She brought out the envelope but refused to give it to me, instead, she started counselling me again. And this time, my heart was beating faster as the sermon was more lengthy than that of the previous day.
After the long sermon………….
DOC: ***hand over an envelope to me*** here is your result
ME: **** sweat was flowing down from my head to my neck.*** what does the result says?
DOC: you are HIV negative.
ME: ****screamed**** praise God, I opened the result to see for myself and I found it to be truly negative.
DOC: like I said, you just have to be careful. You are negative today, what about tomorrow?. So please. Use condom if must have sex, never share needle or sharp objects… bla…bla…bla…
ME: I jumped up and ran out of the office with a heart filled with joy. I was so happy as I approached segun and showed him the result. We were chating as we walked down to road back to his house.
ME: sege, you need to know how joyous I am.
SEGE: thank God say you dey negative sha.
ME: oluwaseun
SEGE: even if you have STD, that one is still better and its curable.
ME: STD?, why didn’t you tell me earlier so that I can do the test altogether, or should we go back to the clinic?
SEGE: No, e no need. That one na small thing. I will recommend a herbal mixture for you. The thing dey flush any infection wey dey body. And e dey also give horse power and boost stamina when you wan Bleep.
ME: hmmmmm. Segun sege!!!!
SEGE: na me be that jaree.
ME: but segun, I’m still worried.
SEGE: what is it again?
ME: remember I told you that adebimpe threatened to pay me back in hard way?
SEGE: “abegi forget.”, there is nothing she can do.
ME: you think so?
SEGE: yes. Since you don escape from HIV, and you no die since you return from her hospital, and your joystick never disappear “fokanbale”, nothing go happen.
ME: if you say so sha. But me sha dey fear sha.
SEGE: relax abeg, nothing go happen.
Segun and I continued discussing until we reach his house.
There was light and we decided to play winning eleven on his laptop before I returned back to my house.
On getting home and opening the door of my room. I dropped my phone on my bed and began to thank God for scaling me through the Hiv test. I began to confess my sins and I vowed never to have unprotected sex again. While I was still in the mood of joy, a text entered my phone. I picked it and open, behold, I was surprised at the content of the message.
I picked the phone and checked the message. It was a text from my uncle Mr Zach in Ado-ekiti, telling me that the job we earlier discussed about had clicked, and he told me to call him.
I was so happy and joyous as I kept screaming “halleluyah” in my room. I was the happiest man on earth that night. I checked my account balance but didn’t have sufficient airtime. Thank God my neighbour “mama iyabo” the gossiper sells airtime.
I went to knock on the door of her room that night at around 9pm to purchase airtime. I recharged my phone and dialled my uncle’s number.
ME: hello sir,
MR ZACH: How are you onihaxy
ME: I’m fine sir. I got your message
MR ZACH : yes, did you remember that mega supermarket I told you about?
ME: yes sir
MR ZACH : the one at Ado ekiti where I submitted your CV 3 months ago and I said it was owned by my boss?
ME: yes sir.
MR ZACH: well, the manager there just resigned because he got a job with an oil company.
ME: ok sir
MR ZACH : so I have begged and discuss with my boss that I want my son to work with him. He said you should come this friday for an interview.
ME: uncle, what about test? Will there be no test before the interview?
MR ZACH : I’m telling you that I have perfected everything, you are talking about test. Abeg, just come with your original credentials and also make photocopies. I can assure you that you will get the job. I can guarantee that one.
ME: uncle, thank you so much. I’m forever grateful to you.
MR ZACH : ignore that. What are we families for?. Ever since the death of your father who is my elder brother, I have vowed to be with you and stand by you like a father for you, so its my responsibility.
ME: ***sobbing on remembrance of my late dad*** thank you sir.
MR ZACH : my boss said he needed someone who is good on computer so I told him you have certificate in Oracle and Java aside your B.sc and NYSC discharge certificate.
ME: yes I have them, thank you so much sir.
MR ZACH : so, just prepare well for the interview, and according to my investigation, the previous manager earns 85,000 per month. And I’m sure there would be some other stipends and underground looting aside his basic salary. So if you are smart of which I believe you are, you would make close to 150k per month.
ME: thank you sir.
MR ZACH : but please, don’t disappoint me and don’t put me to trouble when you get the job please. Anyways, I trust you .
ME: thank you sir, I would be at Ado on thursday evening sir.
SHOKARE : alright, no problem. Bye
ME: bye ***hanged up**** I began to sing songs of praises to almighty God. I was so happy even without going for the interview yet.
“Well, today is sunday, I will make the photocopies on tuesday” I thought to myself. The following day which was monday, I went to work with joy and happiness all written on my face. I went straight to my boss to take permission to be absent on friday.
He wasn’t ok with the permission but I kept begging him that I wanted to go for a professional exam. He told me he would deduct one thousand naira from my salary which I replied him to go ahead, “how much is 1k compared to 100k+ that I would make from the first pay of my new job?”.
On closing for the day, I stopped over at segun’s place to discuss the latest development with him as it is our custom that we don’t hide anything from each other. He was happy with it and wished me well. From segun’s house, I returned home, ate my dinner after bathroom shower and I slept off. I woke up on tuesday morning and prepared for work. I have gotten inside the cab before I remember that I wanted to make photocopies of my credentials, but time wasn’t on my side as I couldn’t return home to pick my credentials file because I was almost late. I exercised patience till I returned home after the closure of the day.
I got home at 6:39pm on tuesday. I had stopped by at the computer center located at the entrance of our road and I told him to wait for me to reach home and return back to make photocopies before he closed for the day.
After pulling off my shoes and removing my tie. I changed my cloths to a casual wear and picked my palm slippers. I raised my hands up to the top of my wardrobe to pick my credentials file before proceeding to make photocopies.
I just thought of it that I should check inside of it to see if I still have a copy of my C.V inside it or print out another one from my email. Who knows?, I might need the C.V during the interview.
I was shocked and weak as I unhook the button on the case file to open it.
My B.sc certificate, NYSC certificate, Oracle certificate and Java certificate were all missing. I poured out everything on the floor to search all through again and I still couldn’t find all the four certificates.
“But all these credentials were inside this bag before I left the GNLD office in niger state na?” ” I was so sure because I brought them out even at the venue and then returned them inside the same bag”. ***can somebody please wake me up, this must be a dream**************
I pinched myself and I felt the pains, it was then that I realised that I wasn’t dreaming. My brain went dead and I couldn’t think of anything.
“I have to go to Ado in 2 days time” “What do I do?”
“Could it be bimpe?”
“How can I reach her when I don’t have her contacts?”
“Could it had spilled off the road during the accident?”.
I began to ask myself rethorical questions and there was no one to provide answers.
After few minutes of been restless and unstable, the only person I could think of was segun. I picked my phone, dialled his number
ME: hello sege
SEGE: how far onihaxy
ME: I dey. Abeg, you help me see my credentials?
SEGE: which credentials?
ME: my B.sc, NYSC, Oracle and Java certificates.
SEGE: sebi na you dey keep your things by yourself.
ME: I couldn’t find it in the file.
SEGE: haaaa. How you take do am?
ME: I don’t even know. I remembered vividly that I left niger state with the credentials because I brought them out at the GNLD venue.
SEGE: and did you return them inside the file?
ME: offcourse I did. Everything was intact till I reached abuja.
SEGE: have you ever checked the file since you left bimpe’s hospital?.
ME: not at all, I didn’t, because I didn’t have any cause to use them until now.
SEGE: this must be bimpe’s handwork
ME: our thoughts are the same. I am also suspecting her.
SEGE: have you found her contacts?
ME: no I haven’t.
SEGE: then call the doctor and enquire about what happened to the file during your stay in the hospital.
ME: ok pal..
I hanged up on segun. I then scrolled through the numbers on my phone to search for the doctor’s contact. I eventually found it and I dialled but the response from the phone was “the number you are trying to call is switched off, please try again later”. I screamed and began to murmur to myself in my room. “Is this how I’m going to loose this offer?”. I continued trying the doctor’s number repeatedly until 12am and I was hearing the same “switched off” response. I cried and cried like a baby. “If truly this is adebimpe’s handwork, then its so unfair. What did I do to deserve this?”.
I opened my facebook account and began to search for her names again. I combined so many names like “adebimpe nurse”, “adebimpe portharcout”, “adebimpe abuja” and I couldn’t find her account. I couldn’t sleep over the night as my eyes were widely opened and soaked with tears. The next morning. I managed to go to work with a sad mood and a frowned face, even my neighbours noticed my mood and began to ask me questions which I ignored. I even transferred aggression to the cab driver that took me off from my street to work by shouting on him and insulted him when he was playing a fuji music on his car stereo.
I got to work and my face was still sad and looking scary. My colleague also asked me about what happened and I ignored them also. I brought out my phone and continued to try the doctor’s number till it went through at around 10am.
ME: hello doctor
DOC: hello, who am I speaking with?
ME: onihaxy ***i introduced myself and he remembered***
DOC: ooook, how are you today?
ME: I’m fine sir, I tried calling you yesterday evening but it was switched off
DOC: that’s true, I was in the theatre then
ME: ok sir, please sir, I have a problem
DOC: what’s that?
ME: its about my credentials. I couldn’t find them since I left your hospital.
DOC: which credentials is that?
ME: my Bsc, NYSC and some other credentials.
DOC: I remembered I handled over a file and a bag to you when you were discharged. So which one are you talking about?.
ME: that’s true sir. But the credentials were missing. other credentials like my waec, neco, and some others were intact. Just the four are missing.
DOC: I don’t know anything about credentials. All I knew was that I gave you everything that was brought here with you.
ME: sir, please. Apart from you, who also had access or accessed the file.
DOC: nobody except one of my nurses whom I gave the file to and I told her to look through them maybe we could see a contact or number of someone closed to you to call since your mobile phone wasn’t brought here with you. And immediately she was through with it and couldn’t find anything, she returned it to me and I kept them in my office.
ME** scared*** which of your nurses sir?
DOC: and why are you asking.
ME: I just wanted to know sir, who knows, she might have misplaced it somewhere in the hospital.
DOC: well, its nurse bimpe,
ME: ***screamed!!!!*****, I’m doomed!!!!!!
WATCH OUT FOR EPISODE 20 (FINALE), PLEASE LIKE OR COMMENT IF YOU ENJOYED THE STORY
