Evwri El-Rustic

EVWRI EL-RUSTIC

Eberekpe Whyte

iUniverse, Inc.

New York  Bloomington

EVWRI EL-RUSTIC

Copyright © 2009 Eberekpe Whyte

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ISBN: 978-1-4401-5335-8 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4401-5336-5 (ebook)

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date:8/27/09

Contents

Cast

Prologue

Epilogue

To my son, Ogheneovie, who I miss every second, to my classmates[1983-1988] of Alegbo Secondary School, Effurun, Delta State, and to all the poor who suffered in the hands of the hypocritically power drunks, who, in the name of bringing societies to their original master-plan, make them poorer while they loot everybody’s contributions drunkenly.

To my dearest mother, who was ever ready to burn her nails for love, for children and for family.

My dearest father, who never gave a damn as long as the content of the mind was spoken in truth.

And to somebody, and somebody from 10pm to 6am.

Cast

Olorogun

Akpos   

Oghenekaro

Ajomata

Onomine

Cabinet members

The community of the poor

Prologue

Akpos, with the intention of bringing changes to her, leaves the village for further studies. He returns to find that things are not what they seem as he is confronted with lots of intrigues. He is not free from the intrigues.

Act 1, Scene I.

[Enters Ejiro to meet his Master who is still in mourning]

Ejiro:    Somebody is here to see you this good morning Sir.

Oghenekaro:    Nobody should be here to see me, you of all creatures, should be aware of my predicaments.

Ejiro:    I did not fail to let him know, but he insists. His countenance is that of desperation; of a man of deep needs.

Oghenekaro:    You should never have an intercourse with desperation. Desperation is a failure, and the visitor is an indication of multiple failures. Why should anybody bother about visiting me anyway!

Ejiro:    He came from afar, Sir.

Oghenekaro:    It is the beginning of misunderstanding; I thought you should be aware that the best knowledge is that which is directly in front of you. Please, only please, leave me, I do not want visitors at this moment. Please, my helper.

[Ejiro outside with the visitor]

Ejiro:    He will not see you, or anybody.

Akpos:    I must see him, I must lay with him.

Ejiro:    You dwell on impossible ground, his pre-occupation this time is the demise of his beloved wife of many accustomed years. Dear Sir, forgive my rudeness, but I can see you are wealthy enough to rent any of those beautiful Rest Houses to lay until when the Master is out of mourning.

Akpos:    Yes, true, but is it not right to live on the roof top of a friend and spend one’s wealth and riches there than take them to strangers?

Ejiro:    True, yes, properly said Sir, but friends would only live while strangers die when there is no investment, and likewise friends shall end up without investment.

Akpos:    Your Master would have chosen you well. But you do not relent in furthering this favour of mine to speak to him yet again. Tell him my name, perhaps he may recollect, though , it has been long, the many years of childhood; we were still naked when we departed each other.

Ejiro:    A very tall order you placed before me; would I not loose my job at this insistence? My Master could decide to have a particular great temper.

Akpos:    There are several vacancies, and people must fill them up, please, go for me this ones. Only my name should you tell him. If names are still relevant, that is.

Ejiro:    At my peril. I will placate your desperation, nevertheless.

Akpos:    Will you not be rewarded?

[Ejiro leaves]

Oghenekaro:    Yes?

Ejiro:    The visitor will not leave. He says his name is…

Oghenekaro:    Be grateful I am only too weak to make a decision concerning your fate! What is his description?

Ejiro:    A childhood friend, he says…

Oghenekaro:    What description is he wearing?

Ejiro:    Smallish, and a pouting pair of lips. And he wears glasses.

Oghenekaro:    Then he must have a challenging and confrontational might. If he must see me, and desperately too, let his desperation make him wait until I am less bothered by the death of a beloved woman.

Ejiro:    He is intelligent, and you crave it diligently.

Oghenekaro:    Your motivation must be very high. It failed me this ones. My wife lies motionless forever? Please, let my response confront him.

Ejiro:    Your wife?

Oghenekaro:    Wretch from the kingdom! Yes? Are you surprised?

Ejiro:    Moreso.

Oghenekaro:    She lies still now. And everything revolves round her motionlessly.

Ejiro:    He is still waiting, I believe.

Oghenekaro:    Waiting? I thought the swine had gone. Let him go, there are any other times for him to repeat his visit.

Ejiro:    Swine do not just leave easily when they have their attraction, he has no place to go.

Oghenekaro:    No place to go? I thought you said he appears wealthy and rich?

Ejiro:    Surely. Nevertheless, he prefers to share your bed, Sir.

Oghenekaro:    If he could wait for tomorrow to come. No friend-no matter how dear- is more important than this present hopelessness that confronts me. Tomorrow please, unfailingly, I will see him.

Ejiro:    I must convey the message to him immediately.

Oghenekaro:    Please, but, before that, bring in the singing parrot. Its songs will bring comfort to my depressed spirit at this particular moment.

Ejiro:    All right, oh! There is no need for me to go for the bird; it heard your voice and it is here.

[Bird singing] [Ejiro with Akpos]

Ejiro:    I could not persuade him any further.

Akpos:    Then you must direct me to a place that can accommodate me for the night before the morning hustling and bustling is again given birth to. I am tired.

Ejiro:    Not far away from here. Come with me, Sir. I hope my display shall be remembered in paradise.

Akpos:    How long have you been with him in hell?

Ejiro:    I do not remember the exact date we moved from her creative ugliness to this enhanced beauty, which has destroyed the beauty of the other women. Moreover, death to my master’s wife.

Akpos:    I hear stories about her.

Ejiro:    That would depend on the stories you hear about her.

Akpos:    Not pleasant.

Ejiro:    All stories these days about her are unpleasant, especially since we moved into her belly as everybody started fighting tooth and nail to have a place inside her.

Akpos:    Nothing can be done to have this mistake corrected?

Ejiro:    Nobody is aiming at correction. The intentions of those we thought were coming to correct the many mistakes only ended up grabbing and still grabbing and allocating her beauty and finesse until she finally died leaving a small and insignificant part which I am afraid may soon die too, if nothing is urgently done to have it recovered.

Akpos:    Are we almost there?

Ejiro:    Very soon. What are your reasons for coming to her, Sir, may I probe?

Akpos:    I do not know yet; just a travelling man. If this place welcomes me with comfort, who knows, I may just as yet decide to make here a permanent living. And moreover, I am constantly on the advert pages.

Ejiro:    You may end up fulfilling your dreams; she welcomes everybody and all without discriminations. The hand of comfort and welcome she extends is what the various visitors have capitalized on to render her permanently disvirgined and abused.

Akpos:    Was it the reason she died and there is mourning everywhere?

Ejiro:    Nobody knows exactly. But methinks it is one of the reasons. You see, no matter how pleasing a woman is, when you feast her with lots of pressure she begins to shrink and her substances become flabbily sexy. Exactly what I think has happened to her.

Akpos:    Well, well, well. I am interested in her.

Ejiro:    You cannot be interested in a dead woman. You cannot be serious! Be serious Sir, you can.

Akpos:    I am even more serious now. Dead? I thought you said a part of her was still alive.

Ejiro:    True. But, what is good in a woman when her vital parts have been sucked and pressurized by men and intruders and their families?

Akpos:    There is hope for the living.

Ejiro:    While the dead struggle for hope.

Akpos:    You must silence your voice there, or you will be challenged by those who champion the hopes of the dead. Hopelessness, yes, for the dead, but a half hope which can be restored to a full blown hope since death has not been fully pronounced.

Ejiro:    You have got courage.

Akpos:    We survive on it.

Ejiro:    That is the motel you will be staying until morrow. The motel is one of the pressures and suckers of her substances. It was relocated here because her clients are many and it is making as much of a turnover to remain ever relevant.

Akpos:    Thanks, you have been wonderful.

Ejiro:    Really? I thought I was only doing my job.

Akpos:    You did more than your job with deep generosity. Please, Oghenekaro should expect me tomorrow. [Enters inside the motel. A Potter approaches him]

Potter:    Welcome to her comfort, Sir. How long are you staying, Sir?

Akpos:    A night.

Potter:    Just a night, Sir?