No part of this work may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, copying and pasting or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact the writer @:
thmkwest1@gmail.com.
| I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment’s gone All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity, Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind. |
PROLOGUE
Her entire thought was circulating round the evening’s highly anticipated event, literally visualizing the Alex O musical show they were heading to the Liberation Stadium to see.
The I-am-totally-pleased-with-myself smile that had been playing about her lips since they’d left the house some twenty minutes ago widened. Yes, she’d done it, as of course she’d known she would. Her heart thudded excitedly in her chest. She couldn’t believe it, they were really going to the Alex O musical show.
It was Valentine’s Day. And most importantly her birthday. Her tenth birthday. Valerie patted down the new flowery cotton dress she was wearing. Looking down at herself, she felt proud. She was a pretty girl. This she knew, not just because spending considerable hours in front of the mirror often told her this. But most importantly, everyone remarked on how pretty she was. She simply loved it when she heard her parents’ friends and visitors, even relatives say – Valerie is all so grown up, and so very pretty. But of course she always smiled shyly like a good little girl and said ‘thank you’, while secretly bubbling inside with pride and joy.
Ha, at least on Monday when everyone would be bragging about how they went to the Alex O show, she too will have something to tell them. In fact, she hoped she would see some of her classmates there, have them admire and compliment her new dress.
Valerie sighed with satisfaction staring out the window of the car as it sped along the Port Harcourt slightly bumpy highway.
For a moment there she’d thought she’d failed, with her mother emphatically saying NO and adding in that no nonsense voice ‘it won’t kill you to spend your tenth birthday with your family at home’. But pleading looks and tears had changed her father’s ‘your mum is right’ to ‘honey, it’s Valentine’s Day after all, we could all do with some fun’.
She turned her gaze from the window to the look at the two in front, well, they seem to be having fun, and so obviously was her brother, throwing him a cursory glance.
His slurry baby voice slipped through her thoughts.
“Mama, we’ll eat the rice and vegetable sauce when we get home again?” He was asking for the umpteenth time.
Valerie shook her head as she watched his chubby face glowing with excitement and pleasure. Though not really caring about seeing Alex O face-to-face as his big sister obviously was, Jeff was just content and happy to be going out and driving around in the car.
“Yes Jeff, we will all eat our dinner when we get home after the show.” Nnenna answered a little exasperated.
Valerie turned her gaze once again to look at her mother. She was rubbing her protruding tummy absent-mindedly. She was a rather petite woman, just about 5’3, Valerie was almost as tall as she was at ten. She was still quite slim after the birth of two children and heavy with a third.
Valerie loved that about her, hoped she would be like that when she was all grown up. But it was her very fair clear skin that she admired most of all, and wished she had. Her mother was so light in complexion that her father most often teased her calling her oyibo pepper. She was a very pretty woman too, with small oval face, and small dainty nose, one Valerie was proud she’d inherited. Though everyone talked of how she was her father’s carbon copy, and yes that made her proud, as she loved her father so much, but she was simply grateful to God she hadn’t gotten his big wide Igbo man nose.
Her father was looking at her mother fondly now.
Valentine Chibuike enjoyed looking at his lovely wife. Though he considered his two children his pride and joy, he regarded his pretty wife as his treasure. She was a beautiful woman, in and out.
“Are you two doing okay?” He smiled laying his right hand lightly on her tummy. The baby quickly objected with a kick, he laughed. “I see she’s also excited to see Alex O.”
“And it could be a he, darling.” Nnenna shook her head at her husband. “I don’t know why you are so certain it’s going to be a girl.”
“Because I want another beautiful princess.” Valentine retorted winking as he caught his daughter pleased eyes in the car mirror.
Nnenna laughed and shook her head. She was about to say something, when Jeff’s tiny fist bumped her on the head. “Jeff stop jumping up and down.” She ordered sharply. “And Valerie, stop daydreaming and quieten your brother.”
“Mama, I was not daydreaming.” Valerie denied instantly. “Jeff please sit down, you are distracting everybody.” Valerie wasn’t in the mood to focus on her brother, or to be distracted by her parents’ chitchat. All her mind was on the show they’d be seeing this evening. “Daddy can’t you drive faster? We are going to be late o.”
“I can.” Valentine responded smiling. “But I’m already driving fast enough. Relax we are not going to be late, I promise.”
Valerie was not convinced. At the rate daddy was driving they were going to be late and miss the entire show. And all her efforts and hard work would then be in vain. She brushed aside imaginary specks from her dress, casting a futile glance at her omega wristwatch, six-fifty p.m. already.
She wished she was a magician, then she would catapult their car straight to the stadium where she was certain the show was already going on. Or better still, she thought with a devious glint in her eyes, turn her talking-machine chubby brother into a fat toad. Chuckling at the thought, she turned her eyes back to look out the window, as a funny image of a croaking fat toad with Jeff’s chubby face danced through her mind.
Then she saw the car. A blue car, she was not really sure the make, but it was heading directly towards them, and real fast too. Faster than her father’s car was moving. Valerie opened her mouth to call her daddy, point out the fast moving car to him.
But the only sound that was heard in the car was the ear-splitting screeching sound of tyres and then a loud thud as the blue car slammed into her father’s yellow Mercedes Benz.
*Read more here *
Nice
ReplyDeleteRead Series @ Alifediary