Before Nightfall (A short Story) By Dr. Okafor A. Augustine

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BEFORE NIGHTFALL.

( A SHORT STORY)

There lived a man called “ Okolie” in Agbor, Ika South LGA, Delta State Nigeria.

Everyday, Okolie went to farm as early as 6 AM. He had a wife and children that he was so mindful to take care of. However, Rebecca his wife was always seeing things from another angle.

One day, Okolie prepared to go to farm as usual, but another scene was set.

“ A shameless man that cannot take care of his family as the head” Rebecca murmured within herself as she places her hand on the jaw, wearing on a tightened face like the apron of a village trader. She walked down to meet Okolie where he was sharpening his cutlass in preparation for farm.

“ Hey, Oga! Where are you preparing to go?” Rebecca asked Okolie her husband in a sarcastic manner. The sharpness of her voice shook the heart of Okolie like as thunder would to the sky and Okolie stopped what he was doing at the moment.

“ Woman! Must you wake each day with a dirty mind full of trouble? As you can see, I’m getting ready for farm” Okolie responded.

Rebecca became furious and shook her head simultaneously in a manner that signified trouble immediately she felt Okolie was not ready to consider her feelings for the moment. She went on complaining of being left alone all through the night. She complained that the children’s school fees have not been paid and complained of many things. She went to the door post and used her body to block the passage to prevent Okolie from passing. She began to shout at Okolie that except the money she asked for was given to her, she would not allow him to pass.

Such character proceeding from Rebecca angered Okolie. He stood up and ready to leave the house.

“ Well, if a child says its mother will not sleep, let it Keep crying and have no rest” Okolie said and pushed Rebecca off the way and left for farm.

A week later, Okolie sat in the sitting room and kept gazing the ceiling as he was folding his hands across his chest. After awhile, he stood up and walked around in a shamble manner.

“ God! God! Please come to my aid. You’ve been so kind to give me four beautiful children. Please, I also need money to train them.” Okolie said and sighed. He walked down to the bathroom and called his wife who was already cooking as early as 6:am. It was on Sunday morning, so Okolie was not going to the farm.

“ Please sit down here” he pointed at the right side of the bed where he sat. Rebecca stood akimbo at the door entrance to the room and after some few minutes, she reluctantly walked towards Okolie and sat on the bed.

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“ You see, if two elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers. If we continue to disagree and quarrel each day it will eventually hamper the future of our children. I want us to…” Okolie was still speaking when Rebecca interrupted him.

“ I already know what you mean. My food is on the fire okay? We can talk later” Rebecca asserted and left the room with a fainted smile.

A year later, Okolie and Rebecca his wife were still dragging on like cat and rat that forced themselves to marry each other. Their quarrel was regular that in a week, their noise must wake people in the neighborhood as early as 5:am. Their children were growing and observing the attitude of the parents.

Moses the eldest child was just ten years old and couldn’t say anything to correct his mother except he would receive a dirty slap on his face. People advised Okolie to endeavor to finish up the payment of Rebecca’s bride price with the opinion that it could be the reason for her continuous annoyance. Okolie always thought of going to Rebecca’s family to finish up the marital demands as listed in the paper given to him when he went for introduction usually called “ knocking at the door”. However, his financial imbalance remained a barrier to his plans.

On the 22nd of August 1993, a construction company called “BIWADAMS” came to Agbor for the award to the second lane of Agbor/Benin Express way. This could an emancipating opportunity for Okolie out of his level of from hand to mouth. The company announced their recruitment exercise to the public. Okolie and his friends applied for the job.

A month later, the names of the successful applicants were published. Okolie and his friends were sure of getting the job, having submitted the required credentials. Okolie squeezed out money and bought the local newspaper just to carefully check for his name. Immediately Okolie finished checking for his name, there was a strong feeling of despair that ran through his veins because neither his name nor his friends’ names were published among the successful applicants.

“ Ah life! Where would one continue from?” He soliloquized. “ This was my hope. Is it because I have no guarantor? My marriage! My family! Everything is at stake. Oh God please come to my aid” He prayed. He walked round his sitting room and down to the bedroom.

Sometimes, Okolie’s family made soup without any piece of meat. On the days they went to farm, if they were lucky, they found snails and mushrooms from rotten palm where wine was tapped. Life seemed constantly unfair to Okolie and his family. Apart from the low status of the family, what troubled Okolie the most is the attitude of his wife towards the difficult situation. Okolie, in many occasions, fought tooth and nail to get a job to support his farm work but to no avail.

A week after the names of the successful applicants for BIWADAMS were shortlisted, a man called “Ignatius” came to Okolie by Sunday evening. Okolie was not surprised to see Ignatius coming because he was owing Ignatius and the time he promised to pay him was overdue. Okolie began to sweat profusely immediately he saw Ignatius coming to his house. His mind began to calculate what

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he would tell him. As custom demands, Okolie welcomed Ignatius with a bowl of kolanut . He used a breakable plate specially reserved for visitors to show honour. As both of them were eating the kola, Okolie was systematically eyeing Ignatius if there was going to be any trouble from him. The both kept silent for some minutes and Okolie later broke the silence by first cracking his throat as a typical African.

“ Hnn hnn hnn! Em… Ignatius my friend, I know I have promised and failed you a lot. You see, em… I really….” Okolie spoke with every sense of humility and submission. As he was still calculating on how to beg Ignatius, Ignatius rose his head and looked at him in the eyes and said…

“ Okolie relax! We’ve been friends for long and it’s not money issue that would separate us today” Okolie could not believe his ears when he heard such statement from whom he taught has come to fight.

“By the way, that’s not why I’m here. I came to inform you that you can start work with BIWADAMS from the next Monday” Ignatius said and smiled with confidence.

Okolie couldn’t decide what to do or say for more than five minutes. He became dumbfounded.

“ But, how did it happen?” Okolie asked Ignatius in a flabbergasted tone

“Don’t worry, this is Nigeria” said Ignatius. The two friends embraced and after some moments, Ignatius signified to leave and Okolie walked down the street with him to see him off.

After three months that Okolie started his new job, he paid Ignatius his debt and equally bought him a giant Hausa goat to appreciate his kindness and assistance. In the fourth month, he went to fully marry Rebecca. Everything was successful as scheduled.

People say “ Money answereth all things”. Money indeed, has a commanding force. For up to one year that money began to come into the family of Okolie, every language in the home changed. The regular wrestling scenes in the house seized and Rebecca began to behave like a good wife.

“ Daddy, I need to buy some stuffs for the home and also make my hair. You know, em…” Rebecca spoke calmly.

“ How much is everything?” Okolie asked.

“ Em… let me say N11,000 because….” She stammered.

“Ok… have N12,000 in case of other items” Okolie said and handed the money to Rebecca.

“ Oh… thank you Daddy” Rebecca said and gave her husband a peck on the right cheek. She smiled uncontrollably, revealing the gap in her top set of teeth.

For about a year, there was a relative peace in the family of Okolie. Everything seemed to have resuscitated. Okolie opened a grocery store for his wife. However, every month, Okolie was still

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topping money to the store after receiving salary. Rebecca turned the store to a charity organization for relatives and friends.

Four years past since BIWADAMS came but the contract awarded to the company was not done. The government had no option than to revoke it. Many of the recruits were on contract base. Contract in Agbor being revoked also meant dropping of most of the workers. Okolie was affected.

Okolie had to continue with his farming. Not more than a year that Okolie lost his job, the grocery store he opened for Rebecca collapsed. Rebecca complained that customers didn’t pay the debts they owed. Everything seemed to return to square one immediately Okolie lost his job. Okolie regretted of not using the money spent on the grocery store to purchase a piece of land instead. However, regret solves nothing.

Six months later, Rebecca separated from her husband and ran to a wealthy man called “Ajude” in a nearby town. All efforts by her husband to bring her back proved abortive. Family and kinsmen went but it was too painful to hear that Rebecca already became pregnant for Ajude just within three months. Okolie couldn’t believe the drastic fall of his promising family. His eldest child was thirteen years old and the youngest six. Rebecca left the four children with Okolie and ran away to Ajude without the procedure of divorce. By that time, Okolie was forty years old.

Courage, they say, is the only thing that keeps a man going when the going gets tough. How would Okolie play his roles and also play the role of a woman in his home? There was a primary school female teacher called Grace. Grace’s husband died when she was three months pregnant of her first and only child. Grace had survived single handedly with Lorena her daughter for three years since the demise of her husband. Her salary was relatively okay for her and her daughter to cope and she vowed never to accept the proposal of any man. However, when she got in contact with Okolie, her reasoning changed. Okolie and Grace had a court wedding and brought the five children together. Rebecca’s children got used to Grace as their mother and all the children had things in common according to the nurture by Grace. From the moment Okolie found Grace, his neck and stomach began to grow fat. Once an emaciated figure became filled up.

A year after their marriage, Okolie secured a non academic job in the primary school where Grace teaches. They boy opened a joint account, collected loan from the government, bought a car and built a bungalow. Though two years past they didn’t bear a child together but they were not disappointed in each other.

One day, there was a sad news that Ajude kicked the bucket. Before Ajude died, Rebecca already had a two year old baby girl for him. The wealth of Ajude could sustain very many people but there was something Rebecca didn’t know. Ajude’s wife was still alive and was a lecturer in the University of Ibadan. She legally got married to Ajude in the court and had two boys for him. The young men were also schooling in the University of Ibadan. Mother and children hardly came home while Ajude was a retired police officer. Juliet, Ajude’s wife and her children came home for the laying of Ajude’s body to rest and learnt how Rebecca left her husband and ran to live with Ajude. They decided not to show her mercy since Rebecca herself isn’t merciful. They drove her and the baby away.

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Before nightfall, Rebecca came begging Okolie for forgiveness and to accept her back, even if it meant her becoming the junior wife. Okolie affirmed that he forgave her but as for accepting her back as a wife, no vacancy. Grace pleaded with Okolie to give Rebecca some money to secure a new accommodation but only God knows if she meant it. Okolie decided to avoid anything that has to do with Rebecca.

It is said “ When one is in a place, one feels another place should be better till verification is made”

All the plea for pardon from Rebecca turned to a deaf ear. She wept and walked away.

THE END.