Must Read: The Rich Kids Of Lagos (16+)

7 years ago

Must Read: The Rich Kids Of Lagos (16+)

Peter swirled in and out of the vortex. The powerful mass of air kept drawing him into its powerful current. It was much more comforting to remain in it because the rush of air took the edges of the pain way. The pain surges when he tried to come out were too much. He got drawn in again.

He saw his young self, who had just lost his mother. He wondered why the pain felt so raw.

He had shed hot tears that day she passed. She had not told him she was going to leave him and he had needed her so many times after she had passed. He had wanted to share so many secrets with her and ask her so many questions. He could see her now. Standing afar off telling him to hold on, that it wasn’t his time yet. She had always teased him about being so impatient – especially for good things. He could not hear her voice but surprisingly, he could feel her words in his heart. ‘Peter, wait there is still so much for you to do’.

He zoned out again, feeling the pain in his head and chest. He could not take it so he moved into the centre of the vortex again. This time, he saw Aduke, his love. He saw her as he had seen her that first day, innocent and pure. Her Ghana weaving had been neat. She had worn a fitted top on jeans skirt. He had never looked at jeans skirts the same way since that day. Peter could see Aduke teasing him about his little girlfriend as they walked back home from one of their charity jaunts. They had loved going to Modupe Cole Memorial together. He was surprised to feel so bad about forgetting that part of their togetherness. He could see himself and Aduke with Olu, his friend, who used to tease them about finishing off each other’s sentences. He remembered that Olu had died in a ghastly accident and knew how bad Aduke had taken it.

He wondered why Olu looked so fresh and untouched. He could remember how Olu had looked when he had been called to identify the body. This Olu was not mangled up at all. He looked so fresh. Olu was smiling at him and trying to tell him something, but he could not hear him for the pain had penetrated again.
Someone was moving his sore head without concern for him. The pain was incredulous. Why was he being treated so badly? He tried to run away from it by going into the vortex again, this time, he saw his boss, Gabbo. Gabbo’s job was the first one he had gotten in LasGidi without the involvement of his Aunt and Uncle. They had always treated him like a charity case and each time he lost one of the precious jobs they got him, it became a family matter. In spite of his brains, he had been unlucky with keeping jobs. Something bad had always happened. He had secretly applied for Gabbo’s job because he didn’t want them involved.

Gabbo had been his best boss, he had always pushed him beyond the expected and praised him where he excelled. Gabbo had always seen him as a high potential staff who would grow in the organisation. Gabbo had inspired him to want to do more and was a great mentor. He was surprised that Gabbo’s back was turned to him right now. He could see Gabbo and Aduke afar off, holding hands. What was his girlfriend doing with his boss? How had they become so friendly? Why weren’t they calling him like the others. Why were their backs turned to him? This pain in his heart was too much. He tried to cry out ‘Boss, that’s my girl! Addy, that’s my boss!’ but no sound came out. His chest hurt. The pain had come into the vortex. He needed to go in deeper, further away from this pain.

The centre was calling him, the rush of air felt very calming. Peter wondered if he should go in. He somehow knew that this could be the point of no return. He could see his mother on one side asking him to turn back and embrace the pain.

He wondered why she would wish so much pain on him. The vortex was blissful. Perhaps he should rest. He really needed to rest….