HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Hello Hi.

This weekend was my parents' 33rd anniversary so I decided to write a little something. I'm not much of a poet, I prefer stories because I like gist but who cares anyway? :) Enjoy and please share. Don't forget to leave your comments below. Thanks.

I took dance lessons

But I did not learn the right moves

I enrolled in singing classes

But they did not give me a new voice

I made lots of jokes

But I could not laugh at them

I baked many large cakes

But they could not fill me up

I travelled around the world

But I could not find a clue

I asked many questions

But I received not an answer

 I fell on my knees

With my face to the east

Only then did I realise

That my life was made with you

Dedicated to my father, Engr C.B Ukah

(Never late, never past; because you’ll always be...present...in my heart)

Have a great week.

Follow me on twitter @vivio_gogo and Instagram IG: ugochiukah

WILD CALM

Hello Hi,
Last week BellaNaija published another of my article, thank you guys for reading. If you missed it, please find the link below.
http://www.bellanaija.com/2014/08/19/bn-prose-the-work-place-by-ugochi-ukah/

I also had a previous article published by them about a month ago too (http://www.bellanaija.com/2014/07/17/ugochi-ukah-my-colloquial-mishap/).

Today I have a beautiful story by a talented writer who has chosen to remain anonymous (I do not understand why though :p). Anyway, please read and share your comments below. Don't forget to share with your friends too, cheers.

                                                                                

Her name was quite simple. Simple to remember and simple to pronounce. After all it was quite common in the western hemisphere. In truth her name meant: “Defender of men.” But everyone called her Anna. His name meant...she was ashamed to say that she could not remember what his name meant but unlike her, his name had been chosen for its meaning  more than anything else. She did not know much about him except that the difference in career between them could be summed up in this manner:  he sought to get into his client’s head in order to break them, while she sought to walk with hers in the hope of empowering them so that they could walk without her.

“Happy Easter, Happy Sunday!” he said,  she turned  with a smile, thinking what lovely low, husky and well rounded voice he had, the kind of voice every man should have, she added to herself before murmuring, “Thank you. Same to you!” and laying her hand on his arm she said “excuse me, will you?”She made a beeline for the glass door where the little muffin had just run through. She caught her just as she poised to exit the back door of the Church. She grabbed her beneath her arms and tickled her until the child was screaming “mummy, please stop, stop mummy!” “You love her with your life don’t you?” Her head snapped around at his voice and she found him standing behind them. Lowering the gleeful child to the floor, she again smiled but this time she lowered her eyes. As the child walked away and they turned to watch her, he said boldly:” I would like to have your number.” Once again her head snapped back up so that he could see the question in her eyes. He saw it and replied: “look, you stand out among all these women, you are a product of your own creation and every time I see you, I keep wishing that you were single.”

Shocked, flattered and intrigued she said: “Well I am single. I am a single married woman. And a mum.” As he smiled she countered: “Are you married?” He shook his head.” Do you have children?” she continued. He broke eye contact with her and turned to look at the child happily murdering a yellow flower that she had picked out from the arrangement by the door. “He was silent for so long that she feared she had trespassed on sacred ground. “ Are you okay?” she asked, concerned. He turned and smiled at her and finally said very quietly “No, I do not have children”. She smiled and got out her phone.....

That had been on their first meeting, Anna thought now as she lay awake in bed and sighed. She was tired; exhausted really and yet sleep still eluded her. She sighed again, turned over and reached out to pick up her diary from her bedside table. Reaching for her phone she switched it on before walking to the light switch to switch that on too. Then she came back and re-arranged the pillows on her bed so she could sit up. Comfortable, she reached for the pen case that she kept on the dressing table but eventually found it on the floor next to the prayer book she had been reading before sleep claimed her earlier. Slowly, with a soft smile, she picked it up and opened the case. “Wild Calm” she read as she traced a finger along the engraved letters.  Gently she placed the cool metal against her cheek, somehow the coolness warmed her and she pushed back the tears that for weeks now, never seemed too far away. Uncapping the pen as she sniffed she said aloud: “Where to start? What can I say?”

It had been very brief, six weeks from beginning to end - six enchanting weeks of laughter, “pure heaven” and “Adagio”; adult conversations and steamy moments. The weekend away stood out as one she will never forget. Their regular evening walks in the nearby park, the attention he had paid to her baby (in truth she had adopted the child mere weeks after her birth), the special way he talked to the child, the way he made her feel like a woman: sexy, wanted and cherished, the flowers he brought her “just because..”, the way he confided to her of his childhood memories. The surprising way they seemed to know what the other was thinking even before they said it...There was a dozen ways that they were good together. “How could something so “right” be so “wrong?!” She asked herself again as she had for the past month or so.

“We were too different,” she wrote. “His family would never have accepted me and he would never have fought them for me”.  As tears gathered and cascaded down her cheeks she put down the pen and allowed the memories to wash over her. She remembered the day he sang Bryan Adam’s “Please forgive me “to her. That had been after their second fight. Their first one had been just one week before the second one, when over the phone he told her that he had a girlfriend back in his native town. That night she cried herself to sleep, woke up and cried some more before finally deciding that she was going to show him. And perhaps that was where the origin of their third and final fight laid. It reduced them to two intelligent and God fearing people, with one professing his love, yet both of them unable to do the “right” thing as in that instant they disagreed on the definition of “right”. She had demanded that he come clean with his girlfriend or end it with her. He had been firmly reminding her at every opportunity that “I want to make love with you Anna.” And she had stalled. Apart from the existence of his girlfriend, he had been reluctant to undergo the HIV/AIDS test she had suggested they had. It had been sexual frustration and the desire for more and better that had pushed her into cornering him to take a stand. At that precise moment, Anna hated herself, for being so...so freaking principled!  If she had not, they would still be an item now, she thought as fresh tears raced down her cheeks and fell on her diary. “But you still would not have been able to receive Holy Host”, a small voice in her heart whispered.” Yeah, there is that” Anna thought now and grimaced as she looked up at the A3 photo of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the wall at the foot of her bed. “I did miss you Jesus”, she whispered to the photo but I loved him so! Even now, four weeks after we have gone our separate ways and two weeks after I came across him and his girlfriend walking arm in arm in the park. “Our” park! Why did he lie, Jesus, How could he love two women at the same time? How can any of this be right? Now that I am at it, why did you send him my way?!  I am so unhappy that I cannot even be happy that we did not do “it”! And I cannot even laugh at the fact that his girlfriend is twice my size and half my height!”

The tears were flowing so hot and fast now that Anna put the diary down and turned face down on the nearest pillow to muffle the sobs that she could no longer suppress. Once again her heart was in tatters. Once again she was the loser in the “game of love” or was it the “game of lies”? She thought sarcastically.

So profound was her self-pity that she failed to hear tiny feet walking across the corridor to her room, until a small voice finally penetrated the mist-like gloom around her.

“Mummy?  I cannot sleep. Mummy? Are you crying?”

Anna jumped and swiftly wiped her palm against her cheeks and she rubbed her face across her pillow to dry the tear tracks. Quickly she reached over the side of her bed with a smile curling her lips:  “Oh baby, she said, “come and give mummy a cuddle.” And plucked the child from the floor. With her face hidden by the innocent sweetness of her daughter’s selfless hug, Anna vowed that no man, no man will ever break her or her baby’s heart again.

From the author: I was up at 03:00 in the morning one Saturday morning with this story line playing chaos in my mind. It simply would not let me be. I not only wanted to write I had an unprecedented desire to have the story published. In those wee hours when most are in dreamland I got in touch with Ugochi and well as they say the rest is history.
By and large this is my first ever real story. The stories I wrote previous to "Wild Calm" were in my English language class or exams about 16 years ago. ( I have never mastered the fine art of writing summaries. Give me a 2000 word limit and I can usually do a decently entertaining piece.) Unfortunately I do not have much time to write these days except when I want a good emotional cleansing. God willing someday I will take some writing courses (then I will sit down to write the book that I have promised myself I will.) For you see I know that I have talent- the kind that comes naturally, I suppose the kind that one is born with) But I have no skill- skills , to my way of thinking, is taught and can be learnt and in order to do justice to the art, I need both. Your words of encouragement warmed my heart. Thank you! Someday I will write one and I will sign it. "Wild Calm" however is best left unsigned. Until then keep me in your prayers. I will do same.
I hope you enjoyed it. Have a blessed week.

Please follow me on twitter@vivio_gogo and IG: ugochiukah.

THE MORAL

Hello Hi,

I hope you have been great. I shared a voice note today with a brief thought, dedicated to my sister (you know yourself :p). Please listen and enjoy the story.

She pulled him by the waistline of his trouser “Give me feeding money or else you won’t go to work today!” He raised his hand as if to strike her and she began screaming “You want to hit me, abi? Hit me o, beat me! Neighbours, come and see!”

His two children ran out of their bedroom to watch. “Daddy, please leave mummy”, the eldest daughter said; she began to cry and her younger sister joined in, even though she did not understand what exactly was happening.

“I’m not holding your mother. Can’t you see that she’s the one holding me? Tell her to let go off me. I’m running late for work” the husband said.

“You’re not going to work today, until you give me that money” The wife responded.

“Mummy, please leave daddy alone” the eldest spoke again and her younger sister echoed “mummy, please leave daddy...” she was only five years old while her elder sister was nine years old.

“Keep quiet! Tell him to give me money or else both of you will not eat today. No cornflakes for you!” The wife said, pointing at the younger daughter.

The little girl began to scream loudly, adding to the chaos. The thought of her not eating was too much to bear and cornflakes in the morning had always been her favourite. So the elder sister had to cut in at this point, “If you don’t stop fighting, I will tell the priest on Sunday.” That sentence did the magic as both parents let go of each other immediately although the wife ran quickly to block the door. “You’re still going nowhere until you give me money” she said.

“How much exactly do you need?” he asked, exhaustedly. “Ten thousand Naira, I won’t accept anything less than that” she replied. The husband opened his briefcase, counted some notes and gave them to her. “Now, can I pass please?” he asked. “Wait o, let me count it first” she answered as she licked the tip of her index finger on her right hand and began counting the notes. When she had finished, she unblocked the door way and said to him “So you had the money. You just wanted me to shout this morning.” He said nothing and passed through the door.

“Thank you o, ese! Have a nice day” she said loudly while he drove off, without responding.

The End

So what was the morale of this story to you? Leave your comments below please :), Thanks. Have a lovely weekend. Ps: I was kidding about bald people in the voicenote.

Twitter: vivio_gogo IG: ugochi ukah

WEDDING INVITATION: YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED!

Hello Hi,

Welcome to my wedding invitation. Oh well, that is the title of my post. Gotcha! lol.  Since you're already here, please continue reading..hee hee. Sorry I've been away for a while, school and work! Anyway, please read, share your thoughts by dropping your comments below and share with your friends as well.

‘You are cordially invited to the wedding ceremony of Effiong and Blessing…” that was what the card read. Chika had just received the invitation by post and to her dismay; her ex-boyfriend Effiong, was finally getting married. He had everything she wanted in a husband – good-looks, great job, intelligence, god-fearing etc but her mother had refused to let her marry him because he was neither Ibo nor catholic. They had dated for three years and those years were the best years of her life. She knew that if she have pushed harder and insisted on marrying him back then, they would have been married by now. But instead, she had watched her mum humiliate him and ask him to leave the family house. To make matters worse, when Effiong had tried to calm her mother down, she had joined in the shouting, saying that he was disrespecting her family. Sometimes when she looked back, she wondered what had possessed her on that day; his family had been very kind to her and she knew he was a good man who did not deserve such treatment but then, she had always been very close to her mother and did whatever she was told regardless of whether she knew it was wrong or right.  So today, a year after their break-up, as she opened the envelope, her eyes welled up with tears. She picked up the phone and dialed his number.

“Hi, I got your invitation. I am very happy for you” she said with no iota of happiness in her voice.

“Thank you” he responded.

 “I don’t know if I can come though” she continued.

“No problem, RSVP when you’re sure of your decision”

“Can we meet briefly, I would like to discuss something with you?” she asked him.

“That won’t be necessary. If there’s anything urgent, you can tell me now because I would not have the time to meet you before the wedding”

“Okay then, I just wanted you to think again before you go into this. You know you still love me” she said smugly.

“I have thought well enough and no, I don’t love you. I loved you before and now I love another. Get over it!” He said harshly. After amoment of silence, he told her that he had to go and hung up.

He was pissed off; she had the nerves to call him and tell him to re-think about his decision, after all that she had done to him over the years. He had loved her like no other and convinced his family to accept her even though they wanted him to marry someone from his tribe, but that had not dissipated his love for her. He had always known her to be selfish but that had not bothered him either and he gave her all that she wanted and even more just to make her happy. He had invested so much in her and had even bought her the type of expensive engagement ring that she wanted, which she had not bothered to return after they broke up. Three good years wasted being in a relationship with her and yet, her mother had walked him out of their house screaming “Stupid Calabar boy! You want to come and marry my daughter!” and Chika had joined in, clapping her hands like a village woman. What had puzzled him the most was that her mother had known all the while that he was dating her daughter and so his visit was not sprung on her out of the blue. He used to bring her gifts on his previous visits which she had accepted warmly. Therefore, he could not understand the unforeseen change of mind or the sudden realization that he was not from the Ibo tribe, especially as both mother and daughter had called him by his Efik name – Effiong. He had still loved Chika after that episode of drama and tried to reach out to her until the day she told him proudly to his face that no matter what she did to him, he could never leave her or ignore her. After she said those words, it was almost like a spell had been broken and finally he became aware of what he meant to her - a toy for playing with, a bank to give her money, and a shop to pick free items from. Only then did he understand what his whole family and friends had been telling him about her for a long time - that they thought that she did not truly love him. Oh well, his eyes had been opened and he decided to end things with her completely. He began to ignore her calls and text messages and one day she showed up at his place after some months, requesting for a huge sum of money. He transferred the money to her bank account but continued not to speak to her. He was that kind of man; generous to a fault that he let some people take advantage of him. Money was never a problem for him anyway as he came from a wealthy background.  

Some weeks after his break-up with Chika, Effong met Blessing at the bank. She was nothing like Chika; she was selfless, homely, not vain and from Akwa ibom. Both his and her parents approved of their relationship and they got engaged pretty quickly. It was Blessing that had suggested sending a wedding card to Chika because she had met her once, the day she had come to ask Effiong for money. That was the kind of person that Blessing was; she hardly found fault with anybody and despite the spiteful gestures that Chika had made during her visit, Blessing had still urged Effiong to give Chika the money. That was why he had transferred the money into Chika’s account and warned her never to come to his house again nor request for anything else.  So he was not shocked when Blessing, out of her good will, had asked him to invite Chika for the wedding. He reluctantly obliged after she persisted although he silently hoped that Chika would decline the invitation.  After that call that Chika made asking to see him before the wedding, which he had turned down, she continued to try to reach him. He never responded to her calls or messages and up until the wedding day, it was unclear whether she was going to attend or not.

The day of his wedding came and all the guests were seated. Effiong stood close to the altar looking good and nervous just like almost every groom did on their wedding day. It was time for the bride to walk down the aisle and the orchestra began playing the Pachelbel version of the famous Canon in D major record. It was at that moment that Chika chose to show up in a white dress. She was not wearing a wedding dress exactly but it was a lovely dinner dress; one that a bride could wear on the evening of her wedding.  She looked stunning in it, with her figure well accentuated in the dress and her hair and make-up perfectly done. She walked in slowly, drawing in attention like she was the bride. In fact, if one did not know who the bride was, one might have mistaken Chika for ‘her’. Effiong signaled to the orchestra to stop playing the music and stooped low to whisper to his little groom. He looked up at her and smiled. She smiled back smugly before taking a seat close to the front row; her plan had gone well and she had been noticed by him just as she had wanted. It was signaled again that the bride was ready and so the orchestra resumed playing. Blessing walked into the church with her father, looking resplendent and the wedding ceremony began shortly afterwards.

It was time to exchange the rings and vows and the pastor asked the usual question “Is there anybody who has a reason why these two should not be married? Stand up and speak now or forever, hold your peace.” Chika tried to stand up but sat down suddenly, as she realized that her wig had been quickly pulled off her hair. She tried to put it back on but the little groom picked it and ran out of the church with it. The children around laughed and pointed at her ridiculous wig-cap which she had worn underneath. Some people turned to look at what had happened and she bent her head in shame. The distraction was brief and since no one had spoken, the weddings vows were made successfully whilst Chika sat with her head bowed until everyone else left the church.  Effiong saw her as she sneaked out of the church whilst the couple was taking pictures with their family and well-wishers. He smiled genuinely for the photograph with his heart filled with joy. His weakness may have been him falling for her previously but he knew that her weakness lay in her lack of hair and her love for wigs. He had learned well from his relationship with her and so the moment she had shown up seeking for attention; he decided that he would give her all the attention that she deserved. Thanks to his little mischievous nephew who served as his little groom; Effiong promised to get him a present as a reward.

As for Chika, she never showed up in his life again and just like a fairytale, he lived happily ever after with Blessing.

The End

I hope you enjoyed reading and don't worry for the aproko people, when it is time for my wedding I will put it up here on my blog so watch out :P. Don't forget to follow me on twitter @vivio_gogoand instagram IG: ugochi ukah for more updates. Enjoy the rest of your week.