Closure 10 (Finale)

When I got back to my room I picked up my phone and called Frank. "Hey, what's up?" I said casually. "Hi, I've been calling you last night and all morning." He said. I lied to him about having a splitting headache last night and that was why I went mute. "How was your date?" I asked. He giggled and said it went terrible. My heart skipped a beat. I wasn't ready to believe he was seeing someone. "Sorry I had to cancel on you because of her. Are you at home? I'm not far from your house." Frank said. I wanted to lie but I thought about what Mawuli said. It was time to find out where I stood in his life. I told Frank I was home and he planned to come over in the next hour.

I called Mawuli immediately I hung up with Frank. I told him everything."First ask him about the other woman to see if he's involved with her then take my advice." Mawuli said. His advice was to wear something nice, put on some light makeup and tell Frank I have feelings for him when he came here. According to him Frank would say it was mutual and we will be the happiest couple on earth. Someway some how I didn't think it would be as easy as he said. I accepted the challenge and dived into my wardrobe.

Frank got to my house in about 2 hours but it felt shorter than an hour. My heart was racing as I walked to the door. When I opened the door I saw Frank smiling with a cup of ice cream. "I had a feeling you aren't very happy about me because of last night so I brought ice cream to cool you down and forgive me." He said. I smiled like a sheep. Honestly I wanted to say yes I will be your girlfriend but that knew how stupid it would sound. "I'm not upset but I'll have that ice cream." I said and let him in.

"Sorry about last night. I had the job at the last minute. None of the guys was available and she's a high paying client so I had to step in." He explained. My eyes lit up immediately. "Oh Client, so you were with her for work." I said subconsciously. "Yes, wait you thought I went out with her? Oh no she's not even my type." He said staring right at me. I felt like it was a sufficient enough answer to the question I had been meaning to ask but I took advantage and asked him one. "What's your type?" I asked feeling his stare even more.

He smiled and said I already knew his type. I tried to keep a straight face but I couldn't. I guessed this was it. My window to tell him how I felt. "Are we exclusive?" I asked. When I saw the confused look on his face I knew immediately that I used the wrong words. "Do you like me?" I tried again. He moved closer to me. "Of course I do. Who wouldn't?" He said. I smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "So how come you haven't asked me out?" I finally asked with much more confidence. Frank looked at me in a funny way and I left him move back a bit. "Vanessa I'm not ready for a relationship. I'm sorry if I led you on." He said. My heart started racing.

After a brief awkward silence Frank stood up to leave. I sat on the couch with tears forming in my eyes. He took a few steps and turned around. "Vanessa, I know how Eddie hurt you. You deserve someone with less baggage." He said. I didn't understand what he meant so I asked him. He took a deep breath. "I have a child, with my ex girlfriend. Eight years ago she got pregnant. When I told her I was not ready to rush into marriage she left me and married someone else. I was young, stupid and afraid. She raised my daughter with her husband with their 2 daughters and never told her I was her father. To her I'm uncle Frank. It hurts me so much. I can't let you carry this burden." He said. My eyes dried up immediately. I walked up to him and hugged him. "I'm so sorry." I said.

Then a few words rang in my head; 8 years, 2 other daughters. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I wanted to tell you but I felt it would scare you away. Sorry you met them as my sister and her kids." Frank confessed. It all made sense now. Looking back I noticed how caring he was to Kafui and even the other kids. There was this connection I couldn't understand and it now made sense. "You are not scaring me away Frank. All this while I thought I was the only one who needed closure but you need some too." I said. "I know how it feels like to keep people out when you are hurting. I will be here by your side no matter what, to help you through this." I reassured. Frank looked at me surprised. Before he could say another word I leaned in and kissed him. It was just like the first time we kissed but this time I was the one telling him if will be ok.

Frank took a couple of months to get closure with his daughter. He decided with his ex to tell her the truth when she turned 13. That gave him the freedom and hope he needed and since then we've been the happiest couple alive.


The End

Closure 10 (Finale)

When I got back to my room I picked up my phone and called Frank. "Hey, what's up?" I said casually. "Hi, I've been calling you last night and all morning." He said. I lied to him about having a splitting headache last night and that was why I went mute. "How was your date?" I asked. He giggled and said it went terrible. My heart skipped a beat. I wasn't ready to believe he was seeing someone. "Sorry I had to cancel on you because of her. Are you at home? I'm not far from your house." Frank said. I wanted to lie but I thought about what Mawuli said. It was time to find out where I stood in his life. I told Frank I was home and he planned to come over in the next hour.

I called Mawuli immediately I hung up with Frank. I told him everything."First ask him about the other woman to see if he's involved with her then take my advice." Mawuli said. His advice was to wear something nice, put on some light makeup and tell Frank I have feelings for him when he came here. According to him Frank would say it was mutual and we will be the happiest couple on earth. Someway some how I didn't think it would be as easy as he said. I accepted the challenge and dived into my wardrobe.

Frank got to my house in about 2 hours but it felt shorter than an hour. My heart was racing as I walked to the door. When I opened the door I saw Frank smiling with a cup of ice cream. "I had a feeling you aren't very happy about me because of last night so I brought ice cream to cool you down and forgive me." He said. I smiled like a sheep. Honestly I wanted to say yes I will be your girlfriend but that knew how stupid it would sound. "I'm not upset but I'll have that ice cream." I said and let him in.

"Sorry about last night. I had the job at the last minute. None of the guys was available and she's a high paying client so I had to step in." He explained. My eyes lit up immediately. "Oh Client, so you were with her for work." I said subconsciously. "Yes, wait you thought I went out with her? Oh no she's not even my type." He said staring right at me. I felt like it was a sufficient enough answer to the question I had been meaning to ask but I took advantage and asked him one. "What's your type?" I asked feeling his stare even more.

He smiled and said I already knew his type. I tried to keep a straight face but I couldn't. I guessed this was it. My window to tell him how I felt. "Are we exclusive?" I asked. When I saw the confused look on his face I knew immediately that I used the wrong words. "Do you like me?" I tried again. He moved closer to me. "Of course I do. Who wouldn't?" He said. I smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "So how come you haven't asked me out?" I finally asked with much more confidence. Frank looked at me in a funny way and I left him move back a bit. "Vanessa I'm not ready for a relationship. I'm sorry if I led you on." He said. My heart started racing.

After a brief awkward silence Frank stood up to leave. I sat on the couch with tears forming in my eyes. He took a few steps and turned around. "Vanessa, I know how Eddie hurt you. You deserve someone with less baggage." He said. I didn't understand what he meant so I asked him. He took a deep breath. "I have a child, with my ex girlfriend. Eight years ago she got pregnant. When I told her I was not ready to rush into marriage she left me and married someone else. I was young, stupid and afraid. She raised my daughter with her husband with their 2 daughters and never told her I was her father. To her I'm uncle Frank. It hurts me so much. I can't let you carry this burden." He said. My eyes dried up immediately. I walked up to him and hugged him. "I'm so sorry." I said.

Then a few words rang in my head; 8 years, 2 other daughters. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I wanted to tell you but I felt it would scare you away. Sorry you met them as my sister and her kids." Frank confessed. It all made sense now. Looking back I noticed how caring he was to Kafui and even the other kids. There was this connection I couldn't understand and it now made sense. "You are not scaring me away Frank. All this while I thought I was the only one who needed closure but you need some too." I said. "I know how it feels like to keep people out when you are hurting. I will be here by your side no matter what, to help you through this." I reassured. Frank looked at me surprised. Before he could say another word I leaned in and kissed him. It was just like the first time we kissed but this time I was the one telling him if will be ok.

Frank took a couple of months to get closure with his daughter. He decided with his ex to tell her the truth when she turned 13. That gave him the freedom and hope he needed and since then we've been the happiest couple alive.


The End

Zaky 2

"Are you OK? " I heard someone ask. I looked up, parting my braids to see who it was. It was him, Zaky! He was looking down at me. "Me? I'm fine. Just moving to some music " I lied with a smile wider than I would have liked. He smiled too. "ok." He said and sat down. "Were you going to tap my shoulder earlier?" He asked and I noticed I had forgotten what I was going to say to him. Yikes! "No" I lied again. "Yea? Because I could have sworn I saw ur palm on my shoulder." He said looking straight at me. His brown eyes looked even more attractive up close. "Ermm yea it was this, spider thing there." I said.

This was not going as I planned it at all. Surprisingly Zaky laughed. Then the bus stopped. This was his stop. I had blown my second chance! "Did you see where the spider went?" He teased. I nodded. "It dropped." I replied. "Ei where,  at the stop before this one?" He asked. I giggled too. I realised he was preparing to leave the bus. "Yes didn't you see it?" I played along. I smiled when the bus started moving again. Someway God had saved my incredible mess up. And almost instantly I felt comfortable around him.

"Anyways I'm Zaky." He said. "I'm Spider woman." I said pretending to be shooting webs. He laughed out really hard. He got up and sat next to me. "Zaky sounds like a nice name for a psychic doesn't it?" He said and we both laughed. We goofed around some more and he asked me why we had never met. "You are really funny. That's rare around here." He confessed. We talked and joked some more. "I'm going to this party at the Head office. Do you want to come?" He asked. I couldn't believe it. Wow that was fast. All because of my silly, sloppy humour. I nodded without a second thought. I could hardly believe what was happening.

When the bus stopped at our company's head office Zaky and I got off and walked into the building. It seemed too good to be true. I mean in all technicalities we spoke for barely an hour and we were already on a date? Well it wasn't exactly a romantic date but he asked me to go somewhere with him so he obviously enjoyed my company. I wanted to ask him why he brought me along. Why he picked me instead of all the ladies at work. I was honestly the least fancy one, with glasses and all but I didn't want to jinx it. Maybe he did ask them and they were all busy.

The party wasn't anything big. It was held in one office. The Operations Manager was celebrating her 50th birthday.
Just before we walked into the party place Zaky grabbed my hand and pulled me to the side of the door away from everybody's sight. He looked me straight in the eye. His face was so close to mine my heart skipped a beat.


To be continued... 

Zaky

I spotted Zaky when he entered the bus. He was the last to enter and I started at him as he made his way to the empty seat in front of me. He was dressed in his usual fitted trousers and long sleeve shirt with the sleeves folded just to the elbows. He was by far the best dresser at work. Maybe it had more to do with his body rather than the clothes. I noticed I was staring and looked away. I had never spoken to him before. I just didn't know how. I heard a notification on my phone and checked it. It was Dede. She was sitting two rows behind me. "Talk to him already. I know you want to."Her message said. I turned around to look at her and she winked at me. I giggled and replied with "My sister, it's easier said than done." Then the bus took off.

My crush on Zaky started the very first day I saw him. He came to drop off something for my boss with Dede. There was something about him. He was obviously extremely good looking but he had that humble demeanour that just got me hooked. He was the type of guy who would offer his seat to an older person if the work bus got full. He did that once for one of our janitors. She said she didn't mind standing but he insisted saying he had been sitting all day. It didn't make any sense why I was too shy to talk to him. He was a nice guy. His stop was two stops before mine. "Look sharp before those head office girls get their hands on this guy oh." Dede teased in another message. Goodness she was right! She found out Zaky was going  back to work at our head office on Monday. He was here for 2 months to replace a staff member who was on leave. The ladies at headquarters were known for their 'manizing' nature.

I took a deep breath and stretched my hand to tap his shoulder. Just before my palm landed someone called him and I pulled back. It was a lady. She got up from her seat and sat next to him. My heart started pounding. Why, I wasn't sure. I turned to look at Dede with an 'I tried' expression. She wasn't amused either. I sat there as Zaky chat with this lady. In no time at all the bus stopped and the lady stood up with Zaky. I watched him walk out with her. I felt all my shyness disappear but it was too late. I put my head down and started banging my head lightly on the back of the empty seat in front of mine. "You blew it, you totally blew it." I whispered over and over again.

"Are you OK? " I heard someone ask. I looked up, parting my braids to see who it was. It was him, Zaky!


To be continued... 

Sunday morning anchor

This morning I tossed and turned in bed as ECG turned my lights on and off. I didn't care much because the weather was nice and cool. I looked at my phone when my alarm went off and contemplated missing church to have some extra sleep. "You read the mass readings the night before remember?" My brain whispered to me.

After a few more snoozes I slapped myself and got off my bed. Getting ready for church didn't take very long because as I mentioned earlier I didn't really have power so I looked for the most decent outfit that had been already ironed, an orange dress. I got into my car when I was all set and drove off. I seemed a bit late, 15 minutes to be exact but when I entered the church I heard the first reading. I smiled to myself as I sat down.

The sermon was about the sacrifice we are to make for God during Lent. The priest mentioned fasting and said there were so many other things we could sacrifice besides food. So I drifted off thinking about what I was going to sacrifice. A lot of things flew into my head. Some were really pointless and others made a lot of sense. So I decided.

I listened to more of the sermon and was really glad I came. Sure I had missed out on some sleep but it was nothing compared to what I received at church. After mass I set off to find myself a cold  drink because it was a hot Sunday (SUNday lol). On my way I saw a couple of people I always wanted to talk to. To invite them to a group that wanted to expand. For some reason I never talked to them (probably thought they won't be interested) but today I was like 'eh let me just go'. So I went and spoke to them and they liked the idea. Just like that. I smiled to myself after and went home, after my cold drink of cause.

Moral of the story? Sometimes a little effort to do the thing you believe is right or best can bring you more joy than doing something else. Today's first reading was about Abraham and his son Isaac who was almost sacrificed. Abraham had a big thing to do so I guess we can do ours too :)

Being Francis

Francis saw his older brother packing his bags. "Hey Dan, where are you off to?" He asked curiously. Dan looked at him and continued packing. "I don't know how you manage to be happy here." Dan finally replied. He picked up a T-shirt and threw it into his small suitcase. Francis did not see that answer coming. He enquired further and Dan made it clear he was leaving their new home. His brother was even more surprised.

 Just then their sister walked into the room. "What's going on here?" She asked. Francis turned to her and explained Dan's intentions. She shook her head and turned to walk out like nothing was happening. "Pat, won't you tell him to stop this and stay?" Francis called out. Without turning Pat said, "He's not a child. He can do as he pleases." Then she left.

Francis asked his brother why he wanted to leave one more time. "Why should I stay? Father doesn't love me, he expects me to follow so many rules and what do I get in return? Constant disappointment. He says “ask me for anything and you'll have it” but he doesn't honour his words. My friends in the South are living very happy lives free from strict parents. That's where I'm headed." Dan let out. It looked like he had given this a lot of thought.

"Daddy loves us so much. Don't you see that? He gives us a lot of food and everything we need and his rules are just meant to protect us." Francis said. "I'm 25 years old, I need more than food. I have asked him for so many things and he just did nothing." Dan said, beginning to get angry. His little brother tried to calm him down but it was useless. He picked his suitcase and walked out with Francis running behind him. "I have one last thing to say. Count all the things Dad has gotten for you and see if they are worth more than the things you are asking for. I will tell Dad you'll be coming back because I know you will." Francis said almost in tears. "Good luck with that." He said and left the house.

If Pat, Dan and Francis’ father was God and they were normal Christians like you and me, can you relate to their actions? Pat is the Christian who believes but does not spread the word nor help others out. She prefers to be a Christian on an island. Dan is the Christian who loses his faith because he thinks God is asleep or maybe just picky because his prayers are not being answered. He feels all he is doing for God is in vain.

 Francis is the Christian we all want to be. The one who believes in God with all his heart and wants everyone to do same so he calls people to God and encourages them. We have probably been all these people at one point or the other in our journey with Christ. It's time to be Francis in our own little way. If you are not sure how, just pray and an idea will pop into your head, completely unique to you. God bless you :-)

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

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  ...

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?

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.

Eli's Wife 14

Sena sat in the canteen calling Charles. He wasn’t answering his phone. She called her detective next and asked him to find out where Charles was. She needed to get to him before he did anything scary. She looked around hoping to see Eli return but he didn’t. After an hour she decided to go and check up on him. She met President Tamakloe with his wife alone in his room. Afi was just a few steps outside the room on the phone. She knocked and went in. Mrs. Tamakloe signaled for her to sit down. “I don't understand. Why hasn't Charles told the press who he really is? All he needs to do is a DNA test.” She asked. Sena looked at President Tamakloe and he nodded. "Maybe he needs a way to get the president's attention or maybe he's saving it for last. These are my guesses." Sena added. When Sena found out Eli had left, she left immediately to find him.

Sena didn't have to look far. Eli was in his car. Just sitting there and staring into space. Sena walked to him and knocked on the window. Eli turned around and unlocked the car when he saw her. She shook her head and went around to his side. "Get into the other seat. You shouldn't drive." She said. He said nothing but did as she said. "Let's go home, take a shower and eat. We can talk whenever you are ready." She added and drove off.

Sena's phone rang as she drove Eli home. It was Charles so she quickly answered the call. "Were you calling to laugh at me?" he said. Sena asked to meet him in private and that it was important. Charles asked a number of defensive questions but later agreed to meet her at a familiar venue. "Was that Charles? The true president's son?" Eli asked. Sena hesitated but replied. "All these years I wasn't theirs. No wonder I'm such a screw up." He added. Sena felt bad. She tried to comfort him but it was like she wasn't even there. Eli kept talking. "Do you know what happened to my mother?" He asked. Sena swallowed hard. "My detective told me she died of breast cancer but I know she had good medical care. Eli I know it's a lot to take in but honestly, the people who love you and are always there for you ARE your family." Sena said. Eli asked for her detective's number. He had more questions he needed answered. She gave him her phone to call him.

When they got to the meeting point Eli stayed in the car while Sena went to meet Charles. It was an old playground. It had a lot of dark shady places to sit with almost no one around. She used to meet Charles there when she had no idea what his real intentions were. She sat down on their usual bench and waited. She turned to look at the car. Could Eli ever get over this? She asked herself. She felt very sad for him. Who was to blame? Charles? President Tamakloe? The new hierarchical rule of government? Perhaps all of them. All but Eli who was in pain.

Sena was about to head back to the car to wait with Eli when Charles appeared. "I didn't know I had to tell you I was done using you." He said and smiled. Sena wished she could slap him. "I know who you are." She said. His smile faded. "Why you saved it for the last I have no idea Charles Quaye, what is it really you want?" she asked. Charles giggled and sat next to her. "Aha, now you are talking. How about 50,000 Cedis? No that's not enough maybe 100,000? A million? I find deciding hard. What do you suggest?" He asked. "Money? All this was about money?" Sena asked. "Ah why you thought I wanted to have a family reunion? No please!" Charles said.

Before Sena could say another word Eli appeared. Sena noticed something different in his eyes. "Charles Quaye?" He asked. Charles smiled and nodded. "You know who I am right? Let me tell you something. I'm a few years away from being president. I'm not going to allow you to take that away from me." Eli continued. Charles shook his head. "I just want some cash and I'll be out of here." Charles confessed. Sena nodded but Eli shook his head. "No that's not a good plan for me because you can always come back for more. I have a better solution." Eli said and brought out a gun, a silencer.

Charles and Sena stood up immediately. "Eli what are you doing?!" Sena cried. Charles started to sweat profusely. "Look if you kill me you will go to jail and that will...” Charles started as Eli pointed his gun at him. An evil smiled crept up Eli's face. "There's no one here but my wife. We'll dump your body somewhere far away and I'll be the only true son of the president. Clean job." he replied. "Eli, this is crazy. Let's look for another option please. This is wrong." Sena pleaded. "Shut up! I need to focus! I don't have many bullets in this gun I need to kill him on the second shot." Eli yelled putting his finger on the trigger.

Charles in tears now screamed "wait I'm not the President's son. I'm not Debora Quaye's son. I just worked on a cancer article with her and she told me about it before she died. She asked me to tell her son but I decided to use it to make some money. Please, I am a nobody. Don't kill me." Charles confessed. Eli squinted and yelled “lies!” Charles shook his head. "No, no I swear it's true. I can show you the documents for the cancer article. I'm telling the truth!" Charles pleaded with tears falling down his face and Sena pleading in the background. Eli lowered his gun. Sena and Charles were relieved. He brought out a phone from his pocket. "I have all you said recorded. The sentence for identity theft, deception of the state, blackmail and extortion is about 40 years. If you don't disappear this tape is going to the police." Eli said. Charles nodded several times, got up and run off. Sena stared at the gun as Eli put it back into his pocket. He smiled at her. "Don't worry it's not even loaded." She giggled as they went into the car and drove off. This time Sena wasn't the one driving.

"How did you know to record Charles?" Sena asked finally. Eli smiled. "He could have gone the straight route with a DNA test but he didn't. He only appeared after Debora Quaye died. He just wanted money. I just suspected him and you are right, the people who love me are my family and no one messes with my family. Thank you for letting me see that." He said and kissed her hand. Sena smiled. She had never met any man like Eli before. She knew he would make a fine president one day and right by his side she would be. "Now that all this is said and done how about we go on that honeymoon?" Eli said smiling.

The End

Your arrow killed me

We were not afraid to fight the enemy

Even though they had a much bigger army

My heart was determined to fight for victory

But some way some how your arrow killed me

We were a few steps to making history

I guess the excitement blinded me

Coz you raised your bow in my direction, I didn't see

It went deep from my back until your arrow finally killed me

Angry words

I think Ghanaians talk too much and do too little. Don’t get me wrong I'm not talking about every single one but rather the majority. I used to think we didn’t have the technology or money or enabling environment to be more action-oriented but that doesn't seem to be the problem at all. I can't fully say I know what it is but I have a number of guesses; laziness, mediocrity, a simple 'I don’t care' attitude or even low self-worth. I am writing all this from a very sad and terrible incident that occurred today. A shopping centre collapsed killing a number of people and injuring many. I saw the pictures and felt sad. I had one of those moments. Those 'it could have been me' moments. All I can say to the people who lost anyone today is I am sorry for your loss and may their souls rest in peace. It's sad.  


I was on Facebook today and found myself reading random status updates about the incident. My odd way of gathering info...I can't say it’s amazing but hey...So majority of the updates were about how inefficient Ghanaians are in responding to an incident like this. There were references to the media, Police, Military, the President, engineers and a few more. Most of what they were saying was "why aren't they doing anything proper about it?” and they were annoyed at what was going on. It is quiet sad that things were how they were but my problem here is simple. Were they helping the problem, keeping it the same or worsening it? I would choose any of the last two. I am not saying they don't have a right to speak. Far from it. Their words convey their concerns which are veered in a good direction but should it end there? Maybe you are thinking "ahhba Julz! What do you expect me to do? Leave my job in the middle of the day and go and do someone else's job?" No, that isn't it. I'm just saying. Just as you were smart enough to notice this, you could come up with something to do that can help the situation.


 Let me give you an example. A number of people were not happy (many sounded pissed) with the fact that GTV who is a national TV station did not start airing the incident until pretty late. I'm just saying. Instead of 'going off' online about this, how about calling GTV to express your distaste. I don't know how things work at GTV but if I owned a TV station and I had numerous phone calls complaining about what I'm airing I would do something about it. You get what I mean? It really doesn’t matter much if you fail. What matters most is that you tried and you actually did something!   We need to learn to help ourselves and, well, look out for each other too. Teamwork! I'm sure people who play or watch team sports will relate to this one. When you are in a game and your teammate is not playing his part well you cover up and tell him to step up. You don't shine as the point guard and get mad when you lose when you could have helped to rebound. You play together.


I read on twitter one time that “it’s not bad people that would destroy the world it's those good people who know better and do nothing about it.” I know I said it wrong but bear with me, it's something like that. I'm not here to point fingers. This is just something I have noticed. Ghana is a country to be proud of and one with enough potential to go to amazing heights. Let's build her up together so when she is at the top we can tell our stories of what we did for our country. Think about it.

The fight to live

It was raining very hard. The rain drops felt heavy. They fell on Marie hard. She struggled to see ahead of her as she dragged herself in pain. The main road shouldn't be far from where she was. Her left hand was pressing on the wound on her right arm. She had bled all over her white lace blouse. The pain was just unbearable but she knew if she stopped moving she would die. She turned around. She couldn't see much so she kept going. She slipped on a twig and fell straight into the mud. She cried as she forced herself up. Then she heard the sound of a car. She gained some energy all of a sudden and moved faster.

She got to the side of the road just in time to catch the car. She was just about to wave with her uninjured arm when she recognized the car. It was her father's Range Rover Evogue. She gasped and hid behind the bushes. The car stopped by the side of the road. She knew she was in trouble. What were her chances of survival now? She crawled around and headed back to her house. Maybe she wasn't thinking straight but she remembered the men were three. One got shot while wrestling with the guards in her house, the other followed her and the one driving the must have been the third one. There could be more she missed but she would take her chances. She heard the car door slam shut and increased her speed. The mud had blackened her blouse and with her black jeans it was hard to see her. The rain helped too.

As she moved towards her father's house she thought about a week ago. Her father suggested they go to Ghana for a holiday. She didn't like the idea because she had really gotten used to Abuja. They traveled so often that making and keeping friends was a problem. "Holiday? Dad, we travel enough. Last year we were in Singapore for 6 months oh and Germany before?" She complained. They still came anyway. She now realized why her father was in such a rush to leave Nigeria. He probably messed with the wrong people but they obviously caught up with him.

Marie was almost at the house when she heard the sound of a car behind her. She was doomed. With the headlights they would spot her! She gathered all the energy she could find and run. If she could make it to the trees on the side of the house she could hide. The speed of the car kept increasing. There were tears pouring harder than the rain as she run for her life. She pictured the last time she saw her father lying on the floor in a pool of blood with three bullets in his chest. She didn't see her mother die though. She just heard her pleading and after a gun shot her mothers voice was gone.

She fell flat when she got to the trees and watched the car lights pass by seconds later. The fact that the house was alone on a hill was the only thing that thrilled Marie when they first got here but now she wished they had neighbours. She was stuck at the top of the hill at night with 3 killers with guns! Then it hit her. Her father had 2 guns in almost every house they lived in. He would hide one in his room and the other in the garage. That was her only chance to protect herself. Marie waited till the men went into the house before she made her move. They were arguing and looking around.

Once they were gone she rushed to the garage. The men had left the door empty when they took out her father's car. She slipped in and looked around. She couldn't find it. "I'm going to die." She said to herself. Then she heard a sound. She cried and turned around. She saw a little boy. It was the cook's son. "What are you doing here?!" Marie asked shivering. The boy was shaking even more than her. "My, father send me. Say I bring bread. It start rain so I wait for rain stop at back of house. I hear gun I come hide here." He said. "Poor child." Marie thought. He was too young to be exposed to this but then again so was she. The boy went on crying. Marie felt the need to be strong. "Look we will be fine ok?" She whispered to him. Then she saw a long wooden box behind him. She moved him aside and opened it. It was a riffle.

 "Dad, what where you into?" She whispered to herself as she held the gun. The boy moved back. "Don't worry we will get out of here." She said to him again. He nodded. She loaded the riffle with bullets. She had never shot a real gun before but she would do anything to save her life and that of the cook's boy. After she fixed the last bullet she accidentally pulled the trigger. The boy screamed as the gun fired. This was bad. The men came rushing in. She held the gun up with her shaking hands and fired when she saw them. Her arm still hurt. She missed and they laughed. "Foolish girl!" One yelled. Marie fired again. She missed again but the bullet hit the hinge that held one side of the metallic garage gate back. The hinge broke and the door flung open hitting one of the men and knocking him unconscious. The other man looked at his partner in disbelief. Marie shot again. This time she didn't miss. She got him in the hip and he fell down in pain. She stood in silence for a few seconds and run out. The gun strapped around her and holding the hand of the boy. She saw her father's car keys and grabbed it. The second man was trying to get his gun but she pushed it away and kicked him in the side. She took his gun and shot holes in their tryes and the petrol tank. She opened the car and they both got in. She sparked the car and drove off leaving the terror behind them on a lonely hill.