DUSTY SAPPHIRES

chapter 2

The enchanting 6am breeze caressed my face,Robbing me off of the early morning icy feelings. I had packed the few items I counted as belongings the night before as I was to catch the bus leaving for Accra by dawn, though Mama was still yet to wake from coma .we bade goodbyes which was the hardest part in separating from family, taking in the solid sadness plastered on their faces ,I couldn't fight back the tear that threatened to drop and stay back not until ghostly images of kofi pierced through my senses ,blanking out the false thoughts. Then did I realize there was no going back.
The bus station was crowded to its peak,with majority of travellers heading for Nigeria,coté d voire,and Cameroon. I couldn't help but wonder what they were leaving to those prestigious countries for,when of course we still had our own dear nation pending on the list for development. Hawkers of sweet smelling pieces of Nkatie paraded the bus station, deliberately flirting with my empty stomach, despite the temptation, i had to turn my face away from the sellers,after all, I had less than a penny on. The bus heading to Accra was yet to be completely loaded when there was a disagreement between a driver and a rogue passenger. The passenger whose eyes were like a blazing fire and a countenance of an erupting volcano was a lean and stout middle aged man,who seemed short of temper.  The driver must have said or done something so upsetting that could rile up someone so bad,I wondered while I watched the scene before me unfold from oral confrontations to physical violence, concerned passengers rushed to the scene to separate the fight as the security was no where to be found,I was one of those concerned passengers which unfortunately led to my twist of fate. All efforts made to relive the situation prove futile and alas,there was a gunshot, and then a second shot,the first gunshot somewhat paralyzed my ability to think ,while the second shot activated the speed I was never aware I possessed ,and all that crossed my mind was to enter into any moving bus ,which I successfully did.
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The passengers in the bus spoke in different languages while they communicated amongst themselves, they appeared either too light skinned or too chocolate skinned but neither was pitch black as we Ghanaians are known for, Ghanaians were known for their public display of culture via mode of dressing, adornments or chitchats in our dialect, all of which none went on, an ugly cold feeling crept from the pit of my stomach, giving me all the possible reasons to believe I was heading to a wrong destination contrary to my initial direction which I immediately shunned,as there was no way I could have entered a wrong bus,still encouraging myself, I forced my body into a brief nap ,blocking out any further questions.
_****_*"*"***Kofi!!! I yelled at the top of my voice, joy watering my world as Kofi neared sight." Kwasei is that you?" He asked as though he questioned his sanity, "yes! Its me kwasei .please come back home, mother is worried ,I Pleaded.. Although Kofi was a few meters away ,I could feel the electricity that passed through my veins the moment Kofi replied, saying.." I am not going with you ," I watched his every step ,how he shuffled his way back into the Bush on his baggy and worn out polo t shirt,I was repeatedly a failure as it dawned on me that I had let Kofi slip through my fingers "Again"... I cried so loudly in defeat hoping he would hear me,after a short while,I could hear noises coming from nowhere and my heart jumped as I thought it could be Kofi shuffling his way back,gradually there was a bright light coming into view and my hopes were raised once more,the freezing sachet water that was splashed on my face stood up all the hairs that grazed my skin, I looked in disbelief at all the people gathered around me,muttering words like " are you sure he's still alive?","what must have killed this young man in the dream now? ","pour more water!"  Whom these people were ,and why I was lying down on the floor was the only question I needed answers to ,well apparently I needed to get up and straighten things out the moment another person shouted "he don wake o!"the resounding praise and chatters as I rose up was second to none ," what is going on?" I demanded ,already fed up with the drama ,"Brother, you wrestled with spiritual powers in the sleep and passed on afterwards, but praise be to God ,you were resurrected by our lord Jesus Christ", the robust ,stout and rounded head woman spoke ,I took a minute to digest what she had said and burst into laughter the next,"you mean kofi my blood operates in spiritual realms?I roared a loud round of laughter, "what nonsense",I thought,I never believed in any God or deity probably never will either,so they can take their cock and bull stories and feed it to the swine. Not bothering to pay anymore attention I made way for the bus ,leaving them to their own conclusions, it was then I took note of the color of the sky,it was dusk already and we were yet to arrive at  Accra,Ghana must be bigger than I thought ,the young man by my side seemed uninterested in any of the movie which unfolded few minutes back ,people should inculcate such habits in themselves I thought, "sir ,please what is our direction?"i decided to ask. He looked at me as though I had developed extra five heads from my neck " walahi ,I don ask me very mumu question!"he answered. I chose to ignore the young man as it was only clear that he wasn't in need of company and had major problems in communication,I would forever be grateful to the Ghanian government for the free education we were rendered, at least I wasn't unfortunate as the half toothed young man by my side.
I grew impatient as hours went by and the bus refused to come to a halt.  while shifting from side to side ,I noticed people either exchanged  glances or whispered amongst themselves "oga relax,Nigeria na long journey" a passenger from behind added,referring to me. Although I did a good job at avoiding their rudeness towards me ,I was however forced to face the reality of what the present situation was,I was on a bus heading to Nigeria. There was no way Kofi would be in Nigeria and I was too penniless to return back home, the dark sky suddenly grew darker, forming a nauseating ball in the pit of my stomach. "What carelessness!", I bit my tongue in shame,however, prepared for the worst.
A few more hours had passed when we finally came to a halt,as suspected, it was the checking point in the border between Nigeria and Ghana. I watched everything that went on from another's perspective, that when an officer demanded for my passport, I was almost deaf to him." Mr man, where is your passport?" The rotund bald officer spoke. the ferocity by which he spoke was capable of making an innocent man plead guilty,meanwhile, the passport he demanded was unavailable as I was not in need of them, i mentally prayed the ground to open up and swallow me. Sadly enough, the officer was likewise a man of short patience' and wouldn't spare a next moment of silence and so he ordered I stepped into the office. The women who found the scene interesting rather than attending to their own business did not go unnoticed by the officer which I was genuinely grateful for as he stated he wasnt in need of an audience'. I watched as his co-officers stamped ink on each passengers green card which I supposed was the so-called passport, and in less than a long time ,they were done with their checks. Inside the officers office was devoid of life. A mini frame work of him in his youthful days hung loosely by the corner of the office and on the desk were neatly piled up files of God knows what,leaking out his secret neatness. From the corner of the office where I sat,I could hear the conversation he was having with a fellow plus sized officer,giving him reasons to why I was being put in custody. The  plus sized officer didn't seem friendly on the other hand for what to say,as his expression could only be described as a scowl ."send him back!"he yelled,as though being hypnotized by his words,the younger officer saluted diligently and made way for where I was. The officers needed to understand I had no interest in visiting their beloved country but as fate could have it,i found myself here."Mr man,you cannot enter this country without your passport, the sooner you take your belongings away from here the better for you." "Belongings" I repeated, only then did I realize the bus had left with my belongings in it,they were a few but they meant the world to me ,I thought out loud while remembering the photos of mama and me. This country had already ripped my heart apart just only a few hours in ,and that point in life, my world was in total jeopardy. " Mr officer, my belongings has gone with the bus" I shamelessly broke down in tears,, although I had not expected sympathy but the officers reaction was also too unexpected, he stared at me with a blank but questioning look for a few seconds then laughed his lungs out for the remaining spare minutes. If eyes could kill,undoubtedly I would have been a dead man as his eyes turned death cold the next moment as he spoke "Young man,Get out of my office."
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Donna's pov
Goosebumps had risen up to my taste buds the moment I entered into the palace, I had left the very evening before mother returned, for so I knew she would rebuke me with her heart if she found out I was going to carry out father's dreadful assignment. The palace had a different aura revolving around it by the time I got in, despite the fact that I was yet to carry out the assignment ,I feared more than the panicking goose. The bile which rose up to my throat was quite intense,locking up all the pores that allowed me exchange gases and suddenly ,the environment was scorching hot. Hot,I thought, my clothing too were to blame for the latter as the gown I wore swept the streets ever so graciously, as well as the sleeves. It covered every trace of the marks that decorated my chocolate skin. My skin had always been something that never saw light ,as passers by either showed immense pity, disgust or totally avoided me like the plague. Many a time, they would perch here and there like the busy bee with nothing to do,making terrible remarks and gesture,all of which resulted in the reason for my awful choice of clothing.  Deciding to get to the bottom of the strange aura that revolved endlessly around the palace, I went into the room of one of the maidens "oma" we had developed liking into one another after the performance, she described how I swayed my body as " divine" and such a talent was rare. "Oma?" I called,and earned silence in response. There was no cause for alarm but subconsciously, little beads of sweat had begun to form in circles by the corners of my face while I stepped out of the room. After a few minutes of waiting, I lazily picked myself up from the stool I had sat buried in anxiety and headed for my room. The journey to my room was less than the time it took for the spit on the floor to dry out. On getting there, I shut the door behind me and lay flat with my back against the wall,filling in the darkness that consumed the room. My heart had flown to my mouth the moment I heard shuffling feet from inside the mini sanctuary as I named it,igniting the adrenaline in my blood. "Donna?".. The owner of the shuffles called, recognizing the voice,I placed my hands above my hips and let out a puff of breath in relief." You scared me "I added. " Have you heard?" She said  while she drew nearer ,almost in whispers, I was quite certain of it, the light of the palace don't give off any strange aura unaware .."the decadal rituals to sanctify and renew the land is in the next two market days "she spat. Her voice resounded like a struck tambourine in my ears, echoing the only possible reasons to why we were truly brought to live within the palace, perhaps to spend our last days in gay and Merry or worse still, fatten us up for the grande final ritual." So what do you intend doing?" She asked,snapping me out of my daze."I don't know about you but I'm leaving the moment we are done with this conversation to my fathers house" ..'father',the word father never tasted so salty on the tip of my tongue,even his name always managed to run shivers down my spine. The images of papa came floating around my senses,reminding me of my unaccomplished assignment, and from the determined Donna I was,I came crumbling like a pawn once again. Oma being the observant person she is,it didn't take her time to figure out how troubled I was."You look troubled,Is anything the matter?". The depth of concern laced around her voice was second to none but it would be quite ridiculous to tell her that  my father asked me to bring him a cup of silver from the kings chambers, considering how pathetic that would sound, I lied."oh dear,it is absolutely nothing to worry yourself about,its just a slight stomach upset." I strained. We bade each other farewell and promised to keep in touch.
  I kept to my words and packed up my things the very evening and left for home, silently praying to God that papa wouldn't kill me as promised. On getting home,the consistent aroma of maize once again tickled my senses, alarming me of fathers presence,he seemed to chew on an everlasting maize 'I thought. "Donna," he called out my name even before I neared sight, but the surprising way he pronounced my name so calmly threw me off guard,or perhaps, he was not well I concluded. I mentally thanked my stars for rescuing me from a death sentence. "I hope you have come with good news" he said,not even bothering to turn to face my direction.
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Fathers' POV
   Donna was too vulnerable to be true ,I thought in awe while I effortlessly grazed on precious seed of maize, after all ,a lots cast must fall on item ,I added. Manipulating Donna to go against her wish was equally as important as keeping me alive, as ichie offor already had his knickers in a twist. I had borrowed the sum of two hundred thousand naira a few years back ,with intentions of paying in full by the end of the year,which was barely a few weeks from now. Most importantly, I was convinced my stars were in maximum support of my idea when Donna was selected amongst the performers to live in the palace,gaining credible access to the kings chambers.
  Her footsteps were unmistaken and as calm as the sea,anyone could sense the fear she oozed from miles away,and all I could hope for was she had come with good news. "Donna" I called in an unusual calm tone,not wanting to scare the little kitten away so soon.   she trembled without doubt,and spoke incoherent  words which was not a problem in any way,I was her father,and it was only normal she trembled at my every shudder." I hope you have come with good news I added,and this time around the little kittens' blood disappeared from her face,making her appear like a piece of paper. Her fear,agitation and hysterical behaviors all boiled down to one fact,she hadn't carried out the assignment. In a matter of seconds,the world went turpsy turvy and it were as though I were possessed of an evil spirit,with anger blazing from my eyes,I could only see red ,,and somehow, Donna lay on the floor weeping.   "The cup of silver would not fall from the sky" I hissed.

A/N:Hello lovely readers,I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you did too😊😊
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