Against All Odds

Chapter sixty: Not on our bed

The rains fell heavily at night, bringing with it cold and hail stone which was commonly called "aki ìgwè". Obi could hear the clattering noise as they fell on the roof of their house. She used to be delighted when they would go about picking the little blocks of ice on the floor and chewing it as children.

It wasn't hygienic what they did, but whoever claimed children to be hygienic?. Tobe had switched from the rechargeable lantern to the flame producing, kerosene consuming one, that also created heat and warmth.
They had powered their generator on but it responded sluggishly and soon gave into idleness. Obi wasn't as disappointed as the girls, who could barely stay an arms length without their phones.

The both of them claimed they were now practicing JAMB past questions on their phone. Obi waited patiently for their day the of examination to arrive, they would prove whether they had been lying all these while.

"Ifenna bilie n'ala, oyi dịGet up, it is cold" Obi tapped her sister who had fallen asleep on the floor of their living room which had become considerably cold because of the rain.

The lightening and thunder tore across the sky, often causing a vibration on surfaces. Obi used to be afraid of the thunder and lightning when she was younger. And sometimes as an adult when it came unawares she would get a bit skittish. Her mother had told her that a woman was struck by lightning when she was younger and she died at that instant. She turned black as charcoal and dried up on her chair. When Obi enquired of the reason, her mother told her that the woman was evil.

The woman reassured her child that it was only evil people that the thunder and lightning struck. School had told Obi otherwise, teachers claimed it to be attraction that caused such destruction.

Lightning was pure electricity produced by movement of the positive and negative clouds, furthermore People only fell victim to lightning striking from objects when the current jumps, as well as through conduction and ground current. Besides most huts did not have a thunder protector so Obi supposed her teachers had a better argument. But either way she was still very much afraid of it.

Oluebube and Ifenna went to bed, while Tobe decided he had to eat. Her little brother had metamorphosed into a man and his appetite for food had skyrocketed.
A memory came to Obi's mind from the day Obiefune had taken care of her when she was sick. She didn't know if the goosebumps that crept Unto the skin were from the memory or the cold. A loud banging came from the door and Obi went to meet who it was. It turned out to be Chioma who was completely drenched by the rain and shivered like a cold pigeon. Obi was surprised that she even came back from Chukwudi's house. She had expected Chioma to sleep over at Chukwudi's.

Chioma requested for hot water as she removed the wet items on her body. Tobe prepared her bath after some minutes and she came out warmer.

"Why didn't you stay there? Chukwudi shouldn't have allowed you to come back in this rain. Hope he's okay"

"Yes, he's fine. I didn't actually want to sleep there. I only helped him out in preparing food and doing some other chores, he's lonely and hurt. But he is happy that you and your siblings are understanding" Chioma took a bite of the fried plantain that Tobe had served them

"Thank you for taking care of him ịnụ, I can't really stand staying there, it just makes me sad"

"That's what friends do, it's no problem. And I understand how you feel, which is why there's no pressure on you. You need to forgive her but at your own time." Chioma replied picking another slice from the plate

"I have forgiven her, but I'm confused as to what to tell Uncle Jonathan. Should I reveal this to him or not?" Obi paused for a while and spoke again, clearly amused by the picture Chioma was trying to paint about her relationship with Chukwudi. Obi cleared her throat before uttering the words in her mind with her eyes focused on her friend.