Destiny

Few days ago, I was having a discussion with a learned colleague of mine on “destiny”. I however discovered that so many people have different perceptions on what is termed destiny. Before I share mine, I would like to give you a bucket of water from his well of thoughts. He said and I quote “Destiny is not something that is pre-arranged or ordered by God as most people think. It is something that we act out, something that we make to happen. We have the power to make our destiny. So many people sit recumbently chanting the mantra “God dey” while they destroy themselves with the faith that that’s how their life was planned by God. It’s their destiny. For instance, if a mechanic wey no get money go marry three wives and get like fifteen children don dey suffer, he go talk sey ‘na so God want am’. Na God send am? If you don’t control your destiny, someone else would.

Another friend of mine was of the opinion that you can change your destiny. He cited the case of Jabez who changed his destiny from ill-luck to good-luck. “Was it God that predestined Jabez for ill-luck? NO! Unlike most of us today, Jabez rose above his inability, he took an action, he moved from his limited environment, he prayed to God to change his destiny. So many of us just have to put in a little more effort to change our destiny. A little prayer, a little more hard work and a pint of faith can do it all” Our destiny lies in our hands. On our palms lies the answer to every of our questions and with our hands put to work, we can achieve anything we set out to achieve. As heaven and earth is set before every man to make a choice, so also was Goodluck, Nuhu Ribadu and Buhari were set before us and so also is success and failure set before us. Unlike an election where a criteria of 18 years of age has to be achieved before one can vote, in the game of life, you don’t have to be 18 years before you can be a player… you don’t have to be 18 before you can set goals and achieve them… you don’t have to be eighteen before you can #DreamBig! You are not too young to make a change…it’s not late to re-write your destiny. All you have to do is to take that little step of faith, pray that little prayer of faith and take that little action of faith. Just as Jabez changed his destiny, you also can change yours.

The Untold Story

Only those walk down the path of darkness can tell the fable of a tortuous life. Only those who have experienced the scalds of fire can warn the new grasses of last summer’s bush fire. They say that terror lies wait for those who go out of their way to seek it…. Forgive me, I digress... The cologne of the street’s mistress revamped the stench of alcohol in the air. Every breath brought forth another round of a continuous odorous battle between the world’s strongest cologne and human’s greatest breath. Inebriated by simultaneous and spontaneous drowning, the effect was clear: distortion of her perception and wavering of her mental faculty. The process was easy enough. Impulsive clinging of the bottle followed by a swift movement of the hand…elevation at angle 45 towards the gut…gurgling sounds at the oesophagus immediately followed by a response from the stomach, a soft churning. This continued in replay from the fall of the sun to the rise of the moon. The ritual carried late into the night. Incantations became a mantra. If you could call gibbering punctured by loud burps incantations, the word suits the description. The stars were bright, competing with the moon. Hmm…a night of love. Indeed, every night was a night of love to Angel. The roads were deserted…a sort of coolness was in the air. The birds sang melodious symphonies chirping like it was broad daylight, providing solace for men of the underworld…the predators at night…the nocturnal beings working relentlessly at night and sleeping through daylight. Codename: Angel, nicknamed beauty, tagged sweetheart, christianed “useless child”, she was every man’s desire. Alas! The night became silent, more subtle than ever. The birds stopped singing, the insects left the gutters and up they went to continue their meeting at the beam of the streetlight for fear of imminent death at the trip of a drunkard. They all perceived the familiar cologne scent, the one which fills the air at the same time every night after the day’s work or rather, the night’s work. It was a sign of disaster, a disruption of the peace of the animal’s world. The other night it was the screeching of the wheels of a Jaguar that almost crushed the bearer of the cologne. The previous night, it was the soft moans and cries from the sidewalk along the street in blatant obedience to the rules of business: “Never let an opportunity pass you by, business can be conducted anywhere and anytime”. Oooh, a fortnight ago, wasn’t it the scent of the cologne that drove those frogs crazy and led to the sowing of thousands of seeds of future toads…another Valentine’s day in the animal kingdom. This night seems different. No, it wasn’t the cologne, it was the same scent that intruded the neighbourhood for three years running and is still catching the fancy of every man, married or single. If it was the same cologne then it was definitely the same person for no two people in the neighbourhood had that scent. Or, was it her dressing? Nay, absolutely not!. The thick, full but ever soft lips were still shining like brass, just like the shield of a knight which has been used to conquer many battles. Indeed, she had conquered many battles; many men had fallen at her foot under the spell of a kiss…a venomous contact. They were as red as ever, matching her deep red gown flowing from her arms nearly touching her knees. The shoes, though changed in sporadic succession every night were always by the same designer, ANGEL. Stilettos, spike heels, what do you call a nine-inched neck-breaking footwear?
*PAUSE* He had been throwing furtive glances at her for quite some time. He paid her parents more frequent visit. After all, he was popci’s younger brother and her parents saw nothing wrong with his sudden kindness. He bought chocolates for her and a milk-drink. He usually visited them in the evening with the excuse, “I just decided to stop-by and greet you brother, how is aunty and my angel?” Well, the name stuck long after she started the job as she became every man’s angel and messiah saving them from “wicked wives” who refused to perform their duty. He became interested in when she closed at school and offered to pick her up from school on his way from the office the following week since he was closing early and she was going on mid-term. Her father became suspicious… *PLAY* Drunk with the spirit of intoxication, she was walking in a cross-walk form, moonlight dance…call it moonwalk…  
”It’s close to midnight Something evil’s lurkin’ in the dark…”
 Each feet was put ahead of the other with great strength and tremendous swiveling, every step taken with an effort not to tumble and kill the insects in the gutter. The 45 degree elevation ritual was continued. The thoughts in her mind rambled and roamed, they fought against each other to occupy the greatest space in her small mind, clashing, clamping and clattering against each other in claustrophobic movement. Her heart was beating but with each beat, a pound was heard in her head, rather, it was felt…a musical note struck with each thought. The thought of undone years, of an unfulfilled past and a future shrouded in mystery. The rules of a gangstar:  
“Live everyday as it comes, give to the world as it gives to you for you know not what the future holds in stock for you”
 *PAUSE*
Nevertheless, popci accepted because he had an appointment that day. Her Uncle picked her up from school and brought her home but, no one was home. So, out of his kind and fatherly heart, he decided to stay back and watch over her. You know, she was so sweet and innocent, an angel indeed who became irresistible to Uncle Fatai. He started ‘at first with soft strokes on her rosy cheeks telling her that she was truly an angel. Within seven minutes, his tie was off, his shoe thrown on the floor, his shirt on the arm of the chair…Oooh, the heat was just too much. He couldn’t hold it any longer…his trousers were off and he offered to remove her uniform for her, such a charming uncle… *FAST FORWARD* The horn sounded, it was surely the sound of popci’s horn…Uncle Fatai’s senses were distorted…At the moment when the horn sounded, a seed had been sown… *PLAY* (Back to the present) She sure had a story to tell the next generation. Every thought came with the aid of a shot of spirit. It was a bitter story but it had to be told no matter the cost… *PAUSE* The seed was sown with the greatest pain she had experienced in her ten years on earth.  
“You must never have sexual relations with a close relative, for I am the LORD” Leveticus 18:6 “You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbour’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her…” Leveticus 18:19-20
With immediate alacrity, Uncle Fatai changed the uniform, wiped off the blood on the floor and put on his clothes. Alas a sudden air-conditioned breeze commonly called “fright” blew on Uncle Fatai but this time, he was sweating profusely. She weeped profusely, although not as much as Uncle Fatai was sweating from the hard work he had just done. Suddenly, he turned to her and warned that if she ever told anyone, she would be killed. The fright on his instilled fear in her…Daddy noticed nothing... his daughter had just gotten employed as a mistress… After her education, she got no job and she decided to work hard in the job she had been introduced to at a very young age. Well, it paid off as she got her pay after each round. At least, she was a sole-proprietor who owned a company in the temple of her body and she paid no rent and she was proud of it. *PLAY* The memories were hard to remember, not because they had been forgotten but because she was re-opening old wounds. She lived with and for her body mindless of tomorrow. The men came every time, men of all ages and from all walks of life, fixing their empty pipeline into her. She opened her thigh and everything in her; but, one thing she didn’t give up-emotions. They all had one thing in common- wealth. This night was different…sort of elusive…the night that brought back memories long immersed in bottles of alcohol…something was surely different… Immersed in her thought and submerged in alcohol, filled with spirit, doing the cat-walk, moon-walk, moonlight dance…to and fro…front and back, she walked backwards in zigzag trying to avoid the dazzling gutter, she failed to see the oncoming truck beaming with its full light…No, she saw it, but it was more of a torchlight than a headlight…  
 “You see a sight that almost stop your heart You try to scream But terror takes the sound before you make it You start to freeze As horror looks you right between the eyes You’re paralyzed” (Thriller by M.J)
 The birds expected to hear the screeching of wheels of a car but, this time, they heard something else…the crushing of bones This is completely a work of fiction and whatever semblance it holds with any life experience is completely unintended ................................................................................................................................... Whew! Hope it wasn’t too long. As I said this is pure fiction, no one’s life experience is adapted by this story. I just felt the urge to write something although I had no idea of what to write, I came up with this story. Abeg Oooo if there are any errors or *gbagauns* or any criticism, don’t hesitate to point it out, your contributions would be appreciated.

HEAVEN'S GATE

The alarm rang in its usual loud way as soon as it was seven O’ clock and as it continued, Stacey came round gradually to consciousness. Her initial spontaneous reactions was to jump off her bed, put off the alarm and have a bath in preparation for Chief Ferekun’s arrival. However this evening, she was unusually moody and this bothered her. What is there to be moody about? She asked herself thoughtfully. Is this not what I’ve always wanted? Unlocking her gaze from the ceiling, she turned and looked round the room. By her bedside were a number of expensive shoes and stilettoes which were always a subject of discussion whenever her friends came visiting. On the rack by the wall were bags of various colours, designs, and sizes. Her jewelry box was full and even the new one Chief bought for her was teeming with choice necklaces, wristwatches, pendants and earrings. On the stool beside her bed were her four phones each costing a value that could match her parents’ salaries. Even her bank account, the one she opened for the purpose, was not left untouched by Chief’s bounteousness. Her status had so changed within the seven months of their dalliance that she was able to buy herself an apartment off campus without batting an eyelid. But what stupefied her most was that all these bounties were a token for engaging in a once-in-a-week romp with the bald Lagos chief. With these, she assured herself that there was no reasonto fret. Jumping off her bed, she made a dash for her state-of –the-art bathroom and in fifty minutes Stacey was heading out of her apartment towards the silky blue Avensis vehicle waiting for its final occupant in what was to be an inauspicious ride. “Oga said I should come and pick you and bring you to the club.” “WHAT!” Stacey fumed facing the driver. “So your Oga thinks he can do whatever he likes now ehn? What exactly does he take me for? Does he think I’m a gold-digging minx who he can send his driver to pick up from the streets? It’s not his fault; it’s because I’ve been too modest in my demands.” Throwing her gold purse into the car and placing herself in the ‘owner’s seat’, she took another cold look at the driver before ordering the man to drive her to the club. Stacey hissed and cursed as she was being driven to the high-brow part of the city. As another round of vituperations poured forth from her, they were quickly stifled when suddenly the colossal contents of a long vehicle on the second lane tipped over and compressed the Avensis. A crowd assembled quickly and spirited efforts were made to rescue the occupants of the crushed vehicle. The object which had fallen on the car was a large tank-like container and it took a long time of hacking and sawing to get it removed. When the remains of the car came into view, the crowd gathered and all they could see was a large mass of mangled wreckage from which it was not possible to extricate any living being. Stacey was being driven at a very high speed to her destination through a hazy and circuitous channel and in a jiffy she was one of the members of a queue in front of a very enormous and gigantic gate. There were mighty white-robed beings that screened each person on the line, they were aided by a very large screen which displayed the lives and works of those being screened. Those who did not make it were sent along another route past a large dark tunnel and Stacey observed numerous people on that road. As she stepped to the fore-front of the queue, the screen displayed the events of her squalid short life. When the viewing was over, without anyone saying a word, she moved away from the line, away from the scrutiny of the big angels and from the beauty of the brightness that exuded from behind the white gates. She contemplated begging and pleading like some were doing but she knew nothing could be done to salvage the situation. Tears began to form in her eyes and as she moved further away from Heaven’s Gate, her senses became aware of complaints, of regrets, of weeping and of wailing. The alarm rang in its usual loud way as soon as it was seven O’ clock and as it continued, Stacey came round gradually to consciousness.
By Dapo-Thomas, E.

Goodbye 2012

The South Africans call it "Totsiens", the Japanese call it "Pirkano paye yan", the Italians call it "Ciao", the French call it "Aurevoir" the spanish call it "Adios"...Yorubas say "Ó dá bó", Igbos say "Ka odi" Hausas say "Sai an jima". We all say "Goodbye!" Oh yeah...goodbye to 2012, goodbye to all the tears shed in the 12th year of the second millennium on planet earth. Goodbye to the sorrows, heart-breaks and disappointments. As a nation in general and an individual we have been through a lot this year. Starting from our national New Year's package, the removal of fuel subsidy to the bombs dished out to hapless citizens to the Dana crash, a national tragedy and the recent death of top government officials. We have experienced ups and downs, surprises, shocks, dissapointments,frustrations, experienced great miracles and of course, imprinted in our hearts, in the sands of time of juggling memories are blueprints of laughters of loved ones, infectious smiles and funny moments. For some, 2012 was a year of fulfillment and ground breaking successes while for some, it was an unfortunate year of mishap and bad luck, but as a great man once said: The most pathetic man on earth is the man who falls and refuses to get up; the man who falls into a river and drowns not because he fell but because he made no effort to swim out. We may have made irreversible mistakes and committed unforgivable sins, but I tell you, It isn't over. Life has presented you once again with a chance to rise up against storms of discouragement and make a change...It's time to re-write history! All you have to do is pick up your pen, get your diary or notepad and write something you would really like to change in your life. Put it in prayer be you a christian or muslim, back it up with unrelentless and steadfast faith and you are one way closer to your dream. Martin Luther King Jnr. Once said," you don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step in faith". Faith makes all things possible, Love makes all things easy, Hope makes all things work and Prayer makes all things happen...you can makes things happen this new year, it starts with U! Go out there and show the world what you've got... Happy New Year!!!

Fear

 Goodday pals, some of you might be wandering when and why I got my hands on horror articles. Well, this is actually my first of such and I just wanted to try my hands on something new. Would really like to dedicated my debut horror article to a friends page  Click here S/O to my nigga, Bonjax, the creator of the page. His passion for writing inspired me to write this article and dedicate it to him. i hope y'all enjoy it...open to scrutinzed criticism, suggestions, comments, mild beefing...et cetera 

Wide-eyed, she awoke with a grimace. Panting, her heart raced into oblivion measured by the steady click of her bed side clock. The blood-clothed organ raced after the second hand. Tick-boom, tick-boom heard in successive melody…The rhythm of a ferocious night. She glanced round, her pupil darting away in the night’s darkness. A spell of silence hung in the air accompanied with a dark sinister cloud…something heavy, something indecipherable... She was afraid to move, scared to even blink. She knew something was lurking quietly in the dark waiting patiently for her to make the first move. She felt the cold chills of the night’s breeze. She shivered, anticipating a beast to jump out from nowhere, just like in those comic books. Impulsively, she drew her long legs upward and folded her knees, her hands crossed over her legs, her knee cap, a chin-rest.

 “His huge outstretched arms protect you Under them you are perfectly safe His arms fend off all harm Fear nothing-not wild wolves in the. night, Not flying arrows in the day Not disaster that prowls…” Psalm 91:4-5 The Message 

Suddenly, she stopped dead in the tracks of her thoughts. She moved! With quivering lips she realized she had just made the first move…The short hairs on her back stood on alert, her pupils dilated. Every object in the darkly-lit room took the resemblance of a beast. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the moon. But, didn’t she shut the windows? She remembered closing the shutters but then, again, she remembered the cold breeze that walked in not quite long ago. It was midnight. She heard the chiming clock sing down the stairs, then she heard something else…no…she felt something…it was on her bed... the large hands stopped the voice coming from her throat. Only a croaky sound was expelled. 

She became lifeless but just for a moment…just a moment…the moment in which her cloth was ripped off her body, the moment a rough hairy primate’s hand ran the length of her luscious body stopping at ridges and corners. The next moment, blood rushed into her lifeless body. Not with hemoglobin, but this time with adrenalin. Pumping faster than her heart, faster than the tick of the clock, it was coming steadily, in boisterous, bountiful amounts from an elusive but efficient pump filling her, spreading through her veins, all in a second, she could feel the strength swelling in her. The hands clasped her soft, tender, lush gland…making the two firm almonds respond first, they stood filled with bullets with the black little cherry on them pointed and raised in defence about to fire, like an arrow. She discovered it wasn’t a ‘it’ but a ‘he’…her knee moved in swift successive jerk catching the lingering tube between his thigh, already hardened by the flow of hot blood, at pin-point accuracy. He groaned, took a deep breath but didn’t retreat. Alas!...it wasn’t over. His large legs pinned hers down. He lowered his body…his lower body first…. then the upper body followed…she muffled…no! it couldn’t and wouldn’t happen to her. Presently, she was helpless. In a flash of a mini-second, she remembered all the advise she had received in the first eighteen years of her life. She had preciously guarded the gate to her treasure…she couldn’t lose it to a faceless rapist in the dark. With the iota of the last drop of adrenaline, she fought…he was over-powering her, her legs and hands moving at the same time like a mad prophet filled with the spirit. She had just one chance and she took it. She bit his hands digging her teeth into the thick flesh of his palm seeking his bone, tasting hot blood, biting her gag off, she screamed… It was too late. She wasn’t silenced by a flinging hand or the landing of a palm on her cheek but by the feeling of a cold, milky thing dripping drop after drop, slowly into Pandora’s box. The veil had been opened. The water-bag has been broken and the hoe had been slammed forcefully into the wet soil and the seed had been sown…slowly but painfully after much hardwork. Her mind became blank, bright flashes of light exploded in her mind. She lost all enthusiasm to fight…it was over…Eli Eli Lema Sabach-thani…the bastard had sown the seed of a bastard into her…she borne the bastard of a faceless bastard…her only weapon left was tears…she heard the still small voice: “I did not forsake you…you brought this upon yourself. Honor thy father and mother and thy day shall be long. You called yourself a teenager and behaved in the way of the world ignoring my words and living as you wished…not doing my will but doing your will. It isn’t too late to turn back to the way of salvation” She prayed amidst tears and felt a sort of calmness in her heart…he had achieved his aim and fulfilled his dream and mission…he stroked her name off his list…though he felt he planted his seed, he had lost her soul to the Creator, the next agenda was the girl next door....

Thanks For Reading.