THE GHOST OF ARO (ePIsoDe 6)

When Yinka woke up around 9pm, he thought the white girl was gone. He was so fagged out from the fun he had with her that it took him some moments to come out of the bed. Sluggishly, he stepped out of the bed, put on his boxers, and headed for the kitchen to take some cold beer from the fridge. That was when he noticed she was still around; looking relaxed on a chair while watching the TV like it was her own matrimonial home. She was almost as naked as she was in bed, even in her mini skirt and her tube-like top. Yinka couldn’t stop the playback of what they just had that was coming to his head.

“Hey Kiki,” Yinka called. “I thought you were gone.”

“I thought you black men are stronger in bed,” She chose not to answer. “If we had to do this again, you may need to improve on what you did today.”

“Are you kidding?” Yinka exclaimed. “After those exhaustive five rounds you still tell me I need to improve?”

By now Cyprian and Elechi must have been around, he knew. But they could not enter the apartment because they knew the white lady should still be with him. They must have seen her car at the car park. He had to do something, at least to know if the girl wants to sleep over or not. That will help him to know what to tell his friends on phone. He desperately wanted to know how the meeting in the office went, but he also didn’t want to let the white girl go. She was too sweet with him on bed.

He sat beside Kiki, who was already sipping her own chilled canned beer too. A cigarette also hung on her mouth throwing out some light smoke like she was a chimney. He didn’t know how to start his conversation; somehow, there was something about this girl that looked different. It made him have a mixed feeling; fear and excitement.

“Em... I... Em” Yinka couldn’t find the words.

But Kiki helped him, “I knew about you before I came to Nigeria”

“What?”

That help only shocked him. He suddenly developed more fear. But he managed to feign a smile.

“What are you talking about? Are you some princess who came to Nigeria to look for some Prince charming or you are the female version of Eddie Murphy who now came to Nigeria to look for a husband?”

“Though I’m British,” She seemed to have the habit of not repeating herself. “I am from Haiti. My family has a voodoo business going on there.”

He jumped off the chair. The canned beer dropped off his hand. This doesn’t sound good. It seemed his fear was taking the upper hand from the excitement.

“My Dad has been monitoring Aro for years.” Though she didn’t pronounce it well, Yinka knew it was the same Arowolo she was talking about. “We need your help!”

“This doesn’t make sense.... I mean, you are white!”

“Being white doesn’t mean we don’t have our own voodoo. As a matter of fact, voodoo of the western world is stronger than that of Africa.”

Staggered, he walked to one of the chair opposite Kiki and sat down. Pretending to be brave yet freezing inside. His major fear was that what Kiki wanted might lead to the end of his life. So the money was a fluke anyway, Arowolo only wanted him to enjoy the last days of his life. He must have seen this coming.

Kiki just smiled. Somehow he thought she was reading his mind.

“Okay,” She went straight to where she stopped not showing any concern for his fears. “The man you thought was just a ghost is no longer just a ghost Yinka: he is fast becoming a god.”

Even with the fearful cold chill running down his spine, he still looked at Kiki in such a way that said, “You must be out of your mind.”

“But how does this concern me?”

“You helped free his powers. You are going to help us tame it back.”

“What?”

“I will help you.” She said calmly. “The *** I had with you was to fortify you. Aro will find it difficult to kill you.”

“Kill?”

“And you are not going to do it alone this time.” She paused to look around. “Your friends will help you. I know they are around now. And I know you don’t keep secrets from them.”

“How do you expect me to convince them for such a dangerous mission? How are my even sure you are real? I didn’t feel any different from what I felt when I had *** with you than what I felt with other girls, yet you said you fortified me. You may even be some scammer for all I care. NO! I don’t want to hear this anymore. Enough!”

Kiki was shocked inexplicably. She never expected Yinka to say that. But she was not discouraged.

“Okay. Okay. I guess I don’t have to speak anymore. You will see the signs.”

She rose without saying any more and adjusted her mini skirt and her tube-like top. She picked her car key from the table and she exit.

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THE GHOST OF ARO (ePIsoDe 5)

As Yinka mounted the podium to give his testimony at Mountain of Holiness Bible Church-Ajah, Elechi and Cyprian smiled in adoration. They finally escaped the claws of poverty. Though they had families who cared about them, their condition was not better than Yinka’s. They’ve been friends all through hard times and they knew Yinka would not desert them when things changed for better. They moved together into Yinka’s new apartment; a tastefully finished 4 Bedroom duplex on the high class area of Ajah. While doing so, he promised to make them his business partners in the art company he was setting up. Yes; he told them how he got the money; they were that close.

Yinka waved his brand new car key to the congregation and they screamed!

“Brother Yinka has bought a car!” He heard a girl shout from the choir stand.

“I want to thank God,” Yinka testified. “For many years now, after my graduation from school, I couldn’t get a job. But last week I did a small business, and I got some money I never dreamt I would ever see in my life!”

The whole church screamed. They never knew Yinka testified some lies. Was it really a business? Anyway, who cares? All they needed to know was that he did something to get the car. After all, some would still think the business he was talking about was related to his art work.

The scream lasted for about five minutes after Yinka left the podium. Even those richer church members who used to ignore him before now congratulated him: it was as if they were welcoming him into their high class-and Yinka enjoyed it. When the pastor mounted the pulpit to preach, Yinka was the topic of the preaching. He even made him HOD of Ushering department.

“While he was making that testimony, the spirit of God told me he would be replacing the former HOD who just relocated to Abuja due to transfer in his job.” The pastor announced.

He left the church cruising around town with three girls from the church. The finest one sat on the passenger sit beside him, while he drove. As usual, Cyprian and Elechi had to make do with the other two, sitting with them at the back. They used to do such, even when there was no money-it was expected that their promiscuity would increase now that there was money.

After eating nice meals at Chicken Republic in Ajah, and going to Yinka and his friends’ new abode, the girls ended up in their bed till late in the evening. They were released around 10pm, dropping them off at the junction of their houses. Only God knows what they told their parents... maybe the usual lie of some young girls; “We had long rehearsals because of the choir concert that is coming up.” Nevertheless that didn’t mean the girls would not be discarded by the boys a month later.

The following day Yinka was scheduled to hold a meeting with some artists he employed last week about how he wanted to run his art gallery. He needed not to rack his brain any more for paintings since he could afford to hire them: After all the gallery was just a camouflage, the money he made from Aro’s deal was not something he could finish with a year’s reckless spending. Even he wondered why Aro paid him that much for such a simple task, though it was frightening.

On the way to the office, situated on Victoria island, they stopped at Tasty Fried Chicken to buy their breakfast. Yinka was paying for the take away order when he noticed a white girl staring at him.

“If I eat this white chick, is it a bad thing?” He whispered to his friends.

“Why not?” Elechi said.

“You have your money. Spend it man!” Cyprian added.

He gave his friends instruction to hold his scheduled meeting, and approached the girl. They had to take bike to go to the office and meet the new staffs, yet it was a sacrifice they were willing to pay. But they never knew Yinka was beginning to bite more than he could chew.

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THE GHOST OF ARO (Episode 4)

Yinka drove down in Aro’s 2010 Toyota Camry, feeling like a king when he had just 200 Naira in his wallet. Anyway, it was 2:00Am in the morning and he may not need the money after all. He met a full tank when he took the car for this assignment and he had not driven it to any other place aside his house.

When he parked the car at Bar beach, it was easy for him to spot a white Toyota Hilux. The driver stepped out upon seeing him and walked towards him.

The place was deserted, save for some street miscreants who slept on the paved floor. A few cars passed on the road; most of whom may be heading to a club or coming back from it. People don’t seem to have a sleeping time in Lagos.

“You arrived early enough,” The masked man said as he came closer. Everything about him was black. Yinka wondered why he didn’t bring a black truck instead of a white one. “You must have been desperate for this assignment.”

“I don’t know what the mission is about yet.” Yinka confessed but the masked man didn’t reply. He wondered, “Is it robbery? Are we going to kill someone? Or it’s just a small task of moving some secret weapons?”

The man stretched his hand. Yinka knew it was not for handshake; he gave him the key.

“Okay,” He said taking a deep breath. “This is what the deal is all about. Aro’ was a powerful priest in Ondo town around 1984. He got so powerful that he signed a deal with the devil that he would not die.”

Yinka’s brain felt like it stomped into the sea and came back to him again! “Which Aro are you talking about?”

The masked man continued. “Even other powerful priest in western part of Nigeria feared Aro because of his prowess. He got so powerful that he began tormenting anybody who crossed his path, killing them even unto their great grand children.”

“I... I don’t understand…” Yinka said as he began to draw back.

“Where are you going?” The man asked.

“I’m not interested in this anymore; which Aro’ are you talking about? This doesn’t make sense. If he was a powerful priest in 1984, how come he looks so young?”

“I am not even through with your orientation yet and you are asking such a technical question...”

“I am lost! I don’t understand what is going on here!”

It may likely be a voodoo effect, the man continued talking and Yinka stopped drawing back. “There was a time Aro’ chased the son of someone who offended him to Lagos. His plan was to kill that son. But unfortunately, the son had become a very strong man of God. He was praying at this same beach around this time when Aro’s spirit arrived… He usually sleeps and travels in his spirit to anywhere. But God helped the son. He prayed so hard that Aro fell to his superior power. He collected all of Aro’s charms, locked them in a box, and buried them on this beach... Though the people rejoiced that Aro was dead in Ondo and buried him, his spirit lives and he wants to regain his powers.”

“Is the Aro’ you are talking about the same Aro’ I know?”

“Yes!” The man finally answered. Yinka felt like jumping into the sea.

“The body Aro presently occupies was the body of a man he killed when he began to regain his powers. He regained few powers when the pastor who conquered him died naturally. Now he wants his full powers back”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“Your work is simpler” He said while walking towards the water. “Mine is the harder part.”

Yinka walked closely behind him; looking in all direction every now and then. Not sure of what he was looking for. Maybe the police or someone to rescue him from this mess. “I will unlock the box that contains Aro’s charms.” He continued. “But I cannot touch the charms because my powers forbid me to.”

“What would be the effect of the charm when I touch it?”

“No effect.” Something in Yinka told him that was a lie. “Once the charm is in your hands, you will get into your car and drive to Epe creek as fast as you can. The man who will do the ritual to revive Aro’s power is already there waiting for you. The charm must not be far from a water area for a long time.”

“Okay.” Yinka nodded. If that was just all he would do, he guessed it wasn’t too much of a sacrifice for him to break free from poverty.

The masked man concentrated on a particular spot in the sand for a while. Then he bent down. He began to dig with his bare hands, making some incantations Yinka could not understand. Within a short while, a rusty wooden box appeared in the sand.

Yinka marvelled. But he became frightened the minute afterwards: a creature that looked like a man appeared behind them. He looked like a skeleton, but he wasn’t really skeletal. He looked transparent, and that made them realize it was a spirit. His body was rusty, but it showed he must have had cloths on before it became rusty.

“Let sleeping dogs lie... Let sleeping dogs lie.” He kept saying while he walked towards the masked man, stretching his hands like he would grab either Yinka or the masked man.

“Quick! Grab the charms and run!” The masked man said with an undertone that brought Yinka back to the knowledge that they were in danger. He obeyed. But before he could run, he began to see so many other spirits around the beach.

He was about running when he saw his late mother. “Is that my mummy?” He muttered as he waited to examine her closely. He could remember how she looked very well, although this woman looked like a rusty skeletal figure.

“Ignore them and run!” The man shouted.

Yinka fled, dodging the spirits who tried to touch him.

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THE GHOST OF ARO 3 (... delayed warning)

Yinka sat by the water side on Alpha beach having a deep thought under a very hot sun. His unbuttoned beach-shirt and 3-quater pant allowed enough air to blow over key areas of his body; but that didn’t help; he was very hot inside his heart. His life was similar to the situation of that beach: The beach was beginning to overflow and cover the surrounding land-his problems were beginning to overflow and cover his life too. He has been full of various miseries lately: jobless, sick, abandoned by the remaining people he could call family. Well, that may be because they see him as a lazy young man: “After struggling to help the orphan through school, he couldn’t even get a job.” One of them once said.

The only set of people he could call family now were his two jobless friends, Elechi and Cyprian, whom they used to hustle together.

Together he and his friends have tried so many things, but they never hit money. Being an artistic person, he was the one who made more money, making art works and selling them. But the market has not been favourable on him. Every other option of making money failed woefully. And he didn’t want to consider the last option that came to his head; suicide. He used to see those who commit suicide as weaklings-why should such thought be coming to his head now?

While growing up in the ghetto the slogan of him and his peers was “Get rich or die trying.” He really wanted to die trying and not die committing suicide.

                Something pitched in his thought and he looked up: There was commotion on the beach.

Some people were running out of the beach side while some others were running towards the water. He saw a woman crying so hard. She was tearing her cloths while threatening to jump into the beach. She would have fulfilled her threat if not for the ladies who held her. It was then that he saw a young boy being drawn away, far into the water.

Some men quickly jumped into the water and swam towards the boy. By the time the boy was brought out of the water he was dead. All effort of the good Samaritans to revive him failed.

Within a while everybody, who were supposed to be having a nice time at beach had disappeared. He just sat down, definitely thinking about his own problems. He didn’t realize on time that he was the only person remaining on the beach. The other people around were touts who take gate fee from those who come to the beach.

                “What is wrong with all these people?” He heard the voice of a young boy beside him.

He turned around and reflexively jumped to his feet. He was the boy who drowned!

“Gosh! You are dead!”

The boy just stared while he stared back in shock. The boy’s shirt was no longer on him, having been removed after the drowning. He had just his shorts on. Sand and water spread over his body. “Why did they even come to this beach anyway? Didn’t they know this water is cursed?” He said as if in agony.

A cold chill ran through Yinka’s spine and settled on his legs. He wanted to run, but he could not. He also wanted to cry for help, but looking around, not even the touts were around anymore. He turned to look at the boy again but he was no longer there. A bigger level of fear gripped him like a Christmas chicken who realized the killer’s knife was being sharpened.

By the time he turned to run towards the exit gate, he saw his pastor staring at him.

“Brother Yinka,” He said, shedding tears himself. “WHY?”

“Why what?”

“See what you have caused upon yourself…” He pointed to the beach.

                When Yinka looked back at the water, the level has risen as high as a ten story building and was beginning to fall on him.

“Aaahhhhhh!!!” He screamed.

And he woke up... It was a dream!

He knew the meaning of the dream as soon as he woke up. But he could not tell the concerned neighbours who ran into his apartment after hearing his high pitched scream. Worse still, Elechi and Cyprian, his confidants were not around to witness the nightmare; they went out in search of jobs since morning.

He checked his time and saw it was 6:30pm, the day he finished Aro’s job.

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THE GHOST OF ARO (Episode 2)

“So tell me Yinka, how do you feel being here?” Arowolo finally gave him attention. Not hindered, the girls continued what they were doing.

“Ah...” He couldn’t get the words out on time. “I think I want to get to heaven!”

Aro’ laughed aloud. “Heaven?” The word seemed to sound like sour soup in his mouth. “Young man, you don’t enjoy good things like this if you want to go to heaven…”

“Then I want to go to hell!”

Aro’ laughed again; this time so hard that the two girls who were playing with his body began to giggle harder than they were doing before. He knew being a job seeker; Yinka would say anything to impress him. He didn’t mean what he said but he would go to hell indeed with the way he said that.

One of the girls left Aro’s side and sat beside Yinka.

He prayed in his mind, “Jesus, I know I am a sinner, but please don’t let this people drag me to hell.”

When the girl planted her first kiss on Yinka’s lips, the prayers evaporated:  It tasted like drinking a mixture of honey with evaporated milk, and he wanted to drink more. He kissed her back. But he couldn’t go further when Aro’ stopped her.

“Young man,” Aro’ said smiling to the girl who now relocated to his side and continued what she was doing. “If you want to enjoy what you just tasted, even for a period longer than this, you have to make your own money.”

“I am ready to do whatever job you give me sir.”

“What if this job takes your life?”

“Then I’d know I died trying to live a good life.”

“Good.” Aro’ said, not hiding the fact that he was impressed.

The girls stopped playing with his body while he brought out an old rusted key from his pocket and handed it over to Yinka.

“I gave you my car to drive while coming here. Did you bring it?”

“Yes sir.”

“Okay. You can use the car while you are on this job; though I can assure you that you will be rich enough to buy your own soon.” He said with utmost seriousness. “Drive down to bar beach now. Someone dressed in black and wearing a mask will be waiting to take you through the next stage of the job.”

Yinka’s legs almost failed him as he began to leave his presence. He had to feign bravery out of the fear that gripped him.

“And Yinka,”

Yinka looked back wishing he would tell him he was only joking. “If you don’t want this job I can act as if we never talked about it. You can give me the key now. If you want it, you’ll have more than enough money to spend. I’m sure you know there is a price to pay for every form of achievement.”

After spending five post graduate years without a job, Yinka knew this could be an opportunity of a lifetime. He didn’t know what the job entails yet. Though he feared it might be a dirty job, he made up his mind to do it.

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THE GHOST OF ARO

Back in the days when he was growing up, Yinka used to think club houses were fictional. He only saw them in movies, with all the colour lights, beers, rude looking boys, bouncers, and girls stripping at a corner. Growing up in the ghetto of Ajegunle, he never thought such a wonderful life existed, let alone it being in Nigeria. More so, he was the only child of a clergy couple who died when he was about 15 years old. They never raised him up to enjoy the good things of life; all they cared about was heaven. To some extent, he thanked his uncle who raised him up with the opposing orientation; problem was there was no money to enjoy those good things of life anyway.

When he first entered the club that night his thought was, “Am I in heaven?” though his inner mind replied him that he just entered hell. What he used to consider being imaginary became so real he doubted if he himself was real.

Outside, the building situated on Victoria Island looked so quiet that you would never believe the kind of club that existed inside until you see with your own eyes.

He ignored the almost naked strip-dancers beckoning him and walked to where Mr Arowolo was sitting in the middle of two seductive girls, drinking some expensive alcoholic wine, and smoking some cigarette he imagined would be too expensive for a poor man like him. Anyway, he doesn’t smoke. But he wanted to drink expensive wine too.

The girls were yellow and bright as the sun. One had a cat-eye and the other was plain-eyed, but they were both extremely beautiful: the kind of girls that you would look at and lick your lips if you were a strong person; and if you were not well disciplined mere looking at them could make you ejaculate. With almost nothing on save for their bra, hot-pants, and high heel shoes, Yinka thought Arowolo must be impotent for him not to jump on at least one of them and have Hot rounds of ***. As if the girls heard his thought, one of them put her hands deep into Arowolo’s trouser and began to play underneath. Yinka looked away. That was enough confirmation that Arowolo was not impotent.

                “I have never been in a club like this before,” Yinka said while obliging Arowolo’s motion to sit opposite him. “But if I can be coming here every day, I will never die again.”

Arowolo just smiled and continued having his fun. The smile brightened his youthful look even more. Who would believe a man who claimed to be about 50 years old like him would be wearing dreadlock? His designer T-shirt, jeans, and shoe also speak less of an elderly person. His wristwatch shone with a kind of brightness that competed with the club lights. They met last week at a supermarket in Ajah. He had helped Yinka to pay for his goods when the latter realized he doesn’t have enough money for what he picked. Since then they have been talking till Yinka asked for help on a job.

It was 2:30Am in the morning, and people were still coming into the club. Gosh! Do people ever sleep in Lagos city? All around, if people were not dancing, they were chatting amidst drinks. Some were even kissing away at a corner on the right hand side. Yinka felt jealous for human beings like him wasting money away in an expensive club, while he slept at home, jobless, even without a girl friend. If at all this created any impression on him-it was to succeed by all means and enjoy what they all enjoyed.

... Watch out for the Next Episode.

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