TEMPTED SOUL

That morning, I was sweeping the frontage of our corridor when a red Luxury 350 drove into the compound. The car drove very close to me, almost wanting to knock me down.

I was scared and angry at the same time. I just flung the broom I was holding to the other side.

“Who are you, can’t you see me? Do you want to jam me with your car?” I fired. When my mother heard my angry voice from inside, she came out of the house to see what was happening.

“Nne, what happened? I heard you shouting. Who are you shouting at?” My mother asked in a low tone. I pointed my finger at the car.

“It’s that car that wanted to ram over me while I was sweeping,” I said with a teary voice.

My mother didn’t know what to say, so she came close to me and held me tight in her arms. However, we didn’t know the person that was inside the car. We stood in one spot looking at the car.

Then, a young fair-skinned guy stepped out of the car with a smile spread all over his face. “Is that not your brother Okechi?” Because of the anger in my stomach, I didn’t even care to look at the person’s face in the first place. I was only staring at the body of the car because it looked very new, beautiful, and alluring.

The tyres of the car were still giants on the ground. I was interrupted the moment my mother said that. I returned my gaze to the face of the young guy. Truly, it was Okechi, my elder brother. He was wearing white native attire up and down, and black polished shoes to match.

I was filled with excitement when I saw him. “Brother Okechi, is this your eye?” I ran and hugged him very tightly. I haven’t seen my brother for many years now. It has been a long time since my brother left the village for the city. The condition in my family wasn’t helping at all.

Life has chosen to show us a new path of a treatment since we lost our father, though we still survive the hardship. I and my mother were working hard while Okechi left for the city when a man named Ibekwe came to pick him up. My father’s best friend back then was Uncle Ibekwe. According to him, my brother was going to serve him for some years and he would settle him off. Then, he can start his own life and become the boss of himself.

My mother danced to the music when my brother agreed to follow him to the city to look for a greener pasture. Since then, we have not set eyes on him. We usually hear from him through phone calls, but not all the time.

The last time we heard from him was when he told us that his boss had settled him. Since then, he changed a line and never bothered to call us again. We too forgot about him, though we kept praying for God to bring him back safely.

“Brother welcome.” I was smiling and feeling very excited. I collected the handbag he was holding as he went to give mum a hug.

“Mum, I’ve missed you dearly. I’ve always been thinking of you day and night. My prayer is that God should keep you alive for me so that I can come back and spread money on you.” Okechi stated proudly, proudly holding mom very tightly.

“My son, we are happy to see you. We’ve also been praying to God to keep you safe.” Mum replied, and we both walked into the house.

Later in the day, we offloaded all the food items he brought from the city, and settled down to have a family discussion.

“Mum, it has not been easy for me since I left for the city. I am happy because God has favoured me. We are now rich moms.” Okechi said. We didn’t need anybody to tell us that he had made so much money; from his dress, we already knew he had made it.

That night, I was filled with endless joy when he said he would take us to the city, and there I would continue my university education. It has always been my passion to go back to school and study my dream course, Medical Science. This was truly an opportunity for me. My mother was happy about the idea. Soon we would no longer stay in the village, going to the farm every day.

Though, in my mind, I was wondering what city life would look like. I’ve never been to the city before either. But I knew it must be better than life in the village. So, we spent one month in the village, making arrangements. I informed all my classmates that I was going to travel to the city soon, and they were both happy for me.

“Please, when you go, don’t forget me,” Oluchi said, She was sad because I was going to leave her. She was my best friend.

“I will not forget you, Oluchi. We will come back during Christmas time, and I promise to buy many things for you.” I said.

Then, the following day, we left the village. Getting to the city, I saw beautiful houses, mansions, and long buildings with constant power supply. I was thrilled at the sight of what I saw. The people in the city dress more responsibly than the people in the village. Life was very simple and sweet.

My first week in the city, I spent the days sitting at home, watching movies, playing games, eating, and sleeping since I was lonely. My mother did the same thing. I was new in the city, and I didn’t have a friend yet. The following week, my brother said I would be assisting him in his supermarket because he had got a new, larger office somewhere in the heart of the city.

He told me that I should run the mini-market until I was admitted into the university, and then he would hire a salesman; in fact, he told me that the shop would be mine from then on. To make me understand the price of the things, he wrote them out on the body of each item.

As time went on, I got used to the price of the items. I was a fast learner. I could remember back then in secondary school I used to come first and second position in my class.

So, one sunny afternoon, I was inside the shop counting my sales when a tall, built, handsome guy walked into the store. He was staring at the money in my hand. and greeted me.

“Good day, beautiful lady.” Though I wasn’t scared because of the way he addressed me, I was scared because of the way he was staring at the money in my hand. I was scared because his eyes looks like the eyes of an armed robber.