- HubPages»
- Books, Literature, and Writing»
- Commercial & Creative Writing»
- Creative Writing
the fair lady with a curse
THE FAIR LADY WITH A CURSE
ßY Ubani Alexander Thandi Chijioke
I am here now doing what looks so familiar as if a de javu. My legs are crossed with my back facing the wall of the giant three-storey building. Though the sun is asleep up in the sky, the twinkling of the stars reminds me it is night. As I sit on a wooden bench typing away my mind's wish, I knew the day wasn't a success. What really happened? I asked myself knowing fully the answer yet I couldn't comprehend its meaning.
'Don't worry madam, I will bring the baked powder and perfumes by 12:00pm tomorrow' so I had promised the rich lady with the golden voice I met yesterday.
I am sitting on a wooden bench inside the compound that house our apartment, about ten state-of-the-art cars are parked inside the building belonging to some of the occupants. Just a few meters away from the bench is a coconut tree, spreading its branches like the wings of a mother hen protecting its chicks.
There I am in my well-cut traditional attire, looking handsome and sweet walking majestically to the point of call when an incident startled me. I nearly jumped out of my dress.
Right before me was a gathering of people, shouts echoed, noises barked and voices smashed and thundered as eager eyes ran to feast on the most intriguing figure of the day.
I was thrilled by the noise and at the same time anxious to get the gist of the matter. There before my very eyes lay a lady - yes what about it? She was fair, pretty and tall. Her eyes shone like the spark of a million lights, her face was painted and her eyebrows stood thick and black. She was sweating as she sat on the floor of the street, naked. I was wondering in my mind as were many others when someone out of the blue poured a bucket of dirty water on her.
She must be about 26 years old and to say the least, she was attractive. I took a good look at her and felt a mixture of sympathy and anger even though I had no knowledge why she was stripped in public. From her voice and the speech she uttered, I know for certain that she must have been begging for hours because of the shrillness of her voice.
By my side were men, food-hawkers, kids, dirty-looking women with babies on their backs, 'Okada' riders, Street urchins and all sorts of persons. Some eyes feasted on the lady's chest which has two big breast, well conjured to perfection with two dark stretching nipples and a flat tummy. The tattoo of a white pigeon looked so cool on her supple skin. Her pubic hair was showing but her laps which were fleshy and big were wrapped around each other.
I looked at the far right corner were a girl sat on a plastic chair laughing out loud.
'Thandi, is that you? What are you doing here' she asked
I was taken by surprise that I nearly ran away out of fear but on a second thought, I looked back and recognized my longtime ex-girlfriend who left me for greener pastures.
'Oh my god! Shantel, what are you doing here' I shouted back in surprise.
This is insane, in the midst of these weird scenarios, here stands a beauty whom I once shared great moments with. Many questions followed each answer as we tried to put together the events of the past with the present. I later learnt that she dumped her boyfriend when she caught him in bed with Rose her coursemate.
'Thandi, we really need to talk' she said
‘about what?' I said feigning ignorance of what she had in mind
'About what happened between us' she replied
She was looking me straight in the eyes that all the feelings and emotions I shared with her just flowed out of my eyes. My mind was made up even if a million tears run down my cheeks. Even though we are some meters away from the crowd, I wanted to go and hear the real gist about the naked lady.
Gratefully, the crowd shouted and I ran towards the naked lady as if she called me just to evade Shantel's questions.
But what I saw when I turned was baffling. Was this why the crowd shouted? Have they not seen this kind of thing before? I laughed my heart out when I saw what made the crowd shout. The naked girl stood up, her bosom was rapturous, charming, and big and shaped for the kill. Every step she took was followed by many ravenous eyes with wicked thoughts. The clap of her backside made the men-folk swallow hard. Then I wondered, why would a beautiful, rich and classy woman like this one before me steal? Maybe it is a curse? Maybe she was set-up? Then I realized from Shantel's story that the naked lady came from a rich family in fact, she had in her wallet about 50,000 Naira yet she stole underwear from a popular boutique some meters away from the place she was stripped. As always she blamed the devil but the disgrace and public affront brought her eternal shame, I concluded within myself.
Some people were busy arguing whether she should have been stripped or not. But some said she must have been cursed, still many others believed her punishment was well deserved shouting that she must go for deliverance.
I just looked in amazement, speechless, not knowing which side to follow but I knew in my mind that stealing is a grave sin.
As I watched the naked lady's bosom I wondered what must be going through her mind. What will become of her BMW X6 2012 model packed in front of the Boutique? Maybe she was set-up? What will be her fate? Maybe she is cursed? Does she have a man, boyfriend or even a husband?
It must be a curse, I concluded within myself.
As I contemplated these things, a familiar figure nearly hit me with her Corolla Land cruiser CRV.
'Hop in, lemme take you out. You re gonna be mine forever' Shantel shouted from the drivers seat.
Surprise looked me in the face as I nearly fainted. 'Wow! I have hit gold' I whispered to myself as I rushed to the other side of the car.
'What a day of miracles' I shouted
Shantel gave me a big smile and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. There and then, I pledged her never to leave me. With kisses and laughter, we hugged and cuddled for what seems like eternity.
With my heart still pounding, my eyes still adjusting to the new setting and my ears yet to understand, I begged God not to allow me open my eyes but that was what happened. Then I realized in anger that I have been dreaming.
©Copyright -2012
Ubani Alexander Thandi