NKEM 16

 

All the fury in his heart went to his hands as he banged the door ceaselessly. When he didn't hear anything, he renewed the bang on the wooden door. Some doors in the dark corridor of the face-me-and-face-you apartment opened with concern and heads emerged briefly and then the whole body to see the monster depriving them of their Saturday afternoon nap.

They were angry at him and they spoke in unison.

"Oga, easy now, people still dey sleep".

He gave them a withered look and then turned back to hit the door with both hands and legs. When he was almost giving up, he heard whispers and the sound of moving things.

"Who is it", a voice within said with distaste.

"If you love yourself, you better open the door before the police arrive".

There was silence in the room. A voice attempted a whisper but it came out instead as a whimper. There was a brief scuttle that ended in more whispers. Ibe was becoming impatient and he made it known on the door.

"Open this door I say". Each word was punctuated with a bang.

Finally, there was the sound of a bunch of keys in the lock. The door opened slightly. It could only admit his head. It was heavily guarded from behind. His head came out which was bathed in sweat. When he sighted Ibe, there was a mixture of relief and unease.

"Oga, it is you. Sorry, I was not feeling too well so I came to rest a little". Even as he explained, he knew Ibe was not fooled by his naked lie.

"Hmmm…I see…", Okpara said, attempting to push the door to see the mystery behind the head in front of him but it was met with a firm hold by the bricklayer's body.

"Who did you inform before you left?"

Ibe tried to peer through the little opening the bricklayer allowed between himself and the door but the bricklayer quickly tilted his head to block his face.

"Oga…oga…he stammered. It is hot here, let me come out so that we can discuss". 

Just then, the lone bulb in the centre of the corridor blinked for some seconds until it shone brightly revealing everything in the corridor. Every door in the corridor had a paint bucket kept by the side for emergency visits to the toilet. The ground is rough as well as the walls which were left not cemented. Both men looked at the bulb with different reactions. Ibe smiled while the other man winced.

"Ah! The problem of heat has finally been solved for us. We can discuss inside then". Ibe announced with a glint in his eyes.

"No", yelled the other man. His voice was louder than he intended. He cast a nervous glance behind him. But before he could turn back, Ibe pushed the door fiercely resulting in the bricklayer's fall. He crashed backwards and a woman screamed as he fell on her.

He entered the unlit scanty room and waited for his eyes to get accustomed to the darkness. He stopped short when he saw a woman, pregnant, crouched on the bed covering her face with her scarf. The bed is so flat that it was almost level with the bare floor.. It is empty except for a stack of bowls and buckets arranged into each other, kept opposite the bed. A sack filled with clothes jutting out from it stood beside a decrepit cupboard making Ibe wonder the kind of life the bricklayer led. He looked from the woman on the bed to her companion who was naked except for the short knickers he wore, nursing his elbow and eyeing Ibe with disdain. The bricklayer was a short, thick, dark man. He is brawny and hairy. The look of him could make one mistake him in the dark for a gorilla.

"So, this is the nonsense you came to do while my work lies unfinished?"

"Oga, I told you I came to rest…"

"You came to rest and you are here with a pregnant woman. Doing what? Okay, I think your wife will thank me for telling her who I saw in her matrimonial bed."

"Oga, Please don't do like so na. He rose immediately from the floor to his knees begging. Simultaneously, the woman stood up and made for the door, her head bowed to avoid eye contact with Ibe. Shame rested on her as she walked briskly towards the door. Ibe stood aside to allow her pass. As she walked past him, he recognized her and that made him open his mouth and shook.

He recovered from his shock and turned to the bricklayer.

"So, you are now fooling around with married women? No wonder you have not finished my work!"

Silence.

"You don't even know what you are getting yourself into. Are you not afraid of venereal diseases?"

"Oga, you have the right to tell me how to live my life. Na work join me and you together. The work na manage. No be say you pay correct money. I'm going to finish your work!

That said, he stood up and walked to the door. Ibe knew then that he had overstepped his bounds and in other words, the bricklayer was showing him the way out.

"Just make sure you finish my work. Otherwise, I will send the police to arrest you."

The bricklayer said nothing but locked the door with a bang after him.

Thank again for reading to the end. The story is just unfolding. Till I come your way next time. I am Yours Truly,

Julius Topohozin.