LIFE!
A touch on her right shoulder woke her up from the deep sleep that she had drifted into sitting on the boulder.
"Wetin you dey do for here?" Came the question. It was definitely a man's voice and that was the Nigerian pidgin English for "what are you doing here?". The question came again and this time, she could tell the voice was rising in anger.
She struggled to open her eyes, when she did, she tried recollecting her environment. She was still inside the abandoned building premises. She saw an old man, might be in his sixties with a lot of grey hairs. Probably a security guard at the old facility which used to be the location of a church.
"I am so sorry i slept off. I assumed this was a church building." She answered.
"Church done pack since last month. Now na packing store them dey use am do now. Na me dey guard am" came the man's reply.
Looking at the premises, Jenny wondered what he was guarding. The place look deserted and uninhabitable.
who could be storing what inside this sort of place? wondering why she was thinking along the line, Jenny checked her wrist watch. It has been giving her a consciousness of the time all through the day and by now, she knew it was still midnight.
"Please can I pass the night here?" she asked the old man. " i mean can i sleep here?" She explained when he looked like he could not understand what she was saying.
"Why you wan sleep for this kind place? You nor get house?. Abeg dey commot for here! You fit bring armed robbers come here". The old man flared up.
"I am so sorry sir. I am not a thief, neither am i an armed robber. I just came into the town today and i have no one to stay with. I came in search of a good job sir. I am so sorry to upset you sir."
"See as you dey speak fine oyibo english. E be like say you go school o. Fine girl. Anyway job nor dey here and i wan lock the gate. The time na midnight. I wan go inside the gate man house go sleep." He said as he began to walk away.
Not wanting another confrontation, she raised her bag from her laps and began to walk to wards the exit of the compound.
"Where you dey go? You get where you wan sleep? Abi you dey go hotel?" He called after her.
"I lack the funds to get a hotel accommodation and like i had initially said, i do not have where to lay my head" She answered.
"Come sleep for the gateman house with me na. I like this your beautiful english. You dey talk like all those customer care people when i dey call for phone" He said smiling.
Jenny did not find that invitation trusting at all. But she had no option. It was still very dark and she lacked strength. The time on her watch says 1:30am. This was the capital city and she had no clue if walking past midnight on the road was a crime. Sluggishly, she turned from the exit towards the security house and approached it.
The man brought out a bench and placed it at the entrance with a torch and a can of water. Her throat seemed dry but she dared not to ask him for water as he was a complete stranger. Wanting to sit on the bench with him as she assumed that was the reason he brought it out, the man chastised her once again.
"Go inside go sleep for the mat there, this one na my spot. I dey use am dey alert so that those thief boys nor go come carry drinks for my head." He narrated.
Jenny nodded and went inside the well lit room. It had a mat spread out, with a pillow and a single chair. The place was clean and had no smell. This made her relax. It also had a door with the inscription toilet.
"Can i use the bathroom?" She asked? She wanted to call it a lavatory but she didn't want to offend the man.
"Na toilet dey there o and you fit use am" he responded.
Jenny quickly rushed inside as she had been pressed for so long but had to persevere all through the day. It was a simple toilet with clean WC and a sink. She washed her hands and face after flushing. She was tempted to drink the water but decided against it as she did not want to fall ill.
When she came out of the toilet, the man was whistling as he listened to an old transistor radio. She remembered her father. The old mathematician who became a palm wine tapper. Amaechi Uchenna was a man of love and positive energy even after loosing his job in the city. He moved his family to his village in Agbor but still he was not depressed. Every evening, he would play his radio and whistle along as various songs came on air.
Jenny missed her father so much and didn't know when she began to cry aloud. The old man turned to and immediately she cleaned her eyes.
"why you dey cry fine girl?"
"Its nothing to worry yourself about sir. It just seeing you whistle, reminded me of my father and he is late"
"Oh nor vex. Na so life be o, we dey here today and tomorrow, we fit done go leave our children for ground. You done eat? u fit take from the malt when them dey share give us. E dey that corner." The man said pointing to black cellophane bag.
Jenny thanked him and hurriedly went after the bag, Taking a can of malt, from the packs of malt she saw inside, she drank it in two gulps. She was so hungry that her stomach growled aloud.
"E be like say hunger dey wire you before. You for talk na. But nor worry, madam bread go hawk bread pass for early morning come here. You go buy bread take eat with another malt."
"Thank you sir. God bless you sir. May God multiply your finances and grant you length of days."She prayed.
"Amen. This your English dey sweet for my ear o. You be like say you be pastor too abi?" He stated smiling.
"No sir. I am just a Christian who loves and fear God" Jenny stated yawning already.
"Oya make we sleep o"
"Goodnight sir"
The sleep that came was laced with fear. What if the old man tried to rape her, She adjusted several times on the mat even though it was hidden from the front view of the entrance. Her peace came when she heard him snore loudly.With a smile on her face, she slept with caution.
The bright light of the morning filtered into the room and her eyes opened. He was still snoring loudly. She checked her watch and it was 6:30am. The bench must be comfortable for him to still be sleeping that loudly.
"Papa Festus!!!! you still dey sleep?" She heard the caller outside. Jenny got up and saw red marks of mosquitoes bites on her skin. She had slept so tiredly that she could not tell when she was bitten.
"Papa Festus, you nor go collect bread go house?"
Quickly she went outside, walking past the old man, she aimed for the gate. Although it was locked, it was one of those short iron net gates that one could stretch over.
"Good morning ma, I would like to buy some bread"
"Good morning Oyibo, which one you wan buy, I just dey carry them from bakery come so. Papa Festus nor dey there?" She asked.
"If you mean the elderly man, he is still sleeping ma. I would like the biggest one there."She said pointing at a long loaf of bread. She had hoped that it would be her meal all through the day.
"That one na 700 naira"
"Let me have it ma." Jenny produced the money from her bag when she noticed the old man standing near her.
"Americana you done wake up?, you sure say you sleep well so?" The old man said chewing his chewing stick.
"Thank you sir. My sleep was refreshing. Thank you so much for your hospitality sir. I am so grateful sir."
The bread seller and the old man laughed together.
"I like the way she dey talk. You nor like am. Mama Festus"
"She be like jolly just come"
"Yes o, she say she come find work for Abuja. I see am dey sleep for outside, na I carry am inside, make she stay."
"Na God go bless you. Oya carry bread for the children. I nor dey come house now"
"Give me the usual na"
"I would like to pay for the loaves you are taking sir.It would be my seed of appreciation sir. Jenny said after watching the both of them.
"Nor worry, na my husband, he dey carry the bread go give our children for house. Why you nor go that bank when dey that side.This your English, e go quick give you work o."
"Mama festus, you dey always talk my mind." He supported.
"I am a trained teacher. I would prefer a job like a governess or a house mistress"
"You wan be governor?. Where the money when you get to take do election?" The old man asked.
"She say mistress, that is to be rich man girlfriend" the woman whispered to him.
"I didn't say any of that. I simply want to take care of a household or children or even a school"
"Oh!" came the man.
"Why you nor go Maitama Phase 1? I hear say them dey hire people for big man house to be lesson teacher, cook, house help, cleaner, nanny self but you must sabi speak English well well like the one when you dey speak. I even hear say them dey pay more than 100 thousand naira as salary!"
"Mama Festus you sabi lie! where you take hear that one?" The man asked with his chewing stick still in his mouth.
"Na when I hawk bread go Jahi side na.Na true I dey talk Oyibo. make you go there. You fit even work for white man self."
Jenny was hopeful. Maybe God indeed brings miracle in form of a bread seller.