A home away from home

The twig of golden stars

oke — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 01:17:00 GMT

Hunterias was not to be deterred as concerned residents surged like the wave of the sea, towards a familiar ground. Yet the sea shore was nearby his father's hamlet, disturbed by the wind yet taken for a price of time than chance. The debris littered the front of their dismayed eyes, as they clutched on to some items out of the remnants of their annihilated house in 2009. The Government had decided to remove everyone from the district which had been dominated by fishermen and local market women who had before then, been making a living doing their local businesses. Hunterias was their only son and life was taking another turn there on. Hunterias's father asked him to go and summon his mother, who was a trader with a stall full of mangoes,coconuts and bananas by the building of the the Local Government office,for the look of things. She soon arrived at the scene of the wreckage, as caterpillars kept pulling down many houses, one after another. The five months notice letter issued out to all occupants of Geropian Beach had expired and nothing would have prevented what was to become a catastrophe. " How could this be", she muttered to her bewilderment. Her favourite dresses,shoes jewelries and other personal effects had been carted away by hoodlums who had come to the scene to take advantage of the helpless situation. They were soon driven away from the site which had once been known as their home for over fifteen years by soldiers, who were generous with many lashes and gun shots to disperse and set defaulters into other towns. As these towns had yet been unregistered and certified by the Government, yet the need for industrialization and civilization had made their plight irreversible. They fumbled further into uncertainty, and plunged away from hope. So it became dark in the sky, and respite was not reached. They decided to go and stay a while with Hunteria's Uncle, before they could come up with a plan of settling some where else. This relative was known to be residing in a town just next on the other side of a boarder linking with a well known divided land of Gogaladan. They stayed there all along for two weeks nearby the upfront of the various evergreen forest canopies with a waterfall creating a somewhat pool which serves as a fresh source of water for the residents. Mr. Pansidas was a very very resilient and enterprising young man in his early thirties. He had soon become one of the most promising wine tapper of the town, with old and young customers flooding away in his newly furnished outfit alike. While his wife had also become a flourishing woven basket seller in the town. Although they would take time off work to visit a somewhat tourist site from time to time as they would recollect, sharing their experiences of the verdant plain after auctioning their stall which used be situated over five miles away from their current domicile. Yet they are on their way for a treat, as they were clutching some bags full of meals, fruits and including the money appropriated from the auctioning of their distant stall, as well as a mat in order to picnic. It was another weekend again, so they decided to go and have a good time for a family night in the outdoors. Hunterias looked on in the immediate distance and saw the same pathway where few cars and city buses seemed to be passing by at long intervals. They climbed up the ditch leading to this and stayed a while on the tarmacadam road to hitch-hike. Time slipped by as they waved in vain intermittently at every site of cars, lorries and buses till they became all in. Luck soon shined on them as a truck pull out in front of a huge coconut tree where they were standing by the side of the road. So the driver requested if they were heading towards the Masses church of Zion. They so nodded and before getting in the truck for the back seat. The driver seemed to be one of those missionaries who had finished their assigned duties at some Catholic School. He offered them bottles of fruit drinks and snacks for refreshment, while whistling to the sound of some gospel song made in the eighties. They soon got to the Masses church of Zion and highlighted from the truck. The Missionary blessed them with a piece of The Virgin Mary,saying words which reminded them of the catholic Church situated in their former district. They came this far the same say of being evicted from their humble abode. So off they went singing gospel songs, filled with hope and excitement.

A woman of strength and vigour are the words used to described a myth known as Potoron. The Town of Gogaladan had never been so overwhelmed by the activities of her religion and ways of life. A thousand men worshiped her and so many used to mark her hatred for local residents to have matched that for the pit of hell. Hunterias and his family worked on foot on into an endless patch by a mountain side, which stretches into the plain of Caraghenism,which is widely referred to as being the tomb of death. The forty one days to the end of the reign of the King of Gogaladan was approaching, and Potoron had given an order to his soldiers to get ready for the fight of their lives. As she was still adamant over her stand to becoming the next king of the town. Many who could not live with turbulence caused by this, had fled to other towns for safety. A date was set for the war and the plain of Caraghenism was supposed to be the meeting point for this. The Plain was lush and beautiful with flowers of varieties and a river flowing into and outside the corners of rocks interlocking distances amid tunnels in the plain. The same was to be bewitched and used for the change of time due to it being cursed by Potoron ten years ago, thus becoming the tomb of death. For this was said to be hosting a family of the next heir to the kingship affirmation for some time hereafter. One night drew them closer to the beginning of the course of the river, the same night which was to become the night for the spilling of blood which would eventually lead to a new turn in dynasty. They rolled out their mat and set a camp by a bonfire made by hunterias's father. They made a delicacy from vegetables,snails,pepper,palm oil,fresh tomatoes,some pinch of salt and a tuber of yam, which was to be their last supper before their leaving for the overlooking destination, sloping downwards from the tip of the overlaying undulating grounds covered with short bushy trees and shrubs somewhere just before the outskirt of the town of Gogaladan. As they were about to go to sleep, Hunterias pull out a burning twig, headed into the bush and threw it into the dry verdant field. Meanwhile, those who had chosen to stay indoors in the town had all been executed by the king, as all able men had become soldiers and fire had been set on steads and frameworks of business ventures was halted to bring all activities of the town to a standstill. Suddenly, there was a loud noise by the mountain side, and suddenly an inferno was encroaching the land with bright lights of golden stripes. This was referred to being the wrath of the spirit as instantly ascertained by the king, staring into the elevated distance with eyes wide open. Potoron was alongside startled in deep horror, which caused her chariots of soldiers to leave the town at once, leaving none behind. The king was happy to hear the good news and later sighted Hunterias's family walking towards their position from ample dust of clouds of rising flames in the Tomb of Death. He felt a bizarre sensation of death and tragically stumbled and died before his entourage. This was on the way to closing in on the distance in the direction of his heroes and an heroine, even though they were apparently not sure of their view of thousands of soldiers then. The king was later pronounced dead the following morning. Meanwhile, Mr. Pansidas and his wife as well as Hunterias were taken to the town and ceremonious arrangements were being carried out to making him the King of Gogaladan. The town's name was changed from Gogaladan to Lanlata, meaning "The land of the twig of golden stars", this was soon after the event which had taken place prior to the death of the king was narrated. The head chief of the Town had said the spirit had spoken. Finally, a date was made and hundred of thousands came to the town square agog in front of many hosts and their new king, with songs and showers of feast.

Sharing Stories - A Glimpse into Another's Life - a life so lived

oke — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:12:01 GMT

It was dark, and clouds of lonely reverberation covered the endless sky. The streets were empty with rubbishes from traders and passers-by, flying in the wind. The beauty of the world was waiting for one soul - the soul of her dreams. She smooched her garment over, to leave the view of the room in an uncompleted building. It was the first time the world has been so cold to her, but her dreams linger to appear before her past. A simple heart, was to be so cruel to have jettison her into such turbulent waves of an unknown future. The woman she had always known to be her grandmother had turned out to be the demon of her heart. All she used to now as being of goodness and kindness, has made her to be more sullen and worried with ancient walls to break through. She could only foresee a bleak hereafter. The morning soon became one, as she set out to find the world. Yet, it was her life,a life so lived. all aforementioned part ways and better still stumbling blocks of no ends which she had to go through has made the best of her simple soul into gold and more. As such somewhat awkward mannerism and dejection she had had to face, changed when she met the answer to the series of unstoppable questions which brought her whims into oblivion. It was the same morning, which descended with torrential rainfall which made the tarmac upstream road a destination of no return. Welcoming the return of Joy into her eyes, as she set her eyes on the man who fell in love with her at the first glance. He was the Chairman of the board of directors of a very important Company. Trading in Housewares and Construction industries. She couldn't stop the rain from falling on that faithful morning on the tarmac upstream road, but her decision to stay a while under a gigantic mango tree had saved her rainy days for the sun. This is the story of Dr. Herganata Jones, a Successful Medical Doctor, who fell in love with her dream husband to be, and rolled out a start for a Medical field.
She started from a beautiful home with lot of natural views, then stumbled and saw a way out into her dreams. To wake up and face up to helping others with unstoppable and impulsive heart of steel, and overcome any overwhelming challenges. It was that dark morning, it was rough, but her goals were shining in the dirt of the sky, the world was cruel to her with unchangeable circumstances, surrounding her part to glory.

My Travel Writing Scholarship 2011 entry - Journey in an Unknown Culture

oke — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 01:24:00 GMT

The sky was cloudy as a the dust soon settled down on the secluded town of Meriba. We had only come after we got the letter to attend the first birthday of our father. He wanted every member of his family to witness the panorama of eventful memories in retrospect of how he had started off as an employee at a Private hospital and ended up as the CEO of 'Hope Alive Institute'; located in a suburb of Lome,Togo,Africa. The last time we saw him was a New year eve, when he suprised us with a visit to Lagos to re-ignite the flame of the love that had always bonded our togetherness, even if it means not seeing one another for years. I was the only member of the family that cried on being told our father was about to spend the last two weeks then like it was his last days on earth. It was on the 1st day of September, 2005. I remember very vividly how he looked at us on the morning of the cross road that was to put some space of distance between a happy home and new the new home in Togo. He had received an offer to work with some international Medical teams to stop the scourge of HIV and Aids within the region of Sub-Sahara Africa. Accomodation, Transportation and Flight arrangements had been put in place by the United Nation Africa Development Funds Committee of Human Development and Resources Management. At 2:30pm, our Father was airborne and on the way to another assignment to the best of his ability in the capacity of a humble Medical Doctor. After boarding the bus to cut across on the Trans-National boarders of Benin Republic to Lome,Togo,Africa. After the Flight that which was earlier scheduled to go to our destination was cancelled due to some inexplicable circumstances.It was the first time I have been in another country. we saw the people,the culture and many facets of livelihood that had not been or might not have been incorporated into the Nigerian Society. The had to make a dash to the metropolitan restaurant in order to kill the hunger of the flesh. After, to take a Taxi to Meriba, a town closest to Lome. Our father had bombarded us with phone calls through out the journey which was a natural but hilarious matter whenever another phone ringed. He has the biggest heart and could hardlly be missed if comed across. The fact that no one knows it was his first birhday, and the efforts we had made to have had that special day before then were all made futile by his commitment and devotion to work.On getting to the district and alighting, We were welcome by town dwellers amidst praises and chanting of words we could not understand. The drums, the rhythm, the resounding victory, like a golden gold. Having experienced the hospitality and serenity of the people of Meriba, we stepped inside our family house. It was a replica of the one in Lagos,Nigeria. I saw grand ma,Uncle Johnson and also met some interesting international personalities that were once colleagues of my father at the United Nation innitiatives. It was a day of pure beauty and nostalgia. A day to more days of living happily ever after. For he would now have time to heartfully travel between his two destinations as he had always wanted.I spent three months in Meriba and saw the sights and sounds of the people. They Speak French, but some speak Pidgin english, while a few speak English. There were thousands of Nigerians residing in Lome, where they transact businesses to meet their daily needs. I became very elated overnight, away from the sad tastes I had had living away from my parents. I felt like a twelve year old. I was a new self. it was magic I would like to re-live if I'm given the opportunity to experienced a home away from home.