I KILLED MY FATHER Episode 3 – The Mystery Man
It was a Friday evening , I was twelve years old by this time , I remembered vividly, it was a sunny afternoon, I was already in Junior Secondary School class three, we had just closed from school , we had stayed back in school for extra lesson, so while we were returning from school , our bus picked a nail near the command guest house where the driver went to dropped some of our classmates.
The matron was asked to look after us while the driver went about looking for a vulcaniser to fix the puncture , when we waited for twenty minutes and he wasn’t back , I and my friends decided to walk .
We were about twelve students left in the bus , about seven of us decided to walk , the matron couldn’t convince us otherwise, we were Abuja kids from privileged homes , most of us didn’t know freedom , we were taken to school and back to the prison cells of our home .
I had one of the best days of my life , I had a crush , her name was Vera,I loved her Efik name more , she was called Nkoyo, see the first day I saw this girl I almost melted into the wall, I had never had such a stupid feeling before , whenever she looked at my direction , I felt an electric shock surge through my body . I knew she liked me , but for two years we avoided each other .
Until my best friend Elvis asked her out to be my friend , we were just kids , but Nkoyo became my source of happiness, we rarely had time to be together, except during the break , we would walk to the cafeteria together.
We were voted best couple during the last social day , Mr and Mrs Crowmwell International School, most of my classmates had their girlfriends and boyfriends , so that day most of us who left the bus wanted to have time with our girlfriend.
Elvis and Cassandra used to hang out at the National Children’s Park and Zoo in the neighbourhood, but my father forbade us to leave the house , even mum , who didn’t work ,even though she had a PhD in Pharmacology, we were just his slaves .
I held Nkoyo’s hand while we walk by the side of the road , talking and arguing about unnecessary topics , like Spiderman and Captain America,who was the strongest , Nkoyo wasn’t a talker , she was so shy that she didn’t say anything, even though Cassandra and some of the other girls argued with us .
We were in Cassandra’s Neighbourhood, outside a popular park resort , I saw my dad’s Range Rover Sport,my friends knew something was wrong . “What is it Solomon?” Nkoyo asked , I pointed to the white SUV. “That’s my dad’s car .” I said , I was wondering what he was doing there , he didn’t allow us to have a social life why would he have one , he only allowed us to read and read , sometimes he won’t allow us watch the television for days .
“We should go in and check if he’s there .” Kanayor the most stubborn boy in our group suggested , I wasn’t sure about it . “They don’t let kids inside , let us be on our way .” Nkoyo suggested.
“Solomon it’s not a bad idea , my dad used to meet with clients here to discuss business , it could be the same with your dad .” Elvis suggested . “Let us go inside joor , don’t mind your girlfriend she’s always a timid soul, do you know the sweet adventure when we sneak in ? it would be more adventurous if the security men chase us .” Cassandra said , I liked the idea of finding truth and adventure.
We were all dressed in our charcoal grey trousers , and white dress shirt with red ties , the girls wore charcoal grey pinafore gowns, with white short sleeves, Cassandra went to the security guards at the gate , talking to them until they were laughing , we used that distraction to sneak into the park .
It was really a big park with several large thatch roofs, built like a palace in a Nollywood movie , we sneaked around the parks one after the other searching for my dad , we thought maybe he had just packed his car and left , but then we saw him , he was sitted inside the last thatch house , the place was dark, he was still wearing the navy blue suit he wore when he left the house that morning , with a white shirt and red tie ,chilling with a bottle of Clase Azul Reposade , a plate of barbecued cat fish sat on the table , a girl of about twenty three , she was very beautiful and flirty , was sitting on his laps , kissing his lips , as he smiled . she was wearing a very short red dress , that was barely holding her boobs in place , her cleavage was bared for all to see , her grape orange sized boobs were fighting to jump out , and covering her laps , my dad’s hands kept running over them .
I stood there glaring at the beast with ferocious anger, how could he do that to my mum , I knew mum would never ever believe me even if I told her that dad was cheating , he was a professional deceiver , he never had given me who had cat like instinct , the slightest clue that he was an amorous man .
“What are you going to do now ?” Elvis asked when he see me boiling in a pot of anger . “Don’t do anything stupid Solomon , let’s just go report him to your mum .” Nkoyo said , she held my hand , because she knew I wanted to confront him . “Hey kids what are you doing here ?” The manager of the park said , this brought dad’s attention to where the voice came from .
“Zachary where are you people how did you let school children get here!” The manager yelled , dad’s eyes met mine while I was making my escape with my friends .
“Stop there !” The manager said running after us , he wasn’t agile like we were , I held Nkoyo’s hand as I ran , we got to the gate , before the security men could see us , we sped out of the compound ,and made our escape , who could hear the manager berating the security men as we escaped , for being lackadaisical with their duties , and promised to sack them for letting the kids get into an adult private area ,when we got outside and made it to a safe locations, my friends were thrilled by the chase , they kept talking and exaggerating the chase .
Only Nkoyo saw my pains , she saw my anger . “Solomon don’t think too much about it you should tell your mother , you can’t help her fight her battle .” She said I nodded and wiped the tears from my eyes . All though I really hated my dad , I didn’t want him to cheat on my mum , if she knew that would break her , despite his constant beating mum loved that man , sometimes I wondered if it was because of us or herself that she had refused to go away , she had rich siblings in Abuja and Lagos. I wiped the tears from my eyes , Nkoyo embraced me infront of their gate . “Don’t worry Solomon everything would be alright okay ?” She said I nodded and wiped the tears from my eyes, I bare her farewell, and promised to see her on Monday.
Whenever I heard my friends discussing about their parents taking them every weekend to eat out and see movies and do shopping at big malls , I just let my tears flow , my dad was by far richer than any other parent I know , dad had a car of hundred million naira , a sport car , I saw why he had those cars , about six of them . Our house was a mansion , but we the people in the mansion were sad people , we were all dad’s prisoners.
I got home twenty minutes later , it was crazy that I saw dad’s car in the parking lot , the security man had already finished washing it , mum had been crazy worried about me , because I was about an hour late , she had called the school they told her I and some of my classmates left on foot , when the car broke down .
“Good evening mum.” I greeted my enraged mother . “Where did you go ? why did you have to leave the bus ?” Mum quarreled, I didn’t have an answer for her , my attention was on the hypocrite, he was sitting on the dinning table , eating food mum struggled to cook , the professional deceiver , had refused to allow mum get a chef and maid , even though he could employ hundred , with the excuse that female maids are home wreckers , my gullible mum but to his excuse , she slaved herself believing he was doing it for the good of our family .
I glared at my dad angrily . “Greet your dad Solomon!” Mum barked , she always had to bark to remind me he was my dad . “Good evening!” I snapped before running up the stairs , I had him calming my mum .
“Just leave him be , he’s at that time they rebel against their parents.” I went up into my room and banged the Israeli doors .
