MY FATHER’S FARMLAND (Part 7&8) – OPEYEMI AKINTUNDE

PART 7
“ MY FATHER’S FARMLAND”
Opeyemi Akintunde

“You can’t do this…” Oba kept repeating this phrase as he sat with his sisters in the theatre hall after the students had dispersed.

Ope was silent because she knew she couldn’t say anything meaningful at that point. All she did was to continually look at her twin. She was bewildered at Ola’s selflessness…

“ Ope and Oba, someday what I am doing right now will make a lot of sense to you…Let’s get going… I have a lot of packing to do..”

“ Where will you be staying?” Ope managed to ask as it was obvious Miss Johnson may have sold her place.

“ Good question!” Ola said managing to give a smile… “ Hmm.. I have been thinking about that and the only good idea that popped to my head is for me to get a small apartment beside the school, so I won’t be faraway.”

Ope hugged her sister in tears…

Ola didn’t want Ope doing this, if only she knew the internal battle she was facing… She didn’t want to break down and cry. She knew God was with them, but everything they were going through was overwhelming. Ola’s eye became teary but she didn’t want to betray the confidence she was trying to instill in her siblings as regards her decision, so she took a deep breath and made sure the tears did not drop. However, Oba saw the tears in her eyes and that made him walk away…

Oba went far away to the chapel, he was torn between a lot of choices.

“ God, tell me what to do? … My heart wants to stay in school and finish my education, so I can get a good job to take care of my siblings, but my reasoning is saying otherwise…” Oba said as he wept on his knees…

Ope on the other hand as she was walking Ola to her hostel said…

“ I promise not to disappoint you, I will come out in flying colors. Thanks for the sacrifice.”

No one knew what Oba must have heard from God, but on seeing Ola later that evening, he said…

“ Ola, thank you for your bravery and I totally agree with your decision.”

Ola was elated.

The next day, Ola left the school premises very early in search of a mini apartment close to the school premises. After checking out different one room apartments, she later settled for the cheapest, which was about N75,000 per year. It was in the slum part of the environment.

Ola settled in her apartment within few days with great hopes of finding a good business to venture in. She made different enquiries about the nature of business that was lucrative in the vicinity and she got about 5 different businesses she could venture in.

Ola decided to take the 5 businesses to the Lord in prayer as she did not want to invest the N270,000 left with her wrongly. This was a training their father had imputed into them. Fasting and prayer was a regular thing with the trio as sometimes when they had no food to eat, her father would tell them to turn that day into a fasting day…He thought them the importance of seeking God’s face through fasting and prayer.

Therefore, Ola engaged in a 3 days fasting and prayer program and on the third day after observing her vigil, she heard a strange knock at her entrance…

“ Knock Knock!” A strange voice called out to her…

Ola became scared. Who was knocking at her door at 3am in the morning…

“ We know you are a good girl, so we are not here to harm you, we just need the money with you…” Sukki said.

Sukki was a street urchin in the vicinity, His birth name was Sunkanmi, but he changed it to Sukki, to make it more trendy and “street fancy”. He was popularly known for robbing people, but could not be arrested as his father was the powerful herbalist in the environment. He usually got away with his crimes.

“ The money?, who told them I had money with me… ?“ Ola looked under her school box, where she had kept the money. It was still in the brown envelope Miss Johnson had given them. Ola had collected the N350,000 from Oba and had given him the N500, 000 instead, to pay ahead for him and Ope’s fees.

“ School girl, open this door… it was one of your school people that told us you have money, and we have been monitoring your movements, so we know you have it with you…”

“ Sukki , why are you speaking English to this girl… break this door down now!” Torture, one of the armed robbers said

“ Make we break this door down…” Axe said angrily too…

Ola was scared that she peed on herself…

“ Jesus!,Jesus!” Ola kept shouting as she couldn’t move from the point she was hiding in the room…She had recoiled herself into a corner in the room…

None of the neighbors came out to help. Axe and Torture started pushing the door with their legs…

“ Jesus, Jesus!” Ola kept screaming ….

But, suddenly she saw the door give way….

PART 8
“MY FATHER’S FARMLAND”
©️Opeyemi Ojerinde Akintunde

The door came collapsing right in front of Ola. The sound that followed was loud and Ola hoped someone in the neighborhood would have at least heard and would come to her rescue. She couldn’t believe the door was down and she was face to face with the robbers..

Ola stayed glued to the spot…and she wished Rapture could just take place at that moment …

“ Where the money dey?” Torture screamed at Ola…( Where is the money?)

“ Torture calm down, you no suppose talk to school girl like dat nao…” ( You are not meant to talk to a learned girl like that!) Sukki said as he walked confidently towards Ola. Ola felt like a little child about to devoured by a big buffalo….Sukki bent down and spoke quietly to Ola.

“ Hey, beautiful school girl, Where is the money?” Sukki said as he softly caressed Ola’s rosy cheeks

“Hmmm…” Sukki said as he sniffed Ola’s body… “You smell like strawberry ice cream, my best flavor”.

Ola’s best flavor was strawberry, therefore her body cream, body spray was always strawberry flavored. Ope had always told her jokingly that someday, someone might eat her up thinking she was a piece of cake or ice cream…

Ola wished she had not taken her bath that night before sleeping as Sukki was sniffing her entire body….

Ola knew it was time to talk or else it was going to be her virginity that she would be robbed off any moment.

“ The money is under my box”, She said as she pointed towards her box…

The boys rushed towards the box, except Sukki who was looking at Ola with so much amusement in his eyes…

“ That’s the money!” Ola said to Sukki in a bid to shift his attention from her…

“ Even your mouth smells like Strawberry!” Sukki said

“ Oh my God!, Why did you ever create Strawberry, it’s about to land me in trouble!” Ola thought as she knew she had used her strawberry flavored toothpaste before sleeping.

“ I feel like eating you right now!” Sukki said

“Sukki, Sukki , Make we commot, we don carry the money..( Let’s get out of here,we have the money)” Torture said

“ I can’t leave just like that, I need to take strawberry” Sukki said as he had forcefully landed his lips on Ola’s lips…

“Please, Please… don’t please… please I am a virgin please” Ola said as hot tears came rolling down her cheeks…Fear had taken over her mind..

Sukki was taken aback, but the spirit that drove him was having a better and stronger hold on him than his reasoning…

“ Sukki leave this babe, Make we waka!” ( Sukki, Let the Lady be, Let’s get going!) Torture said as he dragged Sukki from Ola…

A fight ensued….

Sukki slapped torture…

“ You Dey mad?” ( Are you crazy?) Sukki said

“ Sukki, leave the babe, she just talk say she never know man before, no rob her body, the money don do” ( Sukki, Let the girl be, She just told you, she is a virgin, Don’t rob her of her pride, the money we have taken is okay)

“ Torture, get out of here …” Sukki said as he brought out a charm from his pocket with the intention of hitting Torture with it…

Torture stepped back in fear as he knew what the Charm could do to him. It was a paralyzing charm. Sukki had gotten it from his father, whenever they were going to do their evil works, Sukki took it along. Once it hits the target, the target becomes weak like a jelly. It usually takes 24 hours to wear off…

Ola didn’t know what it was, but she cared less. All she knew was Sukki or whatever his name was, was not going to have his way with her…

Torture stepped out of the room with regrets in his eyes. He wished he could take the paralyzing charm from Sukki and hit his head with it 20 hot times, but he knew Sukki could have him killed afterwards…

Meanwhile, Ope was having a terrible nightmare in her room back at the hostel. She woke up very restless. She knew the feeling. Something was not well with Ola wherever she was. She picked her phone and dialed Ola’s number…

Ola’s phone rang. Sukki grabbed it and turned it off…

“ Please .. Don’t rape me…” Ola begged

“ I promise to be soft and gentle, Strawberry!” Sukki said as he parted Ola’s legs….

“ Please….” Ola started raising her voice

“ If I were you, I wouldn’t do that, because this thing in my hand will turn you to a dumb girl if I hit it on you…” Sukki said , but Ola wasn’t listening…

She raised her voice and Sukki in defense hit her with the paralyzing charm….

Ola became like a lifeless body. She fell to the ground like a pack of cards…Her brain was still functioning but she couldn’t raise her hands or any part of her body, and most importantly she couldn’t find her voice…

At that same moment , Ope felt like something hit her. She suddenly felt feverish, she walked to the fan control and turned off the fan… Her roommate woke up…

“ Ope, What’s wrong?” Tise asked

“ Feeling feverish…” Ope had said

“ Oh!, sorry about that, you should visit the health center in the morning…”

“ No, I should visit Ola at her apartment, I feel something is wrong with her!” Ope said as she knew the feeling she was having

“ Really?, How do you know that!” Tise asked

“ You can’t understand, there is this bond between twins, that one feels the emotion of the other even when they are miles apart and right now what I feel is fear” Ope said as she could not explain in plain English what she was experiencing

“ Ok.., then why don’t you give her a call?” Tise suggested

“ I have but after it rang for a while, it stopped and when I tried calling back, it was switched off” Ope said as she paced around

“ That’s not a good sign…”Tise said sitting up

“ Yes!… Not a good sign, I don’t know what to do…” Ope said obviously very confused…

“ Pray!, Let’s Pray…That’s the only thing to do when you don’t know what to do…” Tise said

“ I have no strength to pray right now… Honestly, I feel like my strength has been sapped out of me..” Ope said as she sat on the ground

That was exactly how Ola was feeling in her apartment as she laid on the bare cold floor looking at Sukki who was pulling off his trousers… She watched in tears….She couldn’t move one bit and couldn’t defend herself…

She was about to be raped and robbed of her pride she had guarded jealousy for years…

“ God where are you?” Ola cried out from her heart as her voice had been stolen from her…