Help on the way

During the heat of COVID-19, the first blow that hit my brother and I was compulsory resignation from our place of work as contract marketers. Little did we know that more was waiting at home. On getting home, our landlord started his part, forcefully throwing our things out of the tiny room we managed. He warned us never to come near his house until we had enough money to pay our overdue rent.

“Baba, please give us just a few days to sort ourselves out. We will surely pack from here,” we begged him with the help of some other good neighbours.

Being a nice man, he reasoned with us and gave us the grace of a month.

As the days went by, my brother decided to relocate to Osun state to start a new life while I packed my things to another rented apartment. It was during this trip that my brother was involved in a serious accident at Ibadan where six lives were lost. He reported that they were unable to reach the rescue team on time.

On arriving at the new place, my landlady laid countless rules guiding the house.

“These are the dos and donts of my house,” she said. “Kai, so this woman expects me to follow these rules in a dirty environment,” I thought.

I appreciated her and continued with my packing. When I was done and I sat on the plastic chair I placed at a corner of the room, my eyes beheld a big snake crawling to hide.

“Enh! It’s not only my eyes that will see this,” I said as I jumped out of the room. Luckily, I saw a man, probably one of the tenants and I explained to him. Luckily, he was glad to help me.

The second day of moving into this house was no exception. It rained heavily at midnight and a part of the roofing of my room was taken off. This made me stay awake all through the night. When it was dawn and I heard my landlady addressing someone, I jumped up and rushed to meet her.

“Ah, that is your problem o. I have rented the space to you, so use it the way it pleases you. I can’t use my money for any damages because of anyone.” she said and made her way inside.

“Mama, please you can’t leave me here. You have to do something to this issue on the ground,” I said last, following her in.

A few minutes later, it had become a different story. Almost everyone in the house came to intervene in what transpired between us. None of their discussions solved anything until the community chairman passed by and saw the crowd.

“My daughter, everything will be resolved. Your landlord will do all that needs to be done,” he said, patting me on my shoulder.

I thanked him and went back into my room.

Later that day, my landlord called me to be patient with her for two days. She kept to her words and the repair was done on the said day.

Three months after my brother left for Osun state, he called to inform me that he was coming to join me soon. I was full of joy when I heard this so I went to inform my landlady and she agreed.

He arrived the third day very late when the doors had been locked. After his incessant knocks that caused the dogs around to bark, my landlady went out to see who it was and when she heard that he was my brother, she allowed him in.

The next morning, my landlady called my brother and I. She said she will not be able to allow the two of us to stay in the house any longer. She apologised for raising our hopes high.

We asked her to tell us our offense to no avail. We asked if anything was wrong if the two of us stayed together. In response, she said we did not offend her. According to her, she had issues with the time my brother came in the previous night. She said she didn’t want people like that in her house. We thought it was a joke, but before we knew it, the neighbours had gathered, watching the landlady’s unholy outburst as she rained curses on us.

I rushed down to my church to call one of the elders who tried to beg the woman. And she eventually changed her mind. Later, my brother and I were able to have a discussion. He said he came for no other reason than to seek a better job opportunity.

He explained that the last three months were for nothing as he insisted he was ready to do something better for his life. We placed everything into God’s hands and we also did our part, searching for the good offer.

During one of his job hunts, he met a young man who was also in search of a job. This guy told him about his interview in a big company and asked if my brother was interested. With one mind, my brother went with him and he was also interviewed. Three days after, he received a call to resume work.

This is what my brother calls, “Help on the way.”

It is funny how the young man who introduced my brother was not even contacted by the company. Well, God works in mysterious ways.