One Wahala After De Ada..(part one)

Guys, how are y’all doing? I must say it was a very lonely week (last week) without my fellow bloggers here and it feels good to be home. The tests were fine unless for one, of which I think I didn’t do the best I thought I would. But I took with me Gerald’s advice to look up and start the count down. In a way it really helped. So will tell you how I performed sometimes this week.

Important note: The government department I’m working for is being privatized so blogging is gonna be limited for me(wahala number one). Please bear with me. Private companies don take no shit oo! That means posts are gonna be published on Mondays, then I do the rounds on weekends. Pardon me I need to keep my job oo! You guys don’t want me to starve do you? Now abeg, here’s how it all went with Tia and I going to Peter’s funeral. Take your time. I know it’s a very long post.

Okay. Being the best friend that I am, I managed to convince her to go for the funeral. For all the reasons I gave to her and I even told her some of the things you guys said. So she ended up agreeing and we ended up going. Oh my God! I didn’t know what the funeral had in store for me ooooo! On our way back I really wished I hadn’t gone there. You know like on Fridays there’s much movement people going to their home villages and all, so it was jam packed(wahala number two)at the bus rank such that we ended up getting a taxi to go drop us to where we could hitch-hike.

Immediately we got to the hiking spot we got a ride from one guy who said he was also going to the same place we were going. Thank God! This was around 4pm neh? But we arrived just in time for the arrival of the corpse, coz we met up with motor-cade at the junction leaving the main road. Peter’s home is in a very rural area, and the roads there are not yet tarred, still under construction, and very dusty. If it wasn’t for Tia stopping the driver to take a pee all the way, we would’ve arrived very much earlier. And I must say it would have been better because when Tia saw the cars, she started crying(wahala number three). Oh my God!, we were with this stranger who just gave us a lift and I prayed for Tia to stop it coz I wouldn’t know what to tell this guy if he asked how we were related to the deseased. Damnnit! Tia stop crying! I said to myself.

That was just the beginning oo! When we got to the compound, we were welcomed by Peter’s brother and the cousin. I didn’t know them, Tia did. And when she saw them coming towards us, Holly God! She just became vulnerable that I thought maybe she was goinno faint! I was very worried about her. I worried for the baby. I started asking myself whether it was a good idea to bring Tia there. And then the brother and the cousin showed us the room we were goinno use to spend the night. This was on Friday night and the funeral was the next morning of Saturday. In most cultures around here, when the corpse is brought home, we stay the whole night with it. We don't sleep. Pastors saying sermons one after the other, hymn singing, praying and words of encouragement laid down. So the way Tia was, I asked her not to come out, ‘’just have a rest, sleep and you’ll attend the funeral in the morning’’. She obliged this time.

The next morning Tia was worse. Her eyes blood short, voice horse and blocked nose. She cried uncontrollably. At times the cousin and the little brother to the late Peter ( Oh my God-I can’t even believe I’m referring to him in the past!) came over to us to help me calm Tia down. At the graveyards, when the casket was going down, and people close to Peter came one by one dropping a portion of dust(soil) inside the grave, Tia fell(wahala number four). God have mercy! People near by came to help me move her body to one of the cars. Inside the car I just didn’t know what to do. One lady there was fanning her with the copy of the programme. Another one helped by removing her shoes, head scarf and the jacket she was putting on. I took the items and put them in our sling bag we were carrying. Tia wasn’t moving. Nothing. Silence. I felt like crying. I didn’t wanna cry. I wanted to be there for her. I wanted to be strong for her. I knew if I cried, it was goinno be a different story. So I just kept on blinking the tears back. Watching her limp body laying there, really broke my heart. I should not have come here with her. I kept telling myself. I worried for the baby.

The funeral proceeded on until about lunch time because one speaker after another said his/her last words. So many people had something to say. People who worked with him were so many. It was like the whole company came to the funeral. I could see Peter was really adored even in the way they presented his time while he was still on earth. May his soul rest in peace. I can almost hear Sparkle, Manda, Feather, Pammy and Ola murmuring Amen, accompanied by Ugo Dee, DOG, Gerald, Eddiie and Ubong Da’s baritoned Hallelluya.

When we got back to the yard from the cemetery, Tia was put in one room where there was a couple of ladies. She still hadn’t regained her consciousness. I was sitting by the veranda when Peter’s little brother came over to me. We sat there and talked about this and that.

‘’Can you show me Peter’s wife, I haven’t seen her. In fact I donno her’’
‘’Oh! Really. Du see those ladies going inside that roundavell?’’. He said pointing at a number of ladies walking in a row into one roundavel, very traditional house.
‘’Yes?’’
‘’Yah, that second last one, with the stripped shawl? That’s her’’
‘’Oh? Okay.’’
‘’How’s Tia doing in there?’’
‘’I donno…they are inside with her.’’
‘’What happened?’’
‘’She just blacked out…I donno..’’

Just then one lady came outta the house in which Tia was and summoned to me(wahala number five). When I came into the house, my eyes were focused only on my friend. Dammnn she still hasn’t woken up.
‘’We hear you are the one who came with this lady?’’ They asked me.
‘’Yes I’m the one.’’
‘How are you related to the family?’’
‘’Ermmmm….Peter was our very best friend’’
‘’How could you be friends with a married man?’’
‘’But we were friends!’’ I bit my lower lip. Am I panicking?
‘’And this one too was a friend?’’ she asked pointing to a ‘lifeless’ Tia
‘’I said WE WERE FRIENDS!’’..i was practically shouting. This woman shouldn’t start with me.
Just as I said that, Tia moved her hand....