THE MELODY

The voices were indescribable!

The harmony was beyond this world. The melodious singing drew Mira from her seat. She forgot about her aching feet and the call she was making. She moved closer to the group of musicians. She had never heard anything like it before. It opened up a deep ache inside of her, touching her in places that she had thought long dead and buried.

They were singing with so much passion as though their lives depended on it. The voice separation was so perfect, it blended to create something so beautiful that it brought tears to Mira's eyes. The music flowed all around her and into her like fresh water to a patched throat. It transported Mira to that time...

"...Sir, your daughter is so good for her age. I've been teaching music for the past nine years and I've never heard a voice as powerful and intense as hers".

"Thank you very much, but I've come to tell you that today will be the last day she will be attending your music school".

" What?! But why sir? Since she came here, she has brought so much joy to students and teachers alike. We all practically pause whatever we are doing to listen to her sing. She is our pride and joy. The influx of people here has increased because of her. Her voice gives people hope again and--"

"Oh, please stop with the poetry! My daughter will not go into music for any reason! She will study law and become a Barrister. Your music school is distracting her from her studies. All she does now is sing and sing, will she defend her clients with songs in court? Answer me?!"

"But sir! I don't think she wants to study law. She loves music; I mean, her glow is imminent whenever she is singing. You can see the joy radiating from her. Please can you reconsider sir? Even if she must study law, don't take music away from her. You will crush her spirit"

"You see! This is exactly why none of my children will go into art! All you people know how to do is write lyrics and wax poetry. None of what you do can solve any world crisis. Waste of time and energy! She is not coming back and that's final!"

"Mira; get your stuff, we are leaving. They have filled your head with enough nonsense! I shouldn't have listened to your mum. I shouldn't have registered you for after school music lesson. I don't want to ever hear you sing again! You will study law! Not music! Do you hear me?!"

"Yes, Daddy..."

Mira abruptly shut the door against that time. She didn't want to remember. The pain, the emptiness, the fruitless tears and frustration. The punishments for nonchalantly carrying a tune. Then finally...

The resignation.

No! She wasn't going back there. Too many painful memories. She had accepted her fate and moved. There was no point in opening that door again. Mira looked at the group of musicians again. They were like ten of them. Most were singing the slow heart-wrenching lyrics, and three of them were acting out the lyrics right there; making the whole thing like a musical drama. It was so beautiful and intense to watch.

The lyrics were about a widowed woman who sold all she had to cater for her only son. The son grew and became wealthy but he forgot about his mother. He married and his wife maltreated his mother, the son turned a blind eye.

The mother was always sad but she kept praying that her son would one day see her suffering and fight for her. The mother later died of suffering and neglect; after her death, the son was ready to spend lavishly on his mother's burial.

Mira was still caught up in the web of the song when she heard a loud "HELLO!" in her ears.

That was when she remembered she had dialled Sara and her phone was still glued to her ear. She touched her face and felt tears on her cheek. Her hands were shaking.

The song was still going on but she had to reply to Sara.

"He- he- hello Sara; pl- please can I...call you back?" She stuttered.

"No!" The ever-practical Sara barked. "You are not going to call me back, you are going to talk to me now. I know you want to go back to listen to that music I can hear in the background that made you forget you were calling me. I've been on the phone for the past five minutes shouting 'hello', but did you hear me? No! What is it with you and music anyways?"

Sara continued to complain "Whenever you hear any kind of music, you'll forget everything and everyone just to listen. Forget about music and think about Law. Mira! Are you there?!"

Mira listened half-heartedly to Sara's rants, her mind was still on the group of musicians. Unfortunately, the song was coming to an end, and people were applauding. She looked around and realized that the musicians had gathered a little crowd.

Sara hadn't allowed her to hear the lyrics to the end. She was suddenly angry with Sara, how could Sara be so insensitive? Why couldn't she just end the call and wait for her to call back? Mira was about to give Sara a piece of her mind when she checked her phone and saw that she had already ended the call. She must have ended it angrily. Serves her right, Mira thought as she began to put her phone back into her bag.

She looked around to see if she could meet any of the musicians but they were no longer there. The crowd began to disperse as everyone went back to their previous activities; Mira got even angrier with Sara and stumped back to her seat under the tree. Someone else had already occupied it. She had no choice but to stand in her aching stilettos.

The programme in the hall was finally winding down, and JAMBites were beginning to leave the hall. Mira began to walk closer to hear if any important information was passed inside. A guy and a girl were walking behind her on the pavement and she could hear their conversation.

"Big bro! You guys performed so well! I couldn't believe my brother could sing like that. I mean, I know you can sing but, that well? No way! I told all my friends you are my elder brother and they all fell in love with you on the spot. You've made my first day memorable. Thank you biggie". The girl chatted excitedly.

"I've told you to stop calling me biggie." The guy who seemed to be the elder brother said, laughing in a deep baritone. "Don't make people start thinking I'm the voice behind Big Brother. They shouldn't come sue me for impersonation."

"But you're so good, and your voice is so deep, you could pass off as Biggie anytime." The excited sister squealed.

"Anyways", the elder brother drawled in his deep baritone; "we rehearsed the musical drama for an event but I persuaded my band members to come perform it for all you JAMBites first since my baby sister is also a JAMBite this year. I am glad you enjoyed it."

Mira stopped abruptly, making the siblings almost crash into her. "Hey!" The JAMBite sister exclaimed.

Mira turned and apologized "I'm so sorry but please," she turned to the brother, "were you one of the musicians that performed there?" She asked, pointing to the general area where they performed.

"Yes!" the sister squealed; "was he not the best singer there? Do you know he is the leader of the band? As in, they all listen to him. He made them compose and perform that song just for me today and he_."

"Becca!" The brother fairly shouted, "She just asked a question and you've bombarded her with a series of answers!"

"Oh! sorry, I am just so excited today."

"We all can see that" said the brother, shaking his head; he turned to Mira, "Yes I am one of the musicians. May I know why you asked?"

"I enjoyed your performance. It moved me seriously." They had to keep walking together on the pavement so as not to cause traffic that would aggravate the already aggravated students.

"Thank you" he said "I am Jubril and this is my baby sister, Rebecca."

"I am Miracle, you can call me Mira."

"I'm in the Faculty of Art, my third year in the department of music to be precise. What about you?"

"Oh! I'm new. I'm a JAMBite too, like your sister" Mira replied.

"Really?" Becca said, her eyes lighting up with excitement "But you don't look like a JAMBite, you look like you are in your third or even final year."

Mira smiled at her, she was only twenty-one, but people always thought she was older. She didn't know if it was because she looked older or because she talked older.

"Wow!" Jubril said, "I wouldn't have guessed. Which faculty?" "Faculty of Law," Mira answered.

"That's a big one! You must be a guru!" He exclaimed, looking at her with admiration.

"No, I'm not" Mira stated flatly.

They had reached the entrance of the hall by then. Becca looked around and said "Hey! I can see my new friends over there. Should I bring them over so I can introduce them to my big brother?"

"No!" Jubril shouted. Mira laughed.

"Uhn-uhn. How will they know I am telling the truth if they don't meet you? Pleease, pretty pleease," Becca pleaded, drawing out the please with puppy eyes while holding onto her brother's hand.

"Okay, just do whatever you like". He conceded reluctantly. "But I'm not collecting or giving out any number. And you must not give them my number either. Got it?!"

"Ok," she sighed, mumbling 'spoilsport' under her breath as she left hurriedly to meet her friends.

They watched her go. "Sometimes, I don't know whether to throttle her or ignore her," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, she reminds me of my own younger sister too. I think it's in their DNA to pester their older ones."

She turned to face him. "Listen, I'd like to watch more of your performance. Can you maybe call or text me whenever you have a show somewhere? Anywhere? And I'll be there?"

Jubril frowned "I don't know how feasible that'll be. I mean, you are to study law and I've heard it's a very tasking course. I don't think you'll have time for music and shows for the next six years. Besides, we perform in different parts of the state, sometimes, even outskirts." He shook his head, "I don't think you can cope."

"Don't worry about that," she assured him. "Just call me whenever. Can you do that for me? Please?"

He was silent for a while, observing her. He didn't know what to make of her request; he had met all kinds of JAMBites but not one with such an intense aura around her. Like a bird that has been caged for too long, when it was finally set free, it couldn't fly because it just didn't know how. Her body was young but her eyes were old, speaking of painful experiences that had made her mature beyond her years. He wondered what her story was.

He figured she'd soon forget all about music when the time-consuming law courses took a toll on her. He decided to humour her, it was her first day after all. "Ok," he sighed, bringing out his phone from his pocket. "Give me your number, I'll call you the day after tomorrow. We are repeating the same performance of today in a church at Terminus."

"Oh!" Her eyes lit up, she collected his phone and keyed in her number. "I'll come! How'll I get there?"

"We have our bus that transports us to shows. I'll call to inform you of our movement."

"Ok." She said, handing back his phone. "I'd love to hear the end of the song you guys performed today. It was so beautiful and touching." She paused a little "My name is Mira, in case you've forgotten."

He saved her number with her name and looked up, then smiled, "I can never forget your name, it's unique and rare. You don't hear it all the time."

Mira smiled back and thanked him. He looked handsome and well built in a rugged kind of way, with a light brown skin colour and a wide mouth; her stilettos brought her to eye level with him so he couldn't be much taller than her.

She looked around and announced, "Your sister is coming back with her group of friends, seems you've become a celebrity."

She laughed while he groaned. "Ok. I think I should be going," she said. "Please don't forget to call me. I'd love to be there."

He nodded.

"It's nice meeting you." She said.

"Same here." He replied.

"Say hello to your sister and her friends for me. Bye."

He waved and watched her go. He really would love to hear her story. There was something about her and he would figure it out. He loved a good puzzle. Becca and her friends were almost upon him, he prepared himself to play the charming brother to his sister's friends.

Mira got to the entrance of the hall. The programme had ended. She found out from a fellow student that there was no special information passed during the programme, just advice to JAMBites and how to increase their GPA as they progress through the years. Photographers were everywhere, Mira approached one of them to snap some pictures of her in her gown to send home to her family. She realized she was happier and more energetic than she had been in a long time.

She would snap some pictures; return to the hostel for a well-needed rest; and wait for the day after tomorrow.

She really couldn't wait!