PURSUIT OF THE HORIZON
****Life had been pure chaos for Ikeobi since graduation, no steady job, only random street hussle that barely paid for a day or two’s meals. What frustrated him most wasn’t just feeding himself, but his inability to support his aging parents, who had worked tirelessly under the harsh Isi-Uzo sun to fund his education. Now, with a degree in hand, he was still jobless.****
Ikeobi was a hardworking 35-year-old, a second-class graduate in Banking and Finance from the prestigious University of Nigeria. He’d been eager to enter the workforce, but luck wasn’t on his side. Banks he applied to either rejected him outright or demanded bribes for interviews. fees he simply couldn’t afford. The smallest bribe was 600 pounds, an impossible sum for him, especially when paying didn’t guarantee a job.
“*You’re old enough to buy yourself a cup of palm wine*,” his father had said just a week earlier during their usual Sunday drink. The words hit Ikeobi like a shockwave, stirring bitter resentment, especially since he always favored his father over his mother. Yet, deep down, he admitted his father was right.
***
"What's love got to do with this?" Amaka bellowed, her voice sharp with anger. Then, calming a bit, she said, "Ikeobi, you need to do better. You’re not getting any younger, and I’m tired of waiting for you to gather enough money for my bride price. Suitors are coming around, and I keep rejecting them. My mother’s getting impatient, irritated at every little thing, and she’s even threatening to send me out!" Tears welled in her eyes.
Ikeobi, speechless, pulled her into a warm embrace. After a minute or two, he whispered, “I’m trying, my love. I promise I’ll do better. I’ll get the money and marry you.”
But Amaka already pulled away and walked briskly toward the road leading to her house, overwhelmed by his promises. "Amaka!" Ikeobi called after her, but she didn’t look back. Instead, she broke into a run.
Too tired to follow, Ikeobi stood still watching her disappear down the path. Just then, Oduma appeared, stumbling with a bottle of wine in hand, loudly singing,
*"Money, money, make me wanna kill you! Without money, what’s life? Money is love—brr, I mean money is life! Without money, love just disappears!"*
He swayed like a confused toddler, then stopped when he noticed Ikeobi staring. With a sly smile as if understanding his pain, Oduma muttered, “*Puom n'uzo, onye nzuzu*”"(Get out of my way, foolish person".) as he stumbled past, nearly hitting Ikeobi with his ankle.
Lost in thought, Ikeobi barely registered Oduma’s words. Amaka’s sudden actions had torn him apart; he wondered if she would leave him for good. As he turned away and headed home, his gaze caught Oduma sauntering unsteadily ahead.
Rumor had it Oduma, once a tailor, had sneaked into the shrine of the notorious witch doctor Mmachi “Beauty of the Gods” and eaten food meant for idols. Since then, he’d lost his sanity. Others whispered Oduma had sought Mmachi's help to get rich; after hearing her long list of ritual demands, he called her a fake, and madness struck him then and there.
Now he drank often, though no one knew where he got the money. “Maybe he steals it,” some said.
As this thought passed through Ikeobi's mind, a spark of hope ignited. *The witch doctor,* he thought. *Maybe she could help me.*
Feeling a newfound determination, Ikeobi quickened his pace. Approaching a fork with one path leading home and the other to Mmachi’s house, he didn’t hesitate. He took the path toward the witch doctor.
To be continued …
.jpeg)
.webp)
(0) Comment
(0) Comment