Copyright @2016 by Gaglo Blessing.
All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, or distributed, without prior written permission of me.
Email: blessinggaglo@yahoo.com


TITLE : THE DEVIL HAS THE MONEY




This is the grass to grace story of Kojo a young Togolese boy who craved to escape the clutches of poverty but he finds out the hard way that money is in the mouth of the devil and only the brave dares to take it.
I welcome your comments and criticism as this is my first attempt at writing.Thanks.

Prologue



Do you know the smell of hunger?


My name is Kojo.This year I turn fifteen. This is not a good year for my family, the rain was late last year so we didn't have a fruitful harvest, this was the year my father decided to take a second wife. He gave a larger portion of the farm produce to his new wife, while my mother, my siblings and I had to live on the meager portion given to us. My father had been in Adofo ( wrapper) ever since he brought in the new wife, she is from Aneho, a riverine area in Togo. Aneho women are known for their beauty and my father' s new wife is not an exception.

Every evening, my father would seat in his apasame ( hammock) listening to radio while gulping down some sweet palmwine. Afine, the new bride is usually in the kitchen this time making his evening meal of akple with Ademe. My Nma had warned my brother Albert, my little sister and I not to take anything from the new bride.

Every morning my mother would wake us early so my brother and i will do some house chores before heading to school, my brother is already in lecee but he won't be there for long, my little sister pamela who is almost eight years now hasn't started school yet. We would eat the left over akple usually cut into small lumps in the soup pot by Nma because the soup won't be enough for the three of us otherwise. After we have eaten, my brother and I will trek to school while little Pam goes to the farm with Nma.

Nma sells Anake which she gets from our farm, even though she sold each bundle cinq franc it wasn't enough to chase the wolves from our door. We are almost out of the meager portion of farm produce given to us by my father, Nma couldn't sell Anake whenever it rains because nobody wants to buy woods that won't catch. She went to my father one evening to ask him for some money so Albert ( my brother) can buy some books but he refused. My father' s way of saying no to any request is with his fist.


When Albert and I came back home from the field where we had gone to play football, we saw Nma lying on a mat in her small hut, the left side of her head was battered. her left eye was purple with blood and she was missing a tooth. Albert got angry, now when Albert gets angry things happen_ bad things! he ran into the hut we share and came out with a shiny cutlass. He ran into our father' s hut but he wasnt in, little Pam said he went to the market with Afine. Albert ran out of the compound wielding the cutlass like a mad man, little Pam started crying. Nma tried to get up but she couldn't.

" Kojo. She said in pain. Go after your brother, stop him! Please... " Nma laid back on the mat groaning in pain.

" Ehen"

I ran out of the compound. My heart was pounding heavily. I didn't know which route Albert had taken, I ran to the end of our street, nosey relatives called out to me saying my brother had gone mad. I stopped long enough to find out the direction my brother had taken. He had gone to Azigame ( the main market).

'' Kojo! Kojo!"

I was almost at the Azigame now, when Afine ran towards me crying. Her hair was scattered, her blouse was torn and she was in her under skirt. Good for you! good for you I thought!

" Efo Albert has gone mad! he came to the market wielding a sharp cutlass! See what he did to me! She choked on tears. He' s back there now beating Tonton( sweetheart)."

I looked at her in disgust..... For some seconds I almost pitied her! this was the girl my brother had fallen for! Only for her to string him along and eventually Marry his father. Nobody knew this, even Efo Albert thought I didn't know but he has the bad habit of talking in his sleep. I ignored her and ran faster, Efo Albert was beating Npa ( Father) almost to a pulp. The crowd was afraid of getting closer to him because of the cutlass.

" Awoooo, Awooo, Albert la wum! O la wum lo ooo" NPA screamed begging for mercy. He was almost naked now. I was scared too. I was scared of this Efo Albert, he's nothing like the gentle and easy going Efo Albert that I know. I saw the chandamaries coming, somebody had gone to call them. I pushed through the crowd and edged closer.


" Efo Albert! Efo Albert" I shouted. " The police men are coming! Let us leave here now!"

Efo Albert instantly let go of our father' s almost lifeless body, he grabbed my hands, holding his cutlass with his left hand and we ran, the crowd parted for us like the red sea. We weaved our way through the narrow corners in the market. We ran towards the catholique mission church. Why are we not heading home? then it occurred to me that the policemen won't think to look for a cutlass wielding young man in the church.

TBC

Cc

Skarlett
Peachyp
Qhutetomsel
Teechudleyy
Amicable09
Iykekelvins
Joseph1832
Laveda
Neyoor
Daxlasaint
Makydebbie
SFTW
Nitefury
Sleekyshuga
Cetona
Sexfabregas
Joecutie
Estarfabian
Lanicky
Msnelly
Zaynie
Kaffy4bills

Nice story u've got but i think you should endeavour to give us the English name of any local word used, in bracket though so we don't get lost. And what is the title of the story in English?? No be all of us sabi French o Nice story btw

Following

It seems good, following

johnwizey:
Nice story u've got but i think you should endeavour to give us the English name of any local word used, in bracket though so we don't get lost. And what is the title of the story in English?? No be all of us sabi French o Nice story btw

Thanks boss! Will do so! The title is the devil has d money

PeachyP:
It seems good, following

OK babe. Pls do!

Title : THE DEVIL HAS THE MONEY.


* Continued*


Episode 1


Albert sat down on the grass while the cutlass lay at his feet, he had a look on his face i couldn't tell_ anger? regret?, he started pulling out the little green weeds infront of him while I sat beside him uncertain if I should talk or not. What will happen now? What will Npa( Father) do to my brother? I thought.

" Ole wo egbe! voju a medi! O le wo e gbe voju me di!" ( You have been caught! Your charm has failed!) The sudden chant pierced the atmosphere. We know that song too well, a thief has been caught. Usually Albert and I would try to guess who the thief was before rushing out to see the culprit.

Togo is a peaceful country, almost free of crime except for the occasional petty cassava or goat thieves. We don't have much industries in my country and the only one in my area is Wacem the cement factory where you get paid one thousand and six hundred cefa for a day' s job. There are some Indian companies too but they treat us so badly and any little mistake results in them shouting " Go Home!" Which means you are fired. The same president has been ruling us long before Albert was born and he's 23 years old now.

Nobody dares to lift a finger against the government of the day, just thinking of it alone could lead to death. I don't blame those who result to petty stealing but that doesn't mean I won't mock them when they get caught.

" Efo (bro) Albert, they have caught a thief " I just couldn't resist saying so.

" Go see if you want to, am not interested "

I hesitated.

" O le wo egbe voju a me di!" The angry voices got nearer and before I could stop my legs, they were already flying out of the church premises. I was shocked when I saw who was being led with a basket filled with cassava on his head to the king' s place.

Mensah! My cousin!

He has been so good to us, bringing us a basket of cassava now and then, occasionally some fresh goat meat. The angry crowd dragging him got to where i stood outside the church. Our eyes met briefly but i looked away, what could i do? He was unclad, his eyes were bloodshot from the beatings he had gotten and on his head was a basket filled with cassava that I would have dined on that night if he hadn't being caught.

I went back into the church compound. Albert was still sitting down in a trance like state where I had left him. When something goes missing, the owner can either decide to swear for the thief with hebieso (gods of thunder) and on the seventh day the thief will slump and die or he either sets a trap to catch the thief and take him to the king' s palace where he will be fined.

I shuddered as I remembered a terrible incident that occurred in a neighboring village. A man had stolen a goat and used it for his dad' s burial, the owner of the goat was so grieved that he called on hebieso ( god of thunder)

The owner cast a spell saying " whoever stole my goat,whoever saw him, whoever cooked the meat and whoever tasted it will die" after pouring some gin on the head of the god.
Hebieso ever so blood thirsty did as he was bided, everyone who attended the burial died on the seventh day. Even my maternal grandma who had only put a finger in the soup a neighbor brought home to taste died. The whole village went wild on that seventh day, there were corpses in every households especially those who love burial food. Some delegates were sent to kuvi to consult the powerful Vojusi( priestess).

The delegates came back shaking their head in fear " It was Hebieso' s handwork! the goat used for the burial was a stolen goat"

I vowed not to attend any burial again for fear of dying meanwhile my family and i have been feeding on stolen foods ever since my father got a new wife. What an irony!


"Kojo! " Albert shouted. Jolting me to the present. " Who was the thief?"

" I didn't see his face Efo.....the crowd was too much" I looked down at my dirty feet.

I didn't want Albert to know his best friend, our cousin, who had been our shield all this time was being led unclad to the king' s palace for stealing cassavas. Efo Albert will find out soon am sure but I spared him the pain for now.


********************



We headed home at night in silent, we walked through the bushes leading to our house_ I have never thought of it as a home. It has always been a house to me. If you can call a little mud structure with a tiny window to let in air and dried Ebe ( hay) for roof as a house.

In my father' s compound there are three mud houses, the biggest one belonged to my father. Few weeks before he brought home the new wife, he bought some bags of cement and plastered it. We all wondered what was going on, that my stingy father could count cefas to buy the ever so expensive bags of cement was beyond us.

I looked at my brother trying to mentally read his thoughts,fear oozed from his body but he was trying to act like he wasnt scared. Albert never talked to me about girls, he loves his books, they were all he ever talks about. If not for his encouragement i would have long since dropped out of school..... thanks to him now am in primary five.

Its not easy schooling in Togo because of the educational system, six years in primary school, three years in secondary school, mandatory four years in Lecee (Poly) and four years in the university. Our parents don't care if we fail or pass especially my father. We also started school late because my father refused to pay for us that is why at 23 Efo ( bro) Albert is still in lecee ( poly). But he is smart.

We go to class twice a day. Morning classes begin 8 am to 12 pm. We go home to freshen up, while noon classes begin from 2.30 to 5 pm. After a noon class i waited for my brother in front of my school gate so we would go home together but to my surprise he didnt show up. After that day i started noticing Efo Albert combing his hair real good, he always had a comb with him, he washes his khakis everyday unlike before.

Nma ( Mother) said they were signs of a boy in love. She cautioned him not to get any girl pregnant, i tried all i could to pry some information out of him but he always smile n said " You are too young for this, face your book."



But while he's sleeping at night you can get him to tell you anything. One hot night, i had trouble sleeping so i decided to play one of my favorite games. I leaned close to him on the bamboo bed and whispered " I love you Albert" . He continued sleeping soundly.

" I love you! " I said louder but not loud enough to wake him.


I waited, my heart leaping with excitement.......he kept on snoring and i was getting sleepy but i forced back the sleep.

" I love you Afine " Efo Albert whispered.

I smiled and drifted of to sleep.

Sleekyshuga:
You got me stuck


Following..

Thanks babe! Updated!

PeachyP:
It seems good, following

Thanks babe!

iykekelvins:
Thanks for the mention there, imma be back to read

Ok babe! Thnks

Interesting piece,ride on

bibijay123:




Ok babe! Thnks

You welcome hon

Following, nice one.

interesting piece swit..... you should know I'm always at your back.

Really educative, nice one bibi!

The one and only Bibi!

At your back, bae...

Correct!! U rock bibi

Good morning ladies and gentlemen! Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment and remember criticism is welcomed.


* Continued *



" What will happen now?" I asked.

We were almost home now walking through the dark bush paths that leads to our house. The night creatures were out by this time, their screeching sounds filled the air. Albert suddenly stopped walking and stood as if he was Pondering over the question I just asked him.

" Let's go to Mensah' s place. We would spend the night there" he resumed walking again and I hurried along like a puppy.

" I don't think we should go to his place, Nma ( Mother) will be worried and my exams starts tomorrow so I have to revise tonight". I said hoping he would believed me but he laughed and looked at me.


" What's this Kojo? trying to ditch your own brother? You know you can go home if you want to"

" No am not trying to ditch you, I just thought Nma will be worried"

" Yes she would, but she won't have to worry about burying her husband if we spend the night at Mensah' s place" he said

My stomach growled then and we both laughed. Albert has this kind of laughter that makes you want to laugh and I laughed harder. For a moment I forgot that I had, had only one meal today, I forgot about my poor mother laying in pain at home, I forgot that the police was looking for my brother. As for my father only God knows what had become of him, I put cousin Mensah out of my mind too because we would soon find out if he was sent to jail or fined by the king.

We continued joking and laughing until we got to Mensah' s compound. We opened the rusty zinc gate and entered. The entire compound was lit up by the electric bulb in front of Mami ' s room.

Mensah' s father unlike mine had used cement blocks to build the four separate rooms in the compound, although the rooms were not painted it was stilll like a palace compared to mine. Mami, a little fair lady who was Mensah' s mother sat on a stool in the compound.


" Bonsoir Mami " we both chorused.


" Akwabaa ( welcome) what are you doing here so late? Oh! You came to see your cousin, he's writhing in pain in his room. I can't say he doesn't deserve it, if only he had taken my advice to learn a trade he won't be in the condition he is now " she said hurriedly.

Mami is always in a hurrry, the speed at which she talks and does things makes you wonder if she's a spirit. Although she has been in Togo for years she occasionally slips in her Ghanian language when speaking Ewe ( Togolese Language)


" What happened to him? Is he sick?" Albert asked. He hurried away not waiting for answer.

My eyes romed the compound, searching, while my heartbeat suddenly changed tune. I couldn't see her, where is she? I wonder.

" I see you are looking for your wife, Ama is in her room" Mami said with a knowing twinkle in her eyes.


I blushed and looked at my feet. This Mami, she has eagle eyes because they never miss a thing. Ama is 14 years old but she is tall for her age, she has big bosoms too, she is light skinned like her mother. She has a little gap between her upper front tooth and when she smiles it's like I have died and gone to heaven.

But she's too proud and rude, nobody in my village can rival her bad mouth, I hope to tame her and marry her someday. When I become rich, I can have anything I want including the beautiful sassy Ama, money makes the world go round, even kings and presidents would pay homage to me! My only dream in life is to have money, lots of it.


Its a good thing cousins marry in my country else I would have been forced to abduct her when the time comes, now is not the time, right now am only fifteen years old and am hungry.


" Ehen Mami what did you say?"

I was so deep in thought I didn't hear what she said until she tugged on my hand.

" I said go meet your brothers inside, I will send a bowl of Konkonte ( Amala) and soup to you " Mami stood up .

I went into Mensah' s room, he laid on his matresss, his face was swollen, his eyes were shut, his head was shaved with something.....obviously a broken bottle. He looked like something i saw in a horror movie I once watched at a friend' s house. Albert sat beside him on the bed, he looked up when I entered. His eyes were filled with anger, he wanted to know why i didn't tell him the thief being beaten was our cousin, I knew he would have tried to help cousin Mensah there and then and risk endangering his own life. I know i am a selfish boy.

" Bonsoir Efo (bro) Mensah, what happened to you?" I asked to throw my brother off, so he won't know that I already knew what happened to him.


" let him be Kojo, and you will keep your mouth shut too! " Albert growled at me.

I was glad to keep my mouth shut. Ama came in just then with a bowl of Konkonte ( Amala) and light soup, I could see big chunks of meat in the soup. My mouth watered. Is this another stolen food? am i not hastening my own death by eating something that was stolen?


Ama didn't even greet us, she put the bowl infront of us and left. My stomach refused to cooperate with me, despite my misgiving I dived into the food with my bro.

***************************************************

" You must be brave! We are not only doing this for ourselves but for our country too! Even after I am gone you must not give up the good fight!"

I closed my eyes and drew my wrapper over my head. My eyes were closed but my ears were at attention. What is the midnight whispering about? Efo Albert and Mensah are upto something.


Efo Mensah continued " See what happened to my Bella....my beautiful Bella, I sent her to the uni in Lome. I did every job I could to keep her in school but the bastard went there under the pretext of helping the students, he only went there to pick girls. He saw my Bella...he wanted her! tell me Albert which man would see my Bella and not want her? " he started crying like a baby.

I closed my eyes real tight. I never heard or seen a grown man cry before.

" Charley be calm....you have to be calm " Albert tried to soothe him.


" The pig! The uncircumcised pig wanted my Bella! Bella... Bella is a good girl! She said no! but she paid dearly for it. He sent his armies to her town, they destroyed their farmland, torched her family house to the ground, nobody survived! He had Bella ' s head cut off, her body was left by the roadside for birds of the sky to feast on! "


I wanted to puke. Who is this mad man?


" We are being treated like slaves in our own father' s land! our people are suffering, our women are no longer safe! Our girls are being carted off to be sex slaves! the masses are voiceless! No jobs for the youths! We must put a stop to this injustice! " Albert said passionately.

I never knew this Albert, I thought I knew my brother so well but twice today have been proved wrong. I wonder what was going on, maybe I will play my little game again when we go back home so i could get some information. Who is this mad man they want to fight?


" You must promise me bro! That you and the others won't give up! No matter what happens! " Mensah said between clenched teeth.



Others? There were others too? I snored loudly like a train, I wanted them to think I was sound asleep and dead to the world.


" We won't give up! Not ever! but you have to stop hitting the farms of people from his tribe, they are as much of a victim as we are. " my ever so sensible brother said and I silently agreed with him.


" No! Albert! they are all the same! I won't stop! As soon as I leave this bed I will burn down their farms.....let them feel the pains Bella and her family went through! Won't stop!" Mensah was agitated now.


Albert calmed him down, he started reciting a melodious strange hymn and Mensah joined him. Their voices filled the air and slowly the hymn lulled me to sleep but it wasn't a peaceful one






TBC




Enjoy your day!

johnwizey:
Correct!! U rock bibi

Thanks oga mi! How today?

JoeCutie:
The one and only Bibi!

At your back, bae...

Lool my padi! Thanks

JoeCutie:
The one and only Bibi!

At your back, bae...

Lool my paid! Thanks

skarlett:
Really educative, nice one bibi!

Thanks a lot babe

Neyoor:
interesting piece swit..... you should know I'm always at your back.

Thanks boo!

Missmossy:
Interesting piece,ride on

Thanks babe, I appreciate

* Continues*



" There's nobody here! I tell you nobody!" Mami shouted.


I opened my eyes and shut them again. The morning sun light beamed into the room through the cracks in the wooden window. I sat up and looked around the room, Efo ( Bro) Mensah still laid on the bed, I couldn't tell if he was awake or sleeping as his eyes were shut by the beatings he had gotten the previous day. His face looked worse this morning, whitish pus was oozing out of the left part of his temple. Where is Efo Albert?
The door was kicked open by two mean looking policemen, their eyes scanned the room and landed on me. I got up swiftly, clutching my wrapper to my chest, Mami walked in angrily.




" I told you Northern goats that he is not here! but you wouldn't listen! "



" Madam mind the way you talk to us or else...." The shorter of the two walked closer to Mami.



" Or else what? you will killl me? You will rape and kill me in my own house? take a good look at me! I'm a Ghanian! we don't take sh*t from anyone!"



Mami moved closer to him as if daring him to lay a finger on her.I stood shivering where i stood, I know how vicious the Northern policemen were, they don't hesitate to kill. Once they were given orders, they give it their all with only one goal in mind_ to succeed.


" Go away from here! You pigs!" Efo Mensah muttered " Leave at once"


" Madam be careful.....be very careful " They turned and walked out of the room.

" Young man why are you standing there like yesu ( Jesus)' s statue Mami said, Looking at me as if she doesn't know what i was doing there in the first place. " Hurry up and go home, you don't want to be late for school now, do you?"



She walked out not waiting for an answer. I wondered where my brother was, I folded the mat I had slept on and folded the wrapper neatly beside it.

" Efo ( Bro) Mensah,i am sorry about yesterday " I said not looking at him. I was disgusted with myself, at least I could have gone to get help for him.


" Don't worry about it there's nothing you could have done to help me. I knew what i was in for when i made the decision to hit the farms of Northerners. He groaned in pain " Its not just about stealing from them but its about causing them grieve"


" Why do you want to cause them grieve bro?"


Maybe he would tell me about Bella, perharps about the mad man who did those terrible things to her family too. I sat down beside him on the bed gently so as not to cause him any discomfort.


" You are too young for this Kojo, hurry home now, you don't want to be late for school"


I sighed and got up. I was fifteen years old, i was tall almost as tall as my big brother. I was dark skinned and lanky, all the girls in my class had a crush on me but i had eyes only for Ama. At school i was a big boy but at home i was considered a baby. Most boys my age had already dropped out of school and they were making cool money as barrow pushers in the market, some were even riding their own commercial bikes while i was still being forced to go school and treated like a baby. I bade Mensah goodbye and went out of the room, Mami wasn't in the compound and i was sure Ama had gone to school so i walked home. On the way, i picked some stones and threw them at lizards or any creature in sight. That is also another game i like to play. I don't have any close friends so chasing after lizards, going rabbit hunting with my brother, making my brother talk in his sleep and climbing trees are the things i like to do. I also love dancing especially during festivals, i dance because girls loves boys who dance. I practice when am alone, hopefully one day i will be as good as Micheal Jackson.



I got to my street and stopped short in shock at what i saw ahead, i ran faster and stopped in front of my house. Somebody, obviously my father had dumped all of Efo Albert' s belonging outside. I shooed away the mother hen and her chicks that comfortably settled on the pile of clothes. I gathered his books that were strewn everywhere and put them on the pile of clothes.


" Efo Kojo" A little voice whispered.


" Little Pam who dumped this things here"?


" Npa and Navi ( Auntie) " She blew her nose noisily on the sleeve of her faded gown.


" What did Nma say? how is she?"


" Nma ( Mother) cried and cried" her voice filled with tears.


" Go and bring me a big bag from my room, don't let Npa ( Father) see you "


" Your things are in Nma' s room, Npa has put a lock on your door. " She wiped at the tears sneaking out of her eyes.


I sighed. " Why are you crying?"


" I am hungry, i have not eaten since yesterday"

I dropped the books i was picking on the pile of clothes.


" Come i will find something for you to eat"

***************************************************





Albert came to pack his belongings, he moved to Mensah' s place. Nma called on some elders to plead on his behalf but father was adamant. He chased the elders away, he said he has renounced the whole lot of us. We are free to go and come as we like but we are not to touch anything of his and he is no longer responsible for us. After Nma' s unceasing pleading he finally agreed to call off the policemen on Albert' s heels. We were forced to eat from hand to mouth, some days Nma would divide the little food she was able to get between Pam and i .



The money gotten from the anake ( wood) she sold wasn't enough, is money ever enough? I stopped going to school to help Nma in the farm and to help her carry woods. Albert brings logs of wood too but he drops them outside. Ever since he left, he hasn't stepped a foot back into our father' s compound. Nma goes to see him sometimes and she always returns teary eyes.


" Something is going on with your brother, I get this Ill feelings whenever I see him" Nma said one evening. I have pleaded with him to come back home but he has refused to "


Things got so bad for us that all we feed on was fresh grounded pepper with only salt in it,no Maggi, and akple( tuwo). I wasn't surprised when my name was not called at the school assembly, only those who passed their exams were called to go to the next class. If you don't hear your name then you know you have failed. Am too big for school anyway.



The delicious meals being prepared by Afine wafts to the room i now share with my mother and Pam every evening. My stomach always growls, my mouth waters too but i always refuse when she calls me to come have some. She's the enemy. She brought all these upon us, there is no way am eating with my enemy. Sometimes i sneak over to Mensah' s place to see my brother, I don't know if he has been going to school, how he is coping but Mensah is getting better. His face is no longer scary looking and his hair was growing back.



One evening i was walking back home when i saw Koku viciously kicking Little Pam like a dog some streets away from mine. Koku is an ugly looking guy with beady eyes, he's short and has pot belly but the ladies loves him because he is rich, he lives in Nigeria doing only God knows what but nobody cares about your source of wealth as long as you give them some to spend too.


" Leave her alone! What has she done to you? " I pulled little Pam who was cowering in the sand away from him.


" Shut up boy! is that how to talk to your elders! have you no home training? He said. Omo oshi! "


I didn't understand what he meant by his last words but I don't care.

" How could kick a little girl like that? What has she done to to you!"


" You want to know? You want to know abi? this mangy dog here dared to put her little dirty fingers on my car! the car I just paid good money to wash" He retorted curtly.



I noticed the car then, an old looking blue 504.



" So you were kicking her with your dirty feet because she touched your car?"



" Yes big brother! What can you do? He sneered.



What could i do? It would be foolish of me to take him on. So i held Pam' s hand and we walked home. That night, while everyone slept, i snuck out of the house. I broke all his glasses and slashed his tires, i even did a little nasty (poo) on his front seat. When the policemen came the next morning, my mother swore i was home asleep all night and they left saying i was just too young to pepertrate such a crime.

Still we flow ryt bibi?

johnwizey:
Still we flow ryt bibi?

Good morning. Yea we do bro!

* Continued *

I was scared to tell Nma ( Mother) that I had failed primary five, she would be angry and disappointed with me. I made her believe i was promoted, she was very happy and used the little money on her to buy me new sandals, khaki uniforms and books. I felt so guilty when she called me and gave me the items. I was tired of school already, the only thing on my mind is money, see how Koku was viciously kicking little Pam because he had money. If only i could find a way to make money things will be better for us, Nma ( Mother) won't have to go hungry, Little Pam would have fine dresses and Albert could go to the university.







I saw Albert sometimes in the field, we would sit down in silent, there's everything to talk about and at the same time there's nothing to say. He knew i had failed, Ama was in my school and she must have told him. I wondered if Albert was still going to school, one noon i hid in the bushes to see if Albert would come out of his school gate, i was happy when i saw him and his colleagues coming out of the gate. They were gisting animatedly, something had them excited and i wondered what it was. But I was happy at least one of us is making Nma proud. Some Sundays I scrub up real nice and go to the Catholique Mission church, not because i want to hear about Jesus or his disciples but because i wanted to discover the secret of wealth. Am sure there's a secret about it if not why would some people be so rich while some would be poor? Why was i born into a poor home when some were born with glittering diamond spoons in their! Sometimes i wonder if i offended God while i was still with him in heaven.


I won't mind being poor too much if only i had a little more to eat, i hate the sharp gnawing pangs of hunger, the way it sucks the life out of you making you so weak, most of all i hate the dark and filfty smell of hunger. After one evening mass i walked up to Father Flavi, determined to get an answer to the many unanswered questions in my head.



" Bonsoir Father Flavi" I stopped beside him. He looked at me and smiled, he was a white man but he had been in Togo for so long we stopped seeing him as a white man and accepted him as one of us.


" Bonsoir Kojo, how are you today?"


" Am fine Father, i am curious about some things sir" I began. Father why does God make some people poor and some rich? did the poor ones offend him?


He smiled and beckoned me to follow him to his office. He led the way into his office at the back of the church, he sat down and motioned me to sit on the chair opposite him.


" Kojo you have asked a beautiful question, you see in the sight of God we are all one. We are equal in his sight and he loves us all equally that is why he sent his only begotten son to die for us all' he looked at me smiling.


" If we are all equal
why is my own family poor? that's not equality to me."



" Kojo if only you could see how rich our Father in heaven is, his wealth belongs to us too if only we do things according to his will"



" So if we do things according to his will we would be rich? How about the heathens that are rich sir, where do they get their own wealth from?"



" Kojo the bible tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and every other thing shall follow, whoever is not for God is automatically against him. Not all wealth are from the Lord, some are gotten from the devil"



" The devil!" My eyes almost popped out of my head, the devil also has money?


" But those Ill gotten wealth don't last and the repercussions are grave, it eventually leads to the loss of everything and death! It is better to wait on the lord"




" Thank you sir" i stood up. I was glad to discover one of the secrets of money, the devil also has the money. If only i could make him give me some without paying for it with my life. I got home to find Nma and Little Pam eating like royalties, i wondered if they had gone to someone' s burial. The only thing celebrated these days are burials, there's no money for birthday parties or wedding ceremonies but if you die then be rest assured a party will be thrown for you.I can't remember when last i ate rice was it three years ago? Or two years?


" Efo (bro) Kojo your bowl of jollof rice is in the room" little Pam said with her mouth full.


I ignored her. " Nma where did the food come from?"


" Doji the taxi driver brought us half bag of rice with cans of tin tomatoes and groundnut oil this evening."


" Why did he bring them Nma( Mother)?



" My son i asked him the same question too, we are not related in any way but he said the lord laid it on his heart to do so"




The next evening, Yaovi the hunter brought us two big grass cutters saying he had more than enough meat at home. Nma was reluctant to accept it at first but he insisted and she thanked him after collecting them. I was sent to the market to sell one of them while we used the other one to make soup.
Five neighborhood guys in total brought us different food items that week, maybe the good lord is tired of me asking him endless questions and decided to feed us through the guys so i could keep my mouth shut.
The guys were Doji the taxi driver, Yaovi the hunter, Francis a lecee ( poly) lecturer, Seyram a government worker and Lyon a Lecee student and also a palmwine tapper.









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Following like kilode. Bring it on Bibi!