Chapter 1
THE Okafors were the
friendliest family in the neighbourhood.
They were also the wealthiest family in the community. Their house was the last house on the street
and the biggest in Greenish Estate. They
had no tenants. All the rooms in their
house were occupied by the cook, laundryman, gatekeeper and other domestic
servants. They had lots of cars; and on
Sundays they took no less than three jeeps for outing as they had many domestic
servants to carry along with them.
The Okafors are a
family of five consisting of the family head - Mr Justin Okafor, Mrs Hailey
Michael Okafor, Jeffrey Michael Okafor – the first child, Ralph Michael Okafor
– the second born, and the lastborn and only girl – Kay Okafor.
Mr Justin Okafor was
a Nigerian and at the same time a citizen of Canada. This is because his father, Mr Joseph Chidi Okafor,
was a Nigerian and he, Justin, was born in Canada. He was the only child of his mother, Mrs Erin
Okafor. His father had two wives – Mary
and Erin. Mary was the first wife of Joseph
Chidi Okafor. She had three children,
namely, Kelechi, Chinaza and Chidi.
Mrs Mary Okafor died
when Chidi was only 5 years. After her
death, Mr Joseph Okafor went to Canada
for a business transaction. There he met
Erin, Justin’s mother, and they got married.
The new wife, Mrs Erin Okafor, took good care of Mary’s children and, of
course, her only son Justin. Justin grew
up to know he had two stepbrothers and a stepsister, all of whom never really
liked him.
Mr Justin Okafor had
two companies named Kelly International where he produced food stuff such as
rice, beans, salt, palm oil and so on; and JM Limited where he produced
accessories such as bags, shoes, clothes and so on.
Mrs Hailey Michael
Okafor was a Canadian. She got married
to Mr Justin Okafor, who was her high school mate. She had three children – Jeffrey, Ralph and
Kay. Her kids were named by her mother,
Mrs Silver Sebastian Michael. Mrs Hailey
Okafor and her kids were naturalized Nigerians because her husband was a
Nigerian, although genetically the whole family looked like the Whites because
of their long curly hair, bright skin colour and pointed noses. It would be
difficult be believe they were Nigerians.
Saturday, December 20
was a very busy day for the Okafors because it’s Kay’s 10th
birthday. All the stewards were busy cooking,
decorating or arranging gift items. Even
the gatekeeper was busy as trucks were coming in and out of the compound
bringing in chairs, tables, loudspeakers and other materials needed for the
party. Mr and Mrs Okafor were also busy
helping the stewards with the preparation.
Jeffrey was pumping air into the balloons while Ralph was cleaning the
carpet.
“Do you know that
there would be Chinese rice in this party?”
Jeffrey said as he tied the balloons to the metal stand that held up a
canopy.
“That’s a lie,”
replied Ralph.
“I saw it in the
kitchen and I’m not lying,” Jeffery countered.
“Wow!” Ralph exclaimed. “I guess I’m gonna eat a lot of that
today. The party will be athletic!” He
demonstrated by raising his hand up.
“You can say that again,
brother. Have you seen the slothful
birthday girl this morning?” Jeffrey asked.
“Well, she is still
asleep.” Ralph answered.
“What! I can’t believe I’m doing all this work for
her and she’s still asleep at this time of the day!” Jeffrey lamented.
“Let her be, it’s
her birthday,” replied Ralph.
They were not done
with their conversation when the maid walked up to them and said, “Will you
guys stop talking and continue working.
Time is not on our side; the birthday will start by 12 noon.”
They both stared at
her as she walked to the gate. She
turned to them and said, “Stop looking at me and continue with the work at
hand, please.”
Ralph sighed and
then said, “This lady treats me harshly.
She has always been like that ever since I knew her.”
“Let’s continue
working. She must not get back here and
see us talking,” said Jeffrey.
Meanwhile, Mrs
Okafor wondered why Kay was not downstairs that morning. She went upstairs to Kay’s room and knocked
at her door, but no one answered. She
entered the room and saw that Kay was still sleeping. “Wake up, sleeping beauty!” She shouted.
Immediately Kay woke
up and she said to her mom: “Today is my birthday!” She jumped off the bed and
ran downstairs screaming and telling the maids, “It’s my birthday, it’s my
birthday …. I am ten years old; I am ten years old ….” She ran round the
compound with joyful shout.
“Dad, I don’t
understand why Kay is jumping and running round the compound like a
monkey. What is special about being ten
years old?” Jeffrey enquired from Mr Okafor who stood, watching excited Kay.
“She’s just over
excited,” answered Mr Okafor.
After all the
arrangements, all the family members went upstairs to their various rooms to
get dressed for the party. Later, Mr
Justin Okafor gathered his family for a meeting at which he addressed
them.
He began by saying,
“Five minutes more and it will be twelve noon.
Very soon we should be expecting troops of guests. He was about making the next statement when
the door bell sounded.
“That’s the door,”
said Ralph.
“Wow, it’s not yet
12 o’clock and people have started coming for my birthday!” Kay interrupted
with her face wreathed in smile. “I
should get dressed, my birthday has just begun,” she giggled and ran to her
room to wear a gorgeous dress.
“I think someone
should get the door; the maids can’t do that now as they are getting dressed
for the party,” Jeffrey said. Ralph went
downstairs to check the person at the door.
He opened and saw strange faces.
He knew they came for the party and so he allowed them in. When he went back upstairs, his father asked
who was at the door.
“I don’t know,” he
answered, “all I know is that they are part of the human specie invited to the
party.”
“How could you allow
strangers into the house, Ralph?” Mrs Okafor asked.
“I don’t think they
are strangers, they seem to know dad.
One of them asked of Justin and that is dad.”
Mr Justin Okafor,
looking surprised, asked: “Where are they?”
“They are downstairs
in the second sitting room,” Ralph answered.
“Let’s go see
them!” Mr Okafor concluded.
The family went
downstairs to see the strange guests, apart from Kay who was in her room
selecting the best clothes to wear. To
Mr and Mrs Okafor’s surprise, they were Mr Justin Okafor’s siblings with their
households. They hugged one another and
Justin introduced them to his family.
He said, “Jeffrey,
Ralph, this is my brother Kelechi with his family; my sister Chinaza, her
husband and children; and finally, Chidi and his family.” He went further: “Kelechi and Chidi are your
uncles and Chinaza is your aunty.”
“Good to see you,”
Ralph said.
“I am glad to know I
have uncles, cousins and an aunty,” said Jeffrey, stretching his hand to shake
them.
“So who among you is
the celebrant?” asked Chinaza.
“Oh! She is upstairs;
she will be here very soon,” said Mrs Hailey Okafor.
“Kay!” Mr Justin Okafor called.
“Yes! Daddy, I’m
almost ready,” answered Kay. Few seconds
later, she ran downstairs in a very beautiful dress. She was surprised to see strange faces in the
sitting room. Her father introduced his
brothers and sister to her and she introduced herself to them.
“Make yourself
comfortable; the maid will get you something to eat,” said Mrs Hailey Okafor
with utmost courtesy.
The family went back
upstairs to continue their meeting. “You
never told me you had siblings, daddy,” said Kay.
“I was about to say
that. Did those cousins, uncles and
aunty fall from heaven?” Jeffrey took over from Kay.
“I thought you
informed us you were the only child,” Ralph added.
“Hold it! All your queries will be answered after the
party.”
“Whaaat!” Kay, Ralph
and Jeffrey chorused in unison. “Daddy, we were expecting you to answer the
questions now,” Kay said, still surprised.
“You all heard your
dad – ‘after the party!’” Mrs Hailey Okafor said in an angry tone.
“You are keeping us
curious,” Jeffrey protested.
Mr Justin Okafor
didn’t want his children to keep asking questions. He thought of what to do. He finally came to a conclusion that he had
to give them something to do that would keep them on their toes – busy.
“Jeffrey,” he said,
“I want you to be in charge of the sound system and the music. Ralph, be in charge of the swimming pool and
make sure nobody enters the pool without your permission. You are there as a lifeguard.”
“But we already have
a lifeguard,” Ralph interjected.
Mr Justin Okafor
ignored him and said to Kay, “Kay, just go anywhere and have fun; it is your
birthday.”
Mr Okafor ordered
his three children to their various assignments. They all left his presence immediately. Mrs Okafor turned to her husband and said,
“Your siblings never honoured any of our past invitations; they neither came
for our wedding nor its anniversaries but now they are showing up on Kay’s
birthday.”
“I know how confused
you are. I am as confused as you
are. Let’s just think of how to deal
with this situation.”
“They can’t just
come back to us like this; something is amiss,” Mrs Okafor replied, leaving the
room.
The party
began. Friends, neighbours, relatives,
well-wishers – all came to celebrate with the Okafor family. All the domestic staff ate and drank to their
satisfaction. They danced and had
fun. The dogs kept wagging their tails,
indicating how happy they too were because they had many leftover bones to
crack. There were lots of activities,
games, food and gifts for everyone. The
party had a buffet setting and everyone had their choice food. The party bubbled with music and dance. Everything went well.
The only problem
they had was Mr Justin Okafor’s siblings. All they did was gossip; their eyes were full
of hatred and jealousy. Kay noticed
them. Their movements made her uncomfortable.
They moved around the house, looking at every corner as if they were trying
to find out something. And her cousins
kept fomenting troubles.
The maids began to
clean up the house as soon as the party was over. The compound was filthy. The Okafors gathered for their family meeting
again. At the meeting Ralph set the ball rolling by talking about how he ate
Chinese rice. He was quick to report how a stubborn cousin almost drowned even
after warning him several times not to go close to the pool. Mrs Hailey Okafor praised Jeffrey for a job well
done. She narrated how the music enlivened the party. Jeffrey talked emotively about the dance session,
most especially, how his parents danced to the admiration of many guests. Mr Justin Okafor talked about the nice time
he had with his friends, including the neighbour who lived in the next
compound.
Everyone noticed
that Kay had not said a word all along.
Her father asked her what was wrong.
She replied, saying, “This is the most annoying birthday celebration in
my life!” Everyone stared at Kay in
discomfiture. They did not understand why or how the birthday was
annoying. Her father asked her what the
problem was.
She said in
annoyance, “Your siblings are my problem.
Do you want to sweep everything we said this morning under the
carpet? You promised you would tell us
about those siblings of yours after the party.
Now you all are putting the cart before the horse; you are all talking
about the party and not dad’s siblings.
Dad, it’s time to let the cat out of the bag. Telling us this morning that you have siblings
was like squaring the circle. We all
know you are the only child. Anyone can
see with half an eye that your siblings don’t like us. I’m ….”
“Slow down with the
idioms. I don’t even understand you,”
Jeffrey interrupted.
“What did you not
understand? Is it ‘squaring the circle,’
‘letting the cat out of the bag,’ or ‘putting the cart before the horse’?”
Ralph joined the
exchange: “You are a university student, Jeffrey, but you don’t know any
idiomatic expression. Even Kay is
smarter than you in this context!” Ralph said mockingly.
Jeffrey replied
angrily, “Should you be making jest of me; I am older than you. Mind what you say.”
Mr Okafor knew that
the meeting was going to end with quarrels.
He decided to stop the argument.
He asked everybody to calm down and listen carefully to him. He told them about his family history. He also explained to Kay that the siblings in
question were his stepbrothers and stepsister.
He went further to tell them about his past and how his siblings never
talked to him. “They never liked me;
they never really talked with me,” he informed his children.
After this, Kay felt
better and Ralph apologized for using insulting words on his brother. Mr Justin Okafor began to talk about his
Will.
“By Friday, I will
meet my lawyer for the Will,” he let the family know.
“Dad, I don’t need
your properties. I’m going to be richer
and even greater than you,” Kay said audaciously.
“That is what we
pray for!” Mrs Okafor intoned.
“I am going to be
the best petro-chemical engineer in the world!
I don’t really need your property before you die. I will make it big time!” Ralph boasted.
“If they don’t want
your properties, give everything to me because I want your companies,” Jeffrey
said.
“Jeffrey, you are
lazy. Everybody is talking about making
their own money, you are talking about taking your father’s properties,” Mrs
Okafor said and everyone laughed.
“The other news is
that we are not travelling out of the country for Christmas. We are staying her in Nigeria,” Mr
Okafor alerted his family.
“Why? Why?” Ralph
and Kay asked.
“Nobody should
question me. I’ve taken that decision,”
Mr Okafor emphasized.
“Just before we end
the meeting, I really need to learn idioms,” said Jeffrey.
“I will help
you. Follow me upstairs, I will give you
a book on idioms,” Kay assured.
They both went upstairs
to get the book. Meanwhile, Ralph and
his parents were downstairs. His parents
warned him about his naughty attitude.
“Ralph, go to bed immediately and you must not play video games this
night,” Mr Okafor instructed.
“Okay dad,” Ralph
submitted.
“And make sure you
brush your teeth and take your bath,” said Mrs Okafor.
“Okay mom, I have
heard you,” Ralph replied.
“Goodnight,” Mr
Justin Okafor said to Mrs Hailey Okafor with a kiss.
“Knock it off dad,
you shouldn’t be kissing here. Do that
in your room,” Ralph said as he went upstairs.
“Go away!” Mrs
Okafor said, smiling.
“It’s 10 o’clock.
It’s time to end the meeting and go to bed,” emphasized Mr Okafor.
Chapter 2
THE next morning was
a Sunday morning. Jeffrey woke up first,
and was viewing a TV programme in the third sitting room very close to the
library. Ralph was also doing same in
his own room that morning. When their
parents woke up, Ralph heard them talking; he turned off the TV immediately and
pretended he was sleeping.
Mr and Mrs Okafor
went to Ralph’s room which was the nearest to theirs, but they saw Ralph
sleeping. They left and went to Kay’s
room and she was also sleeping. They
went to Jeffrey’s room but he was not there.
As they walked down the stairway, Jeffrey heard their footsteps; he
quickly put off the TV set and pretended he was reading the book Kay gave him.
“Mom, dad, good
morning,” Jeffrey hurriedly greeted his parents as they got into the sitting
room.
“Don’t deceive
yourself; I heard the sound of the TV.
Join us outside for sanitation,” Mrs Hailey Okafor said. And Mr Justin Okafor added, “The whole
compound is in total mess. You must
join us in cleaning the compound.”
Jeffrey went
upstairs to call Ralph for the sanitation.
Kay was asleep till they finished cleaning the compound. She woke up after everybody was done with the
sanitation. She then went to join the
others in the sitting room. “Good
morning everybody,” she said. Her
parents responded, “Good morning.”
“Dad, are we going
out today?” she asked.
“No,” her father
replied.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I am
tired,” her father answered.
Ralph looked at his
parents with his face wreathed in smile.
“What is it? Did you see something?”
Mrs Hailey asked.
“Today’s Sunday,
which means I’m no more grounded. My
punishment expired yesterday; therefore, I need my allowance for this week,” Ralph
pointed out.
“Before the ban is
lifted you must promise us that you will never buy porn magazines again!” Mr
Justin Okafor retorted.
“Dad, I’m a big boy.
I’m fifteen. For crying out loud, I’m
done with secondary school. By January I
will be in college. Every other boy of
my age does the same. You shouldn’t
ground or scold me,” Ralph protested.
“Ralph, every other
stupid boy of your age does the same thing but the good ones don’t!” shouted
Mrs Hailey Okafor, distending her face and making it look like hard stone. And then Mr Justin Okafor interrupted –
saying, “Ralph, I am really scared of you.
Now that you are going to college, I hope you won’t become a nuisance. Maybe you school in Nigeria instead of Canada so I can watch you.”
Ralph was shocked
and he exclaimed, “No way!” He then pleaded, “Daddy, please don’t let me stay
in Nigeria. Look at my skin colour, my hair; Canada is the perfect place for me, not Nigeria. Okay, I promise to be a good boy and not to
read porn magazines again. Please let me
go to Canada.
I don’t even look like a Nigerian.” All
this time, Ralph was on his knees pleading.
“You have five days
to prove that you have been transformed.
Therefore, on Friday, 26th of December, that is the Boxing
Day, I will give you your allowance,” Mr Okafor said. “Okay,” Ralph replied in a sad tone.
Mrs Okafor was happy
because she knew that Ralph would turn a new leaf.
The Okafor family was
a family blessed with special and unique children. Jeffrey was like a disc jockey. He could work
on sounds; he was also an expert at playing the guitar. He read a lot – newspapers, magazines and
books written by great people. He was in
his second year in college studying law at Nova Scotia
College, a university, in Canada.
Ralph was very
smart. He loved to play drum. He did not read much but he read manuals for
the electrical appliances in the house.
Whenever any home electrical appliance got spoilt he always repaired
it. He was aspiring to become a
petro-chemical engineer. He got
admission to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Canada. His parents were surprised at this. Though
they were always proud of him, they could not believe that Ralph would pass the
matriculation examination because he was very playful. But to their surprise he
was one of the best candidates who sat for the examination. Ralph used mnemonic devices to learn most
often and he loved fun.
Kay was a very
unique girl. Everybody in the house loved
her, including the maids. They often
called her “small but mighty.” She was
an expert at playing piano. She loved
gathering information. She read beyond
her level. Most times she taught her
brothers etiquette. She loved to teach
and speak in the public. Still unsure of
what she wanted to become, she was thinking of becoming a newscaster. She liked it whenever she saw people read
news on the TV set.
However, Mr and Mrs
Okafor had a discussion about their Will.
Mr Okafor came to the conclusion that he would write his Will on
Saturday the 27th of December.
He called his lawyer to set an appointment for Saturday.
Wednesday, the 24th
of December was a day to remember for the Okafors. That day, everyone was preparing for Christmas. Mrs Okafor went to the supermarket to get
foodstuffs. The Okafors celebrate Christmas even though they were not
Christians. They believed that may be God
the Creator but they didn’t belong to any religion; they were
free-thinkers. That day, Mr Justin
Okafor brought a huge amount of money to the house. The money was in two briefcases.
“Why would you bring
a hundred million naira into the house?” Mrs Okafor queried her husband.
“The bank has
closed; I will take it to the bank tomorrow,” Mr Okafor answered.
Meanwhile their
children were in the music studio. They
had a very big studio in the house. Mr
and Mrs Okafor went to join their children in the music studio. Ralph was playing the drum, Jeffrey playing
the guitar and Kay was on the piano.
They sang their family song together.
Chorus: We
are family, we are family
We are
family knitted together, we are one
Jeffrey: We live together in love
As
gentle as dove
Kay: Like a bond of unity
In
our house of purity
Ralph: Let us rejoice
Make
a joyful noise
Mrs Okafor: In love we acquire
All
that we desire
Mr Okafor: Earth is shaking
Heart
is breaking
There’s
no faking
I
love you all
Chorus
After the song,
Ralph felt sober, saying, “I can’t believe that in six days’ time I will be
travelling to Canada
with Jeffrey.”
“Life in the
university is fun,” Jeffrey said. “I
will miss you all, especially Kay,” Ralph said, touching Kay’s hair.
At about fifteen
minutes past eleven o’clock that night, everyone was asleep. The dogs were barking furiously. The loud barking woke Jeffrey up. Jeffrey went to Ralph’s room to rouse him
from sleep but Ralph was awake and was playing video game.
“Why are the dogs
barking like that?” asked Jeffrey. “This
is unusual; they are barking in an unfriendly manner,” Ralph intoned.
“I am going to wake mom
and dad,” Jeffrey said as he left Ralph’s room.
Ralph followed him but on their way, they met their parents coming out
of their room.
“We are just coming
to your room,” Ralph quickly said, panting.
“The dogs’ barks
woke us both up,” said Mrs Okafor.
“Boom! Boooom!”
sounded the gunshots. “Did you hear
that?” asked an alarmed Jeffrey. Almost
crying, Mrs Okafor raised her voice, “Armed robbers! Oh! My God!”
“Now I want
everybody to keep calm; let’s think of a plan,” Ralph said.
“Bringing up a plan
now is like building a castle in the air; these guys are armed with guns!”
Jeffrey said.
Looking so unusually
worried, Mrs Okafor said in a hush, “I think they shot the dogs because they
are not barking anymore.”
“I hope they did not
shoot the puppies. Kay loves them. She would
be sad if they did,” Jeffrey narrated.
“Where …,” Mrs
Okafor said, about to ask a question, but was interrupted by Ralph who said,
“I’ve got a plan. I need a couple of wires
which I will connect to an electric socket. I will remove the insulation on the
cables to make them naked wires. I will
then connect them to the metal door and pour water on the door; so when the
robbers try to open the door, they will all get electrocuted. And finally we will call the Police. It’s a perfect plan – just like in ‘Home
Alone’ movie.”
Mrs Okafor surveyed
Ralph who just ended his ingenious plan with a wink as well as a smile, and she
said, “I was about to ask where Kay was before you interrupted me.” Jeffrey went to Kay’s room to wake her up.
“We are not
executing your plan, Ralph,” Mr Okafor said calmly.
“Why?” Ralph asked.
“Let’s just
surrender to the robbers; let them steal anything they want.”
Jeffrey and Kay went
to join the others in the corridor.
“Justin, you caused
this. You shouldn’t have brought that
hug amount of money into this house,” Mrs Okafor blamed her husband.
“The money is in my
closet; they could take it if that’s what they want.”
“Boom!” A gunshot
again. The armed robbers entered the
house and the family came downstairs.
The armed robbers ordered them to lie face-down. “Bring out all the
money you have in the house!” The gang leader bellowed at Mr Okafor.
Ralph stood up and
said, “I will show you where the money is.”
The leader of the
robbers told one of his men to follow Ralph and fetch the money. Ralph saw that there were only three robbers
and they were wearing black masks. He
thought to himself, “There are only three and we are five in number. I could collaborate with the maid, get sharp
objects and we could fight these robbers just as in the action movie I watched
lately.”
The armed robber hit
Ralph’s head, saying, “Move faster! I don’t know what you are thinking!”
On the other hand,
the two robbers in the sitting room were interrogating the remaining family
members. “So you have three sitting
rooms in this house. I can’t wait to see
the happiness in this family die!” The gang leader yelled.
“Hello, birthday
girl,” he said, touching Kay. “You are
not going to enjoy this year’s Christmas because it will be full of
unhappiness.”
Unknown to the
Okafors, the leader of the armed robbers was Mr Justin Okafor’s stepbrother –
Kelechi. Kelechi kept on touching Kay. He
told her to pull off her pyjamas, a request that provoked Jeffrey who stood up
and said angrily, “You are not ashamed of yourself; a man like you, who is old
enough to father this girl, wants to rape her.”
“Shut up!” Kelechi shouted
angrily.
Mr Justin Okafor
told Jeffrey to lie down.
“Look, if you say a
word again I will blast you!” Kelechi fumed at Jeffrey.
“And if you touch my
sister again I will attack you.”
The gang leader Kelechi
looked straight into Jeffrey’s eyes. By
this time, Jeffrey was filled with indignation and uncommon courage. He
communicated to Kay with a sign no one in the sitting room understood except
Kay who is smart enough to decode such signs.
Immediately Jeffrey
winked, Kay ran toward the kitchen while Jeffrey himself ran toward the
door. Kelechi and the other robber with
him pursued Jeffrey, whilst Kay hid inside the kitchen cupboard.
“Idiot! Pursue the
girl before she gets away while I get this bastard,” said Kelechi to his gang
mate, as he himself pursued Jeffrey toward the gate. Kelechi knew that he would not catch up with
Jeffrey, so he pulled the trigger and let off a shot. Jeffrey fell down flat as he was about to
open the gate. But Ralph had handed over
the two briefcases filled with money to the armed robber before they heard the
gunshot.
The armed robber was
about to run downstairs to check what was going on. “Not so fast,” Ralph
said. He dragged the robber back from
behind, gave him a hard punch and kicked the gun off his hand. He turned and pushed the robber down. He picked up the gun, took the briefcases and
ran as fast as he could. As he ran down
the passage he threw the briefcases into the storeroom.
The robber pursued
him. When the robber caught up with him,
Ralph pointed the gun at the robber, but he was afraid to shoot because he didn’t
want to kill anybody. The robber saw
fear in Ralph, he drag the gun from his hand and shot Ralph’s arm. At that instant, the robber heard the Police
siren. He ran downstairs to meet Kelechi
and the third armed robber.
Kelechi said, “My
plan was to steal your belongings and kill all the males in this family. But I will not go without executing my
plan. Goodbye, Mr Justin Okafor.” He released some shots.
The three robbers
ran out of the compound. Kay was still
in the kitchen cupboard but she heard the gunshots. She wondered who was shot. She was very
scared. When she heard the Police siren,
she was happy that the Police would save her.
Before the Police got there, the armed robbers had escaped. The Police called the ambulance to take
Ralph, Jeffrey and Mr Justin Okafor to the hospital.
Poor Mrs Hailey
Okafor! She cried throughout that
night. Kay comforted her. Mrs Hailey Okafor gave the Police all the
information they needed. She told the
Police that the leader of the robbers knew her husband by name because he said,
“Goodbye, Mr Justin Okafor” before he pulled the trigger.
Ralph had a bullet
in his arm, Jeffrey also had one lodged in his hand; but Mr Justin Okafor had a
bullet in his stomach. The doctors
performed surgery on the three of them to remove the bullets in their
bodies. Ralph was half-conscious before
the surgery, Jeffrey was half-dead and Mr Justin Okafor was unconscious before
the surgery.
While the surgery
was on Mrs Hailey Okafor kept on crying and wishing the surgery would be
successful. But Kay kept wondering why
only the men in her family were killed.
She wondered why neither she nor her mom was killed. “How did he know about my birthday party?”
she thought to herself. “Maybe he was at
the party; he must be someone we know. But who could he be?” These thoughts kept ringing in Kay’s
mind. She was scared because her mother
kept crying. She knew something bad was
in the offing.
After the surgery
and everything, Mr Okafor’s brothers came to the hospital. The doctors announced to the family that Mr
Justin Okafor lost a lot of blood and had died!
Mrs Okafor threw herself on the floor and wailed, refusing to be
consoled. She was beside herself with
grief, almost going mad! Kay noticed
that after the doctors informed that her father was dead, her uncles
smiled.
“What about the
other boys?” One of her uncles enquired.
“They survived the
surgery,” a doctor answered. Kay noticed
that her uncles were surprised and angry that her brothers were alive. Now she knew how much her uncles hated her
family. She went to Ralph’s ward. Ralph was awake but looking very tired.
“What’s up? Why the long face?” Ralph wanted to know from
Kay.
“Daddy is dead,” Kay
said as teardrops fell from her eyes.
“I know he spoke to
me in the ambulance before he gave up the ghost,” said Ralph.
“What did he say?”
Kay asked with eagerness.
“He told me not to
trust his brothers. He said that he had
no Will and that we must be very smart.
He told me his account number and he asked me to learn his
signature. He told me some other
things. But he said that he suspected
that his brothers sent the armed robbers and they were going to take his
property because he had no Will and it is a tradition. Dad further asked me to withdraw all the
money in one of his accounts at Zenith Bank.
He said the money would be enough to pay our school fees till we would
be out of university. Dad also said he
expected great achievement from us. Then
he died.”
“I knew his brothers
were part of the armed robbery gang. The
one who touched me had the same body odour as his eldest stepbrother Kelechi,
or whatever he is called,” Kay said with a very angry reaction.
“Don’t jump into
conclusions. Let’s watch them; when we
find out, we can then take action,” Ralph retorted.
Within few seconds,
their uncles came into Ralph’s ward. Kay
left immediately they came in because she was very angry. Ralph stared at them.
“How are you?” Uncle
Chidi asked
“It is obvious that
I am not fine. I’m on a sick bed,” Ralph
answered.
They went outside
the ward to talk. Ralph tried his best
to get up from the bed; he removed his drip.
He went to the door and eavesdropped on their conversation.
“We have to
eliminate these boys or else we won’t achieve our aim,” Uncle Kelechi was heard
saying. “We have to work very fast,” he
continued. “We must eliminate them any
moment from now, even right here in this hospital. We have to come up with a plan,” he said and
spoke some Igbo language which Ralph didn’t understand. Ralph was very weak and down; he was not
prepared for this battle.
“Why did father give
me all the information? I was never a
responsible boy. How could he trust
me? Now I can’t disappoint him,” Ralph
thought to himself. “Maybe Jeffrey is
alive because they talked about killing two boys,” he soliloquized as he went
out of his ward to Jeffrey’s.
He stood by
Jeffrey. Kay was also there sitting
down. A nurse came in. “Don’t worry; within two hours he would be
awake,” the nurse assured.
She was surprised at
how strong Ralph was. “You should be in
your ward, don’t put me in trouble! Now
go to your ward and fix the drip into your hand.”
“Ralph,” Kay called
as he was about to go, “it is 15 minutes to midnight – exactly 24 hours in this
hospital. We spent our unhappy Christmas
Day in a hospital. By 12 midnight, it
will be Boxing Day. We have no gifts to
open, no good news; the bad news is that our father is dead!” Kay wept and tears rolled down Ralph’s eyes
as he went out of Jeffrey’s ward.
“When Jeffrey wakes
up I will tell him everything daddy said.
I can take all the responsibility.” Then Ralph thought, “What if he
doesn’t wake up?” “No! No! He will wake
up; he can’t leave me alone now that my uncles are after my life. He will wake up and we will surely come up
with a plan of action,” Ralph assured himself though he was still scared.
By 7:00 a.m. on
Boxing Day Mrs Hailey Okafor woke up. She
was surprised to see Kay awake, the Kay she knew loved to sleep. She didn’t say a word. There was an unusual movement in the
hospital, the doctors went up and down as if they were looking for something, and
the nurses looked at them in an unusual way.
“Mom, I can sense
that something is wrong, let’s go and check Jeffrey and Ralph.” Her mother got up immediately. Her uncles had come in as early as 7:00
a.m. Kay was surprised. She and her mother went to the third floor
where Ralph’s ward was. The uncles
followed them. When they got to the
ward, Ralph was not there! They went to
Jeffrey’s and he too was not in.
“Where are they –
Ralph and Jeffrey?” Mrs Okafor asked alarmingly, breaking down in tears. She was very confused. The doctors told her
to calm down. “They could be somewhere
around playing,” a doctor interjected.
Now, Kay stared at
her uncles who were surprised and fidgety because of her seemingly fiery gaze. She suspected them. Kay went straight into Jeffrey’s ward. She scattered everything there but could not
find any trace, not even a note. She
held her mom’s hand and both went to Ralph’s ward. Kay searched.
There was nothing there as useful information on her brother’s
whereabouts. The only thing found was a
picture of an airport which Ralph drew.
When Kay looked at the picture she smiled, saying, “I know where they
are.” The doctors were relieved when
they heard this.
Chapter 3
IN a split moment, Mrs
Hailey Okafor’s mind reeled out a trajectory of the past two eventful
days. She was very happy at the
nerve-calming confidence expressed in Kay’s “I know where they are” statement.
“So where are they?”
Uncle Kelechi asked.
“Mr Man, I wasn’t
talking to you!” Kay shouted. She went
downstairs with her mom.
“That girl is weird.
How does she know where they are?” Uncle Chidi, standing with arms akimbo,
queried. “She doesn’t like you at
all. I guess she saw your face when you
robbed the house. I told you not to go.”
“Chiimo!
Why am I scared of her – that little brat? I will make sure I break her wings. Those horrible eyes of hers are scary,”
Kelechi said.
“Guilty conscience,”
Chidi said as they both went downstairs.
Meanwhile, when Kay
got to the car, her mother asked her again, “Where are they?”
She answered, “You
know Ralph loves drawing and the only picture there was the picture of the
airport which he drew. Therefore, it
means they are going to the airport.”
“What!” Mrs Okafor
exclaimed. “Let’s go to the airport
now!” She started the car. “No, we can’t go to the airport, we have to
go home first; if they are travelling, they will take their belongings and
international passport at home first before going to the airport.” Mrs Okafor drove as fast as she could.
“Mom, slow down,”
Kay advised. “I’m sure you watch movies on ‘African Magic’. You notice that in those movies, when someone
is curious, worried or angry and the person drives fast, the person ends up
having a terrible accident. So please
reduce your speed.”
Mrs Okafor applied
the brakes and the car screeched to a halt. She jumped down from the car and ran into the
house. “Jeffrey! Ralph!” She
screamed. One of the maids told her they
had gone with some luggage not quite long.
The maid gave her the letter they dropped before leaving. The letter reads:
Osanyintuyi Hospital,
49 Falomo Street,
Victoria Island,
Lagos State.
27 Dec. 2013
Dear Mom,
Ralph eavesdropped and heard Uncle Kelechi’s and Uncle
Chidi’s discussion here in the hospital.
They have planned to eliminate us in order to take father’s
properties. That’s why we are going back
to Canada. By January, Ralph will start as a 100-level
student and I will resume as a 300-level student. We promise to be very hardworking.
Don’t worry about our school fees and allowances. Before Dad died, Ralph spoke to him in the
ambulance. Dad asked us to take the
money, but we took only 50 million naira.
The other briefcase is in your room; you could use it for his
burial. He also asked us to take all the
money in one of his accounts which I already did. I transferred all the money into my account. He also told Ralph that he registered the
shopping plaza in your name and that it belongs to you. They may want to take the plaza from you; but
if my uncles try it, you can sue them.
I’m very sure you will win the case.
Dad also talked about Kay’s birthday gift. It is behind her pillow. Dad warned us not to fight his brothers; he
said that we should leave the properties for them. He also said that if we fight them they can
use charms to kill us.
We love you.
Thanks.
With love,
Ralph & Jeff
After Mrs Hailey
Okafor read the letter, she became frustrated and she fainted. Kay ran back to the car, took her mother’s
phone and called the hospital. Kay was
very scared. She called the maids to
help. They carried her outside so that
she could receive fresh air. The
ambulance came to carry her. Kay ran
upstairs to her room to take the gift her late father left for her under the
pillow. Before she got back downstairs, the ambulance had left.
She was very
unhappy. She sat down to open the gift
package. She saw in it a new telephone
set, a new SIM card and 5,000 naira worth of airtime. She was beside herself with joy. One of the maids prepared food for her. After
she had eaten her fill, she went back to the room, opened her wardrobe and
brought out all the presents given to her on her birthday.
She started with the
one her mother gave her and, on opening the packet, she found a big pink
teddy. She had always wanted a pink
teddy bear and not a brown one. Now she
got what she wanted. She unfurled wrapper
of the gift from Jeffrey and found a toy Barbie house. Barbie was her best cartoon, so Jeffrey gave
her a Barbie house. Next, the gift from
Ralph. A lovely diary it was! She opened
other gifts given to her by the maids, neighbours and friends and found lovely
items in them all.
The last gift item
looked very flat; she wondered who gave it.
She looked round the wrapper and found her father’s name. She new it was another gift from her father. She tore off the wrapper and behold, it was a
laptop with a car key taped on top! She
was very surprised. She went to the
garage, opened it and found a new car at the end of the garage! She was so overwhelmed with joy that she
broke down in tears. Oh, why? The giver
– her father – was not alive to hear her say, “Thank you ….”
When Mrs Okafor woke
up in the hospital, she asked about Kay and the doctor told her that Kay was at
home with the maids. The doctor told Mrs
Okafor that she had high blood pressure.
Her doctor advised her not to think too much. He also told her not to get worried and
shocked, but to try as much as possible to be in happy frame of mind.
Meanwhile, Ralph and
Jeffrey had arrived in Canada.
They went for several medical checks and treatment for wholesome healing. They made sure they spent their money wisely
and on very important things. Ralph went
to Northern Alberta Institute of Technology; Jeffrey paid his accommodation
fees at the institute and for other things he needed for the semester. Jeffrey also resumed at his own college – Nova Scotia College.
He did not tell his friends anything about his father’s death; he kept
it a secret.
After Mrs Hailey
Okafor was discharged, her brothers-in-law began accusing her of killing her
husband. She was very nonplussed. It was hard for her to see any reason for the
charge against her. She denied the
charge, stressing that she could never allow her integrity as well as her
respect for the sanctity of human life to diminish to the level of being
complicit in any murder.
The in-laws
requested her to go to the village and swear before the god of the land that
she never killed her husband. She
complied. The chief priest asked her to
drink the water used to bath the body of her late husband. In addition, he
requested her to shave her head. Mrs
Okafor, thinking of the unhygienic condition of the water, refused to drink. But her friend, called Adamma whom she met in
the village, told her to drink it or else the villagers would think she killed
her husband. Mrs Okafor succumbed. Kay
watched the scenario but there was nothing she could do to help. She only wept. All these made her hate the uncles the more.
During the burial of
Mr Justin Okafor, nobody from Canada
came. Mrs Hailey Okafor’s parents were
long dead and she was their only child.
She had no brother or sister. Her
late husband’s parents were also dead.
She had no close relatives to lean on at this uneasy time. She alone faced her evil
brothers-in-law. All other people who
came to the funeral were unknown to her.
She refused to eat or drink and she wept all through. Only Kay and the new-found friend, Adamma,
were nearby to console her.
After the burial,
Mrs Hailey Okafor returned to Lagos. She called out all the household
servants. She told them that she would
not be able to pay all of them because her husband had died and she could not
afford to continue to pay and also feed them.
She also said that she knew her husband’s family would come and take
over the house because he died without a Will.
In other words, Mr Okafor died intestate. Mrs Okafor asked the cook, the
gatekeeper, the driver and one of the maids to stand aside. She then told the other maids to get their
baggages, gave them some money and bade them farewell.
While the other
maids had gone to pack their bags, Mrs Okafor turned to the domestic staff she
asked to stand aside and said, “I told you to stand apart because I’ve decided
to retain the four of you. Therefore,
Ifeoma, you remain our cook. Ali, you
remain the gatekeeper although you weren’t able to save us during the robbery
attack. Wale, my husband said that you
drove better than Ochuko, so I have decided to retain you instead of Ochuko;
you remain the driver. And finally,
Yewande, you know that Kay loves you so much, you gonna be in charge of
cleaning. Thank you. You can all go back to your duty posts. But before you go, Yewande and Ifeoma – you
can both stay in Jeffrey’s room. Wale,
Ralph’s room is all yours. Nobody should
stay in the boys’ quarters anymore.” The
four of them left the sitting room happily.
In Canada, Jeffrey
and Ralph decided to get jobs and study at the same time. It was easy for Jeffrey to find one; he was
17 years old. But for Ralph it was the
other way round; most employers did not want to offer him employment because he
was too young – 15 years old. Jeffrey
got a job as a DJ in a club house down town.
Jeffrey discussed with the owner of the club house to allow Ralph work
there as a waiter. They worked only on
Friday and Saturday nights when there were a lot of clubbers. Jeffrey rocked the club with good music and
Ralph served drinks to people.
The little money
they earned was what they used to buy new clothes and feed themselves. Even at that, they studied very hard. They never forgot their late father’s
admonition. They were after greatness as
they never spared themselves at well-focused hard work. While in school, they studied like there would
be no tomorrow; and they ensured that no one distracted them.
Back in the house
there was great trouble. Mr Justin
Okafor’s relatives tormented Mrs Hailey Okafor.
Kay had resumed school as a JSS 1 student. The family members of Mr Okafor came into the
house one day. They scattered everything
in search of what they never kept.
Ali the gatekeeper
heard the shuffling and screeching sounds at the gatehouse. He ran into the house with his dagger flashed
and told the intruders to leave the compound.
“Look at this
thing,” Kelechi muttered.
“Step aside, Ali!”
Mrs Okafor ordered. She moved closer to
Kelechi. “What is it you want? You have taken the companies, my husband’s
life and my joy! What else do you want?”
“Look at this
woman. Are you not an oyibo woman? Go back to your
country! Thief! Leave my brother’s properties alone!” Aunty
Chinaza shouted arrogantly.
“You called me a
thief? You came into this family and
took the companies that my husband and I built over the years! Are you not the thief?” Mrs Okafor retorted,
pointing to Chinaza.
“Look! The reason I
came here is because I need the documents about the companies. I have not come here to fight!” Kelechi said,
a bit scared. Mrs Hailey Okafor went
upstairs to get all the documents relating to the companies. She handed them over to the inquisitive
Okafor siblings and told them to leave the house.
They left but Mrs
Okafor broke down in tears. “Why didn’t
you tell me that Nigerians are like this?” She queried as if talking to her
late husband. “Why have you left me to
suffer? I’m scared, I need help!” She
cried.
Unknown to her, the
Okafor siblings were scared of her. “I’m
scared of this woman,” Chinaza said in muffled tone.
“You are not the
only one,” Chidi added. Kelechi looked
at both of them and said, “This woman is going to stop us from getting all of
Justin’s properties. We have to kill her
too!”
“Don’t try
that. Remember she has two sons that are
away plus the fact that her daughter knows that you killed her father. They will suspect you,” Chidi warned.
“Why do you talk
like a child, Chidi? It is not
compulsory we kill her with a gun or a knife.
We could kill her with charms,” Kelechi confidently said.
“Yes! We will inflict
her with a sickness to make her calm down and stop being strict. Then we will take all the properties right
before her eyes; and finally, we will kill her with charm,” Chinaza added some
pep in corroborating Kelechi’s statement.
Kelechi grinned and
said with glee, “Nobody will suspect us!”
The house had become
very boring to Kay since her two brothers were no longer around to play with
her. All that had happened in the past
few months made her think deeply. She had
always wanted to be greater than her father.
She came to a conclusion that she was going to become a doctor in order
to save lives. She saw the doctor that
wasn’t able to save her father’s life as a failure. She determined to become a successful medical
doctor who would save lives. She now had
no friends or siblings around; her friends were now the domestic staff left,
all the four of whom related very cordially with her.
Uncle Wale, the
driver, drove to her to school and back home everyday in the new car her father
gave her. While in school as a JSS 1
student she studied hard even beyond her level.
She studied JSS 2 and JSS 3 books too.
Whenever she got back home she did all her school assignments. Kay was very diligent.
Yewande, the maid,
taught her how to wash clothes and dishes.
She also taught her how to sweep clean and do some other home
chores. Aunty Ifeoma, the cook, taught
Kay fine culinary and proper laying of the dining table for serving the
cuisine.
Ali, the gatekeeper,
taught Kay the Hausa language. And she
reciprocated by teaching Ali the English language. Uncle Wale showed Kay how to wash a car
without scratching off the paint, and also the basics of safe driving. Kay also
benefited by the recreational activities that Wale taught her, which included
table tennis and basketball. All these
home activities, in addition to how she worked hard in school, kept Kay very
busy and helped her forget her sorrows.
The only source of
income for Mrs Hailey Okafor was the rent she collected from the tenant in the
other two houses her husband built. She
also collected rent from the ten shops in her plaza. She had no office in the two companies again,
so she was always home and this was boring.
It made her think of everything that had happened. She decided to go to the art and craft school
for adults to learn decoration.
After six months of
training she began to decorate events like weddings, birthday celebrations and
anniversaries. She got more income from
this work and was able to pay Kay’s school fees and other expenses. The decorating work helped her think less of
her misfortune, thus normalizing her rising blood pressure. She had many clients because most people
loved her decorations.
The household
workers were now part of the family.
They ate on the same dining table with Kay. On Sundays, Kay taught them how to swim. She also bought gifts for them from time to
time. Everything was going smoothly in the house.
Kay represented her
school in external debates, quiz competitions, sports and music competitions.
She came always tops in these competitions.
In fact she made her school the best musical school in town. Through Kay’s excellence in these
competitions, her school came to be among the best schools in Nigeria.
All other sports she
learned from Uncle Wale’s coaching, but swimming was learned from Ralph. Jeffrey taught her piano-playing, whilst
morals were received from the instructions of the maids and parents. All these enhanced her intelligence – so much
that it baffled her teachers. Her
achievements for the school brought her into renown. All the students, teachers, non-teaching
staff and even the proprietor of the school knew her.
Ali, Wale, Yewande,
Ifeoma and Mrs Okafor kept encouraging Kay to study harder. At the end of JSS 1 Kay was given double
promotion to JSS 3. In JSS 3 Kay had a
seat peer named Dwane Arthur – an American.
He was the best student in JSS 3.
“You look like an
American, you have our hair and skin colour.
Why then do you bear Okafor as surname?” Dwane asked one day.
“Mind you business,
I don’t talk to you and I’m not going to tell you anything. My family is a mystery you can never
understand. Okay?” Kay replied.
“Why are you
harsh? Why? Do you hate me? I was only asking a
question,” Dwane said.
“I don’t hate you,”
Kay said and went away. As she left, her
heart sank as she realized that she never liked to be an insolent girl. She would like to be the good and friendly
girl. But after her father’s death she
never liked to talk about her family to anyone.
Kay was worried that
she yelled at Dwane. When she got to
school the next day, she walked up to him and told him how sorry she was. She told him everything that had happened in
her family the year before. She also
made him understand that that was the reason she didn’t like talking about her
family. She hadn’t told anybody the
story. Dwane was the first person to
hear it from her.
Dwane talked to Kay
about the love that Jesus Christ had for every human, and how Jesus saved the
world. He told Kay that Jesus could put
an end to all the problems in her family.
The sound of the school bell which indicated that it was time for
assembly made them stop their conversation.
By then Kay had learned a lot from what Dwane said. Although she had no religion, she decided to become
a Christian like Dwane.
Kay had heard about
Jesus Christ but she never knew who he was.
Now that Dwane told her, she was anxious to go home and Google-search
“Who is Jesus” on the internet. She read
a lot about Him – his miracles and how he continues to save mankind. She accepted Jesus Christ as her saviour that
afternoon and she became a Christian.
When her mother came
back that evening, Kay told her and all the domestic staff about Jesus Christ. She told them about the wonderful things
Jesus could do and many things he had done.
She told them how Jesus raised the dead.
She explained that if she had known Jesus when her father died, Jesus
would have raised him back to life. Kay
wished she knew Jesus earlier. Nonetheless, she was happy to have come to know
him.
Kay was no longer
afraid of her uncles. She had a very
strong faith that Jesus Christ was on her side and her uncles would not be able
to kill her or her mother. Her mother
and all the domestic servants accepted Jesus on account of Kay’s narrative. Even Ali the Muslim was convinced by what Kay
said. They all became Christians.
Dwane told his
parents about his new friend Kay. And
the parents liked Kay right from their first meeting. Kay also told her mother as well as the
domestic servants about Dwane and his parents.
At a PTA meeting, Mrs Hailey Okafor met Dwane’s parents who informed her
about their church. Mrs Okafor and her
household began to attend the same church with the Arthur family.
Dwane became the
only friend that Kay had. Mrs Okafor was
happy because she had new friends in the Arthurs. Kay became a bona fide Christian. She read the Bible regularly and was very
prayerful. She prayed for her brothers
and everyone she knew. Her prayers
opened doors of blessings for her brothers in Canada.
Three years later,
Kay was 13 years; Dwane was 14 years, Ralph 18, and Jeffrey 20. Kay and Dwane were in SS2. Jeffrey was now a lawyer. He worked in a law
firm that had chambers in Canada.
Jeffrey was making money as much as fame
in law practice. Ralph was the best
engineering student in Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. He was in his third year. It was obvious that Kay’s prayers were
answered.
One fateful day Mrs
Okafor fell sick and she went to the hospital with Kay. The doctor told them that she had breast
cancer and that she was going to die soon.
Kay was alarmed. She would not
like to lose her mom so soon after losing her dad. She cried to Jesus Christ for help. She returned home and called the Arthur family
to inform them of the unfortunate development.
Immediately, the Arthurs arrived – to see how Mrs Okafor was
faring. Kay was still explaining
everything the doctor said to the Arthurs when her uncles and aunty came into
the house.
“I will destroy you
this woman! I asked you to hand over the
plaza to me but you refused. You are
telling me that is the only source of your income. Who cares?
It is my brother’s property and I will have it!” Kelechi bellowed.
Dwane and his
parents finally saw the people who had been tormenting Kay and her mother. “Hold it right there, Mr Man!” Kay exploded,
pointing to Kelechi and looking straight into his eyes. “Look me in the
eyes! I am not afraid of you anymore! My
mother may be afraid, but I am not!” Kay went on, beating her chest to
demonstrate her audacity. “The house was
quiet before you entered; so if you want to talk, talk quietly. Because if you raise your voice at my mother
again, I will personally walk you out of this house.”
“Look at the small
thing. You dare talk to my elder brother like that when I can’t talk to him
like that? I know your mother is sick;
that is just a tip of the iceberg of what we can do. I will deal with you. You have no respect,” Chinaza boasted.
“People like you
don’t deserve respect. You are
predators, I thought as much! I know you
are behind my mother’s sickness. But if
that is what you want to use to terrorize me, I’m very sorry, it is not
working. I’m not even scared because I
have Jehovah, the mighty man in battle, on my side. You have overstayed your welcome. You may now
leave!” Kay said pointing toward the
door.
“I counted the cars
outside; they are ten. What are you
using ten cars for? We are going to take
nine of them and leave only one for your use,” Chinaza said, hoping to see
Kay’s reaction.
“No problem, you can
take everything but don’t take that black sports car because it belongs to
me. And the black jeep, because it is my
mom’s. Neither the blue jeep – which is
owned by our visitors here. You may take
the remaining seven – they were your late brother’s,” Kay suggested
nonchalantly. She continued, “Uncle
Wale, please drive my car, mom’s car and Mr Arthur’s into the garage; and drive
the rest outside the compound as they now belong to my father’s siblings.”
Kay turned to her
father’s siblings and said, “Use the door now.
The plaza belongs to my mother.
I’m sure you are satisfied now that you’ve taken all of your brother’s
properties. I don’t want to see you
again in this house. Goodbye!”
Mr Justin Okafor’s
siblings left the house in shame.
Everyone in the sitting room was marveled by Kay’s courage. Ever since then, Mr Justin Okafor’s siblings
never tormented Mrs Hailey Okafor.
Kay persisted in
prayers for God to heal her mother of cancer.
One day, when Kay was in SS3, her mother was healed miraculously. Kay was so happy. That very day her mother had gone for
chemotherapy but she came back to break the news that she no longer had
cancer! Every member of the household
was happy. And the Arthurs too.
They were still
jubilating when the door bell rang.
Aunty Yewande went to check and to everyone’s surprise it was lawyer
Jeffrey Okafor and final year engineering student Ralph. The house was over-buoyed with joy – yes, joy
like the sea!
Kay told her
brothers about her achievements and all that the household went through in
their absence. Her brothers also told
her what they passed through.
“Let’s all take
photograph together,” Kay suggested.
“Ali, please call the photographer opposite the house.”
Life is full of ups
and downs. There are tribulations
everywhere. No wonder, Job in the Bible
lamented that the person born of woman is glutted with troubles all life! But with honesty, discipline, diligence and
patience, we can overcome all our troubles and temptations. It may take time but we will surely get to
our destinations.
Mr Justin Okafor’s
siblings lost all they had collected from the Okafor family. Kay and Dwane got admission into the same
university to study medicine. Ralph
became a petro-chemical engineer. But
the wicked and covetous Okafor siblings were afflicted with diseases.
