THE MAN I THOUGHT HE WAS

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Walking down Captain Ayeni Street, Kpansia, a small part in the city of Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, on a Monday morning, in a well-worn blue jean trouser and black Nike T-shirt, marching perfectly with my black sneakers and dark blue waist bag, a white sport car drove pass me, and suddenly, it began to drive backward to my direction.

"Why the sudden change of movement?" I wondered. Head still high. "He would have stopped at once when he knew he was going to talk to me. Well, hope he's not trying to give me a lift because I will definitely turn him down. And besides, I am not too familiar with this street and its environs, so he shouldn't think of asking me for any direction." The car was already three - four steps away from me.

"Maybe having seen my backside, he wants to see the front view." Thoughts kept flowing. Pretending not to notice any vehicle, I lifted my face higher and focused on where I was heading to.

It was already 7:38 AM, and once it is 7:45 AM, I was going to be late at work and the sum of two hundred naira would be deducted from my salary as a ransom for my lateness. A huge amount that would go for a bottle of orobo Pepsi and kpof kpof, my afternoon junk. Or, maybe, Mama Bisi's rice and stew with one small-sized piece of meat that looked like the small stone David used in killing Goliath as captured in My Book of Bible Stories Mommy bought for us when we were younger.

"Hi sexy." My attention was called to a deep masculine voice.

Hell no! Sexy? I hated people addressing me by that word. Mommy had always advised me to flee from anyone who would address me in a lustful manner. I could remember vividly well, one Sunday evening Mommy sat me down on her king-sized bed and advised me on males' sweet words whenever they are desperately after a lady's pant. I thought of what could have possibly stirred up such advice on a Sunday evening that was supposed to be a holy day in our home, as we were all meant to be married to our Holy Bibles, reflecting on the Sunday message by Pastor Etang James, who always dished out the undiluted Word of God, immediately we were back from church. After that, lunch followed and then siesta. In the evening it was Home Cell Fellowship in Daddy's big compound that's large enough to accommodate a church crusade. In our house, Sundays were meant to be holy. No much talks, play, and noise. Saturdays and Wednesdays were specific days for morals and behavioral teachings.

Still wondering why that voice didn't use some other adjective like "cute" to qualify my beauty. His voice bumped out again.

"Why would a pretty girl like you be walking under an open cloud this morning?"

"Chim o, what's wrong with this one na? Osii open cloud? Mba, I should have been walking under a closed cloud." I internally attacked him, still focused.

"A minute of your time won't hurt. I'm Mike by name and you?"

I acted as though he wasn't talking to me and increased the speed of my steps. I was almost late to work and the deduction of two hundred naira from my salary wasn't any joke to me at all.

"May I see your pretty face please? At least a smile on it. You walk as though your destination is in the sky. Come on sexy."

He was right. Absolutely right. I wished my destination was certainly the sky because I never wanted to bring down my face for any reason. High, higher, and focused. I flipped my neck right ways, not left to avoid locking eyes with the stranger in the white car, to know if anyone was waking behind me or if there were people watching the drama, because to me, it was nothing but early morning drama. Boom, my eyes slammed on a keke man smiling at me while comfortably resting by the side of the Keke-na-pepe. I was so quick to notice the wide gap between the man's two big yellow incisors and his akara sized eye balls. Many thoughts ran through my head simultaneously as I turned back in a hurry.