SANTA MARIA HIGH (COMPLETED)

Part Two: 8

Pa Jacob was trying to clear some fallen leaves off the roof that evening while Bach’s ‘Toccata and Fugue in D minor’ was playing from his living room, he was humming along.

You know what they say about traveling distances to get a slap destined for your face, well that was what it was. He just didn’t need to leave the Santiago Manor all he need do was climb. Pa Jacob had nothing to do, and the lake didn’t seem that appealing anymore without company, so he set on business. He must have stopped five times moving the ladder into position, as if the pain in his waist was not enough to convince him of how bad the whole idea was, he set to climb. He did climb and got to the top.

See, still got it in you. He congratulated himself. A part of him that sounds like Mariah didn’t seem to agree on this adventure at all. Can you quit this whole nonsense! We can get someone who can to do it.

He swept some dried leaves off, and decided to come down, and move the ladder farther. He was on the second to the last wrung as fate will have it when his leg trembled. The wooden ladder (which had been quite through waves of termite invasions) bucked, the wrung snapped, and all the rest were a blur of green and brown earth and blue skies, as he groaned in pain.

A man that had once served the Nigerian military, survived the civil war and had retired with honors, landed on hard ground with his right elbow throbbing with pain.

The doctor diagnosed, dislocation, some torn ligament, nothing too bad except for the fact that Pa Jacob was past sixty. The doctor ordered an X-ray to rule out the possibility of simple fracture, there wasn’t. His hand was placed in a sling, he insisted on leaving the clinic when it was done and he was allowed to.

He was sitting out back that evening, thankfully not smoking, when Angel began to yap happily and he heard some girls giggled, he knew who they were.

Ada had a sprain, Hope told him. But nothing bad, they hope he will recover just as fast. But he knew they were just trying to say something nice. These old bones are all tired. In recent times he has been dreaming about Maria more and more, it wasn’t memory, it was like premonition. His affairs was in order and if the good lord—if there is one—think it’s time for him to come home, he wasn’t perturbed in the least. He’s lived long enough. But to go by falling for a roof… thankfully that didn’t happen.

“say me well to Mama, Nosa.” She told the girls as they took their leave. They had invited him to the musical, of course he was aware and had organized a team to see that Olusegun Obasanjo hall was ready. Andy had promised to get fresh flowers for the occasion.

He told them he’ll be there and had asked if Caccin’s Ave Mariah was part of the piece they hope to play. But it wasn’t. There were some Loyd Weber piece, Adiemus, and some contemporary new age songs including enya’s Only time, and storms in Africa. It all promised to be interesting. In a weird way.

The girls didn’t stay long. They both were excited and had a lot to do in way of school, the concert and whatever kids are into these days.

Pa Jacob still wore the sling until the Halloween night.

*****

Part of the preparation for the opera was cleaning each and every musical instruments; and also preparing the hall of event. They were divided in two groups, one to help with cleaning, the other to work with Miss Halimat.

Hope’s group was further subdivided, while she dusted and clean the stringed instruments alongside violinists, harpist and cellists; Nosa’s group handled oiling and cleaning the wind instruments, many others, like percussion and the likes focused on their own. The silver lining for that day was that Anthony Laurence was supervising. While everyone worked he played Mozart on the electronic piano.