Written by Sammy O.
Not to be copied by anyone except by the written permission of the author.
Any illegal storage or copying will attract a lawsuit against trespassers.


Chapter One
THE BACKGROUND OF HOPE
Hope would be leaving home to live permanently in the Island of Greatness. He was the last son of Mr. and Mrs. Mediocrity who lived at plot 11, Average Street, Happy-Go-Lucky town.
In Happy-Go-Lucky, Average Street was the lengthiest , having countless houses, among which were the Abandoned Abode and Dungalow Bungalow (an ugly bungalow which was formerly a refuse site where the Hoodlum family lived). Duplicity duplex, where Mr. Cheat and his family lived was also a notable structure in Happy-Go-Lucky town.
The Dilapidation dwellingplace, little Hope's home, seemed the worst of all in Happy-Go-Lucky, since its shored-up tall muddy walls wouldn't cease to fall frequently due to the many wide cracks on them. The wooden eaves of the roof of the Dilapidation dwellingplace had fallen off several times for their weaknesses, but the Mediocres had paid little attention to it, since they had no money to put it right again. The smallest but mightiest of all was the Hurt huts, the diminutive huts where Mother Witch and her ten tenants lived. The dwellers of the Hurt huts had never had rest, living all their lives wrestling one another and extending their tussles to the rest of the residences in the street, and in the town altogether. While the Hoodlum family posed huge resistance to the Hurt dwellers, the Mediocrity family remained the most vulnerable to their attacks, since their fences weren't strong enough to serve as defence.
To get to the Island of Greatness, Little Hope must need to cross the River of Achievement believed to be somewhere around the outskirt of Happy-Go-Lucky town. But how he would cross it had not crossed his mind.
Alacrity was the firstborn of the Mediocres, but premature death would not let him get to his destination (the Island of Greatness), having tendered his life for death to tend at a tender age in a water accident. Little Hope was the sole soul who could narrate the sorry story of the sudden saddening demise of his eldest brother so well. When telling it those days, he had said, '' Alacrity my brother died due to his over-eagerness to get to the Island of Greatness. Alacrity was filled with enthusiasm when he first discovered that there was a city flowing with meat and money called the Island of Greatness. Without seeking the elderly counsel of Father Sage, that poor old priest living in the little cottage called Dotage cottage down the street, Alacrity began his journey to the Island of Greatness immediately.''
Alacrity had only tramped few miles when he met the triplets called Goodwill, Goodwish and Gooddream who vowed to wow him and accompany him through the right miles with bright smiles on their white faces that night. They hadn't trekked long distance when they ran into a bad lad called Badmanner, who began immediately to let them know that life was not all about crossing the River of Achievement.
'' There is a shortcut to the Island of Greatness without passing through the River of Achievement,'' announced Badmanner and Alacrity paid rapt attention to hear more of the seemingly good news uttered by the bad lad. Gladly, but unfortunately, Alacrity received the bad lad's mad fad and readily agreed in greed to go with him through the shortcut.
''Is there not a shortcut to the shortcut you're talking about?'' asked Alacrity interestingly and Badmanner replied ''There is'' and began to lead them to the forbidden River of Haste in haste. Alacrity turned around to observe the round faces of his three passive friends and asked, ''My kind friends, would you mind coming with me to the River of Haste?''
''Of course yes!'' replied Goodwill, Goodwish and Gooddream concurrently. ''All we want is to see you get to the Island of Greatness, and it doesn't matter to us the route you take to get there.''
Hardly had they reached the bank of the River of Haste when Alacrity wanted to plummet into it with a backflip to begin his forward journey to the island, but Badmanner held him quickly and hollered, ''Alas! Alack! Only clever people can make it through the forbidden River of Haste. You'll need to be--''
''It's enough my friend!'' Alacrity barged in..

''It's enough my friend!'' Alacrity barged in. ''I'm clever, and I'll forever be clever. I'm a fast swimmer, and so I'll only need to perform twenty strokes to get me through this rough River of Haste to the Island of Greatness.''
''You're right, Alack!'' concurred Badmanner. ''But you'll need to peep into the deep before dipping yourself into it, else you might end up weeping in the lips of the octo--'' Before Badmanner could end his speech, Alacrity had plummeted into the narrow river, the River of Haste, which was having some incredible turbulent storms and tides.
The Goods at the riverbank raised their heads to view Alacrity clearly, their voices to wish him a successful journey and their hands to wave some 'byes'. All of a sudden, they lowered their raised heads, voices and hands againas their countenances fell, telling the story that all was not well--the octopus of trouble in the River of Haste had gotten hold of Alacrity, just when he was about to perform the last stroke that would get him into the Island of Greatness.
Alacrity dangled as he struggled to rip himself off the strangling grip of the angered angler--the Octopus of Trouble, but wasn't strong enough for the tasking task. He had now begun to desire fleeing the River of Haste hastily, but wasn't afforded the chance.

Through the faint light of the moon in the night, the Goods sighted the doom looming for Alacrity the rude dude and their good mood was turned into lugubriousness. At last, Alacrity lost his vivacity and got tired of trying but resorted to crying. Then he lost his costly life in the eldritch tentacles of the Octopus of Trouble.
Badmanner would go into the river too. He had entered in oft afore but carefully, unlike Alacrity. However, he hadn't made it to the Island of greatness all the while because the Octopus of Trouble would not let him get there, catching him and trying to strangle him each time.

But because Badmanner could play his games well those times, he had been escaping the grips of the Octopus of Trouble only to momentarily forfeit the feat of getting to the island those times by turning back to get back to his town, the Happy-Go-Lucky town.
This time around, Badmanner carefully lowered himself into the selfsame river and drifted forward silently, but awkwardly, having discovered from weekly experiences the weak point of the wicked octopus--short-sightedness.
Though Badmanner had to perform many strokes in the River of Haste, he made it through to the Island of Greatness eventually.

Without further ado the Goods turned heel to face the hills ahead and turned their backs against the bank of the River of Haste in whose belly Alacrity's life was wasted as they prepared to race away to make the story known to the Mediocres, Alacrity's family.
Since the day Alacrity was murdered, Limitation little Hope's mother began to keep her entire household in stronghold by beholding them carefully and holding their arms tightly so as to prevent them from getting close to the cracks on the walls through which they could exit the house. Every mother in Happy-Go-Lucky town had also done likewise by the imitation of Limitation's meditation, believing that restriction is the best way to hinder a person's dream of getting to the Island of Greatness.

They had commanded their children to desist from making any move towards the Island of Greatness, but to remain within the limit of Happy-Go-Lucky town and wait patiently for Mr. Goodluck's visitation someday.
Mr. Mediocre, Hope's father, collaborated with his wife by elaborating on her speeches. "My children, be content with your hometown like Mr. Contentment the father of Great Gain. If Mr. Creator wants you in Greatness he would have put you there at creation. Then you'd be sure that I Mediocrity would not have been your father."

"And myself Limitation," interrupted Hope's mother, "Wouldn't have been the one to put you to bed. Therefore remain within these four walls of Dilapidation dwellingplace."
"Remain in dilapidation?" Hope hollered and shrugged, ''Never!"

"Shut up, Hope!" Limitation objurgated.

When the Mediocres had their last baby some months after Alacrity's death, they were greatly comforted. This time the child was a female whom they christened Standaloof with the intent of making her not to have a trace of Alacrity's trait, who died because of his enormous elan.

next...chapter two

CHAPTER TWO
THE ABILITY IN VULNERABILITY

The story of Vulnerability, aka Vulnerable was pathetic too. Vulnerability had given up the hope of getting out of Dilapidation to the Island of Greatness since the day his mother Limitation reprimanded them and commanded that her demands alone should be fulfilled. However, his slurred focus began to traverse a new locus when he met Father Sage in the temple one day. Father Sage had said '' Vulne, I can spot in you the ability to get to the Island of Greatness to bring with you the long-awaited Mr. Goodluck." Vulnerability stooped and stared stupidly at the glossy floor of the temple as he gnawed nervously at the nails on his right fingers.
"Vulnerability," Father Sage called and shook him lightly after allowing silence to prevail a little while. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes," responded the boy gently. "But sir, d'you think I'm capable of crossing the River of Achievement?" Father Sage smiled at Vulnerability's naive response and then replied, "Vulne, with what you've just asked I'm glad that you do acknowledge the fact that no one can really get to the Island of Greatness without crossing the River of Achievement. I'm as well glad that you don't attend the Fool's School of Thought where it was taught that the Island of Greatness does not exist. I'm also happy that you don't believe the doctrines of those in the Do-nothing School of Thought, who believe, according to what Mr. Experience told me, that Mr. Goodluck will come to this town to make it better," the man commented perspicaciously.

With a little frown, Vulnerability said promptly, "But father I thought you do uphold this same belief."
"Yes I do partially," admitted the Sage. "Mr. Goodluck will come here if only someone from here will first cross the River of Achievement to bring him here. But those in the Do-nothing School of Thought believe he will come even while they fold their arms doing nothing."

"Now I understand," Vulnerability confessed, smiling in a satisfied manner. His fleeting smile soon flitted off his face for a string of frowns to take over.

"What?" queried the aged Sage. "Why the sudden scowl?" he howled.

"I don't know whether an illiterate like me can get to the Island of Greatness," divulged the boy to the man's wonderment.

"What d'you mean? Limitation your mother told me that both you and Hope were in school!"

"Yes, but I dropped out."

"Why?"

"Because the fee was increased by hundred percent and my parents could not afford it anymore. I pulled out while Hope remained, but Hope pulled out too, later."

"Why Hope too?" The priest was deeply concerned. "Because dad and mum thought it good to use his fee for Dilapidation walls repair." Vulnerability's confession sounded incredible to the old man who voiced out immediately, "But the last time I came to your house I didn't notice boy change to the facade of those walls. I mean the cracks were still as wide as they'd been for years. In fact, I still got into your rooms that day through many wide cracks."

"Your observations are true, father," concurred Vulnerability.

"But why?" What then was done with Hope's school fee?"

"To get the walls mended those days, we sought Mr. Knowledge who was recommended by Mr. Experience. But Mr. Knowledge made known to us that it's of no use repairing the walls since they'll keep cracking and collapsing, no matter the amount we spend to get them done. He even warned that using bricks won't proffer solution let alone the mud we've preferred."
Father Sage conjured a confused face at the boy's confession, gawking as though doubting. "But why?"

"Mr. Knowledge told my parents that the foundation of our building was faulty because it has been founded on a fault zone and the earth beneath the walls is moving apart. Therefore it would make our walls crack forever. But we didn't believe him."
Father Sage nodded slowly and smiled broadly as he said, "You shouldn't have doubted Mr. Knowledge."

"Why?"

"Because the earth is the foundation to all things. You can't construct a structure on a weak one and expect to see it stand firm."
He fixed his gaze on Vulnerability's face and asked, "Tell me, can you build a house in the air?" The boy nodded in the negative, gnawed at his thumbnail and smiled. Silence smiled on them.

"Continue your story," Father Sage broke the brief silence.

"My mother sent Mr. Knowledge away and went after Mr. Cheat immediately," Vulnerability said and paused as he would describe the man in question. "That plump potbellied man who stays in the duplex called Duplicity down the street."

"I know him," said the Sage. "Just continue."

"Mr. Cheat promised to help us form formidable walls after telling us that Mr. Knowledge was ignorant of the fact that there's nothing called by the name 'fault zone' and mother readily believed him. After the bum had deceived mum to receive maximum sum from her, he grumbled still and got more. Then he smiled, revealing his gums as he helped himself to a bottle of rum. Thereafter he left and returned with his cousins, Conceit and Deceit to get the work done immediately.
The walls were soon ready and mum was convinced, believing that Cheat had without doubt proven Mr. Knowledge wrong. No sooner had they departed than the walls collapsed, almost falling on Standaloof the baby of the house: thanks to little Hope who quickly helped to rescue her, else the story to tell would be different now."
As Father Sage heard the name Standaloof mentioned by Vulnerability, the Hair of Aggression on his nape stood erect and the creases on his greased face increased as he exclaimed, "What the heck? Is her name Standaloof? I'll surely quarrel with your mother Limitation for this."

"For what?" Vulnerability asked, not comprehending.

"Anyway don't worry," said the Sage, now wearing gentle face again. "It's between your parent and me. Go on."
Vulnerability sneezed twice and resumed:

"At this sight, mother was highly provoked, so she got ready to contact Waste from the Hoodlum family, who lives in the Dungalow bungalow to send him after Mr. Cheat to deal with him."

Vulnerability paused to yawn and then said suddenly, "If my uncle Doubt had been present, I'm sure he would have without doubt prevented that cheat called Cheat from cheating us." Being mazed at the boy's declaration, Father Sage's visage changed as he grimaced in rage and fixed his aged fazed gaze hastily at the boy's grim hazy face in a daze. The alteration of his countenance was as a result of his abhorrence for Doubt, a tenant of a flat in the Flirts' flats. Father Sage's hatred for Doubt was so immense that he had developed strong aversion for his name.

"Vulne, don't you ever mention Doubt to my hearings anymore," warned the Sage as Vulnerability sulked and hunched his back to stare regretfully at the floor until the Sage had passionately bedecked his thin naked neck with soft impeccable pecks.
The boy's face smoothened up again as he said, " We found Mr. Experience later and he let us know, after examining the component of the broken walls, that Mr. Cheat has only spent a stipend out of the huge hard-earned cash my mum gave him to acquire the building materials used. Mother was on her way to the Dungalow bungalow, that low bungalow down the street, to seek Waste when uncle Doubt--erm--er--suddenly reached the Dilapidation's dilapidated rooms through a big breach." Vulnerability raised his brow apprehensively as he realized the mistake he had made, having mentioned the name 'Doubt' again, but Father Sage was indifferent this time. He only beckoned on him to continue.

"But when uncle Doubt came, he debunked the opinions of both Mr. Knowledge and Mr. Experience and called them liars, confessing that Mr. Cheat had done his best."
Father Sage's wrath was kindled against Doubt in absentia...

To be continued...

.

.

.Uneasily the old man raised his head and raised his voice to praise Mr. Knowledge and condemn doubt by saying, "Vulne, doubt your uncle is a big liar for spoiling and soiling the character of my friends. I've acknowledged Knowledge as a good personality for a long time, such that I had to stoop low to acquire skills from him those days before he was exiled from this town because the council wouldn't approve his school, Knowledge School of Thought, which teaches that it is possible for one to cross the River of Achievement to the Island of Greatness. They found his teachings odd and out-of-syllabus." Father Sage sniffed and then a thought crossed his mind.

"Hey, where did your parents even find them? I've not heard from them since the exile."

"Well, mum told me she found Mr. Experience in the Valley of Inexperience."

"Teaching?" the Sage guessed, putting on a bright face.

"Exactly!" Vulnerability replied, looking excitedly at the old man for the correct conjecture. "It was he who took mum to the Valley of Ignorance where Mr. Knowledge now dwells."

"Good!" Father Sage ululated his elation. It was short-lived. "Happy-Go-Lucky is just too lucky to still have me his head around in this town, else he'd begun walking about on his head without a head."

he moaned as if he was envisaging irreparable damage for his town. "I've remained in this town because I've been destined to relay to the Go-Luckers without delay that the way to the Island of Greatness is neither the Highway of Iniquity where many feet had trodden and are still treading even now, nor the River of Haste in which Alacrity lost his life, nor the Megalowealth Way constructed by Mr. Cheat, nor the Pathway of Indifference made by Fear, but only one way--the River of Achievement. Though I've remained here for a century teaching them the only way, the story still remains 'none has been there'. If I be dead, Hope be dead for them also, and they shall remain in pain and insane in this domain forever." The man turned up his cloudy face to face the cloudy sky, then he continued, "The only school teaching the right thing was destroyed and his proprietor exiled. Oh! What a pity! Father Sage sighed and shook his head to pity the Go-Luckers. Then he turned to Vulnerability and said, "Vulne, have you left his school for so long before it was destroyed here?" The man's question caught the boy unprepared. However, he managed to ask, "Do you mean the Knowledge School of Thought?"

"Which one was destroyed other than that?" the old man replied. "Or weren't you attending the Knowledge School of Thought with Hope before you both hopped out?"

"No sir," came the boy's reply to the old man's astonishment. Childishly , Vulnerability lowered his void head to avoid Father Sage's glowers as he added slowly with a low tone, "I've never in my life attended the Knowledge School of Thought."
Impatiently, Father Sage queried, "So which school were you before you dropped out?"

"The Simpleminded School of Thought," replied the lad softly to the wonderment of the greybeard.

"You're lying, aren't you?" Father Sage said rashly, but the boy gestured that it was the truth. "Come closer," commanded the priest. he acquiesced immediately. Father Sage gazed into the timid limpid eyes of the boy and it seemed to him as though he had seen the truth of the matter boldly etched on them. At last the man uttered, "Vulne, you are not lying." Vulnerability was shocked at the man's unexpected revelation because his eyeballs had always been giving him out in the past--his teachers in the Simpleminded School of Thought had often read them in the same manner, only to come up with the conclusions that he was lying whenever he was saying the truth.

"Your perception is different."

"What d'you mean Vulne?"

"My reddish eyeballs you just read, my teachers do read them too, but were always coming up with wrong conclusions." The man smiled and said, "They're Simpleminded, so what d'you expect? They can't perceive inner feelings, only the superficial ones." The Sage held Vulnerability's right wrist and silence followed.

"Well, lad I'm glad you've dropped out of there. Dropping out of the Simpleminded School of Thought is better than remaining. It's better to cross the River of Achievement as an illiterate person than to be nurtured under that foreigner Mr. Simpleton without a promising future. Though I'm old yet I'm not holding on to the belief of those in that school of yours who opine that it's crime to pine for the Island of Greatness let alone crossing the River of Achievement. Now tell me, was little Hope performing brilliantly in the Simpleminded School those days?"
Vulnerability laughed as he said, "Hope was always scoring zero and taking the last position in his class. he had to repeat his class twice before his withdrawal."
Father Sage smiled and said, "That's splendid! Hope must be a potential hero for him to have scored zero in that school, because the worst student in your school is better than the best student there. That's why I say Hope is a potential hero."

"I don't understand."

"Just forget it and tell me more about Hope."

With enthusiasm Vulnerability said," Hope would not cooperate with teachers in class, but he would make noise and seek to have his name scribbled times ten in the list of noise makers. At times our teachers would send him out of class for his disturbances and at other times he would doze off during lesson periods."

"What about you?" asked Father Sage to the coy boy's joy.

"Me?" the boy replied timidly and bent his head shyly...

"I always wanted to be first in class and I always get it. The only time I took second position I felt so bad, rejecting my meal until mum had screamed at me."

"Hmm!" Father Sage heaved. "Hopefulness is wonderful!"
Vulnerability was jealous. He couldn't understand the reason why the man should regard Hopefulness despite having such woeful performance in school in lieu of himself with wonderful one. Out of jealousy Vulnerability asked, "Father what about me? Though I was best you didn't appreciate me."

"Not so Vulne," said the man, holding the boy tightly. "You're awesome." In no time Vulnerability had regained his composure.

"So...Vulne, will you now live to believe that you can leave the Average life lived in this Average Street to live in relief with the living souls living in the Island high up there?"

"Of course yes!" the boy replied impulsively. "I'll surely come back with Mr. Goodluck." Father Sage bent his neck backward and raised his face toward the sky, thinking. He soon terminated the emerging silence when he said, "I'm glad my boy for this task you shall now accomplish. In my dream I saw you crossing the River of Achievement, bringing with you the long-awaited Mr. Goodluck. Thereafter a bridge was made to link here with there, making it easy for all here to get there." The man fondled the boy's hair as the boy cuddled up in his embrace.

"Go home now my son, it's getting late." Vulnerability began to trek home happily at the man's command, but had not gone far when he heard the man call his name. "Father, anything more?"

"There's a warning you must heed, else you may not get to the Island of Greatness."

"What warning sir?"

"Listen to me Vulne. Make sure you don't allow this news get into the ears of Doubt your uncle."

"I won't," promised Vulnerability. "But I'm afraid my parents could tell him. Maybe I--I should not tell my parents about it also." For a while silence oozed out of the Sage's lips as he applied a long-lasting tough rough scratch to his itchy scruff. "You may tell your parents," spoke the Sage thoughtfully. "But Vulne don't you dare blow your Trumpet of Imagination publicly." The man's speech caught the boy unawares.

"Why?" he asked, putting up a sad countenance. "Blowing my trumpet is exactly what I'm thinking to do as soon as I leave here."

"Don't try it!" the Sage warned again. A more critical look was now glommed to his face. "If you blow your trumpet you shall surely be incuring the jealousy of those zealous callous souls who are not wishing you good--the Bad's triplets and the entire residents of the Hurt shall be tempted to make attempt at denting your dream by causing accidents for you in the River of Achievement. Therefore it's better to keep your Trumpet of Imagination to yourself instead of blowing it into the ears of Mother Witch and her tenants."

"I'll try not to blow it sir."

"Trying isn't enough but crying against it will go a long way to help, perhaps your parents might want theirs blown."

"I'll--I'll try s-sir," the boy stuttered in uncertainty. He knew quite well that he would not be capable of restraining Limitation his mother in case she wanted the trumpets blown.

"Goodbye," Father Sage waved to him at last. Father Sage stared at Vulnerability's back until he was out of sight. Then he heaved a soliloquy:

"My dear Mr. Knowledge! Full of integrity: we imparted each other's life with knowledge before you departed. For being honest, honey shall be your meal, and you shall not suffer before you meet your daily meat. Because you pray daily you shall not become a prey. The students you've bred shall not lack bread, and because of you the poor shall pour their poverty away and reach for riches. Your posterity shall have prosperity and no man shall indeed need to weed your seeds away forever. Your students shall be studious in their studies, for this is the joy of all teachers, and peace shall come to you with ease."

"For being humble you shall neither stumble nor tumble, and as you hop to the top nothing shall stop you till you get atop. You shall not lack bread because you are not slack in business: your legacies being read and uttered shall bring bread and butter to the table of those bred in gutters and your life shall be long because you belong to a good school of thought."

"Oh Knowledge, you know the ledges in the River of Achievement, therefore I plead, lead the willing ones through the path that's leading to the Island of Greatness and don't depart from them until they have stepped their heels on the hills and on the golden knoll edge of the island, Mr. Knowledge."

"O Happy-Go-Luckers, you exiled my sister Wisdom without knowing that without wisdom you can't get to the kingdom, the Island of Greatness. Mr. Saint her husband you murdered, not realising that without a saint you shall faint. Understanding her sister you have also exiled, without the understanding that without Understanding you cannot stand in unity.

Understanding is the pillar standing under the earth to make things on earth stand firm on the ground. The virginity of Virtue you have defiled too; she was Molested to death, yet everyone, including the cops, gaped at her corpse, not taking notice to seek Justice."

"O how I've waited long in longing to see a soul belonging to the Dilapidation dwellingplace get to the Island of Greatness! If Alacrity had sought my counsel he'd be remaining alive till today. I blame it all on Limitation his mother whose traits he had taken, someone who has never sought after my counsel before. Her refusal to bring her first and second sons to my temple at their births had paved way for Mr. Nonsense to christen them Alacrity and Vulnerability respectively. If I did not call at their home when Hopefulness was born I'm sure they would have named him otherwise. And then she gave birth to a baby girl of late and named her Standaloof! I shall quarrel with Limitation greatly for this."

"The few souls who had had the thought of getting to the Island of Greatness did not seek my counsel. Many years back Mr. Experience tried but failed, but I'm glad he has now realised his past mistakes and he's now making up for it. Others resorted to Doubt who made them doubt the existence of such great island. I shall not allow him to complete the school, the Doubt School of Thought he's constructing here. He has founded the foundation already on the large piece of land called the Land of Despair he inherited from Despair his father. Its foundation must founder, yes, in the presence of its founder Doubt. I shall send one of the Faiths to ensure such fate tonight." Father Sage paused abruptly, then he said frustratingly,

"I rest my wrest here since no ear is here to hear. I've been whiling away my time in soliloquizing all the while."

He began to make for his little cottage called 'Dotage' immediately.

Next...Chapter Three

Je suis continons par me histoire de Esperer et le Island de Greatness...

Chapitre Trois

THE DISABILITY OF
VULNERABILITY

Vulnerability soon entered his home, the Dilapidation dwellingplace and eagerly declared to his parents how Father Sage had spelt out that the ability to get to the Island of Greatness lay in him.
"You mean Father Sage told you this with his lips or it slipped out of his lips accidentally while he was feeling sleepy,"Limitation lisped, doubting her boy. In apprehension Vulnerability replied, "He told me he saw me get into the island in his dream."
"Wonderful!" exclaimed Limitation as she turned to her husband and whispered, "Med, did you just hear with your ears what your heir has just aired here?"
"Sweet Lim, I heard it vividly," Mediocrity replied enthusiastically. "But I don't know what to say," he added.
"What to say?" spoke Limitation loudly. "There's nothing to say now because the Sage has the final say. All we need do is pick our Trumpets of Imagination and roam the streets of Happy-Go-Lucky in the gloaming to blow them." She turned around and found around Vulnerability's rough round face some roughly-round wrinkes defacing it.
"Why the frowns Vulne?" she belled in annoyance. "I know your fears Vulne. You are not buying the idea of blowing the trumpets, isn't it?"
"Yes mother," Vulnerability replied out of fear. "Father Sage warned us that we shouldn't--"
"Don't worry Vulne," Limitation cut in. She pulled him lightly and said, "It doesn't matter. Whether we blow them or not destiny can never be reversed. Since Father Sage has confessed dreaming it be rest assured you shall surely get there."
"But wouldn't it be best to take to the priest's instruction, because--?" Hope's voice came up but his mother let it go down as she yelled, "Shut up Hope!" Limitation picked a long trumpet made of clay. "Vulne, Med, little Hope, pick yours too and let's enter into the streets," she commanded strictly and all but one obeyed.
"Hope!" she screamed. "Won't you pick your trump--?"
"I won't!" Hope barged in stubbornly and retired to his room.
"Let's go," said Limitation to the two left at her lefthand side. Then she added, "Three trumpets should be enough to overwhelm the street of Average and Happy-Go-Lucky town as a whole, isn't it Med?"
"It's the truth," Mediocrity responded. "More so, Hope's voice is not loud in the Trumpets of Imagination as such, therefore he'll surely not contribute to the loudness and soundness of the Sage's message we shall now be passing across to all passersby in Happy-Go-Lucky as we pass by its streets."
Limitation led the way, Mediocrity followed but Vulnerability lingered behind with the trumpet entwined in his fingers like a singer. Hope came again to the parlour to meet Vulnerability, having peeped and beheld the exit of his parents from the inner room earlier.
"Vulne," Hope called with a soft tone and Vulnerability responded "Yes."
"Drop that trumpet and remain here," said Hope. Hope's words appeared to have had great impact on the boy, who instantly let the trumpet slide off his grip to the ground. Suddenly Vulnerability heard his mother's voice, which was having it's source from a spot behind the holey walls, "Vulne, will you join us right away?" Out of fear, Vulnerability picked up his trumpet again and fluttered out to join his parents. All that was left for Hope to hear was the sound of shuffling feet fading away from the Dilapidation dwellingplace.
The house was empty but for Hope who was peeping through a crack in the wall to look at the backs of his departing parents, and for Standaloof who was lying aloof in an inner room. When they had gone out of eyeshot, Hope adjourned to the room where Standaloof lay sleeping. He found her swathed in a knit blanket which was far from being neat, called the Blanket of Restriction, handed down to Limitation by her ancestors. To Hope, the manner with which his sister had lain seemed as if she had been slain, having sucked much of the Milk of Limitation (her mother's bosom milk) which was known for its terrific soporific effect on sucklings. It was great battle for Hope those days while he was a suckling too. Those days, he would struggle to abstain from the bosom milk which he had great aversion for, but she would force it on him. When Hope could not win his mother over to wean him off the sour soporific Milk of Limitation, he resorted to the 'tit for tat' of tearing her teats apart with his teeth. Then she had no choice than to let him be and thenceforth began to feed him with the sincere milk extracted by Mother Kind from Father Sage's dairy cows daily

Hurriedly, Hope pulled the blanket off her. She was in a deep sleep. He tapped her back severely to wake her up but she remained like a lifeless soul, someone who could sleep for twenty hours in a day, no thanks to the Milk of Limitation she would spend her active time sucking and the Blanket of Restriction, which Limitation would always wrap her in: the blanket was believed to be possessing a sleep-enhancing scent that would ensure that the sleeper never got up from his bed on time unless someone else pulled it off him.
Hope shook the baby out of sleep. The girl burped, drooled into her bib and cried, but the boy petted her with a clay toy. Though Standaloof was a year old, she could not sit up on her own—all she could do was to lie down dozing all day. Hope made a smile as he deemed it great opportunity to redeem the pledge he had made to himself that he would help her be on a sitting posture someday. Being conscious of the time Hope sat Standaloof down but she fell backward. She whined. Quietly, Hope observed the rhythm of her cries; her first yell was long, and coming after it was a brief silence, such that Hope thought she had given it up. Then her subsequent yells came quickly, one after the other, without a significant break. Then he realised that the silent moment after the first yell had only been used to gather momentum for the rest of the yells.
“Don’t cry, baby don’t cry,” Hope pacified until she was quiet again. However, Hope didn’t back out, instead, he kept trying to make her sit without an external support. Just when Hope would give up the hope of seeing her sit, he remembered the first stanza of Father Sage’s common poem whose structure the pillars of the temple were fashioned after:
Step by step, such is life
But if you stop, then you die...
“Yes! I’ll make her sit up now and later teach her to crawl, stand, walk, run and—fly.” Hope yelled “Oops!” when he remembered that humans do not fly.
After much trial, Standaloof was able to sit on her own. She was smiling excitedly as if she was enjoying her new posture. Hope soon proceeded to teach her how to crawl. Having set her on all fours, Hope left her to herself but she fell and struck her head on the floor. Instantly, she began to cry again.
“Don’t cry, baby don’t cry,” Hope petted her once more. She gave it up after a while. Hope refused to give up on her. He would make her crawl by all means. Unfortunately, both of them succumbed to sleep. Two hours later, Standaloof got over the absentmindedness brought over her by the presence of sleep. She slapped Hope’s laps to get him out of sleep. Waking up, Hope yawned like a lazy pawn and it dawned on him that he’d spent two hours sleeping.
“What?” Hope yelled and rose to his feet immediately. Standaloof raised her hands to Hope and he bore her up. Hope could feel her weight—too much for somebody of her age.
“My baby, you’re awake,” Hope said, not realizing she was even the one who woke him from sleep. Hope nuzzled his sister and gave her a kiss on the left cheek and left a wide hickey on it, but she struggled in his grip as though wanting to be on the floor. Hope was confused at first, but soon realized what she wanted—she wanted to be helped to crawl.
“So you want to crawl?” Hope said, letting her down. The baby grinned and revealed her toothless gums. She tried to crawl but was unable to move her legs, yet remaining on all fours. Hope wondered why she could not move her legs. A thought occurred to him. Putting his thought into action, he unloosed her pant and took off the old mucky brown nappy he found underneath, whose weight was as heavy as Standaloof herself. The nappy had turned brown by reason of age, for the selfsame nappy was the one Limitation had worn while she was a baby under the care of Hindrance her mother. Then it was white. The handmade Nappy of Limitation (for so was it called) had been knitted for the intent of retarding the mobility of newborn babies, and it was to be worn by the unlucky baby until he or she had clocked the age of two.
Now she was half lighter than when she was having the nappy on. As Hope stooped to help her crawl, he heard a stump of feet approaching the house. Fearing that it was his parents, he quickly wrapped Standaloof up in the Blanket of Restriction as she was before. Then he rushed out to see who they were.
Hope fell into the headlock made by Badwill who was lurking in a corner for him.
“Let me alone!” yelled Hope but Badwill thumped his head so hard with his fist that he was concussed. “Badwish! Mother Witch! Come over, I’ve captured Hope!” In a flash, Badwish rushed to the spot and spotted Hope in his brother’s grip, unconscious.
“Wow! Badwill, what a good job you’ve done here!” Badwish commented gladly.
“Where’s Mother Witch? Weren’t you two coming behind me?” Badwill asked curiously, but Badwish replied at once, “She’s remaining behind to hear more of the trumpets of Mr. And Mrs. Mediocrity and their son Vulne.” Badwish paused as he swallowed his spittle. “I wish Mother Witch’s here to see this scene,” concluded Badwish.
The Bads would not have come to the Dilapidation dwelling place if the Mediocres (also called Mediocritys) had not entered into the streets to blow their trumpets into every ear, not knowing which is which and which is witch and which is wishing them good or bad. With the Trumpet of Imagination in her mouth, Limitation had hollered, “All you people of Happy-Go-Lucky, listen carefully to what I shall now say. Father Sage has dreamt that my son Vulnerability scaled through the River of Achievement to the Island of Greatness and brought with him the long-awaited Mr. Goodluck.”
Madam Pickoffence squinted her pale face while Mrs. Jealousy frowned at Limitation’s news.
“Limitation isn’t literate,” soliloquised Madam Pickoffence. “Therefore the issue that her issue got to the Island of Greatness shouldn’t crop up at all.” Mrs. Jealousy whispered to herself too, saying, “How can Limitation’s son get to the sunny Island before my own son, Stubby? I must do all in my ability to stop Vulnerability from getting there.”
Limitation asked her son to speak into his own trumpet too, for every ear’s hearing. He obeyed, shouting, “My mum has said the truth concerning my journey to the Island of Greatness. Old Father Sage in the Dotage cottage has told me that he could spell out the ability in me, Vulnerability, to get into the said Island. Then I shall bring Mr. Goodluck down into this town.”
“You’ve heard it all!” yelled Limitation into her trumpet. “My son shall get there and no one shall be able to stop him—not even anyone from the dreaded evil huts called the Hurt huts near here,” she shouted, pointing toward the old ugly witch called Mother Witch, who sat on a rock in front of her huts. She was a hunchbacked crabby old woman whose flaky skins, wrinkles, tangled teeth and suntanned craggy face could scare life out of an average person (especially the kids of Average Street). They feared her face so much that they detested facing her directly whenever they had had the cause to come across her. She wore rings on her nose, on her wrinkled pinkies and on each toe of her pigeon-toed legs. The teeth left on her gums were just four, for dotage had plucked out the rest, yet she had made the four teeth golden with the aim of prettifying her ugly being. At Limitation’s maligning statement, Mother Witch thumped up from the rock, feeling mocked. Immediately, she unlocked the door of the Bads and informed them of the aspersion Limitation had cast at the Hurt. Being agitated, Badwill and Badwish pulled out their Daggers of Anger in readiness to attack Limitation, but Mother Witch advised them otherwise. “Keep your Daggers of Anger, my boys. Instead of an open confrontation, why not let us get out of here to kidnap the children they’ve left behind in Dilapidation dwelling place?” Gladly, the Bads, with the exception of Baddream, agreed to follow Mother Witch to Dilapidation dwelling place to capture Hope and Standaloof. Baddream could not join them because he was fast asleep then, dreaming.

Mother Witch soon reached the Dilapidation dwelling place and was pleased to see Hope in the Bads’ grips. “You’ve captured Hope? Good!” she exclaimed in excitement.
“Mother, it was such an easy task for me—the task of capturing Hope,” Badwill replied, smiling.
“Badwill, thanks. You’ve done a great good for us all in the Hurt huts.”
“Yes, Mr. Oppressor will be glad you did this.” Badwill was grinning.
“Mother, shall we leave now?” Badwill said, lifting the unconscious body of Hope to his shoulder to shoulder him, just like a soldier would shoulder a fellow soldier who’d been wounded by enemy soldiers in the battle front.
“Not yet,” Mother Witch replied at once. “There’s one more child to abduct—Standaloof. I knew her name when Mr. Nonsense was christening her last year. She’ll make an easy catch.” The three got into the inner room hastily and found the Blanket of Restriction at one corner of the room.
“She must be underneath,” Mother Witch smiled and bent eagerly to pull the blanket away from Standaloof’s body, but to their shock it was the floor they saw lying aloof beneath the blanket.
“What!” they interjected as if some injection needles had just pricked them. After much futile search for Standaloof, they made do with Hope who was still unconscious as a result of the large pangs he got from the gargantuan bangs on his head by the evil gang. As they were leaving with Hope alone, the rain began to pour. However, they trekked on. On the way to the Hurt, Hope’s eyes flicked open suddenly. Seeing himself lying on a strange shoulder, he was shocked. He was scared the more when he saw Badwill and Mother Witch coming behind.
“Hope, you’re awake?” said Mother Witch.
“Help! Help!” Hope screamed.
“No help for you Hope,” Mother Witch mocked him. “Your parents have incurred our wrath and we shall let them know that we’re capable of hindering Vulnerability from getting to the Island of Greatness.”
“I’ve done no offence, or have I? So, why capture me for nothing?” cried Hope while all laughed.
“We are not capturing you for nothing,” Mother Witch replied jokingly, “But for something—to make Vulnerability lose the ability in him to get to the Island.”
“I can’t understand,” Hope confessed, nonplussed.
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” the trio laughed. “Listen Hopefulness, if we take you away the ability in Vulnerability shall vanish. You are the ability in Vulnerability. And for Vulne, losing you means losing the hope of getting to the Island of Greatness, Hope.”
“It’s a lie!” Hope yelled at them. “How do you know all these?”
“Do you think it’s for fun people call me Mother Witch? Anyway...you’ll learn more about me when you get to the Hurt. Ha! Ha! Ha!”
“Let me alone!” Hope screamed and struggled in pain, in vain, in the rain to gain freedom, but the hurters mocked him. “We shall take you to Mister Oppressor to torture consciousness out of you.” As Hope heard their threats, his fear was kindled and his brain addled, yet he had a slight belief that he would not get into the Hurt with them to be hurt. He mustered all the strength in him to cry for help, but they ignored his yells and laughed him to scorn. All of a sudden, a large silhouette emerged from the Land of Despair where the Doubt’s School of Thought’s foundation was laid. It seemed as though the giant had heard Hope’s loud cry and had rushed to his safety.
“It’s Giant Faith!” whispered the hurters, trembling. Without thinking twice, the duo took to their heels after letting Hope fall from their grips (even Mother Witch hobbled sluggishly after the Bads for the reason of her age) fearing what Giant Faith would do. Giant Faith hopped to Hope and pulled him up.
“Hey, little Hope, I’m Giant Faith,” the giant said and Hope was shocked.
“I don’t know you. How come you know me?”
“I know your name when Father Sage was christening you fourteen years ago. Mr. Nonsense was about to christen you Hopelessness when Father Sage and I arrived your home. Mr. Nonsense quickly dropped you on your mother’s lap and fled for fear. Then Father Sage picked you up and christened you Hopefulness, confessing that he could see the fullness of the hope of getting to the Island of Greatness in you.” Little Hope smiled and replied, “Thanks a lot, Giant Faith. You’ve indeed raised my hope of making it through the River of Achievement.”
“No thanks,” replied the giant humbly.
“But...did my uncle send you to rescue me out of—?”
“You mean Doubt?” Giant Faith interrupted.
“Yeah,” Hope responded. “Because I saw you rushing out of his land when I made the cry.”
“You’re very observant, Hope, but it wasn’t Doubt who asked me to rescue you. I came out of there of my own accord when I heard your cry of agony.”
“But what were you doing there?” Hope asked further, wanting to be sure that his new friend (Giant Faith) wasn’t the friend of his old enemy (Doubt). The giant grinned and then responded, “I’ve only entered the Land of Despair to destroy the foundation of Doubt’s School of Thought founded on it.”
“So, have you destroyed it?”
“Oh yes!” Giant Faith replied. “In the presence of its founder, Doubt, your uncle, just exactly as I was sent by Father Sage.”
“Wonderful!” Hope put up a bright smile to reveal his abhorrence for his uncle.
Hope and Faith parted ways after bidding bye to each other. In loneliness, Hope trekked homeward, having the thought of Standaloof in mind.
Standaloof had crawled out of the Blanket of Restriction earlier, just a few moments before Mother Witch and the Bads got in to pull up the blanket: Standaloof, having sensed Hope’s capture, had mustered all the strength in her to crawl by herself, something she hadn’t done all her lives: thanks to the knowledge of how to crawl she’d received from her brother earlier, and for the Nappy of Limitation Hope had unstrapped from her buttock to make her nippy.
Standaloof seemed glad to see herself now crawling. She had crawled across a footpath and had entered a bushy area where she spotted a tortoise which seemed to her as if stagnant—not moving. Standaloof taught the tortoise how to crawl by pushing it along.
Little Hope rushed into the inner room and pulled up the blanket, but underneath it was no Standaloof. “What the hell!” he yelled. Then he saw a tortoise making its way into the house via a wide crack. Still bedazzled by the sight, Hope sighted a head raised behind the tortoise and the mouth in the head uttered, “Ta—ta—ta!”
“Standaloof!” Hope expressed exhilaration when he discovered it was his sister.
It was dark before Hope’s parents and brother returned. They had been soaked by the rain.
“Hoosh!” Limitation yawned as she cupped her hand over her mouth. “What a day!”
“Lim, today’s wonderful,” said Mediocre as the three began to hit the conical orifices of their trumpets against their palms to get rid of the much saliva they had blown into them.
Limitation spoke up, looking straight into Hope’s lacklustre face, “Son, you’ve missed a great sight today on the building site of Miss Endurance where we remained blowing our trumpets unhindered. That celibate short-sighted old woman had to leave her site for us when we kept reciting our loud noise into the trumpets to disturb her Peace.” When Hope wouldn’t budge, she added, “Even the Hurt dwellers couldn’t touch us.”
“But they came here,” confessed Hope. “They captured me, but Standaloof crawled away secretly before they could lay their hands on her.”
“Keep quiet, liar!” screamed Limitation.
“It’s the truth!” Hope argued boldly but his speech did nothing more than eliciting hilarity from his parents’ mouths.
“It’s absurd! Standaloof crawled to safety but you couldn’t walk or run to safety yourself, or didn’t you say they captured you?” Mediocrity said amidst laughter.
“You lied that my baby crawled to safety? Standaloof can’t crawl, not when she’s having the weighty nappy beneath her hips!” Limitation added.
“But I taught her—I taught her after taking off the nappy,” Hope replied immediately.
“Liar!” Mediocrity yelled at him, then Limitation said, “Little boy, can I now ask you how you managed to escape from the hands of your captors?”
“Giant Faith set me free,” Hope replied, but was shunned.
“Ssh! The giant you’ve mentioned isn’t capable of setting you free, because he’s too powerless to face the hurters himself,” Limitation concluded.

Next....Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR
THE ADVICE OF MR. DOUBT

On the eve of Vulnerability’s journey to the Island of Greatness, Limitation sent for her elder brother, Doubt, to seek his counsel concerning her son’s departure. Limitation spotted Doubt through a crack in the wall and sent Hope to help bear his duffel bag. Doubt had scanty hairs on his head, being partially bald. The dark horn-rimmed spectacles set before his face seemed to be making his appearance spectacular, since the glasses had concealed the natural scary glares of his face. A wristwatch hung in the fob at the centre of his coat. Doubt would hardly take his face off the watch. Maybe he was doing so to call the attention of others to it. It was the Watch of Despair, which he got from his father aside the many scrolls he had kept in his study right inside the Flirts’ flats. The Watch of Despair was the only asset of Despair that had survived the destruction of the Den of Despair by Mr. Saint. The watch was not only indispensable to Doubt but was also the despair of those worshipping in Mr. Atheist’s synagogue called the Synagogue of Sinners. As he walked, his double chin lolloped beneath his jaw to give his head the shape of the caricature of a well-to-do personage. The orifices of his bulbous nostrils were as wide as the hole on the top of the long pipe in his mouth, whose stale smoke he had just puffed into his lungs. The smoke from the pipe of the moon-faced corpulent man almost choked Hope, who coughed and collected the load quickly. The man was about six feet and three inches tall, fat-faced, with a rotund physique.
“Dang! This load is too heavy!” grumbled Hope, and then he stumbled, dropping the heavy load immediately.
“Hope!” screamed Limitation. “Why did you drop your uncle’s load? Come on, pick it up right away!”
“I can’t!” rebuffed Hope sharply, exiting the room for another—the inner one. In annoyance, Limitation made to go after her rude boy, but Doubt restrained her.
“Lim, my little sister, blame not Hope,” said Mr. Doubt. “My loads are heavy indeed—too much for Hope to bear. I doubt if you’ll be able to bear it yourself.”
“But what d’you have in your bag that’s causing this heaviness?” Limitation wanted to know.
“Stones! Flat stones on whose surfaces my quotes are inscribed,” replied Doubt. “So, Lim, why did you send for me?”
“Uh! Did Vulne not tell you?”
“Not at all. The message was delivered to my son because I wasn’t home when he came. My son only told me that you wanted to see me. I doubt if Vulne told him what it’s all about.”
“Okay,” Limitation whispered. “Excuse me for a second,” she added, raising a fat finger as she adjourned to the inner room to summon her household to the parlour. As expected, they soon came, all of them.
“So sister, why did you decide to send for me?”
“To ask for counsel concerning my son Vulnerability.”
“On what?” he demanded curiously.
“On how he would make it to the Island of Greatness,” she replied.
“What!” Uncle Doubt yelled. “Limitation, I doubt if you’re in your right mind at all. Does it mean you now support your son’s journey to that bloody River of Achievement? So, you’ve been nursing such ambition without informing me.”
“But I sent little Hope to your flat in the Flirts’ flats to tell you about it last week,” Limitation hollered in amazement.
“I didn’t see a shadow, let alone Hope under my roof,” uncle Doubt revealed to Limitation’s displeasure. She turned to Hope and held his head in her hands. Then she turned Hope’s face to face her own face and yelled, “Hope is it true?”
“Yes it is,” responded Hope curtly, having mustered much courage to utter the mutter.
“Why?” Mediocrity screamed at him, but Limitation was dumbfounded already, staring with open mouth. “Why didn’t you—?”
“Because I’m convinced that uncle Doubt will surely douse Vulne’s dream of getting to the Island,” replied Hope audaciously. “More so, Father Sage has warned that we shouldn’t allow the air to blow the news into his ears, else, Vulnerability’s ability and agility shall be deadened.”
“Shut up there!” Limitation vociferated. “I wonder who put those words into your mouth.” Mr. Doubt had frowned in dismay when little Hope mentioned the old priest’s name; the name he would not want to hear all his lives.
“Hope!” he yelled. “Don’t call the name of that gray-head in my presence anymore, because he’s such a cruel man, using force to achieve things.”
“How do you mean?” Limitation asked her brother.
“The old fool is full of himself. He sent one of his nephews to destroy the foundation of my school.”
“Sorry for the loss,” they commiserated.
“I doubt if the Sage is wise at all,” said Doubt. “I also doubt his love for this family; if he’s really in good term with this wonderful family, he wouldn’t have encouraged Vulne to make a move toward the Island of Greatness, since it was on this same journey Alacrity lost his life. Remember, Alacrity of then with is stout physique was by far stronger and more agile than the Vulne of now with his cadaverous look when he left for the Island, yet he died in the River of Achievement.”
“He didn’t die in the River of Achievement,” came up Hope’s voice. “But in the forbidden River of Haste,” he added.
“Keep shut!” Limitation yelled at him and then turned to face her brother. “Old brother, don’t get annoyed with us.”
“Why would I? Hope, listen to me, both the River of Achievement and the River of Haste are the same, since both are leading to your supposed Island. Listen to me, Hope, whether those rivers are existing or not, the truth is this—no one can get into the Island of Greatness through them.”
“But Badmanner scaled through the River of Haste to the Island of Greatness,” Hope responded but his uncle debunked, saying, “Wasn’t that a rumour spread by your friend Gooddream and his brothers? It’s a blatant lie that Badmanner got into the Island. Even if the story was true, I’m sure Mr. Goodluck wouldn’t smile at him for such act. Mr. Goodluck will definitely not agree with someone who got to the Island through the forbidden river.”
“But neither Vulne nor myself will go through that route, but through the River of Achievement,” Hope said. In silence, uncle Doubt stared at the cracked ceiling of the Dilapidation dwelling place, and through it he saw the position of the sun in the sky.
“I doubt if this argument would have been settled before the sun settles in the west to rest for the rest of the day. Lim, I blame it all on you.” Doubt faced his sister.
“Why?” she was shocked.
“If you hadn’t named him Hope, the hope that he could elope with Peace to cope with the slopes on the road to that abstract island wouldn’t have been within his scope.”
“But you shouldn’t blame me for this!” Limitation frowned. “You’d rather blame Mr. Nonsense; you know he was the person who left us and left Hope with us, thereby leaving us with no hope of naming our son the name we crave, allowing Father Sage to christen him Hopefulness instead of the Hopelessness we had in mind to name him.”
Uncle Doubt shook his head sideways to pity Hope. “Well—nothing spoils,” he said. “Let’s just have it at the back of our minds that whenever we call Hope, we’re only meaning it for Hopelessness our boy.” The house burst into a mocking laughter. Hope became extremely annoyed at their teases. He rushed out of the room to an inner one.
“Hopelessness, will you come back here right now?” Limitation was yelling, but her shout was not potent enough for Hope to change his mind.
“Let him alone,” Doubt spoke, hissing. “Just make sure you do everything in your capacity to prevent him from leaving the house, else you’ll have another child drowned in the river.”
“I’ll do just that, my brother,” she responded humbly. Surprisingly, Hope entered the room again, feeling awkward, and all eyes went gawking at his direction as if he was a hawk in search of a-day-old chick. They could not conjecture his gesture. The boy bent to carry Standaloof into the inner room so he could teach her how to stand, but Limitation screamed at him, having detected his intention.
“Hope, drop that poor girl right away!” she cried. “I know that you know that I know that you want to take her away to teach her how to move, isn’t it?”
“Yes of course!” Hope replied without a trace of fear. “Or is it crime to teach someone how to move?” Hope was expecting to hear his mother contradict him. However, this time it was Doubt who responded, “It’s big crime for that matter. It is good aim that Standaloof should remain maimed, lame and tamed here in accordance with her name instead of letting her walk out of Dilapidation to be dead in those evil rivers.”
“It’s not good,” Hope debunked rudely. “If it’s crime then Father Sage hadn’t composed the poem: step by step, such is life...if one do not take a step forward, then another person running forward will see the stagnant fellow as though he’s taking a backward step. That’s what the priest taught us last week,” Hope spoke earnestly.
“You’d better doubt the priest,” Hope’s uncle said. “In fact, you’d better doubt all who want you out of this house.”
“I can’t remain here! I can’t remain here!” Hope cried with all his soul. “How can I remain in a place like this where bed bugs and mosquitoes wouldn’t stop bugging my toes? They would not also cease to seize the blood in my sinews and suck the little red liquid in my buttocks because of these holey walls that would permit millions of them in at once. Also, rats and cockroach of reproach approach and encroach on my meals every day before I’d had the chance to feed on the meals myself. I’m tired of this dungeon whose beauty could only be compared with the ugliness of that hideous hideout called Dungalow bungalow.”
“Quiet!’ Limitation scolded. “There’s no room without mosquitoes. I’ve been to all houses in Average Street, and in them all, there are bed bugs and mosquitoes. I’ve been to the Dotage cottage, Pottage cottage, Dungalow bungalow, Flirts’ flats, Flatterers’ flats, Hurt huts, Duplicity duplex, Hostility hostel, Castration castle, Abandoned abode, Innocency inn, Unstable stable and more, yet none of them is free from mosquitoes. So what’re you saying? I’m sure that in your said Island of Greatness mosquitoes abound, biting the islanders’ toes.”
“Not just mosquitoes in the islanders’ rooms alone—” said Mediocrity, “But bees on bed too, as well as termites in garments and worms on roofs.”
“And I doubt if there aren’t centipedes and millipedes in there too,” said Doubt, laughing jokingly.
“It’s not true!” screamed Hope. “Father Sage said the island is free of all such impediments.”

“I’ll prove you wrong,” Doubt responded as he made haste to unloose his weighty bag. He unstrapped the bag and produced a big flat stone from it, on whose surface was inscribed a quote. “Lim, have this.”
“What for?” she demanded.
“Read the quote on it,” instructed Doubt, but his sister made a fleeting frown followed by an affected smile.
“Brother, don’t mock me,” Limitation said softly, with a feeling of embarrassment.
“Oh Limitation, how could I forget so soon that you’ve got a limitation, and your limitation is that you can’t read or write, right?” Doubt had just remembered his sister’s challenge. “Since you can’t read, why not deliver it to one of your sons to read it on your behalf? It’ll help Hope to keep shut.”
Limitation’s eyeballs roamed their sockets as she gave her mind to the thought of whom the stone should be given. Hope’s face beamed with audacity while Vulnerability’s own were left to beam out timidity, but Standaloof’s were of nonchalance. At last, Limitation got rid of the burden in her heart and the one on her hands too as she said “Vulne, have this” and handed the stone over to him. “Read it for the whole house.”
“I can’t!” Vulnerability said slowly. “I can’t read or—write.”
“What!” Limitation yelled. “What d’you mean?”
“Em, er, uh, we weren’t taught in my school of thought how to read or write, because our proprietor, Mr. Simpleton, believes that the idea of combining reading skills and writing skills with oral ability is extraneous. Therefore, we only do all our tests, exams and assignments orally.” Vulnerability returned the flat stone.
“Which school’s that?” demanded Doubt, doubting Vulnerability’s testimony, having stared long into those timid eyeballs he carried.
“The Simpleminded School of Thought,” Vulnerability answered.
“It’s outright nonsense!” Doubt remarked angrily. “In the school I shall have here I won’t adopt such nonsensical principle. Instead, I’ll teach my students to read and write. Then I shall have the credit to myself that Doubt’s School of Thought is the best. According to the latest ranking, the Do-nothing School of Thought is the best, and then the Fools’ School of Thought follows…Slander School of Thought, Simpleminded School of Thought and so on. Knowledge School of Thought was the worst in Happy-Go-Lucky since its inception until it was relegated.”
“But what’s it they teach in the Do-nothing School of Thought?” Mediocrity asked curiously.
“Nothing other than nothing,” Doubt replied at once. “Students get to classes and sit around round tables for eight hours without uttering a word. Many of them remain behind for extramural lessons, which would usually span two hours, speechless still, chins in hands, hands on laps. Funny enough, the school is the costliest in this town. The year I sent Idleness my only son there I almost could not afford two triangular meals daily.”
“Maybe that’s where Standaloof will attend too—later,” said Limitation elatedly. Doubt replied, laughing, “I doubt if you can afford the fee. Simpleminded simple fee you couldn’t afford let alone Do-nothing’s naughty fee. So—who’s reading this for us, because I shan’t read my quote myself?” he added.
“Hope can read quite well,” Vulnerability confessed. “I saw him reading a book secretly those days in the Simpleminded School of Thought before he was caught and sent out of class by his teacher then.”
“Hope, can you?” Doubt asked with an iota of doubt. Hope gave a nod in the affirmative and all eyes eyed his eyes with high expectations.
“But how come you could read and write?” Limitation asked curiously. Hope uttered, “Those days while I was attending SMSOT, I do sneak out of school to sneak into another school called KSOT to attend their classes.”
“What’s this SMSOT-KSOT stuff?” yelled Hope’s parents impatiently.
Hope smiled and said, “That was the technique we employed in KSOT to shorten long statements. SMSOT simply represents Simpleminded School of Thought while KSOT means—”
“Knowledge School of Thought, right?” Doubt interrupted eagerly. Hope replied, “Yes.”
“What!” Mediocrity cried. “Do you mean you sneaked into Mr. Knowledge’s School without his knowledge? You should be punished for this. Don’t you know that stolen knowledge is bad? You must return to Mr. Knowledge in the Valley of Ignorance where he’s now abiding to return to him all the knowledge you wrongly acquired in his school.”
Hope smiled and said, “But we were taught there that knowledge is indelible.”
“Enough of your talks father and son. This stone is too heavy for me to bear a second more. Hope, have it and read into our ears now,” said Limitation, utilizing a tone of command, which was ignored by little Hope. To save time, Doubt collected the flat stone from his sister and read it himself:
Doubt all things except Doubt’s words
For if you doubt Doubt you’ll die quick
The Mediocres were overjoyed save Hope and the aloof Standaloof who had been forced to lie on her mother’s lap, which she slapped hard in fury for being hindered from crawling on the floor. Limitation had to hold her tight on those laps since she was nursing the bizarre fear that she would crawl long miles into the River of Achievement someday to sink in it.
“You’ve heard my quote, which is just a quarter of the iota of the quota I have contributed to the good of this good family this moment. Hang it on your walls gently, but don’t wait until the weight of my quote break down your walls before you act upon it. Only allow it to break down the walls of your heart and give you heartache whenever you quote it,” Doubt instructed meditatively. “In conclusion, let Vulne not risk his life at all, else he’ll die briskly. Instead, let him remain and quote my quote daily, because he has no agility to swim through a stream let alone the ability to make it through a river. Have my words.”
“Thank you, my wonderful brother,” said Limitation clasping her brother’s arms after clapping for him, but Mr. Doubt said quickly, wanting to buy time, “Bye-bye to see you by and by.” Mr. and Mrs. Mediocrity rose to accompany him. Standaloof was sitting on her father’s shoulder.
Vulnerability looked sad, fearing the slander he would get from past mates in whose ears he had sounded his trumpet few days back. He had visualized the return of his mother to turn to him and shout, Vulne, I guess you’ve heard what your uncle said—that you shouldn’t make a move to leave this town to the Island of Greatness.
I know already, mother, and I shall listen to my uncle, Doubt, Vulnerability had thought to respond. Limitation soon returned to the house with her husband and daughter, and as expected, she warned the children, quoting Doubt’s quote now hung on the wall, which she had committed to heart already.
“Vulne, take your uncle’s advice and remain all your lives in Dilapidation dwelling place where—”
“I’ve already made up my mind to stay here mum,” intruded Vulnerability. “No going back.”

CHAPTER FIVE
THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF HOPE

Hope could not hold up his head straight in the streets anymore because the streets’ children were strictly making life unbearable for him. They were not relenting in poking fun at him all the time. Slander jnr. even beat him up without a reason, Mr. Slander his father, being the proprietor of the Slander School of Thought. The boy was the only son of his father, therefore they had pampered him overly.
“Hope, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Liar,” Slander jnr. slandered Hope when he was walking down the street. “Your father and mother and brother bothered us that he’ll get into the Island of Greatness yesterday, but till today the River of Achievement is still as empty as it used to be. And I’m sure that forever it shall remain that way.” Slander jnr. laughed heartily but Hope nipped his laughter in the bud when he replied, “It shall not remain empty forever because I’ll surely enter in someday.”
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughed Slander. “Someday? Maybe your rotten skeleton will be dumped in there after your funeral. Ha! Ha! Ha!” Amidst the laughter, Slander walked hurriedly to Hope and twisted his arms mercilessly. He threw him at the floor eventually.
“I’ll show you how my dad and mum and aunts and uncles welcome new students into the hostel called Hostility in my father’s school.” At that instance, the boy kicked Hope severely with his hard Sandal of Scandal and allowed him to wallow in the sand until he had swallowed some of it.
Vulnerability did not escape torture as well, for he was accosted by Badmouth and Loudmouth when he was walking towards the Flirts’ flats where uncle Doubt dwelled. Since Vulnerability must need to pass before the Slander School of Thought before he could get there, he knew that trouble was imminent. Unfortunately, the school had just closed for the day and the day students were returning home when Vulnerability reached the school vicinity.
“Vulne, come here!” cried Badmouth and the boy obeyed immediately, jittering like the plucked strings of a guitar.
“I—I’m h—here,” Vulnerability confessed cowardly.
“Are we blind not to know that you’re here?” Loudmouth screamed at him, then Badmouth said, “Vulne, one day your brother will bother your father to go farther to murder your mother.” Instantly, Vulnerability began to weep as though the bad speech from Badmouth’s lips was a whip that was whipping his hips. To prevent being made a laughingstock, Vulnerability quickly began to rub out his tears. But another sentence from Loudmouth sentenced his action to death.
“Vulne, far from you lies the ability to get to the Island of Greatness!” Loudmouth jibed aloud. “Your effort in blowing the Trumpet of Imagination with agility few days ago is in futility today and shall remain in futility till infinity.”
“And dilapidated walls shall remain to fence your abode forever,” Badmouth barged in, someone who had been successively emerging the best student overall in the Slander School of Thought for years. “Loudmouth, let’s begin to torture the future out of this vulture,” added Badmouth and immediately they began to thump Vulnerability’s body.
Hope was shocked beyond measure when he saw Vulnerability shedding tears in the little shed behind the house.
“What are these tears for?” Hope asked inquisitively.
“They b—beat m—me up,” Vulnerability sniffed and stiffened like a baby as he tried to stifle the tears.
“Who?” demanded Hope. He was clearing his brother’s unwept tears off his face. The tears were unusually cold. “Tell me who beat you,” Hope asked again, looking into his cold palm.
“Badmouth and Loudmouth attending the Slander School of Thought. They made fun of me and…it pained me the most. They said they’ll torture the future out of me.”
“They can’t torture the future out of you,” Hope assured. “Slander jnr. also beat me up today too, but I had to bear it,” added Hope, helping to wipe the tears off his brother’s moist face. Just when Vulnerability’s teary face was getting dry, he let them get wet again as his eyes gave way for the release of the lachrymal gland beneath. Hope was shocked.
“Vulne, what again? Haven’t I pacified you enough?”
“You’ve t—tried my brother, b-but—but…”
“But what?”
“Badmouth said you’ll bother my father to go farther to murder my mother,” confessed Vulnerability with deep concern, but was surprised at Hope’s indifference. “Hope, are you not saying anything?”
“Well—I guess Badmouth was only trying to do his homework,” Hope replied thoughtfully. “What d’you mean?” asked Vulnerability.
“You see, in the Slander School of Thought, the more you slander people, the more your score gets greater. I’m sure what Badmouth said was a product of the lessons he was taught today in his School of Thought. It’s a kind of homework, I guess.”
“Hmm!” Vulnerability said. He was now grinning. “Hope, let’s go inside to continue our talks so mum wouldn’t come close to hear us.” Without further ado, the two got into the house through a wide crack. They had not entered in for long when Hope said, “Vulne, you’ve disappointed me. And ultimately, you’ve disappointed Father Sage who predicted seeing you in the Island of Greatness.”
“I was scared,” Vulnerability said remorsefully. His greasy face was creased with sorrow. “I couldn’t stand with mum to withstand her commanding tone, her tons of stony words, her blistering glance of lance and the pains of the rains of the abuses I would get if I disregarded her instructions.”
“You don’t need to be limited by mum,” said Hope. “If you’d performed everything the Sage wanted you do, I’m sure by now Mr. Goodluck had been here constructing the Bridge of Influence that will link here to there.”
“Is that so?” Vulnerability said with a beaming face and Hope gestured in the affirmative. “If that’s true, Hope, then I shall never give up on the island,” Vulnerability vowed with enormous strength of character, but his audacity bowed out for cowardice when they suddenly caught a glimpse of Limitation in the room.
“Vulne!” screamed Limitation. “What have I just heard you say?”
“I—em—er—uh, I—I—”Vulnerability stuttered uneasily.
“Don’t you know that our walls are special ones?” Limitation said critically. “They have ears and mouths—dilapidated walls—they tell me everything you’ve both discussed.”
“Walls don’t have ears!” Hope faulted. “You definitely heard our voices through the cracks on the walls.”
“Shut up!” Limitation yelled as she loosely whacked the jug before her and reached for Hope’s jugular. Then she turned to Vulnerability and said, “Vulne, it’s best to give up on the Island of Greatness today to avoid borrowing the Arrow of Sorrow tomorrow. Be content with the content of the dilapidated garden eggs in this dilapidated garden and forfeit the feat you are not fit for—the feat of getting to the island.”
“Yes! Yes! I’ve given up on the island already before Hope raised my hope just now. Mum—I shall now permanently forget about getting to that island,” Vulnerability promised passionately.
“That’s a very good decision my son.” Limitation hugged him. She soon left Vulnerability and came to Hope to speak soft words into his head. “Hopeless,” she addressed as she caressed his nape as though she cared for him. “There’s no place like home. Your home is Dilapidation and it will be best for you to remain in it. As you know, there are enough rooms here which your future wife can indwell with you. Stay alive here with your mother, brother, sister, together with your father, rather than taking the risk of travelling to a never-existing island where those aspiring to get to have ceased to exist now. Therefore, my son, it’s safe for you to dwell among the Mediocre family in Dilapidation dwelling place in Average Street in Happy-Go-Lucky town forever. Have you heard?” she concluded with a soft tone, expectantly.
“I have heard,” Hope replied sombrely and his mother smiled mildly. “But I’ve not accepted,” he added, sending to flight the light smiles on her cheeks. In a flash, Limitation’s white eyes had turned red and her grinning face green as she held Hope by the neck again, shoved him terribly and threw him at the floor. Then she went low, pinning him down with her heavy arms. Hope howled incessantly and struggled like a camel overburdened with loads as he tried to free himself from Limitation’s trammel. The more he struggled the lesser his strength was becoming. Her attention was soon diverted when Mediocrity rushed in with Standaloof, both of them wearing happy faces.
“Why are your dimples so deep into your cheeks this way?” she asked irately.
“It’s good news, Lim!” Mediocrity replied. “Standaloof can now stand on her own! She just did that now!” Without further ado, Mediocrity set her down and she stood on her feet unaided, to the shock of Hope and Vulnerability. Seeing his sister now standing, Hope rushed to her, crouched before her and pulled out a hand to beckon on her to come closer, but Limitation did not reckon with his idea, therefore she yelled in annoyance, “Stop! Stop! Stop!”
“But why?” asked Hope dauntlessly.
“It’s enough for Standaloof to stand only. As such, she’ll be living to fulfill the meaning of her name—Standaloof, not Walkaloof. Don’t try to turn my daughter into a toddler. I mean don’t teach her how to walk.”
“Hmm!” Mediocrity sighed. “What a wonderful wife I’ve got here! You have foresight!” He was staring at his wife with admiration.
“You’re right, Med. I foresaw the danger in allowing Standaloof know how to walk, so I shall forestall it. She’ll walk aloof aloft the pink river and then sink suddenly, drinking a whole lot of the messy water to death before getting to the brink.” Mediocrity nodded to her statement. However, Hope’s face remained stony. In anger, Limitation said, “Hope is the black horse in this house. He’s trying each second to influence Vulne’s personal interest. But I shall now put a demarcation between them.”
“But how’s that possible?” asked Mediocrity with interest. “Remember, their rooms are linked to each other by the numberless cracks on their wall. So, they’ll always communicate through them.” Limitation smiled and replied, “Sweet Med, trust me. I’m Limitation, therefore trust me to set a limit.”
Before sunset, Limitation had set a demarcation. She had tied some elongated ropes across the cracks in the wall separating her sons’ rooms.
“Don’t cross these ropes to the other side,” Limitation commanded. Little Hope could hardly wait for his mother’s exit before poking his head into his brother’s room.
“Vulne,” Hope called silently. He soon discovered that his brother was fast asleep, yet not covered with the blanket. “Vulne,” Hope called again, but with a louder tone.

“Yes,” whispered Vulnerability, yawning out of sleep.
“I’m coming over.” Hope got into a wide gash beneath the Ropes of Limitation to enter his brother’s room.
“Hope, what’s it you’re doing? Crossing your limit?”
“Ssh!” sounded Hope. Vulnerability kept silent. “Vulne, what are you going to do about it now?”
“About what?” asked Vulnerability with a sense of innocency.
“Will you remain in Dilapidation forever? Will you now allow Father Sage’s dream pass away without fulfillment? Don’t you know what the multiplication of the implication of your staying behind in this place would result into? Will you stay here until these four tall walls fall on you, or until the mosquitoes here suck you dry? Won’t you—?” Hope ceased speaking when he discovered that Vulnerability had burst into tears. “Brother!” exclaimed Hope, clinching to his brother and shaking him.
“Hope,” his brother replied, sniffing. “It’s no wish of mine to remain here dishing out my blood to mosquitoes and bedbugs. But I’m scared of mum and uncle.” As Vulnerability made an end to his speech, he burst into tears again, but Hope nipped it in the bud when he said, “C’mon Vulne, clear your tears and fears and wear you dear smiles once more, because the way to the Island of Greatness is quite easy.” Eagerly, Vulnerability sat up to listen to Hope, but then Hope coughed.
“Come on, tell me what you mean by that.”
“Those days, when I sneaked into Knowledge School of Thought, I was taught that the River of Achievement is the easiest of all rivers to scale through.”
“But why’s it that none has passed through it from here?”
“Fear!” replied Hope at once. “Every Happy-Go-Lucker refuses to make a move towards this river because of Fear. The few who had tried crossing it had ended up giving up to oppositions from foes’ kicking toes and warring hoes.” Hope’s parable was incomprehensible to Vulnerability, who dimmed his eyes and frowned to gesture that he wasn’t getting Hope’s expatiation.
“It seems you are not getting my speech,” Hope perceived.
“Yes. Is there anyone who have tried getting to the island but was kicked and killed with toes and hoes?”
“Not really,” replied Hope, smiling. “In Knowledge School of Thought, kicking toe is the term we use for describing whoever is against the idea of crossing the River of Achievement and warring hoe for the dwellers of the Hurt huts.”
“Hmm!” sounded Vulnerability with delight. “Tell me more about the Knowledge School of Thought. Can’t wait to hear more!”
“There’s too much to say about KSOT,” Hope said as he cleared his throat. “Well—I’ll begin from the teachers over there. Mr. Experience was the best teacher in the Knowledge School of Thought. I’ve often heard this fact confirmed by Father Sage, and by Mr. Principle the principal of KSOT also whenever we were queuing up on a line called the Line of Reasoning on the assembly ground. Back then, Mr. Experience was teaching in the Level of Attainment and the Level of Tolerance in the Thinking Faculty in the Knowledge School of Thought.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes—so serious,” Hope replied frankly. “Father Sage would always say, Experience is the best teacher—not only the best in Knowledge School of Thought, but the best in the whole of Happy-Go-Lucky.”
“But during the last Happy-Go-Lucky Teachers’ Award Day, Mr. Inexperience in the Do-nothing School of Thought was the one awarded the best teacher, not your said Mr. Experience. Can you please explain this? In fact, Mr. Experience’s name did not appear in the long list.”
“Yeah, you’re right, Vulne,” Hope admitted. “I believe you know the abhorrence harboured by the Panel of Partial Judges towards the Knowledge School of Thought. So you can’t expect a teacher from there to be recognized.”
“That’s true!” exclaimed Vulnerability, pushing his left index finger down the dimple on his right puffy cheek to index his acceptance of Hope’s assertion. In ten seconds, four cheeks were set into conspicuous smiles, but Vulnerability’s own two were soon filled up with questions to pour out. Without hesitating, Vulnerability asked, “Why is Mr. Experience regarded the best in that school of yours? What are his teachings like?”
“He’s got pragmatic approach towards things, believing that critical practical and nothing more, is the key to becoming a good student. Mr. Experience would always tell us stories about his own past, asking us to pick up and kick away.” Hope paused to clap, having noticed a huge flying mosquito whose transparent potbelly was appearing blood red.
“Pick up what?” asked Vulnerability in confusion. Hope replied, “His past good deeds we pick up, wrong ones we kick away.”
“Pick or kick? Wonderful!” laughed Vulnerability delightfully. “So tell me now—what are his past deeds?”
“It’s a long story,” Hope grimaced as though not pleased with the idea of sharing the story. “Took a whole school term for him to share—but I’ll summarize it up.”
“Mr. Experience was born to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Evil who were residing in the Hurt huts. He was born just a day after Mr. Evil his father died. Immediately after his birth, his mother and uncle threw him out of the Hurt huts through the Widow’s window for no known reason. Father Sage found him hurt beside the Hurt and shedding tears. He picked him up and took him away to cater for him in the Dotage Cottage where he was christened Experience.”
Experience dwelt with Father Sage until he was six when Mr. Torment his uncle and Mrs. Evil his mother came forcefully to claim him again. Father Sage readily released the poor boy to them to avoid strife.
Experience experienced a great deal of torment from Torment his uncle who did always ensure to clothe him with the Garment of Torment lined with thorns in the inside as a punitive measure for the puny boy’s several attempts of escaping the Hurt huts to live in the Island of Greatness. Experience became a scapegoat, for he was not able to escape being tied down with ropes like a goat.
For years Experience kept on receiving tortures from all in the Hurt huts. Luckily, he escaped their evil treats eventually and spent most of his lifetime sleeping and hanging around in the Abandoned Abode where it was believed that he was influenced negatively by the lifestyle of two brothers—Fugitive and Vagabond. However, Experience didn’t stay forever in the Abandoned Abode, strengthening himself eventually to race to the River of Achievement in order to get to the Island of Greatness. Though Experience saw the River of Achievement with his eyes, he didn’t get into it...
“Why didn’t Mr. Experience get into the River of Achievement?” Vulnerability demanded hastily, being engulfed in the story.
“Because Despair the son of Discouragement, Uncle Doubt and mum’s father discouraged him from leaping into it and led him to the Den of Despair instead,” Hope declared sorrowfully.
“Gush!” screamed Vulnerability annoyingly. “He shouldn’t have listened to our granny—he shouldn’t have—”
“Our granny’s words were too heavy for Mr. Experience—that’s why,” Hope responded. “As you can see in mum’s character, our lineage from mum’s angle seems to be possessing great strength of character—I mean there’s a gene of evil genius passed from generation to generation—from Discouragement to Despair...and from Despair to Doubt.”
“Gene? Evil genius? I’m confused here!” hollered Vulnerability, nonplussed.
“You’d be confused because you’ve never stepped on the first step of the Knowledge School of Thought where terms like gene, genius and lot more were being used. All I’m trying to say is, there’s an evil ability in mum’s lineage which you can’t perceive visually, since it’s lying deep inside the blood. Father Discouragement passed it on to Despair his son at birth and Father Despair passed it to Uncle Doubt and Mum—at birth too.”
“What’s this gene?” Vulnerability wanted to know.
“Negativity.” Hope replied. “Always wanting to act in the opposite towards good things—advising people in the contrary,” he expatiated and silence descended on them. Vulnerability’s voice pervaded the silence as he asked, “I’ve never seen you acting negative towards good things—the Island of Greatness. Are you not from mum’s lineage too? Then you’d be having that Gene of Negativity as well.”
“Well...maybe because I was christened by Father Sage,” Hope replied. “Perhaps the Hopefulness I was named has lamed and tamed that famed evil gene in me.”
“How did you get all these knowledge?”
“By paying attention in Knowledge School of Thought.”
“But why am I always scared—scared of everything, yet you said mum’s lineage possesses strong strength of character?” Vulnerability asked with heaviness of heart.
“Well—I think you’ve got more of dad’s gene in you,” explained Hope without premeditating. “Dad’s lineage feels inferior to others due to its poor background—Mr. Poverty dad’s grandfather and Mr. Austerity dad’s father were the two most cowed people in the history of Happy-Go-Lucky, choosing to leave houses behind to live with horses—an unstable life in a stable—feeding with Mr. Evil’s black horses in the Danger manger. This gene of fear was passed from Poverty to Austerity and from Austerity to Mediocrity our dad.”
Vulnerability got bored of the discussion.
“Hey, Hope, let’s talk about Mr. Experience. Did you say Mr. Experience told you this story of himself by himself?”
“Yes of course!”
“Then he must have learnt his lesson. Why can’t he now venture into this adventure again and get into the Island of Greatness by crossing the River Achievement?”
“He discovered this too late,” Hope replied sorrowfully. “Mr. Experience said that River Achievement can best be crossed by agile youths—not fragile adults—in whose bodies lie the vigour to swim through a wide river. So he thought it best to teach young ones how to make it through the river at their early stage of life instead of whiling it away while they are still tender and agile.”
“Hmm!” Vulnerability heaved. “With what I’ve heard you say, Hope, Experience is indeed the best teacher.”
“You get it!” Hope corroborated and then kept silent for silence to speak. Vulnerability interrupted it with a howl.
“Hope, let’s get going immediately!” Vulnerability was tugging at Hope’s right wrist.
“To where?” asked Hope, not having a clue.
“River Achievement of course!” replied Vulnerability boldly as he forcefully pushed up the Ropes of Limitation. Without further ado the two set out. They found Standaloof outside the house, dancing on a spot.
“Ta, ta!” she sounded playfully when she sighted her brothers.
“Ah!” screamed Vulnerability. “I’m doomed! Mum asked me to carry her inside when she was leaving for market this morning.” Hurriedly, Vulnerability bore her into her room and returned to Hope in a matter of seconds. Then the journey began.

Wow so so so nice. Rhymes and a whole lot of vocabulary. Sammy04real u are a talent has any 1 ever told you that. Pls y are people not here 2 read, comment and support this awesome writer? Let me stop here for now. Please kip it up m following. Lemme call small people I know safarigirl , TiffanyJ , Oyinprince , Abosi31 , Divepen1.

bumsiee:
Wow so so so nice. Rhymes and a whole lot of vocabulary. Sammy04real u are a talent has any 1 ever told you that. Pls y are people not here 2 read, comment and support this awesome writer? Let me stop here for now. Please kip it up m following. Lemme call small people I know safarigirl , TiffanyJ , Oyinprince , Abosi31 , Divepen1.

Thanks a bunch bumsie...but I am still a learner o.

bumsiee:
Wow so so so nice. Rhymes and a whole lot of vocabulary. Sammy04real u are a talent has any 1 ever told you that. Pls y are people not here 2 read, comment and support this awesome writer? Let me stop here for now. Please kip it up m following. Lemme call small people I know safarigirl , TiffanyJ , Oyinprince , Abosi31 , Divepen1.

Thank you Bumsiee. I sight you too.

register my presence just like BVN

rockhillz:
register my presence just like BVN

lol

CHAPTER SIX
TEMPTERS BEHIND, ATTEMPTERS AHEAD

Hope and Vulnerability had not trekked long miles when they came across Goodwill, Goodwish and Gooddream who agreed to accompany them to the River or Achievement.
Mother Witch peeped through her window and noticed five silhouettes striding towards the rough path believed to be leading to the River of Achievement.
“What!” she exclaimed as she noticed the persons of the moving figures.
“Hope, Vulne and the Goods!” she cried. “I must stop them,” she said, smiling sinisterly as she rushed out of the room to get the Bads aware. Mother Witch thumped the door of the Bads so hard that she nearly ruined it. For fear, the three brothers rushed out to see who was at the door. They heaved sighs of relief when they saw Mother Witch.
“Mother, what’s it again?” asked Badwill, panting.
“Come and see,” she replied. “I’ve got a task for you.”
“I wish it’s not a task too hard.” Badwill said uneasily. “Because I’m afraid of Revenge who could be sent after us after we’ve accomplished your said task.”
“Forget it,” Mother Witch responded. “It’s a very easy task, and I’m sure Revenge won’t get himself involved in this. Little Hope is heading down the hill, towards the rough path leading to the River of Achievement. I want you to go bring him here right away.”
“What a good news!” the Bads exclaimed simultaneously, and in a jiff they were all out of the Hurt to capture them.
Mother Witch tarried behind the Widow’s window, smiling to herself in self-conceit. Her smeared widow’s weeds hung loosely down the window, for she had put them there for a blind. To the left of the window was an old cupboard whose interior was reeking terribly. It seemed like the old woman wasn’t perceiving the nauseating smell, perhaps dotage had ripped her off her olfactory organs. The tall wooden cupboard had been named the Fume Cupboard, for inside it was where Mother Witch did poke her head whenever she was fuming at any of her tenants to avoid scaring them to death with her horrifying face made worse with angry mood. On the cupboard sat a calabash containing a giant rafflesia flower oozing out its usual concentrated rotten meat smell to attract houseflies, whose tastes she relished for dinner. Brooms of various sizes hung down loosely from her dusty ceiling with cobwebs entwined around them. Geckos scuttled from one place to the other to contend for food with Mother Witch who would feel cheated at the sight of them feeding on her favourite meal— roasted houseflies.
Mother Witch perambulated the stuffy room antsy as she anticipated the return of the Bads with Hope in their grips.
“I shall now capture Hope and end this adventure,” she grinned wickedly. Just then, her door wrenched open forcefully.
“Who’s there?” she cried out suspiciously.
“It’s me!” replied a feminine voice, and then Mrs. Jealousy entered. She looked dowdy, perhaps because of the outworn attire on her. The look on her frog-eyed face conspicuously suggested that she must have been here for something very crucial.
“Hey, it’s you Jealo!” Mother Witch heaved. “How dare you barge in just like that?”
“I’m sorry my lord,” she apologized. “I spotted the Bads hurrying out of the Hurt just now, and I’m sure they’re up to something bad.”
“So?” Mother Witch frowned.
“I asked them where they’re heading, but they refused to tell me,” Mrs. Jealousy said angrily. Mother Witch smiled as she bit the corner of her lips a bit. “Tell me, mother, did you send them on an errand?”
“Of course yes!” said Mother Witch. “Anything?”
“What errand mother? What errand?” Mrs. Jealousy asked with great concern. Mother Witch gazed into her bold face and sensed in them a measure of trepidation.
“Why are you scared, Jealo?”
“Mother, each time the Bads are out there they incur the wrath of Revenge who comes here with Waste and Drunkward from the Dungalow bungalow to tear the little pieces of peace we’ve got here into pieces the more.”
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughed Mother Witch. “This time the case is different. This kind of errand hadn’t wrought the wrath of anyone. Come over and let me tell you what it’s all about.” Eagerly, Mrs. Jealousy bent her head towards Mother Witch and the whisper done into her left ear made her right cheek to bulge in smiles.
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” she laughed loudly. “Ha! Ha! Ha!”
“Come over and let’s see through my window what has become of Hope and his friends,” Mother Witch said. Immediately the two began to peep through the Widow’s window after pushing aside the widow’s weeds improvised for blind.
Hope and Vulnerability were seen hurrying down still, towards the River of Achievement. They weren’t wary of the Bads who were skulking after them. Suddenly, Mrs. Jealousy’s face wrinkled in displeasure after pondering on a thought. Mother Witch detected and said, “Jealo, it seems you’re getting annoyed with somebody. You’d better go and keep your face in my fume cupboard for some time to avoid—”
“Mother, it’s wicked of you to be doing away with my child, my only son, in this great errand. I’m sure that if you have included my child in the company of the Bads, kidnapping Hope would become easier.”
“Oh, Jealo, why think in this manner?” Mother Witch replied. “I’m not bearing any grudge against your son, Stubbornness. All I have in mind was that this task is too easy for three to perform. Why then should I send four to achieve the feat three could perform so well? Listen, Jealo, if you think including Stubby will do to make you glad, then it isn’t too late to send him.”
Mrs. Jealousy’s joy knew no bound over the news. Hastily, she rushed out of the room. In few minutes she was back again at the Widow’s window with Mother Witch.
“I can see Stubbornness rushing towards the Bads,” said Mother Witch in a low tone. “Well, I wish he’ll bring good luck this time.”
In silence, the twosome remained at the window, but a sneeze from Mrs. Jealousy beckoned on the attention of Mother Witch.
“Huh! Jealo, what’s this sneeze about?”
“Oh! It’s nothing,” said Mrs. Jealousy quickly, but the former wasn’t ready to give in to her reply.
“Your sneeze is composed of envy, isn’t it, Jealo? And you must tell me what you’re envious of.”
“Mother, you’re right that I’m jealous over something,” said Mrs. Jealousy. “I’m jealous over these Bads.”
“How?” howled Mother Witch like an adult owl.
“Father Creator has been so unfair towards my only child and me. See, Stubbornness has no brother or sister to share the sweetness of life with him. He’s living in isolation in the Hurt here without a brother—or at least a sister.”
“You’re funny,” laughed Mother Witch. “But he’s got you around him, isn’t it?”
“You’re right Mother, but the vacuum of brotherhood remains unfilled in the life of Stubby. He’s got only me—no brother, no father. As if that’s not enough, I’m a widow too. Mother, tell me why life’s been so unfair to me.” She broke into tears but Mother Witch tore her tears apart when she yelled, “It’s you who are unfair to life, Jealo. If you are calling yourself a widow just because you’ve lost Envy your husband, what is then left for me to call myself? Barren? Widow? Bereaved? Well, each one would do to fit me, whose husband and children all died one after the other. Listen Jealo, I had ten children in the past, all died and my husband wasn’t spared too, yet everyone pointed Fingers of Accusation at me, calling me the murderer of them all. But it was my horrible look that fumigated them when I was fuming at them. Thereafter, I made the Fume Cupboard so that I could do my fumes into them.”
“Oh, Mother—”
“Your son is luckier than these triplets, Baddream, Badwill and Badwish. How? Stubby has parental care but the Bads haven’t had one. Their mother died on her birth bed after giving birth to the triplets.”
“And who was their lucky father?” she demanded, yet she knew him so well.
“You mean the father of the Bads?” Mother Witch requested and replied almost immediately, “Mr. Wickedness is the Bad’s father, but he died few months before Mrs. Wickedness was delivered of her triplets.”
“How did he die?”
“He died in the brutal hands of Giant Faith, the son of Mrs. Wisdom who was exiled few years back.”
“Tell me more.”
“According to what I heard, Father Sage sent Giant Faith to destroy Wickedness School of Thought, the very first school to be established by someone from this Hurt. While Giant Faith was destroying the school of Wickedness, the owner confronted him boldly, bringing Go-Lucky soldiers along, who were armed with the Arrows of Sorrow, but Giant Faith dealt them all with mortal blows, leaving Mr. Wickedness severely battered. The wounded man passed away after two weeks, after becoming too weak to live.”
“Dang!” Mrs. Jealousy yelled in rage. “This Faith is wicked for murdering Mr. Wickedness. Mother, was he not the same person who rescued Hope from your grips last week?”
“Exactly! If not for this Faith and his family who keep things balanced, by now Happy-Go-Lucky would have been destroyed utterly by Mr. Wickedness’ School of Thought, where it was taught that being wicked, and nothing more, is the only solution to every situation. I shall not rest my hoary head in the grave until I’ve dashed Hope and gotten rid of the lives in the Faiths,” Mother Witch revealed belligerently.
“And how shall you achieve these?” asked Mrs. Jealousy. Mother Witch grinned wickedly as she replied, “I don’t know yet. C’mon let’s keep eyes on our children.”
The five had trekked long miles along the hilly paths, yet they hadn’t spotted the River of Achievement. Vulnerability seemed to be the most bored of the journey, demanding rest every moment.
“Vulne, it’s no time to rest yet,” Goodwill had said. “It was rest we were having last year when Badmanner caught up with us and misled us to the River of Haste where the octopus caught up with Alacrity and cut off his life.”
“Listen Vulne, if you rest on your way to the Island of Greatness, you may not reach the River of Achievement,” said Goodwish. “How I wish Alacrity had heeded Gooddream’s advice then, who told him to beware of resting. He sought rest and found it, and then rested in pieces in the belly of the Octopus of Trouble after wrestling with it.” Hope became irritated by the discussion, so he craved to change it. That he did successfully when he said, “Let’s forget the past and continue this journey. Recalling past failure can lure into future failure,” Hope added, quoting Father Sage’s quote.
The journey persisted but not without Vulnerability insisting on resting.
“I’m tired brother! I’m tired! Rest is what I need, nothing more.” He wept like a baby.
“Brother let’s keep moving,” psyched Hope in exasperation. “I’m now tired myself but I can’t give room for rest this early.”
“I need rest!” screamed Vulnerability insistently, breathing hard. “Let me rest while the rest of you can keep moving,” he demanded further but Goodwish yelled “No!” at him as he pulled him along.
The Bads had lost sight of Hope and his colleagues and they were now weary and worried.
“Badwish, Baddream, what shall we do now?’ Badwill asked.
“Let’s do my hobby,” Baddream said as he hobbled after them gnashing his teeth, having gashed his leg against an outcropping stone few moments back while he was sleepwalking.
“Your hobby? Sleep?” replied his brothers funnily.
“Of course yes! I’m tired of this task!” he hollered fumingly
“Tired of this task…tired of this task…” they chorused as they yawned along, but a voice behind them sent their chorus into extinction:
“I AM NOT TIRED!”
It was the voice of Stubbornness.

“Stubby, you’d better bury your obstinacy and let’s have some rest here together,” they advised. “Or aren’t you exhausted too?”
“Exhausted my foot!” Stubbornness screamed at them. “Remain if you wish, but I’m going right away to seek them before they get into the River of Achievement,” Stubbornness reacted angrily, rushing away from the sight of the Bads.
“It’s good for him to leave,” Baddream whispered and ejected a nauseating draught from his mouth. “Remember, Stubby isn’t going to co-operate with us as we all know, so let’s not worry over him.”
“Yeah, you’re right, brother,” agreed Badwill as he lay on the ground beside his two brothers.
The ups and downs on the way to the River of Achievement seemed to be the secret behind everyone’s lacklustre stance on getting to the Island of Greatness. There were numerous hills and rocks on the way to climb, some bare and some overgrown with crabgrass to make them slippery. The footpaths had many unpleasant twists, thereby making the journey an irksome one. In no time, a great mass of dust had fastened to their clothes and had bedecked them with the grungy appearance of a vagrant. A sprightly stinking hog jumped out of the mire near a bale of hays and ran haywire ahead of them, yet Vulnerability trembled at its sight even when it was not coming for them. On the paths they traversed stood shrubs and trees having thick barks drooling saps. Some of them, the deciduous ones, now stood stark naked and withering, for they had shed all their leaves and were now deprived of the colourful weaver birds which had left for some greener pastures. The dogwoods waved their flowery hands as though to the seekers of the River of Achievement, yet their action had only been propelled by the gust pushing forcibly at them from every side. The sight of the foliage plants close to the foliated rocks on the path they trod captured the attention of Vulnerability and the triplets such that they halted for a long time to stare at them. Hope was shocked when he suddenly found himself few metres ahead of them. He had to rush back to them.
“What are you staying back here doing?” Hope asked, miffed.
“We felt like staying behind an hour to play with these roses,” they chorused, having plucked a handful to nuzzle, but Hope said sharply, “Life is not a bed of roses, says Father Sage. Did you plant those roses there? So why should you reap them when you haven’t planted them?” They sulked. As they turned their backs against the roses, they found steep hills ahead of them, which they must need to climb. Each time, Vulnerability would hiss under his breath, thanks to little Hope and Goodwill who supported him all the time while climbing the rocks and hills.
“Why am I doing this?” Vulnerability would ask in tears. “Tell me, why? I never attended the Tough-minded School of Thought, if at all there’s such one in Happy-Go-Lucky, yet I’m been forced to perform this hilarious uphill task of hill-climbing.”
“Vulne, stop complaining and start complying. We’ll surely get there,” Hope motivated.
“Get there? Did you say get there?” Vulnerability reacted aggressively. “No! In fact, I no more believe Father Sage’s words that there’s an Island called Greatness. I doubt his dream as well.”
In annoyance, Hope cried, “And what’s the basis of your doubt?”
“Uncle Doubt’s words, Doubt all things except—”
“Hold it!” screamed Hope to keep him shut, and instantly Vulnerability began to jitter.
“Let him complete his speech, Hope,” Goodwish requested and Goodwill added, “Perhaps it could be of help to us in this journey.”
“No, brothers, it’ll proffer no help,” said Hope. “Let’s forget it and keep moving.”
As they moved, the Goods’ curiosity grew. They wanted to know what Doubt’s quote was all about. Hope paced faster, not realizing how far from the Goods and Vulnerability he had gone. In ten minutes Hope was far out of eyeshot to the Goods and Vulnerability.
“Here’s an opportunity to satisfy our curiosity,” said Goodwill, smiling. “Now, brother, tell us your uncle’s quote.”
“Nay my brothers,” Vulnerability replied wanly. “Remember, Hope warned me not to do that, and I trust Hope for his advice,” added Vulnerability. His declaration sent six knees bowing before him, getting him into confusion.
“We adjure you to tell us,” said Gooddream. “Right from the time you gave the half-quote few minutes ago, I’ve been weighed down by the Weight of Curiosity.”
“Myself too…and Goodwill: that was exactly why we couldn’t keep pace with Hope any longer,” Goodwish divulged.
“Now tell us,” they said unanimously and Vulnerability began to whimper and whisper.
“What? Why weeping like a baby?” questioned Goodwill.
“You’d better say like a lady,” argued Gooddream.
“Hey boys, why talk about his tears? Let’s wipe it for him,” Goodwish said passionately. In a jiffy, thirty fingers were on Vulnerability’s cheeks, not to slap them but to rub out the tears on them.
“Thanks brother,” Vulnerability whispered with his hoarse voice as he sniffed and smiled.
“So?” asked the Goods…
Stubbornness had fallen over a boulder several times but he wouldn’t give up.
“I shall receive the favour of Mother Witch if I could kidnap Hope all alone,” said Stubbornness who had been tracing the pugs left behind by the seekers of River Achievement. “Ha! Ha! Ha!” he laughed as he trudged along.
“Doubt all things except Doubt’s word, for if you doubt Doubt, you die quick,” said Vulnerability and all four went a-yawning.
“Ouph! I think we have to rest now,” Gooddream said, sitting on the sand.
“Rest? Oh, rest is indeed the best choice now,” said Goodwish as Goodwill sang, “Rest is sweet! Rest is sweet!” Undoubtedly, Doubt’s quotation being uttered by Vulnerability had altered the functionally of their body systems, perhaps enervating the cells and tissues in them and making them go drowsy. Vulnerability laughed satisfactorily to himself as he joined the Goods in ‘bed’, and in a short while, they were all dozing off, their mouths producing snores.
Little Hope sighted a cave and his interest was caught by it. Ecstatically, he exclaimed, “Hey my good friends, did you get here with Alacrity before Badmanner lured you away?” Hope, being astonished at the silence responding to his question, turned around hastily and discovered he was alone.”
“What!” he yelled in shock.
Baddream thumped up from sleep suddenly and then screamed, “I have a dream!” His noise got his two brothers up too.
“What’s it Baddream?” they asked.
“I have a good dream,” Baddream whispered wanly.
“What’s it?” Badwish demanded hastily as Badwill said, “Tell us quick!”
“I saw Stubbornness catching up with Hope and his fellows.”
“What a good dream, Baddream!” Badwill yelled excitedly, glancing into Baddream’s sleepy face. “We must hurry to catch up with them—now.” Badwill led the way.

Wow! I'm short of words to say, but this story is awesome, never read something like this on NL before, Kudos bro.

Let me invite some of my friends to read this wonderful work;

Onemansquad
Bluestarry
kingphilip
seunviju
aprilwise
Cheskabiney
Fembleez1
Noela12
hadease

bumsiee:
Wow so so so nice. Rhymes and a whole lot of vocabulary. Sammy04real u are a talent has any 1 ever told you that. Pls y are people not here 2 read, comment and support this awesome writer? Let me stop here for now. Please kip it up m following. Lemme call small people I know safarigirl , TiffanyJ , Oyinprince , Abosi31 , Divepen1.

Present

Oyinprince:
Wow! I'm short of words to say, but this story is awesome, never read something like this on NL before, Kudos bro.

Let me invite some of my friends to read this wonderful work;

Onemansquad
Bluesta rry
kingp hilip
seunvij u
aprilwis e
Cheskabin ey
Fembleez 1
Noela 12
hadeas e




Present

baba i c u jae abg shift ma sidon
*picks 4one and calls lilyomi stuff46 adeh39

Onemansquad:
baba i c u jae abg shift ma sidon *picks 4one and calls lilyomi stuff46 adeh39

*Pick up the phone but realize its flashing