AFRICAN STORIES

LIVING IN GUILT

Story by Akin Omo Akin

I tried resisting but she persisted. She was all over me as she urged, patiently waiting for me to give in. I finally lost control but when she stared at me,keeping her gaze on my retina. Looking through her blue eyes my heart was sectile.

"Please, Princely, please, I want this." She said with a subtle touch.

"okay how much for the blue contact lenses?" I asked the anxious shop keeper.

"Six thousand five." He replied
I fumed, as I reached my pocket for my credit card, resenting the shopkeepers sated smile.

Sekinat was bode's girlfriend, and it was her birthday In two days. We had been shopping the entire afternoon. Just like I promised her. a favor from bode , who has travelled abroad for few months program. I help her into the taxi, laughing as she clutched two nylon bags in her hands. She was beautiful, adorable, daring, and lively. For a while, we were both silent and the atmosphere was becoming too dull for her to bare. I had to bring something up, I told her about myself, my family, the crazy girlfriend I had. It was all lively and she was happy and talky, i decided to tell her about how I felt for her. The silent that evade the air was so brawny, I regretted telling her about what I felt for her,she must hate me now, "I muttered."

We'd been on the road for almost an hour, as we approached the last stop that leads to her house, I sighed with lot of air running through my nerves.

"Why did you allow him that day, why?"she spoke.

" huh?" I stuttered.

"At the Hangout. You came to me first, but you said nothing, bode asked me out in your present."

"I...I loved you the first time I saw your face. I had wish that everything he said and did to me that night was done by you." I was lost.

The car pulled over in front of her apartment. She got down first, dragging her nylon with the door, I stood on her side holding the door for her and frowning at the silence between us.

"It's getting late I should probably go home and prepare for tomorrow." I said as she dropped the bags.

She stood up facing me, and whispered "I can't thank you enough for today"

Even though I couldn't explain the kiss and everything that came afterward, we had the night to our best, a "a fifty shade " kind of night. Her body was a lover's breath away from mine. Our tongues were wet with guilt. I opened my eyes and wished I never did, oh we never did. The image of the night still hunts the inner me as I watched bode leaning on his kitchen cabinet to fetch me some drinks.

Story By AKINOMOAKIN

Faraway from the earth, there we live ,just like every other human; we are mortals, we eat, we sleep, we work, we reproduce, but there's this particular thing that secern and differentiate us from the common man, which is the Time. On the phase of our hand is a long inscription of reading time. Practically, our day to day living depends on that time, unlike the humans that are ignorance of their death day, our time of death is glaring and plainly displayed on our hands, once the time runs out, we die; in respective of where we are or what we are doing at the moment our time runs off. In our world, we have no currency, we purchase cars, food, house, taxes , and everything by depositing our running time. In our world transferring of time is possible: possible for someone who have lot of time to give out to those who have few, and also possible for someone who have few to take everything from someone who have lots. In our world our time does not read immediately we are born , until we are thirty years old. after that we grow no more, and we have no change in our look or appearance.


Just like the normal world, the way we have poor and rich people, we also have billionaire amongst us, who virtually can live for a whole life time and also poor people who have nothing less than few hours more to live; because they have wasted most of their time on day to day expenses.


My ephemeral story of life in time was brutal, my time starts to read when I turned 25, my Family, we are poor but still averagely better than lot of those that roam around the street. My Dad, he was a time thief, he steals time from those who have millions and gives to those who have little on the street. My mother was a school teacher who doesn't get paid till after a month. Every morning my father will call on all of us, me, my mum and my little sister, and he'll give us some of his time probably a day or two so we can survive till he gets back. One day my dad went to rob as usual, because it's been long he gives time to people in the street. and lots are dying, dad got shot and he died. He died with our family asset (the time) in his hand. Since then we became very poor, I had to start working but still the work fetch little or no time for us to survive for long. sooner my mum was having one day left to die, and so I started giving her 24hours from my time everyday. My sister, she's not yet 25, her time is yet to start reading, thereby making it impossible for her to share. we continue living like that, give a day to my mum from my time and she pays me back after receiving her salary, but this month, my sister died ,her time started reading while she was asleep in her boyfriend place. he was reported to have stolen all of her time and elope from our time zone.


Now i have only my mum as family. On my time I have just 5yrs and two months to live. Because I have already giving most of my time to my mum. Mum was about leaving for work one morning, as usual, I have to give her some of my time. Normally I'm supposed to give her a day, but she requested for half, she told me she won't be staying out long, I did as instructed and she kissed my cheek and left. That evening, after I returned from work, I didn't meet at home, which is very unusual, I couldn't call her because I'll have to deposit an hour for a call and she have to deposit an hour to pick my calls too, mum doesn't have that much. I set out for the park immediately, when I got there, the last bus was just arriving, I went inside the bus to check for her, but she's not inside. My mum attempted boarding that bus, but that particular day, her destination was increased to 2 hours and she have 1:32minute left on her time. She had to start running. I badge out of the bus and started running towards her location, hopefully to catch her up on the run, of course I did, mum approaching from far, I increased my speed pace and sooner I was about reaching her, while she approached me, her face were filled with smile and just when I stretch out my hand to reach out for hers, she fell and died, she ran out of time.


That is how i lost my family and everything i have. The way this is happening In my family, the same way it's happening in other families who live in time. We all live to die by the sunset of the day. Anytime I hear the people of the earth saying how nice would it have been, if everyone knows the day they'll die, I'll smile and thank the almighty on their behalf, for they are lucky,and do not dwell in time like us.


This story was inspired by Justin Timberlake (the actor of IN TIME).

I moved my gun slowly. My aim came into full view. I was lying in the grass while Commander was sitting behind a tree close to me and yelling out orders. The tree branches spread out; it shielded us from the sun.

“Do you have a full view of them now?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Take them out.”

“Sir?”

“I said take them out!”

“But the little girl and her mother stand no threat to us, sir.”

“Take. Them. Out. Magabush!”





No! No! No! I was still shouting when I felt a cold tender hand touch my cheek, I woke up with a start.

“What’s the matter Sweety?”

It was my wife Angela. I was lying on a sofa in our lounge. The air conditioners were on but I could feel sweat under my arms.

“You were shouting in your sleep.”

“Was I sleeping? It was only a nap. It’s… it’s nothing. What time is it?’’

“2 pm.” She said, pointing at the big wall clock.

“What’s the matter with you?” Her hand was on my bare chest. I was sure she could feel my heart beat.

“I am fine.”

“No. You’re not.”

“I am.” I left her, went into the bathroom, then I pushed the door behind me slightly hard.

In becoming a soldier, we were thought to be unmerciful; we could do anything to protect our subject. Perhaps that was the very reason Commander asked me to shoot the little girl and her mother while he looked away and let me bear the pain alone. This was the first rule. I had imagined that the little girl I shot was my daughter Annie. I remember the look on the child’s face, how she was smiling and was about to hug her mother as if she knew it was her last moment. I had shot her first before her mother. I wanted to save her the pain of seeing her mother die. Was this mercy? I thought of the fear and pain in the woman’s heart that second as she saw her own daughter’s head shredded to nothing, it would be much. Enormous. I thought, too, of the shock that came to her when she herself got hit. What did she think at that last moment? Did she forgive the “devil” that shot her and her daughter? I know she wouldn’t. She wasn’t Jesus Christ, no one would.

I imagined again that Angie was the woman, standing helplessly, watching Annie before she herself got hit. Holy shit! No. But how could I have shot them, just how?

And now, how can I stand before Angie telling this story? Could I stare into her eyes and say I was right? That in the army, in my first days, the lieutenant, the one with a lopsided face who always spat like he had eaten a snail, had said something. Never disobey the senior officer at any operation and never question him too. Do exactly as he commands… this is rule number two. It was for this very reason that I had pulled the trigger that moment.

I would open this door, then go and meet Angie. She would understand me. She would kiss me and say I was right. But deep down, something told me I was not right. Magabush, I call myself, you were wrong!