Fiction

Dried Roses by Claire Eze

16 Comments

There’s this thing everyone in Lagos is acquainted with, something whose only job is to provoke. It stares you in the face with empty eyes giving no care to your social status, your health problems, or your efforts to revoke your financial instability with an 8:00am appointment. Doesn’t matter who you know. It taunts you with a staring game, almost daring you to win, but you can’t win. It’s been living here long before you came, though not in the early stages of the state’s 77 years as the Country’s capital but long enough to become the city’s trademark, something you are not. It isn’t what one reaches out and feels; if it were tangible, it would have been dead long ago; if it were dead, Amara and Jidenna wouldn’t have met.

Jidenna, whom, growing up, everyone called “Eze Okpokoro train”, meaning he could close his teeth and still have enough space for a train to pass through. A piece of evidence he sucked his thumb as a child. Jidenna, whom everyone thought would die while in University, he had rolled with a group of over-ambitious boys who wanted fast money. He couldn’t do what they wanted, and so they lashed at him. Here was Jidenna sitting behind the wheels of his Toyota 2004 model, honking at the Venza 2015 model in front of him, who was honking at the yellow and black molue, honking at a truck. He was on his way to appeal to Zenith Bank, Maryland, for the umpteenth time to grant him a loan; however, this thing in Lagos had other plans for him.

An okada man, in a bid to bypass this thing, turned with his passenger to follow the BRT lane before Anthony Busstop but mistakenly collided with an incoming. The BRT swerved wrongly, and in a split second, the man’s head was under the bus throwing out its secrets, painting the tarred road a very bright red. His passenger had her left knee cap exposed and tibia sticking out. Everything is always a mistake; nobody ever deliberately sets out to meet death on a glorious morning like this; that is nobody but Amara. A morning that would have seen her last day on earth. She had planned it out last night: jump on a bike, make him take a bad turn, get killed, and be free forever. On the tarred road was the dead man, and about two feet from him was Amara, screaming murder from the pain in her leg.

Amara, who growing up, everyone called “Ogbanje”, a water spirit because her skin dazzled, and her black eyes sparkled like she had water in them. Her grandmother had insisted on marking her face to prevent the water goddesses from making her one of theirs, but her mother wouldn’t hear of someone marring her beautiful daughter’s face because of some silly belief. Amara whom everyone loved from afar but avoided in University, as rumor has it that anyone she rolled with blossomed for a while, dried up, and fell off like dead roses approaching the end of its season. There was a reason her grandmother called her “Ochicha mere ihe eboro oke” (the cockroach who does things everyone believes to have been done by a rat).

Days after the incident Amara would marvel at the general misconception about suicide, who knew that deciding to live another day wasn’t bravery, but mere cowardice. Days after the incident, Jidenna would marvel at his willingness to go poke-nose at something that had nothing to do with him. On a normal day, he would never have opened his car to go peep, most especially when it had a gathering. If you’ve lived in Lagos as long as Jidenna had, then you would know the risks of getting mugged in broad daylight in any small Lagos street gathering. On getting to the scene of the crime, amidst the voices echoing for the ambulance, and the voices offering to rush the lovely girl to the nearest hospital in their cars, Jidenna got a hold of the bike whose back wheel was still rotating after people pulled the girl from under, he started it and urged people to put the girl behind. He had gone a long way from the scene before he remembered that his car keys, phones, and wallet were in his car and his door unlocked. Jidenna would come back to meet his car parked at a corner, two agberos sitting on his car bonnet, smoking and waiting for the good samaritan who had saved the beautiful girl; they were safeguarding his car as a thank you.

That accident, in collaboration with the thing in Lagos, started something it shouldn’t have between Jidenna and Amara, something his inner eye foresaw and told him to let go of Amara, but he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He was more concerned about Amara leaving him. Since Amara accepted his promise ring while in the hospital on one of his numerous visits to her, his business had flourished like never before. Where he used to appeal for loans, banks sent agents to his home and office trying to convince him to get their black card. He’s had to change his personal phone number multiple times; he was living the life he had envisioned for himself. What could possibly go wrong? 

Discharged from the hospital and with one and a half leg, Amara moved in with Jidenna, living off the wealth he insisted had come to him through her. She didn’t believe him; you know how men lie, but she stayed anyway, living. Months after the horrible accident, Jidenna’s younger sister moved with them into their new home in Rockview Estate at Ago Palace Way, Okota, to complete her education. Somehow Chizoma did more of caring for Amara than furthering her education; the other anomaly was how happy Chizoma was, doing it.  

She would never let anyone else touch Amara’s meal, run Amara’s water, or make Amara’s bed. For the first two months, everything was okay until Chizoma began drying up like a dead rose; if Jidenna noticed, he never uttered a word. One afternoon, Chizoma took a nap and slept forever. 

Jidenna’s mother, in her grief, came all the way from Nnewi, Anambra state, to heal. Some days after her arrival, she began taking care of Amara. Mama bloomed and laughed like her life’s been filled with nothing but happiness, like her husband’s first wife hadn’t cost her the “mama ejima” title, by poisoning her twins at ten months, like her husband hadn’t driven her out of his house and turned her remaining kids into servants, like she hadn’t risked her life and freedom to smuggle in rice and drinks from Cotonou, so she could sell in Lagos, get enough money and get her kids out of that hellhole. It was as if God himself had wiped her grief slate clean. 

One evening on her way to deliver Amara’s dinner of stir-fried veggies and a glass of hot Tumeric, Mama fell and broke her hip; that night, Jidenna picked up his phone to call his eldest sister Chinyelugo. The last time he saw Nyelugo was at Chizoma’s burial. They had exchanged hot words, words that time cannot heal. Nyelugo had told him to his face, he used their baby sister Chizoma for a money ritual and wanted nothing with him. Hearing strangers whisper was one thing, but coming from his sister? It broke him. He smashed the phone.

That night Mama cried like never before; God hadn’t wiped her pains, just archived them. Jidenna didn’t hear his mother’s heartbreak. His and Amara’s moans drowned the sound. That night Mama crumpled; Jidenna didn’t feel his mother’s spirit leave her body. Amara’s toothless hole already had him sinking into the same pit of ecstasy mama just exited.

Rockview Estate residents often see the beautiful lady with one and a half leg limping on her crutch, swaying under the weight of her groceries. They offer help when they can but never to the point of going into her house. Rumor has it that anyone she rolls with blossomed for a while, dried up, and fell off like dead roses at the end of its season.

About the Writer

Claire Eze is a writer and editor at WiglessMag.Com. When she’s not working, she’s masquerading as a Rihanna stan. Tweet at her @FentyCops

You may also like

16 comments

  1. Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your site is very cool. I’m impressed by the details that you have on this web site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for extra articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found just the info I already searched everywhere and just could not come across. What an ideal site

    Reply

  2. Nice post. I was checking constantly this weblog and I am inspired! Extremely useful information specifically the closing part I care for such information much. I used to be seeking this particular info for a long time. Thank you and best of luck

    Reply

  7. Swift Casino mantiene baja la latencia y la calidad de la red se
    muestra en tiempo real. Todos los juegos en vivo están en un área
    del lobby y puedes ordenarlos por proveedor, idioma y apuesta.
    Tienen transmisiones HD, múltiples ángulos de
    cámara y tiempos de carga rápidos tanto en dispositivos móviles como de escritorio.
    Nuestros estudios en vivo están abiertos las 24 horas del día, los siete días de la semana.
    Puedes guardar tus variantes favoritas, crear una fila de acceso
    rápido y sincronizarla con todos tus dispositivos en Swift Casino.
    Cada semana salen nuevos libros en Swift Casino y aparecen primero en la pestaña Nuevos.
    Puedes ver todo esto en nuestro lobby de casino, y la mayoría de los juegos tienen un modo donde puedes
    practicar.
    Para que todo sea justo para todos, los puntos sólo se pueden ganar jugando con dinero real.

    Para mantenerlo después de eso, necesitarás alcanzar el objetivo de puntos del nivel cada 30 días.
    Si elige unirse a Swift Casino, podrá ver las reglas de inmediato.
    Sí, nuestro salón está diseñado para que la subida
    sea fácil, incluso si eres nuevo en los casinos, si te gusta una interfaz limpia y ayuda rápida.
    Cada 30 días, se realiza un seguimiento del progreso y,
    en Mi cuenta, Swift Casino te lo muestra ahora mismo.

    Marque la casilla “VIP” en su perfil para obtener recompensas especiales.
    Puedes ver fácilmente lo que cambió en SwiftCasino después de cada lanzamiento.

    Para ver contenido, ofertas y términos que sean más relevantes
    para usted, cambie su región y moneda a €.
    Dependiendo de las leyes en España, los servicios que puedes obtener pueden ser diferentes.
    Hay una interfaz en español y soporte de chat
    en vivo y correo electrónico para Swift Casino en muchos lugares.
    Además, si lo necesitas, puedes limitar la cantidad de dinero que puedes depositar, tomarte
    un tiempo para relajarte o autoexcluirte.
    Nuestro proceso KYC requiere documentación válida antes de permitir retiros, garantizando que solo usuarios autorizados accedan a nuestros servicios.

    Implementamos políticas estrictas de verificación de edad y identidad para prevenir el acceso de menores.
    Estas herramientas incluyen cuestionarios validados científicamente y recursos educativos sobre juego responsable.
    Estas notificaciones te ayudan a mantener el control y tomar
    decisiones informadas sobre tu actividad de juego. La función de autoexclusión está disponible por períodos de 24
    horas, una semana, un mes, seis meses o permanentemente.

    El acceso puede ser limitado o el sitio puede enviarlo a otro
    lugar si Swift Casino no tiene licencia allí.

    Sólo los sitios con licencia española pueden dirigirse a ciudadanos españoles porque la DGOJ es la encargada de supervisar
    los juegos de azar online en España. No puede obtener crédito de
    SwiftCasino y le pedimos que solo use efectivo que pueda permitirse perder.

    Si vemos un riesgo, podemos poner límites a la cuenta, detenerla temporalmente o pedir información sobre cuánto
    cuesta. Verificamos su edad e identidad con una licencia de conducir, pasaporte
    o identificación nacional y, si es necesario, prueba de su dirección. También tenemos límites
    de pérdidas y recordatorios de sesiones en SwiftCasino,
    para que siempre puedas ver cuánto tiempo has gastado y cuánto dinero has ganado.
    Cuando bajas un límite, desaparece de inmediato, pero
    cuando lo aumentas, tarda 24 horas en surtir efecto.
    El cajero cifrará cualquier información confidencial de su dispositivo con Swift
    Casino y la enviará únicamente a las pasarelas que hayan sido verificadas.
    Siempre nos aseguramos de que la persona que recibe el dinero sea propietaria de la cuenta
    a la que va el dinero antes de procesar cualquier pago en euros.
    Es fácil entender cómo funciona Swift Casino mirror
    Casino, por lo que puedes disfrutar más del salón y pasar menos tiempo adivinando.
    Todas las recompensas se pagan en € y puedes
    hablar con nuestro equipo en vivo o por correo electrónico en inglés o español.
    Le informaremos sobre cualquier cambio por correo electrónico y aún podrá ver su historial en el centro VIP.

    Los límites de juego incluyen restricciones de tiempo
    de sesión y límites de pérdidas que se activan automáticamente.
    Nuestras políticas de protección incluyen límites
    personalizables, recursos de autoayuda y protocolos estrictos de seguridad de datos.
    Una vez confirmado tu correo electrónico, podrás acceder
    inmediatamente a tu cuenta. Esta combinación de licencias
    oficiales, tecnología avanzada y variedad de entretenimiento
    permite que los jugadores disfruten de comodidad y confiabilidad desde
    el primer momento del registro en nuestro casino
    fiable. Nuestro generoso bono de bienvenida del 100% hasta €50 más 50
    giros gratis en el primer depósito establece las bases para una experiencia de juego emocionante desde el momento del registro.
    Ofrecemos más de 2,000 juegos que incluyen tragamonedas populares, jackpots progresivos
    y experiencias de casino en vivo inmersivas.
    Ofrecemos límites de sesión, enfriamiento y autoexclusión,
    y nuestra licencia es de la DGOJ. Con un RTP
    promedio del 96%, ofrecemos más de 2000 juegos de
    NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Play’n GO y Evolution.
    Swift Casino mirror recently posted…Swift Casino mirrorMy Profile

    Reply

  8. Størstedelen af de danske online casinoer acceptere begge typer kort, men der kan opstå begrænsninger, når det kommer til at lave direkte udbetalinger til
    kreditkortet. De giver dig mulighed for let og hurtigt indbetale penge og i visse tilfælde også
    til at hæve gevinster direkte til kortet. Husk at det
    oftest altid er i bunden af en casino’s forside, hvor der tydeligt kan ses hvilke betalingsmetode der er
    tilgængelige. Med sin skarpe pen og sit rolige overblik guider Line brugerne igennem
    alt fra MobilePay og Payz til skattefri gevinster og
    hurtige udbetalinger.
    Den største fordel er hurtige udbetalinger, men ulempen er, at Skrill ofte
    er udelukket fra velkomstbonusser. Den bruges især af erfarne spillere,
    der ønsker hurtige overførsler og fleksibilitet på tværs af casinoer.
    Neteller fungerer som en digital pung, hvor du kan styre både indbetalinger og
    udbetalinger til casinoer. PayPal er verdens mest udbredte e-wallet og et oplagt valg for spillere,
    der vil have både ind- og udbetalinger samlet ét sted.
    Metoden er øjeblikkelig, nem at bruge og kræver
    kun dit telefonnummer.
    MobilePay er en dansk favorit, hvor du kan indbetale direkte via
    mobilen. De kombinerer høj sikkerhed med hurtige transaktioner, hvilket giver den bedste oplevelse for spillere, der vil have både tryghed og tempo.
    Derfor fremhæver vi bankoverførsel, MobilePay, Apple Pay og e-wallets som PayPal som de oplagte valg.

    For danskerne vil det sige bankoverførslen, MobilePay eller debet- eller kreditkort.
    Ikke alene får du den ovenfor beskrevne fleksibilitet hver gang du bruger
    dit MasterCard, ikke kun til Spil Casino Med de Bedste udbetalingsforhold (Blackcoin.co).
    Trustly gør det muligt at foretage onlinebetalinger direkte fra din bankkonto på en sikker måde.

    Mastercard er et af verdens mest brugte betalingskort og accepteres på mange danske licenscasinoer.

    Tiden fra anmodning til pengene står på kontoen afhænger af casinoets behandling, bankens
    cut-off og om din konto allerede er fuldt verificeret. Bank overførsel er en klassisk
    måde at flytte penge mellem din bankkonto og et online casino.
    Vi anbefaler, at du altid læser de fulde vilkår og betingelser
    for bonussen hos det enkelte casino, før du spiller.

    Her kigger vi kort på forskellen mellem såkaldte debetkort og kreditkort.
    Men der er stor forskel på, hvilket kort, man fisker
    op ad pungen og vælger at betale med. De fleste danskere betaler
    med kort. Trustly er hurtig og er fx betydeligt hurtigere en bankoverførsler.
    Når vi taler MobilePay, er der et vigtigt at have for øje, hvilken aftale
    man har med ens bank. Nej, fordi din far har sagt “ja”
    til at du må låne hans kort, er der ikke tale om dokumentfalsk, men det betyder imidelrtid ikke at alt er fryd og gammen. Hvad bør man være opmærmsom på
    ved bedste casino sider betalingsmetoder?
    Betalingsmulighederne er fleksible, med understøttelse af både traditionelle
    metoder og moderne løsninger som MobilePay og PayPal.

    Når det gælder betalinger, er der masser af fleksibilitet – MobilePay,
    PayPal, Trustly og klassiske kort gør det nemt at indsætte og hæve.
    Spilleautomater, bordspil og et live casino sikrer, at der altid er noget nyt at prøve, mens sportssektionen giver ekstra action til dem, der også kan lide at oddse.

    I denne liste fremhæver vi fire danske casinoer, der skiller sig ud med fremragende betalingsmuligheder, lave gebyrer og hurtige udbetalinger.

    “Jeg kan godt lide at bruge Visa eller Mastercard til mine udbetalinger, da der næsten aldrig er gebyrer på, og pengene ofte er på min konto inden for et døgn.”
    “Når du tjekker vilkår til udbetalinger, bør du altid holde et vågent øje på gebyrer og behandlingstid. Tjek også, om der er gebyrer forbundet med udbetalingen – både fra casinoets og din banks side. Mange casinoer kræver, at du bruger samme metode til både ind- og udbetaling.
    Denne artikel dykker ned i alt, du bør vide om online casinoer i Danmark – fra de grundlæggende sikkerhedsforanstaltninger og lovgivningen på området til regler for gevinstudbetaling og beskatning.
    Blackcoin.co recently posted…Blackcoin.coMy Profile

    Reply

  16. An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a friend
    who was doing a little research on this. And he in fact
    bought me lunch because I stumbled upon it for him…
    lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!!
    But yeah, thanx for spending time to talk about this issue here
    on your blog.
    egypt visa application by post recently posted…egypt visa application by postMy Profile

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge