MY FIRST TIME BY ETOH COLLINS

Hello Hi,

Thank God it's Friday! Sorry I've been away for a while, I have been travelling a lot! This year has been my busiest year so far but I am thankful for it. Next week, I hope to share some of my travel experiences with you but today, I have a story from the talented Etoh, again! I know, he's fast becoming one of my fave writers. As usual, please leave your comments below, like the Google icon and share. Also tell a friend to tell another please :).  By the way,my last article published on BellaNaija can be found here. Enjoy:

                                                                                                      Pic source: www.kfzuzulo.com

MY FIRST TIME

I sat on the edge of his clean carved chair that was painted brown and looked so expensive, crossed my legs so that the left was on top of the right, and my hands were safely placed on the cap. I knew this wasn’t going to be a funny ride, but at least Tayo had encouraged that I tried as much as I could to enjoy it, after all what harm could it bring to a fighter like me, a desperate lady like myself that sought after fame like the United States after oil? I actually didn’t care about any other thing at the moment, but what I needed to do to push my way to limelight.

I carefully observed the house, and made sure I was at the right place. I heard he was the best man in the game and if I was to make it quick, he was the person I was supposed to see. And that I was sure I was going to be doing more often.

His flat was actually nice, at least it was well furnished, and from what I saw in his wallet that lay on the center table, he had some cash to throw around.

“I know you are a little tensed up?” he spoke up from a door that separated his room from the sitting room. He was sipping from a cup something that seemed like a pure Lipton, and had a banana on his other hand.

“I heard this two were catalyst to a great performance, and can prevent laxity and quick tiredness when on top of something.”

“Kind of” I gave him a funny look in return, and made sure he realized I was shy, or probably think so.

“Your first time?” he asked looking down to something that lay below his trousers.

I nodded my head in acceptance, not thinking for once if there was any negativity in accepting I was new to this kind of profession. It was a decision I didn’t need to rethink, and his asking me started to push my urge some more, and I couldn’t wait to witness his first stroke on something I had kept for just my eyes all these years.

He stood all open to my eyes; I guess he wanted me to see the private part of himself that Tayo said he much boasted about. I never cared less, because I knew I could handle anything of such magnitude that came my way. I had started reading about such since I was ten, I took greater steps when I had to administer what I learnt on anything I could lay my hands on, something I was sure would convince me of my readiness to face a more physical creature, and I was more than assured I wasn’t going to be immature today.

“Show me what you’ve got?” he said.

I got up, went straight to the side where I had left my shoes, and then I dropped every other thing I had brought, ensuring I had nothing on me.

I was bent on making sure he took me more seriously, not once was I going to bluff this chance of rubbing minds with the highly placed.

“How long have you kept this?” as he spoke he dropped the cup he was sipping from on a little table close to a fine black couch.

 “I have tried letting go of it, but fear of the unknown held me back.” I spoke wrapping the towel around my right hand. “I wanted my first time to be one I would cherish for a longtime, not something I would regret and then curse myself.”

I was sure my answer was cool and convincing as he kept shaking his head; he must have concurred with my replies, I knew because he couldn’t stop looking at me and smiling sheepishly.

“Well spoken” he said “so can we begin?”

As I heard the words drop, my heart skipped, and I suddenly started to feel terrified. I feared he might not find me exciting as I wanted, or he may get bored few seconds into the duel, at least Tayo also said that was not to be written off. I was scared of him withdrawing in the middle of it, which would make me look stupid and useless. I started to think of reasons why I ventured this far, why I made sure there was no turning back once I stepped my foot into his house.

“Please can you be easy on me? You know it’s my first time, so you might not get the satisfaction you find in other old timers” I said looking pale.

“You know…when your friend told me about you, she said you were desperate, why?”

“I don’t want to bore you with my life story, but the main thing is that I come from a poor family, so I want to be able to train my younger ones, so they would have better opportunities than I had, and then make enough cash to take my family out of the poverty line.”

“I don’t think this profession is an escape route from poverty” he said avoiding my face.

“Why do you think so?” I was beginning to get scared.

“You might not get the exact kind of lifestyle you wish for. Or even if it comes, it might take a while, especially as you are new into it”

He spoke and spoke, delaying the whole process, and killing the urge I had taken the time to prepare. It wasn’t like Tayo didn’t tell me all this, I just thought that everyone’s destiny wasn’t the same. I had stopped listening to whatever he was saying, and was beginning to look around the room for a good place we could stay and begin the business that brought me here. I looked at the couch, weighed it and decided it was going to be great for beginners like myself. After all Tayo said her first time was done exactly on the same surface, and although she didn’t tell me how the whole process went, I had a feeling that it was a smooth ride.

He was done talking, and since he was sure his convictions weren’t going to change my mind, he sat down on the same couch I had also been checking out, gestured me to come sit close to him, and then without much thought, we went down into action.

He didn’t stop praising me every time he caught his breathe, he kept exaggerating and saying I was blowing his mind away, and that he actually didn’t believe it was my first time. I was flattered, but I never showed it, Tayo said it was wrong to feel on top of your game at the beginning stage, and so I kept a mute side, and let him do the talking and show all the excitement.

And a little above an hour, after some stroking and exchange of passions, we were done, with a loud yell of satisfaction from him. I was actually glad I lasted this long with him, and it made me smile. I knew I had arrived, and I was going to be a star in this game. He kept staring at me, and shaking his head, and smiling, all at the same time. And for the first time I was flattered so that I turned my back so he didn’t see me blush.

“Thank you so much” his words rose behind me.

I shook my head as I bent down to pick my stuff. I was done with him, at least the preparations were worth it.

As I turned to leave his house, he grabbed my arm and said, “I can’t wait to see it published, your story was so captivating, and I am privileged to have edited it”

I said a trailer loads of thank you as I carefully slipped my wrist away from his firm masculine hold; I didn’t want to risk him taking pleasure in me. Or worse, asking me to stay some more. Men could be deceptive, Tayo had said, so I had to kill any chance of complacency as my career is just about kicking off.

Have a lovely weekend. Please follwo me on twitter: @vivio_gogo and  IG: @UgochiUkah

JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE HOT

Hello Hi,

Happy Sunday! Today, I have a poem for you which I wrote sometime ago. I hope you enjoy it. Please like the Google icon and leave your comments below. Also tell a friend to tell another please :).  By the way,my last article published on BellaNaija can be found here. Have a lovely day.

                                                                         Pic source: http://www.funnyordie.com/

JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE HOT

Just because you’re hot

You wear a pair of shorts

Your long legs are on point

But you give them no thoughts

Just because you’re hot

Sweat pours down your chest

Some people watch with interest

As you run quite a distance

Just because it’s hot

Your skin begins to burn

So you try hard to avoid the sun

But then your nose begins to run

Just because you were too hot

Later that night you feel a rush

Your body looks really flushed

And you shiver and shiver a lot

Just because you’re Hot

You introduce yourself to the nurse

She looks at your name with a bewildered pause

And wonders why your mum actually named you “Hot”

Have a great week. 

For more updates, twitter: @vivio_gogo , IG: @UgochiUkah

THE SEARCH BY ETOH

Hello Hi,

I hope your week is settling in great! You can check out my article published on BellaNaija here. I'm back this week with a nicely written article by Etoh. Please check it out below and kindly share and leave your comments :)

THE SEARCH

Picture source: www.ccdumaguete.com

I had just finished running more than a kilometer under the rain in search of a shelter from the growing and windy august rain, a kind I was sure would grant me sure access into the fever line. And because I couldn’t get any keke napep to quicken my journey to my interview location, I was soaked beyond wetness that I felt my underpants were becoming heavy like I wore a shield. The files that contained my curriculum vitae were so soaked that I had considered throwing them away at one point; my life was in jeopardy more so because I had an interview in an hour time, an appointment that I was sure would end my four years search for a job. It was devastating.

I reached a T Junction and still there was no corner shop or even a spoilt keke napep to take refuge while I prayed for the rain to stop. I was so pained that I started to cry, and still didn’t stop running; it was funny though, but I needed to remind myself I was still human.

“Sisssssssss…” a voice called.

The rainfall was so much and accompanied with a very noisy wind such that I could barely see. I stopped and turned to see who had ‘sissssed’ at me, hoping greatly that the caller had a place I could hide from the rain.

“Come and stay here oo” the voice called out again some miles from me.

Placing my hands firmly on my eye brows ensuring I stopped the rains from obstructing my view, I was able to sight some human figures under a covered zinc structure. Without thinking twice, I made a fast one to the location, running and smashing into gutters and ditches like it was a fun thing to do.

“Thank you so much” I said immediately I entered the shop that barely had space.

I actually didn’t care if the space was going to house me; all I did was to turn to anyone I saw and said thanks as I bowed my head alongside. The space was so small, and it looked like a shop where cigarettes and kai-kai (gin) were sold. A bench that was occupied mainly with women numbering about seven was placed at the center of the shop, because everyone was avoiding the edges of the shop due to the leaking zinc. There were about five other people standing tightly behind them, and most of them were men.

“Were you going to keep running under the rain if we didn’t call you?” one of those sitting asked.

“Omo yes oo...it’s not like I have a mansion around here” I joked as I tried packaging my wet self after noticing the pretty lady that asked me the question.

She had asked and then kept quiet so fast, she didn’t even care about the reply I had specially arranged for her amusement. She had caught my attention like a nice Nike shoes would. She had turned my head upside down so fast that I actually stared at her without minding the consequences. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, and for some reasons she was smiling as she looked at her phone, and this made her look even prettier. And I just wasn’t going to ignore that, not even now that I needed a woman in my life.

“Hey!” I called out facing her direction and then gesturing with my head.

She didn’t even care to look up; guess the fun that emanated from her telephone device encapsulated her so much that she didn’t even look up like everyone else did. Too bad I wasn’t referring to anyone else, but her.

“Hey lady” I matched my call with two steps of boldness and strength, enough to aid Spartan warriors win the Peloponnesian war.

But still she was unshaken by the weight of my approach, as she continued to tap the screen of her phone with so much happiness. I even dared to wave my hands in-between her face and the phone, just to get her attention. But still she ignored me. And it was frustrating because I was beginning to draw the attention of other occupants of the shelter.

Then bending down enough to get even with her face, I said the softest hello known to man. I knew what I wanted, and I knew definitely that beholding such beauty was going to be a great, and powerful catch. I wasn’t going to let go without putting up a strong fight, and that was exactly what I was about to start.

“Please would you stop this and get up, you’re embarrassing me” she pleaded without looking at me.

I smiled at her plea, I had learnt in secondary school that girls get a little shy when they fall for a man’s advances. At least I knew she noticed me, the next thing was to ensure I held up a conversation with her. I was poised to get her to look at me and then we could hook up well, “at least I’m a fine boy” I thought. I had forgotten about my wet clothes and the people who must have noticed my behaviors, and whether they approved of it did not bother me. I was out to hit my target; such opportunities come once in twenty years; I guessed that was probably the reason why some men get married late after missing such good targets.

“So please what’s the name?” I asked smiling funnily.

She was quiet for another ten seconds, but unlike her other silence spree, she had stopped flirting with her phone, and had put it inside her bag.

“So I guessed I looked for your trouble by speaking up to you right” she asked as she ensured her phone was placed comfortably in her bag.

I had no clue what to reply her, and I even wasn’t sure she needed me to answer. So I just smiled and waited for her to say something worth talking back.

And after another silent moment between us, I spoke up still smiling. “So please your name?”

“Lucky, I told you that inside the bus we took from Kubwa” she spoke smiling mockingly.

I was confused and taken aback at her response. “What in any name is she talking about?” I thought in awe. I had every reason to be sure she was making a call, or talking to someone other than myself. And I felt embarrassed because I thought we were supposed to be having a conversation, and here she was insinuating something out of the box. I was still lost in the radicalism of her response when she spoke up again, and this time looking straight into my face.

“Lucky, you asked me out in the bus this afternoon, abi you no dey remember person face?”

As she looked at me, I suddenly remembered her face. Truthfully she was the same lady I had held up a discussion with earlier this afternoon in the bus. And yes I had asked her out saying that I liked the smell of her perfume. I felt embarrassed as everyone now turned to our direction, and I guess the fear of the unknown was the only thing that stopped them from laughing at me. It was like I was desperate for a girlfriend, or as most of them would think ‘I am a pervert’, the one that goes around asking girls out for pleasure.

“You better put your house together and stop this attitude of harassing girls, make you no go ask ogbanje out oo” she spoke and ran into the rain.

I stood there wishing I could just vanish into the atmosphere. It wasn’t like I was desperate for a wife, but calls from home and from mama had made me a chaser of everything in skirt. I was now in the lookout for every lady that looked single, and would jump into any opportunity to talk to one and to ask her out. I was still lost in confusion when another female figure dashed into the shelter shivering and complaining of her wet hair. I looked at her with so much sweetness and a salivating urge to approach her.

“Ahhh… Lucky you’re here sef, I haven’t heard from you since I gave you my number, how you dey?” she spoke to my amazement.

“Who is she sef?” I asked myself, more confused than I was minutes ago.

The End

Have a beautiful week x. For more updates, twitter: @vivio_gogo , IG: @UgochiUkah

AUGUST RUSH

Hello Hi,

Happy new month! I apologize for taking a long "break" (although it was nothing like the break you imagine) but I'm back :). Thank you for waiting patiently and so to mark a new beginning, I am sharing a story. I hope you enjoy it and as usual, please share, like the google icon and leave your comments below.

AUGUST RUSH

It was the end of June; secondary school education had finally come to an end and the girls were enjoying their farewell party thrown by the school principal. Bernice and her friends sat around a corner saying their goodbyes and reviewing their future plans. It was Anita that started the conversation;

“Grace, you will be a July rush and you, Bernice (she looked at Bernice with a little smirk), will be an August rush; so get ready. As for me, I’m already a June rush!”

“What do you mean?” Bernice asked.

“I mean that boys will start coming for you by August…when you start university.” Anita replied. “But you have to start wearing better clothes and makeup so that they can notice you.”

It was then that it occurred to Bernice that she had not thought about dating anyone. They were in an “only girls’ school” and she had never had a boyfriend before. Anita, on the other hand, was always two steps ahead of the game and probably even had a boyfriend right then. Bernice hoped that she was not the only naïve one left in the group; however, she decided at that moment that she will take Anita’s word for it and become an August rush.

The first semester of University started officially in September but ‘Freshers’ had been asked to resume in mid-August for orientation purposes. Bernice was starting her degree in Engineering unlike most of her friends who were in the medical field and so she went to a different university, one that was more suited to her course. She did not know anybody there before arriving but she was easy-natured and was quick to make new friend. One of her new friends, Susan had arrived with her elder sister, Stacy. Stacy was already a student in her second year in the same school but she came earlier to help Susan settle in. Before she left, Stacy gave Bernice and Susan unsolicited advice - to be aware of the university guys, because many of them just wanted to play around with girls. She also said that the older students who were already back to school in August were either the “very serious students” who were doing some work or the “very unserious students” who came back early to get ‘Freshers’ as girlfriends because they knew that most of the girls were vulnerable at that stage. So when Stacy left for home, to return when school officially resumed for the older students, Bernice noted in her mind that Stacy was neither too serious nor too unserious as a student.

The weekend had barely arrived when Bernice heard a knock on her door, early on Friday morning. She opened it and to her surprise, it was a cute boy that she knew back from home. His parents and hers were colleagues but he did not seem to know or recognise her.

“Hi, my name is David and I can tell that you’re a fresher because I’ve never seen this face on campus before” he said.

“Hi, my name is Bernice and yes, I am a new student.” Bernice replied.

“Well, well, we like to welcome new students so I’m inviting you for a welcome party tomorrow”, he handed out a leaflet.

Bernice looked at it, it read ‘only new females on campus are invited’.

“Erm…why are you inviting only girls to this party, if I may ask?”

“Because we already have enough guys.” He answered calmly.

“Enough guys? That are not invited?” She asked.

“Yes, because the guys who are organizing the party including me, are automatically invited.”

“Oh I see. So is it just guys organizing this party?” she continued.

He paused for a moment and looked right into her eyes before replying “Why are you asking so many questions? Do you work with the FBI?”

Bernice was taken aback, “No, I was just curious” she murmured.

“If you’re that curious, then you should come tomorrow. I hope to see you then.” He said with a smile and walked away.

Bernice knew that she was not going to attend the party as she had already made her judgement on which of Stacy’s student’s classification that David fell into. Besides, he gave her a very uncomfortable feeling – the way he stared directly at her and spoke so calmly, with an air of arrogance. She wondered why her parents had not bothered to introduce her to him. They must have known that he was in the same university but they probably had good reasons not to.

The next day, while Bernice stayed in her room, Susan went for the party along with many others. Apparently, her sister’s advice did not have much of an effect on her. Bernice had already fallen asleep when a knock woke her. She thought Susan had returned for the party and was surprised to find David standing at the door.

“Why are you not at the party?” he asked.

“Because I fell asleep” Bernice replied suspiciously. Many people had gone for the party, so how did he notice that she had not come? He must have some ulterior motives, she thought to herself.

“Why don’t you get dressed? I will wait for you”

“Sorry I can’t come. It’s 1 am and way past my bedtime so I need to sleep please”

“Are you asking me to leave your room?” he asked in a very cool manner but Bernice was too tired to have sensed the change in his tone.

“That will be very much appreciated, thank you”. She replied.

And then he exploded. He began to yell at her, how dare she ask him to leave? He said he would have slapped her but he would pardon her for tonight because she was a new student. She was to note that this as her first and last warning because if she ever tried it again….Bernice stood there in shock. She knew better than to reply especially as no one else was nearby. When he finished yelling, he left. She could not go back to sleep and decided to wait for Susan to come back.

A few minutes later, there was another knock at the door and Bernice ran to open it but it was not Susan, it was David again! She was scared but before she could beg him to leave, he started apologizing. He said he was drunk fifteen minutes ago but now he was sober and came back to say that he was sorry. All she could do was nod her head until he left.

The next day on her way to the orientation hall, she saw him from afar. She immediately changed her direction and decided to take a longer route because she had made up her mind last night to avoid him at all cost and if possible, to avoid being an August rush until the next year when she was deemed less vulnerable.

                                                                

                                                                    The End

Have a blessed month with many great things ahead :)

Home to Stay

Hello Hi,

Happy Sunday, I hope you are having a beautiful time. Last week, I published an article on Bella Naija about Divorce after cheating. If you missed it, you can find it here. Today, I have a piece from my lovely friend Sandra but first, something strange happened to me today:-

I was returning home from church and as usual barely paying attention to my environment as I listened to some soft music on my phone. As I approached my door, I had a weird feeling that I was being watched and so I look around. My eyes glanced at a shed where I kept my bicycle (which I'm still learning how to ride by the way) and then, I saw a pair of eyes. All these annoying cats, I thought to myself as I brought out my door keys. Then something struck my mind and I looked again; no it was not a cat, it looked like a fox. I froze for a second and then I began to run. I ran to the other end of the house and climbed the staircase to call my male housemate, John. I knocked on his door and pressed the bell for a few minutes but he did not answer. The next thing, crows were cooing and flying around like they were in fear (there are many crows and creatures in the city where I live). So I bent down a bit to avoid being hit or touched by any of them and suddenly, I saw the 'fox' coming towards me. I jumped from the stairs, ran to the back of the house into my room and locked myself inside. I was freaked out! I decided to call John's phone and he picked up saying that he was out of town. I told him about the creature and he asked me if it was really a fox or a raccoon. Truth is whether fox, raccoon, wolf; they are all the same to me. Anyway, it seemed like it was a raccoon and he told me not to worry- he said as long as they were not with their babies, they were usually not aggressive; all I needed to do was make some noise to shush it away. Needless to say, I was too scared to leave my house even though I had planned to go to the office to do some work. I finally called my mum and recounted my ordeal. After laughing at me, she said some prayers with me and told me to wear flat shoes for running. I made myself some quick meal (just in case I needed the energy), put on my running shoes, and looked out for the sign of the creature before sneaking out of my place. I walked as fast as I could until I got to the main road before I resumed playing some music but this time around I was much more aware of my surroundings. I just thought to share my ‘not-funny’ Sunday experience; now please enjoy Sandra’s story and as usual please share and leave your comments below J:

Photo credit: http://www.assentpublishing.com/breathlessbooks.aspx

Home to Stay by Sandra J.L

The call to fasten their seatbelts had been made and as the tiny aeroplane shook with a sudden drop in altitude, her heart skipped a beat. For a minute, panic seized her and she tightened her grip on the arm of her seat. This is it! She thought as the ATR 72 continued its descent towards the runway. What have I done? In a blindingly surreal moment she wondered again “What have I done?! Will it work? Will I make him happy? Will I be happy here?” Disjointed images like those from a mosaic scrutinized too close flashed through her mind’s eye; shapes, sounds and events that she could not quite make out lingered tantalizingly just out of  her focus and she struggled to concentrate, to stretch her mind, to slow them down and examine them, but in vain. 

Suddenly the plane jolted, bounced and stabilized on the tarmacked runway and as spontaneous applause broke out for the pilot and his crew, his cold hand came down to cover her own. “Babe! Babe, are you okay?!” He asked, his voice rough with concern. She angled her head in his general direction and tried to smile and nodded vigorously as sudden tears threatened to choke her. He lifted his other hand to her chin and gently turned her head all the way towards him.  “I know that it is going to be hard” he said, “but I will be right beside you, all the way. We can do this babe! I love you!” He added.

Slowly she lifted her drenched eyes to his dark brown ones and as always her fears and doubts dropped away. “I am sorry.” She whispered.  Her family, friends and beloved parish may be thousands of miles away but this sparsely populated, volcanic land of temperamental climate and severe unemployment was now her home. Their children will be born here. Yes she had gone against every piece of advice from friends, family and colleagues. She had chosen with her heart and if truth be known, she had no real regret. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face there. In that instant, locked in his warmth she silently swore that their love story which had started so romantically seven years previously and which they had consummated only a month before through the sacrament of marriage would bloom, weather every storm and leave a beautiful legacy for their loved ones. She, Mary Magdalene Elisabeth, had come home to stay.

About Sandra:

I do not believe that I have much writing skills; what I have in my own humble opinion is talent - the untapped, mostly unused and naïve type that is innate. Someday when I have time I will do some writing skills courses. I love baking and I am a decent cook. Human relationships fascinate me and I often write about those. The inspiration for this story came to me when I was planning my first trip out of the country after a lapse of 8 years. I came home one Saturday evening from a birthday bash and simply had to put pen to paper. I challenged myself in writing a short, sweet and rich story and ‘Home to stay’ came to be. I hope you will find it an entertaining piece.  

Don't forget to share please. Have a lovely week and for updates, please follow me on twitter @vivio_gogo and IG: @ugochiukah

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME: THE BIRTHDAY CAKE DILEMMA

Hello Hi,

Today is my birthday and I wanted to take a little break but how could I not write on my own birthday? :) Thank you all for the lovely birthday wishes, you have made my day!

My last BellaNaija post can be found here and my youtube video too is here. Today, I have a short but true story written below and I hope you all enjoy:

THE BIRTHDAY CAKE DILEMMA

Like some people, I have a birthday tradition – I must have a cake on my birthday (it doesn’t matter who buys it), with my name inscribed on it and nobody else can eat any piece of the cake that has a letter of my name except me. Thus, some of my friends think that I am weird and I remember the shock on their faces the first time they heard me yell “please don’t cut or eat my name” on any of my birthdays. Eventually they got used to it and it just happens to be one of my idiosyncrasies. If you also think that I am weird, that’s ok; I’ve never strived to be a usual personJ.

A short while ago, I moved to a new country and my birthday was approaching for the first time yet there yet I had not figured out where I was going to get a cake from. So I called a friend who had been around a little longer than I was to make enquiries.

“DQ makes the best cake in the country! You should definitely get one from them” he assured me and so I placed my order two days before my birthday last year. I asked for a large sized cake because I wanted all my newly acquired friends and colleagues to have enough to eat. I also needed something big because I had asked the cake shop to write my name in full – Happy Birthday ‘Ugochi V Ukah’.  The cake was ready for pick-up the next day and I went hurriedly to grab it. I was excited when I saw it because it looked pretty; I do not remember the exact colours of the icing now (probably white and gold or blue and black) but my heart was filled with joy knowing that I had my whole name to eat all by myself. I got on the bus, guarding the cake while standing throughout my journey. A few people offered their bus seats but no, I wanted to be sure that the cake would not roll over from the stand and so I remained standing until I got home. The cake paper wrapping read – Keep Frozen and so I quickly put it in my refrigerator without unwrapping it and went to bed almost immediately, half dreaming about the cake.

The next day was my birthday; as usual I dressed to impress (myself), wore a pair of heels and took a couple of selfies. Usually, I walked to my work place but I could not on that day because I did not want to sweat or carry a cake for the fifteen minutes journey so I decided to take the bus. The bus came ten minutes later than scheduled but that was okay for me as I was able to get a stranger by the bus stop to take a few more pictures of me in the beautiful sunlight. Eventually I got to the work, I realized that the paper bag covering the cake was wet but I assumed that there may have been some liquid in my fridge which had soiled it or maybe something else on the bus. I did not think much about it but needless to say, nothing prepared me for the event that followed soon. Leaving the cake on my desk, I went around to invite my colleagues to come during lunch time for some cake. It was then that one of them requested to have a look at my beautiful cake and so I had to take the wrap out. Lo and behold, my cake was melted!

I stood there surprised “Why is my cake flowing?!” I started to ask, “Er, why is it pouring?!”

“Because it’s an ice cream cake” he replied.

“Ice cream what?” I was confused. “What is that?” I had never heard about it in my life.

“It’s a cake that is like an ice cream. So it can melt” he replied, looking surprised at my reaction.

“Why would anyone want to make a cake like an ice cream or vice versa? And why was I not told about this?” I began to question him as if it were his fault.

“But you bought it from DQ, they only make ice cream cake” and he showed me the paper bag where there were instructions on freezing.

It did not make sense to me because firstly, I just assumed that freezing and refrigerating would have the same effect, that was why I had not frozen it and secondly, I never knew that such cakes or ice-creams existed; not even my friend who recommended the bakery had warned me. Once again, my being new to a place had taught me a new lesson and I was reminded of how much more I still had to learn. I was quite sad and wanted to continue arguing but by this time, the cake was becoming worse so we ran to the kitchen and put it in the freezer with the hope that it will re-freeze by lunch time.

By lunch time, the cake had managed to solidify a bit but there was no sign of my name anywhere on it as the icing colours has melted and formed various shapes. Therefore, I could not separate my name only for myself but I did not care much at this point. I was just curious to find out what it tasted like and I wanted everyone else to enjoy themselves. We had to use cups to drink the cake and true to my friend’s word, it was the best that I had ever had and everyone seemed to have fun. The rest of my day was lovely as well; I went out for dinner with some friends but one thing remained on my mind – I knew I wanted to have the ice cream cake again but in the right form as it was supposed to be.

And so this year, I got another ice cream cake with my name again but only ‘Ugochi V’. I ran straight to keep it in the freezer and sent an email to my colleagues for another lunch desert. It read:

Dear All,

For my birthday. I have brought an ice-cream cake today; yay! This time around, I made sure to read and follow the instructions and I ran straight to the freezer (not fridge) and put it there (see picture as proof). So hopefully, it remains in good shape.

So please come and eat some during lunch time for desert at the kitchen. I have some plates but I also kept some cups just in case we need to drink it again like last year 

I hope to see you all during lunch.

Thanks,

Vivian

 This year, I was prepared – the cake was still intact and so was my name. As we all enjoyed the cake, I did not care much about who ate my name; rather I was just happy for a second chance to get this right, even though it had taken me a whole year! J

                                                     

I would like to use this medium to say how thankful I am to God for keeping me and my family and giving us all that we need, thank you to my family and friends, and thank you for reading. 

Happy birthday to me, Cheers!

Please leave your comments below as usual and follow me on twitter: @vivio_gogo and Instagram: @ugochiukah for more updates.

HAPPY EASTER/ Ah-Di-Ah!

Hello Hi,

Happy Easter to everyone. I always love Easter because after all the 40 days of solemn preparation, I can shout again (and of course eat food :) ). The weather was beautiful today this week and I took this picture of the cherry blossoms in this post, My last Bella Naija published story can be found here if you missed it and some people were asking for my previously made video, you can also find that here. Today, I decided to write a story that I hope many can relate with, so enjoy:

“Ah-di-ah, Ada bekee!” Uche called out to Adaobi; She pretended not to hear him. “Ada-amaka; fine girl! Sweet baby, i di complete (you are complete)!” He was referring to the size of her bust and bottom. She placed her calabash, filled with water that she had just fetched from the stream, on her head and began to walk away from him as quickly as she could. But Uche continued to call out “I must marry you! 17, 18, 19, gbe-ge-dem!” he sang, according to the rhythm of her hips as she walked. She wished that he would stop as he was causing more unwanted attention towards her and the village boys passing by were smiling at her but she knew that he would not so she continued to ignore him and walked faster.

Ada, short for Adaobi, was one of the most desired women in the village; not only because of her looks but also because she was known to be a great dancer, very hardworking and her mother never failed to brag about her cooking skills to her friends. Therefore, Ada had many nicknames from the villagers such as nwa mpete (cute child), Ada asa (beautiful Ada), Ada ocha (clean Ada, because of her fair skin), including Ada ego (Ada of money) which her father called her because he hoped to make good money from her bride price someday. Every girl wanted to be like her and wished they would get half of the attention that Ada received from men. Unlike the arrogance that would have become of many if in her shoes, Ada remained a humble girl and was neither flattered nor welcomed any of the advances that she received. Many men - rich and poor, famous and of royal descent, had come to ask for her hand in marriage from villages nearby and afar but she turned down their proposals. She promised herself that she would marry a man whom she knew would love her completely regardless of beauty or cooking skills as she did not want to end up like her best friend Ezinne who had married a rich man but was never happy.

Just like the other young and even old men in her village, Uche who was a well-known hunter, wanted to marry Ada. The feeling was certainly not mutual; in Ada’s eyes, Uche came across as over-confident, loud and far-off from being a gentleman. That was apart from his regular annoying catcalls and names he gave her whenever they crossed each other’s paths. She had warned him many times to stop calling her names and had once poured water angrily at him but her anger and warnings were in vain. In fact, it seemed like her attitude towards Uche had fueled his desire even more and whenever he saw her, he would shout even louder and declare his love for her. She tried to avoid him as much as she could but he had discovered her schedule and so somehow, whenever she was farming, Uche was also farming on the land next to her family’s even though it did not belong to him; when she went to the stream to fetch water, he was there holding a calabash that she was sure he never used; and when she was at the market selling some of her mother’s vegetables, he came around buying them all such that her mother became fond of him as he was a very good “customer”.  Therefore, when Uche came with his uncle to ask for Ada’s hand in marriage, it was not surprising that her mother gave her support. Ada tried to express her skepticism about Uche to her mother but she would not understand. There was nothing wrong with a man who cooked vegetable soup often, her mother said but Ada knew very well that Uche had never cooked a pot of soup in his life. Her explanations concerning her doubt fell on deaf ears and in the end, she was advised to pray and hope for a sign from God.

It happened that on a fateful day, Ada was walking back home from the farm when two young men tried to molest her on the way. She screamed for help and thankfully, Uche quickly ran to her rescue. He fought them bravely while Ada ran away but as they were two men against him, he was beaten up badly. However, he had saved Ada and she showed her gratitude the next day by visiting him with some of her specially prepared meal. He was badly bruised and she felt a little bit guilty. That was the first time she had ever been to his house and she found him to be quite different from what she had expected. He was calm, kind and made intelligent conversations; maybe those men had beaten some temporary sense into his brain, she thought to herself as she went home and she was sure that he would be back to his usual arrogant ways once he recovered. To her surprise, he did not and even though she still felt like he was stalking her, he only smiled at her and did not call her names anymore. Although she felt relieved, a little part of her missed that ‘bad’ attitude of his.

Some weeks later, she was almost attacked by a snake along the riverside and again, Uche killed it swiftly with his hunting weapons but not before it bit him. He might have died but luckily, Ada had some expertise in expelling snake venom. After that, Ada and Uche became friends and quickly got married as she had gotten all the signs that she had asked for from God. Uche proved to be a wonderful husband to her, a loving father to their 2 beautiful children which she bore eventually and a kind son-in-law to her parents. He called her Ah-di-ah, which she had come to cherish and their love for each other was strong. His hunting was also successful and their marriage became an example of a perfect one for the villagers. They grew old together happily until Uche took ill. His illness progressed and he knew that he was going away soon. As he lay on his death bed while she sat by his side crying, he wondered whether he should tell her the truth now – about how he had arranged for the men to pretend like they were going to molest her although he had not expected them to beat him up that much since they were his friends or how he had set the snake loose the other day although he had not anticipated the bite. Either way, he had genuinely loved her and he did not want her love for him to fade away, not even when he died. So, he decided that some secrets were best taken to the grave and instead of a confession, his last words were “Ah-di-ah, Ada bekee!”

*Ada – first daughter

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Twitter: @vivio_gogo      Instagram: @ugochiukah

It was beautiful when God created man; it was even more beautiful when He re-created us by dying for our sins and rising  ~ Unknown