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Arinola Ade is the last born and only girl in the family of four and she was born on the mainland some 24 years ago, a scorpio and passionate about life.
she attended reagan memorial girls secondary school for her junior secondary education and completed her senior secondary education at foucos senior secondary school.she studied general computing for 6 months at IMS comptuter institute ikeja then she went on to NIIT and studied web site designing and programming majoring in {java and sql} for a year and 4 months but writing has always been her passion, after writing a couple of short stories she decided to write her first novel.she is presently in her 3rd year studying mass-communication at Olabisi Onabanjo university ago iwoye, Ogun state.she is looking for a publisher, local and international publishers are welcome.leave a message here.
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MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- I have a certificate from NIIT i studied web site designing and programming majoring in {java and sql}
- a diploma from IMS comptuter institute ikeja
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MY NEWS:
I am presently working on my first novel but i have written some short stories over the years.i have included excerpts of my novel here.i am looking for international publishers.
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MY RESIDENCE INFO:
City: lagos
State/Country: nigeria
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BOOKS PUBLISHED:
Chapter one
Waking up in the morning these days appears to be a futile effort; it seems there is no point starting a day that would not be different from the one before.
This morning does not seem different. I feel so listless and out of touch. I have been feeling this way for a while now, and it just looks as if nothing is working my way.
My love life is in shambles, my finances have gone haywire and I don’t have friends. My usual boisterous self has turned into a recluse and humorless being. Worst of all, it seems my values have changed. I wake up with this realization and it scares me half to death.
How did it happen?’ When did all this happen? I always had a firm hold on my life, and what goes on in it, but it now appears I have lost control, and this is so scary.
As I was thinking about this, I heard a knock at my door but I ignore it. I really do not feel like talking to anybody now.
The knock came repeatedly. It looked as if whoever was at the door was not willing to give me the peace and quiet I needed for my reflections. I continued to ignore the knock at my door until I heard the hysterical voice of my brother.
‘Vienna, Vienna open up’ he screamed.
From the sound of his voice, I knew something was wrong. So I got up and unlocked the door. What I saw jolted me because my brother was crying. I don’t think I have ever seen him cry openly.
‘Bryan are you ok?’ What’s wrong?’
‘Its mum Vienna,’ she has collapsed, hurry up quick.’
I barely had time to wear my boxer shorts before rushing out of my room. I almost knocked over my brother in the bid to get into my mums room on time.
I rushed in and saw her lying on the floor in front of her bathroom, she did not move a muscle. I rushed to her side shook her and screamed.
‘Mum, mum, please talk to me.’
I felt for her pulse and it was still there thankfully, but she was barely moving.
I rushed into my room to get my phone and tried to place a call to our family doctor, but I belatedly realized that the cell phone battery was dead. So, I rushed out to the car only to realize that I had two flat tires.
This was not happening. I just could not deal with all this stress, but somehow I summoned up strength and went back in
‘Bryan!’ I shouted. ‘Go and call me a cab right now!’
Then I changed into a jean and t-shirt and i dashed back into mum’s room. I stayed with her until Bryan came back with the cab.
We carried my mum outside with the help of the cab driver, got her in the car and rushed to the hospital.
On getting to the hospital, our family doctor placed life support on mum and they rushed her into the emergency room, while I stayed with my brother in the hospital lobby waiting for whoever was coming to give us news, hopefully good news.
The wait was endless. It felt like ages since we brought her in and no news was forthcoming.
I was getting agitated so I paced up and down. The last thing I could handle now was losing my mum. It would finally break me because she is the reason I have held on and a break away from that pillar of strength could only spell disaster for us.
I stopped pacing and looked over at Bryan, he looked so lost though he had stopped crying but he remained tight-lipped and restless. I don’t blame him though; he has every reason to be like that, because I was not laying a good example for him.
Here was I the “big sister” all riled up and agitated in front of my kid brother who relies on me and believes nothing can faze me; I knew I had to be strong for him.
Therefore, with all the strong will and strength I could muster, i pulled my self-together and consoled Bryan,
‘Hey big guy everything will be ok, I am sure its nothing to worry about. You know how strong-willed mum is; whatever is wrong with her she would not go weak on us now ok..…’
‘Am worried,’ Bryan said. ‘Vienna, I have never seen mum like this,’
I gave him a hug.
‘Relax Bryan it will be ok I promise.’ He looked at me and sighed
‘Ok sis.’
**********
After what seemed like a lifetime Dr Afolabi finally emerged, ‘Vienna can i see you in my office…alone’, i turned to my bro
‘Bryan go on to the reception i will meet you there’,
‘Ok sis’ then he left.
I followed the doc to his office,
‘Please have a seat’ he said.
‘Doc’, what’s wrong with my mother?’
‘I have to be frank with you Vienna, your mum just suffered a severe stroke due to the sudden increase in her blood pressure and we need to perform an operation on her otherwise she might not survive.’
‘Oh God,’ I screamed then i burst into tears, but the Dr continued
‘And am afraid before I commence treatment you have to make a deposit of 150 thousand naira.’
‘Ha! Dr. how will I get that kind of money?’
‘Mums business has not been doing well for a while now we barely get by, you have been our doctor for years now, please do what you can for my mum i don’t want to lose her.’
‘Vienna don’t cry you know i can’t do more than what have done it’s against our policies to admit without a deposit but i have overlooked that.
I have done the best i can for you and i will make sure your mother is left on the life support until noon tomorrow but if you don’t get the money by that time then am sorry you would have to take her else where.’
This is a nightmare,. Who would have thought things could get worse.
As if i don’t have enough problems to deal with, why is this happening to me, it appears the only option i have is to go out and source for money so i pulled myself together.
‘Ok doc I will get the money thank you.’
I left the doc to look for Bryan i saw him outside the hospital,
‘Bryan lets go home.’
I did not want to say anything about what the doc said so i kept mute.
We were out on the road when Bryan, having waited for me to say something decided to ask when i didn’t.
‘Sis what did the Dr. say?’
At this point i thought of lying to him but i decided not to, it’s high time he learnt how alone we were so i said,
‘Bryan, mum’s blood pressure is very high, but the doctor said if he performs the surgery on her she will be ok so lets just pray.’
‘Am going into town now, i need to get money, you go home and make sure you fix both flat tires i need to use the car.’
‘Ok sis but aren’t you coming with me?’
‘No Bryan, I need to go meet up with some people, here have some money i won’t be long.’
I saw him off and he boarded a bike that would take him home while i walked the distance to the bus stop.
My brain was working nonstop, i thought of boarding a bus to ikeja i had just enough money to take me there but it was a risk because if i don’t meet alhaji in his office then am in trouble.
Or i could go home have my bath then make some calls from a business center, i debated my options and then i settled for taking the chance and going straight to ikeja somehow i couldn’t stand the thought of me having a bath when my mum is between life and death.
That decided i boarded a bus to ikeja, while on the bus i just kept thinking this was not happening ,God would not allow this to happen to me who was i going to run to i had no relative, nobody to look out for me.
***********
This is one of those times i wish my mum had brothers or sisters. At least i would have run to them now but she is an only child her parents gave birth to her in their old age, they died when she was quite young.
So growing up, i never had the luxury of an extended family i.e. Cousins, uncles, etc it was just Bryan, mum and I.
I remember asking mum about this some years ago and she said we did have cousins and uncles but they were from our father’s side and that she did not have any contact with them, they were against the marriage in the first place.
Hmmm my father, i hate the man with a passion, if he had not abandoned us, all this would not be happening.
At least mum will not have the sole responsibility of taking care of us, she will not be critically ill in the hospital, and i won’t have the daunting responsibility of keeping the family afloat.
Am at the age where am supposed to be carefree and have fun but i have to forfeit all that and be more matured because mum cannot do it alone.
The useless man ran away from his responsibilities, i still do not know why and i will never forgive him.
My father left us about 12 years ago, i remember so well because he left on my 10th birthday he left for work and never came back it was later we heard that he had gotten married to someone else and they had kids.
I guess that was the reason mum shunned all contact with his family, anyway , we never got to meet any of them but i vaguely remember us visiting some of them when i was still small , but it was all so long ago i don’t even remember their faces.
‘Hey get down i don’t have all day!’ the conductor shouted.
I was so lost in thought that i did not know the bus had gotten to ikeja bus stop; it took the impatient shout of the conductor for me to realize i was the only one left on the bus.
‘Am sorry’ i said.
‘Na you sabi, just pay me my money and get down’
I paid him and made my way to alhaji’s office on foot, i didn’t have enough money to board a bike so i walked i checked my phone for the time and it was just 2:30 pm and the weather was so hot.
I pray i meet alhaji in his office he was the only one i knew that could give me the money, i remember when i first met him, it was at a book launch, i and a few of my friends had gone for ushering jobs and i was one of the ushers at the door.
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