[Story] Ogechi & I (Complete Episodes)

Ogechi & I

EPISODE 36

My heart skipped. My knees shook. I felt goose pimples on me, and I had the feeling Judas had after he betrayed Jesus. I was destabilized, and almost fainted too. So what the maid said was true after all” I thought. Then I broke down in tears like a baby in the hospital. I cried out loud that the people’s attention was on me. I rolled on the floor and tore my shirt. Words of lament freely flowed from my mouth. Feelings or misery and regret almost crushed me. SHE DIDN’T DESERVE TO DIE! No, she didn’t. I wept till it became a thing of concern to the doctors and nurses, and they gathered to hold me up and put me to order.

“Don’t lose hope young man. She still has a chance” the doctor said.

“Doc, this is not two thousand years ago, and she definitely isn’t the Messiah. So stop insinuating the impossible, except you have one of the Apostles of Christ here to lay hands on her and bring her back to life. Besides that, let’s talk Cemetery.” I retorted and continued with my tears and laments. But then, the doctor said;

“Cemetery? Why would I talk about cemetery? She’s not dead!”

“She’s not what?” I asked.

“She’s not dead”

“Then what’s all these act of yours about?”

“She’s in a coma”

That truth brought quite some relief to me and the maids who I had freaked out by my over exaggerated emotional display. I thought the doctor was going to tell me Cynthia was dead because of the action that preceded the news. I had noticed that doctors act that way in Nigerian home videos when about to break the news of someone’s death, so I concluded that was the case here. It was a good thing Cynthia was still alive, or should I say 50% alive. Oh’, look what I caused a girl who showed me nothing but kindness. What if she doesn’t make it back alive? What excuse would I vindicate myself with? How would I live with my conscience? There was no way I would keep living if Cynthia didn’t come out of that coma alive.

I called Ogechi and told her the situation of things with Cynthia. She was so shocked on hearing it that her phone fell off her hand. She managed to pick it up after about three minutes to inform me that she was coming to Regina to join me. I was so glad because I really needed someone with me at that moment. I didn’t consider Cynthia’s maids worthy characters to play such a role, because their reason for not wanting to lose Cynthia was fear of returning to a village in Imo state where they were brought from to serve as maids in America. By evening the next day, Ogechi arrived with no one else but herself alone.

I have heard of people who had been in coma for three years and some others who never returned, but I was not leaving that hospital until Cynthia either returned or passed away. I sent the maids home while I and Ogechi remained at the hospital with Cynthia. Three days passed and Cynthia was still not awake. Ogechi hadn’t told anyone where she was going when she left Oklahoma. It was as though she was embarking on a journey she wasn’t sure to return. We refused to leave Cynthia alone in the room she was confined to as the doctors advised. We remained there with her, and after those three days, Ogechi suggested we pray and intercede for Cynthia’s life. We vowed not to eat anything food until Cynthia awakes from that coma. I agreed. I had always agreed with Ogechi anytime she suggested anything about prayer, and she always suggested it. She hadn’t changed after all. It had been two years now, and she was still doing the things she did on the very night I met her. Once an angel, always an angel.

We had our last meal that day and began fasting and praying the next day. The first day passed, same as the second, third, fourth and fifth day, yet, there was no sign of Cynthia returning to us. I and Ogechi were weak already and very hungry, but we had vowed not to eat until Cynthia awoke. We had hoped that our prayers will be answered before we became too weak to even speak words anymore, but after five days it began to dawn on us that we could as well be on our way to a destination far worse than where Cynthia was at the moment. It was a vow, and dared not be broken for any reason in the world. After all, we were not coaxed to enter into it. We did it willingly with knowledge of the possible outcome; be it positive or negative.

In the morning on the seventh day, we were completely weak and felt like our spirit would leave our bodies anytime soon. I and Ogechi drew near to each other and held onto each other in preparation to die in the arms of each other if it came to that. The guilt was too much on us that we couldn’t go about our own businesses normally with a clear conscience. If anyone was to blame for Cynthia’s condition, it would be me. But Ogechi had also taken the blame upon herself as part of the reason why Cynthia was where she was. We had prayed earnestly those past six days for Cynthia’s recovery but didn’t notice any development. Perhaps we had to pay with our lives for what we had done to Cynthia. We only hoped Cynthia wakes up to appreciate our sacrifice for her, and also know that there is a love that surpasses the love of a woman for a man, and vice versa.

I and Ogechi engaged in what we supposed would be our last conversation in case we never had the chance to do so again in this world. Indeed, I had heard her story when she shared it at the VIP during her house party, and I had also told her my story when she found me in the same VIP on the same night. But there were deeper details of our lives which we hadn’t shared with each other yet. Those were what we talked about. And even though those details hurt like the scratch of a cat’s claws, we felt no pain, for that was no time to count flaws. Then we went further back to our days in Enugu which this story has skipped and chooses to remain silent about, and we prayed again; but this time for ourselves.

After we prayed, we felt as pure as we were on the day of our birth and were convinced of a better future away from the earth. I hadn’t fulfilled my dreams of being a star singer, writer and actor. But that didn’t mean a thing to me anymore. Ogechi didn’t bother about the volume of wealth she was leaving behind. All we were concerned about was us, as we could not live without each other in this world; neither could we live together in this world at the expense of Cynthia’s life. But we didn’t mind giving our lives for Cynthia to wake up and also have the opportunity to love and be loved, as was the case of I and Ogechi. So we sat on the floor, leaned back on the wall and held onto each other firmly.

“What do you think heaven will look like?” Ogechi asked.

“The bible talks about the streets being made of gold, and about the glory of God being the only source of light. Every day and night, the saints and the angels won’t stop singing Hallelujah to the Lord. And they’ll be twelve angels at the twelve gates of the twelve tribes of Israel.”

“Yeah, that’s true. We’ll also get to see and commune with famous bible characters like the great King David and his son, King Solomon. And also New Testament heroes like the Apostle Paul.”

“Exactly. And not to forget the King of kings and the Lord of lords Himself. He shall welcome us to a life without end. It was such a great time living in this world. And the best of my experiences in this world remains the once I have you in it.”

I turned to my Ogechi for the last time and said; I LOVE YOU, to which she replied; I LOVE YOU TOO. Then we both closed our eyes in anticipation for what was to come. Soon enough, I heard Ogechi release a deep breath, as her all her weight rested on me. That made me weaker than I was, and I gradually heard the sound of loud silence approaching until everything came to a standstill.

I had expected to see angels come for me, or bright light shining on me. But all I could see was black darkness in a place that seemed as spacious as a wilderness. There was nothing to hold on to. I could only take an endless walk to nowhere. Then I asked myself; WHERE THE HELL AM I?”

EPISODE 37

It definitely wasn’t heaven. If it were, there would be bright lights shining everywhere, and there would also be angels attending to me. The sounds of songs of praise and worship to the God of heaven would be heard tenderly. Joy unspeakable would fill my heart and the voice of Jesus the Messiah would welcome me to eternal living. I would also get to see saints and prophets who had passed on, and the glory of the Lord would engulf my whole being. All those weren’t happening at the place I happened to find myself after supposedly passing on to the afterlife, so I kind of began to wonder where I was.

Some would say I was in hell, since there are only two places men go when they die; either heaven or hell. In a situation where a man dies and doesn’t find himself in heaven, it is logically and spiritually believed that he has succeeded in making hell, where they’ll be much weeping and gnashing of teeth for all eternity. From what I heard about hell, it was supposed to be blazing hot with demons in it to torment the unfortunate ones who didn’t heed the warning of the Messiah and his prophets to amend their ways and prepare for the second coming of Christ. But carefully analyzing the place I found myself, none of those things which are recorded in the bible to occur in heaven or hell played out there. It was simply a large space covered with thick darkness. Once again I asked myself; “WHERE THE HELL AM I?”

My feet started moving my whole body while my eyes looked carefully to observe any source of light it could find. I wouldn’t want to take you through my experience in that vicinity, but the long and short of the matter is that it was the most uninteresting suspense filled adventure I had ever taken in my life. What ended that adventure was the sound of a set of cutleries which dropped on the floor somewhere close and awoke me from the most unseemly slumber I had ever had. I wasn’t dead after all, I was only sleeping, same as Ogechi.

Ogechi had woken up and made arrangements for food while I was still feeling like a dead saint. The cutleries fell on the floor mistakenly when she tried to wake me up to join her have the meal, as her hands were shaking out of excessive hunger. On awakening, I saw Ogechi devouring the food like a starving cannibal while extending a spoon across to me with her other hand so that I could join her to eat. I was baffled by the way she ate that food. It didn’t speak well of an American based superstar millionaire singer. If a girl I had proposed to eats like that, I would cancel the wedding. When I saw her eating, I remembered we had vowed not to eat until Cynthia awoke, but there she was, eating like a hungry village girl. What was she supposed to do? It had been seven good days without food and water. I quickly got the spoon she extended to me and joined her to eat in a manner that baffled her more than her way of eating baffled me. Then it was clear to me that our attitude on the meal was inspired by the seven days unplanned fast we had embarked on. Hmmm, na so person for don use play-play die that day oo.

We finished eating the meal and relaxed resting on each other, still sitting on the floor of the room where Cynthia was laid to either recover from coma or die. Our relaxation graduated into another brief slumber which endured for about an hour and thirty minutes. We finally woke up feeling all refreshed and revitalized. We were happy to have returned from the city of the dead without dying. We also got to know that those who commit suicide do so out of complete ignorance. There is nothing pleasant about death, except the Lord calls you to glory in His own time. All that had happened, yet there was a major problem on ground. (SO I THOUGHT)

“Ogechi, even though you grab a knife and t####t it into my heart, and I manage to survive, I will not hold it against you. As a matter of fact, I’ll only love you more and give you the opportunity to do so again if you will. But the only thing I would demand to know is why.” I said to Ogechi

“Even if I become the devil, roaming to and fro, seeking whom to destroy, you wouldn’t appeal to me like someone who is due for destruction despite the havocs you might have committed in your life time. As a matter of fact, your touch would redeem me and turn me into the angel you desire. So imagine not such about me, for you are my prince, in whom I am well delighted. But permit me to ask why you made such statement?” Ogechi asked.

“I hope you know that doom will soon come upon us, for we have done contrary to the vow we made not to eat until Cynthia recovered. Now we’ve eaten, and can only hope for the best while expecting the worst. We shall welcome misery into our lives, and depression shall be our next door neighbor, all because we made a vow, and broke it.”

“None of those shall happen my prince. On the contrary, we shall forever remain grateful that we made this vow and kept to it faithfully, and also recorded the result the vow yielded.”

“Suddenly your words have become puzzling my dear. You speak in parables so hard to understand. Do you mind helping my understanding by breaking down your utterances with the most common of words? I will be so pleased if you do that for me.” I said.

“Gladly my prince” Ogechi replied. After we prayed and delighted ourselves with goodly words, expecting to embark on the journey of no return, I had a remarkable experience. Firstly, I found myself in a very dark place that seemed very large with no inhabitants. I called out randomly to see if any living creature could pick the sound of my voice and trace me. Unfortunately, nothing like that happened. There was an eerie silence, and the darkness there was darker than darkness. I called on you but got no response, then it dawned on me that the thick dark seemingly large and spacious place I found myself was to be my new world for a period of time unknown to me. I managed to seat on the floor, after which I started singing one of the songs I did with Ck titled; VOICE IN MY GENERATION.

“I had been singing for a while before I finally saw a very bright little light from afar heading towards me very slowly. The closer it got to me, the larger it became. I sort of believed it was the song I sang that attracted the light to me. Perhaps it hadn’t heard the sound of music in a long while and couldn’t resist one when it heard it. I was immensely flabbergasted when the light got to some distance away from me, stopped and spoke with the voice of a man. Getting that close to me, I could decipher its image and height, but couldn’t tell if it was a man or not, as I couldn’t see its face, though it had the image of a man. We got engaged in a little dialog which produced the joy that births our sorrow. These are the words the bright light spoke to me when it had gotten as close as it wanted to get to me.”

“Young lady; THAT WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER DOESN’T MEAN THAT THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER SHARE THE SAME DESTINY” The prayers you and your friend have made are heard, and I have come to you with the answers you seek. The lady you both intercede for is a virtuous woman who desires nothing but a perfect life of love. Indeed, she is willing to pay whatever price there is to pay, and make whatever sacrifices in order to get love, just as you are. It is quite unfortunate that you both have sacrificed equally for the love of one man; the one who goes by the name, Jesusboy. Since you both have sacrificed equally for his love, none of you is more deserving of him than the other except the one he chooses for himself among you both. Without a second thought, he would choose you over and again in any circumstance because he has also sacrificed a lot for your love, unlike he has for Cynthia who lies on that hospital bed in critical condition; a condition he put her in. For that reason, his privilege of choosing who to be with between you and Cynthia has been withdrawn from him. He can only end up with who you chose for him between you and Cynthia. But note; if you chose to be with him, Cynthia will not wake up from that coma, and you’ll have her death on your conscience all your life. But if you let him go, Cynthia will awake from that coma and continue with her wonderful life with him as her lover. Everything shall go well with everyone as it was before anything bad ever happened. The only supposed sad thing will be that you and Jesusboy will not end up together as you both had dreamed to. The choice is in your hands Ogechi. Hold on to Jesusboy, and Cynthia dies. Or let Jesusboy go, and Cynthia lives.”

After the light said all that to me, it retreated to where it came from in the same manner with which it came to me. When it had retreated to a certain point, it said to me for the last time;

“If you decide to let Jesusboy go, just hold Cynthia by the hand and denounce your relationship with Jesusboy, telling her she can have him, and Cynthia will come out of that coma before the end of 300 seconds.”

I ran towards it as it retreated, trying to tell it to reconsider its options, as it was difficult for me to choose from the options it gave me, but it paid no further attention to me until it completely vanished. That was when I struck my foot against an unseen stone and made way to fall but woke up from my sleep before that happened. Hunger welcomed me back and I had to run and get food as there was no need to continue with the fast since the answer we sought had been given to us. Now my love, here we are; me, you and Cynthia. Inasmuch as I love you very dearly and may die without you, I wouldn’t want to let Cynthia pass away when there is something I can do to help her.

I was shocked on hearing that. I mean, I and Ogechi had to separate for Cynthia to live? What sort of a condition was that? And how would I even know it’s true? Be that as it may, it remained the only way out of that situation. But I wasn’t going to let Ogechi leave my life forever just like that. Not after all we’ve been through. So I looked into her eyes which were already wet with tears as she sobbed, held her by the hand and said with tears in my eyes;

“Though the heavens may fall, I will still love you. And if all hell breaks loose, my love for you will only intensify. I love you more than life itself, and won’t trade you for anything no matter what.”

My words found its way to Ogechi’s heart and made her more emotional than she was. She held onto my hands tightly with tears flowing expressly from her eyes and she sobbed in a more audible tone. Then she asked me;

“WHAT ABOUT CYNTHIA?”

EPISODE 38

Was this really going to be it? I asked myself. After meeting Ogechi over five years back under an unusual circumstance, getting acquainted with her, eventually falling in love with her and desiring to spend a lifetime with her only to be separated by Cynthia? This wasn’t really happening. Heaven knows I can’t live without Ogechi, neither can she live without me. Since we hadn’t died from the fast, perhaps this was another way to ensure that we died anyways. Sweet loving Ogechi would never have the bl0*d of another in her hands, not even for my love. She wasn’t going to let me talk her into letting Cynthia die so that we could remain together. Not that I was capable of doing such anyway, but I didn’t find it easy to let Ogechi go just like that. After a little argument between us, we concluded that Cynthia’s life was as precious as ours and couldn’t be wasted. Ogechi proceeded to denounce her relationship with me just to bring Cynthia back to life. Indeed, that action was going to bring her back to life but wasn’t going win her a place in my heart. As a matter of fact, not even a single feeling for Cynthia was going to be nurtured by heart anymore.

My mother would attest to the fact that I never shed such tears all through my days as a lad, even when I was drastically punished for my deliberate childish foolishness. But I did so for the loss of Ogechi’s love. I cried a river. In fact, I cried a lagoon. As Ogechi walked towards Cynthia, I felt pain all over my body as though someone was inflicting them on me. Ogechi had cried until her face turned into something I wouldn’t recognize if I hadn’t known she was the one there. Despite the hurt we would go through after she denounces our love, we still went on with to do so. Ogechi held onto Cynthia’s hands, but found it very difficult to say the words that would put a permanent end to our union. She turned to look at me, and I gave her a look that depicted “If you decide to change your mind, I will be solidly behind you. Nevertheless, I’m not asking you to. But I really wish you would, though I can’t have her bl0*d on my hands as well.”

Ogechi opened her mouth and spoke the words before it was too late. If she had hesitated further, Cynthia would have rested in peace. Just as the bright light said, Cynthia was up in less than 300 seconds after Ogechi spoke the following words; TODAY, I RENOUNCE MY LOVE FOR JESUSBOY FOREVER. HE’S ALL YOURS CYNTHIA. Cynthia’s eyes were all dull and she seemed very weak. Ogechi was the last image she beheld before she passed out, and was also the first she beheld on her return from coma. On seeing her, she got upset and began acting weird on the bed. All efforts to calm her down proved futile and at a point it seemed as though she wanted to pass out again. I asked Ogechi to go and get the doctors while I watch her until their arrival. When Ogechi left the room, Cynthia’s pulse, which was on the high reduced rapidly to normal. She looked at me in a way that made me feel so bad about myself for making her go through that. I couldn’t stand it anymore, and I wished the doctors would just arrive and take over so that I could at least get away from her for a little bit.

The doctors arrived just in time to attend to her. But as soon as she saw Ogechi again, she started breathing heavily as though she was engaged in some sort of marathon race. Obviously, she had woken up from coma to become alleged to Ogechi. If only she knew the sacrifice she made just to get her out of that coma. She was going to know anyway, because I wasn’t going to hesitate telling her about it as soon as she was back on her feet.

The doctors took her to a separate room to do whatever they did to her to ensure full recovery. I and Ogechi remained in the hospital with Cynthia, although Ogechi never went into her room to see her again. But she decided she wasn’t going back to Oklahoma until Cynthia was confirmed okay by the doctors. Then she would leave, never to return to me again.

Sometime later, Cynthia recovered fully and was ready to leave. I went in to see her the night preceding her discharge day and met her laughing to the Tom and Jerry pranks. She was back indeed. She saw me come in, but took her eyes off me and continued watching TV. She didn’t want to talk to me, at least not then. I went ahead to seat on a chair beside her bed, looking straight to her face as she seriously concentrated on the TV. Apparently, Tom and Jerry did her more good than my presence in that room, so I stood up and made to leave her for the time being. But when I got to the door she called me back.

“I thought you came to see me?” she asked.

“Yeah, but it seems like you’re ready to see me yet. So I’ll just leave and come back later. By the way, the doctor says you’ll be discharged tomorrow.”

“I know that already. So do I take it that you came here to tell me that?” she asked sarcastically.

“Not exactly” I replied.

“Then proceed to the reason you came.”

“I just came to check on you Cynthia.”

Oh’ really? How very nice of you. You’re such a darling” she said sarcastically.

“I’m glad you’re back.”

“Yeah, I am too. I couldn’t afford to remain in coma for longer than necessary. I only needed time dissolve the pains your betrayal caused me.” She said with a harsh tone.

“I’m really sorry for everything Cynthia.”

“Save it!” she retorted, motioning me with her hand to shut up. “You didn’t come here to piss me off, did you?”

“Not at all. I think I better leave now.”

“You better do” she replied angrily.

I got out of the room feeling like a little boy who had just been scolded by his mother. I advised Ogechi to go before Cynthia sees her in order to prevent a scene when they met each other. Ogechi refused. She wanted to see Cynthia for the last time and have a word with her before leaving. I guess that would have given her some peace from the waves that had blown in the past days. I couldn’t do anything to prevent what I knew was coming, so I prepared my heart to contain it when it came.

As I and Ogechi sat there waiting for the morning to come, we were like total strangers to each other. We couldn’t even talk about anything else than Cynthia. The effect of the renouncement came into play quickly, and we suddenly felt like there had been nothing going between us. That happened because of the situation we found ourselves then, coupled with the fact that we knew we weren’t going to be together again. So we just began acting like normal acquaintances. It wasn’t quite long before the whole emotions came back, and the feeling of “I CAN’T LET YOU GO” came romancing our souls again. Of course only one thing would follow afterwards; TEARS. All we could do was say goodbye repeatedly in a number of ways and in the most romantic ones ever. That was the most we could do. All our struggles, all our love, care and all we shared came to an end that faithful night. That made me remember the statement that was made by the light she saw; THAT WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER DOESN’T MEAN THAT THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER SHARE THE SAME DESTINY” Perhaps the light was right after all.

The next morning Cynthia came out all prepared to leave only to see us sitting together. Ogechi arose from her seat immediately she saw Cynthia and paid her homage.

“Will you please save all these acts? I know you have ulterior motives of being here, perhaps to try and destroy me again. But you’ll surely fail, just like you did the first time.” Cynthia said to Ogechi.

“Cynthia, I ask only one thing of you. Please permit me to have a word with you, and I promise you’ll never see me again in your lifetime. I mean never. But please grant me audience. I’ve got some explanation to do.”

Cynthia made a display of madness, making clear her unwillingness to converse with Ogechi for even one second. She had developed so much hatred for her and couldn’t stand her sight. She rained abuses on Ogechi but Ogechi didn’t retaliate in any way. I took her away from Cynthia’s presence and urged her to leave before things got worse. She obliged, and I escorted her to a cab that drove her to the airport where she flew back to Oklahoma. Even though Ogechi had left and we couldn’t be with together again, I planned on visiting her later on to separate in a more worthy way. I didn’t have an exact picture of the supposed “MORE WORTHY WAY” but I sure wanted to see her again for once before departing forever.

I returned to Cynthia who was already waiting for me by the car along with the doctors who were still trying to calm her down, as she was still ranting words at Ogechi who had long left. I was mistaken to have thought her hatred was limited to Ogechi. But when I came back and said to the doctors; “Thank you very much docs, I’ll take it from here.” Cynthia unleashed hell on me.

“You’ll take it from where?” she asked with raised eyebrows. “And to where?” she asked again.

“Cynthia, I surely deserve whatever you give to me. Abuse me, call me names, spit on my face and do whatever to me, I’ll take it. But please don’t do it out here. Let’s at least go home first. We’ll take time to talk about it there. Just don’t stress yourself out anymore. You know you just got discharged. The last thing you need right now is stress. Let’s go home.”

“Oh’ how sweet of you” she said sarcastically.

However, we got home after much words and augments. She nagged at me until we got home. Her maids were so excited on her return that they organized a little party to welcome her back. It was just the four of us present in that party. After everything, Cynthia left to her room without saying a word to me. I went up to meet her and talk to her about everything, and also ask for her forgiveness in the areas I had wronged her. I got to her room and met her lying on her bed and flipping through the pages of a fashion magazine. She behaved as though she had not noticed my presence in that room. I knew she was still mad at me, and I was there change that and return things between us to normal before telling he all she had to be told concerning “I & Ogechi.” I called on her twice and got no response from her. But when I called on her the third time, with her eyes still fixed on that magazine she opened her mouth and said to me; GO GET YOU THINGS READY. YOU’RE LEAVING MY HOUSE TOMORROW.

EPISODE 39

“What? You’re asking me to leave your house?”

“Yes I am. And I’m dead serious about it. Park your stuff and leave my house. I can’t afford to share the same roof with an ingrate like you anymore.”

“Has it gotten to this?

“Yes it has. It has even gotten beyond this. The sooner you leave the better for us all. I would so like it if you vamoose this very night.”

“Cynthia. Do you have any idea what you’re saying?” I…..(Cynthia cuts me in with a yell, as she rises from her bed to face me as though ready to get physical)

“Shut your trap young man! I’m asking you to leave my house and you stand here questioning me? What part of LEAVE MY HOUSE don’t you understand? I give you till tomorrow morning to leave. Period!”

She pushed me out of the way and left the room to the sitting room in anger. That was when my ego, which had been heavily sleeping for years awoke and got the better part of me. I was angry indeed for the first time with Cynthia and was going to unleash it on her, not in retaliation but because her words had really provoked me. How could she ask me to leave her house? Now she’s calling me an ingrate? And all these were because she found out there was a girl I treasured and obviously preferred to her. Cynthia had done me great good, that fact is certain, but was I to repay her by becoming her man. I didn’t even ask her to be my girl in the first place. I would have anyway. As a matter of fact, I was ready to, but the process was interrupted and I ended up not saying any word to that direction till this very day. Maybe she hadn’t taken that to heart yet or wasn’t even aware I didn’t. Now she has robbed poo on my face and I had to let out my heart to her before leaving her house for good.

I paced down to meet her in the sitting room and she stood up against me to continue with her bitter ranting but I cut her in before she could say a word.

“Shut up and listen to me Cynthia” I said with much anger. “You may think of me to be worse than the devil. I have no problems with that. But I pray you don’t come across another human that will make you see this devil as a god. As far as you’re concerned, I have betrayed you, deceived you, hurt you, stole from you, used you, and did the ugliest things to you. But I would have you know that all the while I’ve done nothing but prevent myself from taking advantage of you in all the ways I would have if I was as bad as you have labeled me to be. Now tell me Cynthia; you gave me access to your bank account which contains all your money. Did I ever withdraw any money from there without telling you about it first? And in these past two years, have I withdrawn anything close to 5% of the money in that account, yet you call me a robber. Did I oblige when you offered to buy me a car in addition to the one you bought me barely three months after I came to America? Yet you call me an extortionist. Did I ever give in to any of those rosy proposals of yours that required a fortune to acquire? Most of all, did I take advantage of your feelings for me to make love to you as much as you wanted me to? I even took overdose of sleeping pills just to pass out and avoid tempering with your body unduly because I couldn’t tell you to your face that I wasn’t going to do it. Maybe you would have sent me out of your house if I told you so. Who knows?

Now why do you think I did all that? I knew my heart belonged to another girl and was trying hard to retrieve it from her and make it yours permanently. Unfortunately I couldn’t. So am I to blame for that. Cynthia, the only wrong I’ve done to you, which I will ever regret, is not telling you about my relationship with Ogechi beforehand. Of course I didn’t tell you because I didn’t see the need to. Even you Cynthia have not told me anything about your past relationships have you? I wasn’t really expecting to see Ogechi again and was in the process of getting to love you sincerely when she popped off and I couldn’t just let her go. C’mon, you know how it is when a man’s heart is involved in this thing called love. And now that I ask for a chance to tell you how it all started between her and me so that you can understand where we’ve come from, you don’t want to listen. Instead you call me names that are unfitting for even senseless things.”

“I will call you more because those are what you are” she retorted, nothing but a sick needy coward. Oh, so you expect me to thank you for not doing all that to me right? Alright then, kudos Jesusboy. You were such an angel to have not extorted money from me, to have rejected my kind offers, and not making love to me. I think I should recommend you for Guinness book of records. You’ve really done well to Cynthia. Haha, done well to Cynthia my foot! What about The Masters’ Degree Program you’re rounding up three months from now? Was it your doing? Weren’t you in some local radio station presenting junk programs before I suggested you come over and further your studies abroad? That aside. What about the movie directors and music producers you now work with and make cool dollars which prevented you from spending more than 5% of the money in my bank account? Did I not connect you to them? I have housed you and taken care of you like I was your wife, and you were enjoying the feeling all along. Now you stand here to count what and what you didn’t do to hurt me. Wasn’t it to your advantage? And am I not hurt now? You are nothing but a silly ingrate who couldn’t even do the least thing as repay my kindness”

“And how else was I supposed your kindness? I retorted. By sleeping with you? eeh Cynthia? “Would you consider s#x a perfect way of showing appreciation for your kindness?”

I walked close to her with an evil countenance and held her violently by the arm and asked angrily;

“IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT, HUH?” I asked as I shook her back and forth a little bit violently.

“Let me go, you brute” she plead. “You’re hurting me.”

I pushed her down to the sofa with much anger in my heart.“You want to get laid don’t you?” I asked with that same evil countenance as I unbuttoned my shirt like a child molester who was about to prey on his victim.

“Get away from me” Cynthia yelled and made to get up from the sofa, but I held her back and pushed her down more violently than ever.

It was clear to her that the beast in me had awakened by reason of her harsh words. She reached for her phone and dialed 911, but I collected the phone from her and smashed to pieces on the floor. How could she have called me such names? Now I was going to show her a display of those characters she called me. When Cynthia saw me smash her phone, it was obvious to her that I was out of control and was capable of anything without a second thought. Nevertheless she still tried to pull some silly lame stunts that couldn’t take her anywhere.

“Get away from me. I’m going to sue you if you dare touch me.” She said with much apparent fright.

“So now you want me to get away from you?” I asked sarcastically. “Isn’t this what you always wanted? I’m leaving your house tomorrow anyway. And I can’t leave without appreciating you for all the good you’ve done to me. Woes betide me if I do that. And since s#x is your idea of a worthy appreciation, you’re gonna get it hard from me here and now.”

“Jesusboy please don’t do this. I don’t want it.” She cried out. “Stop it”

“Did you just call me Jesusboy? I thought you said I was the devil? And now you don’t want it anymore? It wouldn’t be fair of me to leave your house tomorrow without appreciating you. So let’s get down to business at once!”

“No oooooo” Cynthia screamed. “Please stop this foolishness.”

I ignored her pleas, raised her up from that sofa and pushed her hard against the wall. Cynthia had tempered with my person by calling me “NEEDY,” amongst the many other unwholesome names she called me, one of which depicted something like me NOT BEING MAN ENOUGH due to not sleeping with her. What I was doing was no way of showing her how man enough I was, but I was angry. And you know that thing they say about anger; IT MAKES YOU SEE WHITE AS BLACK.

She tried to struggle with me but surrendered when she got weak and couldn’t do much to save herself anymore. She looked in my eyes and saw bl0*d coldness and evil determination. She may have wanted love making from me, but definitely not from the me I had transformed to. She began shedding tears immediately and her mouth gave way to tender pleas;

“What you’re about doing will rob you of the honor and reputation you’ve built for yourself over the years. Anyone who hears it will despise you and you’ll definitely end up in jail for forcing yourself to get something I had given to you freely for countless times and you rejected. Think of that before you proceed. No matter how much my words hurt you; they can’t be compared to the hurt I felt when I discovered that the guy I had given my heart to was truly in love with another girl. I nearly lost my life in the process. Have you forgotten that already? No woman in my position will smile at you after being through such ordeal as I have in the past weeks. No matter how angry you are at me right now, you should also consider my pain. I loved you with all my heart and was ready to give the world for you. Calling you names and throwing angry words at you are the least I can do right to express the immeasurable pain I feel inside of me. But if you want to manhandle me and rape me afterwards, go ahead. Just remember that it would only add to the evil you have done to me for the past years. I pray I die in the process. That way I get to skip the misery and depression I would live with if remain alive.

The many striking statements Cynthia made killed my will to proceed; I set her free and walked away from her to my room to cool off. She went to her room also and changed from the rented nightie into something else. I flashed back on my life and saw that though I hadn’t really done a lot to jeopardize my future, I had done a little to change a great part of it. I started crying as I thought about the supposed mistakes I had made all the while and the consequences that were to follow. I lost Ogechi my love, and stood no chance with Cynthia. These two ladies were the best I had ever seen in the world. Losing them both wasn’t going to do much good to my marital affair. Who was going to win my heart like Ogechi? And who was going to love and care like Cynthia? I had lost two precious stones and may have to make do with fine wood all my life. Well, that’s the best I thought I could find besides them. But then, I crossed Cynthia out completely, for she had humiliated me by asking me to leave her house. The only one I was truly losing remained Ogechi, the only one I ever truly loved. The denouncement didn’t permit us to be together again, so I guessed I just had to finish up with my program and proceed to start a new life somewhere in Hollywood. Thanks to Cynthia, I was now financially stable and well connected. It was just a matter of coming in contact with time and chance to hit stardom and live the life I had always dreamed of living, and also have everything I ever desire except the one thing I had always had; LOVE

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EPISODE 40

While I was still drowning in self-pity, Cynthia walked into my room and met me shedding tears. I heard footsteps and turned, only to see her in another nightie standing behind me remorsefully. I wiped my tears immediately in order not to show any weakness. She came and sat close to me, and apologized for her words and actions. She felt so sorry for making me shed tears like a child. Her words of apology touched me, and my eyes gave way to the tears it couldn’t afford to hold anymore. This time I sobbed and eventually cried out loud, as I had gotten so emotional and couldn’t hold myself anymore. Cynthia also got emotional and began shedding tears as well. It became like a sobbing competition. She tried to console me, taking my head and laying it on her laps in the process. I wasn’t crying because of Cynthia’s words of apology per say, but for the loss of Ogechi’s love and Cynthia’s t####t which took me years to build. We retired to bed in my room that night in the same emotional state, holding unto each other to comfort ourselves in our warms. That was the last real warm I was going to have in a long while, so I went for it big time.

The morning finally came after what seemed like an endless night in Eden, and I arose to prepare to take my leave as Lady Cynthia had ordered. I had already taken my bath and was packing my stuff when Cynthia awoke to see me doing so.

“What are you doing J?”

“I’m preparing to leave” I replied.

“J, I’m really very sorry for having asked you to leave. Believe me, I didn’t mean that. I was just angry, that’s all. Please quit the packing and do your normal thing. You don’t have to go. I don’t want you to go.”

“Don’t worry about it Cynthia. I’ve made up my mind to leave. Come to think of it, it’s better I leave. I mean, that way we get to avoid more problems.”

“What problems are you talking about?”

“You never can tell what may come up at a later time if I don’t make this move now. And I wouldn’t want to wait and find out.”

“Look J, I know it hit you hard when I asked you to leave. But please don’t let your ego get the better part of you. Even if I meant what I said, I have changed my mind now. Isn’t that enough to calm you down? Okay, let me put it this way; J, please don’t leave. I really need you to stay in this house with me. And if you really want to leave, let it be after you’ve completed your Masters’ Degree Program. At least, then I would know I’ve finished what I started. Don’t deny me that chance, I beg of you.”

“You’ve done a lot already for me. Nothing I do now or later can change that fact. I understand that you want to finish what you started, but my mind is made up already. I owe you the world Cynthia, and I hope that one day I’ll be well positioned to repay all your kindness to me.”

“Is that how desperate are to go for her?” Cynthia asked with a relaxed tone of voice.

“Cynthia, don’t start.”

“Why?” Isn’t that the only logical reasonable explanation to this sudden strong will to leave? You’re going to Oklahoma for Ogechi aren’t you? Have you stopped for a moment to think about what her life has been like these past years that you’ve been apart? If I may ask, where was she when you needed the support of your life? I’m not disputing the fact that you love her, but love is more of a practical thing than mere feelings and words. From what I’ve gathered, she had become a star singer in America while you were still in that radio house trying to get known at that local level. I don’t mean to run her down with my words, but you’ll certainly see reasons with me if you don’t let emotions becloud your reasoning.”

“That’s enough Cynthia. You lie there painting an evil picture of Ogechi, little do you know that you are alive today as a result of her sacrifice. She could have chosen to let you die and continue her relationship with me. Instead she chose to sacrifice our love for your life.”

“What are you talking about J? What sacrifice for my life?”

“Listen Cynthia, while you were in coma, I and Ogechi fasted for seven days to ensure your recovery. In the process she had what I would term a “revelation” that had it that she must quit her relationship with me in order for you awake from that coma. Or she could choose to cling to me and let you die. Guess what she did; she quit! That act brought you back to life. You should be grateful to her for what she did, but you lie here slaying her with ill words.”

“Stop it J! Stop it! Wait a minute; I do not really understand all you’re saying. You mean you guys fasted for my recovery? Well, thanks for that. But Ogechi quit things with you for me to awake from a coma? Please come again. What sort of a theory is that?”

“Yeah, she did. It’s no theory. It’s more of a spiritual thing. And before you start doubting it, just know that you awoke from that coma the moment that instruction which you refer to as a theory was implemented. I and Ogechi had to be no more for you to live. Now you’re alive, but only at the expense I and Ogechi’s true and undeniable love for each other. The least you can do now is appreciate her. “

“C’mon J, why didn’t anyone tell me about this?”

“Did you care to listen to anyone? Weren’t you barking at her like dog back at the hospital? And when I tried to talk to you, you asked me to leave your house. Well that’s fine because I’m leaving. Just know that Ogechi made a brave decision to prevent your death. As for me, well, you can see me as Beelzebub, I won’t bother much. After all, it’s my fault all these ever happened. I should have told you about her long ago.”

“J I’m sorrrrrrrrrrry” Cynthia apologized with tears. “I never knew she did that for me. My grudge against her didn’t let me see anything good about her. Please forgive me.”

“I’m not the one you should apologize to. Ogechi is.”

“I will do so to her as soon as possible. In fact, I’m going to Oklahoma to see her and sort things out with her. She’s my sister for Christ’s sake, and we even have unfinished business. And that includes you doing a song with her. J, I would like you to accompany me to Oklahoma to see her and do the needful. Please come with me.”

“Don’t include me in whatever you plan to do henceforth Cynthia. I am no longer interested. The only reason I would want to see Ogechi is to play love with her. But now that we can no longer do that, I don’t see the need. That would be like feeding a hungry man with the aroma of his best meal.”

“Are you really this mad at me? You won’t even oblige to a thing I say anymore. What ever happened to the role of forgiveness? Cynthia plead.

“I hold no grudge against you Cynthia. The truth is that my world has fallen apart, and I need to find a way to rebuild it instead of whiling away precious time chasing ghosts. Ogechi was my world, and without her in my life, nothing can ever remain the same again.”

“I can’t say I understand how you feel right now, but I certainly can relate to your suffering. From what I’ve heard you say about Ogechi, it is obvious enough you really love her. And losing her will have such a major impact on you that will destabilize your inner being for a long period of time if not forever. As bizarre as this may sound to you, I will have to go through the same if I lose you. And the knowledge that my unconditional love for you went unreciprocated worsens the whole matter for me. J, I don’t mean to be selfish here, but I think we can do something to save ourselves too much hurt. I still love you J, very much. Even if you set me on fire, I will still love you. Forget all I have said or done to you recently. It was just a natural reaction. Instead of going our separate ways to continue with our suffering, we can stick to each other and make a better life for ourselves. I’m a woman J, and would never come between the union of a fellow woman to her man. But the situation here is different. You and Ogechi cannot be together anymore, and I love you so much that I cannot let you go. I would have, if this thing between you and Ogechi didn’t come into play. But now that it unfortunately has, we can come together and work something out to avoid unnecessary emotional trauma. I know you don’t love me as much as you love Ogechi, and neither will you ever find a woman to love that much. But think of this; I love you and you know it. Isn’t it better to stick to the woman who loves you with her life?”

“Cynthia, I know you love me. But you don’t expect me to jump on you like that just because I can no longer have my dear Ogechi. C’mon, how would my baby girl even look at me? Like I’m such a cheap guy who couldn’t even mourn the death of our love for long before jumping into another woman’s arms? Not in this world!”

“J, let me suggest something that will make this whole process easier. How about you and I visit Ogechi at Oklahoma to tell her all about this and get her consent to go ahead? I know she wants you happy. And you can only find happiness in a woman that truly loves you. If Ogechi sees me to be that woman, then we can go ahead. If she doesn’t, then I guess it is goodbye forever.”

“Are you even considering my stand on this? I asked. Or are you just suggesting what is good for you? What makes you think that you and I getting together is Ogechi’s decision to make? What about me? Can’t I choose whether or not I want to be in a relationship with you?

“I know you love me J. That is undeniable. You only love Ogechi more. If I let you decide, your ego will becloud you reasoning. That’s why I’m coming all out to ensure that another loss isn’t recorded. The only woman I would let you go for is Ogechi. But an unfortunate incident has rigged things to my favor, and I will not sit back and watch you vanish into thin air except you deliberately choose to punish me for my ill words and deeds to you. Ask for Ogechi, I know she wouldn’t deny me this favor. If she could sacrifice her love for my life, what will she not do to make sure that her once true love finds love again? It’s left for you J. But whatever you do, never forget that Cynthia loves you, and will always love you. I am going to Oklahoma, with or without you. And I will tell Ogechi all I’ve told you. If she consents to my proposal, I will come looking for you wherever you may choose to go until I find you. That’s how much I love you.”

“I wouldn’t advise you to go through that. If I wanted to stay, I would have stayed without you having to do all that. And that doesn’t mean I don’t love you. But you see, the loss of Ogechi will never permit me to concentrate on anything else in a hurry, not to mention another emotional attachment. It is of a fact that I and Ogechi can’t be together again, granting you and me the access to do whatever, but it just can’t happen like that. If we were meant to be together under circumstances as these, then it will surely be. No need to hurry it.”

“So you’re really leaving J?” Cynthia asked crying.

“My mind is made up” I replied and concluded parking my stuff. I then made to leave and Cynthia tried to stop me by holding me back with much tears. I wasn’t moved by her tears at all. I continued on my way till I reached my car, which Cynthia bought for me. I put my stuff in the boot and then hopped into the driver’s seat. I kick started the engine, and off I went. I watched Cynthia through the side mirror of the car as she wept profusely. It was then her tears moved me and I shed tears too inside the car. But I couldn’t turn back. I was already on my way. I guess it was never meant to be. GOODBYE CYNTHIA.

Three months passed and I was done with my Masters’ Degree Program. During those three months, I hadn’t communicated with Ogechi or Cynthia. I had plans of meeting Ogechi at least once before bidding her an eternal farewell. But I didn’t think there was need for that anymore, so I planned to go back to Nigeria to see what I could do for myself with my Masters’ Degree. Just four days to my departure, a call came in and I grabbed my phone to see who was calling. Low and behold, it was Ogechi.

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