"Are you sleeping? ... Faruk! ..." "Sh ... I'm in the spirit" "what’s that, you've started again right?" "Thank you Father, I’ll do just that" "are you okay?" "Yap, I am. I’ve got a divine message for you" "you must be high" "that’s where the message came from, up high" giggling, Onyinye demanded for the message "ɪ believe you, oya put a smile on my face" "directly from God, He says & ɪ quote. Surely love & care shall follow onyinye, all the rest of her days with Far..." "Ehn, ehn, that’s enough, you shouldn't play with our prayers" "sorry but..." "Save it, the joke is expensive, you wouldn't take it if ɪ should play with your own prayers, would you?" "That one de sha, I'm sorry please" "so you've learnt how to apologize? Ha ha ha" "another reason why it could only be you, quick to forgive & forget ɪ love you darling" "I'm blushing... As if you don't tell every girl you meet the same thing" "God Forbid, why can’t you just beli..." Just then the Nokia phone that had traced its way through the rumpled love nest under one of the love birds sent its faint ringtone forcing its way out of its hiding. For a moment, the room turned grave yard silence while Onyinye strived to retrieve the handset which was lying beneath her thigh. "hm... It’s this same Hauwa, please receive your call" "Hauwa? Please ignore the ..." "you must receive this call o, right now & here" "baby please, she has got nothing reasonable to say to me now, ɪ told you, it’s all over between us" "it’s still ringing & the moment it stops, I'm living here for good, that ɪ promise you" subconsciously, Faruk sprang up on the bed & sat. The remaining trace of the sun was just being enveloped by the sky but at this juncture, wit this situation, it was mid night for Faruk. He collected the handset from Onyinye with such shaky hands as one would collect a live snake from a magician, wondering why his cyber had refused to provide ideas as to what to do next. He stared at the features of this machine's LCD: -Hauwa calling- -silence- -option- -6:47pm-. Any second from now, the handset was sure to seize ringing & Onyinye's threats where never empty ones, moreover she had already picked up her bangles from the bed side drawer. Summoning courage, Faruk pressed the right soft key & lifted the phone to his ear "what is it... Joseph’snumber? Is that why you are calling me? ... Ask someone else & don't dial my number again... Fuck you too... It’s your own mother you abused, not mine". He pressed the right soft key again with a little temper & dropped the phone on his reading table, very much out of her reach. "Baby please calm down, what was that all about?" "ɪ keep asking myself how ɪ ever came to date such a useless lady in the first..." the nokia tone came alive again. Before Faruk could make for the phone, Onyinye had jumped out of bed, headed towards the reading table. "It’s her again" "let me have it please" "no no, ɪ wouldn't want that brat to spoil your mood furthermore, just let it ring baby, she will soon give it up" "thanks sweety, but let me have the phone, I'm not receiving the call" she gave Him the phone & came back to bed as he silently slid the phone in the bed side drawer, patiently waiting for the right time to switch it off & hoping it doesn’t announce its presence any longer. On every other day with exception of Sundays, where Onyinye doesn’t come to open her Mother's shop, she usually left Faruk's flat by 7:30pm at most but after this little incidence that had proven her victorious over Hauwa, the only meaning that could be attached to 7:30pm was: -mummy am sorry, but at age 20, ɪ should be able to come home any time ɪ like -. Usually, the NYSC coppers lodge faruk lived is very noisy as virtually every of his neighbors were full families, but by 6:30pm, the noise gradually fades out as the kids retire to their various apartments. Other than the voom voom from the countable cars that use Nise Street, the neighborhood use to be very calm by 7pm. So by 7:30pm, onyinye didn't need to be audible to pass any message to Faruk who wasn’t even an inch away from her, a romantic whisper would help. "Baby you know what?" "Till you say" "she slowly pulled the sitting faruk back to his previous position & gently slid a palm into his boxer short while her manicured finger hunted a prey in his private forest. This was the moment faruk had been waiting for since he was posted to Ebonyi State 2 months ago for his NYSC program, so he graced the occasion by reciprocating, though with a troubled mind. "I’ve never believed for once that it was over between you & Hauuu...wa" "hum" "ɪ was thinkiiiii... waaaaaah" without taking any chances, Faruk undressed her half way, to hell with the World He thought. "Yeeeeeeeh, me 2" "baby please" "what?" "Condom". The word hit him hard & for a moment, all hope was lost not until he remembered Paul, his next door neighbor hardly lacks condoms. Triumphantly, he gave her a long kiss, cupping her firm breast in his big palm & threw the cover cloth over her half naked body. Leaving the light switched off, he groped for the door handle & scrambled out of the room. There was no need knocking on Paul’s door since it was opened as Paul was busy in the kitchen. In a whisper, he said "guy! CD abeg" "under my bed" "thanks man" "you go soon die ɪ tell you, see your rod wan tear boxer" "ɪ know". He raised Paul's mattress & found what he was looking for, as he tore two packs of condom out of the role, he heard a very familiar sound from a distance. He pricked his ear for clarification before he felt his heart skip a beat "my message tone!" 'the devil is a liar, after my months of investment?' He thought as he ran back to his room just in time to catch Onyinye collecting the phone from the drawer. The way he barged into his room throwing the door ajar startled Onyinye "what is it?" Without replying or moving from the door, he mentally examined this scene. Three arms length from his supposed dividends of his two months of investment, a phone with the ability to wrong every right & the future’s plenty explanations for his loss. His silence made her follow his gaze & she continued "oh! It is the phone that brought you back abi?" "No, ɪ got condoms. Do ɪ have a call?" He made for the phone but she dodged his encroaching hands "how come ɪ didn't ... No, we didn't hear Hauwa's call for the third time?" Maybe it was a sharp flash, baby please put away the phone, it doesn’t matter" "it matters o, because your last received call was from me" she said while pressing the buttons of the mobile phone rapidly. "All these Nokia phones self..." "Don't you dare nokia phone me, you never received her call & this message is from her, can you imagine?" that was it, your plans have failed he thought. Throwing all caution to the wind, he snatched the phone from her & his instinct immediately told him 'if you like dull yourself'. "Don't touch me" she ordered alarmingly but Faruk was far gone from the sanity world. The phone's back light faded out & left the room in darkness again. In no time, her both arms were handcuffed in Faruk's while he shoved her roughly to the bed. If 'the unlawful compelling of a woman through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse' remains one of the definition of rape, then this definitely should be called 'rape', but what should it be called when Onyinye ended her struggle three minutes later & had her hands free while bumping on top of Faruk in a continuous moan, kissing every part of his upper bare body?
“Allahuakbar!Allahuakbar!...” (The call for Prayer). For the first time in weeks, Faruk opened his eyes by this time of the day without shutting them back to proceed with his sleep. He groped for his phone in the darkness & pressed a button so as to light up the screen. From the calmness of the dawn, it was an indication that PHCN hadn't restored power, so he didn't bother tracing the light switch. A faint fragrance swiped his nose, memories came alive so he grinned sheepishly, what a night he thought, "this girl is the best ɪ ever had" he said to himself in a whisper. He checked the time & discovered 10 minutes had gone past 5am. ɪ better go & fetch water & bath sharply before time for prayers he thought. He picked his kettle & a towel, opened his door silently so as not to disturb his neighbors & headed for the tap in the compound. 4 Minutes later, while he was just rounding up his bath, the light was restored, brightening the compound. Like it was also controlled by PHCN, his mind flashed back to last night’s experience & he wore that grin again. How he sent Onyinye to the 15th heaven... How he got her begging for more... When she insisted reading the SMS Hauwa sent... His ɪ-don't-care attitude towards everything... Her reactions… & finally the good riddance having waited patiently for over a month. Upon recalling these events, his mind music player sprang up with the most soothing track to match his current mood & so he hummed the song by Naeto c, 'ako miti poju' while he felt so on top of the World. As he rinsed his feet with the rest of the water in the bucket before ascending his corridor, he pictured Paul & Joe hailing Him later in the day, when he would have shared this experience with them, he also imagined Joe asking him for the umpteenth time "na how you take de pull these girls so easily self?" He paused at the front of his door & mimicked Neal Bannen (Mark Gantt) holding his head high while Zeke's friend christened him 'the biggest pimp ever'. Darkness greeted him as he opened his door & his hands were still wet as well as his towel, so he couldn't switch on the light. Entering the room, he traced his way to the wardrobe & dabbed his palms with the available cloth then using the wall as support & for directions, he found his way back to the light switch & switched it on. The blue light came up first while the energy bulb charged so he stood there waiting for it to come up while his eyes tried to get accustomed to the room. Alive came the light flooding the room with its brightness. On a very good day, Faruk would smile to this development but today was different. Instead of this light brightening the room as usual thereby revealing the sky blue & white carpet in the room & the Chelsea Football Club designers rug at the middle of the room which matches his bed spread as well as the numerous wall papers of Chelsea FC players, this light included something else which was very unusual. Small wrappers lay helpless beside his bed. Whatever it was, empty or not, Faruk didn't want to believe that this was the same sachet of condoms he collected from paul the previous evening. He just stood there feeling a very big lump form in his throat. With a sick feeling of despair, he dragged his feet which suddenly added lots of weight towards the newly discovered object, bent down by it, closed his eyes & hoped when he picked them up, they would be so empty because they were used. He stretched forth his fingers & picked up one. He pressed it & felt the contents seeking hide out from their compressing environment. The sudden realization that he never used these condoms sent a chill up his spine, his previous heavy feet became weightless so he dropped to the floor in a sitting position holding his head as if seeking answers as regards the next action to take. Fortunately or unfortunately, the only result the brain could produce was sending a signal to Faruk’s lips which opened a bit & the only sound that could be heard was "God". His phone was nearby, he collected it, clicked on the left soft key that indicated menu, scrolled to messages, clicked twice & the inbox was opened, his most recent massage was from Hauwa. He clicked on the message which read as thus: 'Honey I’ve been tryna reach u but to no avail. D Dr said I'm pregnant & ɪ don't knw wat to do nw. Plz call me bak as soon as u get dis, I'm so much confused ryt now'
