The Last Bus Stop - Part III [a short story by Tha Naija POET]

PART III

Advisory Content:

This poem contains some strong language.

 

He suddenly moved towards the old man

Who wanted to turn around to run away

But was prevented from doing so by the wall of humans behind him

Lanre snatched the black bag from the old man and turned it upside down

And out came a necklace made with cowries and another made with black beads

Other items that Lanre could make out were little plastic containers that contained liquid content, broom sticks, a strange looking mirror

And several others that Lanre could not make out

Lanre felt himself gradually losing his sanity

And with the little strength and reason left in him, he said to the man:

“For the very last time, what did you do to my wife?”

When the old man opened his mouth, Lanre could see the space left by his missing teeth and he was more than eager to hear what the man would way

He made a quick vow that if the man denied knowledge of his wife’s condition

He would cover the distance between them and break the man’s neck

“Oga, make I no lie – We don use your wife”

A part of Lanre had wished the man would deny but what he just said took the breath out of him

“You have done what?” Lanre asked the old man out aloud

“I say we don use your wife…”

Lanre thundered back:

“You must be mad! Who is we and what have you used her for?

What the hell are you talking about?”

“You say make I talk true and I don talk the truth

Na my senior herbalist for shrine send me come town make I find person wey we go use…”

Lanre made to dash at the old man but he was stopped

Lanre began to scream and struggle to break free

But the men who held him back tightened their grip on him

The elderly man who had previously spoken stepped forward towards the old man

And said:

“Old man! Tell us the solution to this problem

If you do not return this woman to her senses, we will approve your death here”

The elderly man looked towards Lanre and said:

“Sir, you just have to calm down and let us find a solution to this problem

The old man has admitted being responsible for whatever has happened here

He must have a solution

The most important thing is that we do not allow him leave this place

There must be a solution but you must help us to help you…”

The man’s words seemed to calm Lanre down a bit and he ceased struggling a little

And then stayed still

“Tell them to leave me alone,” Lanre said to the elderly man

The man gave the men holding Lanre an approving look and nod

And they released their hold on Lanre

“Old man, how are you going to make this woman well again? You must find a cure for…”, said the elderly man before the old man cut him short

He looked straight into Lanre’s eyes and Lanre saw a familiar darkness in it

“I get cure,” the old man said aloud to the hearing of everyone present

The murmur of the crowd got louder

And the elderly man raised his hand to call for decorum in the crowd

When the crowd quieted down a little, the elderly man spoke:

“Thanks to God Almighty

Why didn’t you tell us all along that you have a cure?

You would have saved yourself a lot of trouble and pain…”

“Save my time,” Lanre cut in

“Cure her right now!”

The old man slowly lowered his gaze till it met the floor

And as Lanre’s eyes followed the old man’s face

Lanre could have sworn that he saw something like a smile on his face

“And what’s freaking funny here Old man?”

Everyone suddenly looked from Lanre then to the old man

Lanre looked at the old man’s face again

And saw that he now wore a straight face

He looked at the elderly man and said:

“Tell this man to cure my wife before I lose my temper”

The elderly man looked at Lanre

And then turned to cast his eyes upon the old man

“You heard what the man said

Cure his wife and I give you my word not to let anyone here harm you”

The old man raised his gaze from the ground to the elderly man and said:

“Are you sure? I be old man, please…”

In response to this, the elderly man said:

“I promise”

The old man’s face in the full glare of the evening sun

Looked like a pot-pourri of wrinkles, blood, dark skin and dirt

A strange silence fell upon the gathering

And Lanre could almost feel a malignant and unseen presence

And he summoned all the strength in him to speak:

“What are you waiting for?

You said you can cure her

Go ahead!”

The old man looked at Lanre

And sustained the gaze for a second

Two seconds, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…

Lanre could almost feel as if he was being drawn into some form of darkness

And when he heard the old man’s voice

He was shocked

The old man was about 7 feet away from him

Yet Lanre heard his voice as if he had whispered straight into his ears

“I know you love your wife Lanre but she belongs to us

You must never forget what I told you earlier

…there are two kinds of evil…”

Lanre felt something like a crack in his wall of anger

He felt something evil and gravely dark reaching out to him

He closed his eyes for two seconds

And when he opened them again

He could still see the crowd, his wife; who now sat on the bare floor

The elderly man

And of course the old man who was still 7 feet away from where he stood

Lanre looked at the old man and asked:

“What did you just say to me?”

The old man now wore a confused look and looked around the crowd as though seeking a silent answer

People in the crowd began to murmur

And it was at this point that Lanre felt a hand on his shoulder

When he turned his head to the right to see who it was

He saw the elderly man and heard him say:

“The man has not said a word to you Sir

I understand the stress you’re going through

But you have to stay strong

Do it for your wife

She really needs you now”

The old man’s voice got everyone’s attention when he said:

“I go make the woman well again but the thing hard small o

E get something wey we go do but like I talk, e hard”

“What is it?” asked the elderly man

The old man now looked sober and very remorseful

So remorseful that Lanre felt a ray of pity for him

He could see that the man was really old and now looked very weak

Lanre saw the bloodstain on the man’s lips and chin

And for an instant

He wished he hadn’t bashed him up the way he did

“What do we have to do?” asked the elderly man

“You must make her well again

You do not have a choice

Do you understand?”

“I hear you,” replied the old man

But I must do something. Once I do am, she go well again”

“I said you should go ahead and tell us what we need to do in order to restore her condition,” said the elderly man

“What is it? Tell us” thundered a group of men and women in the crowd

The elderly man once again held his hand up to silence the crowd

And the people quieted down once again

After 10 painful seconds, the old man finally revealed what needed to be done

His remedy came in five words

The first word was one alphabet

The second, four alphabets

The third was four alphabets

The fourth was three alphabets

While the last was a five-letter word

The words sent the crowd and the elderly man into a state of intense shock

“Oh my God!”

“Jesus!”

Father Lord!

“Ye!”

“Haaaaaa!”

“Subhanalahi”

“Goodness gracious!”

These were some of the words on the lips of several people in the crowd

The old man had just spoken the words

Yet for Lanre, it seemed like an eternity ago

“What did you just say?” Lanre asked

“I must suck her breast,” the old man repeated

“Na the only way be that”

Lanre felt the last pint of anger in him evaporate

He felt like a destroyed man

There was no more fight left in Lanre

His legs weakened beneath him

And he slowly lowered himself into a sitting position on the bare floor

His eyes filled with tears

“Why me?” he asked aloud

“Why me?

I am just a simple man who works hard to keep his wife happy

I don’t deserve any of this”

Lanre felt himself choking on his own words

And just sat there

Hot tears flowing down his face

He couldn’t take it anymore

He looked at his wife and she was still there

A sad reflection of her former self

Her hair scattered

Her once lovely dress now stained with dirt and torn in several places

But in the midst of all this

Lanre could still see that she was beautiful

He knew his wife was his treasure

Lanre was not a pirate

But he knew that if he had been a pirate

This would have been his biggest treasure chest

A treasure chest named Ijeoma

Lanre recalled how her face had inspired him to be more creative at work

How thoughts of her had kept him going on days when he felt blue

How memories of time with her always kept him excited

Just as the elderly man was on the verge of speaking to Lanre

Lanre rose to a standing position

Now, the fire of anger that had been in his eyes all along had vanished

He looked focused and rejuvenated

Looking at the elderly man, Lanre said:

“I know you were about asking for my consent

And I am giving it right now

The old man must have his reasons for getting into this kind of business

But I believe everybody deserves a second chance

We all make mistakes

Moreover, I love my wife very dearly

She means the world to me

And I would do anything to have her back

Even if it means allowing an old man suck her breast in public”

He looked at the old man and said:

“Old man, go ahead!”

Lanre could see some hesitation in the elderly man’s eyes

And he said:

“I mean it Sir

Kindly help me get her into a standing position”

Lanre walked towards his wife

She appeared to look through him as she had been doing all along

But for a brief instant, Lanre saw what looked like recognition and extreme fear in her eyes and then the look was gone

Lanre held both her hands in his and said to her:

“Baby, everything will be okay

Just hang in there”

He unzipped the zip behind her dress

Unhooked her bra

For a brief instant, he hesitated

Pulled off his shirt

Used it to cover a side of her upper body

And removed one arm from her dress and bra

He walked her about 17 steps to where the old man stood

And when he was close enough to the old man

He said:

“We’re ready!”

The old man muttered something inaudible

Bent down and picked up one of the strange looking necklaces that had fallen out of the bag when Lanre had turned it upside down

He looked at Lanre as he picked it up and said:

“I must wear this one for the cure to work”

“It’s okay,” replied Lanre

The old man took a step towards Lanre’s wife

Cast his eyes upon Lanre

At first Lanre saw that look of sympathy, remorse and pain in the old man’s eyes

And he was glad the old man might become a changed man after all of this

“I’m sorry Oga,” said the old man”

Lanre was on the verge of replying when fear gripped him

He was terrified at what he was seeing

As he looked straight into the old man’s eyes at close range

It dawned on him

The old man’s gaze held him in a fatal choke

Lanre recognised the old man

The same man from his nightmare earlier than morning

The old man did not move his lips

But Lanre heard the familiarity of his malevolent voice

“There are two kinds of evil Lanre

Those you can see and those you cannot see…”

Those were the last words Lanre heard

It was time for the old man to suck his wife’s breast and make her well again

The old man slowly parted his lips and moved them towards Lanre’s wife

His lips slowly moving toward her exposed breast

Lanre could see it happening

Her breast just stood firm

Waiting to be sucked by the old man

The moment the old man’s lips made contact with the dark nipple of her breast

The old man vanished

And so did Lanre’s wife

Composed by Samod Biobaku

Dedication

This poem is dedicated to my brother, Kamil for his love and unshaken faith. I would also like to dedicate this to my unborn sons and daughters. I want you all to understand that sometimes in life bad things happen to good people. We all encounter trails and unhappy moments but with God, we get to overcome them. I love you all.  

March 30, 2013