Patience is a virtue, only few people on the face of the earth have. Love is a feeling and an emotion, anyone could feel it. Happiness is a state of mind that can easily be induced by all sorts of forces; everyone gets a shot at happiness several times in their lives. Peace is also a state of mind, but more comprehensive than happiness. Fear? Fear is a burden, a phase of a person’s life, a force on its own, something tangible.

Many things could be born out of fear. Love and hate, passion and the lack of it, pain and joy, shame and the lack of it as well. Many genuine evils are borne out of fear. Fear of the now, or fear of the future, fear of being discovered, fear of dying, fear of living, fear of loving, fear of life and existence in itself. The fear of anything and everything. Fear is a force that has shaped the lives of many a man.  Fear could be productive as well, not just counterproductive. For instance the fear of being poor could spur a man on to hard work and consequently to immense wealth and affluence.

Annabel Yeboa continued typing frantically on her office desktop computer. She didn’t pause in between. Not for a break, for air or anything else. In fact, she badly needed not to get air. She wished at this moment in her life that she would run out of air and be unable to breathe and bang she would be dead. At least being dead will be a better feeling (well, death is not entirely a feeling) than what she was feeling now.

Maybe she could try shedding tears; it may give her release from the terrible pain she was feeling. Jossy had suggested that to her and she had tried, but the tears wouldn’t come, try as hard as she may. So, yeah she had done everything she could do.

“Hi girl…..” A voice rang out suddenly out of the blues, startling Annabel in no small way.

Oh God, who could this be….

Annabel looked up from the desktop, and looked into the eyes of her boss.

Oh God, not now, pleaseeeee

Annabel tried to force a smile onto her oval shaped face, and she tried the most effective trick she knew how to use. She flashed her white teeth, and her dimples on both cheeks showed.

Please, get this going and over with…. Pleaseeee

“Hey Lily, how you doing?” She Replied

“Am Alright.” Lily said, running her eyes over Annabel in her characteristic saucy way.

Why could she be looking at me like this, could it be that she is about to…..?

“Do you know how long I have being standing and watching you type like a maniac?” Lily asked, with a smile.

“I have no idea, how long.” Annabel replied.

“Well, long enough to appreciate that you are a beautiful workaholic who needs to stop trying to impress our slave driver boss and relax.”

Come on, cut to the chase… am running on a short clock here.

“oh really” Annabel replied

“yes…, anyway…….”

Oh here it comes……

“……. Just wanted to tell you that the boss does not need those documents anymore. We found the previous one you prepared, and yes, you are getting a promotion and a raise”

I can’t believe am hearing this….

“Are you sure about all these, especially about the promotion and raise bit?”

“Yes darling, I couldn’t be more serious.” She started to walk away but stops for a minute and stares back at Annabel.

“…..Take a break dear and let’s go for lunch. I will meet you in a few minutes.”

Potraits and Letters

This is the first chapter of  a book  I am working on. Feel free to read, critic and share your thoughts .........

Life is a big maze which we sometimes cannot understand. The comings, the goings, the happiness, the sadness, the loss and the love, all these are part of this beautiful maze called life. However, there are cycles that define our lives. The cycle of life and death. It’s an unpredictable and interesting cycle that happens every day. In a way it was a miracle.

A lady paced the corridors of the waiting room. She prayed inwardly as she walked the halls. The lady didn’t look at any of the people sitting in the room. She stood for a minute and prayed again. One of the five people waiting with her was starting to worry about his dear friend. She has being pacing the hall for almost two hours and hadn’t sat down. He walked over to where she was temporarily standing and stood beside her. He gently placed an arm on her shoulder.

“Vicky, you need to calm down and sit down.” He spoke gently and in a low tone.

“Am fine Chris, thank you.”

“Look, you have being standing and pacing on and off for almost three hours now. You need to calm down.”

Another woman walked over to her from the small waiting group.

“Vick, please come and sit down. You need to rest.”

Victoria Kofo allowed her friends to lead her to an empty seat. They started a discussion with her as a ploy to distract her. But, her heart wasn’t in the discussion, so she stood up a few times as the wait continued. The solemn party continued until two hours later when a female doctor clad in surgical clothes came out of the theatre.

She came to the centre of the small gathering and stood, slowly adjusting her spectacle.

“Please can I speak to the patient’s mother?”

Vicky stood quickly and went to the doctor.

“I am the patient’s mother. How is she? How did the operation go?”

“It went well.” Dr. Jones spoke hesitantly.

“So, how are my daughter and the new baby?”

Five pairs of ears eagerly awaited the doctor’s reply. Their eyes were also glued to her face. The doctor didn’t speak for the first few minutes, as a nurse came to her side and whispered something to her. She nodded, and looked up as the nurse left her side.

“The baby is fine, hale and heart. A baby girl.”
“Ah…..Olorun eshe ooo….Eshegon….” Victoria chanted, performing a quick dance, without music.

The others waiting chatted among themselves with faces beaming with smiles.

“And the mother?” The matriarch enquired.

“Well, she insisted that we take care of her baby first.”

“And?”

“We did our best, but we lost her.”

Victoria screamed, and Stephanie came to her friend’s side, holding her as she cried out.

“No…. Not my daughter.” Victoria sobbed as the doctor walked away.