it was as if kalu was now being conquered in his emotional battle, he seated so dull in the shop. as his thought strictly dwelled on Rose, her awesome picture was so clear to him, he couldn't buy the painful idea that it was just a dream anymore. for how long would it continue to be a dream, he had waited for what he could describe as so long, for it to turn into reality but it seemed like he was actually waiting in vain. he needed a solution, he needed to take the first step, for so long as he kept having those dreams, he would never get his mind off that girl. it came fresh to him like a running spring each morning.
As he was seated all alone in the shop lost in the devastating thought, Abuchi came into the shop, for he normally went to all his shops to check if everything was alright. On seeing the way kalu was seated so quietly unlike him. he was mandated to believe that something was wrong. kalu tried to adjust and became more lively as soon he saw him. "its everything okay" Abuchi inquired. "yes everything is okay" replied kalu " are you sure" he continued "yes there is no problem" kalu continued to pretend. " then why do you look so dull?" at this kalu stammered in trying to come up with an excusable answer, he could now understand that his mood was obvious "I am just having a slight headache" he lied. "have you taken any drug" he asked mildly. " yes I have already taken paracetamol" he lied again, his heart racing for the fact that Abuchi might go and check the packet of the paracetamol they had in the shop for emergency, although it was not likely with him, he knew that the paracetamol was remaining only two tablet, if he had really taken it as he claimed, nothing was supposed to remain again. "you can go home and rest, let me continue" offered Abuchi. kalu immediately declined the offer "am already better" he claimed with an exhibition of fake energy to convince Abuchi the more that he was alright. going home could have been a good idea to him so that he could have the time to reminisce on the dream. but at that time, he wanted to stay so that he could be able to meet a particular, customer. He had over heard the customer once speaking about black magic with his friend one afternoon that they came to buy some goods from him. As kalu was seated in the shop that afternoon thinking about what to do concerning Rose, how to make this dream real, totally confused on how to begin "could I be walking around the whole state, but for how long am I going to do that, this city is so large and there are a lot of people living here and who even knows if she lives in this city" he thought to himself.
Then his thought flashed on the customer, he heard the man saying to his friend that day that he went to a place and they used black magic to find what he had been searching for over eight months.
Whatever the man was talking about that he had been searching for, for over eight months he didn't care to know. " since who ever it is could be able to help that man find what he was looking for, I believe he can help me find Rose." he assured himself. All his prayer was that the man would not fail to come, although it was unlikely for him not to come, for Wednesdays seemed like his marked day for market. As a retailer, he usually came to stock his shop on that day, and that's the only day he came in a week.
Kalu wanted to get the address of the black magic custodian. he has this unwavering desire to visit him. there didn't appear to be any other means through which he could set his eyes on Rose.
After Abuchi had seen how vibrant he had responded and the agility in his voice, he was truly convinced that he had got better and he left him and went to check the other shops to see how the other servants were faring and also coping with the business.
After Abuchi had left, kalu relegated to his previous condition, although it was quite understandable since there was no customer at that time to attend to.It was like a free time to him and he channelled it in praying seriously in his mind that the man should not fail to come that day.
As it was getting towards evening, many customers had already gone from the market, Kalu was already losing hope of seeing the man that day. he was already getting tense as if that was the last day he could ever see the man.
He was compelled to ask another customer, an elderly man, he estimated that with the man's age, he should be able to know so much pertaining black magic, for there was this general believe that age went simultaneously with experience in order words, old men are presumably endowed with so much experience . But to his greatest surprise, the reverse was the case. the man told him plainly that he had no idea, at the same time, the man got interested in the reason he had asked, like he was now trying to learn from him what black magic was all about. " since you have no idea there is no need of trying to know why I have asked" Kalu said in his mind. He had to lie to the man that it was a friend that had asked for it, he was only trying to help.
Kalu had already given up hope, and felt so much disappointed. He was already planning to pack for the day, when the customer he had been waiting for finally arrived. he couldn't surpress the joy he felt inside and his lips shapened in a subtle smile. the man on his own side didn't know why he was met with that dazzling smile as soon as he stepped into the shop.
The man started listing the things he wanted to purchase after receiving a warm welcome from kalu. kalu suppressed the swirling urge to start making the inquiry immediately, he decided to wait until the man was through with what he had come for.
At the time that kalu was supposed to ask the question, he wanted to get a bit shy about it, but as he visualized the beautiful face of Rose, he summoned courage once again.
Although if one could pay close attention to him as he was speaking, one could be able to observe that there was a slight jitter in his voice.
He got the address he needed from the man without any tussle as his mind had earlier suggested, due to the kind of response he got from the elderly man he had first asked.
It was as if all his problems had been solved for his heart exploded with joy as he was writing down the address with a pen and a small piece of white paper.
He quickly started packing for the day, thinking that he would be able to visit the place on that same day.
By the time he was through with the packing, that was when he took his time to scrutinize the address, then realized that it wasn't somewhere he could go that evening and come back early the same day, he had to plan for it and map out a special day for it.
He also thought about a day that would be okay, for such an assignment. On Sunday which was his only free day, wouldn't be okay for it, such missions were embarked on weekdays as he could understand, the customer had already told him that he made his own visit on a Monday. so he too would like to make his own on that same monday, to avoid any excuse from whom ever he was going to meet over there.
kalu once again retired into a serious mood as he was then trying to think about a good excuse that could keep him at home on Monday, he knew how busy Mondays usually were, pertaining to their business.
Mondays seemed to be the busiest day, for many customers after the weekend break, preferred to come to market on that day. he should have asked the man if it were possible for him to go any other day, or moreover got the visitation schedule of the place from him, but his thought didn't get to that as at that time, it totally escaped his mind.
Now there was no way he could be able to see the man again except if he could wait till the next Wednesday, which he was not willing to do. this issue needed an urgent attention and until he attends to it, his mind would never know peace. The distraction was gently creeping in, in his daily activities.
since Abuchi had already seen him so dull, and he had already lied to him about having a slight headache, maybe he should continue with the lie. since there was no better excuse to come up with, that could keep him at home on the coming Monday which was just three days away. he had to repeat the lie of having a headache tomorrow so that by the next day which would be Sunday, according to his calculation, he would pretend to be fully down, and then should start proper malaria medication for malaria had been the only sickness he was known with.
Sticking to his detailed plan, that means no Sunday outing with John, for a sick person had to by in his room, lying on is bed. but to him it was much preferable. For the quest he wanted to embark on was far more important than the Sunday outing even though the outings always left him with so much fun.
the next day, at the market, kalu was standing outside the shop chatting with a neighbor as he noticed the coming of Abuchi, he quickly went into the shop and changed his mood at once into a dull one just as he had portrayed yesterday. when Abuchi came into the shop, on seeing his mood again, he repeated the same question he asked him the previous day, and kalu gave the same answer, Abuchi then suggested by himself that it could be signs of malaria since it had been up to six months he treated malaria. Kalu trying as much as he could, not to shift from his plan, insisted that it wasn't malaria, he suggested that it could be lack of proper sleep.
He lied again that he didn't sleep properly the previous night. he was sure that if he had accepted that it was malaria at that time. then he would have to go home and the medication would start immediately, by Monday he would be expected to be okay or at least be in a state that he could manage to come to the market. Abuchi left him alone, after all his persuasion to relieve him so that he could go home and rest proved futile.
As soon as Abuchi left the shop, kalu took a deep breath in satisfaction, as his plan was gradually taking shape.
the next day which was the Sunday, he woke unusually early. Sundays had been known as a day, when the entire household took their time to have a good and undisturbed sleep since, it wasn't a business day.
kalu was just trying to make sure that his plan was well executed, he needed to wake before everyone else to freshen up a bit before he would go back to bed, he was this kind of person that easily got uncomfortable if he hadn't freshen up for the day, or else if he was really down. In this case, he was only feigning the condition, and he was quite sure that if he didn't freshen up before others woke up, then he had to wait till afternoon to do that for the pretence to play out so perfectly. otherwise he would only succeed in encamping himself in an awkward state. He quietly brushed his teeth and took his bath before sliding back into his duffel. He shut his eyes as he was trying to catch sleep once more.
After the day had fully broken and every other person in the house had woken, kalu was still in bed, totally covered with the duffel. Abuchi had first been in the sitting room watching the morning news before he went back inside to get prepared, for he had planned before that day, to visit one of his friends that just came back from Europe.
After he was through with his preparation and was about to go, that was almost around 11am, he still hadn't seen kalu something unusual, and he needed to let him know of his whereabout as was the right thing, before leaving the house. He then went to kalu's room to know if all was well.
On hearing the approaching foot step, kalu who was wide awake in full expectation of the boss, shut his eyes once more in pretence.
Abuchi on getting to the room seeing the way kalu positioned under the duffel didn't need a soothe Sayer to reveal to him that something was wrong. kalu was also shivering a bit to add glamour to the act.
Kalu's plan was almost ruined when Abuchi instead of giving one of the servants some money to get some malaria drugs for him from a nearby pharmaceutical store as had been the norm, was suggesting if he would go to the hospital for treatment. knowing that going to the hospital would cripple his plan, for who knew he might get admitted out of the hospital's curiosity to make money, kalu rebuffed the idea at once. persisting that he would be okay once he took a malaria drug. Abuchi finally granted his wish, he gave one of the other servants some money to purchase a malaria drug for him and to get him something to eat. he also charged them to take good care of him before leaving.
kalu again felt a glow of satisfaction after Abuchi had left, for scaling through the second task..
the drugs that were bought for him, he knew he wasn't going to take them, for there was nothing wrong with him. He took out the doses he was to take as at the time, and flushed them in the toilet.
He kept his plan so tight that even when John his best friend visited later in the day, he didn't open up to him. John stayed with him for a while before leaving.
After the night that kalu got a peck from Rose, she had not visited again, and that had added to his emotional strain. He initially thought when he woke that morning that the girl really loved him. but now that he had not seen the girl for more than two days, he was beginning to wonder if he was actually wrong about his feeling, if he was lost in a world of fantasy as he had seen in movies. "could it be that the girl was actually angry with me that night?" a question that kept ringing in his head.
the withdrawal of Rose was now the major driving force that increased his determination to seek the black magic custodian, in order to locate where she was physically.
the next day which was the Monday, the day that he had put in so much shenanigans and wiles to secure. he knew that every act needed to be played out so perfectly for his plan to be completely accomplished. he didn't wake early as usual, he remained on the bed even after other servants had left for business.
he was still exhibiting the best act he could knowing fully well that Abuchi must surely come to know if he could manage to go to the market that day.
It wasn't quite long after the others had left, Abuchi fulfilled his expectation by coming to his room. After inquiring about his present condition and how he had been going about his medication. As kalu had predicted, he asked him if he could manage to come to the market. kalu without uttering a word shaked his head in refusal, squinting as a sign of weekness. Abuchi being sensitive enough, didn't want to persuade him. he left some money with him, in case he needed to buy anything after kalu had assured him that he could take care of himself before leaving for market.
kalu started getting prepared as soon as Abuchi had left the house, the customer who gave him the address had already directed him on the fastest way to get there. he had been to the area of the address once. but to the particular Street and house, he had not been there.
the house wasn't hard for him to locate, it was a newly designed one storey building that looked much like a residential building, there was no way one could believe that anything spiritual could be going on there. he stood in front of the building staring at the little white paper where he had written down the address with a mind full of doubt. as he was still standing having a double mind if the house could really be the right one or if there was a mistake somewhere, He was expecting to see a mud house or an ancient one, from the experience he had got from movies concerning spiritual houses it had always been mud houses, He saw a woman walking down the road towards his direction, as the woman got close to him, he decided to ask the woman to be sure before walking through the iron gate that led to the inside of the house. "I don't know if something like that exist around here" responded the woman, and the kind of stare he got from the woman, made him regretted why he even asked at the first place. for it was like a taboo to some people especially the religious fanatics, for one to visit such a place. As he turned to leave, he wanted to walk around to know if he could see a competent person to ask, a man in a white long gown, came out at the balcony of the house and called out to him like he was listening to his conversation with the woman, which kalu knew was impossible considering the distance of where they were standing to the house. He summoned courage and went to answer the man, he already had in mind to open up to the man as he went.
The man emphatically asked him if was looking for the spiritualist, he wasted no time in saying 'yes'. Luckily the man was the very person he was looking for.
when he came into the house, he was expecting as had been on movies and from the vague memory of when he was seven, when his father had taken him to that spiritualist somewhere around there neighbouring village, carved images of different diabolic animals. The house looked more like a family house than the place of a spiritualist, the sitting room was well furnished, and the man asked him to get seated as soon as he walked inside. being the right address that he had on the paper, he didn't have to worry much as he was seated, for he made sure that the door was left open as he walked in, in case of emergency. The man's approach and appearance was the only thing that won his conviction. the man left him as he was seated and went upstairs into one of the rooms. When they man had come down, with his permission kalu now started narrating to him what he had come for.
the spiritualist told him to make a sacrifice with anything he could afford. He reminded him that he was dealing with the spirits so their should be no room for shrewdness or deceptions.
kalu after weighing his pocket realized that apart from the transportation fare that could take him back home, he only had two thousand naira on him, the money he had taken from his savings in case of unforeseen expenses. Moreover, he had not been to such a place before he had no idea that he had to pay before his request would be attended to, the customer that directed him didn't give him a hint about what was involved although it wasn't the man's fault anyway.
After he had dropped the two thousand, the man closed his eyes and started gibbering in incantation. Kalu was seated still watching him as he continued to chant.
After he was through with the incantation, he then revealed to kalu where he could locate Rose. Thank God that she stayed around the state according to the revelation of the spiritualist.
kalu was swollen with joy, as the man assured him that he must find the girl at the address he had revealed to him.
To deepen his conviction, the spiritualist started analysing to him how he had been of help to thousands of people with similar problems.
Clara's mission the other day was unsuccessful, she was engaged in a discussion, that she had been trying so much to avoid.
she had been enveloped in so much pressure by the mother concerning the young man that was seeking her hand in marriage. she needed to stop her ears from listening to those words, how she wished she could go deaf that very moment, they were irritating to her, she had only but one option as it stands, she needed to come up with any excuse, to disappear from the mother's presence for so long as she remained there she was sure to be torn down by those piercing words. She presented the only excuse that she could think of as at the time, 'the excuse of having some vital and urgent documents to attend to' even though she promised to come another day.
she had already rejected, about for suitors since she graduated from the college. Not that she didn't want to get married, not that she wasn't attracted to men, but her sister's restoration remained her priority for now.
Why would this guy go to her mother for a disussion that was meant for both of them, an action she couldn't understand. She should have been the one to give him the permission to approach the mother if she had accepted the proposal.
The man in question had been disturbing her for sometime now, for her to accept his proposal. He had applied all the techniques he knew, about winning a woman's heart, even to the extent of kneeling to her in plea. but Clara had maintained that she was not yet ready for a relationship let alone marriage. the man believed that going through Clara's mother was his last and sure chance of getting her to accept him, that was the reason he had taken that step.
the words of the mother kept ringing in her ears as she laid on her bed. the persuasive tongue of the mother as she and her siblings had always referred to their mother's exhortations, had momentarily displaced the thought of her sister. "the prayer of every woman is to settle down with a man, after she had graduated from the school, now God has been faithful to me, by helping you through the college and securing a good job. your sister is dead, you are my only daughter now, please do not put me to shame, settle down with that man, he is from a very humble background and am sure he will take good care of you" those are the words of the mother.
the mother had not pleaded with her all through her life the way she did that yesterday concerning these marriage issue.
She was battling with one thought that she had never got solution to, now the mother had cast another one on her. Well, she had promised the mother that she would think about it.
Even if she would get married now, she would make sure that before she could accept any man, the man must believe in her underscribable story about her sister. and he must be willing to support her in her cause for her body's restoration. she smiled to herself as the idea generated a splint of happiness in her. There was no doubt about two heads being better than one.
She made a firm resolution, that it would be the only criteria for any man to win her heart.