AMARACHI THE BEAUTIFUL POOR CHILD Episode 5 – 6 By Erasmus Ugochukwu Okafor

AMARACHI THE BEAUTIFUL POOR CHILD (And Her Journey to Destiny-Discovery) By Erasmus Ugochukwu Okafor

Episode 5

Waking up at the hospital ward, Amarachi couldn’t understand what went wrong but suddenly got up with her view blurry.
She saw Dave having a nap by the couch beside him, with his legs crossed.
As she was about to move out incognito she became giddy and began to fall but Dave suddenly got up and held her.
“Hey, you just have to take it easy,” He warned and helped her sit back on the clinic’s bed.
“What happened?” she asked, still fighting to get her eyes wide opened, “how many days have I stayed here?”
“Days?” he asked and smiled, “just a few hours, dear,”
Flashing her mind to the last event that her memory could record before blacking out, she jittered. “Please, where is my friend?”
“Still in my house,” he replied.
“If she’s in your house, why am I in a hospital? Where is this place? Still in Onitsha?” she asked and drew the curtain closest to her, “Oh, we’re still in your compound,”
“Yes, you are,” he replied and tried to make her lay on the bed but Amy refused.
“I need to go, please,” she said sternly and tried to stand again but he didn’t allow her.
“You need some rest now because you hit your head on the chair when you fainted,” Dave said and still guided her steps to avoid staggering.
“I did?” she asked bewilderedly.
“Yes, but the doctor said you’d be fine,” he assured her.
“You have doctors here too and you pay them?” she asked sounding surprised.
“Of course, we do,” he replied took her back to the bed and sat beside her, “they are on shift duties but here isn’t their permanent clinic. They have their private places of work too. This is just a family arrangement,”
“Thanks for the explanation but I’ll have to go now,” she said and tried standing again but Dave told her to wait for just a few more minutes to be full convalesced.
“When I knew about the arrest,” He began, making Amarachi attentive to know how the puzzle of her life took place, “I investigated,” he continued as she remained ardent, “the outcome of my investigation was positive. I knew that your arrest was done by the fake police and it was my girlfriend who happens to be the second in command. You can call her the 2ic to Akunna the Slay Mama being the leader. The fraternity of the Slay Queens are under my care and protection, so they are my subjects,” he mouthed boastfully, “In school, Ndi Obodo fraternity calls them ‘our wives’. Being that they’re afraid of me and never wanted to get me angered, they didn’t allow the next minute to elapse when I demanded for the money they took from you. So they returned the entire money to me as I ordered,”
Amy was so perplexed and greatly bewildered as the story continued. As Dave talked, she began to follow up through the memory lane; thinking through how everything happened as a movie.
“How then did you know that I had some money on me that the Slay Queens took?” she asked out of curiosity.
“I knew what Uremma could do, so I decided to confront her, to know where they kept you,” he continued, not heeding to the question Amy asked, “Even though I’m the Capone of Ndi Obodo group, I still have some conscience left in me. I’m not weak but couldn’t understand why I was so concerned about your wellbeing,” at this time, he was sober and meditative, “I’ve always had a soft spot for you but I felt that being your friend could make me weak; hence, the need to keep my distance from you. Okay, let me reveal some mind-blowing secrets as evident,” he said and adjusted himself to be more relaxed comfortably on the bed, “my car was among the queue of cars blocked by Osisioma’s car when she begged you not to leave the school but you still left. When you left to Onitsha with your truck, much pity was drawn from me. I was afraid that your truck could stop you on the way. Due to this, I told my driver to keep following you to Onitsha to ensure you reached safely,”
“This is surprising,” Amy thought aloud as she kept listening, “continue, sir,”
“I am Dave,” he reminded her and continued, “Getting to your house, I was shocked to see the kind of place you live,” he said and held her hand, “I couldn’t just take it or help it but kept searching for a way to make your life comfortable. I studied your life for long and discovered that you’re not the kind of girl that riches entice. That was why I had to become poor too just to help you pull through your life challenges,”
The last part was vague to her, so she asked: “How did you become poor for my sake and I never noticed?”
With smiles on his face, he said: “wait here, let me shock you,” He went to the door and opened the door. Oji isi ebu mgbo and Obinna entered looking so kempt and handsome.
“Harry who you call Oji isi is my immediate younger brother and …”
Amy suddenly burst in tears and began to cry. Dave held her, brought out a handkerchief and cleaned her tears.
“So these boys that I impress with Akara are from a rich background but pretending to be paupers. Gosh…what have I done?” she said with deep emotions and continued weeping.
“Aunty utu ocha Chocolate,” Oji Isi called jokingly in a polished English and American accent, “you made me realise that the poor seem happier than the rich. I enjoyed that life and I’m willing to go back to the same stammerer, Oji Isi, just for me to linger a bit in this poor role to abate your sufferings, and to make life bearable for you,”
“I can’t believe this,” Amy said and pulled him into a hug, “you guys have made me feel so loved and cherished. So it had been a staged lowly life all these while. Oji Isi, you speak English like Oyibo, why?”
“Well, let me enter here since Oji isi is taking more attention now than me,” Obinna said with smiles, “Harry came back from the United States a few years back, that’s the reason for the accent, but as he said, I think I like him more as the stupid Oji isi that fakes being the stubborn stammerer,”
“Come here,” Amy said and pulled Obinna closer too while Dave watched with a drop of tear on his cheek, “Is Obinna your real name too or…”
“Yes it is, but you can call me George,” Obinna replied and stroked her hair gently as the three friends remained encircled in each other’s arms.
“Obinna,” Dave entered clearing his throat, “was a childhood friend to Harry but being that he lives close to your street and knows much about you, he indicated an interest to join us in the plan,”
“Though I was more committed to it because Bro Dave promised to take care of my schooling,” Obinna said with smiles, getting his hair brushed by Amarachi’s fingernails.
“Now, you guys can now go,” Dave said and watched them go out of the clinic’s ward.
Amy looked admirably at the two cute guys as the left. She was surprised that they were so neat, handsome and well dressed, unlike the rag they always appear in at the market.
Out of Joy and overflowing affection, Amy didn’t know when she embraced the same man that she’d always run away from. “You’re so sweet and I’m so happy right now for what you had to go through just to make me happy and comfortable, even dragging your brother and his friend along,”
“Don’t mention it,” Dave said and implanted a kiss on her forehead. “I don’t know what I feel for you yet, but whatever it is, I’m falling in love with that feeling,”
Amy was speechless and shy, making her remain glued on his shoulders as she avoided eye-to-eye contact that could make her cry.
“Thank you…thank you…God bless…”
“Shhhh,” he shushed and made her sit back on the bed. He opened the drawer and brought out a methylated spirit, got cotton wool and soaked in it. “Pull up your top let me see the tattoo,” he demanded caringly.
Amarachi obeyed and raised her top gently, revealing the imprinted tattoo of the mermaid.
Diligently, Dave began to clean it until the last ink disappeared from her skin. He arched, and blew some air on it to make it dry, and then kissed it gently. “I think we’re now good,” he said and helped her pull down her shirt.
Amy was lost in that kind and tender feeling but Dave didn’t wallow in it but took her out from the ward to the lounge where Akunna was still waiting.
Seeing Akunna, Amy was both surprised and disappointed. She couldn’t control the tears that stifled her words. She couldn’t say anything to Akunna but kept looking at her and crying out her eyes.
“I’m sorry for betraying my friendship with you,” Akunna said tearfully and knelt but Dave suddenly aroused the suppressed dark part of him and went straight to whip her with a belt but Amy rushed at him and stopped him.
“Don’t you dare…?” Amy warned, “She offended me and not you,” she said and took the belt from him, “don’t fight for me. I got this. You’ve done a lot already,” Moving closer to Akunna, she helped her get up and made her sit.
“I am so sorry for all that happened,” Akunna reaffirmed, “even though I’d done worse things as the queen mother than you could imagine, hurting you is one of the life regrets I can never get over,”
Amy crossed Akunna’s lips with her finger to make her to stop aplogising. “I don’t need the details, please,”
“You’d been helpful to all of us in economics department but because of material things and cash promises that Uremma made me, I fell for her trap and betrayed my best friend,”
Tears took better part of her speech but she fought through it as she remained apologetic.
“How will Osisioma take this if she hears that the same girl that came with her to the government house to rescue me is the culprit that carried out the treachery?”
Akunna could imagine how ugly it’d be for Osisioma, her best friend, to discover that she was the one behind all that happened. “I’d rather drop out of school than see her reaction,” she said and covered her face in shame.
“Croc tears,” Dave said disgustedly, “I’ll be the first to report this to Osisioma and let her know the wolf she’d been feeding all these while in…”
“No,” Amarachi retorted abruptly, “Let’s this remain a secret to the trio,”
“Why?” Dave queried, “I guess you don’t know the weight of what this girl had done to you.”
“I do,” Amy said, “but please, don’t remind me of the patronage the Slay Queens fraternity enjoyed in your care that made you angrier than the victim,” she added pre-emptively.
Akunna kept gazing absently and gnashing her teeth in emotional torture.
“If that’s the case, I’ll respect you,” Dave concurred.
“That’s good. Thank you, “she appreciated him with a grateful heart.”But, wait, how did you drop the 150k and the 20k respectively?” she curiously asked because he was yet to tell her more about the money part.
“I used the same guy in keke that talked to you when you were being confused about how the money came to be hidden under the tray,” he replied, “He works for me too. His name is Taiwo, a Yoruba friend that I met at the gym. It was still the same Taiwo that kept the 150k back to your house when I recovered it,”
“Fast guy,” Amy said and smiled, “but can you now allow Akunna to go without being hurt? I love her so much and can’t wait to make her smile again. Babe, smile nah,” she said and tickled her fancy.
Akunna smiled faintly but was conscious of Dave’s reaction if she smiled a bit further, so she became calm again.
“Leave my house at once!” Dave ordered Akunna.
“Another thing,” Amy added, “Two of you now happen to be the leaders of your different fraternities but I want you to denounce the nefarious groups if we must remain friends.
“That won’t be possible!” they both chorused.
Akunna became uncomfortable with that plea and left immediately to avoid being influenced by Amy’s quest for her denouncement.
Amarachi was surprised that Dave and Akunna couldn’t denounce their loyalties to Ndi Obodo brotherhood and Slay Queen’s sisterhood respectively, but that created another mystery that she couldn’t understand, even though she was bent on finding out their reasons later or have a background check to find out no matter how long it takes her.
Looking at her wristwatch, Amarachi discovered that it was already late and her phone had been in her truck, meaning that her mom could have called her severally on the phone.
“Can I go now?” She asked, in a bid to take permission from Dave, “My mom would be worried too,”
“After you,” he said and showed her the way as he gestured with his hand.
They both left the lounge.
Amy was surprised that her truck wasn’t there anymore.
“What happened, please,” she asked knitting her brow into a frown as she looked searchingly for her truck.
She was surprised to see a black tinted e-Vogue SUV parked by the gate, with the same girl that laughed at her together with her friends the first day she came to drop some goods for Oga Okoyeocha standing beside the car. The girl stood elegantly beside the SUV in a glamorous stone-designed J-lo evening gown.
Seeing the girl, Amy frowned and looked away but the beauty queen came closer to her and said: “Sorry for the other day,” she thrust her hand for a handshake but Amarachi remained uncertain, feeling offended.
“Go on,” Dave encouraged her. “Ujunwa is my younger sister, but she could be annoying sometimes with sarcasm,”
Dave and Ujunwa chorused a burst of laughter that lured Amarachi into the contagious laughing mood.
Amy smiled back at Ujunwa and spread her arms for an embrace.
“At least we can do better than just a handshake,” Amy said and pulled her closer.
They both embraced and patted each other’s back.
“Let me have the pleasure to take you home,” Ujunwa said but Amarachi refused to go with her.
“I came here with my truck,” Amy maintained, “and with the same truck, I’d go back,”
“The truck is already at home,” Ego Oyibo said when she opened the rear door of the e-Vogue and beckoned her daughter forward to join her.
“Amarachi remained speechless seeing her mom looking fresh and happy, even though Ego Oyibo looked a bit confused as if she wasn’t part of the entire plan that’d been going on around Amy, her daughter.

Episode 6

“Can you now start talking?” Ego Oyibo said and alighted from the e-vogue SUV, “I was at home and some people came with your truck and parked it at home. I was so afraid that something bad could have happened to my daughter again but they told me that you were safe and the entire mysteries of your life solved. I saw a beautiful car they came with and I entered, though with lots of fear, but when and I came here in such a beautiful compound like Obodo Oyibo (English country), and also saw you looking happy, my tensed state of mine got settled. In that mood, happiness that would have eluded me overtook me once again. So can you now start talking, Mkpulumma my daughter?”
Amarachi was speechless but happy at the same time because her mom looked so cute even though she still wore the same old wrapper that she (Amarachi) calls tattered Mkpuru oka (Old grain of corn).
“Mama, can you see the beautiful dress you wore,” she said sarcastically, “but still had to use this Mkpuru oka as if your life depends on it, to blot out every beauty in you,”
Observing herself and trying to see any fault on the same cloth she felt was her best, she smiled and said: “Nwam (my daughter) if what you’re saying is for you to divert my attention from the question you should be answering, you lie, even though I enjoyed this their…er..hm, fridge inside this heaven that they call a car,”
“Ego Nnem, it’s called air conditioner and not fridge,” Amy corrected as she fought back that laughter.

“Anything you call it,” Ego said admittedly and went back to the rear seat of the car, “please, come inside and be telling me the rest of the story so that I’d enjoy this fridge a bit longer before my time with it expires,”
They all laughed in unison as they watched the dramatic mom.
“Well, mama,” Dave said and went to Ego Oyibo, rested his hand on her shoulder: “your time with the car won’t expire very soon because it belongs to your daughter and ….”
“What did you just say!?” she shouted and jumped out looking bewilderedly at Amarachi who already seemed confused and astounded with Dave’s statement, “My daughter, didn’t I tell you that God will forgive our sins of poverty someday…”

“Hey, mama,” Amy cut in, still looking flabbergasted, “I was the one that said what you’re reminding me about but you’re now usurping my rights that it was you that said so,”
Thinking through the entire scenario, Ego threw in the towel, accepting it wasn’t her that talked about the forgiveness of sins of poverty but her daughter. “Fine, no matter who said it, the statement is still within the family circle nah,” she said and started dancing Urhobo dance with her handkerchief, “Join me, Mkpulumma (seed of beauty) my daughter,”
“Mama, did you grow in Delta State?” Ujunwa asked with smiles overtaking her cute lips, “you dance so well,”
“Story for another day…ooo,” She said and continued dancing and laughing.
Amarachi didn’t just get it because she never discussed with Dave or any of his family about buying a car for her. And if such should happen, Dave should have told her first before divulging the news to her mom.
“Mama, please stop that dance, let’s go home,” Amarachi said and turned at Ujunwa and said: “Pretty, please beg your brother to release us, or better still return my old truck, let me drive my mom home,”
Dave and Ujunwa, though surprised, smiled at Amarachi’s stubbornness as she rejected the gift.

“Why rejecting such an offer?” Ujunwa asked and pulled Amy closer, “can you see how happy your mom is? Do you wish she goes back to that woman that cries every night because of poverty?”
Ego Oyibo paused the dance and went to Amarachi, held her by the shoulder and whispered: “I have a good feeling about this one and this will never be like what Onyedika your uncle did to you when you were fifteen,”
Reminiscence on the rape event she had many years back brought back the entire gloom and lucidity on Amarachi’s face. With a deep sigh, she said: “That man made me dislike the rich with passion because depending on them always brings insults and regrets later. They give nothing free without expecting benefits tomorrow,” turning to Dave, she said: “I’m sorry if my behaviour is absurd, but he who’s beaten by a snake dreads the head of agama lizard. I appreciate your gift but, no, thanks. I can’t take it. We can’t take it,” she reaffirmed.
“You can’t take it. Not we,” Ego murmured to herself; with her words sinking back into her heart. Being that Amy had always been a very stubborn but judicious girl, her mom pulled her further away from others and looked directly into her eyes that were awash, “we’ve been poverty-stricken for years, why not accept this, let’s taste the rosy side of life and then compare?”
“But Mama…”

“Please, Mkpulumma, why not accept this gift first,” she interposed cleverly, “if you’d accepted Osisioma’s offer to help with your education, you wouldn’t have been doing these truck and Akara business. You’d have been in school. Don’t you see that richness is locating you but you keep missing the opportunities because of what happened eight years ago? Let us move on and stop wallowing in the past,”
Amarachi saw a vital point in what her mom said and gave a short-lived smile, “but mama, how can I be driving such classy and exotic car when I can’t complete my university education? How can I afford the maintenance or even feel free to be driving around the street with such luxury and end up sleeping in a house made of woods? Think about it,”
“Nice thoughts, my daughter; therefore, I suggest we sell the car and better our lives with the proceeds,” Ego hinted, trying to make Amy reason about the suggestion than jettison it entirely.
“It’s not good to sell a gift,” Amarachi reminded her, “hence, the need to reject outrightly,”
“What an intelligent daughter,” Ego said and laughed out loud, making the onlookers wish to eavesdrop on their conversation but they were discreet and indistinct enough not to let the wind blow the conversation into the ear of a little bird. “I nurtured you into wisdom, Mkpulumma, but you now seem wiser than the source. But my daughter, I don’t understand how the offer-rejection part should be considered,”
“Mama, no one has the monopoly of wisdom,” Amy replied with humility, “I think we need to, or rather, I need to talk to Dave to understand that our immediate need isn’t a car but he can help us,”
Nodding in agreement, she said: “That’s good but that fridge sweet ooo,”
“Leave the AC issue for now,” Amarachi said and hissed.

The mom despite her quest for luxury, she accepted Amy’s suggestion. “But how did you meet this handsome man?”
“Hey, this is a story for another day,” Amy said to keep the discussion as brief as she could, “We’ve kept them waiting for long,”
Looking back as she saw Dave and Ujunwa waiting for the outcome of the family meeting, Amarachi giggled, making Dave reply to her with a cute smile believing that the discussion ended in acceptance of his gift.
“Can we now join the meeting?” Ujunwa vocalised, with smiles gracing her beautiful face.
“Exactly,” Dave concurred and went to meet Amy who was already coming back to him. When they were close to each other, he held Amarachi by the shoulder and said: “Can you now accept the…”
“We have more important needs other than a car,” She cut in as her attention was roused by the chattering of the birds being forced to dance by the evening wind.
“I forgot to mention that you don’t need to go back to the cabin that you’ve lived in for some years now,” Dave said and brought out some documents, and then handed them over to her, “For some months now, I’ve been trying to talk with the owner of the empty land that you and your mom occupied. He would have evicted you people to build a shopping mall he planned for the location but I’ve finalised with him to sell the land to me and he accepted,”
Amy was attentive and listening but yet to understand what he was trying to say as she skimmed the papers without proper attention until she saw her full name written on it. “What am I having with me here?” she asked and continued looking.
“The aforementioned land is now yours,” Dave said and smiled with pride as he expected her reaction.
Ujunwa looked at Dave and signalled to him to know if he’d told Amy about it. Dave nodded, making her come closer to them; with smiles resting casually on her lips.
“Ego Oyibo, come ooo!” Amy shouted and beckoned her mom forward. She thrust the land papers into her palm. “Nne, this is a miracle!” she echoed.
Ego Oyibo, still looking confused, looked at the paper and gave it back to Amarachi, “Please, take this back. You know your mom is illiterate. Why trying to announce it publicly by giving this paper to me to read? O ginidi (what’s all these)?”
“Oh, sorry, mama,” Ujunwa said and held her by the shoulder, “the paper means that you’re now the owner of the land where you occupy,”
“Mama, yes…ooo,” Amy said as she observed her mom moping and feeling stormed by the news that kept rumbling in her head and imagination.
“Is that true?” Ego asked looking at all of them one after the other with an unexplainable surprise. “Can someone wake me up?” she threw in and held Ujunwa tightly with joy and tears. Falling on her knees, she raised her eyes unto the sky and prayed: “God, so you’re alive and real. I promised not to worship any other God but you. After all these years you ended everything in praise,”
Dave held Ego by the arm and helped her stand. “Mama, it may also interest you to know that your daughter can now go back to school. I’ll sponsor her education just as I’ve been doing in her absence when she dropped out,”
Amy was so happy to the point that she didn’t know when she rushed to Dave and kissed him with untold felicity. “I’m sorry for that unorthodox behaviour,” she apologised for the kiss, “but joy can make us do the things we don’t want to do,” she apologised again but Dave never wanted to end that paradisal moment.
“Thank you for allowing me to take part in your wonderful life,” he said to her and took her to the car. “You can drive around if you wish, so that your mom can enjoy the fridge,” he dimpled a smile.
Even though Amarachi was elated with ecstasy, she remained confused. Dave noticed the oddity as Amy looked thoughtfully with questions written all of her.
“I wish to ask what you meant by sponsoring my education even in my absence,” Amarachi asked; trying to connect the dots consideringly.
“Oh, that?” Dave said and made her sit in the car with him, “Since you dropped out of school, I’d been following you around like an angel you never met,”
“Continue,” she muttered indistinctly rolling her eyes into her head as curiosity caught up with her.
“I hired the latest best graduating student in the economics department at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, to be writing your courses for you in your absence. I paid for everything, so you shouldn’t panic about it. Your grade-point average still makes you retain that first-class academic position in your department,”
Amarachi was so surprised and happy, even though she wasn’t comfortable with the arrangement. “But Dave,” she entered respectfully; “don’t you think that doing things this way could hamper a lot of things. It is not just right at all,”
“Keep conscience aside, please,” he rejoined, “I know it was like untying the Gordian’s knot, but I had to do what I had to do, believing that I did the best,”
Amy wasn’t still convinced, so she still had her reservations about such an unorthodox solution to her problem.
“Thanks for making me retain my academic position and education but I need a favour from you, and you should yield to it,” she demanded resolutely.
“Anything,” Dave said and kept looking absently at Ego Oyibo who was already pinning Ujunwa down with her unending stories because her lips never stopped vibrating with words, and her hands busy with demonstrations.
“Use your influence to make the lecturers of the entire courses to set another exam for me,” she said and caressed his palm with plea, “I can’t live with my conscience to end up graduating with the feelings that I wasn’t the one who made my grades without the help of another. I know I’m making a tall demand but this is my conscience that we’re talking about and if I don’t rewrite the courses by myself, I wouldn’t have that self-satisfaction with my achievements after school,”
Dave, knowing how difficult it would be for him to oblige her, kept nodding at intervals as he bit his lips in a way he usually does when trying to think himself out of a difficult situation. After a while, he smiled and said: “Done…I’ll do it, no matter what it takes,”
Amarachi pulled him closer and embraced him warmly. “You’re an angel indeed, and there is nothing I could have done without you. Thank you,” As the hug lasted, she didn’t know when her elbow touched the horns, making it blare. She was startled, “sorry for that.” She apologised with sexy smiles.
“Don’t mention it,” Dave said and opened the glove compartment of the car and handed over some papers to her, “this is the car documents, all having your name endorsed on them,”
Amarachi couldn’t just understand how her life that had been in fiasco suddenly turned around to be full of positive surprises.
“I don’t know what else to do or say,” she said with tears as she perused the papers.
“Say nothing,” Dave said and gave her a peck on her cheek, “You people are now staying with us until the completion of the house,” he said, giving out yet another surprise.
“House?” what are you talking about?” she queried.
“Yes, the land we bought for you wasn’t for you to retain the cabin but to pack into the duplex on its completion,” he said and got off the car to avoid getting himself into an arousal mood by Amarachi’s kisses and hugs. When he alighted, he smiled and shut the door behind him, still resting his back on it and smiling as he observed the dramatic Ego Oyibo.

It was amazing that Amy and her mom couldn’t contain the joy. They would soon own a duplex without their inputs, finances, or efforts. Celebration ensued immediately in the compound.
As the celebration was going on among them, Amy got a text message from an unregistered contact. She went through it and read to herself.
“Even though I love you a lot, I couldn’t afford to lose my fiancée because of the drama you caused at my office. Ugwunwa, despite her love for me, had cancelled the wedding engagement and threw the golden ring to my face. The young gazelle you hurt is now dead, come and carry it,”
Amarachi’s entire happiness disappeared into gloom and regret. She’d almost forgotten that she caused an affray between Chike and his fiancée in her quest to find out the mysterious angel that turned out to be Dave Handsome after every investigation, and not Chike, the accused.

**

Nightfall had already touched the earth and everywhere covered in darkness but Amarachi’s conscience kept pricking her emotion due to the text message from Chike. She quickly took her phone to call back the number but it was switched off. She became nervy.
The dinner was already served and ongoing on but Amarachi’s attention wasn’t with them.
Dave knew that Amy was troubled but didn’t know how to approach her or ask to know what was going on. He simply had a hasty dinner and took Amarachi to her room. He knew that in the morning she’d feel better; then he could probe deep to ascertain what was troubling her amid the excitement that was meant to overtake her the entire night.

**

Surprising to Dave, before he could wake up the next day, Amarachi had gone out of the compound. Calling her phone was futile because she never took the calls nor replied.
Amarachi knew it wouldn’t be wise to meet Chike at his house, so she started asking questions about his fiancée’s whereabouts and finally succeeded getting her phone line so that she’d meet her (woman-to-woman) for a talk.
There was no way she could get to meet Ugwunwa after calling her on the phone, so Amy still had to go to Chike’s office to meet him if that’d help.
The weather was breezy and calm, the busy Onitsha roads too rowdy and hot as usual. Being that Amarachi was yet to get used to driving an expensive car like e-vogue, she sneaked from Dave’s house and went to her compound at Emejulu Street and took her truck. She didn’t have to use a key for the ignition because joining the right wires does the magic. She’d mastered it already with expertise.

It was surprising to Amarachi that some men were already working at the site for the building project as Dave promised. People around the street rumoured that Amarachi and her mom had been evicted by the landlord as usual but never knew that they were about to become the house owners.
Seeing the ongoing work, Amarachi’s face was full of smiles and happiness but that glee was cut short by the flash of what could be going on between Chike and his fiancée.
She ignited the engine and left immediately to meet Chike.
On reaching her destination at Chike’s office at the showroom, she was happy that Chike’s car was still parked at his parking lot, so she drove in and parked beside his car.
When she entered, she met the secretary as she was about to leave.

“Good evening, aunty.” The secretary greeted as she hurriedly prepared to go for an errand that her boss sent her for.
“Good evening,” Amy replied and started going straight to Chike’s office door to knock but the secretary stopped her.
“Oga isn’t in a good mood now,” she said and drew Amy back gently, “That fracas you had with Oga the other day has left him feeling jinxed and…”
“Spare me the details,” Amy said and shut the gossip girl up, “can I go in now?”
Taking a deep breath with a grimaced face filled with disappointment, the secretary shrugged and said: “Well, I’m already leaving. So you can go in or choose not to, but all I can say is…”
“Thank you,” Amarachi threw in cleverly and pushed the door open and entered, getting the secretary more disappointed than she was at first.

Seeing Amarachi got Chike filled with both happiness and rage. He didn’t know how to begin but was at least happy that Amarachi came back to meet him in reaction to the text message he sent to her.
“Have a seat,” he said welcomely but Amarachi remained standing and feeling guilty with saggy eyelids.
“I don’t know how to start right now,” she said apologetically and rested her palm on the executive table that had Chike seated unsettledly at the other side of it. “Let me start with an apology about what happened that day. There was a mix up somewhere and you ended up carrying the can for what you knew nothing about…”
“Take, this,” Chike said and wrote a cheque of one hundred and eighty thousand and stretched out his hand to reach her, “You accused me of 150k and 20k, but I had to add an extra 10k to it so that you’d help me bring back my fiancée whom I just lost because of you,”
Amarachi pushed the cheque back to him. “Hold back the money and listen,”

“You have two options,” Chike continued without evening heeding to her sweet voice of plea, “either you take the money and bring her back or you accept my proposal and marry me and we’d all be in the same page,”
“Why can’t you change for once and listen without putting words into someone’s mouth?” she blurted, in a bid to get his audience and start explaining why she caused a drama the other day in his office.
“I wish you accept the second option I gave you because you were the girl I’d been longing to have as my wife many years back but you kept hating, hurting, and rejecting me,”
Amarachi couldn’t understand why she couldn’t love Chike who had been good to her, though she hated the way he fills himself with pride, and the way he brags about his father’s affluence.
Notwithstanding Chike’s shortcoming, he was still good, and he loved Amy so much.
“I don’t think I’ll accept any of the options you gave…”
“Will you marry me?” Chike interjected a proposal, brought out the golden ring and knelt before Amarachi and waited for her reply.
It was surprising to two of them that Ugwunwa suddenly entered the office and saw Chike kneeling and proposing to Amarachi; the same girl that caused her pains.

AMARACHI THE BEAUTIFUL POOR CHILD
#OpraDre

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