A strange Twist 6 - The conclusion

Naturally, only a child would believe that good things lasted forever. However, humans are often deluded by great experiences of fortune that they often forget that everything on this mortal plane of existence eventually comes to an end.

For Akin, the beginning of the end came when the factory where he worked suddenly ran bankrupt and was forced to liquidate. This was about three months after winning his lottery. For him, the money had been so much that he had not yet finished it, so when the shock of the factory’s folding up came, he wasn’t too perturbed.

It was later on discovered that the chief executive officer of the company that owned the factory had been looting his company’s funds, and in a bid to cover up his larceny, he had authorized the lottery exercise. Unfortunately, his plan had come a little too late to successfully camouflage his stealing.

This didn’t affect Akin; after all, he had gotten the money through totally legitimate means. He was convinced that since he had been quite generous with his money, and had made many friends, when his money finished, which wouldn’t be any time in the near future, his friends would help him out.

Akin’s money finished much faster than he had thought. One night he had spent a lot on drinks with his numerous hangers-on and their girlfriends, and the next morning, he had woken to see just a balance of fifteen thousand naira in his bank account, which really isn’t much money at all.

Immediately, he contacted his friends. While they were eager to receive his call, once they discovered that he had exhausted his money, the eagerness changed into something else. Somehow they began to become unavailable. One said he couldn’t continue with the call; his battery was too low. Another ran out of call credits miraculously, despite the fact that it was Akin who was calling, and thus was the one spending credits. Another’s phone got spoilt. And so on.

Even when his “friends” saw him now, they would eagerly try to avoid him. It was as bad as some of them taking to their heels at the sight of him. He was friendless now. As he walked alone down the street, a car stopped beside him, and someone called his name.

It was Bode. He had a car.

Akin was speechless. He had been the one who pushed Bode away because of his conceived notion that his friend was jealous of his good fortune. And now, Bode seemed to be the one with good fortune.

“How have you been, man? And what’s up with your phone. I’ve been trying to call you since.” Bode asked, but Akin was too ashamed to answer. He had changed his mobile phone number, just so that Bode would be unable to contact him. “It got lost,” he lied.

“Well, have this,” Bode said, giving him a business card, “and contact me as soon as you can. Would have liked to stay and chat, but I’m in a hurry. Please make sure you call.”

As Bode drove off, Akin saw he was faced with two choices: refuse to call Bode and keep his pride, or swallow it and call him.

He would make the call. He was wiser now. Or so he hoped.

The End...

Thanks for coming!

That little boy,

@pearlumie