The seed we sow
The blanket of serenity of the atmospheres along the street,
Jewel, in Enugu was so inducting at that beautiful morning. Besides the
tweeting of the birds, cooing sound from momentarily swinging of the shrubs in
the wake of gentle breeze, no other decibels were heard or felt by Emeka Okafor
as he finds solace under a cashew tree having been exhausted from his walks and
screams along the street of Achara layout looking for potential buyers that
will patronize his products.
Ten years afore, in his high school days—penultimate class,
he was a shinning star in his class. Brilliance, smartness and acuity are few
of the words that could be used to describe him when the current of life was
flowing in his direction. Then, the current surged and his foundation was
shaken vigorously and that is where his world began to fall apart. His driver
that usually picks him up, came, although a little late that fateful day. As
the driver opened the door for the youngster to pop inside Mercedes-Benz
S-class, closing it afterword; it will be contrary to human nature not to
attract jealousy seeing the care and luxurious life he lives. Teachers and
students especially the folks their legs where their vehicles do wag their head
with some dropping a deepening message: “this life no balance.” His chauffer, did another thing else that he
hasn’t done since he started driving him and that was to halt at a nearby
restaurant and get something for him to eat. He rejected vehemently when the
driver presented it to him owing to many factors to which, he being from a
wealthy family doesn’t eat any how talk more of a local restaurant where the
driver bought the food from.
As they continued in the journey, he broke the silence
“You haven’t for once in the past six years of being my
chauffer got me something before, so why now?”
“Are you serious? I thought I have”
“No, you haven’t, stop lying”
So sorry, Emeka, if I haven’t all these years, but, is that
reason you rejected my act of kindness?
“Not really, but it sounds strange don’t you think?”
He was about to say something when the young dude interrupted
him, “Besides, I don’t eat from local restaurant, that place is not the kind,
my mammy and daddy do take me to”
“Oh! I see. May be next time I will get you to one of the
places your parents do take you…” interrupted by a call. He declined it at
first but when it kept coming, he called up Siri to send a message to the
caller. Not quite long, he tooted the horn in front of the gate but the gateman
wasn’t within the reach. It dawned on him to disembark and open the gates after
tooting the horn for couple of seconds without any response. He drove Emeka in, opened the door for
the dude to disembark. Emeka ran up, rang the bell to draw the attention of any
of the maid but it wasn’t of any essence. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he
went inside the living room. The thunderous scream from him sent the chauffer
on his feet as he ran with a speed that defiles that of light.
**********************************************************
The
death of his parents and the way his uncle stripped him of his father’s
possession came back on the memories of Emeka as he sat, swooned to the core
under the cashew tree. How a beautiful, glorious, amazing, thrilling life took
wing and flew without leaving a trail, became an inscrutable equation his mind couldn’t
decipher. It wasn’t long, trickles of tears started making its way from his
eyes. Pangs of hunger, feasted on his bowels and the money he had made so far
since morning was just a meagre irrespective of the length and breadth, he had traversed that day. As he brews on it, the weight of it drains him the more getting him
weaker and weaker. He staggered to his feet with the support of the stem of the
tree, palely, took some few steps only to collapse on the passenger’s lane. No
more vigor, strength, might to walk nor even to crawl. He was in that state
when a man in a rag-tag regalia, who through his appearance could be adjudged
as a mad man, came and gave him a tap, laughing hilariously at him. As Emeka,
looked at the man, he shuddered. Adrenaline rush triggered a reaction: he stood on his feet, picked his packages where he kept them,
walked faster than his feet could carry him. When he turned to see if the man
was on his trail, and couldn’t see any sign, he heaved a sigh of relief. He
halted to a corner, bent at an angle, gaze, fixed to the direction the mad man
took. He was in that state when a car passed, only to slow down immediately as
the rider recalled the gaze he saw. As the driver rolled back; he backpedaled,
eyes at 3’oclock towards the car. Then his name was called but by who? Unknown,
unfamiliar physique. The thought to ignore the man and walk away flickered
through his mind, but on a second thought, he told himself there is nothing to
lose and everything to gain, so he mustered the courage and went close to the
man, halted a few meters away.
“I am sorry Sir, but where did you know me?”
“Are you not Charles Okafor’s son, the one that studied at
British college Enugu?”
“Yes sir, but I can’t remember having seen your face before
now”
“I understand, I have been outside the country, before I
travelled, I do visit your family, as a good friend to your dad, besides I
called his line, sent messages and voice note yet no response, how is he?”
His head dropped, shook after few seconds elapsed
“What is it?”
He left his head in a dangling state. The interrogator did
something immediately having caught a whiff of the message in the air.
“So sorry, what of your mum?”
He maintained the same state and that moved the man towards
his direction, curled his right hand and rested it on his shoulder, “sorry for
your loss”
Tears dropped and that made the man emotional too. But as a
man he has become he mustered the strength to swallow it, completely.
“Would you mind coming with me or should I give my card?”
He pointed to the man’s car. The man helped him towards his
car, opened the passengers door, he came in, the man entered also and the car was
set in motion.
********************************************************
That singular meeting opened a new page in his life. George
Okechuku, who Charles Okafor—Emeka’s father, assisted so much doing their university
days and made sure that he wasn’t rusticated from university when the storms of
poverty was tossing the former’s life here and there, repaid the favor to Emeka.
He later became a graduate of law from Harvard University.
His dreams bubbled with life again. The joy was immeasurable and it was because
of the seed his father sown in the life of his friend, fifty-five years ago
when they were in University of Nigeria, Nsukka studying Mass communication.
Morale of the story: Don’t resist to help when you are in the
position to do so, for whatsoever you give out, do returns to you in folds.
Reading: "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when
it is in your power to act." Proverb
3 vs 27kjv.