Eclipse of the Noonday: Episode 3

When the hoe is at loggerheads with the ground,

And the farmer does not step in to settle the fight,

Either the farmer will not be able to till the ground,

Or the ground will resist the hits of the hoe.

A child that is brought up eating with a silver spoon,

And does not receive a bridle on his mouth,

Will either ruin his father’s wealth in his youth,

Or ruin himself when he begins to labor for his own.

Never in time has the sun been this cruel,

Refusing to perform the duty, for which it is known,

Making us all moan in pain force us to groan,

In situation which seems as HELL.

* * * * *

   Earlier in the day, it was Dad’s face that put all of us on our toes, but now, in the car, with only three of us in the car, I knew this latest look would soon dissolve into words, and as if on cue, Mom spoke up after over five minutes of dropping the phone call. ”I just spoke with official of NERMA who took the accident victim to the hospital, and he said the victim was having a cardiac arrest, and had been moved to the ICU of the hospital”. No one spoke again, until we entered the hospital compounds.

   Already irritated, I knew Dad and Mum were on the edge, and any slight poke would release the venom in them. “Please can I get an ID sir?” asked a smartly dressed security gateman at the hospital’s main gates. “My son is in there, just brought in from an accident scene, and my attention is urgently needed”, Dad responded swiftly, as if he had already rehearsed it, or had prepared it before now. I expected the dumb idiot called gateman to allow us in, but he again insisted on seeing an ID at least, to which Dad angrily flashed his military badge at the fool, who promptly responded by going full length in salute.

   There he sat, like a repentant prodigal son, who had realized his faults, and was back home, to his father for forgiveness. He seemed quite alright, and that I was thankful for, and I knew from my parent’s faces especially my Mum’s, that they were also thankful. Together with Taiye, we all proceeded to the ICU, to check on the boy who was in the ward. Upon entering the ward, I was so shocked by what I saw, that I screamed out aloud.

   Contrary to all the news and calculations I had done in my mind and head, the victim of the accident was JENNIFER, my brother’s girlfriend. Her parents were nowhere to be found, and I presumed that they had not been contacted. I looked over to Taiye, and though he strove so hard to hide it, huge waves of tears were gathering up in his little eyes. “This must be very hard for him”, I thought to myself, as I looked over to my already sobbing twin brother a few moments later.

   Jennifer for what I knew was always very daring, and always adventurous. Her stories in secondary school were those of notorious pranks pulled on seniors and juniors alike, notwithstanding the rank of the persons involved. I always wondered how my strong-headed brother could continue to cope with her. Though their relationship was still young-just about five months-it was no news that the love they shared was a strong, unique one, with my brother the most attached one therewith.

   In my multitude of thoughts, I did not notice the helter-skelter rush of the medical crew, until one of the nurses bumped into me so hard that I staggered backwards. Upon regaining my balance, I noticed that the Lafenwa’s, Jennifer’s parents and siblings were already around, with the father and mother already with my own parents. Taiye still refused to stop sobbing, and I went over to him, and I discovered that he was already hot in tears.

   ”Ty, you are crying, do you know that?” I asked my twin brother, who was looking like a kid who just lost his pocket money for the month on the 5^th day of the month. “She is in coma, and you say I’m crying, if it was you, would you be laughing? He asked me angrily.

   I was thrown aback by this shocking revelation I just received from my twin bro. No wonder all the medical crew of the ICU was on their feet. I even overheard one of the nurses make a call for more helping hands not too long ago. Now, I knew that the day was going to end gloomily, except a miracle happened, i.e. something exceptional and extra-ordinary happened-for good.

   Bibi, our eldest sister and firstborn, stepped in from the rear entry door, looking tense and apprehensive. I quickly motioned her over with my hands, and she was by our side in no time. I did not want her to draw the attention of the parents who were at the door of the ward, eagerly anticipating any news from the medical crew inside the ward. Upon her inquiry, I filled her in on what part of the story I knew, and let Ty chip in his version of the story, which was not so different from mine, save some few added details, which I could not have known since I was not there with them when it all started.

   A message popped up in my phone’s screen, and I swiftly opened it before it created a scene of piercing eyes on me. Sis Toye was the sender. “Ty sent me a text about an hour ago, and I just saw it now, since I just woke up. Please, what happened to Jennifer? Since I saw the text, I’ve been trying to get through to Ty, but his mobile phone seems to either be switched off, or out of network coverage. Please come online on Facebook, so that we can talk well”.

   I showed the message to Ty, who just nodded his head, and continued to glance into space. Bibi said she was already on her way home from work, when Ty’s text got to her, and she quickly had to turn around and come over. “I could have been here earlier, but I got hooked up in traffic, and could only make it here when I did”, she responded, once she saw Toye’s text from Vietnam.

   “Jesus”! was the loud scream from the ward, that got everyone into the ward almost all at once.

Episode 2: (More Troubles Ahead)

As we lay in  wait for the sun,

The day grows older, and older by the second.

When will our freedom from this darkness arrive?

When will we be free to get out and move around?

Must this be our continuous sad plight?

Are we condemned to remain under the bounds of this lazy sun?

 

I thought I saw a ray of the true sun?

I thought we were finally free to attend to our business!

But NO! It seems to me that the sun was out for fun,

And it doesn’t mind if we remain indoors with heaviness.

 

* * * * *

     From the look I saw on Dad’s face, I knew that all was not well, and I could further pestering would not bring out answers from Dad, instead, tears would be our final results. I just tried to calm everyone down as much as my strength could go.

     Aunty Bimpe, Juliet, Eunice, and Aunty Yinka were all looking confused, and cast questioning glances at me, to which I replied negative also, with a glance at all of them simultaneously. When everybody had calmed down, I proceeded to ask Dad what went wrong, and where Taiye -my twin brother – was. Daddy did not say anything; he just stood up, and went up the stairs to his room. Mum followed him upstairs, and every other person found their square roots too. I returned to the sitting room to fetch my laptop, Aunty Bimpe came to me.

    “Are you ready to eat Kenny?” she asked me, an unusual occurrence. “What did you cook?” I asked her, not like I still had the appetite, nor like I still remembered that lunch was BEANS and fried plantain. “BEANS and plantain” was the stressed reply from Aunty Bimpe. “But you know that I don’t like beans now!, and I really have lost my appetite.” I replied her non-chalantly. If only I could get the full gist and details of what’s up with Ty. I was now so desperate to know what had become of my one and only twin brother, that I threw all caution to the wind, and went upstairs to ask Daddy what was up, leaving Aunty Bimpe to stare at me as I mounted the stairs three at a time.

      On getting to the door of the room, I overheard Dad telling Mum to hold herself together. I now knew that something really huge was up with my twin brother. I knocked gently on the door, and I knew that both Mum and Dad were startled by the sudden, unexpected knock. Dad was the first to speak up, and he asked roughly, “Who is that?” I replied as calmly as my voice could go, that it was me. “Come inside” was the reply, and I opened the door gently. Mum’s face was a real story of grief and tears. As I sighted Mum’s face, my heart skipped a beat, and it began to beat so loudly, that I thought Mum and Dad could hear it.

    “Dad please what is wrong with Ty and the car he took out?” I asked with great burdens on my heart, and expecting to hear the worst. Now seemingly calmer than when he first received the phone call, Dad replied with great care and stress, “I was called that the car he took out was involved in a very bad accident. Apparently, he and his friends had planned to have a little race together, and he had craftily taken my car to that effect.” “He ………”

    “Is he okay .and was he hurt badly?” I asked immediately, interrupting Dad’s long speech. “He was not the one who rode the car though, and the person who rode it is perfectly conscious, although with some minor bruises and injuries. It may sound awkward, or sound weird, but I know that something was amiss, when I noticed the missing car in the garage, but I couldn’t place my fingers on it” Dad concluded. “Right now, he is at the General Hospital in Ikeja, with the occupants of the other vehicle, and his friends”.

    Now, I could feel my breath returning to normal, and my heartbeat rate returning to the optimal rate at which it should beat. Deep down within me, I pondered on the facts surrounding this new development. Taiye had always nursed the dream of participating in Formula One (F1) races, and I knew he could go extremes just to get a taste of this dream, but I never knew he could get to this length. If he could sneak out of the house just to race with a few friends, he could have also been doing some other stuff we did not know.

    I wondered how a grown up baby like Taiye would nurse the dream to be like James Bond 007. Every time he watched a foreign film, he just got excited from seeing the actors and actresses drive fast cars by. I still remembered how he was behaving watching Fast and Furious, the Italian Job, the Transporter, Drive, and some other car racing movies. It was just like he was the one driving those cars. The film I that even annoyed me the most with him was DEATH RACE by Jason Statham. I felt like beating him, or even strangulating him, because with every single death in the film, he jumped up happily at sight of their blood.

    While in this my mind ruminating thoughts, I spoke out unconsciously, “And I warned him that day oh!” and Mum and Dad looked at me questioningly. Even with their gazes fixed on me, I did not flinch; neither did I even come out of my thoughts. I didn’t even notice or hear Dad’s questions posted towards me. I just continued in my fantasy flashback thoughts. Not until Dad placed his rather warm hands on my forehead, did I realize that I was still in my parent’s room. I was suddenly jolted back to reality by the sudden touch of Dad’s hand on my forehead, and I found it difficult to focus on anything, as my eyes were blurred and unsteady. It took me almost two minutes to fully gain control of my eyes.

    It was Mum that first spoke to me, once I was fully concentrating on them. “What did you warn him on? And did Taiye tell you where he was going? And what he was going to do and you did not tell us? Ehn Kehinde?” she asked, only stopping at short intervals to catch her breath. I knew they were both expecting to hear that I was on board with Taiye’s sneak out show. I hoped my answer would vindicate me, and would prove my innocence and clear the misty air I just created.

    “It’s nothing really, only that I had previously warned him to stop fantasizing driving race cars like those people who act films in foreign movies.” I replied with the least sense of apprehension. I remained with Dad and Mum for another five minutes, before I excused myself, and went to my room. Dad said he would be going out to see Taiye and his wounded friends in the hospital, and I said I would go with him. “Get prepared in time, because I would be leaving in thirty minutes time”, he responded.

   On the way to the hospital, along Kingsway, we saw the spot where Dad’s car had been involved in the nasty accident. Just around a curve, the unfortunate driver had lost control of the steering wheel of the sleek Camry saloon car. The car had careened along the smooth road, and had slammed into a fence about twenty meters down the road. If not for the timely intervention of people around, there could have probably been a fatal explosion. The car was still there, and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) was right there on hand, alongside some other road maintenance agencies that had collaborated to evacuate the car from the wreck it had become.

    As we passed the accident scene, onwards to the hospital where Taiye and his friends were, I noticed that Dad shook his head at the gory sight his car had become. I wanted to ask daddy if he had included the Camry in his insurance lists, but I knew this was not the right time to do so. We continued our smooth ride to the hospital, without anyone speaking, and all was silent, except for the car stereo which was playing cool R&B music from a popular radio station, just right for the mood.

    As we approached the hospital, Dad’s phone rang and he handed it to Mum to answer for him. “Hello?” she answered, and fell silent for a few seconds, until she suddenly screamed, “JESUS CHRIST, when did that happen? Okay, we are almost there, thank you very much.” And then she dropped the call, and looked from Dad to me, looking most worried.

What do you think has gone wrong again ? Is Taiye okay? Are his friends alright ?

Find out these and more in the next episode of Eclipse of the noonday.Episode 3

Episode 1 (How it all started)

* * * * * *

In the heart of the city,

Our people lie in wait,

For the coming out of the light,

Yet, it seems to me like we will continue

In our earnest waiting for the Sun of the day

To come out unto us.

Even the hardworking, diligent man cannot get out,

To till the farm, & finish up the work started yesterday,

The lazy man is now the king of his bed,

With the Sun’s darkness a perfect excuse

For his laziness.

Come out dear Sun, and ameliorate our heavy groaning.

* * * * * *

      “Where is this good for nothing child called Taiye?” dad asked coming into the general sitting room from upstairs. I could not say where exactly he was coming from, because our rooms were all upstairs, and he might have checked out Ty in his room before coming downstairs. I did not even have the slightest idea of where the big head could be, so I hoped he would not ask me.

        As dad proceeded into the sitting room, I pretended to be engrossed with what I was watching on my laptop, and even adjusted my earpiece, just to make a clear statement that I did not hear all he had said, and would say shortly. Even though the scene I was watching was in no way connected with anything funny, I burst out laughing, and dad turned to me, noticing me for the first time since entering the sitting room.

        “Kenny, where is Taiye?” he asked directly. Though I heard what he said quite clearly, I just pretended on. I did not still feel like talking with dad yet. But dad was not in the mood to notice my countenance, and stood over my face, and asked the question all over, this time with a more authoritative and autocratic tone.

         “Kehinde, where is your twin brother, Taiye?” he asked stone-facedly. Now, I knew that my little game was over and I needed to answer if I wanted to keep the smooth face I had now. I removed the earpiece in my ears, and answered dad in a mumbled, “I don’t know where he is, but he could probably be in his room dad”, I replied slowly, visibly irritated, and not hiding it for dad’s notice.

          Dad stood up straight, giving me breathing space at last, and went over to the laundry. I just did not know what dad wanted Ty for, and that made it quite difficult to just blurt out any negative answer to him. Taiye himself must have gone out by now, because by this time of the day, it was very rare to find him at home. Virtually everyone at home now knew that Taiye’s itinerary did not involve us at home at this time of the day.

          Ever since the results of our screening examinations into the University was released, and Taiye was one of the highest scoring candidates, he had become uncontrollable by all with the exception of course of daddy who would not take nonsense, and mummy at any time when she insisted strongly on her words, and stood her grounds. If I were the elder of both of us, I would have shown him the effect of seniority, but he was my elder brother, even though it just by a meager sixty-nine and half minutes.

          It wasn’t like my results were not also good, Infact, it was among the best ten, but his’ was probably ranked among the top three. This probably put pride in his head, and made him begin to feel pompous towards almost everyone in the house. This was not even as bad as the reckless way with which he began to spend, and to say he was being encouraged by Mum to do it all the more. Everything Taiye did was always the right and correct thing. Infact, I was already getting tired of this long holiday to resumption, and I wished our admission list would be out today, and we would be asked to resume next week, but all are just my wish, and it could never come true at this critical moment because even those already in school had not yet done their final exams.

          In anycase, I tried Taiye’s phone number once more, for the umpteenth time already, and it rang. “What?” was the sharp retort the imp could give me.

“Where are you bighead, daddy has been ranting your name all over the house since God knows when, and no one seems to know where you are?” I replied, trying to overlook the tone of his voice, and the anger welling inside of me.

          “I’m actually at a friend’s”, he replied, this time in a more cool and calm tone.”What did he even want me for self?” he asked, that silly tone creeping into his voice again.

“I don’t know, neither do I intend to ask”.”But please try and call dad and tell him where you are at, because he would still come back to me if you don’t call him soon”.”And if you can’t call daddy, then call mummy and let her help you tell dad”, I advised him genuinely.

          Few seconds later, he hung up, and I heard dad’s phone ring. Within a few seconds, dad’s voice could be heard miles away, as he sounded visibly angry at something Taiye had done. I tried to listen in to the conversation, but I was so lost. Dad’s communication by now had reduced to hmm’s and ok’s. After Taiye had finished whatever sermon he was preaching to daddy, dad told him point blank, “Be in this house in the next 2 hours, or else …..” and he hung the call. I quickly repositioned myself, and faced my laptop and tried to concentrate on my film.

          I soon lost interest in the movie as soon as I returned to it. From the tone and manner dad concluded his call with Taiye, I knew that we were in for a rough noon and night-time in the house. I really wished Toye was at home during this period. She is the only one who could talk dad out of an argument, keep mum from flaring up at probably me or Ty, and put me, Bibi, and Ty in our right senses. In summary, she is the peacemaker, (Yoruba translation means atole = bed wetter) of this house.

          Unfortunately, she was currently in Vietnam, on a training course from her office, Reflux Oil Nig. Ltd, a multinational oil company based here in Lagos. I thought of calling her on Skype, but dropped the idea. By this time over there in Vietnam, she would be fast asleep, and Toye did not find it interesting being woken up from her sleep. Checking the time for clarity and accuracy, I discovered that the time was not on my side; 3pm and lunch was not yet served.

          I got to the kitchen, and checked the roaster of lunch, for Thursday, and discovered that lunch for today was beans and fried plantains.

“Eww! I exclaimed spontaneously. “Of all foods to eat today, why must it be beans?” I asked inside of me. I detested beans with a passion, and everyone in the house knew it. My very next best alternative at the moment was to either cook noodles, or take snacks and fruit juice. I was so irritated that I just barged out of the kitchen, not caring to look ahead and notice dad coming my way with a glass cup and tray of wine in hand. I almost bumped into him, if not for his swift movement out of my way.

          “Hello? What were you saying?” dad said into the phone.”Yes, I am the one speaking”, he replied after listening for a few seconds.”Yes, that is my car you are talking about, and it was taken out by my son this morning”. “What?” dad suddenly exclaimed.

          “Where?, When?, How?” dad asked the caller, confusing me all the more. Mum was already down with us, looking alert and confused, just like I was. I could not even concentrate on anything. Definitely, Taiye was in the midst of what was happening, and I could not decipher it. I tried to reach him through his phone number, but it said it was switched off. By now, dad had dropped his call, and was looking morose.

          Everyone began to question dad; what was wrong?, where was the car?, where was Taiye?, hope all was well?, Even as we all threw these barrage of questions at him, he just continued to look awe-struck.

What could have gone wrong? Where was Taiye, and did daddy not say he drove a car out? No wonder he sounded mad at him when he called.

Find out what happens next in Episode 2 (More Troubles Ahead)

What do you think has happened? Post your comments here.