1


It was two hours into the  midnight.
She was already fast asleep with her 7 year-old sleeping beside her on the rug in their spacious and well furnished living room. Framed photographs, drawings and paintings hung on the cream coloured walls in-between the wide windows. The interior decoration showed the classy lifestyle of  the owner of the residence. The knob of the door handle turned. Four men in black tops and trousers and sneakers had gained access into the compound. They were all armed. They were young men. One of them unlocking the door into the main house had a black bag with him. He worked like a professional burglar. The chilling breeze of the harmattan wind of January was blowing with sound of rumbling thunder in the background.
"E be like say e want rain," whispered one of them.
The others nodded.
"Na dat one better pass," whispered another one.
Stormy nights favoured robbers.

"Let us pray the man actually travelled as Jinodu said," said the one unlocking the door in good English.
As he opened the door, the others grinned.
The sound of a thunder clap boomed and lightning flashed.
The young mother and child snuggled closer on the rug.
The intruders entered quietly and one looked at them.
One of them stealthily walked to where they were sleeping and tapped the woman. She mumbled and pulled a part of the duvet over her right shoulder.
"C'mon! Wake up sleeping beauty," said  the one that unlocked the door aloud with the nuzzle of his pistol stroking her nose.
She stirred and wide-eyed in shock as she saw him and then noticed the others. Armed robbers!
"Please, don't hurt us," she pleaded as she trembled in fear. 
The daughter was still asleep. 
"Shh," whispered the one leading them.
"Just do as we say and all will be well," he added.
She could smell his perfume. Calvin klein's Obsession.

"Johnbull chill, she will not dare us. Would you?"
She shook her head.
Her husband was far away out of town and the housemaid and gardener were in their Boys Quarters behind the main house. The gateman? She was afraid of what they might have done to him.
Johnbull snatched the pillow she was clutching and placed it beside her head and with the nuzzle of his gun pressed into the pillow, he pulled the trigger and the shot blew the pillow without a loud sound.
The sound of the gunshot would not echo beyond the walls of the main house.
"Woman, no waste our time or I go blow yer head o!" Johnbull barked.
He was the impatient one. The sooner they robbed their victims, the better to hasten their escape. He did not like their leader's slow tactics.
"Oya!whey the dollars!" He pulled her up to her feet, pointing his gun at her face.
She looked up and pointed upstairs.
He shoved her towards the staircase.

Nice writeup, More ink to ya pen

fruiteeiy:

Nice writeup, More ink to ya pen

Thanks. But I am just using my mobile phone to type and post it.
I will develop the draft later.

The muffled sound of the gunshot and his barking woke up her daughter who immediately knew the danger they were facing. The news and tales of armed robbers were always discussed at home and school and everyone was living in fear of being attacked. This was one of her worst nightmares. She immediately urinated as they glared at her. She clutched her mother tightly as she shuddered in fear.

Their leader told two members of his gang to hold the child whilst he and Johnbull dragged her mother upstairs. What she feared  most was being violated or the loss of life and not losing any amount of money or property that could be replaced. So, she  prayed for mercy of God as she pleaded. The two robbers holding the frightened child were in no speaking mood. They were menacing. They came for the dollars. Jinodu said $67, 000. That would be over N10 million when exchanged in the black market. The sooner they got the cash and escaped to share it the better they would be.

Angst and suspense: Raw 'n Naija. This unearthed some painful memories.
I like.
Update soon!

Nebulae:

Angst and suspense: Raw 'n Naija. This unearthed some painful memories.
I like.
Update soon!

The rest is in my mobile phone and I am on the last part.

They were still thinking of the worth of the money and how it would be shared when they heard two loud gunshots from upstairs. As they shook and still holding on to the child, they saw their leader staggering down the staircase with his bag and gun. Has Johnbull shot the woman?
"Joe? Na wetin?" One of them asked.
"Let's go! Let us get out of here before it is too late to escape! I have the dollars!" he said.
"Whey Johnbull?" they asked.
"Johnbull is dead. Something happened upstairs," he replied as he showed them the dollars inside the bag and then hastened out of the house.
The gunshots were loud enough to wake up those living nearby and anyone of them could be suspicious enough to call the emergency numbers of the Nigerian Police Force.  As they escaped, the frightened child fell down and struggled to her feet.
"Mummy!"
They must have shot her mother!
Then she saw her almost stumbling down the stairs.

She and her daughter held on to each other as they were shaking and sobbing.
"Mummy, call daddy," she said.
Her mother nodded. She would call him first before calling the police. A dead robber was upstairs, shot and killed by his mate for attempting to r-a-p-e her after she had given them the money they came for.  The bastard deserved to die. She thanked God.

You are a good writer.

Why do robbers rape women while they are carrying out their operations sef? Is it not bad enough that they are dispossessing the victim of hard earned money and putting them through terror and fear?
How hateful.

@Orikinla, can you post links to other stories you have online? Am interested.

fellis:

You are a good writer.

Why do robbers violation women while they are carrying out their operations sef? Is it not bad enough that they are dispossessing the victim of hard earned money and putting them through terror and fear?
How hateful.

@Orikinla, can you post links to other stories you have online? Am interested.

Thank you.
But I am still an unpolished diamond in literature.
I actually lost 90% of my innate passion when I lost seven of my unpublished novels whilst in transit.
But I am recovering gradually.

There are over one hundred shorts stories and you can see some of my serious writings on http://redroom.com/member/chima-ekenyerengozi/writing


Boy Adam Floats Headless in The Thames
Boy Adam stood headless. Before the Pearly Gates Escorted by his kindred Abiku spirits. Bearing ,
www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-67853.0.html

Zimbabwe: In the House of Stone
http://www.nathanielturner.com/zimbabwehouseofstone.htm

When An Angel Sings
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-42419.0.html

A Nigerian Story As Never Told before
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-158807.0.html

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/board-11.4672.html

^thanks.
Sorry about your loss, I write sometimes and I know how painful it is to lose something you put so much effort and dedication into creating.

10 years later. Joe and his wife were summoned by the principal of one of their two sons. He had used a pencil to stab his male classmate for slapping a female classmate. The principal turned out to be the same woman he saved from being violated by Johnbull. But he did not recognize her until she did and said she could never forget his face and again he was still smelling of Calvin Klein's Obsession.
'You must be addicted to Calvin Klein's Obsession;" she said with a curious smirk.
"Have we met before?"He asked and looked at her inquiringly. 
She nodded.
"Please, remind me," he said.
But she did not want to do so in the presence of his lovely looking wife to save him from being embarrassed by such an unpleasant past.     
After addressing the problem that brought Joe and his wife to her office, the principal said she would prefer to talk to him alone. Joe told his wife to wait for him in their car.

"Mr. Joeseph Akinwumni. So, you forgot all about that night on Gladys Eke Street in Lekki?" She said with a smile.
"Sorry madam. But I am still wondering how, where and when we must have met before today," said Joe.
"I owe you my life, but in a very funny way. You killed your fellow robber to stop him from r-a-p-ing me," she whispered.
Joe sat up and looked shocked.
"Oh! My God!" He gasped.,"
"Relax sir," she said and calmed him.
He was still feeling scared of what she might do next. She could report to the police and he would be arrested for his past crimes as an armed robber. Nemesis had caught up with him?
"Relax. Now I know where your son Jide got that gallantry from. He could not bear the sight of a brute attacking a harmless female. He warned him to stop and when he refused, he stabbed him with a pencil to defend and save the poor girl," she said and smiled. "Thank God it was the boy's hand he stabbed and all is well now."
Joe was still ill at ease.
"I knew that you were a gentleman that very night your gang attacked our home and robbed us. You did not behave like the other brutes in your gang. I told my husband everything. He was also glad you saved my life that fateful night. If your mate had r-a-p-ed me, my well being would have been damaged for life. R-a-ping a woman is the worst crime against womanhood ."
Joe nodded.
He now recalled the circumstances that compelled him to join the armed robbers and he was lucky to have left the gang alive. He was jobless after dropping out of the university. He was in dire straits and he contemplated suicide. Joining a gang of armed robbers was as bad as committing suicide for every robbery was a suicidal mission and after the night they attacked and robbed her, he did not waste time to quit and left town. In fact he left for Ghana,  where he completed his academic studies with a degree in marketing communications. He returned and soon got married.

"What a life of foreseen and unforeseen circumstances and often leaving us with only a Hobson's choice. And if I may quote the Book of Ecclesiastes 9:11 from the Holy Bible: I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. I thank God you are alive and happily married and blessed with two kids who are a testimony of your wise decision not to continue with the suicidal mission of a criminal life. Continue to do your best for your family and trust God who will never let you down," she concluded.

"What of your daughter?" He asked as he rose to his feet.
He had now regained his composure.
"Oh, you mean Ngozichukwuka. The one with me that fateful night?"
He nodded.
"She is in her first year at the University of Lagos. We have never forgotten that night. We always thanked God for saving our precious lives. You can always work and recover the money or other good lost, but life is irreplaceable, " she said and shook his hand and then hugged him warmly.
"Thank you."
Joe nodded and heaved a sigh of relief before he joined his wife in their car.
"What did she want to discuss with you?"
"She wanted to know if Jide's temper came from me."
"Of course. So, you have to discipline him by also controlling your own anger anytime you are annoyed."
"Yes ma," 
She giggled as he drove out of the school.
He increased the volume of the music from the car stereo.
He loved the song E no Easy by the popular Nigerian hip hop R& B singers, the twin brothers known as Psquare.
What a life, he shook his head and sighed.

END.

Not bad at all. I still haven't gotten myself to write fiction, I wonder what it will take.

maclatunji:

Not bad at all. I still haven't gotten myself to write fiction, I wonder what it will take.

Please, try it.

A page a day will take you there.

I have a lot of respect for prose and I think I have set very high standards for myself when it comes to fiction. I need to find my comfort zone, when I get there I will go for it!

I want to write a classic or not write anything at all.

maclatunji:

I have a lot of respect for prose and I think I have set very high standards for myself when it comes to fiction. I need to find my comfort zone, when I get there I will go for it!

I want to write a classic or not write anything at all.

Alright.

God has given everyone the genius to excel and may you use yours well.

Wow, Orikinla. I didn't know you write so well. That certainly grabbed my attention. More please.

Oluchi007:

Wow, Orikinla. I didn't know you write so well. That certainly grabbed my attention. More please.

Thanks. But there is a lot of room for improvement in my prose.

I have posted many original stories on Nairaland like My Christmas Angel and Daughter of a Beggar.

This is raw.
The way I like it.
Funny how a child never forgets some of the turning points that shapes character.
Thank you very much for sharing.

firestar:

This is raw.
The way I like it.
Funny how a child never forgets some of the turning points that shapes character.
Thank you very much for sharing.

I am thinking of adapting it for a short film.

Yosh!
That would be something! Don't change the topic o!
Just keep us updated.

I enjoyed the flow in this piece. Thumbs up Oriki

xamphara:

I enjoyed the flow in this piece. Thumbs up Oriki

Thank you.
I will improve with more practice.

ur good mehn,, i love and enjoyed it
keep it UP!!!

terrifikjo: ur good mehn,, i love and enjoyed it
keep it UP!!!

I may adapt it for a short film.