. At least use words or phrases like 'prompt' or 'kindly be there early' or 'refreshment will be served just before the bride enters' or something just don't make me come and wait.

It's simple, let's just try to consider our fellow men and women. Let's put ourselves in each others shoes and act accordingly. There's the general perception in Ghana that if you require something from someone you should be prepared to wait no matter how long they ask you to and it's bad. Ei especially at Ministries. That place dierr it's just a place you go to wait. Let's change our habit because it's not fresh. It's time we showed some respect for each other because the honest truth is that you never know the amount of harm you are doing to someone when you make them wait for hours. So my dear Ghanaians unless you are ready to pay people, don't make them waiters *drops mic*.

Gifts

I woke up immediately I heard the door bell ring. I slowly closed my eyes again when I remembered I wasn't the only one at home. Surely my little brother, Elorm would be awake. That video game playing boy was always awake. Unlike him I preferred to sleep till mid morning because I was on vacation.

When I heard him open his door I pulled my covers closer and tried to go back to sleep. I was almost successful when my brother barged into my room. "Eyram there's a package for you!" He said, excitedly. I looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he was up to any of his usual pranks. "Elorm, if I go downstairs and it's not true I'm putting your X box, Y box or whatever it is called in a bucket of water." I threatened. He just giggled and asked me to hurry up. I got out of bed and made my way to the living room. Our parents had left for work.

Elorm was not joking. There was a delivery man on a bike with a box. I walked over to him. He asked me to sign in a notebook and handed over the box to me. Then he left. I wasn't sure what to say because I was not expecting anything from anyone. I looked around the box to see if there was a sender's address but I saw nothing. "Open the thing la." Elorm said. I giggled and opened it. My eyes gleamed when I saw what it was. It was a tablet pc. It wasn't brand new but it was an awesome tablet I had been wanting about for some time. I was very eager to find out who gave me this amazing gift.

There was a little note that read "hi Eyram, a friend of mine was selling this at a really good price. Immediately I saw it I thought of you. I hope you like it. Anna." I held the note staring at it for a few more minutes. I knew the handwriting, there was no mistake it was from my cousin. "What did the note say?" Elorm asked when he noticed my change in mood. The truth is that I felt very bad. Just a year ago she left the country because she got a scholarship to study abroad. I promised to keep in contact with her but I didn't. I remember her calling me often but I rarely returned her calls. Even after such a long silence she still thought about me. I smiled and realised I had a lot of calling to do.

Doesn't this feel like something we all go through? Well not all of us get tablets from our cousins, for sure! But just like Anna God showers us with gifts in many forms even though we  sometimes ignore him. Like Eyram we give ourselves so many excuses; calling abroad is too expensive, I will text her tomorrow, she's probably busy with her new friends but the truth is that Anna still loved her and that love brought her to the right place. It's time for all of us to be at the right place with God. If nothing at all we should pray to say thank you :)

The bed next to mine

The sound of talking woke me up. It came from the bed next to mine. The girl there was called Aku. She got more visitors than anyone else in our ward. Maybe it was because her case was the worst. I heard some nurses discuss her condition while she was asleep before. They said it couldn't be helped. Her cancer was detected pretty late. Someway somehow I preferred her situation, not the dying part obviously but the fact that they knew exactly what was wrong with her. Me on the other hand it seemed the doctors were not sure what I had. Several tests had proved negative. I didn't want to die but my hope of surviving seemed slimmer every single day.

"Let's pray. Fafa would you join us? "Aku's mother said looking at me." No thank you." I said. I noticed the disappointment in her face but I didn't care. She just nodded and turned to her daughter. Aku's older brother held her hand and they begun to pray. They did this everytime they visited her. I wondered why they even bothered. after that they showed her messages and presents from family and friends. Aku seemed to enjoy all of this. Even though she was in a lot of pain and other times a bit too high on morphine she managed to smile and giggle at most of them. That day for some reason she laughed more and even spoke more than she usually did. It was almost like she was getting better. Maybe the nurses gave her the perfect dose of morphine.
 
When visiting hours were over her family gave her their usual hugs and kisses and left. Then the room became normal again. I must say I preferred it like that. No one to blurb about unrealistic hope from God. Just the silence to allow a bunch of dying people count the remaining seconds they had left. That's what Aku had that night, a number of seconds left but she didn't spend it doing a countdown.

"Fafa, are you asleep?" Aku asked. I turned to look at her and told her I was awake. She smiled at me. She was one of the few people in our ward that actually smiled. For some reason I couldn't help but smile back. "What is it?" I asked her. She had a question for me. She wanted to know why I refused to pray with her family anytime they asked me to join them. I shrugged. It had happened 2 times. The first time I pretended to be asleep but today I didn't think there was a point pretending. "God doesn't listen to us." I said. I wasn't really in the mood to talk but then again I was curious as to where she was going with her questions. "Oh but he does." Abu said sharply. She went on further to talk about how God loved everyone. I stopped her by asking her why God would leave us here to die. She was silent for a moment and then said something I will never forget. "You know micro organisms right?" She asked. I nodded with the most confused look on my face. "Do you think bacteria understands algebra? That's how we are with God. There is no way we can understand him but if we trust him we will see his love for us." she said with the warmest smile. She was right. I never thought about it that way before but she was right.

Aku passed away that night in her sleep. Tears rolled down my cheeks when the nurses came for her body. She was such a lovely person and just when my hard heart was softening she left me. Her mother came to collect her things and walked over to my bed when she had packed everything. I had no idea why she would come to me. She stretched her hand and gave me an envelope. "Aku asked me to give this to you." She said. Her eyes were red from either lack of sleep or constant crying. It was probably both. She formed a weak smile and turned to leave. I called her back and said "Don't worry, we will see her again." She nodded and smiled again but this time with less pain in her eyes. I saw where Aku got her warm smile from.

When I opened the envelope with my wobbly hands I saw a little note in it that said, "God does everything for a good reason." It's like she read my mind. After her parting words the night before I had been asking God why he put us in such a situation. My eyes watered again. I closed my eyes and for the first time in a long while I prayed to God. If I was going to die I wanted to go peaceful like Aku did. Her mother said goodbye to me and immediately she left a bunch of doctors walked into the ward. They walked to Aku's bed and called a nurse when they say it was empty. There was one foreign doctor among them. A skinny white man. The Ghanaian doctor expressed some amount of anger towards one of the nurses. I heard him whisper "you should have told us that she had passed away. We've brought him all the way from the conference room for nothing" in Twi. Just before they turned to leave the Ghanaian doctor turned to me and to his fellows. "Doctor Bainbridge I'm sorry, the patient with Leukemia passed away last night, unfortunately. Perhaps you can take a look at this case we have been battling with?  I know this type of cancer is not your speilciality but how about we look at it?" He said. The white doctor nodded and they all turned to look at me.

After a brief inspection, a few tests just like magic Doctor Bainbridge knew how to save me. It wasn't cheap but he gave my family contacts to a few NGOs in his country that he thought could help us. He was right and after 2 surgeries and some physiotherapy I was back to normal. The whole thing seemed completely surreal. Aku was right. God did listen to my prayer. I decided to set up and NGO in Ghana that would help the sick build their faith in God. Just like how God turned my life around, I wanted to share this with others too.There was just one name I had in my head and that's why I named it, The Aku Foundation.

Just like Adel 12 (finale)

I could tell he had been keeping what he was about to say for a long time. His hesitation was intense. "If you aren't comfortable talking about it you can always tell me another time." I said to break the silence. He turned his back to me. "I think we should stop seeing each other." He finally said. I couldn't say I was expecting this. "What, why?!" I screamed. I talking over to face him. He avoided eye contact. " When Obeng showed me the test results it seemed my condition isn't as good as it was when I just got back from Denmark. I have been a selfish person. I should not have asked you out. I'm not going to waste your time anymore." He said. I wasn't sure how to wrap my head around what he was saying. I asked him to explain himself and he finally looked into my eyes and said, "Doris I'm going to die. You deserve to be with someone who actually has a future." I don't know why but I slapped him. "I don't know if the medication they gave you at the hospital is making you talk like this. The Henry I know doesn't give up!" I said and walked out of his apartment.

I didn't hear from Henry the next day. He wouldn't answer my calls either. I was a bit angry with him in the morning but when I calmed down I decided to call him and got nothing. Dean told me he was avoiding everyone. I decided to allow him to have some space. After two days he sent me a text that read, "you are right. Giving up is a dull move. I just don't want to see you get hurt. You are too nice for someone like me. I'm going to Denmark again. " My heart went warm and my eyes watered. This was a bit too much for me. I grabbed my bag and took a taxi to Henry's apartment. When I got there I saw Adel's car parked outside. I walked to the door and noticed it was open. My heart missed a beat when I saw Adel in the living room looking around. "Have you seen Henry?" She asked me. I shook my head and she went into his bedroom. "Goodness his travel bag is gone." She said. I breathed a sigh of relief. I showed Adel his text. She relaxed a bit herself.

That night I tried calling Henry several times but couldn't get through to him. It seemed he wasn't using the Danish number he used the other time. A text at 3am from him finally put me to sleep. When Henry's father called me the next morning I was really prepared for his plan. I told him I got the note and would love to do it. He informed me about the arrangements he had made and asked when I would be ready to leave. Honestly I couldn't wait to go. I wasn't looking forward to the weather in Denmark but Henry was worth it. When I told Dean everything he said he was jealous. I rolled my eyes. If only he knew how it felt like to fall for Henry Brock. "Really? You wish you were dating an Orgosis patient in Denmark?" I asked sarcastically. His goofy smile faded. My highest concern was how Henry would take it. I hadn't told him I was coming and I didn't intend to. Since he left the texts and calls had reduced. He was really trying to distance himself but I wouldn't let him. Not in a time like this!

In our chats I found out the hotel Henry was in so finding him when I arrived wasn't hard at all. I booked a nights stay in that same hotel. After the valet got me settled I waited till he had left then I rushed to Henry's room. It was just one floor below mine. I knocked on his door and waited patiently. "Hold on." He said and opened the door.

The look on his face was priceless. He was completely surprised. "Doris?! My goodness". When he took a stop forward and hugged me I could feel his appreciation. "If this is a hallucination from my medication I don't want it to wear out." He said still holding me. "When I said I will help you through this, I meant it Henry." I said. He stared straight at me and smiled. "I would love that. I've never felt more alive in my life Doris." He said and kissed me. The truth was very clear, Henry had a 50/50 chance of surviving or even less but my feelings for him never reduced. I guess I loved him. He dragged me into his room and we spent the whole evening talking like old times. He didn't even ask how I got there. It was like, he couldn't be bothered.

The next morning when I woke up I saw Henry at his desk reading through some files. I walked over to him and hugged him from behind. He smiled and showed me what he was doing. "I'm trying to see if there is some kind of pattern in the Dr. Olsen's test patients." He said. I realised this was something I could help with. I was pretty good at finding patterns and problem, it was something we did at work all the time. "Do you have information about all his test patients?" I asked. Henry gave me a file. I looked through and saw nothing. The exact dose was given to each of them. I couldn't establish a difference in the ones the drug failed on but I didn't give up. The whole week we went through everything until I noticed something missing late in the evening one night. "We are looking at everything from a medical, chemical point of view. What if that's not it?" I said. I stood up and looked at all the files spread out on the floor. Henry stared at me. I rearranged the papers of each patient and found the link. "Henry, I think I found something. This has to be it!" I exclaimed.

The next morning we run my theory by Dr. Olsen and he said it was something he hadn't considered but worth testing anyway. That afternoon we waited at his office for the test results. If I was right this would be golden. We held hands as we sat in the cold office. "Have you told your dad about my theory?" I asked but before I could get an answer the door flung open and Doctor Olsen walked through. He was a slim old man with very pale white skin. It didn't look like he went out much. His smile said it all. He gave us a sheet of paper. "You are right. The key was in the climate. The patients who died were all living in an countries with higher temperatures. I have no idea why I never thought of this. Good job!" He said. I couldn't believe it. "This calls for celebration!" Henry said and we all cheered.

Henry and I decided to go dancing to celebrate. There was a very nice salsa pub not far from our hotel. The old Henry was back!  He was funny, witty, a bit arrogant and completely attractive. As we danced I knew I had made a good decision. This was the man for me and now he wasn't leaving me anytime soon. "You saved my life Doris." Henry whispered into my ears. "No, your fighting spirit saved your life." I replied also whispering. "Can you do me one favour?" He asked with a serious tone. I nodded and asked what is was. "When we get married can you please not have a girl?" He asked. "Huh? Why?" I asked, excited at the word married but confused anyway. "Well I don't want to see another person who looks just like Adel." He joked and we both laughed.



The End. 

Just like Adel 9

When the office door opened and Henry walked in I just stared at him. "What is it?" He asked immediately. I looked away, realising that my expression may have given me away. I wasn't sure what to say to him. He thought I knew about his condition when we spoke the other night and the thought of me helping him find a drug lit him up. I decided to play along. "Nothing. You took a little longer than I expected that's all." I lied. He nodded and apologised. I honestly wasn't sure I could keep my composure. It prayed it was just a bad dream. "You look tired. Let me drop you off at home. We can do this tomorrow." He said picking up his keys. I nodded and we left.

When we got to my apartment my mind was a lot more settled. Maybe it was the silly jokes he was telling on the way or the fact that he was able to smile in such a condition. "Does it hurt?" I asked. He looked at me and replied, "I'm not in that stage yet so I guess we are safe." I nodded. Just before I stepped into my apartment he called me back. "I know this is a bit strange. If you ever feel like helping out is too much for you I totally understand." He said. I smiled at him. The guy I had fallen for had only 3 months to live. How on earth will helping him live longer be too much for me? I wanted to tell him this but all I could say was, "Oh naa. You can count on me." The smile that formed on his face was priceless.

That night I found it hard to sleep. Too many things run through my mind. Henry was going to die in 3 months. Why was the first serious looking guy I ever liked being taken away from me. I realised how selfish that sounded. His family had to just watch it happen. When I got to work in the morning Dean saw me and instantly knew I didn't sleep well. "Why didn't you tell me that Henry is dying?" I asked. He looked at me in shock and asked me how I found out. "Henry made me swear not to tell anyone, especially you. He said he didn't want the whole sympathy thing." Dean explained. He told me everything he knew. When Henry was diagnosed, how they tried to fight the disease but it was too late. "We just wanted him to have a happy life no matter the length that's why we tried to get you two together. You seemed to like each other too so Adel and I just thought it would help." He confessed. I asked Dean about Henry's research into a sustenance drug and Dean said Mr. Broke said it was impossible for orgosis. I spent most of my free time at work reading about the disease. The things I found weren't good at all. I understood his family now. They just wanted him to spend his last days happy.

After work Henry called me and arranged to meet at a restaurant not too far from his house. I took a cab straight there and smiled when I saw him wave at me sitting by himself in a corner. He was smiling from ear to ear. He hugged me when I got there. It was so unexpected I almost fell over. "I've found it." He said almost giggling. I smiled too. I couldn't help it. His smile was just too infectious. "I reached out to a doctor in Denmark who has been studying orgosis for 19 years. He has finally got a medicine for it." He started. I pulled my chair closer. "wow is it a cure?" I asked. Henry shook his head. "He's not there yet but he has a drug that, well in layman terms it sort of jump starts ur organs when they enter the failing stage. The drug testing worked on 8 out of 10 patients. The 2 it didn't work on both had diabetes. The drug sort of feeds a lot on insulin. Thank God I don't have diabetes right?" He continued. I smiled.

I asked if the drug was on the market yet and he explained how the diabetics issue according to Danish medical rules is not prevents it from being used so he had to find a way to work around it. He told me how he had reached out to the doctor in charge of the experimental drug and he said he could come and be tested in exchange to helping him launch the drug. We had dinner at the restaurant and Henry went on and on about doctor Graham and his research. It was like life had been poured into him, new life. This drug was his life.


To be continued... 

Just like Adel 7

 All of a sudden my anger towards Henry evaporated. I didn't like what I heard. Henry was hard working and had acquired many certificates and awards. Why was Adel who just graduated with no experience at all going to head the company? I went around the party grounds looking for Henry. It made sense for him to keep to himself, I mean his own family were not treating him fairly.

I went to the front of the house where all the cars were parked and just like magic I saw him leaving. I run up to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry about earlier." we both said at the same time. We laughed and each explained what we were sorry for. Maybe he didn't like me like that but I guess being his friend at a time like this was pretty much what he needed.

Henry and I sat on the stairs in front of the house. "Aren't you scared of kwashey boys?" I teased. He laughed and said he was covered because I had a 'gun'. I smiled. "I know why. I know why you are cold sometimes." I said. He turned to look at me. His eyes were wide open. "Don't ask me how but I heard your dad and your sister talking." I added. He looked very surprised. I looked down. I wasn't happy about how I found out. "What I don't understand is why?" I said turning to look at him.

My words seemed to ignite his sadness. I wondered if I should change the subject. "That's just how life is." He said in a very low tone. "It's not fair." I said. I could feel his pain. "I honestly don't blame you for not liking me because I look like Adel." I said. Then Henry giggled. "Where is this one too coming from? Yea you look like Adel but you are not like her at all. " He asked. I looked at him funny. "I'm confused." I confessed. "I like the two of you differently." He said looking away. I asked him to explain and he shyly changed the subject. I didn't push it at all. What he said worked for me.

"So is there anything you can do? There has to be something right?" I asked. He nodded. "Then I will help you." I said. It's like my words ignited another emotion. This time it was joy. His smile filled his face in a matter of seconds. He seemed to really like the idea. Just then Senam and Dean came out and saw me. She wanted to leave. Dean smiled when he saw Henry and I. I said a quick goodbye and left with Senam. I didn't think Henry would open up so easily about his issue but all that hardwork could not go to waste.


To be continued... 

Just like Adel 6

That weekend I stayed indoors. I wanted to have some me time. I would admit that I missed having a boyfriend to share things with but because Dean was always available I never felt it until Adel came. My phone rung and I couldn't believe who it was. It was Henry. I stared at the phone and contemplated answering it. I shook my heard and decided that if he called the second time I would answer. I watched the phone quietly to see if it would ring again but it didn't. Instead there was a knock at my door that startled me. I walked to it and saw Gilly standing there with a rubber bag.

"I hope this isn't a bad time." He said with a smile. I shook my head and stared waiting to hear his agenda. He handed me the rubber bag which contained a bunch of goodies. Gilly said they were from Henry. He was a bit busy at the office so he asked him to bring it over as a thank you gesture for the other day. I was surprised. To be honest I had a deep feeling Adel was behind this.

I asked Gilly why they were working on a Sunday and he said he had to work on something with Henry urgently. He said a workaholic joke and we both laughed. Before Gilly rushed off he turned to me and said "This is the first time I've seen Henry buy something for someone." I smiled and laughed to my head. I dumped my sympathy gifts in a corner and walked to my room.

After lots of convincing during the week Dean managed to get me to go to Adel's birthday party. I really didn't want to go but I realised I had to get over Henry and maybe this was my chance to have some fun and meet some new guys. I went shopping the day before so my outfit was spanking new. Just so I wouldn't look lonely I went with my coworker, Sedem. She felt so under dressed when she saw me. We got to the party just in time for the fun parts.

"Isn't that the Henry guy Dean is setting you up with?" Sedem asked. I turned around and saw him. He was in a black long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans. Black really suited him. I turned around immediately he turned our way and Sedem laughed. I think her laughter attracted him because he walked to us. "Hi." Henry said. Sedem conveniently excused herself to get another drink. He was looking a bit pale. Probably from over working. He looked straight at me. "Hi." He said and I nodded. He went ahead and complimented me. I smiled briefly and excused myself.

I saw Sedem eating a slice of cake. It looked so good. I asked her where she got it and she pointed to the kitchen. "I got lost and saw a huge tray of cake so I picked one." She said. I scolded her for not getting a piece for me as well and made my way to the place she was pointing to. Adel's house was so big. I saw an opened door and walked into it. Unfortunately it wasn't the kitchen. It was a little office.

Just before I turned around to leave something caught my eye. On the desk there were a bunch of old pictures of what looked like Henry and Adel. Some had their parents in them. I smiled when I went through them. Henry looked very happy and normal. Time had really changed him. I heard a sound and instinctively turned to look at who it was. I saw Adel and her father. He handed a big brown envelope over to her. "That's the expenditure list for the new branch." He said. What kind of father brings work to his daughter's birthday party? That's right, Henry's Father.

I hid behind some bookshelves where I could hear more. "Dad this could have waited till Monday." Adel said shaking her head. "You need to learn to give the company importance. When you take over the company next year you will have to make sacrifices. " Her father said. My jaw dropped. It was true Lestor Brock was old but Adel? "Is Henry here?" Lestor asked and his daughter nodded. "He still won't talk to you?" She asked. He turned away. "Dad, I'm sure he will come around. You need to understand how he feels." She added. Her father nodded and walked away. Adel walked into the office and my heart missed a beat. I sat very still behind the bookshelves. She dropped the envelope on the table and walked out.



To be continued... 

The good life

Pic from blakevond.com

I signalled the waiter to bring me another glass of whiskey. The football match I was watching wasn't as exciting as I had hoped. The teams that were playing were not exactly the strongest but it was either that or staying at home to listen to my wife nag about this or that. That was when I saw her. Samira, the girl I had the longest crush on. She was just as pretty as I last saw her in university. Her long hair was flowing on her back as usual. When I saw Samira's mother I knew where she got all her looks from. She was with two other ladies, coming from the VIP part of the pub. I waved at her and she smiled when she saw me. She whispered something to her friends and walked to me.

"Peter, I haven't seen you in forever." Samira said joining me at my table. I nodded and asked how she was doing. She was still witty. I really liked that about her. After some small talk she informed me that it was one of her friends’ birthday and they came to chill out a bit. She made me think about my own social life. Well,if watching football matches in pubs counted then at least I had one but unfortunately I had a curfew. 10pm and Afua would call me. Samira made me envy her more when she told me about their plans for later that evening. She was clearly living a fun life. She froze all of a sudden and looked at my wedding band. She congratulated me and I managed to smile. There was a time I would smile much broader when someone congratulated me but now with the baby, things were very different. Afua barely noticed me. All her attention was on our baby but who was I to complain? After all, she was the one taking care of the baby most of the time so I had no opinion even in my own house.

Samira invited me to join her on their chilling spree. I was extremely surprised she asked. To be honest it seemed like she was flirting with me. I was unsure because all the years I had known her she never showed much interest in me. Hey who knows maybe she preferred married men. Her interest made me very excited. There was no way I was going to refuse. She made all 4 of us leave in her car. She insisted on me leaving mine behind. "It'll be more fun if we are all together." She said and winked at me. I almost believed the whisky was making this all up. When I saw Samira's Land Cruiser I realized life was good for her. She drove just as crazy as her personality. My wife was a fast driver but Samira was on a different level. Her friends seemed just as wild because I was the only one clinging to my seat belt. We arrived at a huge mansion. Was this her house? I remember her parents’ house from back in the day. It wasn't half as big as this. She seemed to read my mind when she said, "This is a friend of mine's place. He's out of town for a while so he said we could use it." I nodded.

The interior of the house was like one of those fancy homes you see in decor magazines. Samira turned on some music and they did some dancing. The birthday girl called a couple of friends and asked them to come over. In less than 30 minutes there were about 9 more people in the house. There was music and drinks all around and a tennis Wii game going on. In the midst of all the fun I noticed my curfew was drawing near. Why couldn't Afua organize little parties like this once in a while? Just when I spotted Samira and was going to tell her my plans to leave she grabbed my hand and said she wanted to show me something. I walked with her to the back of the house. There was a beautiful pool there. "How about a swim?' She offered. "What, like now?" I asked. She laughed and nodded. Before I could say anything she took off her dress. The Lord knows all sorts of things rushed through my head. She got into the water and asked me to join her. I fought hard to refuse. Half of my mind was focused on Samira in her underwear floating in the water and the other half was on my wife and our daughter. "I have to leave." I managed to say. Samira's face dropped. "Is it because you are married? Why shouldn't married people have fun huh?" She asked. I wasn't sure what to say.

I sat down by the pool with my trousers folded up and my legs in the water. I just watched Samira swim, extremely considering joining her. I knew I couldn't resist her for too long. "You know that ring you are wearing is like a prison." Samira said. I shrugged. "That's why I'm free." She said giving a backstroke. "When you find the right guy you'll think differently." I said. She stopped and turned to look at me. "I don't think so. I don't see what marriage or love can give me that I can't have." She added. I thought about Afua immediately she said that. I tried to list the things she added to my life. The list was so long I smiled. Afua was the right person for me. I mean I was here in a place I would have died to be in some years ago, thinking about my wife. Samira asked why I was smiling. I told her and she got a bit upset.

Samira got out of the pool and grabbed a towel. She wore some clothes and without saying anything grabbed her car keys to drop me off. On my way back still in silence, Afua called. I expected to hear 'where are you' but instead she said our daughter said daddy. I laughed as we made fun of our little girl over the phone. When I remembered where I was quickly wrapped up the call. "It's worth it huh?" Samira asked. She was driving much slower. I nodded. I really didn't want to go talk much about how much I loved my family. "But you looked so miserable at the bar. Married people look all sad but they always go back to their wives." She said. Her tone had changed. "Loving someone doesn't mean you won't have problems with them. It just means you'll always be there for each other. I guess that's one beautiful thing about it." I said. She turned to me and smiled. When we got to my car she dropped me off and waved as she left without saying another word.

When I got home the first thing I did was look for Afua and gave her a deep kiss. She smiled and asked what we were celebrating. "My baby called me daddy. It's official, I'm her daddy." I said. She laughed and held her mouth to muffle the sound in order not to wake the baby up. 

Blind date

I looked around for a black t shirt. I was about to text Aziz to ask where he was when I spotted a fine guy in a black Tshirt. I smiled and put my phone back into my bag. I walked up to him. He looked really cute. Paulina told me he was cool. She was probably being her usual modest self. Then it hit me. Would he think I was cute too. I paused and turned to look at my reflection in one of the glass windows of the bar. I tossed up my hair a little and continued walking. My heart started racing when I got to his table. I smiled. He smiled back too but not as broad as mine. "Aziz right? It's good to finally meet in person." I said.

 "How are you doing?" He asked to break the awkward silence after I sat down. I said I was fine. A waiter came up to me and I ordered a drink. Immediately my drink came a guy walked up to us and spoke to my date. "Hey we are going to play pool do you want to join us? I didn't catch your name. I'm Kofi." he offered. I shook my head. "Not really, I don't know how to play. I'll just make him lose. I'm Selina." I said smiling. They didn't seem to take no for an answer so I gave in.

Aziz gave me a cue and a quick tutorial. "It's really not that hard. Besides no one on earth is as bad as Kofi's girlfriend in pool." he teased. I giggled. "Easy like you driving your Range Rover eh?" I asked. "Err more like me brushing my teeth, super easy." he said and gave a goofy smile. I laughed again. We were beginning to get along well. He was much more interesting in person. Kofi played first, then Aziz. When Dora, Kofi's girlfriend played I realized what Aziz was trying to say all along. He winked at me and I giggled. It was finally my turn and my coach walked up behind me and showed me how to position my cue. He was rather close but I wasn't complaining. Surprisingly, I didn't do badly at all. As the game went on, Kofi kept asking me if I had really never played before. When I potted my first ball I couldn't help jumping up and down. Aziz run to me, raised me up, spinning me in the air and said I was the best student ever. I laughed my head off when we turned back to look at Kofi and Dora's faces. Their expressions were priceless.

Right after the game, which of course Aziz and I won, we went to sit at the lounge area. The chemistry between Aziz and I was just perfect. The kind where we felt perfectly comfortable around each other. We spoke about the new movies we had all seen and Aziz and I were glad we had the same taste in movies. We even planned to see a new movie sometime. I took out my phone to send a thank you message to my match maker when I noticed 15 missed calls from Paulina and Aziz. I ignored his guessing they were from earlier and rushed to the bathroom to call Paulina back.

"Hey where are you?!" She asked immediately she picked up the phone. I giggled. "Oh say a blind date maybe?" I teased. Paulina wasn't moved. "Ah have you met Aziz yet? He said he couldn't find you. Where have you been?" She asked. I rolled my eyes. "Calm down I'm in the washroom. I was just a little bit late but I've seen him now." I replied. "This your lateness dierr." Paulina said finally calm. She said she had to go and hung up. I looked in the washroom mirror, straightened my dress and walked out. Just before I got to my seat a tall dark guy in a black t-shirt walked up to me. "Hi, Selina right?" He asked. I nodded wondering how he knew my name. He noticed I was a bit puzzled and said. "I'm Aziz, I've been waiting for you for so long. I would have left if it wasn't for Paulina. We said we'd be meeting outside." He explained and I froze. I didn't know what to say. I turned to look at the table I was sitting and saw Kofi and Dora laughing hard. The fake Aziz was staring straight at me. It was like he knew. I turned to Aziz and smiled. "I'm sorry about that." I managed to say. My date said he didn't like the food at the pub so he suggested we go to a Chinese restaurant. I nodded. I turned back to look at the table. "Are you coming?" Aziz asked. I smiled and walked out with him.

Aziz opened the door to his Range Rover when we got to the parking lot. I sat down quietly. "You like Chinese food don't you? Even if you don't, you'll like this particular one. They are the best." He said as he sparked the car. I was barely paying attention. Too many things were running through my head. Then I saw him. He was walking alone.   I turned to Aziz. "I'm really sorry I wasted your time but I'll be wasting more of your time if I go with you. I have to go." I said, opening the door and getting out. "What? What are you talking about?!" He asked furiously. "I don't think this date is working so I'm ending it before it gets worse." I added and ran off. I heard him swear and drive off fast.

I broke into a run in the direction I saw my fake Aziz go. When I saw him standing beside his old car I yelled, "hey!". He stopped and turned around. "Why, why did you lie about being Aziz?" I asked when I caught up with him. "I didn't lie. I just didn't say I wasn't him." He said. "Yeah? Well on this planet it's still lying." I replied. "Oh, is it that obvious I'm not an earthling?" he joked but my expression didn't change. "I'm sorry, what I did wasn't right. I just really wanted to get to know you. I couldn't get myself to tell you the truth. I'm sorry I ruined your date. I won't be causing any more trouble, I'm leaving." He said. He sounded so genuine. If he wasn't, he was the best actor in the world. There was something about him, something very nice. "You didn't ruin my date. Well, technically you did but I still had fun." I said. A smile slowly formed on his face. "We can play another game of pool if you like. I won't mind a few tips." I said stretching out my hand. He took it. "Yes, yes let's play." He said and we walked back. "So what's your real name Fake Aziz?" I teased. "I'm Paul Mensah. Yup, sorry to disappoint you. I have a nice and boring name." Paul said. I laughed again. Paulina wasn't gonna like this at all.

 The end

Monday morning surprise

As Samira walked to work she remembered the sermon that was preached at church the day before. The topic was about loving your neighbour. Even those that didn't love you. She knew one person like that at work. Sarah Brown. Sarah just didn't like her and the feeling was very mutual. From her first day at work Samira never got along with her. Maybe Sarah felt insecure around her because she was younger, she just couldn't tell. "I'll love my neighbour." Samira said with a long sigh. Just before she entered her office building she saw something interesting. There was a car having boot sales not very far away. She looked at her watch. She had enough time to do some window shopping. She saw a nice necklace. It looked like something Sarah would love. She thought for minute and bought it for her at a very good price.

When Samira got to work Sarah was not at her desk but she saw her favourite red bag and knew she was around. She picked up a sticky note from her desk and wrote a little note. She stuck the note to the present she had just bought, put it on Sarah's desk and walked away. When she got to hers Elikem walked by with a smile. "Is that a bomb you put on Miss Horror's desk?" She asked. Samira giggled and shook her head. Elikem always had names for everyone. Then it hit her that she wasn't the only one who didn't like Sarah. "Love your neighbour." She whispered to herself as she turned on her computer.

After a few hours there was a general meeting for everyone. Samira took a seat at the back of the board room next to Elikem. "Pay raise time, woop woop." Elikem whispered and did a little dance in her chair. Samira laughed. "You are such a child." She said to her. The CEO of the company walked in with some sheets of paper. He said he had bad news. The company was not doing as good as it used to and they had decided to do a downsizing exercise. Samira's heart missed a beat as he mentioned the names of the people who were being laid off. Her heart sunk when she heard Elikem's name. Fortunately for her that was the last name. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to comfort her friend.

When she got back to her desk she saw a red sticky note and instantly knew who it was from. It said, 'thanks for the necklace. It's so lovely. Yes you are right we started off on a bad note. So your apologies have been accepted.' Samira smiled. She turned around and spotted Sarah at the entrance of the board room. She walked to her but the CEO was quicker. Samira just stood aside and waited for him to finish talking to her. "Sarah I thought we decided on 12 people? This list is short of one." He said. "Sir that's true but I found out recently that she has potential as compared to the others." Sarah replied and smiled at Samira. "Alright, I trust your judgement, have a nice day." The CEO said and walked away...... 

Love your neighbour!

Grace of Fear 3

Baaba froze. Her heart started pounding like the night before. Then a few pieces came together. The bikers must have been the robbers and they may have accidentally dropped the money.  She grabbed her phone and with her shaky hands and called Ralph but he didn't answer. He was the only one she could talk to. She rushed out of the room with the money in her bag and headed for his workshop.

   When she got to Ralph's workshop she was directed to go into the store room. "Ralph, something bad has happened. Some man got robbed and..." she blurt out as she entered but stopped when she realized he was not alone. There was a tall guy standing in front of Ralph. He turned to look at her. "A man got robbed? Where?" the tall guy asked. Baaba looked at Ralph and back to him. "Somewhere around Kaneshi School Junction, in my area." Baaba replied. "What's his name? I know some people who live there." The tall guy added. "I don't know his name but he has a daughter called Nasara. They say the robbers used a special key to open all his doors." Baaba added. The tall guy said wow and smiled. "Bikers are just strange." Baaba said grabbing Ralph's hand and sending him outside. "You heard they were bikers?" the tall guy asked. Baaba froze. She realized she had said too much. It happened a lot when she got nervous. "Ei, did I say bikers? I meant robbers." She said and faked a laugh. Ralph excused himself and went outside with Baaba.

   "Baaba what is this all about?" Ralph asked when they were alone. She hesitated for a while and finally said "it's about the armed robbery I was talking about." Ralph looked scared all of a sudden. She told him the whole story of how she picked the money. Ralph looked a little excited and scared at the same time. Just then the tall guy walked passed them. Baaba turned and watched him. He kept stealing glances at her too. It was when another guy on a bike came to him that things became clearer to her. 

 Then she saw it, the snake tattoo on the other biker's leg. Her heart missed a beat then she heard Relph's voice. "Baaba, stop looking at them. Look here." he said. She managed to do as he said. "Yo, ma guy. We dey go come." The tall biker yelled and hopped onto the back of his friend's bike. Ralph nodded and waved as they left. "Were you part of them? Ralph what is going on?" Baaba asked almost in tears. "I needed the money so we could leave this place. I had nothing to do with the shooting. The man brought his car here and his key holder had his house keys so I just made a copy. That was all. They said they'll give me 500 cedis if they got the money. The man is very rich so it's not so bad. I swear I didn't know they would shoot him." Ralph explained. He had to get her to trust him.

Baaba listened in shock with her mouth slightly open. "I think we should send the money back. I can give it to the Police." she said. "Are you mad?!" Ralph yelled. He looked around to see if anyone heard him. If the Police find out, I'll go to jail or the biker boys will kill me. Those guys are hard. Let's just take the money and go." He suggested. Baaba felt guilty. "What if the man dies? What will happen to the girl? If we tell the Police about the bikers we won't go to jail. Just say they forced you." She said. Ralph considered it for a moment and shook his head. "Look, these guys are untouchable. Even the Police are afraid. Where's the money?" He asked, looking around. When he saw that Baaba wasn't convinced he held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "If you go to the Police both of us will die." He said.



 To be continued  ...

Bitter sweet memories

  It's 8:43pm. I'm in bed wondering if I should eat something before I sleep or not. The indecision in my head gets boring so I pick up my tablet and start playing Welcome Home by Radical Face. Just when I'm putting my tablet down I see a bunch of call cards in a basket near my bed. I pick them up and flip though. Each card carrying it's own memory of how and where I got it. Some made me smile, I rolled my eyes at some, others were not significant enough to earn an expression but there was this one. Just one that made me pause and retrieve a lot of bitter sweet memories. No it wasn't the card of an ex boyfriend. It was the card of a friend. A friend I met in the oddest of circumstances. A friend I didn't know for very long but could chat like we grew up together. Did I mention this friend was just as talented as he was humble. Those rare kind of people that you expect to rosh but they don't. Then the bitter part started to sink in. These were all the things he was when he was still alive. The call card of Dennis Dartey still lies in a basket in my room next to my bed.

My crush on Jude

 

"Relax you'll be fine." Sayram said. I nodded and managed to smile. "How do I look?" I asked with a goofy pose. Sayram laughed and told me never to do that again. I giggled. I was getting relaxed now. In no time at all we heard the guys walking to us. My heart started racing. Sayram stood up and glanced. "They are coming!" she said excitedly. I saw Jude, first or maybe my eyes chose to see him first. He was in a yellow t-shirt and black shorts. His football boots were in his left hand. His head was down as he walked. Then I saw Selassie and Henry too. It looked like Selassie was telling his jokes as usually because they were all laughing. Then Jude looked up. When he saw us he smiled. I felt every bit of his smile. Then I turned to Sayram. "Eish, I can't do this oh." I said. She shook her head.

     "My goodness Mavis are you wearing makeup?" Selassie asked immediately they got to us. "Sela, don't be a fool." Seyram said and we all laughed. Sela walked closer to me and stared at me. "Oh but it's not bad oh. Come for a hug." He added. "Eww, take your sweaty self away." I teased and moved away from him. Jude came to sit next to me. "Sela is right. It suits you." he said. I smiled. I noticed Sayram was giving me a weird signal. She handed Henry a drink and they started talking. "Where's my drink?" Sela said walking to her. I turned to Jude. He was stretching. "I'll get you a drink." I offered and picked a coke from Sayram for him. "Ask the boy la." she whispered to me. I nodded and walked back. Jude was smiling when I came back. "What was all the whispering about?" He asked and took his drink. He looked at Sayram and turned to me. Sayram turned away quickly and he giggled, yawa. This was pretty awkward.

   You see, Jude isn't one of those hot guys you just see and have a crush on. I mean he's the best player on the football team but that's not it. I've known him for 2 years. We were so close so many people thought we were dating but we weren't. I must say he is one of the reasons I broke up with my last boyfriend. My ex didn't like the fact that Jude and I were so close. He claimed I had feelings for him. Maybe he was right. A lot of feelings can stir up when you and someone spend a lot of time together. I can't blame Jude though. I mean we are both on our Uni football team, cancer awareness club and hostel. It wasn't normal of me to ask a guy out but Sayram told me she heard from Henry that there was another girl trying to make wild. So yeah, here I was about to tell him I liked him and face either acceptance or rejection. According to Sayram, anytime she spoke to Jude he mentioned me. That was comforting but really I was one of their few common friends. Mavis you can do this!

   "Oh don't mind Sayram. Sela's silliness has caught her too." I joked. We turned to look at her. She was holding Henry's drink away from him and he was stretching for it. I laughed. "See what I mean?" Jude laughed and nodded. She saw us and winked. Henry got hold of the drink now. As usual we split up and walked back to our hostels. As Jude and I walked back I played the words in my head. We were talking about a new movie that was released. Then from nowhere at all we both said "There's something I want to tell you." at the same time. Was this fate. We giggled and played the 'you go first game'. "Ok how about we write it on a piece of paper and read it at the same time. Jude squinted. "Isn't that a bit too dramatic?" He asked. I shook my head. "Well, but it's fun. Come on." He agreed so I brought out a piece of paper from my bag. I split it into two and gave him one and a pen. "Go ahead, write it." I said. He did and gave the pen back. I smiled and wrote, "I think I like you. Is the feeling mutual?" Not romantic at all eh? I know!

   We stood in front of my room with each other's note nicely folded. Just then, Jude's phone rang. He answered it. It was his roommate. The annoying guy had lost his keys so he needed Jude's set. He told me he had to go and he'd read it when he got to his room. "You know what, don't open it. I'll call you when I get to my room so we can do the reading thing. Cool?" He suggested as he walked off. I nodded. When I got into my room, I feel on my bed and watched the note in my hand. I turned and looked at my 'not ringing phone'. I shook my head and unfolded the note. So it read...

  My heart sunk. My eyes teared up. Why? I dropped the paper on the floor and closed my eyes. Just then there was a knock at the door. I wiped my eyes dry and opened the door. It was Jude. "Yes, May the feeling is mutual." He said and walked in. I couldn't help it. My tears betrayed me. Jude saw his note and hugged me. He wiped my tears with his thumb and kissed me. Someway somehow I wished his note had said he liked someone else. At least that way I'd still have him around as my friend.


 Can you guess what Jude's note said?

Grace of fear 2

 The bikers rode around yelling at each other for about 10 minutes and left. When all was clear Baaba looked for her keys and made a run for it. Luckily for her they didn't return. She breathed a sigh of relief when she entered her Auntie's house. Her hands were still trembling with fear when she laid down to sleep. After another 30 minutes she managed to fall asleep.

 Baaba went about her morning chores very quickly the next day. It was Saturday and she wanted to tell Ralph the good news. As she did her usual trip to the market for her auntie, she was so tempted to buy herself a thing or two with the money. She knew her Auntie would suspect her if she did so she left praying that where she hid the money was still safe. She called Ralph and asked him to meet her at the market. When she saw him she smiled and told him to guess the good news she had for him. He didn't seem amused at all. In fact he was quiet unhappy. This was strange.

   Ralph liked meeting up with her and was usually happy when she initiated it. "Ah, what's wrong? Did Bra Yaw ask you to pay for something again?" Baaba asked concerned. Ralph shook his head and shrugged. Bra Yaw owned the fitting shop where Ralph worked. He was very stern and would make his workers pay for every tiny mistake they made. Bra Yaw was another reason why Ralph wanted to leave for Kumasi. "What is the surprise? I have a lot of work to do." Ralph snapped. Baaba felt offended. Why was he taking all her fun away? Just then, Ralph's phone rang. He signaled at Baaba and walked away to answer the call. He was speaking very low so she wouldn't hear what he was saying. When he walked further away and turned his back to her she left. "I'll keep everything to myself then." she muttered as she walked away, a little heart-broken. B

 Baaba took the long route on her way home. She wanted to think. It was hard to think with her auntie yelling and screaming in the house over trivial things. As she walked home she couldn't help thinking about Ralph. He was the first friend she made when she moved to her auntie's house. She enjoyed his company because he was always full of smiles. He would always listen to her complain about her auntie and reassured her. Baaba didn't understand why he was acting strange. Maybe there was another girl. One who entertained his leaving town plan more than she did.

As she walked, she saw a large number of people in front of a house. She recognized one of the people, Agnes. Agnes used to work at the bar with her. Baaba walked to her and asked what was going on. "Some people robbed the man who lived here yesterday oh. They said the robbers used a special key to open all the doors. We are not safe anymore oh. The man and his daughter were asleep kwraa. They stole some plenty money the man had and shot him too." Agnes narrated. Baaba listened. "Ei, is he dead?" Baaba asked. "No he's been sent to the hospital. I feel sad for Nasara, his daughter. Her mother left the father last year. They said she preferred the father. Now she'll be forced to live with the mother. That woman is terror." Agnes continued. Baaba's heart sunk. She knew what living with a terror woman felt like. She noticed the time and rushed home.

 When she got home she was scolded for leaving a single plate unwashed. Baaba could not take it anymore. She was leaving, with or without Ralph. She went to her room after cooking the evening meal. She noticed Ralph had called her a number of times. She rolled her eyes and put the phone aside. She took out a pen and paper to write a list of what she needed to run away with. Then she locked her door and took out the money. She hadn't even counted it. The piece of paper around the money had something written on it. Baaba noticed it was a list. It read, "tomatoes, fresh fish, cabbage, light bulb, story books for Nasara..." Baaba froze.


 To be continued ...

A piece of Julz

It's funny how little we care about things till they happen to us. For a decent number of years before I was diagnosed I used to make jokes about scoliosis. I called and I still call chairs with curved back rests Scoliosis chairs. Back then I had no idea what was going on in my own back. All through high school and Senior high school I had some pains in my back but it was for short periods of time and not severe so I never paid attention to it. You see I was a very sporty person. I played basketball and swam a lot so the muscles in my back were pretty strong.

Having a swimming pool in my hostel during university and joining the basketball team there kept me on a relatively good path. The problem started when I graduated from University and joined the working class. No one ever prepares you enough for that. When I think about how 'stressed' I felt in school as compared to working a 9 to 5, I just laugh. Goodness I sometimes even wish I was back in school.

Moving on, I wasn't exactly carrying bags of cement or bending over to pick cotton, I was doing the usual office administration work but a lot had changed.

l  I was sitting for long hours.

l  I was standing a lot waiting for the bus to and from work

l  I wasn't getting enough time to play basketball

l  I rarely went for a swim because of proximity to the pool

l  I spent hours sitting at my desk on my computer even when I was working from home

Things had clearly changed. The pain in my back got worse until I went to the hospital. I had an x-ray done. Isn't it funny how the person doing the x-ray always hides when he's about to take your x-ray? Lol. A week later the results came and it said there was nothing wrong. I thought “hey, maybe it's my chair at work so I spoke with my boss and we had it changed. The pain also changed, it got worse. My neck also joined in. My mother who is a retired nurse told me to go and see a specialist, an orthopedic doctor so I did with recommendation from my brother-in-law.

I took my X-rays with me. The doctor studied them for a while, examined me and asked if I had certain pains. He was 100% spot on. You know how excited you get when someone describes an exact feeling? I was almost smiling. He diagnosed me with a mild case of thoracolumbular scoliosis. This simply means that between the thoracic and lumber portions of my spine it is curved slightly, in my case, to the left. He further went on to tell me that I didn't need surgery (woohoo!) but I would have to wear a brace :-( , a lumber support to be specific. He also advised regular swimming to strengthen my back muscles. “Why swimming?” I asked and he told me that because of the water it would put less strain on my spine itself while still strengthening my back muscles. Plus it was a cool (low temperature) way of getting a serious workout.

After that day I have had a completely new lifestyle. I wear a lumber support (which makes me a size bigger), I sleep on an orthopedic mattress, I take a decent amount of pain killers, I don't wear heels and try to swim as often as I can. So many things have changed. Scoliosis does that. There are times when the pain gets so overbearing it disturbs my mood and all my plans go out the window.

Rather than feel sorry for myself, I looked for ways to make my life cool and fun again. So I

l  Got a swimming partner :-)

l  Got a tablet to do all my computing needs while I lie down in bed

l  Altered my clothes so my lumber support doesn't look odd

l  Stopped my 9-5 and ran my own business. Check out zedighana.com 

l  Found a number of swimming pools close to me

Living with scoliosis is hard but the honest truth is that when you plan your lifestyle well, the pain will reduce drastically. I haven't gotten to the point where I go weeks/months without aches and pains but I'm constantly working hard to get there. God doesn't give us anything we can't handle :) 

Scoliosis :  a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side. 

Changes

Angela looked at her watch. Her brother was 20 minutes late. She played around with her drink uncomfortably. She didn't like where she was. She didn't like shabby public places like this. She just had to give her brother some money and he suggested they meet there. She was contemplating leaving when she saw an old friend of hers. He was called Henry. He walked straight up to her and sat down. "Wow, Angela how are you? It's been so long." He said. Angela nodded boldly. She told him why she was there and they did a little catching up. She enjoyed his company even after all those years. "Where is your Rosary ring? You always used to wear it." Henry asked. Angela looked at her empty finger. “I don’t believe in those things anymore. I’m now an atheist. Henry was surprised so he asked why. "I don't think God exists. If he did he wont let evil things happen to good people." She said and sipped on her drink.

Henry was even more surprised. He remembered Angela was one of the most dedicated Christians in school. "Well I can't say I understand all God does but..." Henry started but Angela cut him short. "I watched my dad lose everything. First his job, then his wife and finally his life. I had to wait tables just to pay for his funeral. There is no God, just luck." She said. Henry could feel the bitterness in her voice. "I'm sorry about your father. He was a good man. All I can say is things happen for a reason." He said. Angela was about to reply when she felt the floor underneath her shake. She looked down immediately and saw that the building was collapsing. There were screams all over the place.

People rushed to the exit but the stairs were the first to cave in. The screams got louder as one pillar underneath them fell causing the whole floor to tilt. The people on that side fell to their doom as others held on to anything they could find. Henry grabbed a table leg and pulled Angela to it. As they hung there they could see another pillar about to give away. Angela looked down. They were 3 stories up. Her heart beat hard. Was she going to join her father wherever he was? "Angela we might not make it. Please accept Christ now before it's too late. Just pray." Henry yelled. She was surprised he was thinking about her at this moment. She looked up and saw that the table leg was about to break.

Just as it broke and they slid down to the edge of the floor she closed her eyes to pray. "We are glad to have you back. You will join us in heaven but not today." She heard a voice say. She opened her eyes. She was inches away from the edge when she grabbed on to a decorative light pole. Henry got a hold of it too. She looked around and saw a roll of water hose attached to the wall. She turned and saw 7 people holding on in fear. She turned to Henry. "We can use the water hose to climb down!" She yelled. He looked at it and understood exactly what she meant. She stretched her hand and dragged it towards her. "Ok, go down before the pillar gives away! " He screamed as she gave the hose to him. She smiled and said, "not today, I won’t die today." She gave him the hose and unrolled enough for Henry to climb down. Everyone cheered when he got down safely. Angela turned around and gave the hose to a child.  Henry and a few people downstairs helped the little boy as he came down. One after the other Angela helped all 7 people down. She climbed down as fast as she could herself and met a host of cheers.

Minutes after the area was cleared the second pillar collapsed. Angela was safely out of the building looking for Henry. She didn't find him. Wherever he was she wanted to say thank you for those few words that gave her back the life she lost: a life in Christ.