A MUST READ PART FICTION (1) : "Striving to Live a Decent life"

CHAPTER ONE

…It was Tuesday afternoon, the clock had just chimed half past two in the village capital. Huge flowery trees and shrubs which lined the dusty and bumpy road acting as silent watchmen ushered Elorm into Jasikan Training College from the outskirts.

He had been sent to Agbenyega, the principal of the college in order to get some further education after middle school form four in 1972.

He was not the biggest of creatures, but by divine design,was a very creative seventeen year old boy from Sabadu in the Volta Region of Ghana.

Though Papa,his grandpa, was a paramount chief, poverty was endemic in his immediate family, and education,was solely a reserve for the first children Papa had each with his six wives.

The reality of life held that, Elorm would not get further education unless his eldest sibling foots the bill, in the event he made headway himself.
Agbenyega,his uncle, had been the principal of the trainingcollege since 1960 and was in his twelfth year as.head of the college; his children
were in Demonstration School,where foreign teachers and those from outside the region, posted to the training college, had their children attend boarding school.

Every time Jean, and Castro, two blonde adventurous sons of Paolo Da Costa,the then vice principal, visited the
Agbenyegas, Elorm would take them to the farm grasshopper hunting and snail picking. The kids absolutely loved tiny creatures, and whenever they were coming, they brought along with them crumps of biscuit and bread they had left over during breakfast to pay Elorm for his kindness.

The principal’s bungalow was about a kilometre away from the school, only the huge and extremely tall palm trees which lined the aisle of the road appeared visible from the premises.

Elorm spent the better part of his stay at the principal’s home,washing his car, cleaning the compound,and helping on his farm. Every day, he polished the principal’s shoes, laid his bed and ironed the clothes the
principal’s wife washed.

Agbenyega would scold him whenever he mislaid the bed and put the grey patterns of the bed spread towards the head-
side of the bed, instead of the rear.He delighted in teaching the principal’s sons basic arithmetic
and elementary poems. He wove baskets with palm fronds, which he got from the incredibly tall palm trees on the compound, and sold at the Jasikan Central Market sometimes.

…A year elapsed, and the prime reason Elorm was taken to the principal had hit a first snag. Dejected and broken he left to his poor mother,Mama back at Sabadu. His dream of making a decent life and living a more responsible life different from what was prevailing in his family had come crushing at his feet.

Mama, on her first of many trips to Accra, made friends with the son of Togbe Ntor, and the numerous times she went to baby-sit little Rebecca at Caprice, she would visit Master.

Master was the owner of [Guildon Wood Works], a carving establishment, small and hidden in the cracks of the neighbourhood.

She took Elorm by the next available bus to Accra, one fine sunny afternoon, after carting cassava from the farmhouse to the business market,to get him into apprenticeship. The entry commitment was two cedis,back then in 1973, but family acquaintances and old friendship would prevail over payment as Master took little Augustine in.

With his dream to succeed firmly on his mind, his job was cut out in steel,all he had to do was to work extremely hard to enable him start off to a flyer.

Efo, his elder brother who began as a labourer at the Tema commercial bank and lived at Ashaiman had gotten Afi pregnant while learning a tailoring trade at Kpando; he had to begin a premature and unplanned family.

He had risen over the years through the ranks, to become the clerk to the manager at the bank. Whenever his boss needed some coffee or mild tea at the office, he rang a bell which vibrated at Efo’s desk-he would then prepare the tea for the boss.

He was Elorm’s guardian, while he learnt carving in the city. Naturally gifted with such depth of creativity and artistic inclination, he performed well all his years as an apprentice,bought a few carving tools, a photo album, a bag and a few clothes.

Master would take him along to meet his clients for whom he made furniture.One such client was Mr. Adjepong, an above middle aged, well-built Ashanti man, and rich with grey beard covering two-thirds of his oval face,who had come to the city of Accra to live with his family.

Elorm had carved excellent doors in 1976, which beautified his ballroom and warmly welcomed visitors at the entrance of his balcony, the awe of the entire neighbourhood.

Mr. Adjepong was a mechanic who worked on cars and motor cycles.

His spare parts supplier and friend, Orwell was a bald Nigerian man. One fine morning, after the sun had risen,the skies were as blue, and busy city life had begun with men and women walking up and down the
street in search of daily bread, he visited him at his residence to transact a business deal, when he saw exquisite and lovely, carved doors Elorm had made in his house.

Orwell would not think twice, he needed to get some for himself .He brought spare parts from Nigeria to trade with Mr Adjepong, at a time when,there was an influx in the numbers of Ghanaians in Nigeria doing menial jobs in an attempt to seek pastures green.

Orwell claimed he knew a furniture company in Nigeria that needed expert wood carvers and promised to take Elorm along if he was interested.Without informing Master, he took a decision to go with Orwell to Nigeria.

Orwell promised the furniture shop owner was willing to pay him well and Elorm,feeling it was a good offer would plan to follow him to Nigeria,little did he know the consequences that would follow his rash decision.

He was overly confident things would work out, though he did not have travel documents, he trusted Mr. Adjepong and quickly one evening,while city business was gradually winding down, the domestic animals and birds were seeking their abode, and congestion had begun thickening in the city centre, he dashed down to Efo at Ashaiman to inform him about his impending travel plans, so he could stand in as witness to the whole arrangement.

Orwell promised to foot the bill of the entire journey to Nigeria. Life was to begin for Elorm.....to be continued!