MALAKI IS UNDONE

                                                     CHAPTER 8.

Malaki got into the car, shut the door and placed his forehead on the steering. He was having a terrible headache and there was no pain killer that would be effective. He went to see Mama Abi and was properly schooled there. 

Mama Abi was his Aunt whom he was fond of. She was his dad’s youngest sister who understood every of his unsaid words; if he moved his right foot, she also moved her left foot to aid him. If she was just any woman and not his aunt, he would have married her.

When he was much younger as young lad in love, he had his head in the clouds coz of a certain girl whom he felt was also in love with him till he found out she was double dating. He could almost swear that the opposite sex was his Achilles heel. 

Jeez! He disobeyed his parents and every single person in his house to satisfy her. He shook his head as he thought about it, things we do for love, he should even create a hashtag to that effect.

Deborah (that was her name) was sweet and gentle like a dove. She was fair-skinned, slim, and the perfect model. 

He always had to sneak out of the house to be with her. His father warned him to avoid girls and face his studies but he couldn’t afford to listen to him at that time. 

He got to her house, found she was mopping and greatly distracted. It took hours for her to reveal that her brother had a terminal disease and her family needed about six million Naira to take care of him. 

Since they weren’t financially buoyant, they could only raise eight hundred and seventy thousand Naira. Debby was really downcast and he didn’t like it at all.

He began to ponder. How would he raise the money for her? That was all he thought about as his father beckoned on him to take him to the airport. He was going to Dublin for a business transaction that would run till the next 12-15 weeks.  He told his father he had to tend to his stomach upset first.

On his way up, he decided to go into his father’s bedroom. He knew his father would lock the room. He searched through his father’s wardrobe, table and everywhere he felt there would be money but it was to no avail. 

He felt sad and was on his way out of the room when he noticed the floor was strange. It was a false floor. He raised the carpet up and found a box. In it was cash that amounted to five million Naira. His father had just sold some of his property. 

Quickly he packed all the money, left the bedroom and drove his dad to the airport.

Very early in the morning he went to visit Debby. She was surprised to see him as she shook terribly, he told her to calm down but she couldn’t. She led him away from the house and he had to speak in hushed tones to explain himself. 

She kept dancing when he told her he’d brought the money. She kissed him and told him she’ll come to see him later. When he inquired about her brother, she said he had a rough night; everyone was up all night to tend to him so they were just trying to sleep. 

She kissed him passionately again. That was their final kiss.

One week passed, two weeks; there was still no word from her. He decided to visit her. She traveled was all he got from her aunt. He returned there a month later to meet her aunt who gave him the ‘don’t-you-have-a-life-look’. 

He thanked her and left. One month later, on his way back from church, he met an old friend from school who told him he saw Debby in Germany and she was married. He passed out from shock, when he opened his eyes, he found out he’d been admitted in the hospital for about seven weeks! Goodness Gracious!

When he was strong enough to talk and move around, he was discharged but his mum noticed his blood pressure kept rising. 

This was because his father would soon be back which would be his doom. After much persuasion from his aunt, he opened up and told her what happened and she almost had a heart attack. She told him not to worry as she promised to see someone who would take care of it.

Finally, his father was back. After a month of biting his nails secretly, he spoke with his aunt. With the help of a powerful witch-doctor, Malaki’s father didn’t remember anything about the money although she didn’t divulge the price she paid. 

Many years later, she told Malaki she slept with the witch-doctor. He was broken. Mama Abi was much more than words could say, an integral part of his life.

His discussion with Mama Abi was different. Baba Abi was around and he brought in his god-forsaken counsel. Where on earth did Mama Abi meet the man? 

Baba Abi was a man full of folly. Unlike his wife, wisdom was very far from him. Malaki told his aunt all that had happened. 

Like a thunderbolt, Baba Abi ran out of the room and told him to get Tracy back, tie her up in the house and not feed her for one month after which he should feed her once daily and also whip her mercilessly for ten minutes. 

He even brought out some concoction for him to sprinkle on her face immediately he found her. According to him, this will chase away the Ogbanje (familiar) spirit that made two men fight for two her. Malaki gave Baba Abi some money coz that was all he wanted.

On the way to his car, Mama Abi told Malaki to stay off as she didn’t like the guy he described as Henry. 

According to the Nigerian Proverb, if a man died coz of a woman, more than a thousand women will walk over his grave. The Henry man could be his doom. He thanked her, gave her some money and left.

A knock on his car startled him and brought him back from his thoughts. He was surprised to see two policemen who told him he was under arrest and anything he said or did would be used against him in court.

He knew there was trouble.