~WILBERFORCE THE DREAMER~

Walk it off.

Walk it off.

Walk it off.

I kept telling myself as I walked to the heap of gravel at the side of the road. I grabbed some stones from the heap and played around with it.

But the hunger was not playing today.

It felt like my guts were twsiting inside me and it felt like I would die any moment now.

I climbed higher to the peak of the heap and from there I watched the busy street before me. I saw people flagging down vehicles to take them to various destination. The sea of different vehicle from the brand new cars to the scraps; these are taxis that looked like metals scraps glued together for commercial use—yes, they were that bad. All these vehicles reflecting the beautiful streetlights that had just been put in place by the new government and they accelerated uniformly because of a hold up caused by an accident that happened earlier today further down the road.

"Aboki wife!"

I smiled to myself when I heard that loud shout from behind me, below the heap but, I acted like I didn't and continuing playing around with my stones.

The person calling me is my good friend Uche. Uche and I are close friends and although he is older by 5 months, we are both fourteen years old. We both lived in the slum and he was my neighbor.

After witnessing one mallam—who sold beautiful golden jewelry—profess love to me and even propose coming to ask for my hand in marriage, Uche had taken it upon himself to call me 'Aboki wife' but he only did it when we were together because if my mother so much had heard it she would give me, Uche and the Mallam the beating of our lives simultaneously.

"Aboki wife!" He persisted.

I ignored him once again and started humming in tune with the sound of the car horns of the vehicles before me.

"Come you no dey hear your name?" He shouted.

This time I looked up to the road while trying to fight back the smile that played on my lips. I started to hear the sound of him climbing up the heap and I knew he was gonna climb up behind me and pull my ear so, I got on my guard and as soon as he approached me, I knocked him off the floor with my feet and watched him fall to the ground on his bum.

"Ouch!" He whined as his bum hit the hard floor and I burst out laughing.

He immediately rose to his feet and started at me agin but I quickly caught his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Ow!" He yelled, "Oh ho stop nah! Don't you know this thing is painful?"

"Will you call me Aboki wife again?" I whispered into his ear as I bent his arm even higher.

"No! No! No!" He yelled.

"So what's my name?"

He hesitated but once I pushed up his arm he roared out, "Nma!"

"My full name?" I said laughing at his moans and grunts.

"Nma Wilberforce Nweke!" He answered panting.

I let him go with a shove and once again he fell on his bum but this time he didn't try to attack me, he just glare at me momentarily before turning his head back down to nurse his throbbing arm.

"Mumu! See your head!" I insulted him as I joined him on our gravel, "Later you will be claiming you have strength, I just pushed your hand small and you want to cry," I laughed, "cry-cry baby."

He smacked my head, "You dey craze," he said as we both laughed.

We stared out at the street in a comfortable silence, our eyes admiring the hues of red, orange and purple that introduced the sunset. We watched the birds fly in their number across the sky, my mum used to say that they too just like we human beings were going home from a long days work.

"Come what are we even doing here?" Uche said turning to me.

I chuckled at the expression on his face, it showed me that I was the only one admiring the road, he was as usual just keeping me company.

I simply shrugged and said, "nah me suppose ask you that question."

He rose to his feet dusting his palms and the black baggy shorts he was wearing, "Oya come lets go back inside, night don come already."

I nodded and rising to my feet, I followed the same routine he did before we starting descending from our stone mount.

We walked down a narrow path of red mud that was sticky as a result of the recent rains. Unlike, the road we were staring at, ours wasn't paved or decorated with streetlights and ornamental trees, no, ours was filled with mud puddles and our ornamental trees were wild weeds that were as tall as I was.

"Omo, you don already carry belly for that Aboki? Which one you dey waka one-one like say you go soon born?" Uche mocked and just as he hoped I began to chase him down till we finally reached the slum were we resided.

We stopped when I grabbed him by the round neck of his sleeveless singlet, he pulled away from my grasp laughing as we bought stopped to catch our breath.

"No dey pull me anyhow my friend, you no get respect?" He said, he arranged the rag-like singlet he always called his three-piece agbada and said, "you don't know this is my senators clothes? Take your time oh," he wagged his finger at me.

I slapped his hand way, "You no well."

He gasped and cradling his left he looked up to me and said, "You want to spoil my Rolex?" He looked down at the pale yellow rubber band on his hand which had lost all his elasticity and always rolled up his thin arms to his shoulders like an oversized bangle.

He kissed the band and said, "Don't mind this village girl, okay baby? Daddy is here for you okay? You know what I'm saying," he said mimicking—and failing terribly—at an American accent.

I laughed and together we continued down the muddy path past various butchers heading for our own. Once in a while, Uche would make a funny comment about the other passerby's; about their clothes or behavior and with exaggerated expressions he would act it out to me. I would playful slap his elbow everytime he did this, he would shrug it off and do it all again.

I on the other hand would greet all the passerby along the way but Uche wouldn't greet anyone, his reason being that most of the people he had greeted in the past but they never responded to his greetings or that he didn't just like a persons face so he wouldn't greet them.

Yes, Uche is a character.

I stared intently at all the physical features I could see which I have come to know and cherish as I would to my own blood. Uche was thin and dark skinned. His hair was cut short edifying it's wavy texture, and aside from a white spot somewhere above his left ear, all his hair was black. He had very thin brows, big dark brown eyes which he made even larger whenever his spoke, he had a slim curved nose and very thin dark lips.

In stature we were about the same height or so, the reason behind my uncertainty being that whenever I tried to measure my height with Uche, he'd lift up his shoulders or he would argue that my hairstyle made me look taller than I actually was. He had a muscular build that fit his lean body, a protruding navel and thin long legs designed with numerous scars from ball injuries, chicken pox, muscles and contaminated water infection.

Uche and I lived in the same slum area but my house was a few strolls down little wonder why we reached his home first. At the beaded curtains which they used as a door, I could smell the sweet aroma of Vegetable soup brewing somewhere in his building.

I gulped, salivating like a starving lion. The food smelt absolutely divine!

I heard laughter and it was only then I realized I had closed my eyes. I opened them and peered out to see Uche slapping his knee with one hand and hugging his belly with the other as he laughed.

"What?" I asked curious to know the reason for his sudden amusement.

"Omo nah so you hungry reach?" He exclaimed, "see how you're swallowing saliva because of food."

"I'm not hungry," I said totally embarrassed.

"Nah so," he replied sarcastically moving towards the beaded curtain, "you dey come?"

It took all my willpower to say these words, "No."

"You know say you fit come chop here nah, since you dey hungry," he said.

Chop where? Abeg oh! I thought to myself, while I thanked him for the offer.

I have known him long enough to share a meal like that with him but that wasn't how I was trained. If my mother so much had caught me in his house or in fact anyone else's house eating she would accuse me of begging and I would end up recieving numerous lashes of the cane.

He turned to me wearing a look of concern, "But are you not hungry?"

I shook my head because I feared my mouth would betray me especially with how the mere aroma was battering me.

Before, my feet would carry me into his house I waved him good bye and sent my regards to his family.

"You too greet your husband for me oh, Aboki wife," he said before rushing inside.

I laughed at him and then I walked down to my house. My home was located at the close of the street and unlike the other batchers it was separated and just in front of our little home were different cable wires which we used to hang our clothes.

Earlier today, my mother washed her clothes and hung them out to dry, I checked to see if they were dry and they were. So, I pulled them off the wire and carried them to our house.

I pushed aside our curtain door and walked in.

I paused at the doorway startled at the sight before me; My father on his knees in front of our green one seater couch, his hands hidden under it's seat like he were searching for something.

"Oh God!" He sighed pulling out his hands and rubbing his chest as if to calm himself down, "I thought it was your mother."

"Daddy good afternoon," I said in a breath walking to the Ghana-must-go bag where we kept our clothes. I can't say I was surprised by his fright, my mother was very scary.

"Ehen good afternoon my dear, how are you?"

"I'm fine," I said kneeling down before the bag to begin neatly folding the clothes.

"Have you eaten?"

I stopped and turned back to look at him where he sat on the floor and then I turned back to folding my clothes.

Like was that even a question? I shook my head and stuffed the folded clothes into the bag.

He chuckled melodiously from behind me and said, "Don't worry about that baby, daddy's got it covered!"

I turned back to him.

"Oh yes you heard right!" He rose to his feet, "hand me that my red jersey there," he said snapping his fingers.

I threw it to him and turned around fully to watch him wear it and to find out how he would relieve me of this horrible feeling.

"You see daddy had a dream yesterday, oh yes you heard right," he said ironing out his shirt with his hands, he rushed to a side of our apartment where we kept our combs.

He grabbed a brush and began brushing his hair while staring into a small piece of mirror. He turned to me and said, "So in this dream, daddy saw some numbers and this right here," he shoved his free hand in his back pocket and retrieved, "is that number and guess what?"

"What?"

"This number is gonna make us filthy rich!" He shouted as he began brushing his beard, "Oh yes you heard right, We are gonna be so rich, you will never have to sleep hungry ever again."

"Hurray! food!" I said jumping to my feet.

He laughed and came over to pinch my cheek, "That's my girl. Oya come lets go and get our millions together."

I kicked the clothes aside and joined him as we walked out the door together. He was all about the money but I was all about the food.

Food! Oh glorious food.

We arrived at a small shop not too far from our house and we were welcomed by one of my fathers friends; Mister Obinna.

"Wilberforce!" He frowned, "where you dey nah? I don wait for you tire."

My father rubbed his arms in attempt to cool him down, "Obinna sorry, you know that I had to hide this thing for that my wife if not..." He sighed.

"Omo, why you dey like to behave like say nah you be the wife for that your house?" Joseph said annoyed at his cowardly friend.

"Come, Joseph mind yourself oh, mind yourself," My father warned wagging his finger at his friend and it was during this time I caught a glimpse of the numbers on the paper, it read 10706547329812.

"Abeg," he pushed aside my fathers hand, "no be here where you go dey show power Jhoor. Come may we go check the thing Jhoor."

My father followed him behind hesitantly while muttering and they stopped around a circle of men who stood by holding up crisp white papers similar to the one my father showed me.

"It's on! It's on!" One of the men shouted as someone increased the volume of the radio they'd encircled.

'Now the winning ticket for the 200 million Naira is...' They paused for supense.

'107-'

A few disappointed grunts could be heard from within the circle and some men started shredding their papers. My father however smiled triumphantly and continued to listen to the radio.

'107-065-'

Some people sighed heavily and started to disperse from the circle.

'107-065-473-'

"Rubbish!" Mr Joseph hissed loudly also shredding his paper, he turned to my father and peeped at fathers ticket.

'107-065-473-298-'

"Eh-hey!" Mr Joseph exclaimed, "Omo everybody come and see oh. Wilberforce go soon blow."

"I tell you say I see am for dream," my father said proudly, "Wilberforce for the money oh!"

"Wilberforce for the money!" The other men chorused.

'We are going to repeat the entire number again since it's just two more digits remaining. Please check your tickets once more and don't forget to call us if you do win.'

'The number is 107..'

"Ehen," the men concurred where they stood around my father.

"065-473-298-"

"And 12! Come on say twelve, say twelve," father smiled.

'107-065-473-298-05!' The announcer shouted, "Congratulations!"

My name is Nma Wilberforce Nweke and this is the story of my death.