I try
To
Whistle you
Down the
Wind
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Dedicated to Eddy622 for making this beautiful book cover. Thank you so much.

Obiageli glanced around the room to ensure she had not forgotten anything. She was to leave for Enugu the next morning and so could not afford to leave any of her properties behind.

Her eyes lighted up when she found the photograph she had taken with her boyfriend of two years: Jideze.

She had taken it off from her wall early that morning so she would take it along with her to Enugu. She couldn't believe she had almost forgotten the photo which had been firmly protected in a wooden frame.

She grabbed a rag as she wiped the dust which clung to the picture like a second skin. She ran her fingers on Jideze's face as she traced the lines of his shoulder.

Jideze and Obiageli had been in a relationship for good two years. He had proposed her marriage but until he had found greener pastures would he get married to her.

He told her he didn't want her nor their children to suffer so he had left for Enugu a year ago in search of greener pasture and had promised to send her a letter immediately he arrived. Unfortunately, he didn't and Obiageli had been worried sick ever since then.

Her mother had taken this opportunity to mock her; her mother had never approved of their relationship. She had told Obiageli that Jideze didn't look like her ideal husband but Obiageli was sure her mother's hatred for Jideze was tied around the fact that he was poor.

She knew if Jideze was to acquire wealth soon, her mother's opinion of him would change. Because of this, she had failed to listen to her mother and had gone along with the relationship immediately Jideze proposed it to her.

Dating Jideze was a decision she never regretted. It was true he was poor and could barely feed himself but all she wanted was love and he had shown her excess.

She felt secured with him and judging from his plans and hardwork, Obiageli was sure he would amass wealth sooner or later.

All she had to do was to stand by him, encourage him and be patient. She loved Jideze with all her heart and she knew Jideze reciprocated the same level of love if not more.

Jideze who had been a carpenter had left his carpentry job and had jumped on the offer his uncle laid down for him.

His uncle had informed him about a rich man who was in need of boys who would serve him in his large grease shop to be settled after five years of diligent service.

It was quite a popular thing for the people from the eastern part of Nigeria. It was not unusual to see young boys serving a big man only to be settled with a shop of their own after five to seven years of service. It was for this reason Jideze had left for Enugu.

She had cried her eyes out - they were actually mixture of joy and sadness. She was joyous that Jideze had found something better to do but was sad that he would be leaving her for a while.

She was already fond of seeing him each day and she wondered how she would cope when he was gone.

She had aired her predicament to her younger sister, her best friend: Uzodinma, but Uzodinma had told her to take solace in the letters Jideze would send. That way they would stay close and catch up on things they had missed in each other's life.

However, the letters never came and Obiageli was devastated.

She didn't want to believe any of the things her family and friends were telling her. She knew Jideze better than them all and she knew what he was capable of.

Hurting her was one thing she knew he wouldn't do. She knew a problem or the other had caught up with him and for this reason, she was worried about his well being instead of getting angry with him.

It had taken her a whole year of his absence to come to this final decision of leaving for Enugu in search of him.

When she had informed her mother about her decision, her mother had looked her from her head to her toe with a deep scowl hovering around her face.

After what had seemed like years, her mother had turned away from her and had said just few words: Do what you like. You're on your own.

Obiageli knew what her mother or anyone were thinking. She knew Enugu was such a big state and it was quite impossible to find her beloved as she knew not where he lived. It didn't even help that she had never met any of his relatives.

Jideze's family were far away in a village in Abia state. She had told him countless of times to take her to see them but he had told her he made a vow to only return to his village after he had amassed wealth. According to him, he couldn't afford to be a laughing stock.

Despite the fact she knew the implication of her actions, she still wanted to give it a try. She was tired of staying alone without knowing anything about her beloved. She felt she would run mad if she kept still without doing anything.

Her elder brother had tried 'talking sense' into her just as her mother had tagged it. However, she had made her decision and no one could change it. It took her one good year to come up with this decision so it should take at least a year conviction to stop her.

Obiageli grabbed her luggage the next morning and left for the village bus park with Uzodinma.

Her mother had refused to look at her nor respond to her farewell that morning and her elder and younger brother had both given her a big hug and had wished her good luck.

She had promised to send in a letter immediately she settles down in Enugu. Uzodinma had watched with tears in her eyes as she got into one of the big buses heading to Enugu - Enugu was not really far from where she stayed: Imo. It was more of a four hour journey.

Her brother had informed her it was one hundred and twenty five kilometres away.

Obiageli slept all through the journey only to open her eyes to get something to eat. It was quite a boring journey and there was nothing exciting to look at.

She had taken one of her novels to read during the journey but only fell asleep during the course of reading.

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So I know this chapter might not be much of a vibe but this is only the beginning; there are more to come.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to click on that beautiful star-shaped object by the left side of your beautiful screen.