1 Chapter One

Sam was a well-known and a very popular man in Jido village, all mothers wanted their daughter to marry him but he was a very busy man and never had time for marriage or relationships. His family and relatives pressured on the issue which he insisted that the time has not yet come. This became a very great issue in the family and he lacked mind rest because of the topic. On different occasions his father would invite ladies to the house for him to choose from but no one got his interest yet. He believed all of them were after his wealth. On Sunday evening, his father called him, they talked and took palm wine together. After a bit of silence between them, his father asked him to come close saying he had something to advise him about the issue on hand. Sam left the next day, telling his parents that he needed to visit the next village for reasons known to him only. Early in the afternoon, Sam arrived at the village of Gala. He rented an apartment because he knew no one in the village. He bought a mat and a wrapper that he can use to sleep and went to the nearest restaurant to eat his dinner as it was dark already. Actually, Sam went on a trip; he decided to stay in another village, so maybe he might get a lady of his kind. The following morning, he made his morning prayer as usual and swept his room. He took his bath, dressed up and went to the restaurant. At the restaurant, he made new friends; Jay and Joel who made his day memorable. Two weeks later and Sam hadn't found the type of lady he wanted, all the ones he had been meeting did not interest him. He decided to talk to his new friends about it. A knock brought him back from his thought; he wanted to open the door only to find his friends. "Hi what's up," Sam greeted. "Fine guy," Joel replied. "Are you busy," Jay asked. "No am not," Sam replied. "Let's go out to have some fun," Jay said. "At where?" Sam asked. "At the river bank," Joel said. They all left the house to the river bank side; it was traffic so they went along the road side and later got there in a few minutes. They looked for a place to sit down, not quite tall three ladies came to fetch water from the river. Sam stared at the girl in middle till they left; he continued to stare forgetting he was with his friends. Joel tapped him on his shoulder before he came back to reality and asked him what is wrong. "You see that lady? I love her and I want to marry her," Sam replied sharply without hiding anything. "Which lady is that," Jay asked. "It is Eve, the daughter of Adako," Joel replied. "That one is not a problem, I can take you to the house but," said Jay without completing his sentence. "But what?," asked Sam immediately. "Calm down it is not a fight," said Joel. "I pray that she and her family accept you," "Anything that I will do to have her, I will do it with my life," "You are just in lust not in love my brother," Joel said. "See guys I don't care all I need is her whether in love or in lust," Sam replied. "I will tell you little things about her," Jay said. Her name is Eva, she is the first daughter of Adako, she finished her secondary School three years ago but they could not afford to educate her in higher institutions, many men have approached her and she turned them all down. She has three siblings which are about to finish their studies as well. Eva's parents are simple in nature, very friendly and they gain the highest respect in this village," Jay narrated. "Nice to hear that from you I will, by all means, get her as my wife. Now, can we return home? At least I have achieved something today," Sam said as they left the river bank. Three days later, Sam has found Eva's house by tracing her home. Knew some of her friends and learned few things about her. Sam, down on his bed, thought of how to toast her and how was he going to start. Many ideas ran through his mind, but decided to go back to the river bank so maybe he could see her again. Upon getting to the river bank, he met her fetching water with her two friends. He tried starting a conversation with her. "Hello ladies," Sam greeted. "How can we help you, Mister?" Clara asked. "No fight, can't I be your friend?"Sam replied. "No be fight, you're welcome," Leah said. "Thank you, my name is Samuel but my friends call me Sam. Can I know your names?"Sam replied. "Wow nice name, my name is Leah,t he one that replied you's name is Clara and the last lady's name is Eva," Leah calmly explained. "Can we go? Our mother must be waiting for us," Clara said. "Yes we can. By the way, why is Eva quiet? Did anyone offend her?"Sam asked. "You ask too much, she is not in the mood to talk," Clara replied. They went home individually. Sam was very happy for being able to speak with them, but sad that Eva didn't say a single word. Upon getting home, he found his friends at the door step. "Hey, where are you coming from?"Jay asked. "Am coming from the river," Sam replied. "That's unfair; you went alone without us," Joel said. "Am sorry, I just needed to see Eve, the woman I love," Sam replied. "I see," Jay said. "Yeah," Sam replied. Sam opened the door and they went inside and sat on the sofa, while Sam turned on the small television set he just bought last week and went to the kitchen. "So how did it go in the river?" Joel asked. "It went well, but just that she didn't say anything till I left," Sam said. "I told you, she is not the easy type of girl," Jay said. "Maybe you should go to her house on a market day," Joel suggested. "On that day her parents aren't used to be around, her mother normally goes to the market and her father goes to the farm," Jay added. "When is this that you are talking about?" Sam asked "That's tomorrow," Jay said. The room became silent; Sam went to the kitchen to prepare lunch while his friends were busy watching movies. "That reminds me, my girlfriend birthday is today at 6pm in the evening," Joel broke the silence. "What happens then?" Jay asked. "We are going to attend the birthday party at her house," Joel replied. "Am not going anywhere by the way," Sam said. "My dear, your girl friend will surely come, so you better come too," Jay said. The three of them took their baths and dressed nicely after eating lunch and headed to the party's place. Upon getting there, Sam saw the love of his life. He felt like talking to her, but calmed himself down. Jay was standing by the canopy side, trying to get a seat to sit down when his girlfriend approached him telling him that they should go to have fun. Joel left to his girlfriend's place as she was the celebrant of the day. He went with a beautiful gift he got for her which comprises of a black pair of shoes and a fitted royal blue gown designed with shining stones. Sam watched every part of the show in order not to feel lonely. Eve and her friends were neatly dressed and they sat in the front seat to see every show, but later Clara left to her boyfriend's side. Along the way, Leah saw Sam sitting alone and signaled her friends. "Eve, let's go meet Sam over there," Leah said. "You can go," Eve replied. "Let me tell you something Eve; this guy really loves you and he is ready to do anything for you. You and I don't know him in this village but his looks make him sound different from others. He might not be rich, but at least he has something going on. You can't turn all men down; better pick before your parents give you the man you don't love," Leah said. "That might be true, but, how sure are we that he loves me? Marriage is not in my dictionary for now and I don't want to do something I will later regret and my parents won't be proud of me for", said Eve pouring out her mind. "But you can give him a try, maybe he might be the one to fulfill all your dreams," Leah encouraged. "Ok I will think about it," Eva said." The earlier, the better for you" The birthday party ended successfully. Gift were shared from friends and family; some returned back home, while some stayed to clear the dishes. Sam got home alone because he didn't know the whereabouts of his friends and has been feeling lonely. Eva and her friends got home to meet their parents. They were neighbors; their houses were not far from each other. Eva and Leah graduated secondary school at the same year. Eva got admission but her parents could not afford it while Leah did not get admission. Clara graduated a year after them, and she got admission. Jay received a call that Sam had an accident.