Dry grasses

Peem, peem, peem peem! Ola heard a horn at the gate, he went to help open the gate and the not so young man that drove into the house was furious. "You're the new gate man? Why are you so lousy? I've been outside the house, horning for more than thirty minutes, you're not taking your job seriously oh" Hassan came out and explained to the angry man that Ola was his guest and not a gate man.

Ola would soon discover that the man was one amongst Hassan's host of siblings and this one was a soldier; explains the fire that burnt within while he was screaming at Ola. Ola was too shocked to tell the man that he was Hassan's friend and not a gate man. 

As time went on Ola began to feel unwanted; He had come to stay with Hassan in town since He was looking for a good job and He was staying at their Boys quarters until then. Hassan's household being a polygamous one was populated, the house was big and could accommodate them but they treated each other with such animosity. Imagine how they treated him; an outsider.

All the jobs Ola had been applying for were not forthcoming, he was already beginning to feel weary and he didn't want Hassan's family to be another reason for him to dabble into depression.

Hassan would comfort him and say that they would get used to him with time but one last stroke broke the camel's back. Shea, one of Hassan's sisters had friends over and they were gossiping about Ola, she called him a free loader and he heard, He was at the dining area and He heard everything they said in the living room.

He was not supposed to hear it but now that he had heard it, he couldn't pretend he didn't hear it.

The following day, He thanked his friend Hassan for always coming through for him and He left the house, he found a very shabby looking house that was almost falling apart in town to rent, it was cheap and it would only be until He got a good job and could afford a better place.

Some months later, one of the companies Ola had sent his application to called him for an interview, He was overjoyed; it was a big company. He had crossed the first stage of the screening process. God would not bring him here to leave him. God was far too kind for that, besides this was his moment.

Ola knew about process and the final destination and the past seven months was proof that he had gone through different waiting processes; He called Kaka and she prayed for him to get the job "You will live to fulfill purpose my son! You will get that job, all your enemies combined cannot stop you, you are a child of destiny". 

Ola soaked in Kaka's prayers with 'amens', dressed up in his black tie, white shirt and black plain trousers, He polished he shoe so well you could see the sun on it; He was ready for this job! He had his credentials to prove his qualifications and he had Kaka's prayers with him. He felt invincible.

On reaching the company, he saw that there were quite a number of people who came for the interview as well, almost five hundred people and the company only needed fifty. He sat quietly and prayed under his breath as the beautiful secretary came out to address them.

"Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, we are honored to have you all here. I will be sharing cards with numbers on them, those who arrived earlier will go first and the rest will follow accordingly. Thank you and I wish you all the best."

The first few people entered for their interview and the secretary came back again. This time she was calling people's candidates and not numbers "Chief Obi's candidates please step forward, if Governor Adah sent you please come inside". For the next four hours it was one chief's candidate after another, Ola consoled himself by remembering that Kaka had prayed for him and He might not have known any one of importance but he knew God. 

One man was not having it, He stood up and called the Secretary's bluff "You just said that you'll call us according to numbers but you're here calling people's candidates, how can we say we want corruption to end and we're still calling people's candidates." He was charging towards the secretary as his speech seemed to have little or no effect when two hefty men dressed in black came in and took him away.

After what seemed like a very long while, Ola was called upon for his own interview. The interviewer asked Ola a few questions which He answered quite well and the interviewer promised to contact him, in the interviewer's words "You are exactly what we were looking for". 

Over the next six months, the company didn't call Ola, they didn't get back to him; they didn't send him a mail.. nothing. He sent them mails, He reached out to them. He even visited their office but He was embarrassed and told to wait till he was contacted. Ola had burnt down his savings. He had to tell himself the truth; it was time to go back home. The city had rejected him.

He called Hassan to tell Hassan He was going back home but Hassan's mum picked; She told him Hassan had travelled out of the country and She would send him Hassan's new phone number but She never did.

Ola got on a bus and returned to his village. On the ride back, He thought about what people would say about him; they would call him a failure. He remembered Kaka and how he had missed her, if nobody would be happy to see him; she would. She would hug him and hold him close; She would chant "Doctoh". She would tell the entire village that her boy was back and he had returned a graduate.

When Ola got home, it was quite late so he didn't read any meaning to the fact that Kaka wasn't seated outside. He entered the house and he saw Mary, she hugged him. She had grown so much these past few years. "Brother Ola", she screamed as she jumped on him.

Kaka was on her bed, she looked bony and skinny; Mary said she had been like that for a while, the village doctor said they had to take her to the city to get her proper treatment. The illness made Kaka look very weak and their farm was suffering.

Ola had no money for Kaka's medication, he asked the village head master to allow him teach for stipends at the village Grammar school. Kaka's health was getting worse and there was little or nothing he could do about it, this reality saddened Ola.

Ola met his childhood best friend Oyi, Oyi had three wives and seven children already. He had a large farm and he was proud of his inheritance. Oyi like his father before him had refused to send his children to school. "I won't waste my money on frivolities" He said. Ola tried to convince him but he attacked him "I should send them to school so they would amass knowledge and end up like you?".