Kwaku Mike walks back to the house when he was convinced Kwame Fred was nowhere close to the house.
Opana
For the very first time, you have really made me proud, my son. I thought all this while, that you are a weak person but today you proved me wrong and am very happy because the lion doesn’t give birth to a dog.
Akua Yankey
I hope this praises you are showering on him won’t be a one day wonder?
Opana
Don’t be a carrier of bad news to the happy soul woman if you don’t have anything to say I will urge you to go and sleep because I have a very important discussion to do with my son.
Akua Yankey
I will prefer to reserve my comments for now and talk when the time is prudent.
Opana
My son, take a seat and let’s have an important discussion. I last told you that I don’t hate you and neither do I wish your downfall, whatever has happened is in the past and now we are in the present where we have to think about the future. Now I want you to tell me your plans as a man because day in day out you are growing, it is the responsibility for the parent to take good care of their children for them to get proper teeth so that in the future when the parent is ageing and losing his or her teeth, the children will help them also.
Michael Ansah
Well papa, I’m grateful you are having this very important discussion with me this evening because I was always looking forward to this opportunity to avail itself but it never happened. For plans I have a lot but to execute it, money is going to play a major role in it, papa for some time now I have been communicating with a school mate of mine who is in the city and he tells me that, there are better and brighter opportunities in the city for me if I can get some gadgets I need to work with. He has offered to accommodate me at the place so that we can join forces together and start working.
Opana
This sounds good but why have you never bothered to inform me about this decision all this while?
Michael Ansah
I was very much afraid to come before you because of the mistake I did when I was back in school. I know you have not yet forgiven me and making a mistake to come before you will rather cause me more problems in this house.
Opana
Hmmmm, to an extent you are very right because if during those moments, you made a mistake to come before me for assistance, possibly like you might be in a wheelchair or even in a hospital bed recuperating right now but at the end of the day I have come to understand that as a parent, I can’t impose a particular course or career on my child if he or she doesn’t like it, you can force the horse to the riverside but never can you force it to drink.
My responsibility as a father is to guide and counsel you on what you want to do but I know at the end of the day, you are matured enough to make great decisions for yourself and I want you to know that I am now solidly behind you and anything you want to do. Go and sleep over what you want to do so we talk about it tomorrow morning before I leave the house for the shop.
Opana goes into his bedroom and does as instructed by the beggar earlier on, before he slept he prayed to God to ask for a better future for his children especially his son. In his sleep, he had a dream where some people came to him for help because they were in die need of water when he dipped his hand in his pocket the only money on him was a 1cedi note which he gave to them to go and buy water, when they took the money from him, one of them gave him a necklace for him to give it to his son and the other person pointed to the field closer to them, there was a lot of white cattle grazing over there and he said to Opana, the one who gives water gives life and for giving us money for water we also hand over those cattle to you. Take care of them and take it as a gift from us to you, they will help change your fortune but remember not to be mean to your fellow man or else you will lose everything that we gave to you.
He turned to watch the cattle but when he again turned to the direction of where the people stood, there was no trace of them anywhere.
He went close to the cattle and started to count them, after counting he realised that the cattle were 90 in numbers and immediately he woke up from his sleep.
The clock on the wall was exactly 1 a.m. as he checked, he pondered over the dream over and over but he couldn’t get any meaningful interpretation and in no time he was stolen by sleep again.
Early in the morning, he got a phone call that his shop was on fire which made him rush to his shop without even taking his shower, when he got there the fire service personnel were already there and were putting off the fire. After several minutes of aggressive work from the fire service personnel, they quenched the fire but a better part of the shop had been burnt because of the weather condition and the materials he had inside his shop.
The fire service personnel took some information from Opana and they left to conduct their investigation as to what caused the fire outbreak, when Opana was going back home he passed by a lotto kiosk which had the bold inscription of 1 – 90 and below was “Aben Wo Ha”.
He passed the kiosk and after a few steps, he remembered his dream and the number of cattle he counted and then remembered the money he gave to the people in the dream before they gave him the cattle. He turned back and went to see the lotto agent stake his numbers for him.
Lotto Agent
Master, I heard about your shop and the fire that gutted the place. Please accept my sympathy because I know how difficult things are now.
Opana
Massa, thanks for sympathising with me but please stake this numbers for me, single 1 – 90.
Lotto Agent
Wooow, this is my number also that I took out of the lotto chart last night. This number must drop at all cost, please how much do I stake it?
Opana
Mmmm, stake it for ten cedis.
Lotto Agent
Master, if you have enough money on you I will advise you stake it big so that when you win, you win big time. The money can go a long way to rebuild your burnt shop.
Opana
(before he could say anything again, he remembered the advice of the beggar the previous day as to invest everything he had on him when he is taking steps to the dream he had) Mmmmm do you know what? Stake the numbers for an amount of two hundred and fifty cedis for me.
Lotto Agent
Eeeiii master, I can see you want to destroy the machine for good. Am very sure Ghana lotteries can’t even pay you all your money and that, they will put you on a monthly payroll till they finally pay you off. All the same good luck and please don’t forget my share when you win.
Opana takes the lotto coupon and heads back home to narrate his ordeal to his family but before he got home the news had already spread like wide fire in the harmattan season. Some were feeling pity for him whiles others were rejoicing on his loss, he walked to his house as most of his tenants were afraid to come closer to him because they were not sure as to how their landlord was going to receive them.
His wife had developed a running stomach as he heard the news of her husband’s shop. Later on, in the day somethings out of the blues took place in the compound of Opana and you won’t believe what the things were…….
Tbc
