The Place I

I really did not want to go out to eat, the mood was foul because Rotimi had just broken the camel's back. I can't narrate what happened to anyone, but if you look into my eyes, you would see. You would see not just what happened, but tales of a thousand nights.

Back to my story! I walked quietly through the very long distance to famed restaurant. I wanted to eat efo and amala. That was because I had barely had any of that while away at school. The queue was long, undeterred I was. I paid for the overpriced food whilst regretting my decision not to drive to "white house" on the mainland. Oh well, man must chop.

I sat down quietly, trying to figure out why I had fixed my nails whilst judging the man sitting on the next table who had ordered a mountain of rice, spaghetti, fish, asun,snails and salad.

Quietly I sat when a fine-bobo with no pimple came to say "I think I've seen you before".

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Rays From An Eclipsed Sun IV

While she was still trying to get over the shock of the new revelation, when Tony's best friend called for her. The doctor had news for them.

Tabade had died, Tinu had survived. But she may never be able to use her legs again, the doctor said.

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Tinu explained how she had felt uncomfortable with the lies Sam had fed Tabade. And how she had had feelings for him for a while.

Rays from an Eclipsed Sun. Prologue

Prologue.

Tabade never came to pick her up later than planned. He never did. The time read 9:05 pm and still, he was nowhere to be found. Samantha paced around the room, trying his number over and over again; still she could not reach him.

She pinged her best friend Tinu, to nag again about how Tabade had recently changed towards her but the pings did not deliver.

She pulled her off shoes and earrings. Sitting by the vanity mirror, she stared into an almost perfect reflection of beauty. Beauty which perfectly masked the hurt she felt on the inside.

She remembered the poems by one @scarville on twitter and a certain deep sadness swelled on the inside. She quickly wiped the tears off her eyes as she heard the knock on the door. It was Tabade’s best friend, really strange she thought.

As she ushered him in, he suddenly held her tight as he delivered the news;

“Tabade and Tinu were involved in a ghastly accident!”

Blackness!

All the masks in my world

All the darkness in me

In search of one star

To make me breathe again

To make me see again

                                                                twitter: @scarville 

Strange Faces. Epilogue

"Nosaaaaa...oh no...Nosa who did this to you?" I asked. As long as I remember, this has been the question on my mind.

As the nurse injected me once more, I had the same dream I had been having for some nights now.
Mama had died from shock. My lawyer had pleaded mental insanity hence I was admitted to a psychiatric home. I had murdered four cultists.

"Take me to Ugbowo campus!" I shouted just as I woke up from the nightmare.

There was no cab guy to answer me this time, only stares from strange faces
.
If you go to Okada Mental home in Benin, you will hear the story of a girl named Rose. She was a cultist, now she's a prisoner.

Strange Faces. II

Part 2.

All of us had agreed there would be neither squatters nor male visitors. We also agreed that our female visitors should not sit on the bed of other room mates. Nonye passed the motion and I seconded it.

"Nonye what's the meaning of this? I mean did I ask you to choose the upper bed? I thought we agreed to not allowing male visitors? So what's this ratchety fellow doing in the room? On top of my bed for that matter?!" I was furious.

Why is she trying to signal to me? I mean does she now think I'm deaf and dumb??
I went on and on about how I had suffered to get a hostel space and how I did not want anyone to inconvenience me.

Nonye and I did not go to the reading room together that night. She was still angry with me though she seemed bothered about something bigger than our fight.

Just as Nonye was walking out of the hostel, NEPA restored power.

"Nonye I think say you and Rose dey fight? Why you com wear her cloth?" Shouted Titi as she chewed her last biscuit while looking through the window to the main road. We all laughed and said Nonye was too peaceful to hold a grudge.

"They've killed Rose ooo. Those cult guys ehhhh. There's a crowd at Ekenwan road right now. I recognized her cloth. Her face looked disfigured! I hear say she dey rude to the Capone wey com visit her roommate. Dat girl no dey hear word..." narrated the girl from the other wing.

As I heard her from the bathroom, I knew it was time to pack my things.

Strange Faces. I

Part 1.

"Mama, I just gained admission to study in Uniben!" I exclaimed. After seven years of writing JAMB I finally made it.

My mother is a widow. My father died in the civil war. She often says that Nosa and I are all she's got. She often says that only the tough get going in life.

"Better be careful o Rose. You know you are a jambite. I mean did you hear of what cult boys did to that medical student last week? They raped her and threw her body into that bush path. The one in Ekenwan road naa...didn't you hear??? "asked Tony.

I heard. He could not understand why I seemed so cold. You see, the girl in question was my bunk mate.

A pen. A pad. A scarf. My glasses. The clock. IV

Part 4

I ran. I ran as fast as I could to the prefects' lounge. There he was.

"How could you.. do this Obiora, how dare you?! I'm carrying your baby!", I screamed just as my palm landed on his face.
The room was dead silent. It was common knowledge that my aunt worked as a janitor in Senior Obiora's house. I usually assisted her during the holidays. You see, his father was a diplomat ; he belonged to the untouchables. On the other hand, I am an orphan with no one in this world except my aunt.

She couldn't quit her job at the diplomat's house just because Obiora raped me. She just could not. "How will I survive Anita? Please abort the baby, " she explained. "The rich always win my dear. Soon you will realise that. It's just how life is".

I had told Father Henry of my predicament during my last confession two months before. He promised to help and support me. He said he loved me and did not mind going against the tides to prove it. He lied.
When blackmail and politics shook his castle, it appeared it hung solely on the air.

P.S.: Watch out for the next one. It's the last part!

A pen. A pad. A scarf. My glasses. The clock.III

Part 3.

"Anita talk to me. Who wrote you those letters? If he's not a coward why would he let you take the heat alone. Hian!" Dumebi pressed on and on. He's not a coward.

He just told Sister Nela he wrote those letters. Will Dumebi believe me? "I'm in pains Dumebi, I will give you the gist when all this is over, just tell the matron I need something for the pain. Oh how I hate the smell of this sick bay!"

Two weeks passed and I did not hear from Sister Nela or any of the teachers or prefects. All I got were piercing stares from the senior girls.

It appeared as though they wanted to search my soul and find out if their boyfriends had wooed me.
Oh well!

It seemed forever to me then. Oh how I feared. I could not go for mass without feeling awkward.
News flying around was that Father Henry had left the seminary. Nobody seemed to be sure of the reason why. Some speculated that he had found the love of his life, others said his father finally forced him to find a wife. If only he could send me one more letter. Explaining what he told Sister Nela, why he left, if he would truly marry me and whether he felt bad for betraying God.

Things were beginning to return to normal, I started participating in the debating club again.
A competition with another school was on the way and all hands were on deck to select the best students for the d-day, I really wanted to be part of them. I slowly began to forget Father Henry.

I got to my dorm one evening only to find Dumebi with her face in her hands. I gently probed her to tell me what the issue was.
"So it was the head boy all this while?" she asked. I did not understand. Neither did she.

A pen. A pad. A scarf. My glasses. The clock. II

Part 2.

Saint Mary's Secondary School was a school for the rich and for the gifted. Automatic scholarship was given to applicants who could pass the entrance exams, while the others had to pay N200 per term. In the 70's, this was pretty exorbitant, hence only the rich folks could send their wards there.

You see, my school maintained strict codes of conduct. For example, junior and senior students were not allowed to communicate informally even if blood related them; opposite sex relationships between seniors and juniors were a taboo; inability to make 18 distinctions per session would ultimately lead to withdrawal and so on.

"Give her 24 strokes of the cane," screamed Sister Nela. "Until you say who wrote you those letters, you won't be allowed into the dormitory till Monday evening. I'm not going to expel you, I promise. Just tell me who wrote them to you. It's clearly a senior student judging from how he tells you not to be afraid. Anita, you can trust me. Don't force my hand to sign your expulsion letter. You are one of our best students...Anita..."

My back ached. The sting from those lashes was unbearable. Should I just talk and let the worst happen? I can't. I just can't.

I could hear whispers from the assembly ground. "It's Senior Ugo,he's been eyeing her since... no jo..it's Kenneth, I overheard him praising her beauty at the dining hall the other day..."

Just as the principal was about to dismiss the students, Father Henry walked up to her on the podium to say something.

"This new fada no know say nobody dey allowed to interrupt Reverend Sister abi? She go soon handle am. He no know say today na Friday, make him no delay us jo", hissed the Assembly Prefect.

Wait! Oh my God! Did he just confess to her that he was...

As soon as the cold water hit my face, reality dawned on me. I realised I needed to faint again. I couldn't handle this. If there was one thing I was going to do before I die, it would be to kill Senior Amaka!

A pen. A pad. A scarf. My glasses. The clock. I

Part 1.
He was the torch bearer of the school's legacy. He was the brightest in the galaxy. He was the Senior prefect.
I am old and gray. I am the mother of his dead child. I am the victim of Adam's fall.

"It's break time Anita, let's go to the dining hall". Dumebi never understood why I couldn't join her for lunch. I had to always cover up on some subjects. I just could not read during prep.
I told him I wasn't interested but he would not let me be.

Two weeks earlier, Senior Amaka had created a scene at Makama block. She called me horrible names chief of which was "boyfriend snatcher"! She read out the anonymous love letters she found in my box to the crowd gathering around her. I was finished!