7 Chapter Seven (1/2)
When Sam and Chief got to the city, the gateman was unloading the luggage from the boot when Sam used the opportunity to explore the Chief's compound. It was a big compound that had a swimming pool by the side of the garden with different types of fruit-bearing trees. It was a beautiful site that could make one feel fulfilled and relaxed.
The Chief's wife was about to go out when they drove in. There was no limit to her joy the moment she saw her husband; the joy of seeing him (because he had been away for days) was so immense that she did not notice the presence of Sam when she was hugging her husband, meanwhile Sam was exploring the compound, trying to catch the glorious vista that surrounded him. Sam looked and saw them pointing towards him. He could hear them talking, but it was not clear to him what they were discussing. Pointing at Sam, the wife asked,
”Honey, who is the young boy over there?”
Holding her hand they walked towards the young boy. Chief said,
”Oh! The young man…”
'Wait, the wife interrupted, looking thoughtful as she was trying to recollect the incident that happened a few weeks ago. ”No, it's him, he's the one,” the wife said, pointing at the young boy. Chief was surprised, throwing hands in the air with confusion, pulling a wry face, ”Who?” he asked.
”He was the one I was telling you about,” the wife said. The Chief was still confused. ”Did what?” the Chief asked.
Sam was embarra.s.sed when the Chief's wife walked closer to him. The Chief tried to protect him; with a wry smile he said,
”No! I don't think you have seen him before. You must be mistaken him for someone else; if you go around the world you will see at least four people who resemble you.”
”I'm pretty sure he was the one I told you about.” The wife retorted still looking thoughtful.
”But you can see that the young boy is coming from the village.” Chief replied.
”Did you just say village?” She asked.
Chief nodded in affirmation. 'Then he must be the one. I told you he's the one.” She added. Sam was still trying to recollect where he met the woman but he could not remember. His good deed in the village seven weeks ago was about to pay him. ”Can someone tell me what is happening here?” Chief asked. But when he saw his wife was looking excited, he was relieved because he was thinking of how he would handle the situation if what the wife wanted to unveil would lead to sending Sam back to the village.
”Honey, you remember the boy I told you about that saved me from the hand of the robbers who wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h my car weeks ago in the village?” the wife said; that was when it occurred to him that a little boy saved his wife sometimes ago. It happened that Chief's wife travelled to village, she told her driver to take her to her grandmother's house in the neighboring village where Sam and other laborers were working.
Being the custom of the laborers to eat bread with beans cake, they were working one day when Sam decided to go and buy bread and beans cake. After buying bread, he waited for the beans cake because it was not ready then. As he was waiting he heard some people speaking French.
They were the foreigners who came from one of the African countries to fix tiles in one of the buildings around. When one of those men saw the Chief's wife he alerted the others. They believed that n.o.body understood French in that village; they started discussing how they would rob Chief's wife.
While they were talking they did not know that Sam was listening to them because he understood French. He quickly ran after the woman and told her what he heard; he advised her to look for any available route to get out of that village because the hoodlum planned to wait for her at the lonely path of the village that even if one is crying for help no one would come out to help. Chief's wife called her driver who parked some distance to come and pick her and that was how she escaped.
Sam did not wait as he was also running for his life because if those people had found out what he did, they might hurt him. Chief's wife did not remember to give Sam money for appreciation; it was when they had gone out of the village that it dawned on her she did not give him anything. Sam had forgotten the incident; it was when Chief's wife was saying it that he remembered.
”What a small world.” Chief said.
The atmosphere was becoming lively and the story getting more interesting as the boy who saved the Chief's wife in the faraway village of five hundred miles away was standing right in his house.
”How did you manage to understand French?” Chief asked. Filled with smiles that paved his way to the heart of any,
”I learned it when I was going to school, and my father lived in Cameroun for years before finally coming back. He speaks it fluently and it helped me a lot to master it.”
Still looking amazed, his glamorous face was filled with the smile that gladdened the heart of everybody. His heart of gold with hard work did not only take him to the palace but to his world. Within some minutes, the gateman was done with unloading the luggage. Chief's wife took Sam by the hand to show him his room. Sam grimaced when she showed him his room.
”Wow! What a cozy, s.p.a.cious room.” Sam said to himself.
He needed someone to tell him he was not dreaming. Living in such a gigantic house, having his own room was an imagination yesterday when he was still hawking, but today he was no more living in the imagination but in the reality. He was very astonished to hear he would be sleeping in the room that was well furnished.