ONE GOOD TURN

Uche and his siblings hurdled around the television watching a zee world program when their mother walked into the living room.

“Uche, go and help me buy grounded pepper from Mummy Farooq. Be fast please and don’t waste time, the indomie is almost ready,” Uche’s mother said and handed him one hundred naira note.

Uche walked out of the house grumbling under his breath. He combed his hand through his hair as he stepped into the street.

Mama Farooq’s shop was five minutes away and Uche knowing his mother, knew that she hadn’t started boiling the noodles.

“Preposterous is P-R-E-P-O-S-T-E-R-O-U-S, Cranky is C-R-A-N-K-Y…”

A car tyre screeched along the road and there was a thud. Uche saw a car swerve off the lane and drove away. Uche squinted while trying to make out the plate number but tears rolled down his cheeks from the effort.

Uche ran over to the scene and found a girl lying motionless with slow, shaky breaths on the floor, a tray of plantain sprawled on the road beside her.

“Help…” she whispered.

“Somebody help us o… somebody,” Uche shouted with tears in his eyes.

When he saw that the road was deserted, he left the girl and ran to Mama Farooq’s shop.

“Car hit somebody… Mummy Farooq. Car hit somebody…,” Uche kept shouting immediately he got to the shop.

Mummy Farooq and her customer’s heard the boy shouting from afar before he even got close to the shop.

“What happened,” Baba Ayo, one of the numerous people in the shop asked the little boy whose hands were trembling.

“As I was going… sorry, as I was coming, I saw a motor heat one girl. The motor drove away and it’s like the girl want to die… she was saying help but her eyes be like who have start to see heaven…” Uche said still trembling like a leaf.

Baba Ayo and a few customers escorted the boy back to the scene and met the girl lying there, barely moving or breathing.

A man ran to the junction to hail a keke na pep while Baba Ayo and the rest tried to revive the girl who was barely breathing.

Uche stood beside them crying when the man returned with a keke. A few people lifted the girl into the keke and Baba Ayo and the other man escorted her to a hospital.

Uche, still shaken by the accident, heard someone call his name. He could not see who was calling but he knew someone was calling him.

“Uche, na here I send you come?” his mother asked when she saw him bent over beside the tray of plantain.

“Somebody…” Uche was saying as he stood up but his mother’s hand sizzled his cheek with a slap.

“Somebody? What happened to somebody?” his mother asked in a sarcastic sing-song voice.

“Somebody was hit by a car. I saw it and I went to call people,” Uche was saying while fat tears rolled down his cheeks, “I didn’t even remember that you sent me mess…”

“May your helper not forget you. Imana ibu IDIOT (do you know you are an idiot)?” his mother fired at him.

“Mummy, look at the floor…” Uche was saying when a woman strolled over to them.

“Mama Uche, you see wetin happen? Na now my neighbor tell me wetin happen. You see the girl? She even get belle,” the woman said with hands akimbo.

“My pikin just dey tell me. Hope say she dey alright?” Mama Uche asked the woman while resting her hand on Uche’s shoulders.

“Make them go hospital come back first. Hopefully, nothing bad. Mmmh, make I dey go my house. Una goodnight,” the woman said and walked away, her slim physique made her appear like a toothpick when the breeze blew against her satin night dress.

It was at this moment, Mama Uche noticed the blood on the floor beside the tray and scattered plantains.

“Make we dey go!” Mama Uche said.

“The pepper nkor?” Uche asked still unsure of his fate at home.

“The indomie don boil. We go chop am like that,” Mama Uche said and they walked back home in silence.

At home, they all gathered around a tray-like plate and dug into the indomie, Uche was however withdrawn as he kept seeing blood and the motionless girl.

“Nwokem, try and eat. Tomorrow is your spelling competition. You still need to practice,” Mama Uche said but the boy seemed to be lost in his own world.

“Uche…” his mother said and touched his cheek.

“I have belleful,” Uche replied and went to his room which he shared with his siblings.

He tried to recite his words but his mind kept wandering to the girl. After sometime, sleep encroached his eyelids and he fell asleep.

The next morning, his mother woke him up and he dressed for his competition.

Uche sat in one of the front seats of the packed auditorium and tried rehearsing some of the words he had learnt.

A few hours later, the competition began and Uche was number ten. He was so edgy but he tried his best to keep a straight face. His opponents were tough but he maintained a steady pace.

“…And the winner of the competition is Katherine Akpevwe…,” the presenter said and there was a round of applause.

Uche felt tears brim in his eyes as he looked around the crowd for his mother who would be seemingly disappointed.

“The first runner up is Adugo Echeta with a prize of twenty thousand naira,” the presenter said and there was another round of applause.

“The second runner up is Matthew Feranmi with a prize of ten thousand naira, give it up for him,” the presenter announced.

Uche was so dejected and he struggled to maintain composure in his defeated state. He was no longer paying attention to the announcement.

“… Uche Nwaefuna with a prize of five thousand naira,” the presenter announced and people clapped.

Uche was surprised to hear his name and it was evident in the way he collected his prize as tears rolled down his face effortlessly as he sniffed with his broken glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose.

He wouldn’t be getting new ones since he didn’t win and five thousand was too small a prize to get him any fix.

After the competition had ended, Uche went to his seat and sat down, patiently waiting for his mother.

“Son, somebody wants to see you outside,” Mama Uche said to her son.

Uche followed her. When they got outside, a black jeep was packed beside the hall and there was a man dressed in black suit waiting.

“This is my son,” Mama Uche said proudly to the man.

“The governor would like to speak with you dear,” the man said and guided the boy inside the car where the governor was seated.

“You are Uche, right?” the governor asked with a smile.

Uche nodded.

“That was my daughter that you found on the floor. She had an accident sometime back and suffered amnesia but she was kidnapped from the hospital and for two years, nobody had seen her until yesterday when someone told us they saw some people with her in a hospital.”

Uche nodded without understanding.

“Anyways, I instructed Police to arrest those who came with her but one of them said it was a small boy that found her on the road and they only took her there,” the governor said while looking at his tab.

“Did you see the plate number?” the governor asked.

“No sir. I wasn’t with my glasses, but did she survive?” Uche replied, all the while his palms were sweaty despite the AC.

“That’s okay and yes, she’s stable,” the governor looked at the boy and smiled, “I have already spoken to your mother but you should know, as a sign of appreciation, we will take care of your glasses and eye treatment and your education will be paid for from primary through secondary school. You are just eight right?”

Uche was grinning. He was shocked but he was happy.

“Yes sir,” Uche replied.

“I honestly appreciate what you unknowingly did for my family. May God bless you dear. My secretary will give your mother all the details,” the governor said.

Uche opened the door and was about to leave the car when the governor added on second thought, “would you like to further your tertiary education outside Nigeria?”

Uche stopped in his tracks from shock, “yes sir!”

“Then so shall it be. Extend my greetings to your mother.”

Uche felt his heart leap for joy.

“How did it go?” Mama Uche asked the boy whose face was lit with joy.

“I will go abroad and study for university,” Uche said while dancing.

Mama Uche laughed and thanked God in her heart.

“The secretary said we will change your eyeglass tomorrow. What God cannot do does not exist…”

“Supernatural God of wonders,” Uche started singing.

“Let us go home. You didn’t win the competition nwokem,” Mama Uche scolded.

“But I won five thousand as third runner up…” Uche began to say when his mother snatched the money from his hands.

“We will use it to cook ofe nsala to commemorate the joy,” Mama Uche teased.

“That’s not fair,” Uche pouted, “Mummy, spell commemorate.”

Mama Uche walked briskly and Uche ran after her laughing.

“Spell commemorate ooo,” Uche laughed behind her.

“I nor get time for your wahala!” Mama Uche said as they walked out of the school premises.

Related Story: I Choose Me