I was busy teaching the villagers the correct pronunciation of the word “thinking” (they were making the Th sound like T,) I kept telling them that the word has to be pronounced with the tongue in between their teeth. This earned me a nickname; till today; the villagers call me “slinking”. I missed his entrance. I also missed part of the spectacle caused by a throng of females, most of them, girls from the village community school who flocked around him, some  worshipping,  some praise singing and others practically fainting at his feet.

One of my co- actors looked towards the doorway, apparently distracted by the dean; I followed the direction of her eyes; that was when I saw him. He was leaning casually on the left hand side of the door way, arms across his chest.  He left his position and sauntered across the auditorium to the raised podium which served as a makeshift stage for us.  Close up, he was breathtakingly handsome in a very smoky fashion; long aquiline nose and strong facial features which bore a striking resemblance to those of the late Bob Marley. The dirty jeans he wore carried a large sized drawing of Bob Marley.; His heavily lidded eyes and full lips were sensual features guaranteed to kill. “That was a fine performance” he addressed us in a voice with a husky quality, like the one acquired by male musicians through years of singing. I took one look at this village champion and fell headlong.

Just as we were about to get better acquainted, my aunty came and whisked us off, it was getting late into the night.

I met Okpo again two weeks later during our church annual retreat. It was towards the end of December and we had gone to Oron town in the company of our parents for the three days retreat. Our church happened to be situated along the street adjacent to where his parents lived.  I had gone to buy something in a shop situated along that street when I heard him calling my name from the house opposite the shop. He came over and told me that he wanted me to meet his parents, my mild protests did not deter him and I was not ready to keep protesting, this was a guy who had been the stuff of my dreams for the past two weeks.

His parents were sitting outside the veranda, enjoying the early evening breeze.  As soon as we got to them, Okpo directed a speech at his mum, “Mma, this is the girl I was talking about; this is Atim” “The girl you want to marry”, his father chipped in before turning to me. “You have the looks of somebody… who do you say your father is my dear? I told him daddy’s name to the second generation, he studied me for a while before saying, “That should be the family of Iniongaba of Eyenang. “Eyenang is our family! His wife exclaimed, wearing the face of horror, “Okpo, do you want to marry your own sister? Abomination! His father’s face turned grim as he called Okpo aside while I remained with his mother.

Left on our own, the woman took my hand and made me sit on the low stool beside her. “My daughter, she started, please tell me the truth, don’t hide anything from me, have you and Okpo done anything together yet? I was embarrassed but I shook my head in denial. “Are you sure? She pressed on, “this is a life threatening situation, and we have to make all the necessary sacrifices to avert disaster”

That was how that first romance ended dear villagers; I had fallen in love with my cousin without knowing it. His parents were relieved when they discovered that Okpo had not touched me, they took time to take us through our family tree. Okpo confided his regret in his sister; he told her that he made a mistake by introducing me to his parents. After the revelation, he had taken me aside and begged me to run away with him, I was afraid of the abomination his mum talked about, so I told him I did not want to die. Okpo was 21 at the time.

That my dear villagers, was how my juvenile love affair went. I won’t bore you further with details of my village affairs. Next week, I will start my "Canary" series, until then, I love u as much as u love me.

Robot  Villager

# 1 I had fallen in love with my cousin without knowing it. His parents were relieved when they discovered that Okpo had not touched me, they took time to take us through our family tree. Okpo confi...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 23.09.2008 04:10