NO BE FINE BOY O!

continuation of THIS FINE BOY!!!

That same night,

Robbers invaded their house

He went to the Community Development Association meeting to report

He told them to change the security men

A neighbor went to commiserate with them

And he dropped the story

How the thieves broke in

How he fought them but they were holding his children to ransom

So he couldn’t deal with them

His wife shouted at him

‘’Liar, liar’’ she called him

His wife told the neighbor he was lying

Immediately the thieves came in,

The man ran away

He left them to deal with the thieves

Then husband and wife began to argue

He said he was looking for the security men

And since he didn’t know if they were still in the neighborhood,

He had to be smart about it

Crawl in the bush, run a little

She couldn’t understand it all

He said.

Much later,

The kids got into higher institution

He refused to give them money to take to school most times

He always had one debt to settle

And he couldn’t afford too much

So he gave them stipends

They said he didn’t love them or care

But whenever he went out

 And came back reeking of alcohol

He always went to a bar after work

And got home very early

As early as midnight or 1am

And ate whatever food was available

He hardly gave out money for their feeding

Most times he met nothing waiting for him

But he was usually indifferent.

Baba ‘fe loved his family

But they didn’t see that

Because he kept his money

They didn’t understand why he would bring in suya

Or barbeque fish once in a while

And then think it was love.

There was a time

His last son needed money for his fees

So he could write his final exams

His father said he didn’t have

The boy wept

And then told his mother who gave it to him

That day he asked her a big question

‘’Was there no other man available when she wanted to get married?’’

He no longer fed his kids, clothed them, paid their tuition,

Not to talk of finding out how they got by in school

But he called them once in a while to ask they were doing

Asides that,

All they had was their mother

And that was how they related with him

Even when they talked on phone

They gave him a cold shoulder

Its either he didn’t notice or he didn’t care

But he always gave them a lot of advice

How what someone did backfired

How a man stole from the company and he was imprisoned

Very many stories that had morals

But the stories were too many and too long

After a while

They shut down while he was talking or got up to receive a call

When they had the opportunity

But when they were less busy

He picked up the story from where he stopped

And they could only roll their eyes in disgust

He was about to retire

 So he helped his daughter secure a job in the same bank just before stepped out

 As for their weddings

He really didn’t do any running around

But always had a story to tell those who came around

They had neighbor

A particular one who was there for them

Helping them

And they were grateful to her.

Anyway,

He used his retirement money to build a house

Whether it was the former house or a new one they didn’t know

But they all moved there

Later

The boys went out of the country

The girls were married

That was when the tide changed.

His sight began to elude him

They took him to a hospital

But they couldn’t afford to always take him there

They were busy so they left him

They told him to call a cab man

Since he had a phone and the driver’s number

May be he spent the money

Or the cab driver didn’t come

That part of the story is unclear

He lost his sight at the end of the day

Most times,

He was home alone

His wife went to work

Or spent weeks with her kids and grandkids

Who were always happy to have her with them

But they brought in a young girl to live there

For a talker like Baba ‘fe

It was boredom

Whenever he began his usual long talks,

She always sneaked away

Went to join her peers

She was also very playful

Most times,

She forgot about him and didn’t return home till it was late

He would have been very hungry by then

So he’ll go out

It took a lot of injuries for him to find his way

Both in his house and outside

He later went into betting

Most of the money they sent to him went into that

He did betting basically because he would always find people to talk to there

Talk of walking with your partner in destiny

Most betting places had a woman selling herbal drinks beside the betting kiosk

So he’ll also get a drink

He usually spent a couple of hours there

Took quite a number of cups.

When his family found out he couldn’t stop betting,

They resized the amount of money they gave him monthly

So he could be sober

It didn’t stop him

He collected from the neighbours

Who pitied him

Sometimes he cried to the neighbours

He was hungry he told them

They fed him and spent a few minutes with him

Most times

 He went out on his own

On one occasion he tumbled down on his very sloppy street

Rolled past a coupled of houses

A nurse treated him and he became better

They contacted his family

No one came

He became sad and depressed

Sometimes he cried

One day

The girl living with him

Went Into his room late at night

Fortunately,

He was about to commit suicide

She screamed and called on neighbors

A church took him in for the night

In the morning

They counseled him

He told them he was tired of life

Most times he slept on an empty belly

The neighbors sent a word to his family

To tell them that no matter he did

They should forgive him

He was just a man

And the best of man is man at its best

Expect disappointments

Whether they accepted or not

It was in their hands

Hmm,

The truth is

His family is truly hurt

So many hurts they’ve carried in their hearts for too long

It’s an ache to know and be conscious

Of the fact that

His family wasn’t a priority

And that’s what made him lose his fine boy

If you were a member of the family

What would you do now?