DARK ANGEL (OJIBUNMA)

{A sHORT STORY OF LOVE AND AFFECTION FOR THE DISCRIMINATED}

                Ojibunma was a young girl, beautiful indeed. She was an only child. Her skin were black as coal, her hair black as ebony, her teeth shone very bright when she smiled, her eyes sparked in the dark. She was the complete example of the MOST beautiful horse, and this was why her parents gave her the name Ojibunma meaning “BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL”

But oji was very shy and timid, she was scared of anything. At school her class mates would make fun of her, calling her a dark angel.

But oji had a friend called Christopher, he was her hero, whenever her mates tried to mock her complexion, he would always come out to fight for her, even though he was very small, Chris didn’t care he fought anyone who tried to stand in oji’s way, anyone who tried to make her feel sad.

So as time went on oji got used to Chris, she always wanted to be with him, when Chris moved to a different school for college, oji cried to her parents begging them incessantly to transfer her to Chris’ new school, and because she was their only child they always wanted her to be happy, so they transferred her to his school.

Oji and Chris became very good friends now, and oji always felt happiness and love whenever he was with her, they both worked very hard during their final exams in high school, and graduated with the best results, they were given scholarships to study in any university of their choice in the country.

As expected they chose the
same university, but different course, while Chris studied medicine since he wanted to be a doctor, oji studied law.

They both lived together in campus for two years, until Chris moved to the university’s teaching hospital to complete his degree.

Now oji was in a different world of hers, it was the first time in a long time in her life to be without Chris.

 Now she had to learn to live without him.

These days going for lectures had become something else, since her course mates would always make mocking sounds at her, whenever she stepped into class.

One day a boy came to her with a parcel in his hands, she looked at it surprisingly and said “it’s not my birthday, so why are you bringing me a gift?” but the boy replied saying, “it’s not a gift, that’s a science project, and we need a lab monkey to do a test run”, he continued; “we need to be sure it works”. Oji replied “you need a lab monkey, to do a test run? Well I don’t have one, so please take your gift”, she stretched her hand to give him back the gift, but he pushed it back to her saying; “we know you don’t have a monkey, but we know you are a replica of a monkey, you are a good example of the ancient ape, and also the perfect person for the test, just try the lotion and you’ll see how beautiful your skin color will look hahaha”, he said this laughing loudly.

Oji just held the parcel in her hand, tears flowing helplessly down her face, at this point she wished Chris were with her to defend her, and she just stood and watched everyone laugh at her, their voices echoing in her head. When she couldn’t take it anymore she picked up her bag, threw away the parcel and ran out of the hall.

She went straight to her room and lay on the bed, weeping and crying loudly, questioning God; she wanted to get answers from God. Why did he give her such color? Why did he separate her from Chris? she took a mirror and looked into it.

Chris had not spoken to her for almost two years now, ever since he left. Had he forgotten her? They never quarreled or fought, and now she needed him more than ever. She had cried too much and now she was weak, so she fell asleep.

At 7pm she woke up, took a warm bath and prepared dinner for herself, she still felt an ache in her head, she thought she should go back and rest, but she couldn’t miss reading at night. So she lit a candle and started reading, as she read, she felt dizzy and lost consciousness, with her head on the table and the candle burning rapidly next to her. The candle burnt widely and smoke filled the room. Neighbors noticed the smoke and rushed to her apartment, but the door was locked, so they called out the strong young men among them and they broke open the door.

The men carried her out of the room, felt her heart and it was still beating, they quickly rushed her to the hospital, while others fought to quench the fire.

No! Oji let out a loud cry, shaking uncontrollably, but then a huge masculine figure wrapped his arms around her, calming her gently he whispered to her, “its ok, am here now, and I promise to never leave you again”, she recognized that voice anywhere, it was Chris, but why couldn’t she see him? Why is everywhere dark? She kept asking him, but he told her not to worry, because everything was under control’

Her face had been bandaged; the right part of her face got burnt from the effect of the hot candle wax.

Chris never stopped loving her, she was all he thought of, but he had to stop calling her so he could concentrate on his studies, he couldn’t stop staring at her.

Her face got burnt and this was his entire fault, because of his selfish reasons he ignored the woman he loved and cherished so greatly for two years.

Chris made sure she received basic treatment on her wound, he paid for her hospital bills by the time she recovered and her wound had healed.

She returned back to school, but she couldn’t live in her old apartment anymore, so Chris rented an apartment close to the teaching hospital and also close to the school. So they could see each other often.

They continued this way, until they both graduated. Chris graduated as the best medical student, while Oji as the best law student in the university.

Chris was retained by the teaching hospital to work and teach too. Over time oji learnt to live with the fire scar in her face, although it changed her previous look, Chris didn’t care; in fact his love for her grew each day.

People around wondered; what exactly did Chris see in her? A handsome fair complexioned man in love with this dark complexioned lady with an ugly scar on her face. But Chris alone knew what he saw in her.

On Oji’s 25^th birthday, Chris surprised her by proposing marriage to her, oji in turn accepted almost immediately, she had lost hope of a day like this to come, ever since the fire incident, but now Chris has proposed to her, and this was her dream.

They got married in grand style, and everyone ran to see them, their wedding was the main topic of the day, it was a wedding every parent would wish for their children, and that was the kind Ojibunma got, a special kind of wedding for a special woman from a kind hearted man.

Years later they had two beautiful children, boy and girl, the boy looking just like his mother, and the girl like her father. Oji realized now that beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Chris alone saw the beauty in her, and their love and hard work conquered all. And she always remained his DARK ANGEL.

THE END