Essien stood before this giant in confusion; shifted his bag of gifts miserably from one hand to the other; and sighed bitterly. He did not know whether to leave the gifts with this stranger who was giving him that stern look or return with the gifts.
“kindly let her know that I was here and give these to her should she wakes up “, he said with a shaky voice. He did not know what will be good for him at the time ;whether to cry or laugh.
He tried to laugh with his new hostile friend over his parting jest, but his spirits were not to be commanded. Something jarred in him almost painfully while he was speaking his light farewell words.
With a sense of defeat and shame written all over his face , he turned to leave. The heat had been painfully oppressive all day, and it was now a close and sultry night.
The balls of sweat that had gathered in his armpit down to the edge of his vest could tell it all that Essien wasn’t at ease at all.
He used his hand momentarily to wipe off the sweat that had gathered around his eyebrow and beneath his nose.
The prospect of going to bed in his airless chambers, and the prospect of the fact that Emelia had ordered to not see him, seemed, in his present restless frame of mind and body, to be one and the same thing.
The rest of the evening passed painfully enough in humorous fantasies of meeting Emelia again; maybe some years to come. Minutes which seemed like years, passed without a call or text from Emelia and he concluded with a clear sigh of disappointment that going after Emelia should be over.
He vowed that the next day wouldn’t be spent on campus since today was to be his last day on campus. He walked as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.
When he arrived at the hostel, he quickly tried to detach himself from all the people who had been with him for the four year journey – especially Emelia. He sat alone by the window and fixed his gaze at the side of the ocean as far as his eyes could see.
Would he ever see such places again? He tried to concentrate on something , but nothing seemed to hold together in his mind.
All these things were like a dream. Barely 3 years ago, he had been a happy guy with the world at his feet because he knew he will end up with his good friend. Now his world has become small as if squeezed into a bottle.
The night appeared to be long for Essien. The night crawled slowly and paved way for the morning. That morning, Essien pulled out two leather bags out of room 3 of ATL Annex, floor 300 and locked the door behind him. His very close friend , Alonzo, who has been closer to him than all his other three friends , lifted the other case and the Two of them walked down the steps that led towards the main entrance of ATL Hall.
They chatted as they struggled along with two heavy burdens. They came up to the porter’s lodge and Essien dropped the keys to the security man on duty, popularly known as “Bobby More.”
The approaching taxi cab did not wait for a signal. It stopped right in front of Essien and his friend, Alonso . Essien could hear his name being mentioned from afar.
Essien turned sharply and looked attentively at the direction of the voice and that’s Emelia and Gifty. It was then nearly eight o’clock in the morning . He fixed his gaze on her with a pale face and with mixed -feelings.
As the distance between them was being shortened, all Essien could discern distinctly from the relaxed and cold nature of the morning was a beautiful and youthful face; gentle and sharp to look at from the cheeks and chin. With wistfully attentive eyes; nervous, uncertain lips; and a light touch of a pale smile , Emelia finally uttered the words ; “Ben, that’s my brother you met in the room.. The one I have been talking about ” .
© Elvis Effah….2020
THE OFFICIAL MOUTHPIECE OF THE MASSES 