FOOTPRINTS
He waited for the haggard looking bus struggling uphill to pass on the erosion ridden road before he continued his journey. He must make the journey of half a mile if he must fill his belly at his friend's, James' house. He must also endure the open hostility on the face of his friend's wife each time he comes every other time when his purse is spent and hunger struck. The self same hunger will not make him put her in her proper place. His friend, like himself, is helpless. Gloria, James' wife has assumed the role of the husband in the house.
With the crutches on either arms, his invalid leg hanging in between, he continued his journey. The bad road didn't make his journey any easier. He stopped many times to catch his breath and to ease the pain that the crutches bring to his armpits. His limp leg is so thin, one would have thought it wasn't part of his body in the first place or that polio had claimed it from him at infancy.
His misfortunes happened so fast like a terrible nightmare. First was the accident, then a sudden change of government; a ruthless one that jailed the innocent and the guilty on mere suspicions. One of the ruthless moves the government made was to label all ministries as corrupt and all top level civil servants relieved of their jobs with immediate effect which was followed up with arrests. He was spared because he was still convalescing in the hospital from a ghastly accident when the evil news reached him. Their pensions and gratuities were at the mercy of the new no-nonsense government. Who could challenge a government that ruled with bullets and boots?
He nearly suffered a stroke when his wife of eleven years fled with two of their children. He was left with their first born.
He wiped the tears that the memory of the bad days brought to his eyes and continued. The mast ahead usually gives him some level of comfort. Whenever he sees it, that means he was close to his friend's house. But something nearly disastrous wanted to end that journey unexpectedly.
A car coming ahead made a crazy twist and zigzagged towards him. How he maneuvered himself into the bush was still a surprise to him. He lay sprawled on the ground like a dead man; his whole body shaking at the thought of narrowly missing being crushed to death. The car plunged forward like a demented machine and finally crashed between two trees that prevented it from crashing into the valley.
A hissing sound and a cloud of steam escaped from the car's bonnet. The door opened and the driver came out unhurt. He looked at the damage--The bonnet had already suffered a bad dent. The windscreen showed trails of multiple cracks.
Behind him, was the handicapped man he almost crushed to death. He had gotten up with much difficulty.
"I'm very sorry sir", he said when he came towards him.
"I wouldn't have heard that if you had killed me with that crazy speed".
"I wasn't speeding sir. I suspect it was a brake failure".
"So much for brake failure".
"I'm extremely sorry sir. I hope you 're unhurt?"
"As you can see, I have not lost my second leg".
He shook off the dust that had clung to his trouser before continuing his journey.
"Don't I know you, sir".
He turned and looked at the stranger but there was no hint of recognition on his face.
"I don't know you", he said flatly.
"I'm very sure that I know you sir"
"From Where?"
"I think at the University of Nsukka".
It was a sunny afternoon. Sweat broke out from every pores in his body. He ran like a demented man out of the faculty and straight to the computer centre. He spoke with a few friends about his problem but the miserable look on his face didn't change. Each person turned him down.
He was seated in front of a shop waiting for his balance and watching the young man. He signalled to him when their eyes met.
"What is the problem",he asked.
He showed him the disc jet containing his project.
"Please sir, I need to print my long essay but I don't have the money...and today is the deadline"
"How much will that cost?"
"Fifty naira sir".
"Fifty naira!"
"Yes sir"
"Here you go". He gave him the said amount and stood up to go.
"Thank you sir', the young man beamed . The expression on his face changed to that of relief and gratitude.
"I will never forget this kindness. Thank you very much sir".
"That was twenty years ago", the older man said. He recollected how miserable the young man of that time was and the transformation that has happened to him.
"Indeed sir". He studied the older man wondering what had happened to his leg and the pitiable condition he found.
"But...but...the...last time I remembered you were...".
He knew what the stranger was thinking and so, answered his thought.
"It was an accident. I had an accident that took my leg."
"Sorry...about that sir".
"And where are you headed".
"To see a friend up ahead".
"It's a pity we are meeting under these circumstances. I really wished we had time to discuss".
He made a mental calculation and reached into his pocket. And out came a business card which he gave to him.
He collected it and read out what was written on it.
"Silvergrid Engineering Limited."
"Yes...that is my company and I owe you a huge debt. I wouldn't have become what I am today without you.Try and reach out to me sir".
As an afterthought, he brought out some money and gave it to the older man.
"Please, manage this pending when we meet again".
"This is too much", he exclaimed. Surprise and a grin adorned his face. He wondered when he had held such an amount of money in his palm.
"It is not enough compared to the help you rendered to me".
"Well, thank you all the same Mr. Adolphus", said the older man.
"Sorry sir, I didn't get your name."
"Martins Okoja. It is a pleasure to finally see you after such a long time".
They both went towards the car to inspect the level of damage.
"It will take a fortune to fix your car".
"Not necessarily, I have insurance on it. They will take care of it.
"Ah...that is good".
"I wouldn't want to delay you more than necessary. Make sure you keep in touch. We have a lot to discuss.
"Alright then, take care.
When he got to James' residence, he was met with a fight. James and his wife for whatever reasons are slugging it out in a fight. He tried getting into the middle to separate them but he was thrown to the ground twice. When nothing could be done, he left the couple and headed home.
When he got home, his son sat dejectedly on a mat in their nearly empty one room apartment, an empty wallet in front of him. Hunger made him forget to greet his father. He accused him instead of staying too long in his friend's place.
"You promised you wouldn't stay long?"
He overlooked his rudeness and tossed a polythene bag in front of him. The boy searched the bag, found a family size bread and began to devour it hungrily not even bothering to ask where it came from.
"Our life is about to change", his father announced and then sat down. He told his son what happened.
"So, where is the card", the boy asked.
He smiled and searched confidently his trouser pockets one after the other but found nothing. He turned both pockets out, still there was nothing- even the remaining money in his pocket was nowhere to be found. His mind became a convoluted sea of confusion. He did a frantic mental calculation of the places he passed after receiving the money. Then he suddenly struck him. The money must have fallen off when he stopped to buy a loaf of bread before he got to James' or when he tried settling the quarrel between James and his wife. He held his head and wailed bitterly.
"Please, sit down", he told the nervous young man whose eyes darted about the lavishly furnished office. He saw the large leathered table on which were some files, a container holding some pens, three short shelves containing some books and an air conditioner noiselessly oozing. He allowed him to feast his eyes before starting the interview.
"Hope my office is not that bad".
He turned to stare disbelievingly at the big man sitting across him as if to say there is nothing bad associated with the office.
"It is everything but bad sir", the young man managed to say with a grin.
"So, you think you are the candidate for the job".
"Yes sir", he responded but his heart beat even faster.
They spoke for nearly an hour. The interviewer grilled him and pitched him between difficult discuss to watch his reaction and note how he presented his points. When he was satisfied with his responses, he requested to see his credentials.
He inspected the credentials for what went for like twenty minutes. After going through one after the other for the umpteenth time, he looked up again. His eyes looked intently at the young man as if the answer to whatever he wanted to know was written there.
"Are you related to Mr. Martins Okoja?".
The young man swallowed hard then said with misty eyes.
"He was my father".
"Was? But....What happened?".
He told him of the stroke that developed after his father misplaced the complementary card and the money a man he met gave to him. He told him of how his father battled to survive but the loss of those things didn't make him see that there could be hope.
The man sighed heavily and remained silent for sometime. He looked at the young man before him and shook his head. The boy merit the available position and to now hear that he is the son of the man that had helped him while he was in school, it was a deep loss indeed.
"Your late father helped me when I was in school", the man said. He allowed the revelation to sink in. His listener looked up with shock. Providence indeed had brought him to the company. He saw the advert on a newspaper for an engineer and he decided to give it a shot.
"I gave him my card with the hope that he would contact me so that I could find a way to help him. I waited to hear from him but I didn't know the worst had happened. Well, it is good you are here now. At least, what I couldn't do for your dad, I will do it for you.
He stood up and shook his hand.
"Welcome to Silvergrid Engineering Company".
PostScript
