I Am Able - S01 E31

3 years ago

I Am Able - S01 E31

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 31

Yusuf.

My life without Fatimah around me was so boring, I was already used to her presence hence even though I knew being in a relationship with her could be dead end – I still wanted to be with her. Was it love or what? I also didn’t know, I just wanted to be her friend.

The day she left me by Adnan’s gate was the last time we talked, and that was two months ago. From that day, whenever we meet each other she would pretend as if she didn’t know anything about me. And the more she ignored me, the more I craved for her presence. It was like a charm, hmm only that it wasn’t really a charm…

***

When few days ago the person I hired to secretly investigate the cause of the fire that ate Bulama’s former cement factory came to me, he submitted his reports to me and I paid him off. The reports came as I was suspecting. Yes, with my sister manipulating Munir to execute some inhuman tasks for her.

The fire was not natural, the reports showed lots of evidences sufficient to put both my sister and Munir behind bars. Also, there was a 64gb pen drive containing the voice records of many secret meetings by the two culprits.

That day, I literally slept with my sister’s thoughts allover my mind. Why would she do such malicious thing that could land her into hell in the hereafter, and jail in this world? Was it to impress our father? I kept asking myself series of questions. If I was the Yusuf of the past, I would have duplicate all the reports and send them to Bulama Cooperation in anonymous style but I had changed and had become the opposite of me.

I believed my mother’s prayers changed me and I pray they change my sister too before she land herself into the pit of hell. As for Munir, I would make sure I silenced him by exposing him to Fatimah. Without him, my sister would not continue with her malevolent acts!

It was after that conclusion that I was able to sleep soundly on my bed. Yes, and the following day I began thinking on how to approach Fatimah… How to expose the mole in their house that if care is not taking could one day lead their company to bankruptcy. I was eager to expose him to her, so eager!

But it was Saturday and there was no weekend lectures, thus I had to wait till Monday and on that Monday, I went out in search for her the moment I arrived at school around 10am. I had afternoon lectures only that day. Something told me to save the search and just call her but I knew Fatimah, her heart is strong and she was no–nonsense. She would ignore my call so I kept searching for her in places I could find her. First, the cafeteria since at that 10am they would’ve finished their first lecture and would’ve been to the cafeteria already.

Unfortunately, when I searched through the cafeteria I only oversaw Qudrah and the tall black guy that had been allover her for some time now. I think he liked her, they were always together. When I couldn’t find Fatimah with them, I knew she was somewhere in the department so I headed there and looked around the rest area first before finally deciding to check the hall they had their first lecture in. Hopefully, I oversaw her seated in one of the front seats operating her phone. And for some unknown reason, I found myself staring at her… admiring her beauty, the beauty that didn’t surface until I had already underestimated her in the past and only recognized her butts as the only thing that could attract me to her. Now God had proved me wrong!

No, no don’t approach her from the front… Surprise her from the back!

I gulped as I moved backwards and then walked towards the back door. Just as I was entering, I pumped into Habib and he started raining insults on me as if it was my fault. Actually, he was the one not looking at where he was going.

Yes, he was busy with his phone and that was the cause. The phone fell and luckily, nothing happened to it but he wasn’t happy still. He wanted to pour out his rage on me and that eventually initiated a fightbetween us. I was too cool these days and that gave him the opportunity to render my nose broken.

Fatimah ascended from where she was seated and began separating us but I was so engrossed in anger, I wanted to revenge for my broken nose but the moment she angrily thundered my face with a very resounding slap, I gave up.

Actually, the slap really hurt me. She might have combined all the anger she had for me in that single slap. After ending the fight, she brought out a tissue paper from her bag and handed it over to me in order to clean my nose.

“Thank you” I said and thus narrated what brought up my fight with Habib.

“How I wish you are telling the truth” She said as she gently glanced at me.

Hey, don’t let her beauty drive you crazy! Be strong, Ok? And compose yourself.

I gulped composing myself. “I swear it’s the truth, ask him” I said as if if she ask Habib he would tell her the real truth.

“Not that” She shook her head.

“Okey, what?” I queried cleaning the blood in my nostrils with the tissue paper she gave me. She still cared…

“About looking for Adnan” She said.

Yeah… I had lied to her in my earlier explanation that I was searching for Adnan, meanwhile she was the one I was there for. I was just so flustered!

“Hmm” I huffed smiling in defeat.

“We can’t be friends” She said turning about to leave when I held her hand.

“Maybe we can” I said and just then I decided to spill out what brought me to her. “What if I tell you that Munir is the one behind the fire that took your father’s former cement factory? And also the mole that is providing my sister with all information about your father’s company? Would we then be friends?”

“Can you prove all that, please?” She queried as she wrinkled one of her brows after nearly a minute silence.

“Yes…” I gulped and continued. “Meet me tomorrow in Brimstone, he and my sister would be meeting there as usual”

“How can I trust you?” She asked.

“Fatimah, you can come with Qudrah or anyone if you trust me not” I muttered.

“Okey then” She said.

Thus, I bade her goodbye and left. My intention wasn’t just to expose Munir, but to let her see what he was doing with her own eyes. As the saying goes, seeing is believing. And according to some educationists, what is seen is technically unlikely to be forgotten…

After my lectures, I went back home and took a very warm shower. You know it was hot, it had been six days since God blessed us with rain and I had sweated while I fought Habib, he was lucky Fatimah came between us!

After praying Asr, my phone began ringing. It was my sister, Jasraa. And just as I picked the call she told me I was urgently needed by our father in our head office. “…please hurry up!”

“I thought I am no longer a member? Why does he needs me there?” I said.

“Just come!” She ended the call.

Hmm, at long last I am needed!

I heaved a sigh as I quickly brushed my curly hair, took my phone, car key and then headed out. And talking about our father, yes he had returned a month ago; healthy and sound. Though he had changed totally, more slim and less strict. He hardly talk like before as well.

When I drove to our company’s head office, old memories struck my head. My life had changed the moment my father gave me the acting CEO of his company, I was so happy… just done with high school and was just 19. He was so eager to see me running his company. I was optimistic, but then I started facing challenges with the board members who used to oppose everything I brought up. They said I was too naive to run the company.

Also, I might one day push the entire company to bankruptcy. I was not happy at all so I reported them to my father who advised me to learn from them first. Well, I tried my best to endure all their nonsense thinking things would change sooner but guess what? Nothing changed. One day, we hard a strong disagreement and I drove out in anger. That anger made me to kill an innocent boy on the road. Even though his family hadforgiven me the moment I explained everything to them, I still decided to compensate them with money. They said the boy was stubborn, he didn’t like staying at home. He’s seen only when he’s hungry.

After his burial, which I had attended, I started having lot of flashbacks of what happened. Nightmare became everyday and my life eventually changed totally. I started doing bad things that I never even thought I would ever do in my life, and when I became addicted to those things the flashbacks and nightmares stopped. To my scrutiny, the boy’s spirit sorted for its own justice despite the fact I had fasted for 60 days according to Islamic law and had even compensated his family with money. Well, I guess some spirits don’t forgive.

“Who are you, sir?” A security man said as soon as I arrived at our head office.

He must be new!

“Yusuf…” I introduced myself to him.

“Oh, I am so sorry sir…” He said as he quickly opened the main gate for me.

“It is okey” I said and then accelerated straight to the parking lot. And just as I stormed out of the car, I ran into the fifteen storey that was facing me. The staff that knew me bowed for me while those that didn’t know me wondered who I was. You know, there were lot of new staff. My sister had severally fired old ones and had appointed new ones.

“Welcome, sir” Amir, my ex secretary said as soon as he saw me heading to the conference room. Thus, we greeted each other and he ushered me into the room. And just as my father saw me, he gesture to me to sit in an empty swivel chair that was facing my sister. There was no welcoming, not even from any of the board nonsense. After all, they hated me too. Some even glared at me.

“Do you know why I called you?” My father asked the moment I sat down.

“No sir” I gulped.

“Well, your sister has pushed us into a great loss. She went and signed a deal with Yargote Group, an unproductive deal that ended with nothing. I can’t believe our 6 billion naira is so gone!” He said as he hit the desk with a fist.

Awwn, so now you need me huh? I thought she was a professional…

“Dad, I am so sorry for what Jasraa did” I said as I glanced at her. If you see how red her eyes were, you would laugh. They were so red and one could see the traces of tears on her face, she must’ve already cried so bitterly before I came.

“I don’t think we can just swallow this, how can she make a deal with people she didn’t know at all? And the CEO of Yargote Group had the guts to show us an abandoned factory saying that was what they bought with all the money. What nonsense! ” He screamed hard.

“I am sure it was a big mistake and it happened because Jasraa wanted our company to progress more than Bulama Cooperation. If you may please allow me to say my mind, Jasraa really took perfect competition market (PCM) lightly. She thought any firm can just do as they want, setting up deals anyhow and fighting against all odds to be more successful than other firms in the market. She used her own knowledge and understanding of politics to win all fights and pull us to the peak in cement market but look what happened today? Politics is never business, it is only in politics that we endanger our enemies for our personal gain, for us to be more progressive than them but that doesn’t apply to business. Yes, in business we use our efforts, our technology and wisdom…” Just as I kept talking, the board members began clapping for me. “…It is important for every business person to be educated in business and all aspects of production” I concluded.

“Thank you, Yusuf” My father said as he joined the board members in clapping for me. Though he wasn’t smiling at all.

Jasraa, however, stood up in tears and left the conference room. She must be touched by the fact that there was no place for Political Science in Business!

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••