I got a job
as the Human Resources Manager in a firm in Enugu where I applied to without my
parents approval. My parents were easy to
win over after I accepted the job offer and a few visits from relatives.
It would be my first time in the Coal city, and I was really looking forward to
the trip.
The day of
the trip finally arrived, with my mother’s teary goodbye like I was being
conscripted into the Nazi army and Dad’s heavy sighs as Mr. Ganiyu drove us to
the bus park/terminal. At the bus terminal I noticed that most of the passengers
would be kids going for POST-UTME examinations and a few adults like myself.
This bit of observation dashed my hope of making acquaintances with some people
in the bus, aside that, I was thrilled. After loading my bags in the carrier, I
say my own share of teary eyed goodbyes to Dad and Mr. Ganiyu after I which I
got into the bus and found my seat.
It was a few
hours into the trip that I met Benedict, he was in the seat in front of me and
he nicely asked if he could recline his seat. At first, I was in awe I couldn’t
do anything but nod my head. How could I have spoken when the beauty in front
of me made words jam in my throat? I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven.
“I’m
Benedict Ohia” with hands outstretched
towards me. “I…am…er…. Fo…Folake Randall” taking his strong lean hands .
“Nice to
meet you, Folake”
Hearing my
name from his well sculpted mouth made my tummy flutter; he’s practically
sucking up all the air in the bus. After he sat back down, I couldn’t help but
fantasize about the Being seated in front of me. Its not as if I haven’t seen ‘finer’ guys before or I haven’t been
attracted to a man before, but this, this was different. The image of his
perfect white set of teeth flashed through my eyes when I replayed the moments
of our introduction. I was smitten!
A couple of
hours later we arrived at Benin for a break. By this time, i really wanted to
see him again. Thoughts of how I would see him before we got here didn’t yield
results, I thought about going to the restroom but it was behind me and not in
front. I thought of asking him to push his chair forward a bit but my better
sense said I would sound inconsiderate. After much thought I decided to wait
till we got to Benin. I got on myself
absorbed mode and headed to the canteen, stylishly scanning the perimeter above
my shades. This at first was frustrating as I didn’t see the object of my fascination,
I walked to the suya spot and that was where I saw him, standing there looking
all edible and appealing than the roast. I was walking over to where he was
standing when I noticed he was carrying a handbag, I momentarily had a heart
attack! He was with a woman already! I
was really heart broken.
It is about 2pm when we boarded the bus back,
so it was certain we’ll get to Enugu late. I wasn’t worried as a driver would
pick me at the park. Just when we got into our seats and made sure everyone was
in, the bus refused to start. Hell! This wasn’t what I planned at all o.
everybody was cursing and ranting and blaming and saying all sorts. We all got
down again so the bus would be fixed. I couldn’t find him anywhere in the crowd
and I concluded he was somewhere with ‘Le Boo’. After like an hour while we
were still waiting for the bus to be ‘well’ again, when frustration has found
its way to my body I heard him from behind me, his voice was like the symphony
of angels, music to my ears. It took
luck to control all the wild spirits in my body, I wonder how I managed to stay
calm.
“Folake,
how’re you holding Up?”
“Ehm….fine,
I’m fine thank you” I almost killed myself here for not being able to talk
properly.
“Are you
worried you’ll get to Enugu late?
“Well, yes.
Considering it will be my first time in the city”
“Oh really?
I was coming to that question wetin
Yoruba Girl dey find come our side?”
“looooool,
I just got a job in Enugu”
“wow that’s
nice! You have family there?”
“No, I’ll
be all by myself. I already got a place at CBN Quarters Trans Ekulu”
“Ah, that’s
nice too”
I was going
to ask him what he does too when we heard the announcement asking us to board
our bus back.
“Back to
the sick boring bus again, I wonder when or if we’ll get to Enugu this night”
“Well, I
guess it’s all part of the experience for me. It’s my first time in a bus” I
really was a bit embarrassed saying this, I felt like a spoilt brat.
“Ah, I see.
So na because of you Bus spoil shey?”
“I don’t
think so oo”
He flashed
that smile again, to which I smiled back. For the third time in one day, he
made my knees weak.
The elderly
man sitting beside me in the bus decided he couldn’t continue on the journey as
he was scared it would be dangerous and that it is almost impossible to get to
Enugu this night as it was almost 4pm. After a little bit of reasoning I and Benedict
tried to state, we let him be. Benedict decided to sit beside me throughout the
remainder of our journey to Enugu. As we proceeded into our journey to the coal
city, I and Benedict got talking, and I realized it wasn’t just his good looks
that probably attracted me to him, he held his own in our conversation, he was
very insightful and was open to various points of views. I was still skeptical
about the handbag I saw with him earlier that I couldn’t stop myself from
asking if he was with his wife or girlfriend, He laughed at the question and
said he just helped an elderly woman hold on to her bag because she went to use
the rest room. It was as if his answer was the last barrier stopping kanji Dam
from overflowing, at this instant I knew I had fallen for this guy staring at
me with such brilliant eyes. At this
point I was completely lost in him, staring at his mouth as he was talking,
imagining them on mine, observing the hand that caused something equal to an
electric shock earlier that day, his long lean body that I imagined was
covering me in a very warm embrace. I must say, I was just watching him talk;
some of what he said didn’t get to my ear. I was however interested in how he
was saying it, his every gesture or facial expression fascinated me. I was
lost, lost in a man I just met today. For the first time in the 24years of my
life, I want a man, I want this man.
Getting to
Asaba, our Bus stopped again, something was faulty somewhere else. Secretly, I
was happy, I didn’t want my time with Benedict to end, and we talked about
almost everything-Aspiration, education, politics, economy, relationships and
religion. We stood a little bit away from the passengers, who were now thinning
as some refused to go beyond Asaba for fear of dangerous roads ahead at this
time of the evening, almost 6:30pm. We were few, including Benedict and I who
decided to go through with the journey to Enugu. I had to explain to my parents
what happened and that I was fine for like the one millionth time of that day.
After the fault was resolved again, we proceeded to Onitsha.
We got to
Onitsha some minutes after 9pm, and the driver said he wouldn’t proceed on the
journey as it was dangerous. We were to sleep in the bus in the park! A
wonderful twist in this journey I thought. Benedict said it wasn’t his first
time. By now, it was obvious we had an attraction; I thought he can’t be that
oblivious to not have noticed. We sat in the bus, in the dark, with the cold of
the open area starting unholy desires in my mind with the being sitting next to
me. It tipped when he put away the hand rester in between us and said I could
rest on his shoulder if I wasn’t comfortable.
From putting my head on his shoulder, we went to him drawing me close to
himself, he was stroking my hair and
caressing my cheeks. When he tipped my face to kiss me I did not know, I only
know the warmth and sweetness that greeted mine. His tongue went deep,
searching the depths of my passion and torching them with desire. The kiss was
long and deep, and it ended abruptly. He pulled back and apologized profusely, .
I guessed it was all too fast for him, but right now I don’t care. I have never
been kissed or touched like that, and I wouldn’t like to be turned on and off
like a light switch. Without shame or hesitation, with darkness as our blanket
I reached for him and drew him to me, I kissed with the same amount of beautiful
torture he meted.
In between
ragged breaths and strong need, we started fumbling with clothes, unhooking
bras, unbuckling belts and removing any other obstruction to our sexes. I was
liquid and he was solid, unseen desire raging between us was pure gas, ready to
catch fire. There and then in the darkness of a bus, on a cold night in Anambra
we justified sin, the soft moans and tangling of legs, repeated entry and
withdrawals, mumbles and extinct language, muffled cry of sweet releases, we
bonded and unified in passion, oblivious to the cold hard bus seats against our
skins. It was epiphany, the climax of the orchestral piece.
In minutes,
passion was spent. Reason came back, but pleasure refused it stay. We sat quiet
for a while, till he told me it was his first time, it wasn’t mine so I asked
him why a handsome and appealing young man like him was kept till a few minutes ago, he replied saying the choice he made for the rest of his life was
the reason he had, I didn’t want to know what it was. All I knew was that the
chemistry we shared was a perfectly balanced equation. Already I could picture
the new life with him in Enugu. I drift of in his arms and this time Morpheus
was easy on me.
I woke up
later in the morning, a bit strained from the uncomfortable posture in which I
slept but still jelly legged. It took a few seconds to get my bearing and
notice he was looking at me, this time the spark in his eyes was gone and a
drape covered his eyes like curtains on a window. I was scared he was regretting our intimacy
last night, but he was still holding me so it couldn’t possible be the
issue. But still, his heart and mind was
heavy, like he was a bearer of bad news who suddenly lost the zeal for his job.
I wanted to ask him, but it didn’t sound right,
I didn’t Have any relationship with him (yet), I’m just somebody he
slept with in a bus. Gosh! How decent of
me.
We continue
the journey in silence, snuggled up in his arms till he dropped the first
bombshell.
‘how old do
you think I am?’
Why? I
think 25 and above.
I’m
actually just 22.
Reasons why his age doesn’t matter started to fly through
my thoughts, like the passion in his veins.
I looked up
at him, I told him I didn’t mind. I thought my answer will remove the darkness
in his eyes and herald light but it only seemed to worsen. Like he wanted me to
mind, really mind that I was 2 years older.
The beautiful man, I met, fell in love and slept with in the coverings
of a bus yesterday was now so distant, this made me realize how very little I knew
about him, I knew a lot about him my mind tried to justify – I knew the colour
of his eyes, I knew the softness of his palms and the ruggedness of his hands,
I knew the taste of nectar because it was in his tongue, I knew the rhythm of
his heart beat because I set the tempo
in passion, I knew the contours of his frame because I explored it, I knew him
because he was in me damn it! Why is he so aloof now? Though his hands were
wrapped around me the warmth was absent. It upped and left without warning of its intended departure.
‘Folake……I’m
going to be a priest’
‘A priest
what kind of priest?’
‘A Reverend
father, I’m taking my oath in two months. And what we did, shouldn’t have
happened if I had a little more self control. I'm sorry I didn’t tell you
earlier..its just…it was all so consuming…the lust’
I look on
at him as he spoke in a foreign language I miraculously understood. He will be
a Reverend
Father, and
he’s taking his oath in two months. Two months is enough time to make him change
his mind, to make him want to spend his life or a fraction of it with me as
mine. I can make him love me as I have come to love him
so shortly, yes I do, I do love him. He’ll love me. I touched an anointed and and I'm loving a prophet a demon must be residing in me.
Scenes from
earlier start to flash in my mind, his charming smile, that same mouth on my
lady lumps. His hands now withdrawing from me, holding and caressing my
silhouette a few hours ago. We’re almost at the bus terminal, the juncture at
which I hold on or let go. He’s looking at me intensively, like he wants me to
come with him, but his attitude is betraying
his look or am I misinterpreting it?
I haven’t
said a word since his speaking in tongue
session, as we make to alight the bus at the terminal. With my broken heart and
further broken pieces of it, with courage or rather shameless need for this man
I stood up and looked him in the eye and it ended the debate my minds were
deeply engaged in –to let him go and serve God or to make him change his mind
and stay with me instead. Between yesterday and today I have come to know passion
and desire, and this man contained it. But he needed me to let it out, I
released the Kraken. And what I see in his eyes right now is a ‘don’t let me
go’ the epiphany I longed to find, he was saying lead and I'll follow I
reach out and take his mouth in mine, and this time its strawberry. Maybe I should
let him go, maybe he should be a priest, maybe I’ll be condemned . But right
now, with how I feel, I’ll stand before God on judgement day and defend this action of touching an anointed and loving a prophet.
