Heaven or Hell

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. For you are dust and to dust you will return." the lanky Revd Fr Ubi said; he stood at the other side of the irregular hole, his black Gucci shoes covered in red earth.

Nneka and Josiah stood shoulder to shoulder, and beside each one stood a family member or friend who comforted them, even though they themselves could use some good comforting.

They all sobbed uncontrollably as the life of a dear sister, friend and colleague with a bright future had been cut short.

Nneka however couldn't believe she lived with Jesus all the while, someone who would eventually die in her stead.

Nkiru was Nneka's twin, and it was she who was being buried.
She was a programmer and a believer who nursed the dream of building a telecommunications network that will provide unlimited free data for Nigerians. At her workplace she was nicknamed: 'the men'; because she had a dream men were scared to pursue.
What a man can do, Nkiru can do better, or perhaps, she did it best.

To her colleagues she was a man. It was Nkiru's world, and every other person just followed.
Nkiru was the 'go-to-the-man' kind of person; who knew almost everything about everything, and she was only 25 years old.

A great child with such huge potential --GONE.
Nigeria always loses her finest.

The hole in which her remains were being buried reminded the mourners  of the whole brouhaha surrounding Nkiru's death.

Poor Nkiru was burnt to ashes by a ferocious mob led by a badass drug lord and alleged rapist nicknamed Ìgara Lion.
The clause "ashes to ashes," brought about a great wail when Revd Fr Ubi recited the famous funeral poem.

Nkiru's body was already in ashes even before it hit six feet; hence, it was just swept into an urn and thrown into the hole.

Nneka, strangely was exceedingly grateful that Nkiru died in her stead. She vowed to turn a new leaf.

A fortnight ago, Nneka disappeared. She handed her smartphone to Nkiru before leaving, warning her against switching it on or picking her calls.

"It's on auto on and off," Nneka said to her  grim looking mannequin. Although Nkiru was more feminine than her twin, and that was because she used accessories and effects made for her sexes, unlike Nneka that was a hoyden.

"Once it comes on, please switch it off immediately. No time." she added.

"So where are you now going na?" Nkiru asked.

"I'll call you when I get a new Sim. I can't talk now. My small phone is still with me." Nneka said and flagged down a bike.
"Garage?" she said to the bike man.
"Hundred naira."
"Oya go go go go abeg..."
"See you later Nne.... I'll call you." Nneka said and disappeared into the noisy chatter of Lagos.

Two days later, after Nneka's phone had powered itself on again, Nkiru was just about to switch it off when a text message popped up and it was immediately followed by an incoming call from an unknown number.

"What type of ringtone is this one again eh? Aah!... Nneka!..." Nkiru said to herself with raised eyebrows; the tune was PENALTY by Small Doctor.

She listened to the ringtone with keen interest only for it to stop within a minute.
It rang again the second time and Nkiru swiped the green icon right.

"Hello..."
"hello?...." She looked at the screen to be sure it was still connected, it was.
"Hello?" she said again, and after a while she disconnected it and switched the phone off.

Some few minutes later, a tender knock kissed the wooden door to her one room self-contain.
"Yes, who's there?" Nkiru said softly.
"Aunty Nkiru it's me Shola," returned a little boy. He was her neighbor's son. Nkiru opened the door.
"Somebody is looking for you people," Shola said and pointed to the small gate.

"Okay thank you," Nkiru said.
"How is your mommy?" she asked as she played with the little boy's puffy cheeks just before he left.
"She's fine ma. She has gone to the shop." Shola replied.
"Alright no problem, I'll come and play with you people later, I'm not going to work today." Nkiru revealed. Shola leaped for joy and hurried towards his flat. He knew that Aunty Nkiru's visit to their flat always brought chocolates and other sweet and juicy things.

She shut her door and traipsed towards the gate.
There she met two hefty mean looking men on special marshal polos tucked in on blue denims.

"Nneka?" one of them said,
"Yes, what happen?" Nkiru replied.
"Nneka is..." she was saying when they shushed her.
"Shut up. Just move." one of the men ordered.
"Move to where? I am not Nneka o, Nneka is..." Nkiru was saying again when a thunderous slap opened the flood gates of heaven and it rained stars.

They dragged her to the other side of the street where a yellow and black stripped commercial Lagos bus was parked. As they were about to hurtle her into the bus, Nkiru played Jackie Chan; she abruptly twisted her abductor's hand backwards and struck him with her fist as hard as she could on his neck. The second man dashed towards her to recapture her, but Nkiru's left leg had a mind of its own; it groined him which left him writhing in pain. She then fled towards the highway.

"Olè! Olè! Olè!" the first man screamed after gaining consciousness and chased her; he was later joined by his partner who still held onto his groin as he ran like an injured hippopotamus.

"Thief thief!" "Olè! Olè!"

Nkiru on getting to the highway looked back and saw six men now chasing her.

She quickly crossed the first lane and looked towards the other side of the expressway; there, she saw about five devil-sent men already gathered with planks, stones and bottles. They had heard the cry and were ready for her.

"What have I gotten myself into?" she cried and lamented.
Then she summoned courage and decided to face the demons at her own end.

"I'm not a thief! I'm not a thief!" she screamed as she watched people begin to gather in twos and threes. The look on their faces was far from friendly.

Two resounding slaps from behind got her writhing on the floor --the devils from the other end had joined the demons on this side.

They dragged her to the roadside, beating and stoning her mercilessly.
The two men on special marshal polos then grabbed her and wanted to take her away, but the mob refused.

"We go kill am here!" someone screamed.
"Let her burn in hell!" another yelled.

Nkiru cried, but the tears didn't  come from her eyes; it came from other parts of her body, and they were thick thick sticky red.
She only saw scenes like these on TV and had argued more than once that it wasn't real. "Things like these do not happen in Nigeria. Come on that was back in the days! Now we are civilized. A learned people!" she once said then.
But now that had changed; deep down in her heart of hearts, she admitted that she was wrong. Nigerians are animals.

"Oooohh! I hate blood! I hate blood! Make we burn this ashawo!" One diminutive haggard-looking alcoholic said and threw two tires over Nkiru's head; one went down on her waist the other on her neck like a necklace.

"No wait... Make we never burn am! Wetin she thief?" another person said, but before they could calm themselves the diminutive drunk had brought petrol and he sprayed it all over Nkiru as though he were a prophet spraying holy water on a possessed member.

Everyone instinctively stepped back so not to be bathed in fuel.
They still argued whether or not to burn her when the fire descended from above like in the days of Elijah.

BOOM!

"EEEHHHHHH!!!!" The crowd charged.

The fellow that rained fire that day however was not Elijah; his name was Ìgara Lion.

Revd Fr Ubi was the first to sight him. He had been briefed about who led the heinous barbaric act, and they had informed the police.

The police arrested some suspects, Ìgara Lion being one of them.

But here he was at the memorial park, bringing back grave memories. He was dressed in black, a customized shirt that read: "A MINUTE SILENT IS ENOUGH FOR THE DEAD."

Revd Fr Ubi's silence however was more than a minute and it caused curious mourners to stare at him and then follow the direction of his impetuous gaze.

"Ìgara Lion is here," someone whispered.
The news spread like wildfire. A sudden silence enveloped everyone as though Ìgara Lion's shirt had jinxed them all.

Then rage crawled in.
Nneka turned towards him; after all, they were in a cemetery.
Two men will today meet their lords in heaven or hell.

~Angel Messi~