Lucid | Iko Odoba | Fiction

It was their third consecutive evening together. They were both wrapped up in each other’s arms, lying on an average-sized bed lifted high with a wooden frame, wishing the moment would never go by and they wouldn’t have to let go of each other. It was Mona’s bedroom. This was where he and Nimi usually hung around to talk and laugh heartily and make love to each other when his parents were not around. Mona was almost twenty-five but all hell would be let loose the day his parents found out he indulged in carnal acts with a woman under their roof.

This evening had an intense air hovering around the both of them. The power was out so Mona couldn’t see the tears forming in Nimi’s eyes under the dim light in the room. The window curtain was dropped down in order to ensure privacy. Asa’s “Don’t Let Me Go” was playing from the small speaker in the room. The speaker was connected to Mona’s phone which was set to play songs from Asa’s fourth studio album, Lucid.
“Why are you playing this album now?” Nimi had asked immediately “Don’t Let Me Go” came on. It was the second time she spoke out since she came to Mona’s room that evening. The first time was when she asked Mona how he was when she just came, and had gone ahead to lie in his bed.
“Because it’s our album,” Mona replied in a faint tone. He’d never known how to say a lot of things at a time.
“But it will no longer be after tonight.”
Yes, I know. I know and it only makes me miserable thinking of it, Mona thought in despair, lacking the strength or courage to say these words out loud. Saying out the words wouldn’t make things better so he would just keep holding her in his arms till she asks to let go, even though he’d let her go long before that evening and he wouldn’t stop blaming himself for it.

Asa was the catalyst which spurred the reaction to their relationship and the both of them had since then kept the artiste as a memento on the frame wall of the beautiful moments they’ve had. While Mona was home on weekends from university, he would go to help his mother at her shop which was situated at the central part of the community. It was one of those days he found himself playing Asa’s “Eyo” while he attended to a young lady he’d always seen around. That day, however, was special because Mona could hear the lady humming to the enchanting chorus of the song. It’s a special thing to find someone else who relentlessly searches for the beauty of a particular song. Her humming made the tune more melodious in Mona’s ears. He wished the song would never end so she wouldn’t stop humming. He wished that moment would keep playing in circles, with every turn that the repetition made as fresh as a new day with the morning sun on the horizon. They didn’t talk about anything that day, outside the business she came for. Mona had thought that was a one-in-a-lifetime moment and was never bound to happen again but he was wrong.

The lady came the next day, humming “Eyo” while purchasing some goods.
“It seems like you really like this song,” Mona finally spoke up, with the intention of not letting this opportunity slip out of his hands which can sometimes be greasy.
“Oh, you mean “Eyo”? Yes, I really like the song, especially the chorus. You know, it felt like Asa was calling out to something there and I needed to know what was that.”
Mona was a little bit stunned because he hadn’t expected her to let out this much but he was nevertheless impressed. “Nice, but I’ve always thought the meaning of her lyrics was as clear as her reflection, that nostalgic feeling on the masquerade’s flamboyant nature and its cheery effect on its surroundings.”
“Well, music speaks to us in different ways.”
“Yes, yes.” They talked on for a minute or so about the song before Mona requested for Nimi’s phone number. They continued the conversation on WhatsApp, delving into other discussions like their personal stories and what they thought about the family setting. Nimi wanted the conventional nuclear family. She was a simple lady who dates with the intention to marry. Mona had never given much thought about marriage but he didn’t mind settling down with Nimi because he couldn’t think of any other lady he wanted to be with.

Two months after their first conversation, Asa dropped Lucid and Mona called Nimi to invite her to come listen to the album with him.
“But I can’t come to your place to do that. That seems too intimate for me and we’re not even a thing,” Nimi had responded to the request.
“And what can I do to make us a thing?” Mona asked after a brief pause.
“Just ask, Mona.”
“Okay, can you come listen to Lucid with me, as my girlfriend?”
“Alright, I’ll see about that.”
And that was how their love story began. But all stories do have an end no matter how endless some of them might seem to be. Theirs was not an exception.

In the story involving Mona and Nimi, the plot which drove to their quiet sad end began on the day Oga Bello stopped Nimi by the roadside to talk to her. Oga Bello was a man in his mid-thirties who’s well-known in the neighbourhood for being industrious and being loud about it. He was involved in the transport business. He once claimed he controlled up to a hundred buses in the state. Within the community, he runs a reputable bread factory. It was difficult for these feats not to go into the head of any other youth from his place, even though Oga Bello was known to be the son of a prolific chief. Oga Bello had had a wife but they had separated on irreconcilable terms after three years of marriage. They had only a son together and with the influence he had at his disposal, Oga Bello was able to gain custody of the boy. One would think his fight for the child’s custody was born out of genuine fatherly concern but that seemingly rational thought became obsolete after Oga Bello brought in the child and took him the next day to his own mother’s house. Four years had passed and he was on the quest for a new wife.

Nimi had told him on their first meeting that she had a boyfriend but he insisted on having a more serious relationship with her, not “whatever she’s having with some small boy somewhere.” The second time they met, it was at Nimi’s house when he had come to see her parents. Nimi never realised he was really serious about the whole thing until then. She knew she ought to be angry but she couldn’t believe someone would go this length to prove his longing for her, that she’s the person his eyes were set on. She grew with parents that had told her some harsh words because she wasn’t academically brilliant and did not have a “proper posture” as a lady. Those things had always made her doubt herself and moments like this give her away to the waves of flattery. But she was not supposed to feel that way. She had Mona who had made her feel good in so many ways she had never imagined before she met him. They loved each other but could they give to themselves all that they each needed?

When Nimi informed Mona of Oga Bello, Mona only laughed. Nimi was slightly angry that he wasn’t taking the matter seriously. “Why are you laughing?” she queried
“Because I find it funny. I mean, why is that man who’s older than your eldest brother after you?” Mona replied casually.
“First of all, he’s not older than my eldest brother. Secondly, it’s normal for any man at an appropriate age to find a wife as long as he’s ready.” The air in the room that evening was already getting tense. Mona sat straight on the bed when he realised she was serious about the discussion. He wasn’t even allowed to think of a good response to give before Nimi asked the question that perhaps should have been asked when they had just begun dating. “When do you plan on getting married, Mona? Two, three or five years from now?” The expression on Mona’s face showed he wasn’t expecting that kind of question thrown at him. Not that he hadn’t been asked this particular question on previous occasions but what distinguished those times from now was the gruesome weight of urgency that it demanded from him in providing an answer.
After a brief moment of what seemed like brooding, the only answer he could come up with was, “I don’t know.” And that was how the story went sour.

The only thing left was to salvage what was left of the relationship. Some sour fruits can still be eaten. It depends on the consumer’s determination or how sour the fruit is. For Mona and Nimi, they were still able to put up with each other because it felt like they couldn’t do without the other. One still felt deeply for the other but the both of them had stumbled upon a crossroad that required a compromise from either of them, and none was willing to let go. They didn’t consider their decision as one within their power. All Nimi wanted was a family and children she’d call her own. She’d always envisioned going to the beach with this family of hers on a Sunday noon, spending their time there running away from the wave of the ocean. And she really wanted this with Mona. Mona, on the other hand, was a young male in an economically unstable country that held no assurance of a well-paying job for even her university graduates. As a matter of fact, promise of any kind of job would be far-fetched. With this in sight, coupled with the fact that he is also trying to figure out his place in a society that has nothing but only scorn for a man who wouldn’t be able to bear responsibilities for himself and his family, he couldn’t risk promising Nimi a future together. Her happiness was his priority. It was better to let her go.

Months had passed since their story went sour but they kept seeing each other because they just couldn’t stop. Perhaps they hadn’t developed a firm belief in their separation or in the way they would part ways. To them, the end to whatever they had must have had been like some sort of mythology told from books when they had begun seeing each other. Now the reality of their end got less vague with each passing day. While they lay in each other’s arms listening to Asa, they could see the clarity of the horizon in the distance as the fog cleared. It even got more lucid as Oga Bello’s family would be coming the next day for the proper introduction according to traditional laws.

The music went on. The album was on replay. When Nimi gets tired, she would get up to take a shower that would wash her of everything that reminded her of him before heading out to prepare for the ceremony. Mona could only hope she doesn’t get tired of being in his arms. That was all he could do. Hope.

Photo by Pars Sahin on Unsplash