CHETANNA (REMEMBER…)

By Soma Obianom.

SAFACS 2023 ENTRY 1

"E nweghi m Ike me ya .. I am not ready, sir. You promised to give me time!" my legs continued shaking like a five-year-old child holding pee in his bladder and about to release it speedily through his penis. Beads of sweat dropped into my mouth.

"Isi gini? You say?" He moved closer.

At this point, I knew if I uttered another word, he would dash the most resounding slap on my face.

"I can't do it, sir. Please, I beg of you. I would pay you some other way." I cried.

I surprisingly did not have tears rolling down my cheeks, though. I guess twenty-one-year-old guys do not cry. Except that this was worse. It was my heart that bled. My soul ached. It was an inexplicable pain. I knelt in front of this huge, robust, pot-bellied man.

"For every " no," you say, always remember there would be dire consequences. Anuofia." He cursed.

There was no time Mr. Okafor did not curse at me. My family had always depended on him. His family. His money. Their money. Yes, their money.

I lay down on the bed that night and began to ponder on how I got here. How— My phone rang.

"God... Why is everything this tough?" Did— My phone rang again.

"omo igbo, you no go pick your phone ni?" I knew Ikande was going to complain. He hated any noise during his nap.

Sundays were the only time we had to ourselves. Ikande was my roommate. The first and only friend I made, when I got here. In fact, he was the only Yoruba guy Mr. Okafor had taken in, amongst ten others. Everyone called him "IK" for short. This made him feel among and feel Igbo too but when he opened his mouth to speak, his Yoruba accent always gave him away.

I stretched to take my Nokia phone on the opposite side of my bed. I stared at its cracked screen. It was Adaobi. Yes, Adaobi. My sister. My twin sister. The only reason I came here in the first place.

"Ada, Kedu nke na-eme? are you good?" I asked her, worriedly.

"Hian. Che Che.." Ada was the one person who called me "Che Che" in the entire world. Funny how I hated it when we were all one happy family but right now, it was the one thing that made me feel at home.

"I should be asking you. You know it's time for our prayer, or have you forgotten?" she responded.

"oh…" I rubbed my eyes with my hands. Can I really do this? Give up my only family? A memory flash came through my head. It was my dad squeezing my hands in the hospital and just before he gave up the ghost, he struggled to mutter the words to me. "In everything you do, Che, Chetanna gi. Remember your father, Nna. Always remember Christ.."

He gave his final breath.