May 14, 2081

Angela Cassey was ANTI-RICCO and our only hope of survival from this inky world. She had been part of those who warned us about the pollution before the ink started. We believed Erik Coal when he said she and the others were just jealous of his rise to fame. We all thought he was a nice man so he wouldn't put us in trouble. His story was a touching one, a man who had risen from grass to grace, from a man who had nothing to a man who wanted everyone to have everything. He mostly made devices for the rich but he also gave to the poor. That, and the fact that his machines were helpful, made us close our ears to the warnings.

When Angela Cassey saw that no one was listening, instead of just giving up like the others, she started working on a solution. She hadn't gotten the way to solve the ink problem but I heard she had found a new world for the uninfected to live in safely. From the news that filtered to us once in a while, she was going around finding as many uninfected as she could and they were all going to blast away in several rockets she had built, to another planet. The rockets I heard, did not cause as much pollution as RICCO CORP's machines.

Everyday I spoke into the phone, trying to get Angela Cassey. I didn't even know if I could. I had the phone in my pyjamas pocket when Mrs. Abimbola took me from my home but I hid it. It had been one of the gifts given to me by my parents and I wasn't willing to part with it. I also knew I would be in a lot of trouble if the elders of our little village found out I had it with me and that made me careful when using it. Any equipment that could cause anymore pollution was banned from our village. We had returned to the days before technology was used. It was as if we had gone 50 years back in time. We now used firewood to cook even though I felt that also polluted the environment in its own way, and lanterns as light.

I had kept the phone because I wanted to reach Angela, I hoped I could reach her so she would take us with her to the new uninfected planet. I was sure Nigeria wasn't on the priority list and Nigeria was so big, I doubted we would be found where we hid in the bush. The others had given up and just wanted to live as long as they could and they thought staying here would make that possible but I wasn't ready to give up. There was an opportunity to get us all transported to the new world and I was going to use it even though that meant having a phone in the village that added to the pollution. I felt guilty but I also knew it was for the greater good.

*******
"Hurry up, Ivy. You are too slow," Yemilade said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I looked up to see the other girls laughing and talking as they held their buckets in their hand, swinging it as they walked. I hurried up and caught up with them, walking beside Wunmi.

She turned to me, a wide smile on her face." Chidinma was just telling us of how Deji tried to ask her out."

The others looked thoroughly amused so I turned to Chidinma. She was laughing so hard that tears were almost falling from her eyes. I looked at the girls around me. We had all suffered a lot. Chidinma had lost her elder brother to the ink. Yemilade had lost her father to the ink. Precious, though just a teenager, had to take care of herself and her only surviving family member, her elder sister. Her sister had lost her fiancee on her wedding day. It had happened two years ago but I could still remember it clearly. They had been about to join the sister and her fiancee together when we noticed the ink coming out from his eyes. A day that was supposed to be one of celebration for her had turned to one of mourning. She barely talked now and Precious had to take care of her. Even Wunmi had lost her best friend to the ink. Wunmi and I usually joined the others whenever we were taking a trip to the river. Chatting and laughing amongst ourselves took our mind away from our troubles, at least for a brief moment.

We got to the river and took turns in scooping the water into our buckets. When it was my turn, I bent to fetch the water and paused, staring at the river. I sighed, feeling nostalgic as I thought of when the water was clear and pure and when I could see my reflection in it. The water was no longer clear and all I could see in it was a distorted reflection of myself. The water was not completely inky, instead it looked like water had been mixed with an unhealthy dose of ink. I watched the black and blue colored ink strands flowing in the water and wondered if they flowed in our blood stream too.

"Ivy, what are you doing?" Wunmi asked behind me.

"Nothing," I said, scooping up water into my bucket and standing up quickly.

She looked at me, not believing me but said nothing as I stepped aside to allow her to fetch water into her own bucket.

After we had all filled our buckets, we made our way back to the village. The girls continued talking as we walked back home but I couldn't take my mind off the call I had made the day before. Each time I tried to contact Angela Cassey and it was always the same story of not being able to reach her. It usually left me feel upset and disappointed. I wondered if she would ever answer and if my hope would ever be rewarded. At some point, we parted ways with the other girls. Wunmi and I walked to her house which was not too far from my house.

"Good morning, Ma," I greeted her mother who was standing outside.

She beamed at me. "Good morning, Ivy. Would you like to join us for breakfast?"

"Yes ma," I nodded, a huge smile on my face. Wunmi's mum knew how to put just the right amount of spices to lessen the taste of the ink in the food and people in the village usually came to her to buy food. "Let me just go and inform Mrs. Abimbola." Mrs. Abimbola was used to me eating with Wunmi's family just like her parents were used to Wunmi sometimes eating snacks over at my house.

As I walked home quickly, I could hear Wunmi's chuckle behind me. She knew how much I loved her mum's food.

©Jesutofunmi Fekoya

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