Tales By The Brothel

Episode 7

“Pls are we speaking with Onose?” The voice from the other end of the receiver asked.

“Yes you are,” I replied. “Who are you and what do you want.”

“I’m a staff at CHRIST IS GOOD MOTORS and one of our passengers by name Ijeoma wrote your name as her next of kin is that right?”

“Yes I think so,” I replied. “Any problem with that?”

“Yes we are sorry to inform you that the bus had a fatal accident yesterday on their way to Enugu and we are afraid Ijeoma didn’t make it.”

The information stung my ear like an aggressive bee and out of shock my phone fell off my hand and crashed unto the floor.

No wonder Ijeoma’s phone had been off all through the night which I had thought was due to the on and off power supply predominant in their school. It never occurred to me that it was due to an accident.

I sprang up from my bed and wore my clothes hurriedly and zoomed off without even brushing my teeth. I hadn’t gone far when I realised that I didn’t even know where I was going. I had forgotten to ask my informant where they were and where exactly the bodies were deposited.

I rushed back to my room and quickly reassembled the scattered phone lying on the floor.

It was a nokia torch phone so all that happened to it when it dropped from my hand was that the battery fell out of the phone.

I put back the battery and onned the phone. Then I went to received calls and redialled the number.

“Please where are the bodies now?” I asked as soon as the informant picked.

The man gave me the address of the hospital and I dropped the call and zoomed off yet again with my ever strong legedies benz.

There was incessant crying and wailing everywhere around the vicinity of the hospital.

With fear and trembling legs, I approached one of the nurses and inquired about the victims of the accident.

There were 18 passengers in the bus but only 2 died including the driver and my Ijeoma who was seated at the front. All the other passengers only sustained injuries.

With trembling legs I followed the nurse to the morgue to identify my Ijeoma.

The first sight that swelled my head was the number of dead bodies lying in the morgue which showed me how useless and vanity life was. They were of different sizes, tall, short, small, big, men, women, children, all lying stone dead.

Then my eyes landed on my Ijeoma.

She was still wearing the same dress she wore on visiting me except they were now blood stained.

I stared at her for a while before I felt something snap like a switch inside of me and I slumped and landed on the floor with a very loud thud…