My Life Story

Episode 6
I started making new set of friends. It was then I knew that people tends to change as their status and situations changes. I dropped nearly all my good friends for bad ones. I can nearly distinguished different types of marijuana from each other. I would wake up early in the morning and went straight to the’Bunk‘ where marijuana is being sold and smoked till around 3p.m before coming back home. This became my daily routine and I started losing my sanity but I couldn’t know.
I made sure that these actions of mine were hidden from my grandmas and some relatives. I forgot anything about schooling and I focused mainly on wiping away sorrows.

THREE MONTHS LATER
I was coming back from the bunk one day and had already smoked and drank to stupor when my Uncle, Niyi called on me and informed straight away that we are heading to Lagos the following day because Uncle Wole’s condition has relapse and he is critically down.
“So how is that going to be my problem?” I asked him back with anger.
“Please I understand your point but…..” He pleaded with me to calm me down but I was already out of control.

“How could you understand my pains?” I paused in mixed emotion of pain and anger and continued “I sacrificed my own mummy because of your brother and I couldn’t hear the last wishes of my mum, all because I wanted to satisfy you people’s wishes.” I ranted on and busted into an uncontrollable tear.
“We are sorry and there is little that can be done even if you were around.”
“At least I would have been by her side in those last moments.” I said covering my face with my palm.
“I am truly sorry.” He pleaded.
“But what about the issue of his wife.” I reminded him.
“I have taken care of that, you will be given some stipend to cater for your feeding for the meanwhile.” He assured me.
“Don’t even worry, she will know the differences between Tuyil of yesteryear and Tuyil of today.” I put in without thinking and went in to pack my clothes in preparation for tomorrow’s journey to Lagos.

My uncle’s condition has gotten worse more than my expectation. He could no longer walk and talk. He has been confined unto a wheelchair and you need to guess what he needed or wanted by his actions.

I would bath, clothed, feeds and cleanup for him. I will the one to take him to hospital every Tuesday for his medical check-up. He resides in Badagry and his hospital was Lagos University Teaching Hospital at Ikeja.
I would drive there and come back the same day usually late in the evening and will dropped him at home to go and then leaves for a bunk there because smoking has become part and passel of me.

Mummy noticed that things have changed drastically in my behaviours and she saw me at the backyard smoking hemp one day.
“Uncle, (she normally calls me that) what am I seeing?” she directed the question to me in astonishment.

“Indian hemp and if you are not contented with it, you can flush yourself down the toilet!” I swore at her, puffed smoke in and out into the atmosphere and left her to her amazement.
She would lock her room and kitchen while going to work and would later give me food in the night.
I would la!d down in the bedroom and be reminiscing over this life whenever I haven’t smoked, it even got to a time that I started writing poems just to express my feelings.
Here was one I wrote for my birthday and the death of my mum.

ONCE UPON IN MARCH
Once upon in March
He came into this world like a chick
That has just been hatched
Only to grow up to big man soon
But without a sliver spoon.
Never was he idle
But his Destiny is like a riddle.
Once upon in March
She sailed on like a yacht on the sea
Because her smile he no longer see
For death has la!d his icy hands on her
He could only laugh with his folded arms.
Standing there grounded, listening to all cries
Only then did he realized that life is like flies
It comes to goes.

And another one when I felt dejected and was hoping for death to come and end all my pains.