The Journey

Olanna would not let the attitude of the obnoxious immigration officer get to her. Her excitement was brimming over and in her state of joy, she did not mind parting with the cedis that she had left on her; she did not think that she would be needing them very soon.

Passage through the Lagos-Badagry border was known to be stressful and she couldn’t wait for the clearance of customs and immigration controls to be done so that they can continue their journey. The seven plus hours form Accra to Lagos had been hectic but was gradually coming to an end.

The bus had trundled assuredly through the West African International road route, only stopping for short breaks, to refuel, and for border control between Togo and Ghana, but through the entire trip, she seemed to be floating in a bubble of good tidings, flipping through various copies of bridal magazines that she had purchased in Accra.

She daydreamed of her wedding which she felt sure would take place in a couple of months and was finding it difficult to settle on the style of gown that she would like to wear on her big day.

Should I have a ring bearer, a flower girl and ladies-in-waiting she mused?

Should it be an intimate wedding of just close family and friends or should I allow Mama to have her way and invite all and  sundry as she is bound to do once I announce the forthcoming nuptials?

The should I’s were numerous but she had a firm belief that Philip would be happy to go along with her choices. He always wanted her happiness, which was why he supported her trips to the West Coast to purchase fabrics for her business.

This good news will definitely prompt a long awaited romantic proposal. After so many years of searching for employment, securing a stable job in a top oil and gas company would be a welcome change from the hustle of her budding fashion business. Sometimes the hassles were so much that she wondered if the gains were worth the trouble.

Not allowing any negative thoughts to form in her mind, she opened her bag and extracted the slip of paper which she looked at so lovingly.

So engrossed was she in her thoughts that the last few hours spent crawling through Lagos traffic passed blissfully and in no time she alighted the bus stop at Ojuelegba.

She hailed a taxi and after some back and forth haggling over price, they settled on an agreeable figure and the driver sped off to Philips house.  She couldn’t wait to see the surprise on his face when he comes home and finds her.

He expected her back on Monday, but her news precipitated a shorter trip.

Madam, we don reach Eric Moore flats o, the driver alerted her.

Ah! Okay. Just move small and stop behind that car over there, she instructed.

It was now dark and the drone of all the generators from the different apartments made an already balmy evening a notch warmer. She paused when she saw Philips Nissan Altima parked in its usual space. Based on their conversation, she thought he was meant to be on call at the clinic till late evening.

No matter! She thought to herself. He will still be pleasantly surprised to see me and best of all when I share my news with him, I bet we wont sleep this night out of excitement. Smiling to herself, she tiredly climbed the several flight of stairs to his apartment.

Taking her copy of the entrance key; which she had managed to obtain after a lot of cajoling, she let herself into the place she was growing to call home.

The light from the plasma TV which was on, provided the only illumination in the living room and music was floating down the hallways from the direction of the bedroom. It was welcoming.

Slipping off her heeled sandals in order not to alert him, she tiptoed over to his room.

The husky incoherent whisper filtering through the crack of the doorway caused her to falter for a brief moment. However, her curiosity got the better of her, thus with a thudding heart and sweaty palms, she pushed open the bedroom door.

An involuntary gasp escaped her lips as she stood transfixed, trying to assimilate the surreal display in front of her.

She gazed in amazement as her Philip, the man of her dreams, her future husband and the father of the unborn baby nestled in her womb was speaking gibberish whilst an unknown man was crouched over him in flagrante delicto. She literally felt her heart shattering painfully into little bits.

The squeak of the opened door had attracted Philips attention and glancing over his shoulders, he saw Olanna, his girlfriend of four years and five months rooted in the doorway in a state of shock.

The interlude had been rudely interrupted and as he shrugged off his sexual partner in order to pull something on, Olanna whirled on her bare heels and rushed out of the apartment; hot tears cascading down her cheeks.

Blindly, she rushed down the stairs, missing a step in her hurry.

Her body lurched forward in a drunken stance, spilling down the concrete steps with thuds and bumps until it finally came to rest on the landing. Her broken body at an odd twisted angle.

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha