5.
Is it me or does the twenty-five hours in a day that God has given us sleep gracefully whenever we are together?
Am I Floating?
Or has your love swept me off my feet that I cannot feel my legs?
Ofure came from the hoard of families that migrated to Lagos for better dreams. Her father had left his father's farm to cling to the collar jobs that Lagos was offering. The ones who came in ships and trains, looking for metamorphosis. He had obtained a school certificate from his school in the village, a sword that was blunt against the higher degrees and competition that he met in Lagos. And so, he had to settle as a dry cleaner in one of the growing malls in Ikeja. That was the story of a man who came home every evening, brooding and gaping at the holes in his windows until sleep took over his thoughts. That was the only time that he seemed to be at peace. He was ashamed and regretted the comfortable agrarian life he had abandoned for leftovers in the city. Life in Lagos was bumpy and he came to appreciate the little that he had. Even the food he ate felt different. The food was not meant for body building, but for survival. What bothered the man more were the women that his wife kept on having. This was her seventh pregnancy and he prayed that this last one would be a boy. The neighbours were already laughing at the dry cleaner who had six female children and a pregnant wife. Sometimes, when he was in the bathroom, he heard them making jokes about his family toppling over one another as they slept. one even went as far as saying that the combined snores of the children would raise a man from the dead. Ofure's father never responded to any of these. But in his thoughts, he suffered greatly. When his wife gave birth for the seventh time, she gave birth to a girl. Perhaps that was the straw that broke the camel's back or had his depressed thought caught up with his heartbeat. No one knew, all everyone saw was the dry cleaner coming back home in his brooding self, spiral, fall and die.
Years after the death of her father, Ofure found herself in Aj Garage, selling pap and akara to the drivers and passengers who were bold enough to wave the gutters and dirty plates and eat. Was it love at first sight or was Ofure just happy to see another Esan man that she could talk to? Ofure knew when this new boy called Collins, joined the group of conductors fighting for buses to cling on to. she loved the way he swayed from bus to bus. She laughed at how he suffered to throw insults in Yoruba before falling back on his mother tongue. For many days, Ofure noticed the new man and pretended to pay attention to the food she was selling. Already, her attention had been stolen. Perhaps that was why the first time he said 'Come, I want to show you my house'. She gave the keys to the shop to her junior sister and followed him. Few months later, after Collins had finished swaying buses, he came to Ofure's shop, sweating and smiling, anxious to demand a taste of her to forget the troubles of the burning day. He saw her wearing a crestfallen face, as opposed to the warm-hearted smile that he was usually greeted with.
'What is it? What troubles you?' Collins finally asked after she didn't respond to his touches.
'I am pregnant.'
Collins thought deeply about this. He was not a wise man and so he considered the fact. She was from his hometown and she was a very good cook. She had Prepared and sneak him meals from time to time. She was also a wise and patient woman, plus she knew his condition and he didn't have to pretend to be anyone else when he was around her. She knew how much he earned and she would be comfortable with her lot. And so, Collins married Ofure in that garage park under the blistering sun burning the necks and heads of buildings and bodies in Ajegunle. He talked to her mother, a woman who was happy about another load lifted from her. The first three daughters had got pregnant and ran away. At least she knew Ofure's husband and the man had promised to pay her bride price in instalment.
In the biting month of August, Ofure, under the Lagos harmattan, packed her bags and moved in with Collins.