Oblivion

OBLIVION

OBLIVION:

They sat on chairs outside their darkened doors, waiting patiently for business. A loudspeaker in front of a nearby beer-parlour blared forth raucous highlife music that somehow seemed to set the mood for the situation.

They were of all ages – from somewhat past middle-age mammies to school age striplings. Some smoked, the burning edge of the cigarette silhouetting their faces, giving them a peculiar eerie aspect.

There was something pathetic about the way they sat there, calm, swaying gently to the highlife beat, waiting to be used.

The men stood a little way away, in the darkness of the street corner, sizing up the fare. One man finally made up his mind, and, hands thrust deep in his pockets, he strode purposefully towards the hall were some young girls awaited. The man threw away the remnant of his cigarette.

He spotted out a lady he would love to conduct business with and went straight to her amidst calls from other ladies who lurked around the hall, he had to push the hands of few extremists who went as far as grabbing his shirts.

I cannot do business with these ones. They would just tear someone apart

“Hey, Miss,” he awaited a response, he looked a little bit uneasy, looking sideways occasionally as if some assailants were on his heels. He called out again, and there was still no response from this lady. Only if this lady knew the waves of hawks he darted to get to her, she wouldn’t be doing be pulling this stunt. He moved to touch her and noticed how she bent her head downwards, as someone who was lost in an oblivion.

“Hey, are you working tonight?” Just then Bimpe lifted her head up, sized the man for a while, she loved gentle-men customers, but this one wasn’t from that category and she hadn’t made enough money from tonight’s business, she had little choice and without further hesitation, nodded her head in the affirmative. She quietly got up, feeling a lit bit tipsy. She had been drinking all night, picked her purse and headed towards her room followed closely by the man. He released a smile from the side of his lips upon sighting Bimpe’s backside. His mind began rummaging on the things he was going to do to her.

Bimpe got to her room, cramped and bare, like a rat-hole, she thought. She switched on the green bulb and sat on the edge of her collapsing bed, the bed was getting aged, maybe due to lots of business which have been conducted upon it.

Without hesitation, the man joined her, sitting a little bit apart from her.

“what are your charges” he had said, trying as much as possible to avoid her face. Bimpe didn’t answer at first, she was busy removing her jewelries, placing them on a tiny table beside the bed.

“what kind of service do you want” she had replied, unhooking her bra strap and strategically removing the bra while her outer clothes were still on. She sighed as if the bra were sucking the very living out of her.

“I just want to do once” the man raising his hands in such a funny manner, to indicate the number one, smiling grimly. Bimpe felt irritated, what is it that all these men enjoyed sef. She would never find out what all men enjoyed in the body of the women folks.

“It is five hundred naira” she stated with a note of finality. Bimpe surveyed the man’s face, he seemed to have agreed to the price. He just has to agree; I cannot start arguing with anybody now. She hadn’t made much for the night, if at all she had made anything at all but she has her principles and was not ready to bend them, not tonight, not even for this man, who she definitely disdained. The man knew otherwise not to argue, he too knew that the Lady was not in the mood for any stunts whatsoever. He began pulling his trousers, stopping when his customer handed him a rubber for protection, he surveyed it, checked if it was sealed and hadn’t been used. He didn’t trust all these ladies one bit.

Bimpe removed her underwear, placing them roughly on a clothing line, she lay flat on her back on the bed, drawing her mini skirt over her thighs, closed her eyes and awaited another round of madness. I pray it would be quick and easy, I hope he hasn’t taken all those drugs that they use to take.

The man climbed over his customer, the bed squeaking under the weight of the two humans. He began action proper, first slowly, then faster, moving to hurt his customer. He noticed that she wasn’t responding, it got him angry of sort. He felt her face under the dim green bulb, she just lay there, eyes closed, lost into the oblivion once more. Well he just had to finish what he had started.

The only thing that made noise in the room, was the squeaky sound coming from the bed. As the man moved, the bed did. Five minutes later, the man was done, he carefully cleaned himself up and got down immediately from the bed, much to the relief of Bimpe, her prayers were answered. Why wouldn’t she be relieved, had she not encountered nights when men would spend hours upon hours with her?

The man slid out five hundred naira note from his wallet, hesitated a little bit as if he didn’t want to part away with the note. Apart from the Five hundred naira note, the only currency remaining was a twenty naira note. If I give this aunty this money, what would I use to go back home, he thought.

Bimpe was already seated on the edge of her bed, waiting anxiously for her pay and getting ready, if the man would try to pull out any stunt. She had nearly stabbed one particular customer on the stomach, he had refused paying his money. It took the intervention of her fellow colleagues from stopping her to complete her murder.

“Here is your money” the man said, Bimpe snatching away the money immediately, had the man plan on changing his mind.

“I don’t like you people’s services here, ordinary soundtrack you can’t give someone. I should have gone to Maami. The girls there are far better” the man added as he trudged out of the room.

Bimpe didn’t bother responding to the man. She has seen it all, men in different characters, different moulds. Before business was conducted, they would all be acting nicely, afterwards, when it was time for payment, they would start misbehaving.

She threw the five hundred naira note inside an old container, there were older currencies lying there, anxiously waiting to be used. I have not made much tonight, but I am not conducting any business again. There was a letter that caught her attention, it had lay there on her table waiting to be read. It was from Theophilus, she once dated him. He was in the University now...

To be continued..

The above story is a part of the Oblivion story, which is among the short stories collection of Random People, written by Okechukwu Best

About the Author: Okechukwu Best is a philantropist, a poet, an activist, a writer. Random People is his first novel, yet to be published.