Trials and Struggles [Short story collection]

Amaka's Story

Amaka Okoli was a blue stocking in the literature department of the University of Benin, she was a blaze and considered a literary whiz among her peers.

But on this bright morning in June, she was sad, confused, angry and bitter at the world. Her mind was a whirlpool of emotions as she left the office of Professor Idemudia, her project supervisor.

She trudged wearily out of the campus and hailed a bike, normally the distance between her place at Ekosodin to the school campus was within trekking distance, but that day she felt as if her legs were lead.

When she got to her one room apartment which she shared with a friend, she kept herself in with her spare key and collapsed on the bed, she entered a dreamless and tiresome sleep.

After an hour or so, she awoke to contemplate her options, the hatred face of the professor sprang up in her brain, and she shook her head to clear the thoughts.

"Stupid man" she cursed.

Turning to look around if anyone had heard her but she was alone in the room, her roommate had told her she would be spending the night in her boyfriend's place.

She sighed and cuddled the pillow. She was cold and yet the blazing sun shine through the mosquito net on her window.

The words of the professor came back, she had gone to meet him in his cramped office which had been littered with a lot of paperwork and files.

The office had been windowless and in a mess, arranged in parallel stacks was files upon files ,it seems the room was overflowing with it, and looking out of place it was a small sofa which had been fitted into it.

Amaka had to seize her breath and go through this ordeal, she thought about telling the professor she was claustrophobic but thought better of it. Professor Idemudia was known for his high-handedness.

When she came in, the professor had been on the phone and had signaled her with a wave of the hand to take a seat, she had perched herself cautiously on the sofa, since no vacant chair was available.

When the professor was done, he turned to her and his wide face broke into a smile and underneath it, Amaka saw something like lust, she shuddered, and the professor looked like a leering snake.

“My dear Amaka, do you know you are six days past your project submission, you are known to be a time conscious student, so what happened” the professor asked.

Amaka took a deep breath and asked God inside her mind to touch the professor’s heart and grant her what she was going to request for.

"Sir, I would have submitted the project had I done it but sadly for monetary reasons, I have not been able to bring them, Sir I would be grateful if you can extend my own submission for one week to enable me get my project done." She spoke tongue in cheek.

Professor Idemudia broke into a loud and raucous laughter, his stomach bounced inside his three piece unbuttoned suit.

“Amaka Okoli, I must say I had high hopes for you but I'm deeply disappointed, I cannot and will not extend it not even for a day, for what reason? Because of a mere student?"

Amaka got down on her knees to beg the professor, tears had started streaming down her beautiful face “Please Sir.” She begged.

The professor remain stolid and unmoved, his hands performed legerdemain with the cap of his pen, he looked at her and then smiled, his eyes gathering a dark cloud.

To Amaka at that moment, he looked like a greedy child being offered an entire collection of toys he had been asking for long. The professor sat upright and said.

“Miss Okoli stand up, I will help you if you will help me”

Amaka felt a glimmer of hope, how could she help the professor she thought? Maybe he needed someone to help in grading the others score, of course she would be happy to help.

The professor leaned forward, Amaka saw the leering snake again and shrank back.

"Here's the deal, you are a beautiful girl and any man would be happy to have you, I won't ask much just a night, you and I, together.”  The professor said.

Amaka's mouth was an open O, after hearing what the professor had said, so this was what the professor wanted, this was the great help he would render.

To sleep with her just to extend her project deadline, God forbid she cried inside her head. She was surprised that the professor could muster the heart to even say those words.

Apart from being her supervisor, his youngest daughter was two years older than her and her close friend, even if she could do it, it would be a betrayal of their friendship.

"God forbid" She said again, this time it was loud, the professor who had been expecting a confidential whisper shrank back “I will never and can never do a thing like that, Sir”

The professor saw red, he sprang up and spoke " Then Miss Okoli, you have failed your project, that's the end of it, look at this stupid girl I was trying to assist, so unreasonable.”

“Sir, remember I'm like a daughter to you, how can you ask of such a request, what would happen if Lucy was to hear of it "

"Leave my daughter out of it, and if I get to know that one word about what transpires here goes out of this place , I promise you ,you will never graduate out of this university, since you are not interested in the help I have to offer, kindly leave my office".

"Sir, remember there's a God who watches and judges all wrong doers.” She said and left the office shaken and sad.

Her parents in the village had not been able to raise the money for her, that's why she had not been able to complete her project.

She had even broken up with her boyfriend because of this exact same reason, since she had given her life to Christ at the age of fourteen in secondary school.

She had made the resolution that her virginity was for her husband and his alone, she had always made that clear to any man who had approached her.

Chris had humorously twisted her words to any of her request for money" my money is also for my future wife and her alone, sometimes he had been Joking and gave her the money afterwards, but now he was dead serious.

He had given her an ultimatum, he would no longer continue in the relationship if she would cling to this path, after the expiration of the ultimatum and no response for her, he had stopped calling her and when she even went to see him, she had been ignored.

All those memories swept through that hot afternoon as she sat on the bed “Oh Jehovah my God, help me, to make the right choice".

After a short prayer, she felt calm and took her Bible to read, halfway through chapter 23 of the Psalms her phone rang.

She picked and on the other end of the line heard a sobbing voice, she withdrew the phone from her ear so she could identify the number, and it was her younger brother.

She put the phone back on her ear and spoke " Chike what is it, why are you crying?" She asked.

“Aunty Amaka, mama and papa had a ghastly accident while attending the burial of Uncle Chime , they and three other people died on the spot , me and Emeka are at the morgue"

Amaka felt the Phone fall from her hands, and felt a stitch in her side as she began to lose consciousness, the only word she heard was

" Hello,  hello, hello!"

And then she slipped eternally into the dark place, ...........

                                Christopher Toritseju
                                     November 12,2020