Attai Episode 5

9 years ago

Attai Episode 5

TITLE: Attai
EPISODE: 5

''Ekaite.... What are you doing in my room so early'' I asked her after doing a sign of the cross in the
darkness seeing it was someone I know. ''You were just shouting I no go smoke igbo again o,
na the last time wey I go sell am be that'' She replied. I stared at her face through the
darkness. When had I said that I wondered within
me. ''Na my igbo babe wey be say I dey miss after she
marry my friend because him get money pass me, I
dey shout say make them no sell the love of my life'' I lied. She adjusted her wrapper in the darkness
opening it to give the dark a full view of her standing
b0s0m because I saw nothing and never wished to
see anything. ''Eeyaa, na which girl go reject you na, as you fine
like this. E be like say that your friend use juju for
your babe be that.'' If she was conforting me I cared less. If she was
trying to look favourable in my eyes, her face and
teeth had disqualified her. ''Na so e carry happen o, but no problem sha.
Anyway, na my past be that and I done move on. By
the way, make I sleep, we go see tomorrow
morning''
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I said to her, standing up and gently pushing her out
of my room, amidst her feeble resistance. I made
sure I locked the door from the inside this time since
in my tiredness I had left it open. I went back to
sleep angry at myself for talking in my sleep. ''Ekaite, make I comot na, I get unfinished business
wey I wan run today and by the way, thank you for
the food yesterday'' I said to her the next morning after taking my bath
and getting ready to go out. I was dressed to kill, no
point describing it since my choice of clothes were
way off the hook. I looked at my face in the mirror
for the twentieth time that morning. Smiled at it,
gave it a little wink before shutting my door behind me but made sure I locked it and the key safely in
my pocket. Ekaite might want to do some cleaning
up, my weed is precious to me, far precious than my
self in jail as long as I will come out to continue
smoking and dealing in it. ''Ekai-baby, na later things na, me go catch you up
when I come back''

I said this while walking to the gate. Ekaite, I smiled
to myself. Why would anyone hurt her tender heart. Ekaite is a fair slim Calabar girl, cute face, pointed
nose and a set of teeth that is neatly arranged, what
dentist will call the perfect dentine. Her eyes always
have this mischievous glint inside, like she ws
laughing and mocking you with it at the same time
should she stare into your eyes. Her laughter rings like bell while her smile could turn a man to a
statute, the perfect description of a goddess in
human form. She carries herself with this gait that
her legs hardly touches the ground when she moves.
Added to her beauty is a goodness of heart that
surpasses anything I had ever seen, always ready to render help even when it was not necessary. I
discovered all this in the first two weeks that I
moved into the compound. Ekaite had come home one fateful evening in the
company of a tall, dark man that do come to her
place whom she had told me was her fiance. They
had entered into her room as usual while I was
seated outside washing my singlets and boxers. I
took no heed at first to their talks, the laughter coming out from her room was captivating and had
already gotten me day-dreaming. I rose from where I was washing to go dry out my
clothes on the clothing line when I smelt the first
trace of trouble. ''Who was that girl I saw putting on your shirt and
short in your house yesterday''

Ekaite seemed to be asking. I paused to listen if there
was going to be a reply, but there was none. I just
shook my head and made for my room, plugged my
earpiece into my ear, la!d on the bed while waiting
for the evening breeze to dry one singlet that I could
use that night. I must have drifted into sleep when someone shook me vigorously. I opened my eyes to
see a teary face Ekaite, blood dripping from a wound
on her lips, her eyes swollen and face red from what
look like slaps. She seemed to be talking to me as I
removed the earpiece from my ears. ''Attai, abeg help me, save me before this animal kill
me'' I jumped to my feet as the blackman barged into my
room unceremoniously and made for Ekaite. Ekaite
my neighbour and one who had been feeding me
since I moved into the compound. One that laughs at
my jokes all the time. One who keeps me company
no matter how hard I tried to push her off. The gentle girl that had quarreled with no one since I've
gotten to know her. It is the same person this black
man is bullying. Something snapped inside of me as I jumped to my
feet like a tiger ready to save its cub from being
taken away. process but instead of him retracing his step, he used
force to push me off. I moved back and collided with
the wall. This increase my anger, as Ekaite instead of
raining abuses on him as is typical with most ladies,
was just saying she is stepping out of the relationship.
This wasn't the first time that she had caught him with someone and that she's had enough of the
whole relationship. All the words coming out of her mouth seemed to be
provoking the man as it only increased his
aggressiveness making it more difficult for me to
hold him back after recovering from hitting on the
wall. I succeeded at last in pushing him out while
Ekaite locked the door from inside.

''Na wetin be your own na, you wan kill her? My
room look like field to you, na woman she be o,
better treat her like na your mother she be and I
doubt if you go fit slap your mother'' I was shouting at him, the veins in my neck standing
and sweat pouring out from my body abundantly. ''So na your place she dey always stay abi, today her
nyash don open, I go make sure say I kill her'' He said as he pushed me off the way and proceeded
to bang on my door in a bid to open. I rushed him
and held unto him prompting him to turn and land a
slap on my face. The force behind the slap and the
fastness at which it was administered made my
world go round at that moment. The stinging pain brought me back to reality. I looked and discovered
he was still banging at my door while raining
obscenities at Ekaite prompting my anger to rise, my
eyes turning red instantly and the thirst to draw
blood possessing me. I rushed at him, jumping into the air and using both
legs to hit him on his back with a force that made
him hit my door and fall down. He jumped up back to
his feet, rushed me, his arms opened wide to grab
me. I moved to the side effortlesly giving him a
punch behind his neck the force sending him to crash some feets away from me. I immediately jumped on
his back but he pushed me off by tilting his back. We
stood up facing each other while I measured him. He
had been so easy to beat, his huge body holding
nothing. He rushed me with punches which I parried
aside until I had an opening, I droped two successful punches on his jaw, the last one drawing blood. The
sight of his blood drove him crazy as he rushed me
while I bent down and picked him up easily
throwing him behind me. The impact of his head on
the ground gave him swellings and cuts on his head. ''Haba Attai, I no know you like this o'' A voice said, as a hand grabbed me from behind.
The dark man still la!d on the ground, his hand
covering his face as more people trooped into the
compound. Soon he was shown his way out while
Ekaite opened the door and came out from my
room.

That was the last time I had seen the dark man,
though Ekaite had told me some time back that he
had pleaded with her but she had already resolved
not to go back to him. I was relieved but losed hope
when Ekaite told me she was never going to go into
any relationship until she is ready to marry. I had created an imaginary image in my mind which
shut out her beauty when I look at her therefore
creating no room for me to develop feelings for her.
But I still look at her once in a while but still held to
my resolve not to have anything to do with her, well,
something romantic. I shook my head clear as I crossed the road to the
recharge card joint. My rehearsal was not going to
fail me that morning. Instead of the normal weed, I
will take my time to convince/confuse her into
becoming my girlfriend. Afterall, I need call units on
my Nokia Torch. She was standing right inside the shop and looking at another direction. I smiled and
walked up to her.
Episode 6 coming up