The Thorny Path to Europe - Episode 7

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Tunde called Jude that they had arrived at Edo. Jude sent him the direction to Oka and told them to meet him by 8 a.m the next day. Their journey through Edo was the easiest since they started their journey. The next morning, they were on their way to see Jude. When they got to the place he described, they met him among a crowd, who were either begging or complaining about something. Tunde walked up to him and expected an audience, but when they got to him, he noticed them and pointed a finger at them . True to his word, he was through within a minute. He led to the side of the building.

'So, where is the final payment?' Jude asked.

Tunde glanced at Ade, rubbed his lower lips and edged towards Jude. He didn't know how to beg Jude for such a minute issue. The money was just one hundred and ten thousand naira. Jude glared at him as if he was a child that had that defecated on his body and he was coming to meet his strict father. 'I'm asking for money you're coming nearer'.

Swallowing hard, he rubbed his hands together. 'I couldn't come to you that day. This is my brother. He brought the money to you'.

'I know, but where is the remaining part'.

'We will pay you'.

'Don't I know that already? When?'

'When we get there. We will get the money across to you'.

Jude laughed and turned with his hands stretched

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. 'Chinese, these boys take me to be a fool. You

can't bargain with me. You want to start playing the same way that caused trouble the last time, that we have to deport some people to Nigeria'.

'We are not playing anyway, we are truthful', Lizzy said as she glanced at Ade. Tunde could see a glimpse of amusement in her eyes, but he dismissed it. It would be wise to follow Ade's advice. Maybe he needed to learn to start trusting people. She was probably laughing at Jude’s thick Igbo accent.

'Shut up! Who? Who? Do you think I am? I told you people that I've been carrying people over the sea for more than seven years now. Do you think I'm a baby? Let me… Let me…' He said as he spun and hurried towards his car. 'I'm coming o'.

He searched for something in the car. Tunde moved towards Ade and whispered. 'Didn't you tell him what I told him?'

'I did'.

'Then, why is he acting as if someone pushed pepper into his anus?'

'He is mad', Lizzy said.

'Indeed', Ade replied.

Jude rushed back holding two books. Then, he thrust the books into Ade's hands. 'Give him one and flip through them. You will see the amount of money I should have made or have. Flip through'.

'What's this?'

'What does it look like. Flip through'.

'Money'.

'Yes. It's the money that people have promised to pay'.

'Paid?'

'No. They've not paid. All of you people are those that make Nigerians seemed to be untrustworthy. All of you. You would do things that would always bring about the destruction of Nigeria's name'.

'Like smuggling us through the sea', Tunde remarked.

'Then, they will now start saying Nigeria is bad… What? What did you just say? Smuggling? It

looks as if your chi wants to see your destruction?'

'It was a slip of tongue', Ade said.

'No… No. How dare you call what we do smuggling? We pay people. Fine. But so that they will make the papers you need come in time. Oh! What do you take me for?'

'He said he was sorry', Ade said.

'Yes. You know, I'm deaf. Or blind that I won't know when he talks. In fact, I'm not taking you, people, again. Some other people have been begging me but because I reserved seats for you people, I refused them. I'm not taking you again'.

'Eh'. Lizzy shouted and dropped to her knees, with her hands raised as if she was praying God and, this time, Tunde could see real exasperation on her face. 'Oga, I beg you in the name of God. I beg you'.

Ade also joined her, kneeling, pleading as if Jude would truly refuse to take them at that point. Ade pulled Tunde's trousers for him to join them, but Tunde wasn't ready to succumb to the desire of a man that needed his ego to be fanned. With what Jude had just displayed, he would have placed him as one of the people that would soon face trouble from him. Tunde's prayers and hope were that he made enough money in time so that he would get the chance to help Jude realize that one doesn't trouble others especially when they need one's help.

'Tunde, keep your pride and kneel down', Lizzy said, hissed and turned to Jude.

'Are you insane? Who are you talking to?' Tunde growled.

'Ade, your Lizzy is being ridiculed and you can't talk', Lizzy sneered. She turned to Jude,' Oga, if you won't take some insolent, god-forsaken people, please don't leave me behind. I really need this'.

Jude shook his head and snatched the papers from them as if the paper is too long with them would make their names automatically appear in it. Tunde couldn't fathom a reason to kneel but he would do what they want. He would call the proverbial cow, his elder brother so that he would get the chance to go without disturbance. Grudgingly, he knelt but didn't show any sign of remorse. Jude glanced at him and pretended to be in deep thoughts.

Tunde wondered why Nigerians like a lot of drama in their actions. Who was Jude deceiving? The money they needed wasn't up to the amount he wanted to collect; yet, he was acting over it. All he needed was to bribe the people at each point with nothing more than fifty thousand naira. And nothing more.

'The truth is that. There are a lot of people with money. Some even have more than enough, but I like you people. I like this boy', Jude said and pointed at Ade. 'He is wise. He knows what he wants. He has business sense'.

Ade winked at the man. Tunde wanted to tell him to stop all the drama they were performing, that he was still kneeling in front of him, that he rarely knelt like this to God who deserved it, but he kept quiet, seeing that Ade seemed to be in the touch with the man's belief and emotion.

'I will help you. But there are rules. You must pay me my money'.

'We will pay you. Don't bother. I'll try to pay you my own share', Lizzy said eagerly.

Tunde hissed.

'Who is this one? Women hiss. But a man... No. Men are not known to be hisser. They train their mind to be in the perfection of being gentlemanly. But some people are just born with a lot of problems in life'.

'What is she saying?' Tunde asked.

She looked at Jude with so much concentration that almost made Tunde laugh. She was indeed a clown and he should leave her to herself before she forced his hand to do something he might regret later.

'So, I want you people to decide when you will pay and promise me that when the day comes, you will have my money'.

'That's ludicrous and suspicious. We've not even made a plan on how to get there, so how do we

get the money to pay you?' Tunde shouted.

'What is wrong with you? What is the matter?' Jude shouted and stomped his feet on the ground.

'You this man you're too stingy. Too tight-fisted and in our line of work, tight-fisted people don't last. They end up in the middle of the desert alone. They will die'.

'Please, let's stop all these feuds', Ade said, trying to quell Jude's anger.

'Some people's mouth will be the highway to their downfall', Lizzy said and hissed as she began to rise.

'Let a man remember that we mirror ourselves on others', Tunde replied.

'That's because your brain is paining you. Ade, tell your brother', Lizzy said and her voice became pitched.

'What is tell? What is wrong with you two?' Ade yelled.

'This girl has forgotten that she will be coming to our house and that we will soon be seeking for her hand in marriage'.

'You've said it all. You'll seek for my hands. I love to enjoy. I'm the one sought out, not the seeker'.

Tunde, who was now crouching, stared at her with so much disdain that he wished he could simply let her come to the understanding of how much power he still wielded.

'Then, we will show you this ingrate. At least, you will still come around'.

'Hear! Hear! Like they will say in those British movies. Hear the rubbish he is spewing from the mouth. Hear the nonsense he thought were words. If you remain arrogant, I will make sure that you people, your whole family members suffer before I accept or if I do, I will ask for so much a bride price that will drain your family purse'.

Jude could only stare at them as if he was seeing an invention. His head moved from side to side as if he was watching a table tennis court. Ade turned to them and the vein of his neck was throbbing as he shouted, 'What is wrong with you guys? What's your problem? At least, if one is acting like a baby the other should be wise. Be wise. Ah!'.

'Ade, mind your words', Tunde retorted.

Jude stood akimbo as he stared them. At the other side of the house, there had been occasional dying and revving of bikes.

'You people are not trustworthy. This is what we will do. You will swear to the gods. Ah! Anybody that carries my money will die'.

Ade and Lizzy glanced at each other. Tunde glanced at Jude and at Ade.

'Is he right? Is he saying the truth?', Lizzy said and stared at Ade, who seemed confused too.

'Of course', Jude said and turned towards the front of the house. 'I'm coming'.

Tunde rose from his squatting position and Ade followed suits. Being around the two of them had exposed him to different types of emotions, but he didn't understand the reasons for that. Before Jude made the announcement that they weren't going to make it to Libya, they seemed to have a deceptive fearful look, but the moment he told them he wouldn't go with them, their countenances changed to express their fear. Tunde shook his head; his mind was being clouded by his lack of trust. Lizzy moved up to Ade and began to whisper something that Tunde wished he could hear.

'Calm down', Ade muttered.

'Calm down? Calm down? I can't calm down. Do you think I'm Cersei that waited till the day of her swearing before burning things down? I can't wait'.

'Who is Cersei?'

'Game of Thrones...'

'Oh!'

'We didn't plan this. Let him know'.

Tunde wanted to start ranting, but his cough got the better of him, also seeing that Lizzy was doing that made him happy and hold his tongue. With these, her impetuous mouth would see what he had been seeing all these while: Jude was a fraud and they needed to let him know.

'What's 'Let him know ' that you're talking about? We will work something out'.

Ade brought out his phone, stared at it for a while, sighed and showed Lizzy something. Her mouth danced as she read it. She chuckled and burst into tears and cried into Ade's chest.  Tunde wanted to ask if everything was alright, but how will it be that he stooped so low to ask her for the reason she was crying. Jude hurried back to meet them.

'Let's go'.

'Go where?' Tunde asked.

'To the shrine, where else?'

'You were joking'.

'Me, joke? I'm not a joker. This is money and business. This money will soon become lost if I don't do anything to make sure it comes back to me'.

'But I've never agreed to...'

'What's not agreed to, Tunde? Are you not going to pay?' Ade asked as he pocketed his phone.

At this point, Tunde felt like going back to Lagos, but where could he possibly go? He would need a house. He might get a little job. But how will it be that he didn't even try his best to go the place Emeka died for.

'Ade, don't you dare...'

'Forget him', Lizzy said, pulled Ade's hand slightly and released it as she strutted off with Jude following her. Tunde wanted to run after them to beat them up, to show them who the boss was. However, Ade moved nearer.

'These guys are tricky. The only way to hold their trust is to try to do things that will favour everyone. This swearing would favour everyone'.

'I... Don't...Trust... These guys. I don't trust this Jude one bit. I think he is shady. Even this your Lizzy. She is your demon. She might change you. She knows how to appease you. And I think I'm lucky nothing happened between us. She was just fretful some seconds ago, now she was rushing off as if she built the shrine'.

'She is not my demon. She thinks. The brain is there. Tunde, let's do this thing and leave this God-forsaken country'.

'Let's', Tunde said after some seconds of deciding if he should allow the new thought that built up in his heart to grow or follow it through. For now, he wasn't even sure of what he wanted anymore. The two of them went after Lizzy and Jude. They had no choice than to follow them.

When they got to the shrine, Tunde knew he had given himself up a lot of trouble. He should have exempted himself from the process from the beginning, if not he wouldn't be fighting his way through a deserted bush path. The bush wasn't extraordinarily scary. Nothing pointed to the fact they were moving towards the silence. Probably the silence, but nothing more. The only thing that indicated they were headed towards a shrine was when they heard the squeaky voice of a man and the rattling of something metallic. The house was shrouded in dirty red clothes that made Ade hold his breath and keep spitting.

Upon entering the shrine, they met a short man, whose body had various marks as if he was flogged with a cutlass, was trying to appease the gods'.

'Enter'.

'Before you do this', Jude started and glanced at his wristwatch. 'You can still go home'.

'For where?' Tunde said and looked at the statues that were laid in a corner of the room. There was a lot of dry oil on the old statue, making it look like someone vomited on it. Ade rushed out and spat. Tunde stood still. And they waited for him to return.

'Good, let's proceed', Jude said.

The herbalist grunted and began to chant things. His rough voice was loud enough to wake the dead. Tunde zoned off to the ways he would spend his money.

Read " Don't! Look Closer " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. He would ensure he never partied until he had gotten enough money. The way he would stack money and return to Nigeria, to start something that would prevent the money from flowing to the Europeans and their rumoured high taxes. The herbalist finished his incantations and continually rambled about the way things would happen to them if they ever betrayed one another.

He fetched some water from a pot that looked as if it was thrown into the drainage. Ade gasped, frowned and spat before proceeding to drink the water. Although he drank it in what seemed to look like forever, Tunde wondered why Ade, the one who cared about his health, would take such water. Ade was acting as if he had been ready to do all these since birth.

Tunde collected the water, used his hands to remove some shafts and gulped the water. As he expected, the water didn't do anything to him. He didn't feel anything. Seeing that nothing happened, he stared into Jude's eyes.

'When can I leave?' Tunde asked as the herbalist seemed to stare at him.

'You can leave'.

'Let's leave', Ade said, held Lizzy's' waist and led her off.

Tunde got out of the place and hissed. 'Scam'.

'Not again', Lizzy murmured.

 

Tunde hissed again and hoped she wouldn't give him a reason to tell her the history of her birthday, of her family, to let her know that she was becoming a nuisance and he would hope that something drastic separated them.

'We will soon get separated', he muttered.

'Talk loudly if you have the mind'.

'We will soon go separate ways'.

'Before? We will surely go separate ways. And you'll be poped'.

Despite not having a full understanding of what she just meant, he was very sure that she would soon come to the realization that she needed him.