BUKKY ALAKARA CHAPTER 1

BUKKY ALAKARA
CHAPTER ONE
Bukky and her mother’s younger sister, Kike, got down from
the bus. It was about seven in the morning. She was
surprised to find the market place crowded with people. She
followed her aunt and tried to keep up with her.
“This is where I make ends meet every day,” Kike addressed
her niece.
Bukky glanced at her. The woman was a little bit taller than
her. One inch taller to be exact.
“I carry loads for as little as fifty naira, I fetch water for as
low as ten naira per gallon, sometimes twenty naira per
gallon during water scarcity. I assist buyers to get around the
market for a token and I also help the sellers to look for
customers. In a day, I make as much as three thousand naira
and as low as five hundred naira.”
She nodded her head, taking in all the information.
“This is how I pay the bills, feed and clothe,” Kike directed her
dark gaze at the average height girl.
Bukky nodded again.
“You have to fend for yourself. I can provide shelter, but, that
is as far as I can go,” the note of finality in her voice wasn’t
lost to the young girl.
“I understand aunty mi.”
“Good. I have to go now. We will meet at home around seven
in the evening.”
“Okay aunty.”
“Beware of pick pockets and all those jobless touts,” she
waved a warning finger.
“Yes aunty,” she watched her leave.
Eighteen year old Bukky looked around her. A slight tremor
ran through her spine. Where was she going to start from?
Her tummy tightened in vengeance. She wished she was still
living with her parents. Things had gone from bad to worse
for them that year. She and her siblings had been shared
among relatives in order to ease the stress on their parents.
Her father had lost his job and her mother didn’t make much
from the sales of vegetable in the local market. It had
become difficult to feed and pay the bills. She hoped they
would get back on their feet soon enough. She wanted them
all to live together as one family again. She said a quick
prayer and merged into the crowd, looking for how to make
money for her next meal.
xxxxxx
Gbemiga Phillips towered over his parents and siblings. He
was the tallest, about five feet eight inches and the darkest. It
was a very happy day for them all. Their beaming dark faces
looked up at him. He had just received a letter from the
Ministry of education. He had been given a scholarship to
study Economics and Statistics in the Lagos State University.
He had passed his GCE and JAMB examinations with flying
colours. It had been a relief that his parents wouldn’t have to
suffer to sustain him in the higher institution. They had gone
through thick and thin to get him educated. He was the only
one who had completed the Secondary School education in
his family. They couldn’t afford to add his younger sisters to
the list. His father was a Security guard at the home of a rich
man in Surulere. His mother and sisters worked as cleaners
in Onward Paper factory. It would be difficult, but as far as
the government paid for his school and accommodation
fees, he had only feeding and books to worry about.
“God has answered our prayers, e se baba, baba e se…” Remi
began to dance in circles and her daughters joined her.
“I am so proud of you,” Baba patted him on the shoulder.
“Thank you sir,” he bowed in respect and grinned. He was
happy that they were all happy for him.
“By the time you graduate and complete your service year,
you will get a good job, and move us out of this hell hole,”
Remi eyed their surroundings, “My enemies will be put to
shame.”
“Yes o!” Lola and Kemi chorused.
Baba and Gbemiga exchanged glances and began to laugh.
He caught the glimpse of a dark slim average in height young
lady walking past them. She mumbled a greeting and walked
straight into one of the twenty rooms in the bungalow. He
knew everyone that lived in the compound. He could swear
on his grandfather’s grave that she was new. He had seen her
with Aunty Kike that weekend. Were they related? Was she on
a visit?
“You must stay clear off all those bad boys,” his mother
pointed a warning finger at him.
He glanced back at her.
“Yes,” his father nodded in agreement, “There are dangerous
cults in that school. I have heard a lot of stories.”
“Brother Gbemiga is not in their level at all,” Lola, his
immediate younger sister smiled at him.
“Yes o. He doesn’t have time for such nonsense,” Kemi, the
last child, chimed in.
“Born again lomo,” Lola chuckled.
“Yes o,” Kemi added.
Their parents began to laugh.
xxxxxx
Kike and Bukky sat on the mat and ate from a bowl of amala
with ewedu soup.
“I am surprised that you made one thousand naira today,”
she beamed at her niece.
She looked up at her aunt and swallowed the food in her
mouth.
“I can still remember my first day out there, I didn’t make a
kobo. I returned home and slept on an empty stomach,” Kike
lamented. She didn’t like recollecting such painful memories.
Bukky dipped a lumped of the plantain flour into the
peppery soup. She didn’t make a dime that day until about
six that evening. She helped a woman to carry her purchase
to the car and she was rewarded with a handsome tip. If not
for that, she would have returned home without a penny.
She had never worked a day in her life. Her parents had done
their best to take care of her and her siblings. If only wishes
were horses. She wished God would give back her father his
former job so that things would return to normal.
“Once you are finished eating, go and fetch water and fill up
our drum. That crazy tap might decide to go on strike
tomorrow morning. You know we need to leave the house
very early.”
Bukky nodded in affirmative.
xxxxxx
Gbemiga placed a bucket under the tap. He was in a black tee
shirt and a pair of brown three quarters khaki trouser. He
turned on the tap and waited for the bucket to fill up. His
heart missed a beat immediately he saw the person walking
towards him, carrying about four plastic buckets. His eyes
darted left, right, up and down as he searched his blank mind
for what to say to her.
Bukky dropped the buckets on the concrete and looked up at
him, “Good evening.”
“Evening,” he mumbled without looking at her.
“Congratulations.”
He glanced at her.
“I hope to be in your shoes one day,” she smiled and looked
away.
“Thanks…” the whole neighbourhood must have heard that
he was given a scholarship. He lifted the overflowing bucket
away from the tap.
She placed one of her buckets under the tap and waited for it
to fill up.
“What’s the name?”
She looked up at him, caught unawares. He was about three
inches taller than her.
“My names are Oluwagbemiga Philips,” he stretched out his
right hand.
She looked at his hand, and then back at his dark face,
“Oluwabukola Folorunsho,” she shook his hand.
Their gazes locked. The air became still. The background
noise faded away. She felt pulled into the dark calm pool of
his eyes. He took a step closer, drawn to her like nails to
magnet. He brushed his left hand over the side of her dark
smooth oval face. She s----d in breath. The light touch had
ignited sparks within her. She stepped back and he dropped
his hands. He carried his bucket of water by the handle and
walked away. She exhaled and turned around. He was gone.
TBCz