Upheavals 1

The members of Yvonne's umuada or female kindred gyrated their way to the well decorated and expansive rostrum  where gaily dressed members of the high table were well seated amidst amplified local music blasting from the huge speakers and energetic dance steps,their chunky high heels clucking noisily along on the tiled floor.


Their uniform-coloured head gear were tied dish-like around their heads and spread out,the edges shooting out like insect antennas  in different angles making them look like an army of worker termites going on a bridal flight. The master of ceremony,a male comedian who was cladded in shirts and dull-coloured,retro suspenders with pointy-toed shoes for comic effect  welcomed them,engaging the women in a theatrical exchange of pleasantries to the amusement of all before handing over the microphone to their leader who saluted the guests in their local ibo parlance,throwing her fist into the air for gustorial effect,she declared on behalf of her group their gift of a full set of expensive kitchenware and two billy-goats to the newly married couple to the cheers and applause of everyone after which the leader of the umuada went to shake the beaming couple who were full of gratitude, then the women all swaggered back to their seats with pride.

Different groups of people and individuals also went to present their gifts,each group trying to out do the other. We waited patiently till the brag-fest was over before we went to present our gifts to the couple,congratulating them on the milestone during which, QT whilst shaking hands with the groom enjoined him to take good care of his bride,I nodded approvingly, smiling afterwards,we bid them farewell and left the events hall where the reception took place.

QT looked rather forlorn on our way home and I could understand why,looking at him,I gave him a tender pat on his shoulder while my memory suddenly  flashed back to how our relationship with the bride began.


Yvonne,the bride was QT's first girlfriend,she once lived in our former neighborhood in garki abuja before they moved and subsequently,we also packed to our house in karu but back then in garki,they were teenagers bursting with unbridled love,Mom wasn't so fond of her primarily because she was not of her tribe or religion,Mom can be quite the tribalist atimes and occasionally paranoid when it comes to our choice of women,she has this un-trusting feeling towards girls who are not from her tribe,seeing them  as having a sinister plan to stay permanently by getting pregnant,so she made it a point of duty to always warn QT by sounding it into his ears to be wary of Yvonne's overwhelming affection towards him and not allow himself get tied to her by putting her in the family way,this totally galls me,making me wonder what it would have been like were Mom not educated.

I on the other hand was very fond of Yvonne,she is about the only female acquaintance of QT I got on well with so far,she had a sense of humour that one could not get enough of,she was cheerful,intelligent and was capable of holding evolved conversations and most especially, cared deeply about QT even though I wondered why she expends so much love and affection on a brute like QT (he would totally have my head for this,lol).


Their love blossomed beautifully until  they got to second year of senior secondary school when Yvonne's parent had her transferred from the same school as QT to a school in the east where they moved to upon her father's transfer at his place of work,this  apparently placed a strain on their relationship and ultimately breaking up albeit amicably. Years later, Yvonne moved back to abuja to live with her then fiancé who is to later be her husband.


On our way home,Karl promptly took off his alhaji cap,turning on the car air conditioner to cool down,he obviously isn't used to wearing our native wears and despite two harmattan seasons past since he's being in nigeria,he is just barely tanned. I swiped against the screen of my phone at the back seat where I was,feeling the coolness of the breeze from the car air conditioner calm down my body temperature whilst using my tongue to suck out trapped shreds of meat I had at the wedding which were stuck between my teeth, navigating my way to my memo pad to begin typing a draft for keeping up with the adagiris' blog when Karl's phone began ringing,

"It's my mom!"

Karl exclaimed,quickly punching the "yes" button and lifting the phone to his ear lobe even though it was audible for us to hear the person on the other end of the phone.

Karl-  Hello mom,good to hear from you,how are you

Natalie- Baby,am not fine,I need to see you

Karl- Is everything alright mom?

Natalie- Am feeling depressed...like everything is closing in on me.

Karl- What of Andre? Are you guys having marital issues?

Natalie- I can't give all the details on the phone,I would send you some money for your flight ticket for you to come to new york this week,I would speak to Habiba to allow you visit me for a few days.

Karl- Woo! Hold up mom,so fast? Visit you this week?

Natalie- Don't you want to take a break from hot nigeria? Step into the states for a few days and see your friends...and me,your mom?

Karl- I just wasn't expecting...I..guess it's all so sudden,no problem mom,since you would speak to my Mom here,I would come over but am not staying there for long.

Natalie- (laughs) Guess you've really settled down to life in nigeria

Karl- You should try it too mom

Natalie- See you soon son! Lots to talk about.

Karl- Bye!


He sighed,QT who was behind the wheels asked if everything was alright as if to confirm

"Honestly am not sure...you heard her voice right? It's heavily laden with emotion,something is wrong and I have to find out"

Karl responded,navigating through his phone pictures to look at an image of his mom,I gave his shoulders a light massage from the back seat where I sat,assuring him all would be well

He smiled,saying he wished he could share my thoughts. We got to the front of our gate then QT punched at the car horn,signaling for Garuba our gateman to open up the massive barricade of steel,Garuba opened the peep-hole on the gate to confirm who was there and quickly flung the gates open upon seeing it was us. We got inside and met Mom reading a fashion magazine,we all greeted her and I went ahead to give her a peck on her cheek and saw she was busy putting an asterisk sign on the fashion styles she would love to get.

"How was the wedding guys? Tell me,was Yvonne looking stunning?"

She asked curiously,shutting her magazine close,I responded in the affirmative,going ahead to dish out all the details about how the event went as QT and Karl were pushing their shoes off their feet alternately with the other leg when Mom quickly cuts in through my gist,asking them to take their shoes along with them to their room as she couldn't stand smelly shoes

"I don't know why you guys are different,one of the reasons I decided to date and eventually marry your dad was because he doesn't smell,not a strong masculine smell about him and no smelly feet,even if his feet had been buried in his cover shoes all day,ironically,you all took after his blood yet,I just don't understand why you guys on the other hand not only have masculine smell but also smelly feet,Urggh!"

She rasped,wrinkling her nose in disgust

"Mom we ran out of shoe seeds"

Karl said,picking up his shoes and walking bare footed up the stairs after QT whose voice echoed back saying they smell because Dad's blood mixed with Mom's and they probably took after some of the men in Mom's family which got Karl cracking with laughter

Mom turned to face me excitedly again,asking me to continue my gist, wanting to know how QT and Yvonne both felt at seeing each other,my head cocked to one side in utter disbelief, it suddenly dawned on me why she was so interested in knowing all the details about Yvonne's wedding

"Oh Mother! Thou hath sly"

I said,she dissolved into gales of giggles,quickly feigning ignorance,asking me why I would label her cunning,I gave her a sarcastic nod,telling her I already knew her intention and that QT wasn't sad,rather,he was happy for her as he was not ready for marriage and she could not possibly wait for him,I went on to add that Mom should start working on her tribalist views so as not to get shocked should any one of us decides to marry outside our tribe

"You kids of nowadays know nothing,even in God's holy books,he said "...and marry from amongst yourselves..." Hence in time past and even till now,the practice of marrying ones cousins,be it within christian or muslim families is still prevalent,I won't accept you guys bringing in someone whom I can't communicate with in our mother tongue"

She countered,I rolled my eyes and asked her if she would accept if the lady in question who is not from our tribe decides to learn and then speak our local language

"Oh boy,just go away"

She dismissed me off.

Later that early evening,while listening to songs by evalescence on my room's sound system whilst changing into my workout gear preparing to go for an evening gym sessions with my brothers,Karl was still deep in thought about what his mom had told him,I slapped him on his thigh,asking him to get changed into his gym apparel,he stretched lazily on the bed then QT came in,asking him to get prepared

"Bro! I know you're still wound up about your mom but am sure she only just misses you,so shake it all off with some grueling workout session man"

Karl stood up and went to his wardrobe to change when the door flung open and Hamz rushed in,begging us to wait for him,he had gone out since morning for a friend's birthday party and was just getting back.

We started our workout as usual with some light jogging from our house to a spread out plateau on a high ground some meters away from our house where we normally work out,while on our way,some guys who lived 3 compounds away from us and who just love to hate on me,sneered at me and at my defence,Hamz charged violently at them,this resulted in a brief scuffle which QT and Karl quickly dispelled but left Hamz with a little cut on the forehead and the guys with varying degrees of bruises,Hamz in anger sulked at me throughout the rest of the day,I can deal.

After our rounds of squats and other light exercises,I took a break while my brothers continued with pumping steel. Afterwards,we went home and few days later,Karl got an alert on his phone of his western union control number for the money Natalie sent him for his flight ticket,he booked his flight online and the night he was to leave,Mom hugged him amidst tears,telling him she's expecting him back very soon,we've all gotten used to and loved having Karl around as part of the family that we didn't want him to go but we also understood how Natalie must have felt when he was leaving her. We escorted him to the airport and after all necessary protocols done,we hugged and his plane taxied off the runway on his way to new york. Back home,the house felt empty without Karl,during bedtime,I moaned in bed,feeling bored of not having someone to chat with on my bed before we sleep.

It was the cruelest of winters,the winds rabid off the frozen rivers near the airport,ice came down like poisoned darts,Karl descended the plane that brought him in from nigeria,rubbing his palms against each other ferociously to generate warmth and sucking it in by covering his now painfully red mouth with his palms. He went through the necessary immigration protocols and also got screened for ebola with an infrared thermometer which he found rather discriminatory,he went ahead to pick his luggage at the converyor belt when he heard Natalie screamed excitedly behind him,she came running towards him,throwing her arms around his neck,they hugged,exchanging pleasantries,Karl looked around,commenting on how new york hasn't changed much

"What of Andre,he didn't come with you?"

Karl asked to which Natalie nodded,saying no

"You know he's the mayor of this city so he's quite busy but don't worry,you'll be seeing him at dinner"

Natalie explained,they got out of the arrival lounge and entered into their chauffeur driven car which took them home.

At dinner,Natalie served her now complete family their meal and they all dug into their food while Andre,Natalie's husband and Karl catch up,asking him about life in nigeria,the weather,economy and politics,Andre nodded in admiration,impressed about how versed and knowledgeable Karl was about virtually all things nigeria while Natalie looks happy about how fast her son and husband were getting along when suddenly...


...Edward,Natalie's three year old son with Andre suddenly stood up and with a thumping gait,started walking around,Karl was shocked and called upon him to come back to finish his food but he could not stop,Karl turned to look at his parents and they were wearing sad but aware expressions,he didn't understand what was going on,Edward occasionally stumbled on objects and stools whilst walking as a teary-eyed Natalie quickly went to take off objects away from his path

"MAKE HIM STOP MOM...EDWARD!"

 Karl called out as he made to hold Edward but Andre pulled him back,he watched on in horror as Edward kept walking on,thumping his feet aggressively,his face and upper body obviously was tired out and wanted to stop but his feet seemed to have a mind of its own and wouldn't stop,after fifteen minutes of compulsive walking,he collapsed on the chair,totally exhausted and started crying,Natalie quickly ran to hug him,brushing his bob-styled hair off his innocent face,Karl was appalled


"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? WHY COULDN'T EDWARD STOP WALKING?"

Karl barked,both Natalie and Andre sighed dejectedly,Andre running his hand through his hair while Natalie sat,crossed leg on the rug,brushed her hair off her face and explained Edward's predicament

"I never wanted to tell you this because I know you too well as someone who absorbs other people's stress.."

Natalie started as Karl quickly cuts in

"Hold up mom! Why wouldn't you want to tell me? Huh? This is my half-brother mother! So ofcourse I should be concerned about his welfare,am highly disappointed you chose not to tell me"

Karl snapped,Natalie calmly continues

"Am sorry darling,I knew you were going through a lot trying to settle down to life in nigeria and didn't want telling you to seem like am emotionally blackmailing you to get you to come back,besides all this started less than six months ago"

Karl had his head in his palms,quite overwhelmed by all his hearing,he stood up and went to cuddle his little half-brother who was lying down,resting.

"So what is this ailment called and have you sought medical help?"

Karl asked,Andre cleared his throat and explained that it was a bizarre neurological condition that occasionally affects Edwards making him walk compulsively without stopping till he falls out of exhaustion

"We've sort medical help here in the u.s and also in india and australia,they don't seem to know what's wrong other than the fact that it's an anomaly in his brain,some liquid is seaping into his body which shouldn't be, causing overactivity in the part of his brain that controls his sense of mobility and neurosurgeons can't access it,it's too dangerous

"That's deep Dre"

Karl says,freaked by what he heard

"It's Andre Karl,am Andre to you"

Andre corrected,Karl rolled his eyes slightly,saying

"Oh yeah,Andre"

He stood up and left the couple in the sitting room. Lying on his bed,he kept tossing in bed,couldn't get some sleep then he remembered my trick in dealing with sudden insomnia,he stood up and went to get a cup of milk from the fridge and placed earphones over his head,drowning away in blues till he slowly fell asleep.

The night was silent,the air was cool,Karl tossed around in bed,enjoying his sleep when suddenly he thought he heard objects crashed in the kitchen,followed shortly by a muffled scream,he woke up with a start,looking around,his headphones were still on his head,he turned off his music player

"I must have been dreaming"

He thought to himself,throwing his blanket over himself preparing to hit the sack when suddenly he heard the main restroom faucet turned on and the tap running and sounds of struggle at the door

"Something is wrong"

He mustered under his breath,he threw his blanket aside and turning on his bedside lamp,quickly fetched a baseball bat lying near the wall,he tiptoed quietly towards the door and grabbing the door knob,he gradually turned the door knob open...


What happens next?


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