FLASH FICTION |THE GENESIS | the FINALS

Hi there people!

Welcome back to the Genesis.
its the FINALS people! two(2) contestants have made it to this level and are struggling to ultimately become the king/Queen of the Flash Fiction Genesis Edition.
 

Check out today's entries below and please cast your votes for your most preferred story.

BOOMERANG

Although it rained heavily that fateful day, the sun continued to smile beautifully from her throne. When I was a kid, I used to believe that sometimes the sun and rain performed their duty simultaneously because the mother elephant was reproducing; but now I know better. It seemed like time was on a sprint race that particular day, I was to have a job interview, so I dashed out not minding the rain. As I approached the office by 8:00am; everywhere was desolate. I thought I was late , but it seemed the reverse was the case. One hour later, a tall dark guy, who later introduced himself as Zamani joined me. He was also for the interview. "Are you here for the interview? " he asked. "Yesooo' , I've been here since 8:00am". I replied. To my amazement he thundered in laughter. "Don't you know African time? Because of ordinary government work, you came that early" he asked scornfully.

Initially, I was speechless, but after a few conversations with him I discovered he was a 'cool' person. We were there for two more hours, by then a whole lot of our contemporaries had joined us. The secretary and some other lower staffs later came and finally the 'boss' arrived. He was a mustached, pot bellied man. Without any apologies for not keeping to time; he bellowed in his Hausa accent " you all know I am a very busy man, all I need is your co-operation". Afterwards the only question I can remember him asking us was our names. Thereafter, he handed over an appointment letter to Zamani; under our very nose. Just like that? I pondered. Everyone turned back to leave in sorrow; like nothing happened. I wondered if he used 'charm' on them. I ranted and tried to create a scene, but the Secretary calmed me down in what sounded like a warning. Truly, there was nothing I could do. That was the first time I experienced what I called "raw corruption". In a country where we breathe in bribery and breath out corruption what could I have done. As I trekked back home, I saw a crowd gathered in front of an accident victim. People stared on, as an elderly woman fought for life helplessly.

I later heard that she was hit by a vehicle, whose driver took off. All the crowd could do was to murmur words like 'chai', 'eyaaa', 'ewoo','pele'. I rushed to the woman to help save her life; all the people I beckoned on to help declined, saying the police would hold them responsible if the woman died. "We no get money to give 'Olokpa" a youth said.  I finally managed to take her to a nearby government hospital. "Nurse! Call the doctor" I screamed. "Ah! Doctor is with Chief o, I can't go call him!" With so much disgust I stormed into the doctor's office. "Doctor there is an emergency!  "Have you no manners? Can't you see I am with a dignitary", the Doctor said. The shock I got from his words made me stagger like a wounded lion. I pushed the Doctor to the wall, giving him a dirty slap; I poured all the day's anger on him like a mad man. As we struggled on, the Nurse ran back to us, lamenting "She is dead ooo!" We all rushed back to the woman only for the Doctor to grab her with tears filled eyes. Who said men don't cry?

The Doctor wept as he revealed to us that the woman was his mother!!! Indeed the experience of that day left footprints in my heart that would last forever.

THE END

CIRCLES

           What was Adamu saying? Didn’t he know this is Nigeria? Were we going to be the first to feature in this theatre of absurd we had become used to all too well? Perhaps, his ignorance might have been pardonable if he had come from abroad, but here was a Nigerian, birth and bathed in the very waters of ”arrangy”,as I was, playing the hero.

             I sat and watched him reel out the very ideals and principles on which I lived, for 6 years before I embraced the system. Mom had brought up an upright son by all standards, beating every demon of ills and wrongs out of me until I eventually believed I saw the devil fleeing from me. She always taught that honesty was the best policy. How wrong she was…

Morals first gave room for money when I received my first bribe. A nicely wrapped brown envelope placed on my table to help Alhaji Bello’s child pass his junior school certificate exams. After my bout with Linda that morning over money to buy foodstuff, I could not afford to go home to recite those lines which obviously she had become used to, “They still have not paid”. The government had not paid teachers’ salaries for 3 months and my lips were growing used to these words.

Linda and John, our son were no strangers to adversity now, as Linda’s skin was a clear testimony to this. She had had that smooth fair skin, the color of an overripe pawpaw. Very cheerful and with a smile that broke her lips with so much warmth and radiance, like the rising the sun. Now all she had left was a protesting pale pile of pain, poverty and frustration. She could only find solace now in nagging, as I stood, gazing helplessly at how malnourished John had grown.

Of course, I had to accept the bribe. I couldn’t stand john’s cry of hunger that night. What parent could? And that was the beginning of more bribes to come. I had uncovered the fastest way to climbing up the ladder of success in the civil service. All I required was a few crisp naira notes wrapped in that brown envelop and I got my long overdue promotion.

        Now as I stood there watching the principal, Adamu, read from his own book of lamentation, on the evils of these “corrupt practices”, I could not imagine the point this bloody fool was trying to make. I stared with mouth agape as he declined wades and wades of cash, all in my bid to get him to help John make his result at the West African Examination council. Here was Adamu, my “boy”, giving me a sermon on corruption. What did he know about corruption by the way? Angrily, I stormed out of his office in disgust, only to receive a text from him later saying: “couldn’t talk in the office. Let’s meet at Tips bar later in the evening”.

THE END.






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BOOMERANG

CIRCLES