The brave 10

Once there was a king. He ruled his people so well his kingdom was the happiest. Everyone loved him and would be nowhere else than in his Kingdom. One day an enemy attacked and fought them. They fought hard. The enemy wasn't strong enough to defeat them so they took as many people as they could captive and run away into the forest. The king was not happy. He loved every one of his people and wanted them back. He sent a message to the village. He told them that he wanted his people back. He was sending his army to go get them but since some had died in the battle he needed more hands. Some of the people yelled "We are not soldiers! Let the army go and do what they can!" Others said. "The forest is scary with all sorts of wild animals. They will tear us apart. We won't go!" Some also said, "We are busy fixing our homes from the war. We don't have time."

The king was sad. These were their fellow wives, sisters, sons and friends who were taken away. He didn't give up. He kept asking till he got a few people interested. They were just ten. The day came for them to leave. The king thanked them. They marched into the forest with the army knowing not what they would face. They walked for hours, following the trail of footprints left behind. "This isn't as frightening as I imagined. There are no monsters and goons at all." one of the ten said. At last, they caught up with them. They had made a camp in the forest. The army looked left and right but the enemy was nowhere to be found. They approached their people and told them they were here to save them. The captives laughed. "We like it here. Our leaders give us free food and we eat as much as we want." some said. The ten that came with the army were amazed. "You are in chains. How can you be happy?" one asked. They got her point but shrugged. "Don't you miss your daughter?" the army commander asked also to a woman he knew. After more questions they realized they were prisoners, real prisoners. The army released them from their shackles.

Just as they started to leave the enemy came back with their swords and spears. The army faught them and the ten protected the people. In no time at all the battle was over. The enemy was defeated and the people returned home. when they got back to the kingdom the ten told the stories to everyone. The captives jumped in joy and reunited with their families. The king was so happy. He was proud of his people and glad they were home but most of all he was proud of the brave ten.

Doesn't this story sound familiar? Can you relate? Imagine the King is God and we are his people. When he sends us out to bring his children back to Him, who are the very people we love don't we give excuses? Don't we depend on Pastors, Priests, Bishops and Popes to do God's work? Well it's not late. In our own little way we can be one of the ten :)

His muse 7

‎"Chale if I were you I would go to her hostel and act as if I met her by chance." Moses said. Edem and Moses had become good friends. He felt more comfortable talking to Moses about Sandra than Dean. Dean had a girlfriend, he didn't understand. "Chale she get boy oh." Edem said, throwing his backpack on the bed. "Well if she loves him she won't be so nice to you." Moses added. He was playing with a football. Edem thought for a while. The more Moses spoke, the more confident he got. He was almost sure he could win her over. He thought about ways he could approach her. She was so cute. He was going to make his move the next day.

"You should have been there. The designer took my measurements and asked me to try on some clothes." Edem said walking next to Dean. "Oh that's nice. Abi you are a star now." Dean replied. Edem smiled. "Don't get too excited oh. We still need to make enough money for your school fees and...goodness! Hostel fees too." Dean added, scratching his head. Edem nodded. They got to the shop and Dean looked around. "At least now that you have a new muse we are good to go." Dean said. Edem froze. "What new muse?" He asked confused. "Dela. I'm talking about Dela. I watched how you lit up the last time she came to watch you. It looks like she likes you too oh. You should look sharp." Dean explained and made his payment. Edem felt a bit offended. "I beg Dela is not my muse." He finally said. Dean looked at him funny. 

"Oh but before she came you were a mess. Then all of a sudden your jokes were super funny." He said trying to understand Edem's anger. "That day I had lunch with Sandra." He spilled out. Dean giggled. "The girl you are afraid of or which Sandra?" He teased. "Look Dean, I know you don't like the idea of me thinking about her but chale I dey like am waa. I may not get her because I don't have much to offer and she has a boyfriend who buys her stuff and all but it doesn't change..." Edem started but Dean cut him short. "Yo, can you hear yourself? She has a boyfriend. Let her go! If you date a girl like that she will just make you feel bad about yourself and boss you around." Dean was getting angry now. "You have a show tomorrow. Focus on that and leave that girl alone! You need to put yourself together and realize that you make all these jokes yourself and this muse business is just a distraction. I have to go prepare for my class so later." Dean added sternly and walked off. Edem just stood there soaking it all in.

On his way back to his hall Edem decided to walk. He felt like thinking. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the dark clouds forming. He kept walking on the wide walk, thinking about what Dean said. It was when it started drizzling that he realized he should have taken a taxi. He stood by the road and signaled for a taxi to stop. They were all full. Edem was getting soaked now. He shook his head and decided to walk to the bus stop ahead. He turned around and started walking, insulting himself as he went. He was interrupted by some screeching noice. He turned around and saw a blue van heading right at him. Edem tried to dive into the bush but the van was just too fast. It hit him and he fell down unconscious.






To be continued...

My pretty ex girlfriend

I took my phone from my pocket and called my friend. I told him I was already at the mall. He said he would be there in a few minutes. I thought about where to sit, then I saw her. I was sure it was Kelly even though she looked slimmer. She was in the phone shop. I stopped and walked right in. "Kelly." I said when I was right behind her. She turned around and smiled when she saw it was me. Kelly and I broke up 9 months ago. We had been dating for two years and at a point it looked like we would be together forever. I think that scared me a bit.

"Lante how are you? Wow! It’s been a while." She said so casually. She looked amazing. She had these eyes that sparkled when she smiled. I missed those eyes. In fact I missed her a lot but I couldn't let her know. "Madam, would you like it in black?" One of the shop attendants asked. Kelly turned to her and nodded. Her hair was neatly done. I had never seen her with short hair before but it suited her. Then again everything suited her. "You are getting a new phone?" I asked, trying to avoid any awkwardness. "No oh. I'm getting something for my boyfriend. Its his birthday tomorrow." She said. I heard about her boyfriend. Apparently he had been patiently waiting for me to step down so he takes over. I have never met him before but I didn't like him. "Yea? That's nice of you. What phone are you buying?" I asked looking at the phones in display. "That one. He has been saying he wants to try using an android for a while now. I know he will like it." She said pointing to the phone and smiling. She was always thoughtful. She used to buy me things just because she knew I would find it useful. She hadn't changed. "Are you here to shop as well?" She asked. I snapped back and replied. "No, I came to meet a friend. He wants to use my laptop for some work." Kelly looked down. I had a feeling I knew what was going through her head. That I hadn't changed either I was still very boys-boys.

That wasn't why we broke up. It would have been easier if it was. At the tail end of our two years I met a girl on one of my trips out of Accra. She wasn't as beautiful as Kelly, not at all but she was certainly freaky and never complained about anything I did. Stacy was fun to talk to at first. Then it seemed talking wasn't enough so we met and after a number of meetings she literally threw herself at me. It was not my fault one bit. All this while Kelly had no clue what was happening until the lies were too hard to cover. Even till this day I still deny it. I tell people we broke up because she wouldn't give me space.

The attendant brought the phone and Kelly's receipt. "You are done eh? If you are not busy we could have a drink or something." I offered. She smiled. "That would be nice but I don't think its a good idea." She said walking out. "Oh come on. Why not?" I asked. I was enjoying her company too much to just let her leave. "Well because I don't want to get stuck in traffic and also I don't think you treated me fairly enough to have a drink with me." She said, moving her hair out of her eyes. Her words cut like a double edged sword. I looked down and back at her. "Kelly..." I started but she smiled and cut me short. She held my palm and said. "Lante its ok. I am not mad at you. I was at first but when I met Cyril I realized you and I were just not meant to be. So all that happened was for the greater good." I looked into her eyes and wished I could turn back the hands of time. Her phone rang. She took it out of her bag and it was Cyril. She lit up almost immediately "Lante, it was nice seeing you again. Have a nice day." She said and slowly walked away, answering her call. Honestly, you don't know what you have lost till it goes and you meet it again!

He fell asleep on my shoulder

I wasn’t exactly late for church this Sunday. I made it just in time to hear the first reading. I sat outside as usual on a plastic chair. It wasn’t really because I was late oh, the plastic chairs are just more comfortable to me. The sermon was nice and long and Father was talking mostly about marriage. I smiled and giggled. Was I ready? Clearly not. As the mass went on, kids would run to their mothers every now and then and whisper into their ears. Their mums will give them money or whisper back to them and they would run back. It was really cute. I smiled and wondered when I would be doing same for my kids. Would I have a son or a daughter? Maybe both. Thoughts I usually keep to myself so I don’t scare my boyfriend (lol). 

It was prayer time and I closed my eyes and said a silent personal prayer. When I opened my eyes something hit me. I keep asking God for so many things. He definitely gives me majority and I guess the rest will come in His time but seriously what do I do for Him? I sat up and said to myself. “From now on I’m going to pay my dues. Well at least do the little I can.” I smiled and felt really good about myself. When it was time to shake hands I’m sure everyone noticed how genuine my smile was. There was this cute little boy (about 1 and a half years old) who was walking all over the place. His family was sitting right next to me. I didn’t notice him standing in front of me till something touched my feet and I looked down. He had his hand stretched out so I giggled and shook his hand. He made a little sound and raised both of his hands. For those of you who know nothing about kids, this is a way of saying “carry me”. I smiled immediately and lifted him up. He held my blouse tightly and put his little head on my shoulder. 

My heart felt warm. He didn’t know who I was and vice versa but he put his trust in me to carry him. I sang along with the choir and swayed slowly to rock this angel in my arms. I could see a number of people staring. Well of course they would, I almost always came to church alone and went back same. Me carrying a child was definitely news. Then I felt his grip loosen. Was he falling asleep? I could feel his tiny weight more. I was right, I was humbled, I was melting. For no other reason than that the little boy fell asleep on my shoulder. His older brother came for him from me. He woke up in the transfer and started crying. His father carried him and he fell asleep again.  

When the mass ended I went home with a big smile. I had a flat tyre and had to change it, my trip to the swimming pool had to be rescheduled, my friend was leaving town for a very long time but none of these could take away that feeling. That amazing feeling I got when he fell asleep on my shoulder.

His Muse 6

Dean looked at Edem and shook his head. "No, that is a bit too sensitive." He said. Edem closed his eyes and rubbed his eyes. He was about to try again when there was a knock at the door. Sally came in. "Oh sorry I'm late." She confessed. Dean rolled his eyes. "Sally you are always late." He said and pulled a chair for her to sit on. "Oh Dean. That's not entirely true. Anyways how is Edem doing?" She asked sitting down. Dean shook his head. "I suck." Edem said. "Oh please you don't suck. Maybe you are just tired. You had class all day. Let's take a break." Dean said. Sally folded her arms. "Oh how? I just came and you don't want me to laugh?" She said. "He is just taking a break. Come." Dean said dragging Sally out of the room. She giggled as they left. 

Edem sat down on Dean's roommate's bed. His phone rang and he answered it. "Hello, this is Gina from the Sound Blast concert. I wanted to know when you will be free for a fitting." A lady said. Edem blinked. "Ermm I will be free on Thursday afternoon. Is that ok?" He replied. "Yes. That would be just fine. See you then." She said and hung up. Edem put his hands on his head. "Yieee costumes an things. I'm finished." He said to himself. His stomach begun to made the most unpleasent of sounds. He got up and went outside the room. He saw Sally and Dean whispering by the wall. "Chale I dey go buy cho come." He said and left the love birds.

Edem had a big show coming up. It was going to be at the National Theatre. He couldn't mess this up.  He walked to a food stand to buy some food. He was just about to order when someone tapped him from behind. He couldn't believe who it was. It was Sandra. She had a little sad look on her face. "Edem I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you like that the other day. One of the models, Bisola, told me you asked for me. Please forgive me." She said. He had never seen anyone look so cute. How could he be angry at her? "Oh it's ok." He said. "In fact it's not. Let me buy you lunch. I know this really nice place in town. Do you wanna try it out?" Sandra asked and waited. Edem was surprised. He had never had a girl offer to buy him lunch before. The closest he got to was a split of a bill and he even had to ask because he didn't have enough money. "Yea of course. Thank God for queues." He joked and left with her. They walked to his car and everyone stared. "I'm a terrible driver so you might want to wear your seatbelt." Sandra said as she joined the main road. "Thanks for the warning. I will keep my door unlocked too so I can jump out if anything goes down." Edem teased and she hit him laughing. He laughed too. There was something she was doing that made him feel really at ease with her. He couldn't figure it out. 

They got to a huge restaurant. Edem almost choked when they got inside. Then he realized he wasn't the one paying and calmed down. Edem had a tough time deciding what he wanted so Sandra ordered for him. They ate and laughed. Edem wouldn't stop telling funny stories and Sandra liked laughing too much to stop him. After the meal, she drove him back to Dean's hostel. He said a thousand 'thank you's. "Oh I owed you one rememeber? Now we are even Fudem." She replied. Edem smiled. He liked the name she had given him which was short for funny Edem. He wanted to ask for her number but he felt it would seem awkward. "You are friends now. Just be happy with that. She has a boyfriend." His conscience said to him. He decided to listen to it and waved as she drove off. Just as he climbed the stairs Dean called him. He noticed he had two more missed calls from him and rushed over to his room ignoring the call.   

"Where did you go? We still have work to do oh." Dean said when Edem entered his room. He turned and noticed Dela sitting next to Sally. "Sorry. Went to eat. I'm ready. Dela are you here to tease me?" Edem joked. She giggled. "Oh naa. I'm here to hear  more jokes about our people." She said and Sally laughed. Edem rubbed his hands. "Alright let's get started." He said. He was bubbling with excitement. He gave a terrific performance. His 3 man crowd was in pieces. They laughed and held their sides. Dean smiled and said to himself. "I knew it. Dela is his new muse." Unfortunately Dean did not know what or who was going through Edem's mind.   

To be continued...

We made it

"Why don't you trust me anymore?" I asked. She turned to look at me and shook her head. "What do you want me to trust? The fact that you went to the party with her or that you have been texting her a lot?"  she asked. "Nadia i have told you over and over again. Nothing happened at the party. I was dropping her off and she said she wanted to pick something up from someone there. It wasn’t a date." I explained. My head was beginning to ache. It was raining and seeing the road wasn’t very easy either. She clearly wasn’t satisfied. "So what about the text messages?" she asked again. "She kept asking me questions. What was i supposed to do? Just ignore her?" I asked. I was getting weak now. "Yes. Gerald she likes you. You are not a child. You know it and you are leading her on." Nadia shot out again. I was tired. "You know what? Just park over here." she instructed.

I pulled over and turned to look at her. "Now what?" I asked. "Gerald does she know about me?" she asked. "What?!" I screamed. "Does she know you have a girlfriend?" she went on. I nodded. "Yes, she does." I added. She grabbed my phone and handed it over to me. "Call her and mention me to her on speaker." Nadia instructed. "Oh Nadia are you kidding me? What are you looking to achieve?" I asked. She didn’t budge. "So you won’t do it?" she asked. I shook my head. "This is childish. You used to trust me. What has changed?" I asked. "You won’t do it? Then fine. I don’t feel like going anymore." she said and opened the door. "Nadia, what are you doing?" I asked. I got down and walked to her. She was almost in tears. "Look, i won’t do anything to hurt you. Please get into the car. I will take you home." I said. It was just drizzling now. She hesitated but finally spoke. "I don’t know you anymore." She said and run across the road. "Nadia, stop this. I'm sorry ok?" I called after her. She didn't say a word.

 I went back and sat in the car. I thought for a while and got out. I looked at Nadia. She was trying to catch a cab. I could tell she was cold. I got out of the car and locked it. I looked left and right and started crossing the road. That was when i saw it. A plane was coming down. I could see it right behind Nadia. She turned around and started screaming. I run as fast as i could to her and dragged her. It was hard to tell exactly how big the plane was but it looked to be falling towards the right. I held Nadia and we run in the other direction. She was screaming loudly. I kept my eyes on the plane as it was getting closer so fast. It hit the ground and the impact shook us so hard we both fell. I grabbed Nadia. She was shivering but we both managed to get up and continue running. I looked at the plane and noticed it was a few feet away from us dragging on the ground with a lot of speed.

 A big tree fell in front of us. This was it. I grabbed Nadia tightly and closed my eyes. Her wet body was still shivering. We were lying flat on the ground and i said a little prayer, God save us. The sound got louder and the ground shook violently. Nadia kept screaming and shivering. All of a sudden the sound passed us. I opened my eyes and looked ahead. It was the wing that went over us. I took a deep breathe. The place was a mess with fallen trees and car alarms blowing all over the place. "Are you ok?" I asked. She nodded and gradually stopped shivering. She held me tightly. "I'm sorry." Nadia confessed. "It's ok. It's all ok." I said and kissed her forehead. From then on I just knew this was the girl for me.

His muse 5

The presenter introduced Edem to the stage and he smiled as he got to the stage. “Hi, everybody. Hope you are enjoying the fashion show.” He said. A lot of people shouted “No.” Edem went on. “I hope you know that, that reply won’t be heard in the video recording. The organizers are definitely going to edit that into a yes, absolutely, woohoo.” The crowd laughed. “I told my sister last week that I was coming here. She looked at me like I was mad then she asked. Why? You are always behind time in terms of fashion. Well don’t they have a term for that? I’m vintage! Why is it ok for Beyonce to wear 1960 dress and I get ignored for wearing bell bottom trousers?” The crowd went on laughing. Then she walked in. Sandra got a quick seat and enjoyed the show. Edem went on and on and the crowd’s laughter went higher and higher. This was his night!

“Edem so did you make all the jokes up?” Sally’s friend asked. “Dela, this guy is just good at what he does.” Dean said. Edem shrugged. “But my favourite were the Ewe jokes.” Dela added, looking directly at Edem. “From one number 9 to another, I know you liked them because you can relate.” Edem teased and they all laughed. “Oh Edem do the accent again.” Sally asked as they made it for the exit. “Cho, you have to urr pay me for this oh.” Edem said in a thick Ewe accent. Dela and Sally were in total laughter. “You guys take the lead eh, I will meet you outside.” Edem said when he saw Sandra talking to one of the organizers. “Sandra!” He called. She turned and smiled. “Wow, your act today was just awesome. I missed the first part though.” She said. Edem nodded.

"I did my best. This is my first gig since the competition. I just made sure I talked about fashion and stuff the crowd could relate to." Edem said. Sandra was smiling as usual. "You came alone? I thought you were coming with.." Edem started but someone cut in. A guy walked over to Sandra and hugged her. "Hi, I didn't know you would come here." He said. Edem noticed him. He was one of the designers for the fashion show. "Yea, I came to watch a friend." Sandra said pointing to Edem and he nodded. "Oh really. You did the comedy eh? It was really funny. We have so much talent in Ghana." The designer said and Edem gave a weak smile. "Sandra darling, I have this dress I need you to see." He said dragging her away. "Edem I'll be right back." She said as he led her away. Edem nodded and sat down on a chair. He was sitting there when his phone rung. It was Dean. "Chale where you dey? We are getting a cab oh." He asked. Edem looked around for Sandra. "Take the lead eh. I will come later." He said. Dean was silent for a while. "Ah, what are you doing there?" He finally asked. "Oh I'm just chatting with one of the organizers." He lied. "Oh cool. Do you want me to come? Is it about another gig?" Dean asked concerned. "Naa, just talking about the show. I'm good. See you later." Edem said still looking out for Sandra.

He sat there for 30 more minutes and she still didn't show up. He got up and walked towards the changing room, where she was dragged to.  He peeped through but she wasn't there."Ermm excuse me, do you know where Sandra and the tall designer went?" Edem asked a model who was packing up to leave. "I don't know. They just left in her car." She said in a Nigerian accent. "Heyaa it's going to rain." She said and rushed off. Edem was upset. He turned around and walked out slowly. It had already started raining. He insulted himself as he run through the rain to get to the bus stop. "Dean was right, I'm probably not good enough for her." He thought to himself as he tried to stop a taxi. When he finally got into one he was soaked. He called Dean and told him he was going to his hall instead because he was wet. But the real reason was because he was down. "Yo, you remember Sally's friend? Be like she dey feel you oh. She was asking so many questions about you when we were coming. You better look sharp." Dean said excitedly. Edem smiled. She was a nice girl. "Eh, then we go talk moro. She is at your hostel right? I will come over after my Saturday morning class." Edem said. He was happy he had attracted a girl but why couldn't she be Sandra? 

The next day was so much fun. A lot of people recognized Edem from the show and said hi to him all day. It felt nice. When he went to Dean's place they went to see his new crush and she even made them lunch. "Dela you are a good cook oh." Dean complimented. She smiled and looked at Edem. "He doesn't know you added some cat meat to the food." Edem teased. "And you would know." Dela said giggling. "Oh but me and you know how it tastes oh." He said and she laughed some more. He liked the way she responded to his jokes. She was really nice. Edem stayed at Dela's place chatting till it was very late. When he got back to his place he was smiling a lot. He had had a good day. "It would have been a lot better if I had seen Sandra" he thought, as he went to sleep.

To be continued...