Agoinsh

“Adunno.. It’s just.. You have this carefree laugh that gives me some warmth.. especially when you’re laughing at my jokes or some silly shit I did. 

And your chin.. it’s cute. You’re cute.. Those little frecklish spots on your cheeks too.. like little raisins on a cake. And you have this crazy move you do with your eyes when you try to be demure.. it gives me a tingly sensation. 

I do enjoy your sense of humour too. I realize I don’t need any pretense when I’m around y-“

“Chale chale chale..” she impatiently interrupted his unsolicited speech, “Do you want this kiss or nah? I don’t know why you’re giving all this explanation as if I asked you.”

One or Two Distins

He was glad dusk was quickly approaching, especially because the thick curtains did well to block the receding rays of twilight entering the room. She lay on the bed next to him, seemingly glued to the “Meet The Browns” episode showing on the laptop she had set up by the bed. He didn’t usually like entering the room when he visited her, the perks of having his own car, but this time around they had the room to themselves as her other two roommates were out making their own rounds.

He fidgeted with his phone one last time, trying to work his courage to move to her. Slyly, he stretched himself and snuck his hand beneath the pillow she lay on, trying successfully to pull her into a cuddling position. He felt his heart beating rapidly, almost as if it was running wild within his chest.. like a phone thief being chased through the streets of Circle. He allowed himself a wry grin when she didn’t pull away from his sneaky embrace. He almost wiggled on the bed from excitement.

Trying not to act too rash, he tentatively brushed aside loose stands of hair covering her face and he tucked them behind her right ear. She feigned obliviousness to what he was doing as she still stared straight ahead at the laptop, seemingly enjoying the series. He gave a mental “hehe” and moved in to plant a kiss on her lips.. like a maize farmer about to take advantage of the wetness of the soil in the rainy season.

“Wait wait what are you doing?”

He paused in mid-plant and stared at her questioning face. He could see the confusion of his own face mirrored in her eyes.

“Me pɛ sɛ me twa wo one or two kisses, what you saying?” He replied and tried to kiss her again.

“Ah wait wait..” she tried to wriggle away from his embrace. “You’ll get me in trouble.”

He sat up straight, very confused, frustration showing all over his face. “Get you in trouble how? You told me I could come today.. I drove all the way.”

She bit her lip, thinking for a moment.. “You know my father is pastor, he’ll see us kissing in a vision then I’ll be in trouble. He has an All-Night service today.”

He looked at her with a frown on his face, trying hard to keep his anger under control. In the short silence that followed, he tried to remain calm and even considered begging her.. then with an imploring tone, he said to her: 

“Wodeɛ ma me nmia wo nufu” 

Butter My Bread, Sugar My Kooko

The following narrative is based on a bizarre event that occurred on Tuesday, 23rd August, 2016 at James Town, Accra. This narrative is intended to serve as comic relief and is in no way an endorsement of rape culture. 

**********

It was during the wee hours of Tuesday morning when Abbey decided to act spontaneously. He had just come back from sea without a single catch but he didn’t let that bother him at all. In fact, he even liked it better this way because it only intensified his predator instinct.

“If ayam not catch any salmon or kpanla no yawa koraa, Akweley go enter the net.”

He smiled wryly and unconsciously stroked his beard. He quickly stowed away his fishing gear and made his way towards home, but his real destination was Akweley’s room – they shared the same compound, thus, making Akweley his co-tenant.

The moon hung high and bright in the the blueback sky with a few scattered stars surrounding it. He stopped for a moment to take in the sight.

“Beautiful moon and stars.. Like plenty boys chasing one gɛɛr..” he mused, “like plenty aws-flies on one kɔmi.”

Moments later he found himself on his compound but steered away from his room and headed straight towards Akweley’s door. One gentle turn of the knob confirmed his guess – it was locked. He had however planned for this eventuality; He brought out a small pocket knife from his well- pocket, and silently cut the netting away. Then slowly and purposefully, he started chipping at the wire mesh to gain entry into the room, humming Shatta Wale’s Enter The Net as he chipped away.

Thirty minutes of tedious chipping was all it took for Abbey to create a hole in the mesh sizeable enough to squeeze through with his lean body. His fingers felt numb and a thin film of sweat glazed his body. He crouched momentarily in the semi-dark room as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He watched the silhouette of Akweley sprawled across her mattress without any proper composure. She lay there scantily clad and he hungrily drunk in her features, only increasing his libido. She snorted loudly and unexpectedly and he almost shouted from suddenness of it.

“Kwɛ Awula!” he exclaimed mentally, “you have done and my heart is doing me gbidim-gbidim.” 

Akweley turned in her sleep mumbling a string of gibberish, oblivious to the intruder in her room.

He spotted the Cocoa Butter on the shelf and wasted no time. He took off his scanty singlet and sea-riddled shorts, leaving him in only his briefs. He was thankful for the darkness because he was a little embarrassed about the three small tears at the backside of his supporter.

He took three hefty scoops of the pomade with his right index finger onto his left palm. He then rubbed both palms together and then moved in to smear the pomade all over and in-between Akweley’s buttocks.

“Ink yɛ mli.. Ei Ei.”

Usually, Abbey refrains from speaking Ga to enable him polish up his English speaking, unless the occasion called for it. This was something he followed religiously but he felt this moment called for a string of deep and heartfelt Ga phrases. He continued smearing the pomade, his eyes lit with mischief and excitement.

“Nakai nɔɔ.. Duna gbalagazaa.. Dukui Tata-Bus” he chanted exhilaratingly under his breath as he rubbed and massaged away, his manhood throbbing in agreement.

**********

Two weeks later… 

The Ghanaian Times Newspaper

MAN SENTENCED TO 6 MONTH IMPRISONMENT FOR BREAKING AND RUB’BERY.

Oscar Anettey Abbey, 45, fisherman, has been sentenced to six month imprisonment for indecent assault of a female co-tenant.

Abbey pleaded guilty to the charge of causing unlawful damage, unlawful entry and indecent assault.

The court ordered him to pay for the repairs of the trap door costing GH¢80, in default serve a day’s imprisonment. The sentences are to run concurrently.

According to the court, in sentencing Abbey, it took into consideration his plea for mitigation.

The tenant was sleeping half-naked in her room at James Town when Abbey broke in and conducted his nefarious act.

On August 23, at about 02:30 hours while the complainant was fast asleep in her room, Abbey used an implement to cut the net of her trap door, entered into the room and found half naked on her bed.

The Detective Inspector said the woman felt some rubbing sensation and woke up to find him standing by her bed holding her Cocoa Butter cream with his penis erect.

The woman raised the alarm and chased him out of her room. He was arrested, but he managed to escaped on the way to the Police Station at James Town.

He was however re-arrested later the same day. 

*

*

Credit: http://www.ghanaiantimes.com.gh/man-attempts-to-rape-co-tenant/


based on a tro story III

Click here for: based on a tro story II

“HER-LOW… HER-LOW”

A rotund man bellowed at the top of his voice into a cellphone, grazing three other passengers with spittle. He covered more seat than apportioned to a single passenger but he ignored the apparent discomfort he was causing the other passengers seated on his row.

“Oh me nua, type bɛn na wo pɛ? Wonim paa sɛ menkyerɛ wo fake” he continued his phone conversation, “wodiɛ twɛn me, mɛdru seisia.. me Twenny-Sisteen Range asɛi wɔ kwan ho ɛnti m’afa taxi.. meeba wai.”

He noticed a couple of heads turn when he voiced out his last statement. He looked around, as if daring anyone to challenge him.

*************

He handed over his 50 cedi note to the passenger seated in front of him to pass it forward to the mate.

“Aye massa.. fiftee cedis wei deɛ adɛn, wo nni nketewaa?” the mate asked angrily as he received the note.

“You say what for there?” He had also grown a short temper especially because the ohemaa had been unfriendly to him. Ohemaa say because adey troski inside plus am ano fit show am Big Boy levels. Okay. Ebi so.

“I am saying what I am said. Big money like this.. Adɛn” the mate was also having none of it. He wasn’t going to get intimidated because of a little English even if it’s pidgin. “Why haff you use your money to come and collecting this money?”

“Make uno vex me, mate. I vex already adey take sit here. If change no dey, take my money give me.” 

The trotro fell silent for a few moments as the other passengers watched the back-and-forth, some trying to keep a straight face and not burst out laughing. The driver readjusted the mirror to peer at the passenger giving his mate a hard time.

“Confess me? Ɛdiɛn paa na me nconfessi. If you haff wanting change, you bring your own kwɛɛns.”

“Ebi ‘vex’ I talk. Pidgin too uno dey understand? Gimme my mo-“

“If I am not understand, ɛyɛ w’asɛm? Pidgin no, it is my mother kasa? Wopɛ aa yɛn ka Twi, wobɛhu.”

The other passengers could be seen trying to stifle their laughters.

“Asare.. Adɛn? Ɛdiɛn na ɛkɔso wɔ hɔ?” the driver called out to the mate, intervening from behind the steering wheel.

“Massa.. Ma me nkeka bi nkyerɛ no..”

The passengers couldn’t help it anymore as they burst out laughing hard. In the short while that followed, the driver expertly resolved the issue by giving the mate six 5 cedi notes from his wallet to use as change.

*************

He smiled behind the steering wheel as he drove on. The only good result from the bickering was that it had halted the selling in the car. He could now play his music for the rest of the journey. He was particularly stoked because he had just made a new song compilation which he hadn’t listened to yet – and now was just the perfect time.

He inserted his USB drive into the car-stereo, ready to shuffle the playlist from Track 1. 

“Ayooo anuanom.. As I was saying.. Ointment wei is very pa-wa-ful..”

He raised his head sharply to look in his rear-view mirror, gritting his teeth as the seller got up and resumed the presentation. He slowed the trotro to a stop on the street curb, making the passengers wonder if the car had developed a fault.

He turned to look at his mate, the car engine still running, “Asare.. Papa wei, fa ne 2 cedis ma no.”

He then turned to the ointment seller.. “Owura.. Si fɛm.”

based on a tro story II

Click here for: based on a tro story I

She inserted the earpiece once again and tapped it furiously. Like earlier trials, it failed to produce any sound even though she was playing music on her phone. In the brief rush for a seat on board the trotro, she had managed to spoil her earpiece. She couldn’t even be mad because she blamed herself for being so careless. She just hoped she wouldn’t be in dire need of an earpiece till she got back home. She slid the window close to a crack space because the air was messing with her hair.

She watched the guy seated next to her pull out a 50 cedi note from his wallet and wondered why he didn’t want to pay with any of the 2 cedi notes he pushed further into his walle-

“Ayooo. Anuanom ne Adofonom…..”

She looked up; Ugh. These people. She really needed the earpiece to work now.. She gave it another try.

*************

This be the thing I always dey talk about. If uno dey like the air make uno sit by the window. He didn’t see why the the trotro would be this hot and someone would decide to keep the window shut. He was getting grumpier by the minute. See, ein earpiece sef no correct. He had noticed her trying to adjust the cord of her earpiece for several moments now. Mtchew! He looked at her and surprisingly, he found her quite attractive. Aye. Be like she fine o. He felt his annoyance slowly abating and he kept taking sneak peeks at her.

“Madam.. Open the window small eh. Abeg”

************* 

“….Good Aftrun oo….”

The responses weren’t as forthcoming as he had expected – tough crowd. He knew there and then that his regular methods would not work on these passengers, he had to change tact if he wanted to meet his target.

“Mo ngye me so wai… Good Aftrun..” 

He got a few scattered ‘Good Afternoon’s in reply, one slightly better than the earlier response.

“Ayooo.. Mamba no bɔne mu. Yɛfrɛ me Charrs.. Wotumi di ‘Dockuta’ ka ho fri sɛ me sa nyarewa bebree…” 

A few grins and scattered chuckles, he smiled. He looked into his bag and brought out some ointments. He then began his sales presentation.

*************

The driver adjusted his rear-view mirror to monitor what was ensuing behind him in the trotro. He was just about to play music from his stereo and now someone else has seized the brief opportunity to address the passengers. He didn’t bother much, he just hoped the man standing in the car now would finish with whatever he was doing so he could play his music.

*************

“Yessss.. back seat. Monyɛ no baako wai”

He looked at the notes clutched in his hand. He knew he could manage and get change for everyone, so far as nobody paid with a 20 cedi note or more. He looked expectantly at the back-seaters as they tried to sort their fares and pass it on to him.

*************

Aboa. Today e be free ride I go get if change no dey. He had a sly grin on his face with the readiness to take the pettiness to another level. Abi you show me, me too I go show you. Hwɛ.

He held the 50 cedi quite visibly – a very fresh note, not yet tainted by soiled hands. He kept throwing short glances at the girl seated next to him, trying to muster courage to talk to her.

The girl fine o, what! I sure say she go feel me forken. I go show am Big Boy levels.

*************

She caught him taking sneak peeks at her boobs and she smiled despite her slight annoyance. Ah this guy paa. She just feigned an apparent lack of awareness and looked out as the trotro sped along.

“Hi ohemaa.. You dey nice me forken.”

She felt his soft tap on her arm and turned to look at him with a blank expression on her face.

You be fine o. What’s your name abeg?”

“I don’t talk to guys who take trotro” then she went back to looking outside as the car sped along.

Click here for: based on a tro story III

Love Forever… or maybe Three Months.

She hated that peculiar scent associated with hospitals but she had no choice but to come – as she’d been doing everyday for the past twelve days. It didn’t even matter that this particular hospital was a state of the art one, meaning most of the people who frequented it belong to the very elite social class. However, the love of her life had been confined to a sick bed and this is the time he needed her most. She had to be there to show her dedication especially in this trying time. As a matter of fact after the first three days, she doubted if she had the strength to visit him everyday for who-knows-how-long. Things however changed drastically on her part after she overhead the doctor telling him in his ward that he had at most three months to live, thus he should start putting his affairs in order. She didn’t particularly eavesdrop on them but she didn’t make them aware of her presence right behind the door either. Since that day she summoned a renewed vigor from deep within her whenever it was visiting hours.

Today as usual, she sat beside him on the bed and watched as he took another scoop of the soup she had prepared for him. The sophisticated machines that lined the wall always fascinated her; the whirrs and beeps, the pulsating lights and somewhat-surreal appearance of this-particular-one-that-looks-like-a-cold-store-fridge-with-numerous-buttons. She did not know how much exactly but she knew it was really expensive to get healthcare services from the facility.

“Darling… I have something to tell you.”

She looked at him and wondered if this was the day he was finally going to tell her he had three more months to live and the rest of what the doctor had told him days earlier. She calmly smiled and prepared to feign surprise and more importantly, profound sadness. She had been practicing for this moment for a while now and hoped she could pull it off convincingly. She gently grabbed his hand and nodded at him, a cue for him to go ahead – she was listening.

“I love you very much, you know that right?” He opened his mouth to say something else but faltered and fell silent. “Do you love me too? Truly and surely?”

She leaned in and hugged him because his gaze at her face was too intense for her. “Yes I do.” It was a soft whisper but she was sure he heard it all the same. How could she not love him? When the doctor had declared he had about three months left to live. I mean, she’s going to be a filthy rich widow very soon, she needed to love him…. for herself. 

based on a tro story…

He spotted the empty trotro coming from 12o meters away and he slowly detached himself from the company of the small crowd also waiting for  a car at the bus-stop. He strolled tentatively towards the approaching two-o-seven in a manner not to attract attention to himself, lest he alerted the rest of the crowd.. he had to get on board without much struggle. He signaled for the driver to stop but the vehicle drove past him and headed straight into the thickness of the waiting crowd. “Oh!” He jogged after the car and contemplated entering through the window lest the car got full before he got a spot.

*************

Thirty seconds – that’s how long the struggle took. The scuffle for a seat in the trotro was accompanied by a lot of Ei’s and Ah’s amidst swear words and pushing. Everyone settled down quickly and the look of accomplishment could be seen plastered across their sweaty faces.

“Madam, ɛhɔ yɛ me seat o” the mate blurted out. He disliked it when passengers knowingly occupied his seat and tried to feign obliviousness. The woman who occupied the mate’s seat tried to persuade him but he was not in the mood to listen to her. “Ayɛ ma. Si fɛm wai.”

She got off looking forlorn and he slid the door shut after her. “Master, Away!” then with that, the trotro took off.

*************

He sat there with a grumpy look on his face. He didn’t get to sit at his favourite spot in the trotro: at the very back, in the corner, right by the window… by the window! That was more important to him than anything else. He found himself seated next to someone else who would assume control of the window and he blamed the driver and his mate for this. If only they had stopped when he signaled them.

“Yesss! Mo mma me nketewa wai.” The mate was about to take the fares. He smiled despite his grumpy state. The mate no get change eh? I go show am. He opened his wallet and discreetly pushed the 2 cedi notes further into the wallet and took out his only 50 cedi note… then he patiently waited for his turn to pay.

*************

He calmly went over his lines one last time even though he really didn’t need to. He had been doing this for the past three months and the speech had been committed to memory without much conscious effort. He was glad to have already been in the trotro before it got the bus-stop because he didn’t see how he could’ve competed with these fierce passengers for a seat with his backpack. He opened the bag which now lay on his lap, checked the contents one last time and prepared to make his introduction  to these warriors.  He stood and turned to face the passengers with a broad smile..

“Ayooo.  Anuanom ne Adofonom…..”

 

Click here for: based on a tro story II

Cereal, Milk and A Body Bag

He washed the mess off his gloved hands and shuffled towards the kitchen counter to pick up a ceramic bowl. He unstoppered a carton of milk he took from the fridge and half emptied the creamy content into the bowl. This was the part he relished most about his fortnightly ritual; sitting in the kitchen, eating cornflakes.

He sat there on a high stool and enjoyed his bowl of snack, flipping through TV channels without any enthusiasm.

“Nothing interesting on TV as usual.”

He turned to glance at the body sprawled lifeless on the floor in the adjoining room, blood seeping into the Persian rug.

Leaving the cornflakes unfinished, he made his way of out the apartment humming pleasantly to himself. He couldn’t wait to read the next day’s news headlines:

‘CEREAL KILLER’ STRIKES AGAIN!”

Image source:

Hip hip hip?

He glanced at the clock and saw it was quarter past one in the morning.

He picked up his phone to send her a text before she got the chance to chide him for not wishing her a happy birthday. He decided to go with the standard format: A “Happy Birthday” followed by one of those complex combination of alphabets that generally identified as a well-wishing shorthand; Not forgeting to throw in a larruping array of emojis in the mix.

He vaguely remembered her request however, weeks ago prior to this day.. a poem other than the usual texts.

He mused for a while and concluded that poems weren’t his strong suit. After several minutes, he read and re-read the lines that stared back at him:

A year is here again  

With it, a lot to gain

There’s more I’d like to say 

Than mere “Happy Birthday”

Close your eyes and make a wish

I want to rhyme so I’d just say fish

I pray you always remember to do good

Keep that on top of your head like duku

You wanted a poem, boo

Now look what you made me do

He sniggered at his attempt. “She’ll never ask me again.” With that, he hit the Send button and smiled himself to sleep.



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*duku – head wrap

*image source: http://www.artsymodern.com/collections/birthday