Ije

"Road trips are sweeter when the sun shines" Obanma  began running her hands across the window of the car. The glass very much translucent due to water pelting on it,felt cold. She plastered her head on the object trying to see through the pouring rain but gave up scarcely after she began.

Looking through the window to admire grasses, trees and strange beings on the road made traveling adventurous.

"When will you realize that the rain is our weather? It's not called weather for two for nothing" Onyedikachi's words seemed taunting but he bore a staid expression as he spoke,probably to redirect the glare Obanma cast on his person.

She exhaled deeply, reflecting utter  exasperation then picked up her phone and began fondling the item. Onyedikachi was the one driving but his eyes never failed to learn of her every move. It wasn't hypnosis but somehow his will had completely been surrendered to the girl.

"Where are we going?" She demanded, her face wearing a myriad of expressive thoughts which her eyes spoke boldly. Her lips on the hand held its own even though he suspected they wanted to utter more with the way she unconsciously bit them.

"We're going to a place that you would love"

"Does the place have a name?" She prodded, this time honing her attention on him.

"It's a secret" He replied with a wink "Don't you trust me?"

"I do... But knowing could help me calculate how many more hours we're going to endure the rain. "

A lightening tore across the sky and the thunder rumbled grudgingly behind it. It almost seemed as if they had called more of the downpour as they faded away.

A little smile appeared on his face and he cleared his throat." My mother told me that if one caught the lightening quickly, you'd see a lamb"

"A lamb?" Obanma questioned slightly amused.

"Yes.. It has something to do with Christianity" He continued as his lips drew apart in a quite attractive smile.

"I've never heard of that one" She replied amidst chortles.

"I found out she made it up after. It was actually my father's idea to lie to me. They used something as meek as a lamb to help me overcome my fear for lightning and thunder. You wouldn't want to know what these two did to me in the past"

Her brows rose as quickly as her interest was piqued by his tale. " We used to play in the rain from what I can faintly remember. You were never scared of thunder or lightning then"

"I would always stop and stare... I wanted to see the white lamb who caused all the rumble"

"You  haven't seen anything, have you?"  She enquired with a grin

"Yes I have" His hand reached out to capture hers as he squeezed her palm. "Now when the lightning dances across the dark sky and the waters accompany the roaring thunder... I think of my Mma."

She smiled radiantly at him and exhaled deeply clearing the emotions that threatened to clog her throat.

"Onyi I love you so much but this poetic side of you has to go " She declared sweetly placing a kiss on his idle hand. Then smiled in utter amusement

"I love you my angel and I would sing you odes from the mountain peak if I could, Tis not a drivel my dear ". They both laughed hard at the nonsense he spewed trying to mimic the English. A flash of sadness flashed across his face as his laughter faded and soon quickly faded away with the advent of his statement.

"The police men and the soldiers are not out for hunt today, one would think they wouldn't even be dallied by the little downpour" He spoke teasingly as they progressed

"Corruption is not water resistant" she retorted with a grin. "who knows we might see some ahead with umbrellas ready for work"

"Let's bet on it Onyi, I don't think any sane person would want to stand in this rain. It would have been understandable if they were actually doing their jobs"

Obanma kept her eyes alert, trying to sight the men in uniform from afar at every check point but was disappointed to see them all in their mini stations.

She had almost given up before she sighted a policeman beside a tout collecting a token from the man who's vehicle was beside the road. Somehow even though it felt wrong to see them from afar she was momentarily pleased. Life was becoming quite predictable she thought within herself as she pointed them to Onyedikachi.

He approached slowly and the situation became quite glaring. The police man waved at them and they stopped right beside the colored car tyres that had been used to create a barricade on the road. The colors yellow and blue painted across.

"Ah Officer how e dey go!" Onyedikachi yelled at the man who seemed to continuously struggling with his umbrella. The heavy wind made it impossible to keep the umbrella in place and he was certain the object would have left the man's grip if he hadn't held it much tighter.

"Fine.. Fine.." The man retorted with a smile. "Na Owerri una dey go?" He questioned his smile still plastered on his face. Obanma found it quite strange to have a police man smiling under the rain.

"Yes" Onyedikachi replied still maintaining the cordiality with which they spoke.

Obanma's eyes captured his name, something she found oddly familiar. The name Abdul M. was sewn boldly on his pocket. It was normal to see police men from the northern region or the western region of the country in the eastern side.

The officer had wanted to speak before his attention was called by the dirty looking tout who jogged towards him.

He seemed to have grease paints all over his body. The man whispered something into Abdul's ears who relinquished all the money in his pocket to the other man.

Onyedikachi's car possessed so many items that linked him to pace construction including his a key holder that dangled in front of his car.
Obanma had been mentally bracing herself for any form of hassle coming from the man.

"Officer I hope no problem... I have my papers with me" Onyedikachi continued quite irritated with the sudden delay.

"No... No sir there's no problem with you" Onyedikachi meant to enquire why they were trapped in the rain but was dissuaded as the dirty young man ran back to the officer wet.

"E no gree work.... Oga the baby Wan commot " The young man seemed disconcerted as he spoke and Obanma finally looked beyond Abdul to have a proper glance at the man.

"Oga we need your help... This man's car broke down on the road right in front of this check point and his wife has gone into labor" The officer continued, this time his umbrella had gone to the dirty looking man who Obanma found out was a taxi driver taking his wife home till their troubles began. Their battery had somehow died and he had reached out to the policeman who lent him his because his police van was grounded as well.

When the problem persisted they had to purchase other items, an engine oil inclusive which the policeman donated swiftly to. The tout it had seemed was paying the policeman his balance rather than being extorted from.

The policeman had explained his frustration with the rain as it hindered him from calling his mates who had veered off with the police van. The rain had disabled most of the call networks.

Onyedikachi and the policeman quickly ran to the man's aid and helped his groaning wife out of his little cab. Their body dripped with water as they offered her the comfort of being protected by the umbrella. He shouted instructions to another police officer who was nearby explaining the current situation of things.

Obanma quickly hopped out of the car as they approached and held open the door while the cab driver took his wife's belongings.

The policeman hopped into the car and sat beside the woman in labor. Her husband, dirty and wet still had his hand latched protectively over hers reassuring her as they veered off to the nearest hospital.

They helped the man and his wife into the maternity ward while the rain poured mercilessly on them. The policeman accompanied the couple to the waiting room and his presence hastened their services.

Soon the woman was led away and Obanma could feel her heart beat faster. The police man seemed cool waiting  beside Onyedikachi both dripping water on the floor.

Obanma caught wind of Onyedikachi's subtle shiver and stood up. She advised him to peel off his wet clothes but he rebutted the idea. She didn't like that the show of masculinity he was portraying was at his own detriment.

The cab driver on his own paced around the room, one could tell his nerves were all on fire. Obanma tried to imagine how her mother had been when she was in labor. Strangely Onyedikachi had captured part of that event.

The man kept pacing till the doctor finally came out bearing the good news. His wife had been delivered of twin girls and the man was ecstatic.

The policeman smiled all the way through as he rambled his thanks in his owerri dialect.

Onyedikachi and the man soon went away to purchase more items for the woman and her babies leaving her alone with Abdul.

"He is not your brother, is he?" Came his voice breaking her thoughts from the direction it had once wandered back to.

Obanma shook her head with a smile. "He is a fine young man" He commended and she nodded in approbation.

"Na your boyfriend?" He prodded with a strange tease in his voice.

"Yes he is" Came her quick response and he chuckled.

"Hol am tight" He advised and she agreed.

They were led into the room were the woman rested with her girls and Obanma was pleased to see the woman smiling, even though she seemed worn out. The babies were beside her in cribs and she quickly peered at them.

Tears stung her eyes as thoughts of Obinna ran through her mind. The two babies seemed peaceful as they slept even though they appeared tiny.

Onyedikachi arrived with the man and they stocked the room with clothes, food and other necessities. He saw Obanma standing next to the crib and quickly walked to where she stood.

"They're so small" She whispered her eyes still trained on the sleeping children.

He held her hand while they stood in silence just watching two little girls that had brought a rare satisfaction to their journey.

"Flirty little baby... Seducing men from day one" Onyedikachi whispered into her ears and she laughed.

She did not bother about his wet clothes as she wrapped her hands around him, he was truly a fine young man.

The couple thanked Onyedikachi and Obanma both in their dialects which she struggled to keep up with what they spoke. Onyedikachi had no problems understanding, he seemed to have a keen ear for understanding people's dialects.

"Chukwu duma nnu,  nnu mu a kwa umuoma ri mma." may God bless you, may you birth beautiful children

The man seemed pleased after he had blessed the pair and they both took their leave. The policeman chose to stay behind and Obanma felt disappointed in herself for judging him too early.

He gestured a sign of holding something and she laughed. She understood completely what he  meant and quickly grabbed Onyedikachi's hand in a firm grip.

They drove to Owerri listening to high life songs by indigenous artists. Onyedikachi sang along but Obanma just listened aptly in utter amusement to the singer. For the first time since her robbery incident she began to see the city in another light.

She didn't object when they stopped briefly for lunch. The rains had paved way for sunshine and the rainbow that floated across the clouds was an interesting sight to behold.

Their journey suddenly had a different feel, the muddy ground wasn't repelling anymore and ofe owerri seemed surprisingly grand. It was wrong to view people and places through colored lenses.

"Onye na ejighi ego o na eri ofe owerri A poor man doesn't eat owerri soup " was chanted along  by the pair in the car while they listened to various native songs that projected the culture of the people.

They laughed to Shama Melody's track motor mixture. The song told the tale of the man who had bought different parts of a vehicle from different brands and merged them together only to be disappointed in the end as the car caught on fire.

She got attached to the next track titled "sweetie maintain". It took a lot of persuasion from Onyedikachi to finally change the song and somehow the words were stuck in her mind.

"Aru amaka gi
Ayakata Bongo eh

Anu wu cha sweetie"

The next song softened the mood in the car as it made her thoughts veer to her father's reaction and how it became the root of their feud.

"Iwe Iwe Iwe
Iwe Iwe Iwe onuma lele

O nuru olu nwanne, Onye ahu gbahota via juo ajuju
When you hear your brother's voice, do ask questions.

O kola nke m mere ya
Mana o kola nke o mere mu were m iwe"
He has told you what I did to him, but did he tell you what he did to me that got me angry.

It got her questioning rage and how it was unfair that no one got to hear Dozie's side of the story. Iwe na onuma
(Anger and rage". Her father should have waited. There were two sides to a story.

Onyedikachi noticed her silence and quickly squeezed her palm. She loved that somehow he was always attentive to all she did. She gave him a sweet smile before sleep extended its tentacles and grabbed her.

Obanma had missed a major part of the journey while she napped  but Onyedikachi felt it bore its own peaceful essence just to watch her sleep in his car. It seemed crazy how all his thoughts revered back to one girl. He had deliberately withheld information about where they were headed from her because he didn't want her discouraged.

She had thankfully slept through a heavy traffic in Onitsha and when they arrived Nnewi it was fairly dark.

He noticed her blinking before she woke up fully stretching her arms.

"Are we going to lagos?" She enquired with a yawn smacking her lips together in a child like manner.

"We're almost there" He replied his eyes focused on the road. Onyedikachi had become more nervous as they approached their destination because he hadn't considered the negative outcome of his decision. What if she decided she hated the place?

Their car came to a stop in a strange compound and Onyedikachi quickly hopped down and helped her .

"Promise me that you'll stay for tonight even if you hate the place" He whispered as noise from occupants of the compound became louder.

Obanma nodded noting the plea in his tone when he asked. If the place meant so much to him then she'd stay for a week if he asks. Onyedikachi always gave everything to the people he cared about, he needed someone who would be willing to give him more. "You said I'd love the place, if you love it then there's nothing stopping me from loving it too"

She pulled him into a quick hug and he exhaled deeply. He captured her lips in a very passionate kiss. Thankfully they had broken apart before the old man appeared with children.

Onyedikachi walked to the old man and hugged him. The man's eyes never strayed from Obanma even while Onyedikachi greeted him and she felt fear creep up to her bones.

Where exactly were they?

Onyedikachi beckoned on her and she got closer to the man.

"He can't see you" He whispered to Obanma and she quickly thrust herself into the man's arms.

"Nnoo nwa m" He spoke with excitement. He teased Onyedikachi's body of being softer than that of  a man.

A little boy called him Papa nnukwu and corrected him immediately, he called Obanma Onyedikachi's woman and the man laughed so hard. The children led the old man into the house with the Onyedikachi's items and he stayed outside with Obanma to weather the storm that he had  created.

"He is your grandfather" She began slowly

"Yes.... My father's father"

"The compass brought us here? The place I would be most unwelcome" She continued in disapproval

"No... A place that understands our plight" He retorted in his shaky defense.

"How so?"

"Please just wait and see. Papa nnukwu is pleased to have you. They all are and they don't need to know anything else about you till we decide otherwise"

Obanma had meant to counter his decision before papa Nnukwu's voice came again. Beckoning on the two to have a chat with him.

Nervous and scared she followed into the house, promising herself a mandatory fix of their love compass which seemed to be broken at the moment.

.

Hello Everyone!

How are we?

Hope you enjoyed the chapter? How do you feel about Onyedikachi taking Obanma to meet his grandfather.

Let's hope it's a good choice

Have you ever had an encounter with very good policemen? How did you feel?

Have you eaten ofe owerri before?