Chapter 4
After the funeral, Douglas kept thinking on what he would do to get money to cater for himself and for the family. One morning, he decided to go and visit Jude to tell him about his worries and family problems. Jude and Douglas were childhood friends. They attended the same primary school, but Jude later dropped out of school and joined a gang. Douglas was looking for his slippers when Theresa and Doris entered his room:
“Douglas, how are you?”
“I’m fine, good morning ma”
“Good morning. I want us to discuss something”
“Ha”
“It is a serious matter”
“Well, we can’t discuss it now. I want to go and see a friend”
“You can go and see your friend later. What I want us to discuss is very important” Theresa countered.
“It is an appointment, so I must leave” Douglas lied.
“You must wait till I finish what I want to discuss with you” “Should I cancel the appointment, then?”
“Yes, cancel it”
Douglas took a seat and said:
“Okay, what do you want us to discuss?” Theresa sighed and began:
“Barely one week after the death of your father, Francis, Gladys visited me one day and said that she would like to take Doris to the city to be her housemaid”
“A housemaid?” Douglas asked.
“Yes, but wait till I finish” Theresa replied. Then she continued:
“I think it is a good idea to let Gladys take Doris with her to the city because that would lessen my burden considering the fact that your father is no more. I had earlier discussed the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city with her. She promised not to bring any shame or discredit to this family from the city. I also told her that she must be humble, homely, dutiful, respectful and obedient to Gladys. Finally, I hope she will be a good girl and I pray she would always remember my advice”
A period of silence followed. Doris was silent. Theresa waited for some time for Douglas to react.
Douglas folded his arms and thought deeply. Then he unfolded his arms, and cleared his throat:
“Well, mum” he said, “I heard what you said. You are right by suggesting that Doris should follow Gladys to the city at least to lessen your burden. But…” Doris’ heart skipped a beat.
“But what?” she almost asked. Douglas coughed and continued:
“Living in the city is not as easy as many people think. You see… life in the city is entirely different from life in the village. I must say that there is nothing wrong with Doris going to live with Gladys but a little mistake from Doris may thwart our expectations. We know Gladys very well - she is a disciplinarian and a highly principled woman who does not tolerate childish and silly mistakes from grown-ups. She may subject Doris to unendurable and difficult tasks as a housemaid. Over there, there are usually many rules to be obeyed. For example, you must know which bus to board when you are told to go to a far place, how to look after the children, how to avoid thieves, pickpockets, and other criminals roaming in the streets and many other things...”
Doris was crestfallen. Theresa did not utter a word; she was surprised to hear the tips on life in the city from Douglas.
“So Douglas, do you support Doris to follow Gladys to the city or not?” she asked after a while.
Doris’ heart skipped a beat again.
“That’s a hard question” Douglas answered.
He thought for some time, shrugged, heaved a sigh and said:
“Well, she can go and live with Gladys”
“Thank you my son, you are a very thoughtful person” Theresa said. “Doris, I hope you heard all
he said”
“Yes mum, I heard him” Doris mumbled, heaving a sigh of relief. Still crestfallen, she walked out of the room silently.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
A week later, Douglas wrote a letter to Cliff. He explained to him why he had not returned to school, the state of his family and other problems. However, the letter was not delivered in time due to postal delays. Some days later, Douglas decided to go and visit Jude. It was a long distance but he did not feel the distance because he walked through bush paths. Suddenly, he came across a mango tree and stopped. He looked sideways and backwards and then started to climb the mango tree. He picked eight over-ripped mangoes from the tree, descended and sat down behind a big tree to eat the mangoes. He ate three mangoes and carried the rest to Jude’s house. When he reached there, he found Jude cracking some palm nuts with a stone. Jude was a crafty and intelligent boy but of restricted growth. Douglas quietly dropped the remaining mangoes, tiptoed to Jude, and shouted:
“Juu…uuu…de!”
Jude was frightened. He turned and saw Douglas who had started to laugh.
“Look Douglas”, Jude said, “If you were not my friend, I would have given you a hard knock on your head. How dare you shout into my ears like that? Do you want to block my ears?”
“Yes I want to block your ears so that you will stop listening to those tittle-tattles about your sister, Caroline” Douglas answered.
“What?”
“Moreover Jude, you know that your finger can’t reach up to my jaw let alone giving me a knock on my head”
“Look Douglas, I hope you have not come here to insult me” “You know you can’t do anything to me, Jude”
“Douglas, I swear, if you insult me again I will deal with you!” Jude threatened.
“You shouldn’t be angry Jude, I’m just joking with you” Douglas apologized.
“I don’t know why people always say ‘I’m joking’ when they insult somebody instead of ‘I’m sorry’. Sometimes, it is a combination of the two. Anyway, that’s alright” Jude said. He threw an oval-shaped kernel in his mouth and offered some to Douglas.
“No Jude, I have something sweeter than these palm kernels” Douglas said.
“What is that?”
“Some mangoes”
“Mangoes?”
“Yes”
Douglas gave the remaining mangoes. Jude looked at the over-ripped mangoes and said: “These mangoes are sweet to the eyes. I wonder how they will taste in the mouth” “Some may still be sour or bitter in the mouth” Douglas said.
“That’s impossible” Jude countered.
Douglas and Caroline laughed. Douglas gave them two mangoes each and took the remaining one. “Douglas I heard that you returned for your father’s funeral but since then I haven’t been able to
come and see you. Please accept my sympathy. It is a pity that your father left you at this your age” Jude sympathized.
“That’s alright, Jude” Douglas said, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes. Please I want us to discuss something”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, a very serious one”
“I see. Em…Caro, please excuse us for a while” Jude said.
“Why?” Caroline asked.
“We want to discuss something”
“Should I excuse you just because you want to discuss something?”
“I mean we want to have an adult discussion, I mean something secret and serious” “Am I not an adult?” Caroline countered.
“Douglas please let’s get inside my room, children of nowadays are disrespectful” Jude said, at last, exasperatingly. But Jude tried to hide something very quickly when they got inside the room.
“Hey Jude, what’s that?” Douglas asked.
“Nothing. It is just em…in fact, nothing” Jude replied. He was trying to hide a brownish locally made pistol.
“So Douglas, what exactly is your problem?” Jude asked, quickly offering drinks as a cover up.
“Jude, I have a lot of problems. In fact, I don’t know where to start” Douglas said.
“What are the problems?” Jude wondered.
“Well Jude, since my father’s death, we have been suffering and things have started to go from bad to worse. I have not been able to go back to school because of lack of money. My mother’s little business had already collapsed. I’m confused. I don’t know what to do. Doris has been taken as a housemaid to Lagos…”
“Doris?” Jude asked in disbelief.
“Yes”
“Taken to Lagos?”
“Yes, Gladys took her to Lagos”
“Wow!”
“Jude, please you must help me” Douglas continued. “I really need your help and advice. What do you think? What do I do?”
Jude guffawed. Douglas was surprised. He thought that Jude would suggest a solution to his problem instead of laughing at him but he did not know that he was seeking for advice from a wrong person.
“Well Jude, I can see that you don’t seem to understand what I’m telling you. Anyway, I’ll be on my way” Douglas said. Then he stood up and left the room angrily. Jude stopped laughing and called him. Douglas stopped, hissed and went into the room. Then Jude cleared his throat and began:
“Douglas, my dear, please take heart. I understood all you said and I know how you feel. It is a pity that you lost your father but that’s not the end of your life. You see, life is full of ups and downs. It is always like that but survival is the word. It is a bed full of thorns and vicissitudes. It is like a race of struggles and to succeed is the goal. Therefore, you don’t need to worry but to try to find something to do. Look, in this kind of situation, one is usually forced to take up the gauntlet and do something whether good or bad, risky or not to survive. You know that you still have a long way to go. Faint heart, they say, never won fair lady. Think about that”
“Well, thank you Jude but I don’t clearly understand all you said. Please go straight to the point and stop speaking in proverbs. I mean what exactly do you suggest that I do?” Douglas said.
“It is always easy to ask a hard question but to answer the question is difficult, Douglas” Jude
said.
“I still can’t understand you, Jude”
“Okay, I suggest you do something or some things”
“What things?”
“Big things, money-yielding things, risky things”
“I see. Exactly, what are the things?”
“They are things that demand endurance, agility and bravery”
“Okay I understand, but what’s the next step?”
“Sacrifice. Yes sacrifice, that’s the next step”
“Sacrifice?”
“Yes dear, sacrifice. Nothing is gained when nothing is ventured. Nothing goes for nothing, you know. For that reason, you must sacrifice something to get something”
“I see. But what do I sacrifice?”
“It is simple. The question is: ‘are you ready to make the sacrifice?’” “Sure, but what is the nature of the sacrifice?”
“The sacrifice is a little but risky game of riches and fortune and, as they say, fortune favours the
brave”
“Jude, stop beating about the bush!” Douglas exclaimed. “Look, I’m leaving. I am not here for proverbs” Jude smiled and said, “Wait, I’m coming” He then went outside and came back with two sticks of cigarettes.
“Take one” he said to Douglas.
“Take what?”
“Take one cigarette, boy”
“I can’t take that, please”
Jude laughed. He opened his cupboard and brought out a bottle of alcoholic drink.
“Alright Douglas, take one shot. This is a cool and revitalizing drink. A shot will cool your brain and clear your eyes”
“No, I won’t take that” Douglas said. Jude gulped half a cup of the drink, cleared his throat and said, “Well, when the time comes you will” Then he lighted a cigarette, smoked and mischievously puffed the smoke directly to Douglas. Douglas coughed and dashed outside. Jude started to laugh again. Douglas waited for some time and entered the room again. He was surprised when he found Jude with another cupful of the drink.
“Jude, so you have spoiled to this extent?” he asked, but there was no response from Jude.
“Jude, do you know the effect of this drink to your body? Don’t you know that alcohol is not good for the body?”
Jude scoffed indifferently, took a sip of the drink and cleared his throat loudly.
“We are told that it impairs mental concentration, Douglas lectured, “and it depresses the heart, weakening the nerves. It also … ”
“My friend, enough of that nonsense!” Jude barked. “Look, I know you are a doctor but please allow me to enjoy myself while I still breathe. You have to take a shot, Douglas, just a shot. It will clear your eyes and cool your brain, forget your lecture”
“Jude, I can see you are intoxicated” Douglas said. He looked around and picked a newspaper. In-between the middle pages were two wraps of Indian hemp. He hissed, dropped the newspaper and stood up to leave.
“Ah Douglas, are you leaving?” Jude asked.
“Yes, but I may come again later in the day” Douglas replied.
“Well, I wish that you could stay a little longer because there’s something I want to tell you” “What is that?”
“My friend come inside and let’s discuss. Don’t be afraid I’m not going to kill you” “Alright, what is that?”
Jude gulped another cup of the drink and said:
“You see Douglas, ever since the death of my mother so many years ago; I have been facing unfavourable situations. My father lost his job shortly after that. I dropped out of school almost immediately. All my uncles have died except the one who lives in Democratic Republic of Congo. We don’t know whether he is still alive or dead or whether he has decided to live there permanently. I apprenticed to a carpenter for three years, to a trader for two years and to a mason for six months. So my dear, life is about struggles. It is neither always bread and butter nor a bed of roses”
“That’s quite saddening and painfully true” Douglas acquiesced.
Jude heaved a sigh, shook his head and started to cry. Douglas was touched. He also started to cry. Jude cried briefly and wiped his eyes. Then he coughed, wiped his eyes again and continued:
“So Douglas, after considering the situation of our family …” He paused and shook his head again.
“After considering the situation of our family, I decided to join a gang”
“What!” Douglas shouted. “You joined a gang? Jude, how did you get to know those bad people…those wicked elements of the underworld?”
“It’s a long story, Douglas” Jude said.
“Please tell me the story”
“You mustn’t hear the story”
“Why?”
“It’s a secret. I took an oath not to reveal it”
“What will happen if you reveal the secret? Please tell me the story” “I won’t”
Douglas started to persuade Jude and he eventually revealed the secret to him:
“Well, a friend, Black Shadow, introduced me to the gang” Jude started.
“Who is Black Shadow and where does he live?” Douglas asked. “Black Shadow is one of our members. He is cohabiting with Isabella” “Who is Isabella?”
“She is the queen of our gang”
“How is she the queen of your gang?”
“Douglas, you don’t need to ask questions. When the time comes, you will answer them yourself”
“What do you mean by ‘when the time comes’?”
Jude smiled wryly and went inside another room. Douglas followed him to the room to elicit details of the gang from him. Jude then continued to reveal more secrets to Douglas. In a moment, Scorpion, a member of the gang appeared. He came to inform Jude of an urgent operation. He was amazed when he saw Jude revealing and explaining the secrets of the gang to a non-member. However, Douglas did not know that Scorpion was a member of the same gang with Jude.
“Hey Jude, what’s up?” Scorpion greeted.
“I’m fine” Jude replied.
“Hello, I’m Douglas, Jude’s friend” Douglas introduced himself.
“Jude’s friend…?” Scorpion thought. “Jude, you look disturbed”
“Yes. A fly just entered my eye” Jude replied.
“I have been here for a long time and we are discussing a serious issue…” Douglas said after a
while.
“A serious issue?” Scorpion wondered.
Jude was nervous. He tried to divert what Douglas wanted to say but he failed. He did not want Douglas to disclose all he had told him to Scorpion. Suddenly, Douglas spilled the beans:
“Well friend, Jude told me about how he got entangled with a certain gang…”
“What! A certain gang?” Scorpion shouted at Jude. Being ashamed, embarrassed and confused, he started to shiver.
“Yes”, Douglas continued, “Jude told me everything about the gang - their modes of operation, their secrets, in fact, everything…”
“What! Jude, what am I hearing?!” Scorpion shouted angrily. He was instantly annoyed with Jude.
“You see, Douglas continued, “I’m short of words. I don’t know what made Jude to join such a condemned group of people. It is a pity”
Scorpion was astounded. He looked at Jude and asked: “Jude, I believe you know the gravity and
consequences of what you did?”
Jude did not utter a word.
“Of course”, Scorpion continued, “You know that Bullet won’t tolerate this”
Bullet is the gang leader. He was nicknamed ‘Bullet’ because he was always in possession of huge amounts of bullets. Douglas was frightened. He wondered who the visitor could be and whom he was referring to as ‘Bullet’.
“Jude let me go and ease myself. I’ll be back in a moment” he said and stood up to leave.
“Hey come back here!” Scorpion shouted.
Douglas did not stop. Instead, he increased his pace a bit. Scorpion quickly pulled his trousers and brought out a dagger and a locally made pistol. Then he ran up to him and pulled him back.
“Mister, where are you going? Do you think you can go and reveal our secrets just like that? Look, it is either I shoot you with this gun or I stab you with this dagger, period. So choose one and be fast about that”
“Please don’t hurt me. I won’t reveal your secrets” Douglas begged.
“No way man, no way. You must choose one and stop wasting my time. You can’t go with our secrets just like that. Now, choose one and be fast about that” Scorpion snarled, breathing like a dragon. Douglas was confused. He thought for a while and coughed. Then he drifted from side to side to spit out sputum. Scorpion turned and started to scold Jude:
“Jude, see what you’ve done! This guy wants to escape with our secrets. Our most secret secrets! Don’t you know that a secret revealed is enough to arrest all of us? In fact, I am disappointed in you”
“I’m greatly sorry, Scorpion. Please have mercy on me” Jude pleaded.
“You will only ask Bullet to do that and not me” Scorpion said. “What on earth made you to reveal our secrets and even our modes of operation to this non-member?”
“I’m sorry, Scorpion. I’m greatly sorry. Please forgive me and please don’t report me to the leader. Please I beg you” Jude pleaded again.
“Well, I hope you know the penalty for what you did” “Yes, I know. I know the penalty but please forgive me”
Scorpion continued to scold Jude and while that was going on, Douglas quietly sneaked out of the compound and took to his heels. But Scorpion was hell-bent on killing Douglas to avoid broadcasting their secrets which Jude unwittingly revealed to him.
