Lost in the bush

It is one thing to be lost in the middle of nowhere, and another to be denied sleep, by the drones of unreasonable flies – not even some warm thighs to keep sane. His right mind told him, he was an ungrateful wretch, the old widow had asked him to stay the night until her daughter returns the following morning from the city, to show him the way, but he really wanted to have his way, not with her daughter, though, he smiled indulgently to himself, while he tasted the left over chicken of yesterday, hanging loosely, somewhere in between his teeth.

Joseph was a charmer with the ladies, especially those at the office; they gave in to him at will, and he accepted without lifting a finger. It seemed his charms ran out on that very day, and he needed some drops of good luck.  It was her room that he slept in, and on her narrow bed.

He imagined with his right sense, how on earth could someone manage such a narrow space, and wouldn’t fall to their death.

In all his life, it was the first time he came knee deep with poverty. He could not imagine that people still lived in thatch houses; Joseph felt guilty,  because he knows the number of times his father had used tax payers money to change his ride while in college. The only school he drove pass, had no zinc, he saw the kids with their teachers under a tree.

He was on an expedition; he was out to find a spot for the  new refinery. Unfortunately, he lost his way and nearly lost his mind. He met an elderly lady, while walking through her farm, but she sensed his predicament and offered him the comfort of her humble roof. Her daughter, Nne was a teacher in the city, but she was already gone by the time they were home. The old lady asked him to spend the night, while Nne would take him back to his hotel the following day.

He regretted not taking Adesua with him as a guide, but she wanted much more which he was not ready to give.  Joseph obliged himself to Nne’s belongings: the few cloths, were neatly folded on her shelve, her white undies, her books, and her portrait. She was a stiff gesture of her mother.

He heard when she came in, but she came back quite too late, and he heard her converse with her mother in their dialect. Joseph was able to pick up some, because his parents, on his return, found it too difficult to teach him Ibira. After a while, he went back to sleep, amidst the mischievous mosquitoes.

Something came very close to his face that he jumped up, and bumped into something soft. Jeez, Joseph had just hit Nne in the face and she hit her head against the wall. He rushed to help her, but it was already too late, because she had landed on the hard ground with her backside.

“I am so sorry! So sorry”, he kept on repeating like a frightened child.  Nne held one hand to her face, and the other went to press her chest where his head hit. She wanted to get a good hold of herself before she could say anything, he took some steps back, in order to take a good look at her, she fell into his arms. At that point, Joseph knew he won’t  leave the mosquitoes very soon.

Nne’s mother had heard the loud crash and rushed in to help, she helped Joseph place her on her bed, then rushed out to get a bucket of cold compress. Joseph whose phone refused to come on since the day before, automatically rang, one look at it told him it was from the office. He thanked his starts and picked:

“Jo! Where have you been?”

It was Ogene, his supervisor, but they were close pals.

“Men! In deep shit.”

He narrated everything to him and at the end, his friend asked:

“That means you won’t be attending my weeding, you won’t be my best man, and you won’t meet Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth was the new girl his friend wanted to hook him up with. Ogene was sure crazy, he had a sick girl in his hands and all he could think about was his wedding to a girl that he shags her best friend; such was the life of all his colleagues. He quickly discharged Ogene when he saw Nne’s mother with the water. The old woman did her thing, then told him that she was off to the farm. Joseph could not hide his resentment, but the old woman just turned and left him; a stranger with her daughter.

He sat on the floor, very close to her bed. One close look at her peaceful slender face made him think about all the flashy girls, back home. Here she was, living her life to the fullest, while some would kill not to live like her. After a while, he got up and went to take his bath. He had some changing clothes in the trunk, thank goodness.

While at it, someone opened the closure where he was stark naked, with nothing but white foams covering his nakedness, she screamed at the top of her voice, covered her face and ran back to the house, while he quickly ran the water down his body, tied a towel around his waist, and ran after her, just in case she had gone nuts because of the bump to the head. He caught her in her room, sitting on her bed, shivering. Joseph sighed, he would have also been responsible for a run-away charm. He came and sat beside her. She couldn’t just get herself to look at him, but he used that privilege to take in her slender body.

“I am Joseph,” he said.

He gently placed one strong arm on her slender shoulder, drew her very close, and covered the space in-between them, then she laid her head on his chest, while he stroked the bump at the back of her head.

As Joseph’s tires raised some quick dusts, he could see Nne, waving at him through the review mirror, he promised to come back some day, having had a taste of good charm.

Written by Udemezue Oluoma.

Udemezue, Oluoma loves to read and write; she also enjoys movies and meeting new people. Oluoma believes that life is nothing without a little touch of romance, thriller and reality.

Contact: udemezueoluoma@yahoo.com, Instagram- oluomaudemezue, and Twitter- @Udemezueoluoma.